(SNP086) Herman Mace interviewed by Dorothy Noble Smith, transcribed by Peggy C. Bradley

Authors

Herman Mace

Files

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

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