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 French Carpenter Clark French Carpenter Clark was born January 21, 1905, in Blount County, Tennessee. She was the fourth of thirteen children. Her parents were farmers . Mrs. Clark had little to say about her childhood, perhaps because I did not ask her specific questions about those years. I asked her to tell me about rural life, especially during the Great Depression, and as a result, she focused on the early years of her marriage. French Carpenter married Ole (pronounced Ol-ee) Clark on November 1, 1924. Like many Blount Countians, Ole took advantage of the new industrial opportunities at Blount County’s Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) to try to earn a more secure living than the farm provided. ALCOA constructed its first Blount County aluminum-smelting operation near the county seat town of Maryville in 1914. Although the company constructed some housing for its workers, many local farm folk commuted to jobs at “the plant,” as the locals called it. Some men drove their own cars to work or carpooled with neighbors, and at some points in its history, the company operated a “work bus” system that provided transportation for workers who lived in the countryside. In response to the booming demand for aluminum created by World War I, in 1920 the company added a rolling mill, which rolled aluminum ingots into sheet metal. By 1920, ALCOA employed 3,672 men, including Ole Clark and eventually six of French Clark’s brothers. Ole and French Clark never owned a farm. In the early years of their marriage, they lived in ALCOA’s company town, also known as Alcoa. After one of ALCOA’s periodic layoffs in 1926, the couple went to Detroit, Michigan , in search of work, a common strategy among many southern Appalachian people. Their first son was born in Detroit. Ole Clark worked for a time in Detroit. The couple returned to Blount County three and one-half years later, renting a house in the country. Ole returned to a job at ALCOA, commuting daily for his shift. In the countryside, they kept a garden that provided much of the family’s diet. For several years, the couple ran a crossroads 58 Country Women Cope with Hard Times store. Mrs. Clark tended the store during the week with help from Ole in between his shifts and during the periodic layoffs that were common for ALCOA employees. The couple raised four children. I have known Mrs. Clark all my life. I grew up in the same community. She and her husband were friends of my grandparents. (In fact, Ole made kitchen cabinets for both of my grandmothers when they remodeled in the early 1970s.) One of her granddaughters was formerly married to my mother’s brother, and another granddaughter is one of my closest friends. Nonetheless, I knew little about her life until I conducted this interview. On July 22, 1994, I interviewed Mrs. Clark at her home, a small ranch house in the community where she and Ole spent most of their adult lives. Ole had died in 1986, and by this time, Mrs. Clark’s health was failing. Her mind was sharp, but she found it difficult to move safely around the house unassisted , and her hearing was impaired. A home health care worker was present for the interview, and Mrs. Clark’s daughter, Irma Tulloch (pronounced Tull-ock), arrived at the end of the interview. After I sent the transcribed interview to Mrs. Clark, she completed the family history questionnaire, but she made no corrections to the transcript. Mrs. Clark died in 1997.  Ole and I got married in 1924. November 1, 1924. We set up housekeeping in Maryville. We had an apartment on Lord Street. Then we moved to a house in Alcoa. He was working at ALCOA.1 Irma was borned out there. We lived up there three years and a half. Kenneth was borned up there, but I didn’t want to raise them [the children] up there, so we moved out here.2 Ole worked there at ALCOA, and at that time, they was bad to get laid off up there. That’s what made it so hard. We ran the store there at Big Springs for five or six years. Sometimes people [customers] would bring eggs [to trade for supplies]. We took them to the market I guess. Your grandpa and grandma traded with us. They’d get in that car and come down and get the groceries...

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