Collections : [James Madison University]

Records an interview with Samantha Royer, who worked for Pilgrim's Pride Poultry plant in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Royer discusses variuo stopics including machine maintenance; overtime pay, vacation and benefits; OSHA and workplace safety; the demographics of her coworkers; conflict with co-workers and her concerns about inappropriate behavior; the practice of firing and rehiring at base pay; changes to the company when Wampler (WLR) sold to Pilgrim's Pride; her extended family's involvement with the poultry industry; her views of supervisors and management; and plans for the future. Samantha is married to Adam Royer (SdArch 29-74).

Records an interview with Joel Salatin, a farmer and owner of Polyface Farm, in Swoope, Virginia, who discusses his childhood and current work. Topics include his parents' experiences farming in Venezuela; his relationship with the journalist Drew Pearson; selling eggs as a ten-year-old at a market in Staunton; childhood involvement in 4-H; work for the Staunton newspaper in high school; and the beginnings of Polyface farm. Salatin discusses the poultry and meat production, including biosecurity, Marek's disease and chicken health, poultry feed, the decision to not to gain organic certification, benefits of free-range chickens, industrialized food systems, his employees and his commitment to hiring locally, processing chickens on the farm, regulations and testing. He also discusses his views on farmers' ethical and moral obligations, and views on the future of food.

Records an interview with Sarah B. Sampson, who discusses her experiences living in Harrisonburg. Topics include attending the Lucy Simms School, where she played basketball and other sports; the "urban renewal" movement in Harrisonburg and the impact on the Northeast neighborhood; her mother-in-law's experience of relocating to a development; racism; First Baptist Church and church experiences; the Bundy Boys and school integration. Sampson describes former businesses in Harrisonburg, including stores owned by Joseph and Alfred Neys, Woolworth's, Denton's furniture store, Leggett's, and the Colonnade. She is a member of the the NAACP.

Records an interview with Justina Saylor of Harrisonburg, Virginia regarding her work at the Cargill Distribution Center. Saylor describes driving a forklift, work in the freezer, hours and overtime work, vehicle training, benefits, demographics of coworkers, management, and shipping, among other topics.

Records an interview with Brent Sayre, a poultry farmer from Mount Crawford, Virginia. Sayre describes various experiences in the poultry industry, including his family history and education; raising brooder chickens for Rocco, Inc. and later George's; the challenges of being self-employed; poultry housing and ventilation systems; end market buyers and fast food; biosecurity and poultry disease such as avian flu; litter movement and regulations regarding litter disposal and use; Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) initiatives; and competition and relationships with other poultry growers.

Records the experiences of Garfield Shelton, who provides a general life history from the perspective of a person living with schizophrenia in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Records an interview with Marlan Showalter, farmer at Portwood Gardens in Dayton, Virginia. Topics include growing up on a multi-generational farm; his father's dairy farm and vegetable farm; Nutrient Film System (NFT) for growing plants hydroponically; his work for a geological survey at Mt. Sidney; the coal furnace and radiator used for heating the greenhouses; harvesting lettuce and selling to Harrisonburg city and Rockingham county schools; acquiring permits for the green houses; zoning laws; hydroponics and aquaponics, and introducing the bermundi fish to hydroponic operation.

Records an interview with Debra (Debbie) Sites, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, who discusses her personal history and views on various social services in Harrisonburg. Topcis include past employment, her time living at Our Community Place (OCP) in Harrisonburg; various soup kitchens in the Harrisonburg area; homelessness; experience at the Salvation Army, First Step, Blue House and Harrisonburg and Rockingham Thermal Shelther (HARTS); housing availability in Harrisonburg; disability conpensation, food stamps, and Medicaid; transportation and the bus system in Harrisonburg; involvement of James Madison University students at OCP'; and the Community Services Board (CSB).

Records an interview with Dennis Stoneburner, a poultry grower, and Robert Huffman, owner of Glenn Hill Farm in Broadway Virginia, who discuss their involvement in the poultry industry in the Shenandoah Valley. Topics include their multiple businesses in poultry, cattle, bailing hay and selling poultry litter compost; partnering with Tyson to build grow houses in the late 1970s and 1980s; changes in the industry over time; consolidation within the poultry industry and vertical integration; Rocco, Inc. and Wampler; rising cost of fuel, gas, wood shavings and feed; and the "Holly Farms incident" in 1989.