Richard Jarrett Oral History

University of North Carolina at Asheville D. Hiden Ramsey Library Special Collections/University Archives Oral History Register for Richard Jarrett Sheriff with owner of whiskey still, balln1383 Ewart M. Ball Photographic Collection D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville, 28804
Title	Richard Jarrett Oral History
Creator	Richard Jarrett
Alt. Creator	Interviewer: Dr. Louis D. Silveri
Subject LCSH:	Distilling, Illicit -- Appalachian Region Education, Rural -- United States -- North Carolina North Carolina -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Underground movements Guerrillas -- North Carolina -- History -- 19th century Tobacco farms -- North Carolina Farm life -- North Carolina
Subject Keyword:	Madison County ; Moonshining/ Bootlegging ; Race relations ; Country store ; Politics ; World War II ; Farm life ; Rural Education ; Renegades/ Bushwhackers ; Depression ; Tobacco
Description	Jarrett describes life on a Madison County farm in the early 1900's, the family home, chores, recreation, foods the family ate and how they were grown, harvested and preserved. Jarrett describes the process of making moonshine whiskey. Although he says, "I don't like to talk about stuff like that," he describes one narrow escape from the law, carrying a load of whiskey in his souped-up 1934 V-8 Ford. He also recounts some of his experiences as a Sea-bee during World War II. Transcript of interview only: no tape.
Publisher	D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC, 28804
Contributor	Richard Jarrett
Date	Electronic Record Issued: 2001-07-19
Type	Text
Format	TRANSCRIPT: 53 double-spaced pages
Identifier	http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/oralhistory/SHRC/jarrett.html
Source	Louis D. Silveri Oral History Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Language	English
Relation	SHRC Hugh Creasman Oral History ; SHRC Gwynn Jones Oral History ; SHRC Ronald Lloyd Baker Oral History ; SHRC Roy Rice Oral History
Coverage	c1900's-1976 ; Madison County, 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	1976-06-18
Biography	Born in Madison County, NC, in 1908, Richard Jarrett was the second son of a farmer who also ran a small neighborhood store. Jarrett worked in the fields, hoeing corn and tobacco, and sometimes attended the nearby one-room school. When he was ten, his father bought another farm in the Bent Creek area, so that the children could attend a "better" three-room school. As a young man, Jarrett worked for the Biltmore Estate, earning a dollar for a 10-hour day, cutting corn and firewood. He also walked into Asheville to sell newspapers and worked as a "printer's devil" for Whiteside Printing Office for three dollars a week.
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Richard Jarrett

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