About this project ...
We can look back at what historians like Calvin M. Fackler wrote about our
county's history. Because of their efforts, we have record of the major events and people
in Boyle County's life.
Oral history seeks to provide a different kind of record. It records the views of
people who lived through the change from dirt roads to asphalt, from horses to automobile
from segregation to integration, from one-room schools to computers in the classroom.
This
oral history project began when two Bicentennial committee member Julie Rodes joined Advocate staff members Herb
Brock, Amy Hogg, Annabel Girard, Brenda S. Edwards, Emily Morse and Sallie Bright to make a
list of Boyle County residents to be interviewed about life in Danville and Boyle County.
Two others, Emily Kirkpatrick and Peggy Galloway, also helped with the interviewing.
Some of the people on our original list didn't want to be interviewed; some
suggested others to interview. When we were finally finished, we had taped 63 people
ranging in age from 58 to 100.
Our selection was random; there's no way we could find every older citizen in the
county with a clear memory and a willingness to share. We know we left out many potential
interviewees, and we hope we hear from those people so we can interview them in the
future.
We also want to note that memory is imperfect. Not every recollection here will be
absolutely accurate. But the flavor of the times in which these people grew up comes
through though a name or date may be forgotten.
After recording our interviewees, we transcribed the tapes and edited them to get
finished product.
The interviews we taped during this year-long project will be the subjects of a
40-minute multi-media presentation in celebration of Kentucky's bicentennial. The
Advocate-Messenger Danville-Boyle County Oral History Show will be presented Feb. 14 in
Newlin Hall of the Norton Center for the Arts. Julie Rodes, Anna Ingram and Dr. Richard
Brown are in charge of the presentation.
The tapes of these interviews will be used in another way, too: They will be
donated the Boyle County Public Library where they may be used by the general public.
We are grateful to the staff of the Kentucky Oral History Commission for donating
the tapes we used, for making copies of those tapes and for providing guidance on how to
conduct the project.
The long and sometimes tedious work of transcribing the tapes was done by Vicki
Conn, Sheila Jackson, Celia McDonald, Tracy Gaither and Tammie Reed.
(Printed version - Cover photograph by
Jim Aldridge; Artwork by Debbie Helton; Section editor - Sallie Bright;
Profile photos by Jim Aldridge, Sallie Bright and James Morris;
Interpreters, Rita Zirnheld and Tillie Sowders )
(Online version - Designer/Editor - Sheila J. Clark, Additional
Artwork and graphics by Holly Turney and Clay Jackson)
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Profiles last updated: Monday, December 19, 2005
