Collections >> Oral Histories of the American South >> Document Menu
Oral History Interview with Clyda Coward and Debra Coward, May 30, 2001. Interview K-0833. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Audio Options
Transcript Only (52 p.)
Abstract
In the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, Clyda Coward, joined by her daughter Debra and other family members, remembers her childhood in rural North Carolina in the 1930s and 1940s and describes the impact of the flood on her community in Tick Bite, North Carolina. Coward grew up poor but well cared-for by strict, hard-working parents. She remembers working on her father's farm—which he bought after a stint as a tenant farmer—and finding time to play with her siblings on the long walk to work. Her upbringing bound her to the area and to her community. In addition to describing her personal history, Coward remembers two significant events: the arrival of DuPont and the destruction wrought by Hurricane Floyd. DuPont helped the community by giving many of its residents jobs. Floyd, however, damaged the stability that DuPont brought. Unlike previous natural disasters, the flooding caused by Floyd managed to drive Tick Bite residents from their homes and keep them from communal gathering places. This interview will be useful for researchers interested in historic and contemporary poor rural communities.
Learn More
This interview is part of the Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007), a collection of over
4,000 interviews housed at the Southern Historical Collection.
Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.
Return to Oral Histories of the American South Home Page
Return to Documenting the American South Home Page
© Copyright 2004 by the University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all rights reserved
Copyright / Usage Statement
URL: http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-0833/menu.html
Last updated May 17, 2008