Oral History Interview with Stan Hyatt, November 30, 2000. Interview K-0249. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
Although Stan Hyatt, the North Carolina Department of Transportation's resident engineer on the I-26 project, has helped open Madison County to new residents and industry, he is worried about the effect of opening the area to change. Nostalgia and balance dominate this interview: Hyatt remembers growing up in idyllic rural Madison County, but while he misses the past, he sees the corridor construction as a painful but necessary cure for the county's economic ills. He hopes that the environmental damage I-26 brings will not alter too drastically the environment tourists will drive there to see. This interview, like many of Rob Amberg's interviews, is more of a conversation than a question-and-answer session. Later in the interview, however, Hyatt speaks at length about the I-26 project in Madison County. Researchers interested in this subject should look to this interview for essential background on the project as well as construction details.
Excerpts
Concern about the decline of self-reliance in Madison County
Remembering a poor but self-reliant family
Concern about the decline of self-reliance in Madison County
A shift from valuing land for its monetary worth rather than its inherent value
Concern about the effect of immigration
A short history of US 23
A brief history of I-26
Environmental challenges when building I-26
The massive scope of the I-26 project
Pondering the purpose of the I-26 corridor
Considering the effects of the I-26 corridor on local wildlife
The construction of the I-26 corridor as painful but necessary
Madison County's declining population
The need to sacrifice to preserve the environment
Hoping that the I-26 corridor will bring more good than bad to Madison County
Hope for future technologies to ameliorate smog
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Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
Resources for Educators
Change in the Mountains
Subjects
Madison County (N.C.)
Express highways--North Carolina
Buncombe County (N.C.)--Social life and customs
Ohio University--Students
Highway engineers--North Carolina--History--20th century
Hyatt, Stan
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