Mike Ross was born on November 8, 1937. His father, originally from Italy, migrated to the United States with his brothers, recruited by a coal company to work in West Virginia. Settling in the Weaver/Colton area, his father met and married his mother, whose family also hailed from Italy. Ross grew up in a large family with 14 children, nine boys and five girls, learning the values of competition and hard work from an early age. His father worked as a coal miner, and the family lived in a company house, managing a garden to supplement their food supply.

Ola Mae Carter was born in Waynesburg, Mississippi, on a small farm with a house that had no roof and hardly a bottom. She was one of six or seven children and started working at a young age, helping a local woman with her garden and cleaning up the yard. When she was still a young girl, she traveled with the woman's daughter who was on her way to California for business. They stopped in St. Inigoes, Maryland, where Ola Mae eventually settled. During their journey, they faced racial discrimination when they were denied accommodation at a hotel because Ola Mae was Black.

Michael Kline interviewed Ona Hovatter and Helen Dotson on December 3, 1985, for the Tucker County, West Virginia Flood Audio Recordings project. Ona Hovatter has lived in Parsons, West Virginia for over forty years, and Helen Dotson is a resident of Limestone. In the interview, Hovatter describes the night of the flood, recalling the unprecedented rise of water levels that reached five feet and three inches in her living room, surpassing even the marks left by the historical flood of 1888.

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.

Paul Schreffler was born on July 28, 1951, in central Pennsylvania. His early life was marked by the death of his father when he was 20 months old, leading his family to relocate to Blairsville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. He moved to Buffalo, New York, during his second-grade year after his mother remarried. Schreffler was a diligent student, earning a scholarship to the University of Buffalo, where he majored in music, studying under notable instructors such as Charlie Mingus.

Ralph Sandora was born on July 3, 1943, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. His family moved to Center Point, West Virginia, in 1957 when he was 13 years old. His father, an immigrant from Italy, arrived in the United States at the age of 11, while his mother was born in the United States to Italian parents. Ralph grew up in a close-knit family with two sisters. He pursued a career as a school bus driver in Doddridge County, West Virginia, and retired from this position.

Randy Moyer was born on July 20, 1963, and raised in Portage, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a close-knit community where outdoor activities like hunting and fishing were common. Moyer started working at the age of 13 and eventually became a long-haul truck driver, a profession he pursued for 18 years. He drove across the East Coast, covering over 3 million miles, and owned two tractor-trailers. Moyer's pride and joy is his son, with whom he shares a deep bond, engaging in various activities like fishing and riding a go-kart.

Robert Stewart Edwards was interviewed for the Steamboat Era Museum Oral History Project. Edwards, born on September 30, 1914, was a lifelong resident of Gwynn's Island with deep roots in the community. His family, including the Fosters, operated a canning factory that employed many locals and migrant workers. Edwards himself was involved in the fishing industry and later operated a marine railway with his father. The interview provides a rich account of life on Gwynn's Island, focusing on the local industry and community activities during Edwards' early years.

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.

Ronald Cole is the operations manager for Virginia-Kentucky Broadcasting in Grundy, Virginia. He has been in broadcasting for over 26 years, primarily in Kentucky and Virginia. Cole was involved in broadcasting during the flood in Buchanan County, Virginia, in 1973. He received a phone call from the civil defense director, John Hash, warning of an impending flood due to heavy water systems moving in. Cole was responsible for opening the radio station early to announce the flood and provide information to the public.