Decline of farm business renders the farm community inactive
Thompson recalls the loneliness of his farm life. He tried to recreate the farm life of his youth, but found himself a member of an "inactive farming community."
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Charles D. Thompson, October 15, 1990. Interview K-0810. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
Hopefully
there is a community of people to have discussions going on, have
friendships going on. So I think of communities and I didn't
experience it along the farm. I said to other people and myself in 1993
when I was planning to sell my farm. I said no matter how hard I worked
on my farm, no matter how much I made my farm
looks like my grandparents' farm, I started to realize that
even though I was making my farm like theirs, in terms of fences, the
colors of the farm and other stuffs I chose, that I can never bring my
grandparents back to work with me. There is nothing, there is no way to
replace human connection. I think perhaps the peak of my Farming
experience, although I began to make so much money later by myself, it
has to go back to the time when I worked with my grandfather together in
the mountains. There is something about the two of us working together
that was right. I most love that one."
- JUN WANG:
-
how about other farmers near you? Do they also work alone?
- CHARLES D. THOMPSON:
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"Most other farms mostly stopped, retired in the community when
I was farming. It's just inactive farming community. Most
people had day jobs."
- JUN WANG:
-
So you didn't have a community life?
- CHARLES D. THOMPSON:
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"No. We did have a group get together in the hay season. We got
paid as a group. I mostly participated. That was something. I involved
fully."