Matewan Oral History Project Collection
Sc2003-135

Dan Moore Interview

John Hennen: Sound check on mike 1, narrators microphone, August 3, 1989. Sound check on mike 2, interviewers microphone, August 3, 1989. This is John Hennen for the Matewan Development Center preparing to conduct an oral history interview with Dan Moore in his office at the Matewan National Bank. Uh... it is approximately 1 p.m. Alright Mr. Moore, if you'd tell me your complete name, uh... the date of your birth, and where you were born, please.

Dan Moore: My name is Dan R. Moore and uh... I was born June 3, 1940, and I was born in Buchanan County, Virginia.

J: And where in the state is Buchanan County in Virginia?

DM: It's in uh... Southwest Virginia and it's uh... I was born near Grundy, Virginia.

J: Oh yeah. Brothers and sisters?

DM: Yeah, I have... I have one brother who's deceased in 1964, was a student at Berea, and I have uh... three sisters, one who is a teacher in the Mingo County School System, and one who is a uh...           ________ at the Pineville Hospital in Pineville, Kentucky, and I have a sister who does office work for a coal company in London, Kentucky.

J: Okay, that's my brother-in-law's home town...

D: home town...

J: yeah. Uh... what was your parents name.

DM: My fathers name was Clarence Ray Moore, and he's still living. Lives at Blackberry City. And my mother is Virginia Moore.

J: And maiden name?

DM: Arnold. Virginia Arnold Moore.

J: Is she living?

DM: Yes, she is living also.

J: Did you grow up in Buchanan County then?

DM: We lived in Buchanan County until uh... uh... I was about five years old, my father was a... a coal miner, worked with the Red Jacket Coal Company, later uh... Island Creek Coal Company, and we moved to Blackberry City at the house where my parents live now, and uh... I was raised actually in Blackberry City.

J: Okay, and approximately how old were you when you moved there?

DM: I was about five when I moved there.

J: Did your father move there to this area specifically to go to work for Red Jacket?

DM: Yes, he moved here... he was... worked for Rose Anne Coal Company at a... near Hardy, Virginia, and left there and came to Red Jacket to work for Red Jacket Coal Company and moved to Blackberry City then.

J: And uh... in what capacity did he work for Red Jacket?

DM: He was a blacksmith, work... worked in a shop as a blacksmith. My grandfather was a blacksmith, and... and my father followed the same uh... same trade.

J: That's interesting to me. Did your... did your father uh... apprentice then to... to his father and learn the trade in general...?

DM: Yes. That's correct. Right.

J: Do you remember your grandfather very well?

DM: Yes. Um-hum.

J: How long did he practice his uh... trade?

DM: Well, 'til he was about 72, age 72, of course then, you know, they... they did a lot of things with metal. Most of the tools and things were handmade and handformed and lots of tools they used around the mining industry th... at that particular time, blacksmith was a very important trade in...in a... the mining industry. Many of the tools, their hammers and all of those things were uh... were made on site, so it was a very important uh... position as far as manual labor goes uh... with the coal companies.

J: Di... did your father work exclusively at one mine or did they move him around from mine to mine? As a blacksmith.

DM: He worked... he worked uh... exclusively at one mine and uh... he worked... he began at... at Mitchell Branch uh... there was a... called Mitchell Branch Division at Red Jacket when it closed then he... he uh moved to uh... their number 17 mine which was a new mines, and he worked there 'til it closed. And then he left there uh... when he was uh... sixty years of age, and went to work at Chisholm and Phelps, and worked there 'til he retired as a repairman.

J: So now Chisholm and Phelps were they uh... an independent or were they part of the Island Creek...

DM: No... they... he'd... Island Creek had closed their operations and uh... the Chisholm mines was owned by Pickers and Mathers... Pickens Mathers(?) which was another large company, just an entirely different company, and they only worked for them just a very few years until he retired. He wa... I think he was age sixty when he went up there.

J: What was uh... growing up in and around Blackberry City like, it's general impressions?

DM: Well.

J: Some of your neighbors...

DM: Well, of course, growing up uh... I was one of... of five children, and my brother died, he was a student at Berea, and... and... uh... was killed in a uh... vehicle accident in 1964 driving an ice cream truck. He... he... uh... I was always pretty industrious growing up, I uh... worked           ________ um... um... raised produce and things and sold it. I uh... would uh... uh... dig potatoes for people for half of the potatoes. I sold uh... Saylman Salve and uh... greeting cards and ...

J: Excuse me, what was that salves name?

DM: I think er... at that time it was called Salvan, S-a-l-v-a-n or Saylman Salve and... and uh... I sold Grit papers and uh... did all sorts of odd jobs... and uh... after I... I came home from college uh... I worked a couple of summers driving an ice cream truck, I taught school and drove an ice cream truck in the summer and uh... worked long hours, and usually made more money doing that then I did teaching. My brother was a uh... junior at Berea College, and the summer he came home after I had discontinued working the ice cream truck and I had started just... as... started working in the bank, he started running the ice cream truck and wrecked it up at Ransom, Kentucky and killed him. But... growing up there was five of us and uh... my father was always... he worked hard, worked all the time and a half and the overtime he could work, and his objective was to send all of his children to college. That was what he... that's what he wanted to do was make sure they got uh... a good education. And he was successful doing that.

J: All five kids went... went to college?

DM: All five... yes. And uh... he uh... so growing up we didn't have the things th... the material things that we think that we have to have now. We all had to work, we all were part of the family, and uh...           ________ it's a different life than it is now, most of our... our neighbors were people who cared about each other uh... you didn't hear a lot about people stealing um... or robbing stores, uh... you know you could leave your... your bicycle out, you know, and no one would steal it. And uh... then, I'm sure, we didn't appreciate the value of those things. But uh... uh... I guess uh... the things that we learned growing up were to work hard and uh... and uh... to be honest, and uh... uh... quite a different lifestyle than... than we presently know.

J: When you got into selling produce now, is this when you were a little kid, did you have a little           ________ patch of your own...?

DM: Yeah, yeah, just had... used to... I raise a garden every year, and I would, when I would harvest my crop, I would... would sell it and then if I had neighbors who didn't have time to dig their potatoes I would dig their potatoes for half of 'em, you know, and uh... uh... but I've always from an early age, and then after, when I was uh... about fourteen years of age, I began working for an Elliott Grocery, was... was a community grocery store. Then most of our people locially had all their groceries delivered, and so... I began at age fourteen and someone else drove the truck, and I would unload it or help unload it, and then, uh... when ... as soon as I got my operators card and I started driving. And I worked uh... all of my high school years uh... uh... every hour I could get I a... I worked at this grocery store.

J: Did you say that was Elliott?

DM: Yes, Elliott's Grocery.

J: Is that Charlie Elliott?

DM: Yeah, that's Charlie Elliott's, right. And uh... from the time that... and I always had money, I've... I've never been broke, I've always had money, but I uh... I would leave school, and as soon as I could go home and change clothes I would begin to work and we'd deliver groceries at nine-thirty, ten o'clock of the evening. Work on the Saturdays, and uh... worked there until I uh... graduated from high school, and went to college.

J: How big a radius did you deliver, did you go out Red Jacket an...?

DM: We delivered to uh... uh... Pigeon Creek, and uh... Thacker, number 2 Thacker, uh... up at... near...almost to the end of Ransom, Kentucky. Made a lot of friends, and a lot of old timers who, you know, have since uh... become deceased, came to be friends, and knew me by... by name, and it was uh... not only did I make a... a few dollars and was able to help support myself, I made a lot of friends and uh... even people, some of the old timers, and people I see today are people who remember me from... from delivering groceries to them uh... uh... thirty years ago. J: The grocery delivery is... is definitely a thing that's faded away... wha... how... up until what time did uh... did Elliott continue er... I mean... continue to deliver groceries around here?

DM: Well, probably about the time that I quit doing that was when it was... that was probably the transition period. Because when... up until the... when I was doing it uh... uh... well, up until the time I was doing it uh... all groc... most people delivered groceries or had groceries delivered to them. And they bought groceries differently then. They would order at the first of the month or sometimes they would buy maybe a month's supply of staples uh... flour, lard, you know they used to buy uh... flour in cloth and printed sacks that the family would use then to make skirts and blouses, and things with, and would buy fifty pound uh... containers of lard and... and twenty-five pound bags of grits, and you know, twenty-five or fifty pounds of pinto beans, and uh... you know, it would just uh... they would buy... maybe a typical family with five children would buy four twenty-five pound bags of flour and... and course then, and margarine. Uh... you had to add the color to it. Maybe five pounds of margarine with the color, and fifty pounds of lard, fifty pounds of pinto beans, and then during the month, they would just have to buy their milk, and just th... the small items that they had to fill in with.

J: Now fifty pounds of lard, did that come in one big container?

DM: In one big tub, it was just a metal... round, metal uh... uh... tub, you know.

J: When you... when you ordered a fifty pound tub, now would you turn in an empty tub and...

DM: Naw. I never did that, but uh... we uh... it was common to buy, you know, uh... large quantities of uh... and what people would do, I can't imagine now, a fifty pound bucket of lard, what you'd do with it.

J: (laughter) What would you do with it now?

DM: It was commonplace, you know.

J: What was it... was... was lard used for like cooking oil is now?

DM: Yeah. Th... tha... that's what it was for, yeah.

J: How about uh... fresh meat? Did uh... did Mr. Elliott uh... sell a butcher shop, too?

DM: Yes. He sold fresh meat, and uh... I remember uh... then people bought a lot of slab bacon, you know, they'd get this... this slab, unsliced bacon uh... would get full loins of pork meat, large uh... beef roasts... uh... lots of chickens were sold. You didn't hear a lot about, people didn't order filet mignon (?) or New York strips and uh... T-Bone steaks. It wa... ac... you know, normally were uh... pieces of meat that were used to... to feed, you know, a large family.

J: Was this meat slaughtered locally or was it shipped in?

DM: No. No. It was... I think most of our meat then came from Armour and Company and the           ________ (?) Company. They delivered, the meat trucks delivered in here twice a week.

J: Now Hiram Phillips told me, he used to, this is even into the six... mid sixties, I guess. He used to sell baby chicks by the hundreds, now would that be for people raising their own chickens to eat?

DM: Oh yeah. Right.

J: Eggs... sell the eggs...? That's something else that doesn't go on anymore, I guess.

DM: No.

J: Now, I want you to, if you will, uh... explain for the benefit of future generations, what Grit Newspaper is... I guess Grit is still published, but uh... you don't see it around much anymore.

DM: Course I... I haven't seen a Grit, and I'm assuming that they are still published, but it was a weekly... a weekly paper that carried uh... uh... maybe uh... similar to the USA News Today, but it was a weekly paper, and uh... it carried... there were a lot of human interest stories, and uh... it would carry national news, international news, uh... a lot of human interest stories, an... uh... it would have a buy and sell sections, and a... it was a pretty popular weekly newspaper at that time.

J: How much did it sell for when you...

DM: If I remember it was about fifteen cents.

J: Uh uh. And this would be in the middle fifties or so, I guess?

DM: Yeah, it would've be in... yes. Hmm hmm, uh... yeah, the late forties, early fifties.

J: Did you peddle this down... in downtown Matewan, or did you go door to door and sell it, or both?

DM: I had a... a territory that was... that was uh... mostly in the Blackberry City, the land and the area of Matewan between Matewan and Blackberry City. Didn't get down in uh... seldom got into downtown Matewan.

J: Were there any other... I assume there were other kids around the area selling...

DM: I'm sure, yeah, I'm sure. They were mailed to us. They were mailed to us, came to my... to uh... to the post... to the post office, and we'd get them on Thursday and... and uh... spend Thursday delivering them.

J: Now that's how Grit depended on there circulation, they had... independent contractors all over the country, I guess.

DM: That's correct. That's right, right. And...

J: Oh, when did you finish high school?

DM: Nineteen and fifty-eight.

J: Fifty-eight... and uh... you... did you also attend Berea College?

DM: No, I attended Concord(?) College in Athens, West Virginia.

J: And your degree was in...

DM: I have a B.S. degree in uh... in education field of math, and since that I have uh... done some work in uh... business administration from some of our local colleges and also uh... attended the Graduate School of Banking, uh... which is a three year course at Louisiana State University.

J: Did you... were you on campus, you went down to Baton Rouge?

DM: We went in the summer. We attended Baton Rouge for three summers and then did work uh... uh... during the fall we had assignments uh... that we would do uh... on a monthly basis to the home and then go back to Baton Rouge in the summer and uh... we'd have... have an exam every summer on the work that we did in the fall.

J: Were you ever tempted to move to Baton Rouge?

DM: Not really, no. Didn't like it really, too hot and humid.

J: I've been down there, I don't like it to much down there either. Uh... now when you finished uh... when did you finish at Concord uh...?

DM: In nineteen and sixty-two.

J: And did you go directly into... you went into teaching, you say?

DM: Right. I... I came back to Matewan and... and taught school for about a year and a half.

J: Uh... at what... at what level?

DM: In high school.

J: High school?

DM: Right. Bob McCoy was one of my uh... accounting students.

J: Oh, is that right?

DM: Yeah, yeah.

J: Well, you... you and Bob are about the same age then.

DM: Yeah, Bob... I'm... Bob's probably about 45, I'm 49, Bob's probably about 45. Taught school for uh... a year and a half and uh... thought I would move to Florida, and went down uh... to a... Titusville near Cape Canaveral and had applied for a job at Cape Canaveral, had a pretty good promise of getting it, but in the           ________ (?) I already had a job teaching math at uh... junior high school near Titusville. It was about the time of the "Bay of Pigs" invasion, and uh... as I said a little earlier I've always been real industrious, and while... while I was away on school           ________ (?) I got me a job painting a drivewa... a... a drive-in, a... th... drive-in restaurant it was called "The Blue View". Everything inside was blue, and everything outside was blue. And I uh... wore a cap and t-shirt and tennis shoes, and after about two days of work, my head was burned through that cap, and my shoulders were burned through my shirt. The top of my feet were burned uh... through my shoes, uh... Castro was threatening to throw uh... a bomb across the pond(?), and I figured that wasn't any place for a country boy, and I stayed about six weeks, and then I came back to uh... to Matewan. I called uh... uh... Mr. Anderson, who was the princi... the uh... principal of the school and asked him if there was a chance of me getting my job back. And he said, "There sure is". And I said well, you just hold it and uh... I'll be back very shortly. And I came back and taught uh... I'd only taught a half a year when I went to Florida, I came back and taught for him another year and then I came into the bank.

J: Okay, so you got involved in the banking business at about 1964?

DM: That's correct.

J: Umm... now the principal was named Anderson?

DM: John Anderson, yes.

J: Ha... now there was a... you'll be able to tell me this, was there... was there... was a transition in the Board of Education about that time? Wasn't... was Billy Adair out of the picture by that time or was he still on the Board of Education?

DM: I'm not real sure, but sometime in my early lifetime I remember uh... Billy Adair, he was called Blind Billy uh... Butler Pitcock, and some of those fellows were uh... sort of ousted, and a new group, the reform group, uh... Fred Sheary, Lafe Ward, uh... Mrs. Lawson, Jay Brook Lawson's mother, uh... Mrs. Sheary uh... whose uh... husband owned the pharmacy in uh... in Williamson, not maybe Sheary was her name... I can't remember her name. But anyway uh... there's a new Board that took... but I can't remember the years... th... when the change took place, it took place about that time.

J: Now Blind Billy Adair had been uh... I guess, sort of a power broker in the Board of Educa-tion for years before that.

DM: That was my understanding, right, was a little before my time.

J: Uh-huh. Now when you came to the bank then, I assume Dan Chambers was... was the president at that time?

DM: No, Frank Allara was the president when I came.

J: Oh, Frank Allara. Was Dan Chambers associated with the bank still?

DM: Right, Dan Chambers was the chairman of the board when I came in.

J: So were you hired then by uh... Frank Allara?

DM: I was hired by Frank Allara, that's correct, right.

J: How were you recruited, or did you go to him and say....

DM: Naw... he came to me. He said uh... you have to know Frank, Frank has always been very conservative. He came to me and he said uh..., yeah, I want you to come to work in the bank, and I'm going to make you a good offer, and asked me to come and talk to him, so I went... I went and talked to him, he asked me how much money I was making teaching school, which wasn't very much, and I told him, and uh... and I was only... I was only having to work ten months to make that, you know. But anyway, he figured out he ought to pay me that much for twelve months, so I came to work for the bank making a little less than I was making teaching school. And I had to... uh... I worked uh... when I first came to the bank I did... I did bookkeeping work for several coal companies and the Matewan Water Works, had to do all kind of things to... to sustain myself.

J: You did this on the side...?

DM: Yeah, on the... yeah, I had to moonlight and uh... but it was a good move for me and Frank was uh... of course, Frank became almost like a father to me, he was extremely good to me, and the Chambers, Mr. Chambers uh... really liked me, made every effort that he could to uh... help me. He owned a lot of stock in the bank at that time and he wanted me to buy his stock and everytime he got ready to sell stock he would uh... you know, he would come to me, give me the first offer, and... and even when I couldn't afford it, he'd even give me a little better price than he would anyone else, you know. And so I had           ________ a lot of friends by coming into the bank and they was... it was a good move for me. And Frank was one that was really responsible for me coming, even though he didn't pay me as much as I thought he should have. But it was really good experience.

J: Was the Chambers family still as uh... as active in community and business life in Matewan at that time as they had been say in the thirties and forties and twenties.

DM: No... no... no... no, that's a time when I came into the bank the Chambers family had really become inactive. Mr. Chambers, Dan Chambers, had moved to Florida. His sons had, one moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, and one of them moved to Huntington. And uh... uh... he had two sisters, Mrs. Overstreet whose husband run the post office and he had retired from post office.

J: That would be Clair Overstreet?

DM: Clair, right. He was deceased and... and uh... Mrs. Overstreet was very inactive. As a matter of fact, I've never seen her, I've never seen her. Talk to her on the phone many times, and you know, sent her flowers, and you know, we had an excellent relationship, but I've never seen Mrs. Overstreet. Her uh... other sister, and Mrs. Chambers sister, Linda Taylor, uh... was one of my teachers in school, and always liked me. We had an excellent relationship and she was uh... uh... was another one of the Chambers family that was always real good to me and just an exceptionally fine lady. But she never was real active in... in community activities, she was uh... uh... was one of those people that in my life that I can remember being exceptionally good and nice to me. Uh... but I'm not aware of her ever being. After I came in the bank, I'm not real active... uh... I'm not aware of her being real active in community affairs.

J: See, I was under the mistaken impression that I had assumed, that Dan Chambers was tied up in it, was involved with the bank up almost until his death.

DM: Now he was very inactive.

J: Right. So he was retired basically.

DM: He was yeah, right, yeah, and he oh, he was uh... we had constant communication, he called me uh... you know two or three times a week. Usually call me very early in the morning six-thirty, quarter to seven. And uh... but he's as far as being active in the bank, he hadn't had not been active in the bank uh... any of the time I was in the bank, he and his brother, Verns Chambers were both on the board when I first came to the bank. Verns were the first to become deceased, and uh... then Mrs. Overstreet, and then of course Mrs. Taylor is still living in uh... Tennessee. She lives down in Columbia, Tennessee, but uh... they were an exceptionally fine family had an appreciation for people who were willing to work hard, and uh... people who uh...thought a lot of. I've never had anyone be any better to me then uh... the people in the Chambers family.

J: Has there ever been uh... to your knowledge, another bank in Matewan?

DM: Not to my knowledge. This one was formed in 1913.

J: And was this bank begun uh... chartered by uh... Chambers?

DM: It was chartered by Dan Chambers mother and father, right.

J: And what was uh... was the banking business at that time, well, the bank wouldn't have been a national bank...

DM: Yes, it's always been a national bank.

J: Oh, was it, Okay. So that's about the time the uh... Federal Reserve... was that when the Federal Reserve was established?

DM: No, the Federal Reserve Board wasn't established until several years after that, but that th... probably a national banking act uh... because it I... uh... when this bank was first uh... formed they issued there own currency, Daisy Nowlin, at Blackberry City has some of the original bills and things that were issued by the bank and signed by the president of the bank. And I'm sure that was done under the National Banking Act.

J: Issued their own currency, I've heard that. And would that currency be good anywhere?

DM: Yes, hmm hmm.

J: How long did uh... Mr. Allara stay uh... active with the bank?

DM: He stayed uh... with the bank umm... I think he left the bank about 1968, four or five years after I came into the bank. And then he was succeeded by Dan Deaton. And Dan, uh... whose uh... the father of Dan Deaton who's... who's the lending officer here in our bank now, and Dan was active in the bank until 1979, then he left and went to uh... I think he's close to Austin, Texas.

J: And what was your progression of duties...

DM: Well, I came...

J: coming...

DM: I came into the bank in a sort of a management training uh... position trying to uh... as I say I uh... did a lot of educational work to prepare myself for banking and then I spent uh... I went through all of the different departments of the bank, uh... bookkeeping, uh... the teller's, uh... loan processing, and spent most of my time in the lending area, left the bank in 1977, I had uh... I was named president of the bank in nineteen and seventy-seven, no... I left the bank in nineteen and seventy-seven, I was executive vice-president of the bank. And I had my own business interest, and I thought it was probably be to my... my best interest to leave and start spending more time uh... with my own... with my own business, and uh... so the board of directors said that if I would continue being active on a part time basis with the bank, that they would name me the president of the bank, and allow me to come in, you know, three or four hours a day and work. So I did that uh... up through nineteen and seventy-nine through the time Dan Deaton left, and then when he left uh... they asked me to work the backwards experience(?) at some uh... no... no serious problem, but at that time uh... uh... I'll tell you if I remember right, maybe the coal business som... som... down, it needs... it needs some... management needed to be strengthened is what I'm trying to say. So they asked me to come back in the bank and... and to uh... assume the management of the bank and at that point they named me the president of the chairman of the board, CEO and I've operated in that capacity since.

J: When did the Matewan National Bank begin opening branches? The branch banking came into West Virginia at about 1960.

DM: It came in... in 1982 on a limited basis. And you were only allowed to open branches in uh... incorporated municipalities. At that time, there were only two unbanked incorporated municipalities, at that time there were only two that were eligible to put a branch, and that was uh... Delbarton and Kermit. We chose to go to Delbarton because it was already a market area, we felt like we needed to provide improved service there or take a chance on losing what we had. So we opened that bank in 1982. Then in 1984 uh... statewide branching and multi-bank holding companies became permissible. At that point, then we... we branched into the areas that we felt like we needed to. So at the present time we have uh... one at Delbarton, Kermit, Williamson, and Gilbert, and Logan.

J: Okay, five... is that five branches?

DM: Yeah, right.

J: I always keep an eye on this tape so I know when to flip it over so it don't run out on us. Uh... let's see. I think I'll just flip... (At this point I flipped the tape over early just go to side two for the transcription)

J: Let me ask you how you got involved in local politics? You've had at least... you had two terms as mayor is that correct?

DM: Yes, Uh-hum. Uh... evidently there was some dissatisfaction with uh... municipal uh... politics and of course I was uh... pretty much been known as, you know, as the uh... I've always had a clean reputation, you know, and... and worked hard and, you know, no one had any... any reason to distrust me or to have any... any problem with me so some of the local business people asked me if uh... I would run uh... for the mayor's office. And I really wasn't, you know, real enthused about doing that because I knew that in order to do that I would have to oppose some of the county politicians. But I agreed to do it and uh... there seemed to be sort of a ground swirl(?) of support uh... behind me, and this was before the uh... th... we began having serious flood problems so the town was pretty much in tact. And was a pretty viable community at that time. My first... the first time I was elected I wasn't even here, I was at LSU, the summer I was at LSU, so I wasn't here for the election.

J: A passive campaign.

DM: Yeah and uh...

J: What... what summer was that?

DM: That was in nineteen and uh... six... no, nineteen and seventy, I guess.

J: Who was some of the local people that came to you to ask you to... to run for mayor?

DM: I don't remember those that came to me as much as I probably remember oppose me and probably as I talk I remember some of the ones that came me, but I remember most vividly Ernest Hatfield I think I know you talked Ernest Chief of Police Ernest ran town politics and had a close alliance with the uh...the county political machine and Ernest uh...fought me vigorously he and uh...of course the incumbent administration and of course my position was a feller by the name of Wus Fields one of the fellers who came to me and said that he would like to work for me and said I know how to I know enough people I could help you get elected was Ernest Ward and Ernest again been involved in county politics and evidently had a pretty strong end with a lot of the union people in the area and he assured me if you'll let me work for ya I can get you elected and of course my wife got real involved in it and did a door to door campaign in my absence and but probably I remember that the two key figures in that thing would have been Ernest Hatfield he was opposing me of course his and his friends I remember Garland Grace who operated the local Ford dealership who came to me and ask me not to run he felt like it would be disruptive to the local community for me to get involved cause he felt like some people would get their feelings hurt, but Ernest Ward worked very deligently(?) for me and then our pastor of the Church Parker Ferguson I don't know if you've heard of Parker's name or not Parker was very influential person and our concern was we keep the election as clean and try to you know to develop a new attitude toward elections in Matewan and Parker worked in the house and created I know Ernest Hatfield I can remember very vividly Ernest getting real upset with uh...Parker for working in the house and of course Parker's interest was just keepin' makin' sure we had a good, fair and clean election but it was a good experience for me and I uh...did that like I do everything I worked very hard at it and it was one of those jobs that didn't pay anything but I felt they were things that needed to be done and a lot of little things that I was instrumental and getting the flood insurance into Matewan I think was the first Community in the country to have flood insurance and I worked with the Congressman Ken at that time and during my administration we were able to incorporate Hatfield bottom bring Hatfield bottom into this city and that had been attempted several times and no one had been successful doing that I got this recreation facility the swimming pool.

J: Right, Bob McCoy told me to be sure and ask you about that cause he said that took some pretty heavy lobbying on the state level didn't it?

DM: Well, it was I went to see the govener and uh...he told me that wasn't anyway they could pay for all of it, but he said I'm going to make you a commitment if you can pay 20% of it I'll pay the 80% of it what he uh...I think he didn't think I could ever do it. So he intended to use ARC funds and board of outdoor recreation funds and when I came back home I immediately wrote him a letter reminding of the commitment...thanking him... but also making official his commitment to him which he did not refuse. I came back and started putting plans together to raise I raised $40,000 dollars to the town government and I had the Rotary Club we raised $40,000 dollars through the uh...town fair it was a $400,000 dollar project and I needed $80,000 dollars so I raised my $80,000 dollars.

J: Did you have a dead line on this did you have to come up with it within a year or...

DM: No, I just did it real quick...

J: As quick as you could huh...

DM: I just did it you know, so I called him and told him you know I had my $80,000 dollars worth of the 320 well then he started trying to croffee some of it well you know we have to do this to the ARC and the Board of Outdoor Recreation he had control over it the BOR and he approved that immediately but he was he had a lot of difficulty getting the ARC to approve their part and the fellow who's the chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commissions at that time was Donald Whithead maybe a former governor of North Carolina anyway on my agenda everyday I made a call to the ARC office in Washington everyday for months and they when I rang they didn't have to ask me who was calling or anything they knew who was calling and they would come down and they denied it and they declined it but the governor was under you know he just felt an obligation to do what he told me he was gonna do, but we worked that thing for several months and he kept a plain pressure on the I was persistent never relented uh...one iota and one day the governor called me said I've got that ARC money and we preceded and built that thing, but I think it was about $400,000 of course then was a lot of money you know.

J: And that opened in about 71 or 72 didn't it.

DM: Yel, yel but the governor I think had initially makin' me an offer that I couldn't come up with my part of it and I raised it real quick.

J: Real surprising uh...

DM: Yeah.

J: Let me backtrack just a second here you mentioned that when Ernest Hatfield was opposing you in this first election I guess it was safe to say that you represented a reform movement and he represented sort of the old line.

DM: We called ours progressive.

J: Progressive movement. Who were some of the I mean I know some of the names but you might tell me some others. Who were some of the old line county politicians was the Floyd Machine was that still in operation at that time?

DM: Yes, hmm!

J: And Noah Floyd is a name that crops up a lot he was would you is it safe to identify him as much powerful political figure in the county?

DM: I don't know Noah Floyd that was in his days of diminishing power I've never met Noah Floyd I'm like you I've a lot about him and he ran for State Senator and I think in 19 uh...I'm not sometime in the mid 1970's I would think and was opposed by Lafe Ward and Lafe Ward was successful in that campaign and that was sort of the end of his political life, but up until that time he was a very powerful person in Mingo County, but I've it was about the time I was getting active in Community and Civic affairs and really had no contact at all with Ward.

J: he was sort of on his way out. How close was the election?

DM: If I remember right it wasn't very close at all, but I know that I remember again that the local political leaders were a little bit disenchanted with me I remember coming back in from LSU some of the deputy sheriffs stop me near the Matewan Lumber Supply Building up there you know and uh...didn't give, but let me know you know that they were still running Mingo County.

J: But, you had been elected

DM: I had been elected but I hadn't been to town since you know, but on my in they stopped me put the red light on me you know and pulled me over reminded me that they were still uh.

J: Who was the sheriff then was it Tom Chafin or somebody else?

DM: I can't remember who was the sheriff I remember one incident that happened after that was we hired Ernest Ward as Chief of Police and Tommy Copley as his assistant and they had come out of the sheriff's department at that time the Mingo County Sheriff's office was probably the one of largest depositors in the bank and my concern was we would lose all the county money you know and I certainly didn't want to do anything that would hurt the bank and I even were told that we had to be careful or we would lose that but I remember one of our directors Buck Harless telling me. (He) Came to me and told me he I was director then and he came to me and said Dan you always do what's right and I'll support ya you don't have to worry about anything you know very quickly things settled down and I had always had a good relationship with the county people since then, I've always dealt uh...above board and they'd know that and then I think they realize that my interest was in the Community not in politics and I've never I have never been active in politics as we know politics in Mingo County and so.

J: So you didn't set out to establish a political power base or...

DM: No, no my I set out to 'complish some things like recreation facility we built a clinic here in town, we improved some of our sidewalks at that time, our water system, I got our flood insurance, incorporated Hatfield bottom some things that were very positive and I think once people saw that we kept the town clean and once they saw that my intention was not to further myself politically then I had a lot of support I had no problem then from that point on.

J: When you mentioned the flood insurance that will lead me into discussion about the flood of "77" which I from what every thing I've heard was the most devastating flood that's ever hit the area. What was the process there and how did the community get about to trying rebuild itself after that?

DM: Of course Bob McCoy was the mayor of the community then and very quickly established a good report with our governor who was Governor Rockefeller and our local legislative and political leaders, Senator Byrd, Congressman Keen I think probably Bob the way he handled himself was instrumental in getting things back to normal as quickly as possible. It was a very devastating and very depressing time I remember us going without electricity for two weeks and for example here in the bank we had mud up above the ceiling water and mud above the ceiling we found some of our records uh...one file we lost and we were months trying to find it we just didn't know what cause we hadn't lost any record we only lost one small note of all the records we had in this bank we took every document out and cleaned it dried them with hair dryers and we preserved every record we had, but we had lost a file a large one the largest loan in the bank we had lost the file we couldn't find it and we knew hadn't lost any records we don't know what happened to it and several months after the flood we found it in one of the offices down stairs on the top of the heat dud were it had floated up above the ceiling and just settled down on one of those large heating and cooling duds.

J: Like a file cabinet?

DM: No, a file just a file the largest file folder, but it was a large commercial loan and the folder had several documents and probably expanding it was an expanding type folder and it had probably expanded to two or three inches and but it had just floated up through the ceiling and had landed and we looked forever then just by coincidence several months later doin' some work on the heating system and we found that, but uh...

J: You were able to salvage that file.

DM: We were able to salvage it yel, but it was very that's been that's when the town on the economic life and this town at one time was a residence for many of the leaders in the county the Superintendent of Schools, the State Senator, the Sheriff those people all lived here in Mingo and in Matewan and then we began having severe flooding then those people started moving to other places so that was that was sort of a turning point as far as the economic tally of the community was the "77" flood.

J: Was the bank on a I assume it had computer system at that time, was there much damage to the computer in that water?

DM: Well, we had a it was uh...we've always even as a small bank we've always tried to stay on the edge of technology and between the manual posting machines and the computers there was a semi computerized machine where the information was stored on the back of the card it had a magnetic strip on the back of the card it was a national cash register machine and the balances and things were stored in that magnetic strip and that was the kind of equipment we had and so we took all of our we lost our machinery while we were getting new machinery in we took our records to Huntington transposed 'em to new cards on a Wire Machine in Huntington and then of course once we got a new machine in we were back in business, but it was a card system in 1977 it was pre-computer days.

J: Was the bank able to participate in rebuilding or was that mostly small business administration loans and type of thing?

DM: No, we paid for our own we didn't attempt to any kind of any kind of assistance you know we. Oh, you askin...

J: Around town I mean.

DM: No, most of the people depended on the small business administration.

J: Because of flood insurance I guess in'it.

DM: Yel, yel.

J: I'd be remise you may or may not have things about this particularly in your mind about this, but I'd be remise if I didn't ask you about the hold up was that 1985 when the Kermit Branch was held up?

DM: "1987" yel.

J: "1987". What were you doing when you heard about that what was your response?

DM: I usually work at uh...my store on Saturday morning I work at Superior Electric usually on Saturday's I come in and open the bank up usually come in I go to the store usually about 6:30 then I come back to the bank about 8:30 and open and then about 10:00 I go back to Superior Electric well then between 8:30 and 10:00 shortly after 9:00 I got the call I was here at the bank getting ready to go back to Superior Electric that the bank had been robbed and of course I didn't realize severely of it of course my objective always been to keep our business open regardless of what happens you know we keep our businesses open and so I went I rushed to Kermit my intention was to make sure that the bank reopened as quickly as possible they told they had closed it, so going to Kermit my interest was getting that bank open and then when I went in the bank I said "I want this bank open" and they said you know we have people who are not ready their nervous and not really alright I said I don't care I want at least this drive in open and I want it open immediately and it was after I began talking with the State Policeman Roby Pope on he was investigating this thing on that I realize it may be a little more serious than I originally thought and you know first I said what kind of loss did we have said well its probably gonna be $50,000 dollars so we lost all our money in cash in our draws and then the more we talked about it we realized then we lost our vault case too first thing you know it was almost $300,000 dollars and of course the money never really was a concern because we had an insurance policy it was a $50,000 dollars deductible we had just one of our moves to cut expenses was we had just done an assessment of our insurance cost and it was substantial savings increasing the deductible from $10,000 to $50,000 so I just increased that deductible from 10 to 50 so I got caught almost all the bad for the $50,000 dollar deductible and that's what it cost us, but I think we've as I look back at that thing we just very fortunate we didn't get someone killed because those fellows that went in there the feller who manages the bank his name is Frank McCoy the man put a pistol just laid it on his nose and the man opened the vault I think if anything at all had gone wrong we probably would have someone shot or killed or seriously injured so.

J: Was this hold up carried on during banking hours?

DM: Yes, it was the January 3, 1987 and it was the first day after we had reopened for the New Year's Holiday and of course it was the day of the year when we keep or there's probably two days in a day we keep most cash and that's January the first day after New Year's Holiday and the first day after fourth of July holiday because we usually get accumulation of activity two or three days cause we were closed from January I think it was maybe I can't remember what day it was, but we were closed previous two days and then you have all of these social security checks, government checks just takes a lot of money so it was well timed in terms of catching us with the most money in the bank.

J: How many hold up people were there?

DM: In the bank they were two as the evidence after the trial we learned that not only did we have two in the bank but they were two in the parking lots that were armed in the event that they was trouble they had reinforcements but we had one went in the bank and guard the front door and then the other one went in and forced the manager then the boys to unload the cash draws and the vault.

J: How long was it before the suspects were caught?

DM: It was about 15 minutes, before any arrests.

J: They didn't get away.

DM: But, it look like for a long time that they were not going to be apprehended because it was several months before anything was cause see the FBI and local State Police were very diligent in their efforts, but it just look like almost a hopeless situation and I don't know what I guess it was fortunate that they were able to solve it, it wasn't that they weren't working you know after a $300,000 dollar robbery when one goes a year, year and a half you just feel like it will not be solved and.

J: Between the time of the hold up and the time they got there the guys had been tried and convicted?

DM: One of 'em was killed.

J: He disappeared and then.

DM: Well, the fellow who actually held the gun on the manager his friends killed him and then course one of them who was in the parking lot and one who helped plan the murder was I mean the robbery pleaded guilty John P. McCoy the mastermind of the thing just weeped completed his trial see so but they have either one was killed and the others had been convicted.

J: To your knowledge have any of the employees in that branch or people who were in the bank at that time suffered any psychological trauma or problems and stuff?

DM: Well, beaped up security in that office, we had one girl who worked there who had been in the previous robbery she worked for Savings Loan in Columbus and she'd experienced this was her second time and her response to me that if it ever happens again she would have to quit because she couldn't I'm sure there was some had to be a very traumatic experience you know all of the employees were required to lay on the floor and you know mask men with guns you know it has to be pretty traumatic.

J: But there, was there, there wasn't any shooting in the bank?

DM: No, shooting no shooting.

J: Possibility was always there. Did the bank here in Matewan other than the to your knowledge other than the national bank holiday during the depression, did it ever shut down?

DM: This bank technically didn't close during the banking holiday Mr. Chambers always told me that during the bank holiday they kept the side door open and customers came to the side door and were serviced.

J: Is that right.

DM: This bank has never closed technically even though the front door may have been closed the side doors open and Mr. Chambers said they conducted business out of the side door and.

J: That's wild, would they post date their records?

DM: I don't know how they did it he just told me that this bank that's been one thing that has distinguished it from some of the other banks is the fact that Mr. Chambers told me that they would never close this bank, but.

J: Were closed but were not. Just briefly and I'll let you off the hook here give me your assessment of what you would say would be a case scenario for economic development in Matewan for the next ten years the flood wall project and their restoration and that type of thing?

DM: Well, of course I think the economy is probably a little stronger than maybe it appears to be on the surface for example this bank is one of the largest banks in the State I'm not sure what I think we maybe number 10 or number 11 we close out June 30th, at with total assets of about Two-hundred and twenty-two million dollars we close out June 30, 1988 with total assets Hundred ninety six million we grew some where around $25 million dollars and in the previous twelve months which has to be an indicator that the economy is a little stronger maybe than it appears not only is of course our organization, but this banking office is the largest banking office in Mingo County we process more loans, have more deposits so that indicates that there some economy here I feel like that nationally I see that were headed for I think a fairly serious down turn in our national economy I think locally though I think were fortunate in that we have maybe some things happening that were sort of tend to stabilize our local economy and allow us to continue growing even though the national economy isn't looking so good we have this money coming in on the flood work, Western Housing is doing extensive housing work, Senator Byrd on Saturday announced some monies for continue work on Quarter-G which hopefully will take place in the Williamson area we have the largest block of unmined coal in West Virginia between here and Gilbert and that has over the past several months provided several hundred jobs and the people over there who know and who understand the coal market tell me that over the next 36 months should still be several more hundred jobs so I think that locally our local economy is probably as bright for the next ten years as I have ever seen it I think the potential is probably as good as I have ever seen it I think the biggest negative we have is the fact that we have no diversification and I think during these times we are were anticipating things being good in the coal market this acid rain legislation that is appears to be a passing we'll just make this has to make our economy very strong because we have coal that will meet all of the requirements for clean coal act.

J: Is that low sulfur?

DM: Low sulfur, yeah. I can't see anything but good things happening for the area if we get our labor problems stabilized and I think during this and hopefully during this ten year period we'll figure out some way to diversify our economy so that. (Phone rings - tape cuts off)

J: Do you believe that small scale regional tourism can be an element in that diversification do you believe that can actually stimulate the economy?

DM: Yel, I think if we I think if Locally if we can make whatever effort we can to get our road situation improved some and I think if we have to preserve the history and the historic preservation but we have to clean up our community and we have to revise some conveniences we need to either promote a bed and breakfast program or some type of motel/hotel facilities, restaurants I think if we can get some of those things in place I don't think there's any question I see now several people during he week taking photographs that are visiting the community Paul tells me that some weeks he has 4 or 5 people sign his registers so I would feel like this no farther along than we are at the present time if we can continue and again create some conveniences for tourists I don't think that there's any question that tourism can be a part, but I think our roads their gonna have to do something I'm not sure that people will travel these roads.

J: uh...huh That can be an adventure itself.

Matewan Oral History Project Collection