Oral History Interview with Joan Anderson

A. Taylor: Could you please tell us your full name, including your maiden name.

J. Anderson: Joan 1:00Gray Anderson, I don’t have a middle name.

J. Blythe: And is Gray, GRAY?

J. Anderson: Yes, it’s my maiden name.

A. Taylor: And when and where were you born?

J. Anderson: Boyle County.

A. Taylor: And may I ask your birthdate?

J. Anderson: Sure. August 2, 1940.

A. Taylor: Would you tell us a little bit about your family, like your parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters?

J. Anderson: Well ,my parents are deceased, both of them And I have one brother, a younger brother, and that’s all, I have no other siblings. And they were great parents. . ., I had a great childhood. 2:00And what would you want to know about them?

A. Taylor: Just anything you would like to tell us, like their names, family life.

J. Anderson: My mother’s name was Eliza Gray Coffman, she remarried.

A. Taylor: Could you spell the last name for me please?

J. Anderson: Coffman. And my father’s name was Garnett Gray, , GARNETT, He passed away in ’72 at age 52, age 53. And my mother passed away March 28th, 2006. She was 86, I believe. And ah, my grandmother. 3:00. do you want their names?

A. Taylor: Yes ma’am.

J. Anderson: On her side was Mary Davis and my grandfather was John Davis. And my father’s mother was Georgia Gray, and my grandfather was Henry Gray. She passed away at an early age, that grandmother. . .she was 86, I believe, she died. And as far as my childhood, it was great. I was the only grandchild on my mother’s side see. My brother was born when I was 17 and ah, they both worked, and everything was fine.

A. Taylor: So, did you try to help take care of your younger brother when you were 17?

J. Anderson: Well, I had my first child, when my brother was born, 4:00you know Raymond (she looks at J. Blythe:), when I was 17 and I was jealous. My father, naturally he was going to pay attention to his son. And I wanted, you know. . .him. . . .Garney was born in September; my son was born in December. Garney weighed 10 pounds 11 oz. and my son weighed six pounds and something and I wanted, I thought my father paid too much attention to my brother, you know. And I wanted him to . . and every time he would cry, my father would run to him, and I would sometimes I would pinch him to wake him up. .It was a rival, you know. You don’t know Garnett do you Janice (J. Blythe:)? But 5:00you do know Raymond?

J. Blythe: No, I don’t know Garnett. Yes, yes. I may have seen Garnett.

S. Roberts: What was it like growing up for you? Do you have any special memories?

J. Anderson: Well, we didn’t have the things that you have now. You know, we played with paper dolls up til, you know. We were eleven and twelve years old. We didn’t have computers. We played outside with weeds and dirt, you know. We didn’t have the things that you have. But I had a bicycle and skates. Ah, I didn’t have anyone to play with, except my two cousins; I grew up by myself, you know. But we had fun. You could walk the streets at night without fear, ride with anybody, see. 6:00 .

J. Blythe: This was in Danville?

J. Anderson: Danville, Uh huh. That’s where I grew up. I moved to Lancaster in the ‘60s, ’62. We played with dolls til we was 13 or 14. We didn’t have computers, no videos, not even a television. The radio was our entertainment.

J. Blythe: What kind of programs can you remember on the radio?

J. Anderson: Oh, my! Ma Perkins, Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow; 7:00I guess that’s about it. Because my grandmother, I spent most of my time with her, because my parents worked and ah, they were just on 15 minutes, you know the soap operas. And you know the Guiding Light went off last year and the whole cast was on 60 Minutes last night and they were talking about the radio show. And that’s all we had.

J. Blythe: Any special musicals, anything like that or just music?

J. Anderson: Well, I remember most of my life listening to country music. That’s all my grandmother listened to on the radio and that’s all I listen to now.

J. Blythe: Who are some of your favorite singers, artists, and performers?

J. Anderson: Back then it was little Jimmy Dickens, but my favorite is Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn, ah, especially Johnny Cash, 8:00especially and his wife, June Carter Cash, those are my favorites. I could never get into this other music, you know And LaDonna and LaVal both(her older daughters) know so many country songs because they say, “that’s all we heard, it’s all Mama sung” was those country music. . .I loved it.

J. Blythe: You brought back some good memories of good artists, Loretta Lynn and. .

J. Anderson: Yes, Loretta Lynn especially.

J. Blythe: Well, I remember a lot about Johnny and June Cash, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, and… . .I can’t remember.

J. Anderson: Yes, Dolly Parton. And what was Loretta’s Lynn’s best friend that was killed in a plane crash at an early age, oh, what was her name? I like her too. 9:00I have never seen her, but just heard her music. She was her very best friend, named her first child after her. . Patsy Cline.

S. Roberts: What kinds of activities were you involved in while growing up?

J. Anderson: Well, I was in the school band. I was a majorette and ah, I was in the choir at church. But we didn’t have many activities. I was never into sports, and I’m still not into sports because I had no role models, you know because my father wasn’t into sports and all I had was a father and three uncles, and nobody was into sports. So, I wasn’t into sports. So, the 10:00band was my main thing. I loved the band; the band was my main thing. I was a cheerleader for a short while, but I didn’t like that at all.

S. Roberts: You mentioned that you were in the school band. Can you tell me a little bit about your elementary and high school?

J. Anderson: Well, elementary school, it was just normal, I guess. But high school, I didn’t finish high school; I obtained a GED when I was 49 years old. My picture is right up there. . .See that picture up there when I was 49.

J. Blythe: Could I ask what instrument you played in the band?

J. Anderson: I didn’t play an instrument I was a majorette, yeah, twirled a baton, wore a short dress.

S. Roberts: I did that in school.

J. Anderson: What a baton?

S. Roberts: Color Guard, flags.

J. Anderson: Yeah, they don’t have majorettes 11:00now, we were on the front row. They had a drum major up front; they don’t have that now. And all my kids except one was in the band, Raymond.

J. Blythe: Now what school did you attend for elementary school?

J. Anderson: Bate, it’s just one school, one through twelfth grade.

J. Blythe: So, Bate was in the segregated school system?

J. Anderson: Um hum, it seems odd don’t it. . . . . .one through twelve.

S. Roberts: Could you tell me a little bit about segregation and later on into integration?

J. Anderson: Well segregation it was normal. It’s all we knew. We didn’t know any other way. 12:00That’s how we were brought up in segregation. But I saw a big difference in integration, but you don’t miss what you don’t have. . . . . .. But we lived in the country surrounded by white people, and everybody got along. So, I didn’t really know any difference about prejudice, you see. Nobody taught me that, you know, and we got along fine. But I seen a big difference after, you know integration. It was much better you see, 13:00but I still can’t go in a restaurant and eat by myself, I can’t do that .

J. Blythe: Why not?

J. Anderson: Well, I never could go to those places when I was young, and I couldn’t go by myself and sit down and eat a meal. So, it may seem strange, but I just can’t do it. With someone else fine, but not alone.

J. Blythe: Who do you remember at Bate in terms of students, your friends, teachers. . .?

J. Anderson: One teacher Helen Fisher Frye; she’s still living. Do you know her (question directed to J. Blythe:)?

J. Blythe: Yes, I do.

J. Anderson: Ok, she was my six-grade teacher 14:00and a librarian. That’s one lady I didn’t care for, but as I got older, I gained respect for her and now she is one of my favorite people; she really is.

J. Blythe: How would you say that those feelings changed over time?

J. Anderson: I can tell you that she instilled something in you. She was strict you know, and she made you, I guess do right. And I have the greatest respect for her and when I go to Danville, when I see her, we talk. Most of my teachers, I think have passed away. And most of my classmates have. And the principal then was ah, ah, William Bates. Did you ever know him?

J. Blythe: I’ve heard of him.

J. Anderson: No, not Bates, Summers, William Summers. Bates was my mother’s teacher and principal.

J. Blythe: I knew Mr. Summers, yes, I did.

J. Anderson: I lived two doors up from him on Walnut Street. As you go out in my backyard, and you could talk to him in his backyard. 15:00And I had this habit, my mother left me lunch money, and lunch, by the way cost 20 cents a day, 20 cents a day, a dollar a week. And my mother ,she would leave me my lunch money plus spending money. I would take my lunch money and spend it and charge my lunch. And one day my father and Mr. Summers was talking in the back yard, and he told him (her father) that I had a lunch bill. So, I got, you know punished for that. But ah, let’s see, Michael Smith, he’s, my classmate. We’re still good friends. Then Van Morris. 16:00 .

J. Blythe: And Michael Smith is the owner of Smith-Jackson Funeral Home?

J. Anderson: Yes. And ah, most of classmates just passed away. And I think all the teachers have, except for Mrs. Frye; she got married at a very old age and we had one teacher named, my first-grade teacher was Margaret, what was her name. . .I can’t remember her last name. But she had us calling her Miss Margaret, instead of her last name. And one day I called Miss Fischer Miss Helen and she got very mad; she was Miss Fisher, not Miss Helen. Margaret Andrews, that was her name, my first-grade teacher. And my next second grade teacher was Mrs. Lola Mae Dale.

J. Blythe: I remember her.

J. Anderson: You do? 17:00And Mrs. Mrs. Susie Fish was my--the third grade. . . do you remember her?

J. Blythe: I vaguely remember her. Did you have Mrs. Georgia Doneghy as a teacher?

J. Anderson: I had her as a piano teacher, but I don’t think so, I don’t think so. But I had her as my piano teacher. She taught me piano lessons.

J. Blythe: So, you took private lessons, private piano lessons?

J. Anderson: Yes, but. .I didn’t like it; it was my mother’s idea not mine. It was my mother’s idea not mine. I wasn’t interested. So finally, she just seen that it was wasting her money and the teacher’s time, so she let me quit.

S. Roberts: Can you play the piano to this day?

J. Anderson: No, maybe the scale, Silent Night, that’s about it.. . . .. what I really wanted to do was to play a guitar. But in those days, that was a man’s instrument, you know. 18:00So, ah, they wanted piano, so. .

S. Roberts: You mentioned that you have one brother, and just you. Did either of you pursue higher education?

J. Anderson: Well, he went to college for a while, he went to Eastern, no not Eastern, yes, Eastern, but he didn’t finish. He didn’t really want to go to college; he’s not college material, you know. He lives in Versailles and Janice, (directing question to J. Blythe:), you probably know his stepson, Derrick Briscoe?

J. Blythe: Yes, I do.

J. Anderson: That’s his stepson, in fact he baptized him.

J. Blythe: So, what does your brother do in Versailles?

J. Anderson: Nothing now, he’s on disability now. He did work in a factory, 19:00but he’s got some kind of a leg problem, a nerve in his leg, and he’s on disability. He’s 53. And his wife just got out of the hospital yesterday from major surgery. And do you know Derrick’s mother, Sara?

J. Blythe: No, I don’t.

J. Anderson: Well, see, Derrick just got the job at First Baptist Church.

J. Blythe: So, is he the new pastor at First Danville?

J. Anderson: Yes, and he lives in Shelbyville. . .it’s a very long drive. . . .

J. Blythe: Well, speaking of church, I’ll let Allyse to pursue some questions about church.

A. Taylor: I know you talked about the choir; you sang in the choir; would 20:00you just tell us what was the place of religion in your childhood?

J. Anderson: Well, see, that’s kind of odd, we had an odd situation. My mother belonged to the Christian Church, my dad belonged to the Baptist church, and I belong to the Methodist Church. But I joined the Methodist church one Easter Sunday, we just up and joined. But now I belong to First Baptist Church . And when I was in the choir, I was real young. But Malone (her son) said ‘make sure you tell Janice about Sunday School’. I had a Sunday School, I loved it, I mean, I loved it, and I have pins for three years straight of perfect attendance. He wants me to show them to you . . .And when Raymond was born, I just quit going to church, but my mother was still a member at the Christian Church; she’s now passed away. But I didn’t, the old 21:00church burned, the one that I was in, the old Baptist church, First Baptist Church. I wasn’t all that active, just in Sunday School.

A. Taylor: Did you go to church with your parents?

J. Anderson: I went to my mother’s church with her sometimes. It was right across the street from where we lived.

A. Taylor: Do you know the name of her church?

J. Anderson: Second Street Christian Church. Right across the street. I’d go to Sunday School at First Baptist and then go across the street and go with her to church sometimes.

J. Blythe: Who was the pastor of First Baptist Church when you were there?

J. Anderson: Rev. P.A. Carter. . . .Um hum, do you know what that P.A. stood for? . . ..Pleasant Anthony. 22:00I have a son named after him, not the Pleasant part, just Anthony.

J. Blythe: He pastored there for many years.

J. Anderson: Yes, he did.

A. Taylor: Can you remember your baptism?

J. Anderson: Oh, my goodness! No, I can’t. That was a lot of years ago.

A. Taylor: So, can you just tell us about a typical Sunday service?

J. Anderson: At First Baptist?. . . just a normal, you know, singing, prayer, scripture, collection, that kind of stuff, you know.

A. Taylor: Were there any special events that took place that you remember?

J. Anderson: My favorite memory was the Christmas play; I loved that. 23:00And the Easter egg hunt. We had a huge Easter egg hunt.

J. Blythe: I’m curious, given the location of First Baptist, and the Christian Church, where did you hunt the eggs?

J. Anderson: Well, see it was the old church then, and in the yard around the church. They hid them around there, all in the front, mostly in the front. And whoever found the most eggs got the “golden egg”, big old goose egg, I think.

A. Taylor: What was in the “golden egg?” J. Anderson: I think it was a goose egg, you know, you remember goose eggs. And in those days, you didn’t look for candy-filled eggs, it was real eggs, didn’t we Janice (question directed to J. Blythe:). 24:00J. Blythe: Not candy, but real hard cooked eggs.

J. Anderson: That’s right.

J. Blythe: So, when you got the “golden egg”, it meant that you had the most eggs.

J. Anderson: That’s right.

J. Blythe: Was there any other prize connected with it?

J. Anderson: Not that I remember.

S. Roberts: Did you ever find the “golden egg?” J. Anderson: Never, never.

A. Taylor: Do you remember names of families that went to your church?

J. Anderson: Well, my father’s people, Bertha Gray, Margaret Gray; those are my aunts. Nanny S. Gray, she’s still living, so is Margaret. And my uncles, their names were Henry and Margaret Bates, Mary Joyce Doneghy, . . most of those have passed on too. 25:00A. Taylor: We’ve talked about church gatherings; do you remember community gatherings that brought people together?

J. Anderson: No, I don’t, I don’t think we did. You see now-a-days, they have Thanksgiving dinners, but we didn’t have those. And Christmas dinners. We had Christmas dinners at home with your family.

J. Blythe: Did they have events for Labor Day or. . .?

J. Anderson: The only thing I can remember was we went to Lexington on the eighth of August. I don’t know why the eighth of August. That was a holiday then. But we to Lexington to Douglass Park for a picnic, every 8th of August. I don’t know why the 8th. And we went to conventions, you know, Sunday School conventions. But we didn’t stay overnight because there were no place to stay. Ah, 26:00we went and came back the same day.

A. Taylor: What would you do at Douglass Park?

J. Anderson: Just swing and have lunch. There wasn’t no swimming going on. Just played on the playground. And we took our own lunch.

A. Taylor: And what would that be?

J. Anderson: We’re talking about the ‘50s. . .I guess you’d say, sandwiches, chicken, stuff like that. There was no place to go to buy food , see, you took your own.

J. Blythe: Anything special happen in Danville on the 4th of July?

J. Anderson: Yes, ah, the ballpark on Duncan Hill. They had a big to-do out there. They 27:00played baseball and sold food. And , ah, that’s about it, you know. And Bunny Davis was a big man then. And they had a baseball team. That was fun.

J. Blythe: He (Bunny Davis) actually played a little professional ball?

J. Anderson: Yeah, he did.

A. Taylor: Going back to family, were any of your family members involved in the military?

J. Anderson: Yes, honey.

A. Taylor: Can you tell us about that, the branch, when and where they served?

J. Anderson: I’ve got a wall in here with nothing but military people, do you want to see? I can tell you then who is who.

A. Taylor: Unless you want to wait until the end.

J. Anderson: Ok, then. My son, Raymond. 28:00. . .He served 24 years; he served mostly in Germany, Ft. Polk Louisiana, New York, and Ft. Knox. He got, he served 24 years, and he got out, got tired of the Army, he got out and finished his time with the Post Office, and that’s where he still is now, the Post Office. He could retire now, but he wouldn’t get his retirement, so he’s still with the Post Office. He’s 52, I think. And then my son Anthony he spent three months in the Marines, three months. And 29:00my brother Garnett, he spent four years in the Army. And he was in Germany and Ft. Polk Louisiana. And do you want my son-in-laws?. . . My daughter LaVal ‘s husband spent four years in the Army. . . . . (she is remembering the list), and my dad he was in the Army, too.

A. Taylor: And what was that like?

J. Anderson: Well, he didn’t stay very long. He had very very bad feet and he was discharged, ah, he went in ’45 and came out in ’45. As a little girl I would tease him. I would ask him ‘what year did you go in the Army?’ 30:00He would say ‘’45”. And I would say, and what year did you get out of the Army?” And he would say ’45. But I didn’t realize that he came out alive. And his brother didn’t, and my mother’s brother didn’t. And they was all in. And my mother’s brother was Marvin Davis and he died in England. And my father’s brother, . . . his name was George Howard Gray. 31:00He was in the South Pacific. But I’ve never seen them. They was killed, you know, when I was five years old. I guess that’s about all with the military.

S. Roberts: Can you tell us about the type of work that your family members did?

J. Anderson: My parents both worked at Southern Bell Telephone.

S. Roberts: And how long did they work there?

J. Anderson: My father worked there until he passed away. I think the first job he had was at the hospital, when I was a little girl. but he’s been at the phone company for as long as I can remember. Like I said, he passed away in 1972. And my mother worked there until my brother was born, that was in ’57 he was born , she 32:00worked there until then. She then worked for the Spragins in Danville, the President of Centre College, do you know him (question directed to J. Blythe:)?

J. Blythe: No, but I’ve heard the name.

J. Anderson: She worked for them until she retired.

S. Roberts: Did she do any work at home?

J. Anderson: At home? You mean like housework, oh yes. Her thing was cooking. She made cakes and things like that.

S. Roberts: And what kinds of cakes did she make?

J. Anderson: Sour-cream coffee cakes... .yes, and ah, banana bread, punkin bread. Now that’s a memory I have. Every day when I came home from school, there was banana bread waiting and you had to put it in the oven and put butter on it and heat it. . .no microwave. And now I can’t stand the smell of banana bread; 33:00I can’t stand it. That’s all she made, banana bread, pumpkin bread, put butter on it. We loved it then, you know. And she made jam cakes, too. And she sold that.

S. Roberts: How much did she sell them for?

J. Anderson: I don’t know, but I know she had to go up on them because her supplies went up. I have no idea what she sold them for?

S. Roberts: Do you think maybe for church fundraising activities and other events?

J. Anderson: No, she sold them to individuals. People heard about it. She would make them to order and sell them.

J. Blythe: You mentioned that your father worked for a period at the hospital, would that be Ephraim McDowell? 34:00J. Anderson: Yes, Ephraim McDowell. That was back in the ‘40s when he worked there.

J. Blythe: What kind of work did he do at the hospital?

J. Anderson: I think he as an orderly, I think. I was just a little girl then.

J. Blythe: And when did you come to Garrard County?

J. Anderson: In 1962.

J. Blythe: And you’ve lived here ever since?

J. Anderson: Um hum.

J. Blythe: Now you’ve mentioned LaVal and Donna and Raymond, how many children do you and Kenneth have?

J. Anderson: Six children; three boys and three girls.

J. Blythe: And how many grandchildren?

J. Anderson: Eight grandchildren and . . . . eight great-grandchildren, too.

J. Blythe: Let’s 35:00make sure that I have this right now—six children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren, right? Now you’ve told us quite a bit about Raymond’s career in the military and so forth, anything you want to tell us about the rest of the other children. You mentioned Anthony was in the military, too.

J. Anderson: Well, he was in the military for only a short period. He had an accident; he fell or something. He was in the Marines, and he stayed three months. The rest of ‘em. LaDonna went back to school at 38 years old and finished college at 40. And ah, Val is still working at Gulf State Lock 36:00Ten. And Terry is working at Danville at the in the parking garage at the doctor’s office, she works for one of the doctors there; then as a school monitor, and then she keeps one of Punkin’s kids. And ah, Malone, you know his place closed down, his factory did. But he’s just doing odd jobs now. He was there for twenty some years.

J. Blythe: What was the factory?

J. Anderson: I can’t think of the name right now. . . they changed names two or three times since he’s been there. Kenneth, 37:00. . it was Rex Nord at one time, . . .then it changed to Acoustics, but they moved to Ohio or somewhere.

J. Blythe: And that factory was in Danville?

J. Anderson: Yes.

J. Blythe: You’ve talked a bit about good important events in your life, what are some of the values and beliefs that your parents promoted?

J. Anderson: Be honest, truthful. Just be good all way around. We had different values and different morals than people have now.

S. Roberts: Can you tell us about the work and some of the things that you have done since living in Garrard County?

J. Anderson: I worked in a motel for ten years. 38:00S. Roberts: What was the name of the hotel?

J. Anderson: The Colonel Motel. And when it left, ah, I didn’t do anything for a while, but I took in some ironing. But now I work for Kroger in Nicholasville. I’ve been there going on six years. Most of the time I spent raising of my children. I didn’t even take a job until the last child was in first grade, no second grade. And that’s when I had a job.

S. Roberts: Do you have any hobbies?

J. Anderson: I crochet, that’s about all. See that doll over there, that’s some of my work.

J. Blythe: Could we take a picture of that? 39:00. . . .

J. Anderson: Sure. See I’m left-handed and it’s hard for me to catch on to things. That’s all I can do.

S. Roberts: Did you do the boy as well, also?

J. Anderson: Yes, I did. It’s hard to get those legs straight. . . .

J. Blythe: That’s a beautiful display case.

J. Anderson: My son Anthony got that for me one Mother’s Day one year. He had a friend of his to make it. And the boy is a girl with a haircut. They didn’t have boy dolls then. . . they do now, but not then.. 40:00. .And see I made just the bride first and my stepsister was here from Georgia. And her hairdresser collected those dolls. And she told her about it. And her hairdresser said she would give me $75 for it. And she did and so I sold it to her for $75. And ah, my sister-in-law took it and sent the money back. And when Donna got married the first time, I made another set, and I wanted the groom. I had seen the groom somewhere, and I called this company, and they rushed it me the pattern to me. And that’s how I got the bride and groom. 41:00. . . Now my stepfather made that table for me and see that little gift there wrapped up in white, that is something Terry got for 4-H. She didn’t wear it, so I just wrapped it up and put it in there.

J. Blythe: Well, that’s a good place to display it (in the display case). Now she was in 4-H in high school. Now where did they attend school?

J. Anderson: Raymond only attended Garrard County High School and ah, Lancaster Elementary. And they all attended Lancaster Elementary. But when we moved here, they had to go to Camp Dick see. You see Raymond was already in high school. And Terry and the rest of ‘em went to Camp Dick and then 42:00to high school, Garrard County High School.

J. Blythe: I want to make sure I have all the information correctly—LaDonna, Val, Anthony, Raymond, Terry, who am I missing?

J. Anderson: Now there’s Raymond, LaVal and LaDonna, Anthony, Terry, and Malone.

J. Blythe: Malone, how could I forget Malone? I see him at the church.

S. Roberts: Based on your life’s experiences, what advice would you offer to generations and to future generations?

J. Anderson: Stay in school! I didn’t . Stay in school and learn 43:00all that you can! That’s all my advice. Get all the education that you can get. You’re never too old to get an education. You’re never too old to learn. I told my granddaughter, Malone’s daughter, when she was heading to college, I told her to live like you will die tomorrow but learn like you will live forever.

J. Blythe: Would you say that again?

J. Anderson: Live like you will die tomorrow but learn like you will live forever.

J. Blythe: Now you mentioned that some of your grandchildren have gone to college.

J. Anderson: Yeah, I have ah, two grandchildren in college. Ah, Malone’s daughter and Anthony’s daughter.

J. Blythe: And where are they attending? 44:00J. Anderson: Malone’s daughter is at UK, and I think Anthony’s daughter is, too, I think she’s there too. I think, I get confused with all these grandchildren.

J. Blythe: What are they studying?

J. Anderson: Megan is studying to be a nurse, that’s Malone’s daughter. And LeAnn, I think Telecommunications, I think.

J. Blythe: Allyse, here is in nursing.. . .

J. Anderson: Uh huh, yeah. Is your name Lisa?

A. Taylor: Allyse.

S. Roberts: Is there anything else you would like to add to us about your life in Garrard County?

J. Anderson: No, I’ve enjoyed my life in Garrard County. When I left Danville, it was just a little town. But now it’s done grown so much, I get lost over there now. And I like Garrard County, it’s simple. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody 45:00will help you if you need it.

S. Roberts: You have a beautiful home.

J. Anderson: Thank you.

J. Blythe: It’s nice and quiet. You can see the countryside here, nice green space, it’s wonderful.

J. Anderson: But you know when we moved here, you couldn’t turn around, us with all of these kids. But when they all started leaving—when Raymond left, I said we got five more, and when another one left, we got four more. But when LaVal left, that was it! And it seems the house just got bigger when all of ‘em were gone. It’s really too big just for two people. .

J. Blythe:. . .that staircase is beautiful. I love that staircase.

J. Anderson: I do too. . . … he painted it last year for a gift. He painted all those spirals, 46:00the ceiling, and everything as a gift. Now that’s a job to paint. . .And now-a-days you don’t see a staircase like that; they put some work in that. . . .

J. Blythe: About how old is this house?

J. Anderson: I do not know. I know the whole B. . . Family has lived here and one after the other. And Paul was the last one to live here. And then he built a bedroom and a bathroom and sold it. And everyone that’s lived here has added to it. And every door here is cut wrong. . . .

S. Roberts: Well Mrs. Anderson we want to thank you for your time and for giving us this interview. It will really help us 47:00with our project.

J. Anderson: Well, I hope I have given you something you can use. . ..

J. Blythe: You were talking about Mr. Bates in Danville; he was the principal in Danville when your mother was in school. Well, Mr. Bates actually graduated from Berea College.

J. Anderson: Well, I heard of him, but . ..really, really.

J. Blythe: We keep finding connections with our work. .. not just in Garrard County, but many other counties.

J. Anderson: Now see there was a controversy when the new school was built, what was its name?

J. Blythe: Over Bate Middle School?

J. Anderson: Yeah, but Bate won out, you know. . .