Patterns in Parenting Oral History Project
Women in the Whitley County area discuss childbearing and child-rearing practices from the 1920s to the 1950s. Topics discussed include, prenatal care, giving birth at home and in the hospital, midwives, childhood diseases and illnesses, medical care, home remedies, and superstitions. Many of the mothers talk about breastfeeding, feeding, clothing, and toilet training their children. They discuss what toys and books were available and reveal some of the social life and customs of the time. Many of the families lived in coal mining camps during the Great Depression; some faced poverty and hunger and depended on farming and gardening for most of their food.
Interviews
- Oral History Interview with Mildred Painter
- Oral History Interview with Emma Sharp
- Oral History Interview with Carrie Smith, Kate Ellis, Dorothy Campbell
- Oral History Interview with Stella Petrey
- Oral History Interview with Net Morton
- Oral History Interview with Inez Siler
- Oral History Interview with Loraine Kelley
- Oral History Interview with Ruby Allen
- Oral History Interview with Betty Morgan
- Oral History Interview with Ann Brandburg
- Oral History Interview with Martha Canada & Natel Meadors
- Oral History Interview with Frances Canada
- Oral History Interview with Unidentified Interviewee
- Oral History Interview with Josie Carr
- Oral History Interview with Pauline Reynolds
- Oral History Interview with Edna Jones
- Oral History Interview with Guelda Cloud
- Oral History Interview with Mary Ruth Hill
- Oral History Interview with Rhoda Brittain
- Oral History Interview with Edna Canada
- Oral History Interview with Kate Ellis
- Oral History Interview with Della Smith
- Oral History Interview with Mary Lawson