Oral history of Bill Hairston, 1 of 2

Identifier:

4224.HairstonBill.AudioInt.001.9.10.19

Title:

Oral history of Bill Hairston, 1 of 2

Date:

2019-09-10

Creator:

Hairston, Bill

Contributor:

Hilliard, Emily

Description:

W.I. Bill Hairston, 71, is a storyteller, old-time musician, and pastor (Westminster Presbyterian Church) living in Charleston, West Virginia. He was born in Phenix City, Alabama, and his family moved to Saint Albans, West Virginia in 1960 when he was 11. Through his storytelling, Hairston, as he says in the interview, combines the Appalachian culture that he was exposed to on the Coal River, to the African-American culture that he is a part of. For 35 years, he served as music coordinator at the Stonewall Jackson Jubilee, and is currently the coordinator of the Vandalia Gatherings West Virginia Liars Contest. Hairston is an active member of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, the Kentucky Storytelling Association, and the Ohio Storytelling Network, the National Association of Black Storytellers, and serves as the West Virginia liaison to the National Storytelling Network. He has performed in concerts, festivals, libraries, corporate meetings, conventions and schools throughout the region and the country. In this interview, Hairston speaks about growing up in one of three Black families in the Lick Skillet area of Saint Albans along the Coal River, his interest in and work with rural West Virginia old-time musicians and 4-H camps, his friendship with Frank and Jane George, experiences with racism in West Virginia, and his work and mission as an Appalachian storyteller.

Subject:

African Americans--Appalachian Region, School integration, Old-time music, Fiddle tunes, Saint Albans (W. Va.), Racism, Big Coal River Valley (W. Va.), Storytelling, Folklore, Folk music--West Virginia, 4-H clubs, Fiddling, Appalachian dulcimer and autoharp music, Banjo, Hairston, Bill

Rights:

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Location:

Charleston (W. Va.)

Format:

audio/wav

Language:

English

Source:

A&M 4224, West Virginia Folklife Program Collection