Appalachian Farm Heritage Oral History Project, Mary LaLone

A Study of Family Farming in the New River Valley in Southwest Virginia -- Documenting the Livelihood Strategies of Farming Families and Examining Changes in Farming Strategies from the 1930s to the Present
Involved a University-Community Partnership Between Radford University Anthropology Classes and the Virginia Farm Bureau
The oral history research has been compiled into a book, Appalachian Farming Life, Brightside Press, 2003.
View a Video Description of This Project, Prepared by RU's Public Relations Office, by clicking on http://www.radford.edu/
NewsPub/video/
farmhistoryvid.htm

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		A Study of Family Farming in the New River Valley in Southwest Virginia -- Documenting the Livelihood Strategies of Farming Families and Examining Changes in Farming Strategies from the 1930s to the Present Involved a University-Community Partnership Between Radford University Anthropology Classes and the Virginia Farm Bureau The oral history research has been compiled into a book, Appalachian Farming Life, Brightside Press, 2003. View a Video Description of This Project, Prepared by RU's Public Relations Office, by clicking on http://www.radford.edu/ NewsPub/video/ farmhistoryvid.htm _________________________________________		The New River Valley Farming Oral History Project had the goals of 1) collecting and preserving oral history knowledge of family farming in the New River Valley; and 2) understanding farming livelihood strategies, and the changes in those strategies from the 1930s to the present. The project was carried out in joint partnership between Radford University Anthropology classes and the Montgomery County Farm Bureau. The project provided students with an experiential component to their classes, enabling them to practice the skills of anthropological interviewing, learning in-person from farming families about their livelihood strategies, and make an important contribution toward regional heritage preservation. The Spring 2002 Economic Anthropology class formed the first research team for this project. They kicked the project off by conducting numerous interviews with farming families in Montgomery and Floyd counties (see the team photo below).
		The Fall 2002 Practicum in Anthropology class continued the research by conducting more interviews in Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles, and Floyd counties and compiling a book, Appalachian Farming Life, containing some of the best excerpts from the oral histories conducted throughout 2002. The book has been distributed to schools and libraries in the New River Valley in an effort to help preserve people's stories and knowledge about the NRV farming way of life. To read a February 2004 Roanoke Times article by Paul Dellinger on this Farming Oral History Project, click here: Understanding the region's rural past. Photo above: Spring 2002 Research Team during a project orientation with Farm Bureau members Bob and Charlotte Holland, at the Holland's Lazy H Farm.
		Radford University Project Director/Professor: Dr. Mary LaLone Project Research Assistant: Peg Wimmer Spring 2002 Student Research Team: Tiffany Beaver, Bobbi Jo Burnett, Jaime Iacobellis, Tracey McDonald, Maple Potts, Sarah Smith, Adam Sowder, Britney Walton, & Peg Wimmer Fall 2002 Student Research Team: Tiffany Beaver, Jaime Iacobellis, Tracey McDonald, Maple Potts, Kay Spence, & Peg Wimmer Author: Mary B. LaLone, mlalone@radford.edu Radford University Please request permission before using photos from this site.