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Oral History Interview with Charles D. Thompson, October 15, 1990. Interview K-0810. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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  • Abstract
    Charles D. Thompson made a career in the agricultural economy before earning a Ph.D. He began as an agricultural educator but soon learned that farmers knew more than enough about their profession. He educated himself enough to start a farm of his own in 1984, doing so after considerable research (determining that a small farm would be most profitable) and effort (navigating a good old boys network to get a loan). He sold his farm after nearly a decade to earn a Ph.D., and at the time of this interview he was looking for rewarding work. The bulk of this interview finds Thompson searching to recreate the farming community of his youth. While he found financial success, he did not find the spiritual succor he sought.
    Excerpts
  • Interest in agricultural education
  • Farmers struggle in the 1980s
  • Good old boy network makes securing a loan difficult
  • Farming is lucrative but lonely
  • Decline of farm business renders the farm community inactive
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  • 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.