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

Oral History Register
for

Roy Rice


Post Office, Grimshawe's, NC,  rhs690
R. Henry Scadin Photographic Collection
D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville, 28804

Title

 Roy Rice Oral History

Creator

 Roy Rice
Alt. Creator Interviewer: Dr. Louis D. Silveri

Subject
LCSH:

 Postal service
Letter carriers -- North Carolina -- History 
Appalachians (People) -- Biography

Subject
Keyword:

 Madison County ; Mars Hill College ; Shelton Laurel ; Spillcorn ; U.S. Mail  ; Depression ; WWII ; Appalachian mountain life ; Farming ; Milling; Jesse James Bailey;

Description

Rural mail carrier Roy Rice describes the difficulty of delivering mail over a ninety-three mile route, including hard to reach places such as Shelton Laurel and Spillcorn. He quickly became more than a mail deliverer, providing special services of kindness and thoughtfulness for the people of the isolated mountain communities.

He assesses the impact of the Depression and World War II on his community and occupation, and discusses his impression of the character of the mountain people.

Rice describes his grandfather's Madison County mill, his father's farm, and his own childhood and schooling.

Publisher

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

Contributor

 Roy Rice

Date

Electronic Record Issued: 2001-07-25

Type

Text

Format

 70 double-spaced pages TRANSCRIPT

Identifier

 http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/oralhistory/SHRC/rice.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 Richard Jarrett Oral History

Coverage

 c1900's-1975 ; 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

 1975-08-12

Biography

Roy Rice was born in Madison County in 1903 and grew up in a rural setting.

After completing high school at Mars Hill College, he began teaching at various locations in Madison County, using his summers to improve his certification by attending school in Asheville. He taught between 1922 and 1928, when he became a rural mail carrier.

Initially he carried the mail in a horse and buggy, but soon learned to negotiate his route in a model T Ford, pleasing patrons who had never received such prompt service.  He retired from the mail service in 1950.

Return to Top         Oral History Collections

[Home] [Ramsey Library] [UNCA]