John T. Anvill was born in St. George, Tucker County, and has lived in the area his entire life. He was born to William Anvill and Loretta White, who were also lifelong residents of Tucker County. John was raised in a large family of nine siblings, consisting of one brother and seven sisters. Growing up in St. George, John attended school at Mount Olive, located three miles away from his hometown. He went through at least the eighth grade before taking civil service examinations, though he did not pursue a career in that field.

John "Tucker" Brown, born on July 25, 1938, is a lifelong resident of Avenue, Maryland, a small fishing village. He comes from a lineage of watermen, with both his father, Frank Brown, and grandfather, Sam Brown, being watermen. Brown began earning his own money at the age of eight, crabbing in the creek. He worked with his father until his father fell ill, after which he briefly worked for American Airlines before returning home to care for his family. Brown took over his father's fishing crew and has spent his life oystering and clamming up and down the bay.

subject: Flood control--Virginia; Flood damage prevention—Virginia; Buchanan County (Va.)--History; Grundy (Va.)--Social life and customs; Levisa Fork Basin (Ky. and Va.); Big Sandy River Valley (Ky. and Va.); United States. Army. Corps of Engineers.

Interview with John Lee Callis 

On June 25, 2015, Rob Arnold interviewed Dr. John Maddox at his home in Flushing, Ohio, for a project documenting regional oral histories. Dr. Maddox, curator and founder of the Underground Railroad Museum Foundation, reflects on his life, career, and the legacy of African American history. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1935, Dr. Maddox shares his experiences during the Great Migration, his adoption, education, and eventual move to Ohio.

John Norwood McCarty (1916-2012) was born to a farming family outside of Lively in Lancaster County, Virginia. His boyhood interplay with steamboats involved raising produce that he and his family then delivered to the bustling steamboat wharf to board the vessels for sale. McCarty provided vivid accounts of a rural steamboat wharf community, from a cooperative grower’s packinghouse to the local Speakeasy.

On November 12, 1984, Michael Kline interviewed John Redabaugh for the Stonewall Jackson Dam Removal oral history project in Lewis County, West Virginia. Redabaugh, who has lived in the area for many years, was born into a farming family that has operated in the region for generations.  Redabaugh shares insights into his life as a dairy farmer, his family's history, and the broader agricultural community that once thrived in the area. The interview delves into the detrimental effects of the Stonewall Jackson Dam project on the local community.

On December 19, 1984, Michael Kline interviewed John Reed, head of public relations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for an oral history project focusing on the Stonewall Jackson Dam removal in Lewis County, West Virginia. John Reed, who traveled from Pittsburgh to the dam site, discussed the complexities of the dam's construction and the extensive planning and coordination required among different districts and federal agencies.

A local newspaper reporter, Haynes is owner of historic Hudgins House adjacent to the Crickett Hill Steamboat Wharf on the Piankitank River near the Gwynn’s Island bridge. She discusses the handwritten boarding house ledger dating from 1916 and overnight guests who came from far and wide.

Julie Archer was born on January 31, 1971, and is a native of West Virginia. She grew up near Parkersburg, in a suburb called Vienna. Her father, Gary Archer, worked in a heating and insulating plant and was involved in union organizing, which influenced Julie's early exposure to activism. Her mother, Karen Carpenter Archer, originally from Iowa, met Gary while working at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War. Julie pursued a degree in biology and developed an interest in environmental issues during college.