DARE Interview : Okeechobee, Florida; Primary Informant FL035

Fieldworker

Porter, Ruth

Date

• 1966

Publisher

Dictionary of American Regional English

Summary

• Informant Data:
• FL035: White; male; age: 73 (old); education: grade school; community type: village
• Media Files:
• Arthur the Rat. Speaker: FL035 (5:06) [Some background kitchen noise]
• Full Interview 1 (Tape 0270-S1). [Additional speakers: Informant's wife?]
• Content:
• 00:20 Family moved to area to raise cattle, used to all be open range. Father was first tax assessor of Okeechobee County
• 06:10 After war he went into local politics, got father's old tax assessor job in 1924. Involved in program to eliminate fever ticks after that
• 11:00 Deer hunting to eradicate the ticks, sending various deer parts to Tallahassee
• 16:45 Hunted with crews on horseback, and on foot in Everglades. Go out for a week or two at a time
• 21:45 Buildup of Florida cattle, expansion of citrus acreage since 1955
• 25:25 Involved as a foreman with WPA cattle co-op, helping them get organized
• 30:30 Land boom and bust in 1920s, current boom hasn't busted, yet
• 33:35 Tape end
• Full Interview 2 (Tape 0270-S2). [Additional speakers: Informant's wife?]
• Content:
• 00:10 Development of tourism, but Okeechobee does not have tourist attractions. Peaceful place, though
• 04:40 Changes in voting districts ordered by Supreme Court offend him, lost voting power
• 07:00 Arthur the Rat
• 12:00 Reflections on religion, changes made by the young
• 13:05 Tape end