Oral History Interview with James Hines

Interview Summary

Introductory remarks

Hines farm is 100 years old, is one mile from Rosine

Born June 22, 1932, mother’s name is Jessie Stogner, father’s name is Johnny Hines

Has one brother (who lives in Louisville), and two sisters, Gertrude, who lives in Rosine, and Barbara, who resides in Grayson County

Identifies as a Baptist and a Democrat

Attended grade school in Rosine and Horse Branch High School

Studied journalism at the University of Kentucky, but did not graduate

Was a desk clerk in the army for two and a half years

Childhood: played in the woods, fields, creeks

Enjoyed reading and writing, wanted to be a writer since he was twelve, unsure what made him want to become a writer

Was afraid to read stories he wrote to people during high school years

Sold stories for extra income while at UK

Worked on father's farm, writes wildlife stories and draws from memories of his childhood as inspiration

Says that youth do not know about the history of Rosine like their parents and grandparents did

Bill Pierce wrote a story, recalled covered wagons going west

Says that people today are not hospitable to strangers like they used to be

Grandpa Hines and older people in the area influenced his life, says they were natural born story tellers

Grandpa talked about people and Hines would write down the stories

Hines spent five years writing about his grandfather

Discusses tumultuous marriage

All of his children are deceased, has one living stepdaughter

His first wife was nurse, his second wife was a person with a disability, and the two had a common love for writing

Made a living through a combination of writing and other odd jobs

Worked bellman in Florida and in southern California

Private detective, welder and DJ in Hollywood, jobs did not tax him mentally and he had a good time, made enough income to continue writing

Left Rosine at sixteen and moved to Evansville and worked as a bolt machine operator

Returned to Rosine to finish high school and

Learned to become a welder through an army training program in Hartford

Worked four months in Evansville, then left UK and headed to California

Lived with first wife in Santa Monica

Loves living in Rosine and describes changes to his life since moving back

Had a purpose to write about the country when he was younger

Says Bill Monroe stuck to his music

William Pierce was a fiddler, his son Myron played guitar

Melvin Kassinger and Tatter Bill Allen were also fiddlers, Melvin always had a fiddle in his hands

When he was younger, Melvin had his bow greased by children playing a prank on him

Cletus Baize died of cancer

Musicians lived to play their own songs

Uncle Pen traded items

Says cars were rare in the county during the 1930s

Lots of fights and violence, Rosine experienced murders as well, Charlie Monroe was injured in a fight

People were shot on the railroad tracks, discusses circumstances behind the murders

William and Myron Pierce walked ten miles to play and got paid $25, made about $500 in total off of performing at dances

Dances were held at private homes and many people from the community attended

People came by wagon into town to run errands

Hines comments on Folklore and writing

Uncle Pen was the master of the fiddle, considers his influence on Bill Monroe

Pen and William Pierce played together, William Pierce owned Pen's fiddle, Hines’ uncle had the fiddle at one point in time

Judy Chen (a cousin) has the fiddle now, Hines’ uncle bought it from William Pierce

Hines says that does not get much credit for his stories

Hines Started playing at the age of 15, but began writing more when he injured his hand

Wm. Pierce influenced Hines, Hines did not know Pen personally, Pierce was born in 1874

Hines took guitar to William Pierce, they played together

Hines attended Fairview Church and lived close to grandparents

Organ and guitar music was played at church

Uncle played guitar, and the bass fiddle, auditioned for a radio show with Melvin Kassinger

Charlie and Bill Monroe found work in Chicago as square dancers and released several albums

Discussing Nancy Thomas and Ms. Marlin Pierce

Bill Pierce was good craftsman

Mrs. Pierce was of medium build

She was a good dancer, her children played music

One son always wore a suit and carried his fiddle and would play Uncle Pen and Bill Monroe songs

Bill Monroe was born in 1911 (where Uncle Pen used to live)

Uncle Pen owned the farm where James Hines grew up

Uncle Pen lived there when he was married, the house was already built before Pen moved there

Uncle Pen sold the farm to Big John Orchid, and moved to Butler County

Uncle Pen’s son died, he would cry if he heard his name.

Mother and son died on the same day. (Uncle Pen's wife and son)

Talking about oral history grant

Frank Martin good is a friend of Hines

Cletus Baize is a good musician

Bill Monroe talks about the Clee Boys in his book

Hines knows about Cletus Smith, partially blind, and played the guitar

Everyone spent time playing music together

Newsweek had a story about Bluegrass, wrote human interest stories about it, used some of these materials in his fiction writing