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Oral History Interview with Darhyl Boone, December 5, 2000. Interview K-0246. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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  • Abstract
    In this interview, Mars Hill town manager Darhyl Boone fondly remembers his childhood in Madison County, which was poor in finances but rich in community values. Boone worries that values—such as charity, hard work, and face-to-face contact—are being eroded by immigration and development and that the construction of the I-26 corridor will accelerate this change. Boone's concern with rural values is obvious, and he tries throughout the interview to describe the values that make Madison County unique. Both he and interviewer Rob Amberg agree that the area has a special quality, bred by its semi-remote location. And both also agree the area is at risk as subdivisions start to pop up and the interstate corridor threatens to bring in waves of new people. Boone shares many memories about growing up in Madison County. A sample of these recollections is included here, most notably those concerning US 23 before its paving and rerouting, but researchers interested in more details on a rural childhood should look through the interview in its entirety.
    Excerpts
  • A memory of childhood in Madison County
  • US 23 brings truckers to his grandmother's café
  • US 23 used to be quieter
  • Change brings the decline of rural values
  • Boone's grandmother represented rural values
  • New roads bring in new residents and change communities
  • New building can bring economic benefits
  • Responding to an influx of immigrants
  • Telephone lines damage the visiting tradition
  • Many residents were pleased with the construction of US 23
  • Growth brings the degeneration of rural values
  • Madison County values are at risk, but not gone yet
  • Growth is the area's biggest challenge
  • Madison County's remoteness put at risk by the I-26 corridor
  • The decline of the tobacco industry puts the county at risk
  • Learn More
  • Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
  • Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
  • Subjects
  • Madison County (N.C.)
  • Boone, Darhyl
  • Mars Hill (N.C.)
  • City managers--North Carolina
  • The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts held by the Southern Historical Collection.

    Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.