Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor), 1855-1926, Nursing homes--Employees, Labor union members, Supermarkets, Working class--Songs and music, Strikes and lockouts, Working class families, Food industry and trade--Employees, Labor union locals, Collective bargaining--Service industries, and Labor disputes--West Virginia
Women service industries workers, Working class--Songs and music, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Strikes and lockouts, Food industry and trade--Employees, Labor union locals, Collective bargaining--Service industries, and Labor union members
Folk music--West Virginia, Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining--West Virginia, Purkey, Elaine, Coal mines and mining, Country music, and Working class--Songs and music
![["Sterling Ball (b. January 9, 1947, Parkersburg, WV) is a retired UFCW Local 347 president, labor organizer, songwriter and poet, a former Kroger worker, and veteran. In this interview he discusses the history of Local 347 (which has since merged with Local 400), his songs and poems, his experience in collective bargaining, labor actions, and strikes across West Virginia and Ohio, the future of the labor movement, and more. Ball is a lifelong resident of Parkersburg, WV.This interview is part of a collection of interviews with UFCW member Kroger workers conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic."]](/thumb/4224BallSterlingIntTranscript12320 "Transcript of oral history of Sterling Ball")
![["Sterling Ball (b. January 9, 1947, Parkersburg, WV) is a retired UFCW Local 347 president, labor organizer, songwriter and poet, a former Kroger worker, and veteran. In this interview he discusses the history of Local 347 (which has since merged with Local 400), his songs and poems, his experience in collective bargaining, labor actions, and strikes across West Virginia and Ohio, the future of the labor movement, and more. Ball is a lifelong resident of Parkersburg, WV.This interview is part of a collection of interviews with UFCW member Kroger workers conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic."]](/thumb/4224BallSterlingSongs91221 "Labor songs written by Sterling Ball")
![["Ella Hanshaw (b. Ella Samples, October 7, 1934 Procious, WV- d. July 29, 2020, Seville, OH) was a songwriter and musician who grew up in Maysel, West Virginia. She was most recently living with her husband Tracy in Seville, OH. In the 1980s, Ella, Tracy, and Maxine and Chester Spencer formed the Hallelujah Hill Quartet, performing Ellas original gospel songs and traditional gospel in churches across West Virginia. Hanshaw was raised in a Baptist church, but became Pentecostal in 1991. She experienced holy visions and believed her songs were a gift from God. In 2018, Ellas granddaughter Kelly Kerney, and Kerneys partner Ethan Bullard, produced a CD-R of the Hallelujah Hill Quartet recordings.In this interview, Hanshaw discusses her life in music in West Virginia and Ohio, her songwriting process, her holy visions, and her faith. Ellas obituary reads:Ella E. Hanshaw, 85, of Seville, died Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at her residence after a courageous battle with cancer.Ella was born October 7, 1934 in Procious, West Virginia to Raymond and Pearl Samples.She was a member of the Crossroads Assembly of God. She enjoyed sewing, gardening, playing Hand and Foot, writing and playing music, singing, and praising her God.Ella was a devoted wife to her husband Tracy Hanshaw; beloved mother to her children Pam (Danny) Kerney of Ashtabula, Terry Hanshaw of Seville, Sandy (Walter) Warner of Spencer, Theresa (Dan) Plevny of Parma and Larry Brooks (Sheila) Hanshaw of East Lake; beloved MawMa to her grandchildren Scott, Tracy Lynn, Kelly, Troy, Christina, Jason, Andy, Joshua, Ben, James, Zac, Nick and Ashley; great-grandchildren Maureen, Chase, Ezra, Silas, Hope, Nathan, Dacey, Rachel Ella, Lincoln, and Brooke; brother George Bucky Samples; sisters Ethel Sis Mullins and Ophelia Puggy DeBoard.Ella was preceded in death by her stillborn son Roger Dean, grandson Brian, nephew James Burton, brothers Stanley and Guy, sisters Virginia Ginny, Opal and Eileen."]](/thumb/4224HanshawEllaIntTranscript112018 "Transcript of oral history of Ella Hanshaw")
![["Elaine (Moore) Purkey is an activist songwriter and musician from Harts Creek, West Virginia in Lincoln County. She was born on May 29, 1949, on the same piece of property where she still lives. She was raised in a family of musicians and flatfoot dancers and attributes her powerful voice to the acapella singing she learned as a member of the Church of Christ. As a teenager she played in bands with her brother, and in early adulthood she was the lead singer of a local country band. In the 1980s, she began performing regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show, a live radio program out of Logan County that has been on the air since 1967. She now hosts the show. Purkey wrote songs for the Pittston Coal Strike and Ravenswood Lockout and has performed at concerts and festivals across the continent. Her song \"One Day More\" written for the Ravenswood Lockout, is featured on the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings compilation Classic Labor Songs. Purkey is portrayed in the 2014 film Moving Mountains, based on a book by Penny Loeb. A proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Purkey teaches singing classes to children at the Big Ugly Community Center."]](/thumb/4224PurkeyElaineIntTranscript102716 "Oral history of transcript of Elaine Purkey")