Oral History Interview with Francis Johnson Harvey

Interview Summary

Tent show came through every summer, once a week

Andy Anderson owned theater in Beaver Dam and Hartford

Showed free movie, Hop-A-Long Cassidy, Harvey was about seven at the time

Movies were shown on Thursday nights to large crowds of people, describes the theatre seats as plank-like

Family traveled with the show, other tent shows came through with plays

People came through trying to sell patent medicine

Played baseball when she was little

Rosine had a baseball team, the Rosine Rosine, diamond was located on a flat hill near Hwy 62

The games were free, paid to ride on truck when games were away, played on a men’s team

Changes to the design of baseball bats over time

Bats in the late 1950's, Wendell Allen in a newspaper article said that "Rosine Has Gone to Bats"

Robbie Faye's father owned the bat mill

Evert owned a store in town

1948: Bill Monroe had a baseball team

Boardwalk was created with the purpose being to keep from walking in mud

At one point, there were no square dances in town, maybe because of religion, had cousins who played music

Only went to one play party, discusses, a dance without music, for any age group, the one she attended was held outside

Says there have always been disagreements in Rosine, but the town still retains a special atmosphere to her

Recalls when the federal school lunch program was introduced into the local schools during the Great Depression

Social activities included ice cream suppers

Mr. Wilkens helped a lot of children in poverty during the Great Depression

Biographical Information: born May 31, 1934 in Rosine, of English, Dutch, and Irish ancestry, identifies as a Protestant

Finished high school, and earned several college credits

Was one of children, one of whom was a niece

Siblings are Dewy Lee, Gold Mario, Walter Braxton, Edna Lucille, Almada Lorrine, Thelma Nadine, Witman Allie, and Francis Elizabeth

Niece was Beverly Joyce McKinney, daughter of Thelma Goff and William Andrew Jr.

Father was a farmer, sold timber in winter

Lived on a 100-acre farm and sold corn and tobacco, also kept a garden

Father sold Christmas trees for 25 cents per tree, worked with team of mules

Had a good childhood, mother attended church

Explanation as to why father did not attend church, family got along well overall

Attended Rosine Grammar School then went to Horse Branch High School (graduated in 1952)

Rosine currently has a baseball team and a park

Clyde Brown would bring a movie tent show in the summers, entry fee was 25 cents

No Catholic church in Rosine, Great-Uncle Bill Pierce was Catholic, had a room in his house with a chapel, held mass there if someone who was Catholic in the community died

Built Catholic church in Beaver Dam, Pierce broke the ground for the church

Discusses the history of Rosine

Harvey believes that the residents of Rosine are returning to the ethos they had during her childhood, especially of people working together

Description and function of pie suppers, music was played there

Some of her cousins were musicians, Bud Johnson had beautiful voice

Harvey is the widow of a veteran

Discussion of Wesley Phelps soldier monument in Rosine cemetery, discusses raising money for it

The Leach brothers were in her age group and were talented musicians

Wendell Allen and his group still get together occasionally, Wendell gives back to the community

Robert and Dumie (??) Burton were a husband and wife who played guitar and sang both gospel and popular music, their two eldest daughters sang with Charlie Monroe

Harvey worked from 1952-1966 at an insurance office in Louisville, worked for a gas company in Louisville

Was unable to find work in Rosine in the 1950s, had family in Louisville

Also worked at a dry cleaning store and a clothing store

1966: worked at the Kentucky School for the Blind

Met he husband in Louisville

No culture shock in Louisville, fit in because of her family support network

Experienced culture shock when she returned to Rosine

Moved to Hartford in 1988 for 1 year, but her son wanted to come back

Moved to Rosine in November of 1989, no culture shock in Hartford

Had to adjust to not having a car in Rosine

Worked for a social service agency for a few years in Louisville