Emma Ruth “Kate” Hobbs Bradley was born 13 October 1932 in Petros, Tennessee, a small Appalachian coalfield community in the Cumberland Mountains. Kate was the sixth of seven surviving children in her family. Her father was a coalminer. Kate married Jacob “J.W.” Bradley in 1951. They were married for 67 years, until Kate’s death on …
I am a bit late in getting my bio in, best done in the earlier stages of pending dotage. I am originally from Laurinburg NC a small farming and, then, textile community in the eastern part of the state. I attended Laurinburg HS and at one time was junior Rotarian of the month. Then to …
This interview with J.W. Bradley and Kate Bradley is a follow up to interview U-0803. J.W. Bradley was born in Petros, Tenn., a coalfield community in the Cumberlands. He served as deputy sheriff in Petros. He was one of the founding member of Save our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) and the first president of the organization. …
Topics discussed in this interview with Kate Bradley and J.W. Bradley include: birth in Petros, Tenn.; life history overview; coal mining father; history of Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM); women’s role in SOCM; relationship of Vanderbilt University medical students; Student Health Coalition in 1969; Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA); coal mining in Tennessee; foodways; fundraising; community …
Profile: SOCM began in 1971, under the leadership of J.W. Bradley who sought fair taxation of absentee land corporations. They appealed to the Tennessee government, and won their first battle. Bolstered by their success, the organization then hoped to help local communities with other issues they encountered. These prominently included fighting against strip mining in …
Records, correspondence, and printed material related to the involvement of J. W. Bradley with Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM), an organization founded to support community issues arising from the increase in strip mining in Eastern Tennessee during the 1970s and 1980s. Materials in the collection include correspondence, legal documents, and printed material related to the …
J.W. and Kate Bradley Papers, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill Read More »
[Contributed by Frank Pacosa, April 2017] Memories of Bill Dow and the Vanderbilt SHC Summer Health Fairs It was all about Bill and the world he opened to me. That gravely voice stilled me. And often in his mouth was a toothpick, or hay stalk pulled from the dirt that grounded him. It seemed as …
Stories: Frank Pacosa on Bill Dow and SHC Summers Read More »
Profile: Contributed by Irwin Venick, May 2016 I arrived in Nashville, Tennessee on a hot, humid day in August 1971 not really knowing what to expect. One thing for sure was that I was not in Kansas (meaning for me, New York City suburbs) any more. A recent graduate of the State University of New …
[Story contributed by Angela Carroll Healy, M.D.] Dear All, Seeing the videos and reading the memories of other Coalitioners has made me want to share what working with the Student Health Coalition meant to me. I was a Brooklyn girl, born and raised. I was a junior at New York University (in Manhattan—the farthest I’d …
Profile: [Contributed by Joe Little, February 2016] “As with a growing number of past experiences, my recall is opaque and often self-serving. I don’t exactly remember how I was lured into the first summer of work in 1971 in East Tennessee. But I signed on as a medical staffer, went through training (in the basement …