Foxfire 10

Although about a quarter of this collection of oral histories is devoted to folk arts and crafts, such as chair-making and gourd art, the focus in this Foxfire volume is on Appalachian history. The Talluhah Falls Railway's impact on the economy and daily life of Rabun County, Ga., gives the setting for interviews on railroad construction work and operation. Other sections consider the boardinghouses that flourished during Tallulah Falls's late-19th-century era of popularity as a vacation spot, and the building of the Fontana Dam. Interviews also explore Depression life--one man tells how his family got by through snitching apples and hunting possum--and the impact of federal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, with its army-style camp, and dollar-a-day jobs in the Works Progress Administration. Although interviewees occasionally enliven the work with their anecdotes and irrepressible personalities, much of the writing and handling of the interviews is pedestrian, though admirable for high-school students. This volume is likely to interest primarily those who are seeking out material on Appalachia, the CCC or the WPA. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)