Historical society to meet and discuss Ozark migrant workers

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

BATESVILLE - The Independence County Historical Society will hold its summer quarterly meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday at First Community Bank in Batesville.

Four panelists and a moderator, Brooks Blevins, will be present to discuss the meeting topic, Ozark Migrant Workers.

Blevins, an associate professor of history at Missouri State University, will moderate a discussion of 20th century migrant labor by residents of the Ozarks. He will give a briefintroduction to the subject and to participating panelists. These four individuals will talk about circumstances that led their families to become migrant workers.

The panelists will include Bill Nelson, a Cushman native who was part of a migrant family from age 7 until age 18; Gerald Gaither, a native of Izard County who now lives in Batesville and spent years traveling with his family; Gale Weaver, a Sharp County native who now lives in eastern Independence County and startedmigrant work in1956 when he was age 11; and Craig Ogilvie, who lived in Batesville and Sidney and did migrant work at Arkansas delta cotton harvests and in Michigan.

The program will include a discussion period with the audience and a display of 1950s photographs made in Michigan camps, harvest work and family groups.

First Community Bank is located at St. Louis and Harrison streets. The program is free and open to the general public.

Three Rivers, Pages 54 on 07/17/2008