Tanbark industry in the Shenandoah Valley oral history collection

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:

Access to oral history interviews is governed by agreements with the narrators. All interviews in this collection are open for research without restriction. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Special Collections staff at library-special@jmu.edu before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Oral history is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright interests for the interviews in this collection have been transferred to James Madison University Special Collections. 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.

Copyright interests for the interviews in this collection have been transferred to James Madison University Special Collections. 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.

Provision of copies of materials in this collection in does not imply permission to utilize materials in excess of fair use. The researcher is solely responsible for determining the copyright status of materials and, if necessary, obtaining permission to use material from the copyright holder.

The copyright interests have been transferred to Carrier Library.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item/interview], [date of item/interview], Tanbark Industry in the Shenandoah Valley Oral History Collection, SdArch 0004, Special Collections, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Summary

Extent:
0.25 cubic feet 4 folders; 4 audiocassettes
Creator:
Barb, Mia, Barb, Mia, Bolgiano, Chris, and Bolgiano, Chris
Abstract:
This collection is comprised of a background paper on the tanbark industry and three oral history interviews recorded in 1987 and 1991 with individuals familiar with the tanbark industry in the central Shenandoah Valley. The 1987 interview was conducted jointly by Chris Bolgiano and John Coleman, and the subsequent two interviews were conducted in 1991 by Mia Barb as part of an oral history project internship.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item/interview], [date of item/interview], Tanbark Industry in the Shenandoah Valley Oral History Collection, SdArch 0004, Special Collections, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection is comprised of a background paper and three audio recordings with corresponding transcripts of oral history interviews conducted in 1987 and 1991 with individuals familiar with the history of the tanbark industry in the central Shenandoah Valley.

The background paper explores topics related the various processes used to produce leather, including references to the peeling, grinding, and extracting of bark to yield the tannin (tannic acid) used to tan animals skins and hides.

The interviews focus specifically on the mills, extract factories, and tanneries in the Shenandoah Valley, including the Timberville extract factory, and the Ziegler, Elkton, and Houck tanneries of Rockingham County, Virginia.

13-leaf monograph describes the tanning industry in the United States and in particular the Shenandoah Valley. Both general information about the industry and specifics about the tanbark process are included. The various processes used to produce leather are described, including references to the peeling, grinding and extracting of bark to yield the tannin (tannic acid) which was used to tan animals skins and hides. References are made to American tanneries in general; specific information is supplied about bark mills, extract factories and tanneries in the Valley--including the Timberville extract (ooze) factory, and the Ziegler, Elkton and Houck tanneries of Rockingham County, Virginia. Transcription summary and letters are related to an interview with Mrs. Lettie Albrite and niece (Ms. Turner-Ritchie) conducted by Mia Barb, at Camelot Nursing Home, Harrisonburg, Va. on March 29, 1991. Refers to Mrs. Albrite's reminiscences of the bark extracting factory at Timberville, Va.; mentions Gen. John Roller, owner. Full transcription and tape of this interview are unavailable.

This interview records the reminiscences of Mr. Wilkins' (D.D. "Hun") days as a bark peeler of chestnut oak and hemlock in the Alleghenny mountains of West Virginia, especially in and around Lost River (also Stump's Run, Moorefield, Lost City and Trout Run). Mentions chestnut blight; blizzard of April 27, 1928. Mentions the Maryland-W. Va. Lumber Co., Natrick Lumber Co. and Williamsport, Md. Tannery. Reminiscences about conditions in the camps

This interview records the reminiscences of Mr. Yankey's days as a bark peeler of chestnut oak and hemlock in the Allegheny mountains in areas around Petersburg, Moorefield, Franklin, Cheat Mt., Cass, and Lost City, W. Va. Describes the process of peeling and transporting the bark. Mentions social life and medical care in camps. Refers to paper mill strike in Davis; work in the Timberville, Va. Peach Cannery. Recorded at the home of Mr. Leecy Yankey of Bergton, Va. on Feb. 26, 1991.

This interview records the reminiscences of Mr. Barb's days as a bark peeler of black, red and white oak in the Allegheny mountains region of Rockingham County, Va., in particular Little Turley Mt. Describes the process of peeling and transporting bark including detailed information on how draft animals (horses and mules) were used. Mentions social life, etc. in the camps. Worked for Neff Lumber Mills at Skidmore Fork Lumber Camp, etc. Recorded at the home of Mr. Kale Barb of Fairway Hills, Harrisonburg, Va. on March 9, 1991

Biographical / historical:

Two of the oral history interviews in this collection were conducted by by Mia Barb, an undergraduate at JMU, who completed the project as part of an internship in Special Collections during 1991 that was jointly sponsored by Carrier Library Special Collections and the U.S. Forest Service. The interview with D.D. Wilkins recorded in 1987 was conducted jointly by Chris Bolgiano, head of Special Collections and freelance forestry writer, and John Coleman, an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. The 1987 interview was conducted in support of the research interests of Chris Bolgiano, who has published scholarship on forestry and the tanbark industry in Appalachia. That interview was assembled with the other two interviews conducted by Mia Barb in 1991 due to the topical focus on the tanbark industry to form a collection of three interviews.

Acquisition information:
1987 interview donated in _____ by Chris Bolgiano. 1991 interviews and background paper donated in 1991 by Mia Barb.
Processing information:

In 2008, Libraries' staff in the media resources department reformatted the contents of the original audio cassettes in this collection, using a Tascam CC-222MKII CD recorder / cassette combination deck to transfer digitized m4a and mp3 files onto MAM-A Gold Archival 700MB CD-Rs to serve as both access copies and preservation storage.

In 2018, the digital archivist in Special Collections completed a large-scale re-processing project to transfer reformatted born-digital files stored on gold CDs off of the physical media and into access and preservation storage environments on Libraries servers. As part of this project, the digital archivist also combined audio files when appropriate for interviews that were originally recorded across multiple pieces of physical media or on different sides of a single piece of media, and applied a new file naming convention constructed from the oral history collection identifer and a component unique identifer used to differentiate among interviews at the file level in the archival description. The archivist saved these newly combined interview files in .wav file format for preservation storage, and also created derivative access file copies in .mp3 file format.

In 2025, as part of an oral history redescription project, archivists corrected errors in file names for audio files in this collection to align with existing file naming conventions for digitized Special Collections materials, and to ensure that all component unique identifiers used within file names for digital surrogates matched the identifiers employed in the corresponding archival description.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard