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Interviews

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Interview with Bill Westenbarger

Rachel Balkcom and Bill Westenbarger

Bill Westenbarger speaks about growing up in Mount Vernon, and being a farm machinery implement dealer. Westenbarger also talks about how farming has changed over the years, including a sharp drop in farming that occurred in 1978 and marked the end of 'big farming' in the Mount Vernon area.
Interview with Gary Bebout

Lucie Manoussoff and Gary Bebout

Gary Beout talks about his thirty-five years on his farm, since 1959. He discusses the end of small family farming and the growth of cash crop farming. He also discusses the community in Mt. Vernon, and how farming has helped bring people together.
Interview with Bill Stroud

Jamie Wilson and Bill Stroud

Bill Stroud speaks of his history in Knox County, including being president of the bank for thirty years. He discusses family farms and their prevalence in Knox County, and how the community and the farms are interconnected.
Interview with Emily Ross

Kathy Riecks and Emily Ross

Emily Ross of the Farmer's Exchange in Mt. Vernon. She discusses how her husband got her into this career field and how the exchange sold the products the farmers brought in.
Interview with Auctioneer John 'Red' Shaw

Andy Legant and John Shaw

John Shaw discusses growing up on a farm and being in 4H, and getting involved in the auction business; specifically getting involved with agriculture sales. He also discusses how the new buyers are buying bigger sections of land and have bigger equipment, they are less likely to be small, family farms. He says the biggest change he's noticed in his time is that the farms are becoming bigger and the owners are not young people, because it is so expensive to start a farm.
Interview with Kathy Grassbaugh

Andy Legant and Kathy Grassbaugh

Kathy Grassbaugh, the wife and mother of the Grassbaugh family, discusses life on a farm and whether people are born into farming or whether they can start farming at any age with any background. She also discusses how farms are getting bigger and bigger just to bring in the same prices, because of the agricultural economics at the time. However, she also discusses how being a farmer is like being your own boss and you get to control your income.
Interview with John Norris at his Farm

Courtney Coughlin and John Norris

The Norris family talks about their farm that had large amounts of holstein cows. They also discuss safety with children on a farm, including the dangers of having young children on a farm with lots of large, dangerous machinery.
Interview with Darel, Lela and Dan Hathaway

Jamie Wilson, Lela Hathaway, Darel Hathaway, and Dan Hathaway

The Hathaway family discusses operating a feeder pig business, and working on the farm they've lived on since 1958. They also discuss the importance of farming to the local economy.
Interview with Alva and Mary Hall

Mara Bell Mancini, Alva Hall, and Mary Hall

Alva and Mary Hall discuss life on their family farm, including their life as cattle farmers. They also discuss life in the Great Depression, and growing up in Mount Vernon.
Interview with Pam Owen

Courtney Coughlin and Pam Owen

Pam Owen discusses the pull she feels to her family farm, and how she returned to the farm after living in Syracuse for a while. She also discusses growing up on a farm, and the collective identity that being a farming family can provide.
Interview with Alva and Mary Hall

Mara Bell Mancini, Alva Hall, and Mary Hall

Alva Hall reminisces about life growing up in Mount Vernon, racing ponies and riding them to school, before there was traffic and hard roads. Alva and Mary also discuss working on the family farm, and how modern technology has changed farming.
Interview with Tim Norris at the Mt. Vernon Farmer's Exchange

Tim Norris and Courtney Coughlin

Tim Norris, a worker at the Mount Vernon Farmer's exchange, discusses how the Farmer's exchange works, including the crops that come into the exchange and when they come in. He also discusses how the exchange works, and what sort of machinery they use. Tim goes into detail of how exactly the exchange works, so that others can understand the process.
Interview with Dale Grassbaugh

Andy Legant and Dale Grassbaugh

Dale Grassbaugh, the father of the Grassbaugh family, talks about his family farm and about how farming has become more of a business now than simply a way of life. The business aspect is strong for the local farmers. He discusses the economic aspects for local farmers in detail.
Interview with Alva and Mary Hall, Session III

Mara Bell Mancini, Alva Hall, and Mary Hall

Alva and Mary Hall talk of their farm, their children, and how the farm has changed over six generations. They discuss birthing cows, mysteries on the farm, and general farm knowledge.
Interview with John Norris on his Farm

Courtney Coughlin and John Norris

The Norris family takes the interviewer out on the family farm to show her the full extent o the farm. John Norris points out the corn and soy bean fields, which he says do very well in this area. Their farm is right around Kenyon, and they discuss the crops and animals he raises, and John Norris asks questions about the new developments at Kenyon.
Interview with Cindy Grassbaugh

Andy Legant and Cindy Grassbaugh

Cindy Grassbaugh, the second daughter of the Grassbaugh's talks of growing up on a farm and having to feed the calves. She also speaks of how her brothers had more responsibilities on the farm because they were physically stronger. Cindy also talks about how she learned responsibility on the farm, and through the 4-H program.
Interview with Alva and Mary Hall & Jim and Sharon Lang

Mara Bell Mancini, Alva Hall, Mary Hall, and Jim Sharon Lang

Alva and Mary Hall talk about the history of the farm, and farm real estate. They are joined by their great grandchildren and the children's parents, Jim and Sharon Lang.
Interview with Darel, Lela, Dan and Kim Hathaway

Jamie Wilson, Greg Spaid, Darel Hathaway, Dan Hathaway, Lela Hathaway, and Kim Hathaway

The Hathaway family talks about living on a farm, including EPA rulings and new technology. They discuss whether the new advancements will help their farming or not.
Interview with Marcia and Kelly Brown

Kathy Riecks, Marcia Brown, and Kelly Brown

Marcia and Kelly Brown discuss how they started their family farm, and how it wasn't their original path they planned but how they loved the values family farming taught. They also talk about the chores on the farm for the children, and about their family as a whole. Finally, they discuss farming, schooling, and the hardships they experience on a family farm but the joy they get from their farm.
Interview with Anna Grassbaugh

Andy Legant and Anna Grassbaugh

Anna Grassbaugh discusses growing up on a farm, and how that has changed her outlook on life. Grassbaugh discusses her future goal of working for farmers.
Interview with Dwayne Grassbaugh

Andrew Legant and Dwayne Grassbaugh

Dwayne Grassbaugh discusses going to Virginia Tech and taking care of the dairy section of the farm. He also discusses what a family farm is actually like.
Interview with Richard Mavis

Eren Zink and Richard Mavis

Richard Mavis, a long-time resident of Mount Vernon, speaks about his service to the county in the commissioner's office for twenty years. He also talks about the political side of the county, and the experience he has had, as a democrat in Knox County. He also discusses how all the aspects of the community work together to create a stronger community.
Interview with Donald Woolson

Mitra Fabian and Donald Woolson

The owner of Woolson Co. in Mt. Vernon, Donald Woolson discusses his life and his business in Mt. Vernon. Mr. Woolson had been operating the store since 1945. He discusses an earlier, nostalgic, time with less cars on the streets and a more farm-oriented culture.
Interview with Reverend Raymond Lavelle

Raymond Lavelle Reverend and Alisoun Davis

Reverend Raymond Lavelle of the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Mount Vernon speaks of people moving into the area from Columbus and the economic benefits that the movement of people towards these rural areas has for a higher land value and for the community. The Reverend also discusses the idea that family farmers are closer to God and the land as an important sort of holy ground for these people.
Interview with Kenyon Student, Jamie Smith

Jamie Smith and Christina Engler

Jamie Smith, a student at Kenyon College discusses how her county, Morrow, used to be more farmland has now become more sub-urban with more and more houses. She discusses how her neighborhood is now an economic option for people who live in Columbus, because it's not too far of a commute. Because of this the farmland in her county has decreased.