Oral Histories: Arkansas Ozark Lifestyle

Interviews within this collection contain old stories and local sayings from the Mountain View (Stone County) and surrounding areas in north central Arkansas.

 

Interviewee:  Various

Date June 1979

A collections of stories and saying from residents of Mt View including Essie Anderson, Vaughn Brewer, Hervey Howington, Jennie Lou Hinkle, Edith Lancaster Huey, Bill Rosa, Windel T. Dyer, Wayman Evans, Freddie Luther, Kay Brewer, and Jimmy Driftwood.

 

Interviewee:  Ben Dickey

Interviewer:  Lenette Taylor

Date June 22, 1988

Mr. Dickey was born in Cave Creek, Arkansas in 1889. He married Vera (Dickey) Wakefield in 1924 in Cave Creek. Mr. Dickey worked as a farmer, raising crops and livestock.

 

Interviewee: Vera Dickey

Interviewer: Lenette Taylor

Date: June 22, 1988

Mrs. Dickey was born in Cleveland County, Arkansas in 1901. She married Ben Dickey in 1924 in Cave Creek, Arkansas. She worked as a homemaker, raising their nine children.

 

Interviewee: Troy Martin

Interviewer: Vaughn Brewer

This is an incomplete interview with Troy Martin of Mt. View.

 

Interviewee: Lynn McSpadden

Interviewer: David R. Peterson

Date: August 6, 1998

Mr. McSpadden was born around the Batesville area in 1937. After graduating from Hendrix University with a degree in Literature and Philosophy, he then went on to Duke University for three years, where he got his bachelor’s degree in Theology. He then moved back to Arkansas to work some until he moved to Scotland to attend the University of Glasgow. Mr. McSpadden made a hundred dulcimers, before he went to Scotland, as just a hobby. After a semester in Scotland, he realized that he didn’t want to be in school so he dropped out and moved back to Arkansas. He started teaching English at a high school, but when he got sick one winter, he took a leave of absence and started making numerous dulcimers to pass the time. That’s when he realized that that was what he really wanted to do so he opened up his own shop and that’s what Mr. McSpadden has done ever since.

 

Interviewee: Mary Meurer

Interviewer: unknown

Date: unknown

Ms. Meurer was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Both of her parents were from Germany and met here in Arkansas. Her father and grandfather co-founded The Arkansas Echo in 1891. When her father died in 1930, her brother Carl took over the paper. Due to few subscribers, the newspaper closed in 1932.