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WCU - Oral Histories of Western North Carolina

Interview with Lloyd Owen, May 23, 2000

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Interview with Lloyd Owen, May 23, 2000

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Interview with Lloyd Owen, May 23, 2000

MHC_Lower_Owen_2000-05-23_transcript
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  • In this interview, conducted as part of the Agriculture Project by the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, Lloyd Owen of Whittier discusses tobacco farming in Jackson County. He talks about the types of tobacco grown in Jackson County, focusing on burley tobacco, which was grown from the 1920s through the 1960s; his own family began growing burley in the 1930s, selling it in markets in Knoxville or Asheville. Owen talks about government controls on tobacco farming, including the acreage controls of the 1930s and the poundage controls implemented in the 1970s. Before discussing his own history as a farmer, Owen talks about different methods of tobacco curing and how flue-curing differs from other methods. He talks about he came to be a tobacco farmer and the changes he has seen in tobacco farming in Jackson County; Owen stopped farming tobacco around 1995 and he talks about how farming has shifted to other crops. He discusses the importance of hired help and guest workers and how women contributed to tobacco farming, and he addresses changes in planting practice and curing, as well as pest issues and the weather. Owen closes by talking about his work outside farming, including buying and selling grains for local mills and the practices of selling and marketing tobacco.

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Oral Histories of Western North Carolina

These interviews document the communities and culture of Western North Carolina. Topics include the building of the Fontana Dam, the history of WCU, stories from local veterans, integration of the...

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