(SNP015) John Bradley interviewed by Smith, Dorothy Noble, transcribed by D. P. Hammond

Authors

John Bradley

Files

Interviewee

Bradley, John

Identifier

SNP015

Format

1 audio file (running time: 1:05:45)

Interview Number

SNP-15

Date of Interview

6-12-1978

Description

Records the reminiscences of John Bradley, who grew up near the Jewell Hollow area of what would become Shenandoah National Park. Describes home and family life, daily chores, schooling, holidays and community events. Among the topics discussed are the growing, harvesting and preserving of food, grist mills, traditional herbal medicines and fur trapping. Includes references to the weddings, wakes and funerals, moonshiners and licensed distillers, toll roads and Skyline Drive. Also refers briefly to local military skirmishes during the Civil War. Mr. Bradley describes communal activities such as apple butter boilings and occasions known locally as frolics where farm families would gather to help their neighbors plow fields or clear away stones. Discusses the impact of the forced eviction of local residents to make way for the national park. Also present for the interview was Mr. Bradley's wife, who is identified only as Mrs. Bradley in the transcript, but whose comments appear throughout.

Rights

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Personal Names

Bradley, John, Interviews

Family Names

Bradley family; Sowers family; Jewell family; Judd family

Subjects

Mountain people -- Blue Ridge Mountains -- Social life and customs; Mountain life -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History; Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs; Rural poor -- Virginia; Farm life -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Country life -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Agriculture -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Food habits -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Folklore -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History; Holidays -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History; Traditional medicine -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.); Folk music -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.); Distilleries -- Virginia ;Distilling, Illicit -- Virginia; Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Marriage customs and rites -- Virginia; Trapping -- Virginia -- History; Land use -- Government policy -- United States.

Place Names

Jewell Hollow (Va.) – History; Page County (Va.) -- History ;Page County (Va.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Manners and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local; Skyline Drive (Va.) – History.

Interviewer

Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999

Transcriber

Hammond, D. P.

Collection Title

Shenandoah National Park oral history collection

Collection Number

SdArch SNP

Recommended Citation

John Bradley interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, June 12, 1978, SdArch SNP-15, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

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