Swope, Richard, interviewed by Tim Van Schaick, 2007

Scope and content:

Records an interview with Richard Swope, of Dayton Virginia, who discusses his experiences working in the turkey industry for over fifty years. Swope discusses his childhood on a dairy farm in Dayton; work for Wampler Company in the 1950s as a field representative; raising turkeys under contract with Wampler; changes in turkey breeding and genetics; colony houses in the 1950s that used coal or wood heat; automated feeders and ventilation systems; building costs of confinement houses; drugs, diseases, predators, and problems with noise and rodents; tunnel vs. static ventilation; changes in demand for turkey products; turkey mortality and the disposal of dead turkeys; poultry litter and waste management; free range poultry; ethanol movement and fuel prices; and his views of Pilgrim's Pride, the Shenandoah Valley Poultry Growers Cooperative (SVPC), and Cargill.

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Restricted due to lack of release form.

Parent restrictions:

Access to oral history interviews is governed by a deed of gift signed by the interviewer and narrator(s). Most interviews are open for research without restriction. In instances in which the narrator did not grant permission for full online access to recordings and transcripts, those restrictions are noted in a Conditions Governing Access note for each interview. In some instances, access to audio and transcripts is permissible only within the Special Collections reading room.

Pseudonyms are used when requested by the narrator.

Parent terms of access:
Interview audio and transcripts within this collection are designated as either in the public domain OR the copyright interests have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. Individual copyright status is recorded in a Conditions Governing Use note that corresponds to each interview. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for determining copyright status and obtaining permissions for use rests solely with the user.

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