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.

Sue Branham, born on July 18, 1937, is the owner of The Corner, a ladies' and children's ready-to-wear business in downtown Grundy, Virginia. She purchased the existing business in March 1977 and continued to teach at Grundy Junior High School until 1991. Branham was directly impacted by the 1977 flood that occurred a month after she acquired the business. She resides on Route 83, outside the floodplain, and has been involved in the community's efforts to address the recurring flood issues. 

Donald Mattingly, also known as "Duck," was born on May 4, 1944. He was raised in the seventh district, in a place he refers to as his home place. His father, Joseph Olin Mattingly, was one of the biggest seafood dealers in St. Mary’s County. Donald grew up in a community where oyster shucking was a common occupation, with many people, mostly people of color, working in the shuck houses. He recalls his father going as far as Piney Point to pick up shuckers to bring down to shuck oysters.

Mary Ridgeway is a lifelong resident of Tompkinsville, a location situated between Newburg and Rock Point. She is the daughter of Emma M. Jackson and Sankston Walter Jackson, and she grew up in a family of six children, with three brothers and two sisters. Her father was a farmer and a skilled carpenter who also worked the river, while her mother was a homemaker. Ridgeway graduated from high school at the age of sixteen and soon after began working at an oyster house at Rock Point, which was established by Mr. Coulby.

"Well, it's a true story.  And it kind of makes me kind of feel sad about it.  But the truth sometimes make you feel sad." 

Captain Arthur C. “Bill” Johnson (1927-2016) piloted international ships through the Chesapeake waters. He easily named the lighthouses he passed regularly along the Potomac River. Johnson spoke with great respect for the pilots of the passenger steamers with whom he exchanged light and whistle signals passing in narrow stretches of water. He outlined the terminology of steamships and spoke with high regard for the statuesque passenger boats around which local economies were based.

William Bryant, also known as Bill, was born on June 20, 1937, in a small crossroads town called Amlin, Ohio, near Plain City in the northwest part of greater Columbus. His father held various jobs, including milkman, railroader, and a captain in the Columbus police department's corrections division. His mother worked at Woolworths and raised six children, five boys and one girl, with William being the second boy. Despite dropping out of high school in his senior year, Bryant joined the Navy at seventeen and later earned a GED.

Interview with Gary Zuckett, Founding member of West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization (WVSORO)

Professor Alan Collins is a distinguished academic in the field of Agricultural and Resource Economics at West Virginia University. Collins spent his formative years in the Western United States, primarily in Phoenix, Arizona, where his father worked for the Bureau of Land Management. His early exposure to natural resource management led him to pursue a degree in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Furthering his academic journey, he obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from Utah State University and Oregon State University, respectively.

Interview with Bill Gorby.  Topics include: Oil &  Gas Drilling in and Around Ohio Farming Community.