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[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Fading Rural Lifeways in the Bergton/Criders Area of Rockingham County oral histories, 2001-2002, SdArch 0026, Special Collections, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
Collection was donated on October 1, 2002 by Carol DeHart.
Collection was originally cataloged at the item level; the descriptive metadata was compiled into a finding aid format in 2022.
Criders and Bergton, Virginia are unicorporated communities located in Rockingham County near the West Virginia border. The collection focuses on community life in these areas with attention paid primarily to the introduction of new technology and changes to the rural community.
The collection comprises four interviews focusing on the local life of residents in the Criders and Bergton Virginia areas. With interviewees being Winford Quinten Neff, Ogretta Ruth Smith Turner, Delie May Crider, and Dr. Linford K. Gehman, they variously discuss what their early education and various occupations in the area was like. They cover topics such as the chesnut blight in the 1930s, rural electrification, local variations of "shivaree," which they called "belling," and rural health treatments.
Winford Q. Neff talks about his childhood in Criders and his early occupations including milking cows, debarking trees, and digging graves. He talks of chestnut blight, fur trapping, community events, and the impact of the Great Depression. Ogretta R. Turner recollects on living in Criders for over eighty years and speaks to her experiences with the innovation of the automobiles in the region and the daily necessities of farm life. Delie May Crider, also a resident for over eighty years, recounts her experiences with food preservation, the local schoolhouse, the arrival of the first automobile. Dr. Linford K. Gehman speaks to his early life in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania before moiving to Bergton. He discusses his time in the Korean War, the Biafran War, and how he settled in Bergton and joined the Green Valley Clinic. Gehman comments on treatments for rural AIDS patients and the new advancements in health screening techniques.
Records the reminiscences of Dr. Linford K. Gehman, family physician at the Green Valley Clinic in Bergton, Virginia since 1970. Describes his family and early life while growing up on a farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Recalls the events that led to his medical career, including his decision to register as a conscientious objector after being drafted during the Korean War. Discusses his medical training, internship, and residency at various colleges and hospitals. Describes working as a volunteer doctor overseas for the Mennonite Central Committee, including Vietnam at the time of the Tet Offensive in 1968, and in Nigeria during the Biafran War in 1969. Speaks of joining the Green Valley Clinic in 1970 and relates anecdotes of his experiences there over a thirty year period. Recalls being one of only two doctors serving all of Hardy County, West Virginia. Briefly mentions current and former clinic staff. Comments on changes in local health trends, such as the care and treatment of rural AIDS patients, advancements in health screening techniques, and common ailments of the rural poor. Reflects on the role his religious beliefs have played in his career. Closes with a brief discussion of his work and hobbies as he approaches retirement.
Records the reminiscences of Delie May Crider, a resident of Criders, Virginia, for over eighty years. Recalls her youth and family life growing up on a small farm. Describes her father's work on the farm and in the local tree bark industry. Briefly mentions her extended family members in the May, Crider, and Dove families. Discusses the variety of farm chores and other harvesting activities, including berry picking, "hunting" mushrooms, and chestnut gathering, performed by herself and her siblings. Describes food preservation techniques, such as drying and canning, that were common in the days before rural electrification. Recalls the one-room schoolhouse attended local children, including those from nearby West Virginia. Talks of childhood games and of community activities such as apple peelings and bean stringings. Describes the local variation of the shivaree, known as "belling." Recalls the arrival of the first automobiles in the region, road conditions, and the hazards facing early motorists. Closes with her recollections of her late husband, Ben Crider.
Records the reminiscences of Ogretta Ruth Smith Turner, a resident of Criders, Virginia, for over eighty years. Includes comments and observations by Robby Turner, who was present throughout the interview. Recalls her youth and family life growing up on a small farm. Discusses various farm chores, such as planting and harvesting, soap making, tending hogs, drying foods, and making cheese and butter. Comments on the advent of automobiles in the region, which cut the round trip time to Harrisonburg from four days to four hours. Recalls the lumber camps, general stores, and grist mills that were once common in the region. Discusses everyday necessesities of farm life prior to rural electrification, including wood stoves, feed sacks, kerosene lamps, and the ice house. Mentions communal chores such as haying, butchering, making apple butter, and maple syrup. Briefly speaks of attending Bennetts Run School. Closes with a mention of her late husband Warren Turner.
Records the reminiscences of Winford Quinten Neff, a resident of Criders, Virginia, for nearly ninety years. Discusses his childhood and family life in Criders, and his education at the Caplinger School. Recalls his various occupations over several years, including work milking cows, debarking trees, and digging graves at the Caplinger Cemetery. Speaks of the chestnut blight which killed millions of chestnut trees on the East Coast in the 1930s. Discusses the advent of the first automobiles in the region and the conditions of the early roads. Briefly discusses community events such as church revivals, land clearing, and slaughtering and dressing livestock. Recalls fur trapping, drying fruits and meats, and canning food. Recollects the hard economic times of the droughts and Great Depression of the 1930s. Includes anecdotes of how he was befriended by a wild bear, and was once accused of being a witch.