University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

Oral History Register
for

Dorothy Gaston, 1895-1979


Cover of My Book, by Dorothy Gaston's grandmother, Mary Gudger Moore
Mary Gudger Moore Collection
D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville, 28804

Title

 Dorothy Gaston Oral History

Creator

 Dorothy Gaston
Alt. Creator Interviewer: Dr. Louis D. Silveri

Subject

 LCSH:

Subject

Keyword: Hominy River ; Moore, William ; Revolutionary War ; Cherokee ; American Enka Plant ; Labor reform ; Labor relations ; Personnel relations

Description

Gaston discusses her family history and her career with the American Enka Plant.  The interview includes her reflections on the role of American Enka in developing the region, and her impressions of local workers.

Transcript of interview only: no tape.

Publisher

D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC, 28804

Contributor

 Dorothy Gaston

Date

Electronic Record Issued: 2001-07-16

Type

Text

Format

 29 double-spaced pages ; 2-page letter from Gaston to Dr. Silveri adding details about her employment at American Enka ; 3-page copy of "William Moore's Report" of a campaign against the Cherokee in Oct, 1776 ; 8-page copy of story "The Double Wedding" (1875) by Jennie Moore Clarke

Identifier

 http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/oralhistory/SHRC/gaston.html

Source

Louis D. Silveri Oral History Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804

Language

English

Relation

Mary Gudger Moore Collection ; SHRC J. Wilson Ayers Oral History ; SHRC John E. Jervis Oral History ; John E. Jervis Labor Collection

Coverage

 c1770's-1975 ; Enka, NC
Rights No restrictions ;  Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Acquisition

Donor number: 23 ;  Date of acquisition: August, 1977

Processed By

 Southern Highlands Research Center staff , 1978 ; Special Collections staff, 2001

Interview Date

 1975-08-07

Biography

Dorothy Gaston is a native of Buncombe County and a descendant of William Moore, Revolutionary War officer and leader of the 1776 campaign against the Cherokees, who settled along the Hominy River.  Her grandmother was Mary Caroline Gudger Moore (1833-1917), who recorded memories of her long life in My Book, housed in Ramsey Library Special Collections as the Mary Gudger Moore Collection.

After a decade of teaching in Arkansas, Gaston returned to Asheville, where in 1929 she was employed by American Enka. There she worked as a "labor inspector" recruiting employees, and later in the "Welfare Office," where she investigated employee absences. She retired from Enka in 1960.

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