Story Gathering Project Interview Archive

The Urban Appalachian Kith and Kin Story Gathering Project is an activity of the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, a small nonprofit which formed in 2014 when the decades old Urban Appalachian Council was disbanded.

The first stage of the Urban Appalachian Story Gathering Project began in 2021 with video interviews, a model is based on NPR’s StoryCorps Project. Members of the urban Appalachian community interviewed friends, family members and colleagues about their lives and family’s history. 45 videos of interviews conducted with 44 individuals are part of this archive; some interviews have more than one recording and some interviews are with more than one person. Each interview has an accompanying transcript. These transcripts are in some instances edited for clarity and length.

 In addition to individual interviews, this archive includes seven “Video Quilts,” composite videos without transcripts wherein individual interviews segments on related subjects are pieced together. These are UACC Story Gathering Project Video Quilt (an Overview); Childhood Memories; Nature; Music; Identity; Food; and Spirituality and Superstations.

Jim Alford
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, December 15, 2021)

Jim Alford grew up in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, and in the nearby suburb of Colerain Township.

Emma Bernay with Susan Carlson
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, January 27, 2022)

Susan Carlson and Emma Bernay are mother and daughter, respectively. Both live in Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

Elliot Cesco
(Interviewed by Matthew Dawson, April 18, 2022)

Elliot Cesco was born in Cincinnati and lives in Hamilton, Ohio. His family is from Williamson, West Virginia.

Thomas Cuni
(Interviewed by Richard Hague, September 14, 2022)

Thomas Lee Cuni was born in Logan County, West Virginia. He now lives in Cincinnati Ohio,.

Staci Dennison
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, June 8, 2022)

Staci Dennison grew up near Zanesville in Appalachian Ohio. She now lives in Bridgetown, in Hamilton County, Ohio.

Myron Gabbard
(Interviewed by Ashley Hopkins, September 21, 2021)

Myron Gabbard was born in 1957 and raised in Hamilton, Ohio, where he still lives. He has family roots in southeastern Kentucky. 

Kim Darpel (Pt. 1) with Bessie & Jerry Gilbert

(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel on February 9, 2022)

Bessie and Jerry Gilbert have roots in southeastern Kentucky, but raised their family in greater Cincinnati, including their daughter Kim Darpel who was present for the interview.

Allison Douthat
(Interviewed by Elyse Irwin, April 4, 2022)

Allison Douthat was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Portsmouth in Appalachian Ohio.

Scott Goebel
(Interviewed by Richard Hague, December 30, 2021)

Scott Goebel was born in Hamilton, Ohio and currently lives in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky.

Kim Darpel (Pt. 2) with Bessie and Jerry Gilbert

(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel on February 9, 2022)

Bessie and Jerry Gilbert have roots in southeastern Kentucky, but raised their family in greater Cincinnati, including their daughter Kim Darpel who was present for the interview.

Jean Dowell (Pt. 1)
(Interviewed by Maureen Sullivan, February 18, 2022)

Jean Dowell grew up in Union Grove, North Carolina and has lived in Cincinnati since 1970.

Melinda Grisco
(Interviewed by Corinne Stanforth, March 21, 2022)

Melinda Grisco was born in Madisonville, a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lives now.

Veronica Hall with Dezire Lowry
(Interviewed by Richard Hague, October 30, 2021)

Veronica Hall and Dezire Lowry are mother and daughter, respectively, whose family is from Hazard, Kentucky. They grew up in Cincinnati’s Madisonville neighborhood, and still live nearby.

Linda Hudson
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, October 15, 2021)

Linda Hudson lives in Covington, Louisiana. She was born in London, Kentucky, and grew up in Cincinnati and in Norwood, Ohio.

Michael Maloney (Pt. 1)

(Interviewed by a Miami University student who wished not to be named, March 28, 2022)

Michael Maloney is a long-time urban Appalachian advocate who was born and raised in southeastern Kentucky, with roots in Lee County, Wolfe County, and Breathitt County.

Marek Maloney-Smith
(Interviewed by Jeff Dey, September 14, 2021)

Marek Maloney-Smith was born in Cincinnati, where he still lives, and has roots in southeastern Kentucky.

Candace Miller
(Interviewed by Cameron Miller, March 31, 2022)

Candace Miller is from western Virginia and lives in coastal North Carolina.

Sondra Saylor
(Interviewed by Michael Maloney, September 14, 2020)

Sondra Saylor and her family, who have roots in southeastern Kentucky, were mainstays in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill neighborhood, and she now lives in nearby Saylor Park.

Chris Smith (Pt. 2)
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, May 25, 2022)

Chris Smith grew up in Cincinnati, and has family roots in West Virginia. He lives in Cincinnati’s Corryville neighborhood.

Nora Stanger
(Interviewed by Maureen Sullivan, November 18, 2021)

Nora Stanger lives in Loveland, Ohio, east of Cincinnati, and grew up in Lawrence County, Ohio.

Elissa Yancey
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, March 9, 2022)

Elissa Yancey grew up in Norwood, a small city surrounded by Cincinnati, and has family roots in Letcher County, Kentucky.

Heidi Arnold (Pt.1)
(Interviewed by Nora Stanger, October 13, 2021)

Heidi Arnold was born in Zanesville in Appalachian Ohio. She is now a communication professor at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Roberta Campbell
(Interviewed by Maureen Sullivan, September 16, 2021)

Roberta Campbell has lived in Northern Kentucky for more than 30 years and is originally from eastern Kentucky.

Kay Connor
(Interviewed by CJ South, March 22, 2022)

Kay Connor was born in 1947 in a Darfork, a mining town in Perry County, Kentucky. She now lives in Maineville, Ohio.

Pearl Hampton with Sally Hampton
(Interviewed by Jerod Bradley, March 31, 2022)

Sally Hampton and her husband, Pearl Hampton live in the Arlington Heights suburb of Cincinnati. and were born in southeastern Kentucky.

Donna Jones
(Interviewed by Nancy Laird, September 15, 2022)

Donna Jones is a long-time urban Appalachian advocate who was raised in the Lower Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Michael Maloney (Pt. 2)

(Interviewed by a Miami University student who wished not to be named, March 28, 2022)

Michael Maloney is a long-time urban Appalachian advocate who was born and raised in southeastern Kentucky, with roots in Lee County, Wolfe County, and Breathitt County.

Ryan Martin
(Interviewed by Ashley Hopkins, September 14, 2021)

Ryan Martin lives in the Lindenwald section of Hamilton, Ohio; he grew up in Hamilton and nearby Fairfield.

Moneeca Phillips with Shree Phillips (Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, September 15, 2021)

Moneeca Phillips and Shree Phillips are mother and daughter, respectively. They live in Cincinnati’s Finneytown suburb, and were born in Middlesboro, Kentucky.

Angela Smith
(Interviewed by Ashley Hopkins, September 20, 2021)

Angela Smith lives in Blanchester, Ohio, in an Appalachian County is near Cincinnati.

Aubrey Stanforth
(Interviewed by Corinne Stanforth, January 20, 2022)

Aubrey Stanforth grew up in Clermont County, Ohio, and at the time of the interview was a student at University of Cincinnati.

Michael Thompson
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, February 23, 2022)

Michael Thompson lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born in Richmond, Kentucky, and one side of his family is from Clay County in the coal mining area of southeastern Kentucky. 

Debbie Zorn
(Interviewed by Micah Champagne, March 23, 2022)

Debbie Zorn was born in Middletown, Ohio, near Cincinnati, with family roots in southeastern Kentucky and Appalachian Ohio.

Heidi Arnold (Pt. 2)
(Interviewed by Nora Stanger, October 13, 2021)

Heidi Arnold was born in Zanesville in Appalachian Ohio. She is now a communication professor at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Roberta Campbell
(Interviewed by Erinn Sweet, July 22, 2022)

Roberta Campbell has lived in Northern Kentucky for more than 30 years and is originally from eastern Kentucky.

Nancy Cook with Sherry Cook Stanforth
(Interviewed by Corinne Stanforth, November 30, 2021)

Nancy Cook and her daughter Sherry Cook Stanforth grew up in Clermont County, Ohio. They both still reside there.

Kathy Hayes
(Interviewed by Nora Stanger, November 1, 2021)

Kathy Hayes was born in western North Carolina and teaches at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Nancy Laird
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, August 2, 2021)

Nancy Laird was born and raised in the East Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, where she still lives.

Michael Maloney (Pt. 3)

(Interviewed by a Miami University student who wished not to be named, March 28, 2022)

Michael Maloney is a long-time urban Appalachian advocate who was born and raised in southeastern Kentucky, with roots in Lee County, Wolfe County, and Breathitt County.

Rex McBride
(Interviewed by Ashley Hopkins, September 22, 2021)

Rex McBride is from southeastern Ohio and lives in Ft. Wright, Kentucky, near Cincinnati.

Katherine Rowell
(Interviewed by Nora Stanger, November 2021)

Katherine Rowell was born in western Kentucky with family roots in southeastern Kentucky. She grew up in New Lebanon, Ohio.

Chris Smith (Pt. 1)
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, May 25, 2022)

Chris Smith grew up in Cincinnati, and has family roots in West Virginia. He lives in Cincinnati’s Corryville neighborhood.

Olivia Stanforth
(Interviewed by Corinne Stanforth, February 2, 2022)

Olivia Stanforth grew up in Clermont County, Ohio, and at the time of the interview was a second-year medical student at Wright State Medical School in Dayton, Ohio.

Sara Moore Wagner
(Interviewed by Pauletta Hansel, May 4, 2022)

Sara Moore Wagner is a poet and teacher living in West Chester, Ohio. She was born in Columbus, Ohio and has southeastern Ohio and West Virginia roots.