Oral history interview with Darhyl Boone, December 5, 2000

In this interview, Mars Hill town manager Darhyl Boone fondly remembers his childhood in Madison County, which was poor in finances but rich in community values. Boone worries that values -- such as charity, hard work, and face-to-face contact -- are being eroded by immigration and development and that the construction of the I-26 corridor will accelerate this change. The interview is not particularly diverse and reads more like a conversation than a series of questions and answers. Boone's concern with rural values is obvious, and he tries throughout the interview to describe the values that make Madison County unique. Both he and interviewer Rob Amberg agree that the area has a special quality, bred by its semi-remote location. And both agree the area is at risk as subdivisions start to pop up and the interstate corridor threatens to bring in waves of new people. Boone shares many memories about growing up in Madison County. A sample of these recollections is included here, most notably those concerning US 23 before its paving and rerouting, but researchers interested in more details on a rural childhood should look through the interview in its entirety.