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Interviewee
Mace, Herman
Identifier
SNP086
Format
1 audio file (running time: 0:34:01)
Interview Number
SNP-86
Date of Interview
3-28-1978
Description
Records an interview with Herman Mace, who lived along Madison Run, near the town of Grottoes, in Rockingham County, Virginia. Describes daily life in the mountains, the means of growing and preserving food and other aspects of the local economy, such as chestnut and ginseng harvesting, bark peeling and moonshine. The Mace family also derived additional income from a mineral spring located on their property. Bottled water from this spring was shipped as far away as Philadelphia and Washington, DC, until the family was removed from the land to make way for the park. A brief chemical analysis of the water follows the end of the interview.
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
Mace, Herman, 1918-1986, Interviews
Family Names
Mace 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; Country life -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Funeral rites -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Courtship -- Virginia – History; Food habits -- Appalachian Region, Southern; Holidays -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) – History; Traditional medicine -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.); Land use -- Government policy -- United States; Distilling, Illicit – Virginia; American chestnut; Ginseng; Bark peeling -- Virginia -- Madison County – History; Mineral waters -- Therapeutic use -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
Place Names
Madison Run (Va.) – History; Rockingham County (Va.) – History; Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Manners and customs; Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local.
Interviewer
Smith, Dorothy Noble, 1915-1999
Transcriber
Bradley, Peggy C.
Collection Title
Shenandoah National Park oral history collection
Collection Number
SdArch SNP
Recommended Citation
Herman Mace interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, March 28, 1978, SdArch SNP-86, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University
Streaming Media
![(SNP086) Herman Mace interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley](https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/snp/1072/thumbnail.jpg)