Interview with Myrtle Carter

Partial Transcript: Then my daddy bought the farm.

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about swimming in the Kentucky River. She learned to swim inside of barges.

Keywords: Swimming

Subjects: Barges--Kentucky Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Do you remember any tides on the river?

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about the floods of 1937 and 1978. She compares water levels and talks about the damage that they left.

Keywords: 1937; 1978; Flood damage; Flood debris; Railroad ties

Subjects: Floods--Kentucky Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: I'd rather live right down there than anywhere.

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about barges and excursion boats that she remembers on the river.

Keywords: Excursion boat; John A; Louise

Subjects: Barges--Kentucky Boats and boating--Kentucky River (Ky.) Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.) River boats--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Now the Merry Man Ledge was right above the home place there.

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about members of the KKK from the area. She says that for them it was not racial it was about taking care of the women and warning abusive husbands.

Keywords: KKK

Subjects: Oregon (Ky.) River life--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Oh, the name John A.

Segment Synopsis: Carter tells stories about various family members. Topics include ghost stories, her father poisoning thieves, influenza, and showboats.

Keywords: Church; Ghost stories; Influenza

Subjects: Distilling Oregon (Ky.) Showboats--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: You remember any of the names of the different showboats?

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks a little bit more about boats on the river.

Keywords: Advance; Falls City; Louise

Subjects: Boats and boating--Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.) River boats--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: And then your mother died in 1920?

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about being called a "river rat" because of where they lived. She says that her father grew crops on the land and they were well-fed.

Keywords: River rats

Subjects: Agriculture--Kentucky Oregon (Ky.) River life--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Alright, there was an ice tide come down Kentucky River.

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about the river freezing over and hauling logs across it. She also says that her father saved a man who tried to cross the river during an ice tide.

Keywords: Ice skating

Subjects: Ice on rivers, lakes, etc.--Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well, you had to fill them full of water to swell them up.

Segment Synopsis: Carter says that her father helped construct barges, was a blacksmith, and had an orchard. She describes her relationship with her father.

Keywords: Barge construction; Blacksmith; Orchard

Subjects: Barges--Kentucky Oregon (Ky.) River life--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Okay now, when you were a little girl, what was left in Oregon?

Segment Synopsis: Carter describes the town of Oregon, Kentucky. She says that it had a church, houses, a closed hotel, and a distillery that closed during the prohibition. She also talks about moonshine.

Keywords: Moonshine; Prohibition

Subjects: Distilling, Illicit--Kentucky Oregon (Ky.) River life--Kentucky River (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: And about the fish...

Segment Synopsis: Carter talks about fishing on the Kentucky River.

Keywords: Catfish

Subjects: Fishing--Kentucky River (Ky.) Oregon (Ky.)