Oral History Interview with Anna Ritchie

NATHAN MULLINS: All right, I've got it going, if you could just state your name.

ANNA RITCHIE: My name is Anna Ritchie. When I was in school here and stayed here at the Hindman Settlement School, it was Napier, Anna Napier Ritchie.

N.M.: What year did you graduate?

RITCHIE: Nineteen and sixty-five.

N.M.: Okay and today is June thirteenth, I believe.

RITCHIE: Uh huh.

N.M.: Nineteen ninety-eight. Ann, when you were staying at the settlement school, what was the name of the building you lived in?

RITCHIE: I stayed a little while in Westover.

N.M.: Westover.

RITCHIE: Which is not here anymore, and then I stayed down in the May Stone Building, in the dorms.

N.M.: In the, below the, where the dining hall is?

RITCHIE: Yeah, uh huh.

N.M.: Was that just a women's dormitory at the time?

RITCHIE: Yes, it was.

N.M.: Tell me a little bit about the dorm.

RITCHIE: Well, I loved it. 1:00N.M.: Really?

RITCHIE: Yeah, I loved those bunk beds, and I loved my housemother, Miss Hall. She was real sweet, and got really attached to her while I was here. I loved the routine that we had. We had our dinner and after that, we would go down and we would have study hall for a while. Then after study hall was over, why we girls just enjoyed ourselves. Just fellow shipped and just enjoyed ourselves here at school.

N.M.: What types of things would you do during that time?

RITCHIE: Well, after school we would go downtown for a little while and come back for dinner. And then after that of course, like I said, we had study hall. And by that time, it was time to just browse around and get ready for bed, you know. We really, on Friday evening, 2:00we'd go home on Saturday, but we started preparing for that Friday evening. On Saturday morning why, we got up and we worked until noon. It was required to work until noon here, which I really appreciate. It taught me, it taught me how to do things the way it should be done. We worked in the laundry room doing all of the laundry, the bed sheet, bed clothing, and towels. We cleaned things here for the settlement, half a day on Saturday before we went home. Stayed home on the weekend. We'd be back here on Sunday evening.

N.M.: Did you go home a lot on the weekends?

RITCHIE: Yeah, I went home almost every weekend. We usually had a ride. I lived on, what they called back then, 3:00Big Branch of Ball, Berryville, not really there anymore since 80 came through there. But we had to walk most of the way. We walked over Sand Lick Mountain and up Big Branch, but that also taught me. And it taught me to appreciate what the settlement really meant. So, I learned a lot here at the settlement. I learned more than just the books; you know. They taught us, tried to teach us manners, well manners and moral standards and things like that.

N.M.: You were talking about your housemother, Mrs. Hall? Tell me a little bit more about her. What was she like?

RITCHIE: Well, she was a sweet lady. I enjoyed sitting at the dinner table with her. She was just friendly and looked over us girls and made sure we were all right. We needed 4:00anything, we were able to go to her and she would help us if she could. And it was just nice to have someone there that was such a good lady, you know, there for us that we could go to.

N.M.: Was she almost like a friend?

RITCHIE: Yeah. Yes, she was. She tried to be a mother to us girls. I was there around four years. I started school here in ninety-two, graduated in sixty-five. In that time, that period of time, you can get attached to people like that, and I loved her.

N.M.: Was she strict though?

RITCHIE: Yes, yes, she was very strict. We had to be in the bed, under the covers at a certain time. But you know, she was nice about it. But we knew that we had to obey. But she 5:00was a nice lady.

N.M.: Did you have to work, do any kind of work during the week?

RITCHIE: Yes, we did. We helped in the kitchen. As for myself, I got up and helped with the breakfast each morning. That was my job, helping with breakfast. Miss Connelly was here at that time, and Miss Eltra, Eltra Roberts. So that was my job, plus the laundry. We worked with the laundry. Also, we had to go and make the beds, I think, on Saturday morning. That was another one of our jobs, was the boys' dorms. We had to kind of go up there and make sure those beds were okay and everything, those apartments were all right.

N.M.: So, you worked in the kitchen?

RITCHIE: Yes, I did.

N.M.: Tell me about the cooks at the time, what were they like?

RITCHIE: Well, they were great. 6:00They really were.

N.M.: I know Miss Roberts.

RITCHIE: Yeah, [Laughing] They were nice ladies. If you got really hungry and needed kind of a bedtime snack you may say, all I had to do was tell them, and especially Miss Connelly. She was very willing to give me a snack if I was hungry. So, I appreciated that. I got very attached to Miss Roberts and Miss Connelly.

N.M.: What were some of the rules that you were expected to follow while you were staying on campus?

RITCHIE: Being here on Sunday evening at a certain time. Leaving Saturday at noon, and no earlier, cleanliness.

N.M.: What do you mean by cleanliness?

RITCHIE: Well, our rooms, our dorms and everything, we had to keep them up. And we had to help, you know, with the 7:00dishes and stuff like that, just everyday chores.

N.M.: Everyday chores.

RITCHIE: Yeah, everyday chores. We had to learn to make our beds and do it right, and just things like that, sweeping and laundry.

N.M.: They kept you busy.

RITCHIE: Yeah, and we'd go downtown once a week, I think.

N.M.: Once a week.

RITCHIE: Once a week, we got to go downtown in the afternoon, especially that one afternoon. There was other times that we went, but especially that one afternoon, we especially were free to go downtown and just look around or whatever, you know. But we had to be back at a certain time, leave at a certain time, had to be back at a certain time.

N.M.: Did the boys have more freedom?

RITCHIE: No, not really, I don't think. 8:00And we really enjoyed and looked forward to Friday evening. That was our family get together here at the settlement. We had our folk dancing and our singing, our folk singing, and just our little get together. And all the students really looked forward to that.

N.M.: Did you have this every Friday?

RITCHIE: Every Friday evening, uh huh.

N.M.: How did you learn about the settlement?

RITCHIE: My mother wanted some way to get me to school. And my mother actually stayed here at the settlement. She already knew about it. Over where I lived there weren't any roads, any school buses or anything. So, that was her way of getting me to school.

N.M.: So, staying at the settlement school was your only option, really to go to high school?

RITCHIE: Yes, it was. If it hadn't been 9:00for the Hindman Settlement School, I wouldn't have got to go.

N.M.: There wasn't any where close?

RITCHIE: No way, uh huh. So, I really appreciate the Hindman Settlement School.

N.M.: So, your mother also, went to the....

RITCHIE: Yes, she did.

N.M.: How about, did any other members of your family attend?

RITCHIE: Yes, I had, let's see I think I had two brothers to stay here and three sisters besides myself, uh huh.

N.M.: And some of them stayed here before you?

RITCHIE: Yeah, they did.

N.M.: So?

RITCHIE: So yeah, they knew about the settlement and Mom had been through here, yeah.

N.M.: Then you already kind of knew a little bit about it coming in.

RITCHIE: I hadn't been here, but yes, I knew of it, yeah. I knew about it.

N.M.: Are there any classes that, while you were staying here at the settlement school and going to Hindman High School, were there any classes that stand out in your mind?

RITCHIE: Over at the school? The Hindman School?

N.M.: Yeah.

RITCHIE: Well, I especially loved the English class 10:00and the typing class and Miss Sort, the home economics. Yeah, that was some special classes.

N.M.: Any special teachers?

RITCHIE: Miss Pratt, I think, Mrs. Morgan, Bobby Morgan's wife, Mrs. Combs. Yeah, there were several, not only them, but there were several.

N.M.: Were you involved in any, like school activities, not necessarily your chores over here, but with the school?

RITCHIE: Well, yeah, you know, little things that they kept, you know, had going, I would help them. Like their little clubs and stuff. Yeah, I loved the ball games.

N.M.: Did you go to the basketball games?

RITCHIE: I went to all the basketball games that I could, yeah. 11:00Loved it. Participated a whole lot.

N.M.: Oh, you got into them.

RITCHIE: No, I didn't play ball.

N.M.: I mean you got into it in the crowd.

RITCHIE: Yes, yes, I did, uh huh.

N.M.: What was the basketball game like?

RITCHIE: Great. [Laughing] Just like, more or less like it is right now.

N.M.: Did they usually pack the gym for about every game?

RITCHIE: Yeah, they did. They certainly did.

N.M.: They were popular a lot.

RITCHIE: Yeah. The Hindman Yellow Jackets. [Laughing] N.M.: Were you by any chance involved in the folk dancing group that would go around?

RITCHIE: No, I didn't go. They had trips to Washington and so on. And no, I didn't. But I had sisters that did.

N.M.: Oh yeah?

RITCHIE: Yeah, my sister went to Washington, and several trips.

N.M.: Who was the director 12:00while you were here?

RITCHIE: Raymond McClain.

N.M.: Raymond McClain.

RITCHIE: Uh hmm.

N.M.: What was he like?

RITCHIE: Well, he was fine. He was strict though. We knew we'd better obey the rules, but he was fine then. We thought a lot of Raymond, Mr. McClain.

N.M.: How about some other workers at the settlement? The Earps?

RITCHIE: I loved Paul Earp and Mrs. Earp. Yes, I did. I especially appreciated them. Paul Earp, he had a lot of humor, and he was jolly. I always looked forward to being around where he was at, you know, because he was jolly and he kept the party going, you might say. And then there was Miss Beeman, we had the little hospital when we needed it out here. Miss Beeman was great, she was also 13:00very strict, very, very strict, but we loved her. We appreciated all our housemothers, and Raymond and Betty McClain. It was family. It was family here.

N.M.: You were talking about Paul Earp, being real jolly?

RITCHIE: Yeah.

N.M.: Do you have any stories about him?

RITCHIE: Yes, I do.

N.M.: Or any memories of him?

RITCHIE: He kind of guided us and he was with us when we'd go out to the boys' dormitory, their dorms to make their beds and stuff. I remember one thing in particular, I was making the bed and he was just being jolly about it, you know. But he said, now I want a fifty-cent piece to bounce on that sheet, you know. He was wanting me to just, you know, be jolly with him. 14:00That in particular sticks out in my mind. He taught me how to do those bed sheets just right. [Laughing] So, you know, things like that I still appreciate. I know how to make beds and wash dishes and things and the laundry. That's important in life. And the settlement taught me all that, helped teach me all that, along with of course, my mother. But I was a teenager here at the settlement and that was a good time to learn just how to do things. And they taught me, and I appreciate it.

N.M.: What about Mr. Still?

RITCHIE: I wasn't acquainted with Mr. Still when I was here. My sisters were, one of my sisters worked with him, I think, 15:00in the library. But as for myself, at that time, I was not acquainted with him.

N.M.: Was he working here at the time?

RITCHIE: Yes, he was, I think, but I just.... Maybe at that time he was away or something, but I wasn't acquainted with him for some reason. I don't know.

N.M.: How about Miss Watts?

RITCHIE: Miss Watts, I really didn't get acquainted with her. She didn't live here on the grounds, I don't believe, at sixty-two through sixty-five. I don't think she was here. I got acquainted with her though, a little bit, by her visits. She visited a little bit, but other than that, I didn't get very well acquainted with her.

N.M.: Did you ever get to speak to her when she visited?

RITCHIE: I don't really recollect. I don't know for sure.

N.M.: I was talking to one other person, and they said, that when Miss Watts would come to visit, they would kind of get worried. 16:00RITCHIE: Yeah, things had to be done just right. Yeah, Absolutely. [Laughing] Things had to be neat and pretty.

N.M.: More than normal?

RITCHIE: More than normal. More than usual, yeah. They wanted it to be just right, for her visit.

N.M.: They wanted to impress her.

RITCHIE: Yeah, uh huh.

N.M.: What was the town of Hindman like at that time, while you were staying here?

RITCHIE: Well, folks were acquainted, one with another. People were closer then, because things were not so booming, you know. So, everybody knew each other. When we would go downtown, we were acquainted with all the folks. It was nice. We were at home, you know, comfortable with people around town and here.

N.M.: What were some stores and things they had downtown at that time? 17:00RITCHIE: More or less about the same, Cummins and Slone, a little restaurant that is not there anymore. I don't remember the name of it though. The dime store, Ben Franklin Dime Store, was there at that time, now gone. Just, you know, things like that.

N.M.: When you would go to town, what were sort of things you would do?

RITCHIE: Mostly we went into that little restaurant, where they had plenty, it was a little restaurant, plenty of room with the booths and everything. We would just sit and visit, talk, have a coke, and you know, Pepsi Cola, whatever.

N.M.: Just kind of hang out with your friends?

RITCHIE: Yeah. Played the juke box, of course. And there was one place that, I believe we danced, 18:00no I believe that was down in Cary, I'm thinking about, not this one downtown. But it was just a little restaurant where we would kind of hang out.

N.M.: That was kind of like the hangout for the...

RITCHIE: Yeah, it was.

N.M.: for the teenagers at that time?

RITCHIE: Yeah N.M.: Did you have any good friends while you were here? Make some good friends?

RITCHIE: Yes, I believe each and every student that was here at that time, we were all just like one big family. They actually, all of them, they felt like brothers and sisters to me. We were all very close, each and every one of us. Yeah.

N.M.: So, you all would hang out together?

RITCHIE: Yes, we did. And we all, on Friday evening when we would have our folk singing and our folk dancing, we could really enjoy ourselves. Because it was truly like one big family here, 19:00for the students.

N.M.: So, you felt real comfortable?

RITCHIE: Really, really comfortable, yeah.

N.M.: What types of things would your friends that stayed here on campus with you, what kinds of things would you all do, during the week, on your, when you had your free time?

RITCHIE: Well, there really wasn't that much free time, but what little free time that we did have, there was a rock wall out here, on the back lawn here. We would all just come and sit on the back wall and just kind of hang out, yeah. On the outside there.

N.M.: Do you ever really remember being just bored?

RITCHIE: No, not really. We didn't have all that much free time. We had a little bit before dinner, a little free time before dinner. And some free time after study hall each evening. There really wasn't a whole lot of time that we didn't have something to occupy us with, 20:00studying and all that. We had things to keep us busy. Like I said, we had our chores to do.

N.M.: They didn't let you sit around too long.

RITCHIE: No, not too long.

N.M.: How did the school change? Were there any changes in the school from the time when you started here, until when you graduated?

RITCHIE: No, when I left here, it was all pretty much the same as it was when I began. Raymond McClain was still the Director here when I left, and the same students. It was all, the four years that I was here, about the same. Everything stayed about the same, there weren't all that many changes at that time.

N.M.: Just tell me a little bit 21:00about the impact that the settlement has had on your life.

RITCHIE: A great deal, a great deal. I was really, you know you might say before I came here, really, really backwards as far as socializing with people. The settlement brought me out of that. I was comfortable with the students that were here. Like I said a while ago, taught me good moral standards, which my mom had a good hand in that too, but the settlement had a big hand in that. Like I said, taught me how to work, and that is important too, in life, you know, you can't just let life pass by, there is work to be done, and the settlement taught me that. I appreciate the settlement. I graduated from high school and was able 22:00to help my children because of that, help them accomplish things through life, you know, and get to school. So yeah, it's been a big help to me.

N.M.: And now, of course, you work here at the settlement.

RITCHIE: Yeah, when I came back here to the settlement to work, I felt like at the beginning, I felt like I had come back home. So, I am still enjoying the Hindman Settlement School, still appreciating the Hindman Settlement School. I really enjoy working here, I do.

N.M.: Now, I had asked you if the campus and the settlement school had changed during your years in high school, but how has it changed from high school, to working here now?

RITCHIE: Well, it's changed an awful lot, 23:00to start with, we had students the year round, here, staying in the dorms. And I miss that. We have the students here in the summer, Summer School, staying in the dorm. And I am glad we do, but I miss the students being here year-round. That's one thing, and another thing, this new kitchen, this new section of course, you know, being added.

N.M.: Yeah, to the May Stone Building.

RITCHIE: Yeah. And the work they've done outside here. I hated to see the grounds go, you know, some of the campus left for the blacktop, the parking lot here. And I hated to see that go. There's been a whole lot of changes. And of course, they don't, the Fridays evenings that I looked forward to when I was here, that's 24:00no more, because there are no students here year round. That seems strange to me there. A great deal of changes, but I'm sure for the better.

N.M.: What's it like working at the settlement school?

RITCHIE: Well, it is a good job. I appreciate the job. Mike is good to us, tries to accommodate us for anything that we need. I appreciate that. I have worked places before that it was kind of hard to get through the day, you know. But this is a good place to work. I appreciate it. It's easy to get along with people and stuff, and I appreciate that.

N.M.: How did you find out about the job at the settlement school when you came?

RITCHIE: Through Debbie, Debbie Beverly, she 25:00was the cook.

N.M.: Former cook, before...

RITCHIE: Yeah, she was, before I came here. She was a friend of mine actually, she was a distant, distant kin, but a close friend, a close friend of mine. She needed an extra hand here in the kitchen. She needed some help, and she called me and asked me if I would help her. I told her I would be glad to. And so, I came to help her. She ended up leaving, going over to Caney Rehab. They offered her a position that she hated to turn down. So, I took on the kitchen full time after that. I appreciate it. I'm satisfied. 26:00N.M.: Now, I asked about the impact of the settlement on your life. What do you think, if any, what has been the impact of the settlement on this area?

RITCHIE: Well, a great deal. The students that were educated here, and those that because of the Hindman Settlement School went on to college. My sister for one, as a matter of fact. The Hindman Settlement School helped her to go, to get scholarships and so on. She went to Berea College. She is now Assistant to the Veteran's Administration in Ohio, the state of Ohio, up there somewhere. And she is getting ready to retire. But if hadn't been for the Hindman Settlement School, she nor I would have had an education. 27:00So, I'm sure, I know there are many, many people out there, due to the Hindman Settlement School, were able to have a career, and maybe even to help Knott County in some way. The Hindman Settlement School has had a great impact on this entire area, I'm sure. Dennis Shepherd, as a matter of fact, over at the Human Services Building out here, the Adult Learning Center. He was one of the students here at that time, when I was here, a very dear friend to me. Just people like that, a great impact out there.

N.M.: Well, is there anything that I haven't asked, that you feel is important, that you would like to say? Or maybe a story that just stands out in your mind, or a memory about someone 28:00that just sticks out, that you haven't shared?

RITCHIE: Well, I think that we've pretty much covered most of it. But just the main thing is how close, the close relationship that the students had with each other here, while they were here. And there were a lot of us. That right there, family, that stands out in my mind. We were all very close.

N.M.: When you say family are you just saying the students?

RITCHIE: Students were, we feel like we were a true, really family. That right there stands out in my mind more than anything, I think. Mr. McClain, Raymond McClain he was real good about bringing the students together and letting us all just socialize with 29:00each other and getting close to each other. I appreciate that fact very much.

N.M.: Did that help, that closeness with all the students, did that help you be able to stay here at the settlement?

RITCHIE: Yes, it did, an awful lot. Because like I said, before I came here to Hindman Settlement School, I was shy, backwards, very backwards. I didn't know how to relate to people.

N.M.: Were you frightened when you first came?

RITCHIE: Yes, I was, but it wasn't very long until I realized that everything was all right.

N.M.: You got comfortable.

RITCHIE: Yes, I got comfortable. Loved the dorms, loved the housemothers, Miss Hall and others. It is very precious to me. 30:00END OF INTERVIEW