Oral history interview with Roy Ham, 1977

Roy Ham grew up in Ashe County, North Carolina. He recalls wading through heavy snowfalls, milk bucket in hand, to attend school. He left shortly before high school graduation to contribute to the war effort on the home front, but eventually returned to earn a high school diploma before entering the working world. What Ham did for a living most of his life is not entirely clear, although he has spent a lot of time making stringed instruments and plenty of time having fun. This interview is less useful for gleaning information about the industrializing South than it is for illustrating a life rich in storytelling and song. Skim the interview for more than one anecdote about ghosts; sleeping in a ditch after an evening at the movies; mistaking groundhogs for polecats; telling lies; and doing on-stage back flips at a concert. Listen for some music. This interview is captivating; it may or may not be useful.