Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 6th November 2009

Extended Field Notes Ivory Moore Interview 6th November 2009

One question that I had of this interview was whether or not the time span between the interview and the publication of Moore’s column would make a difference in my research. As I reflected on this, I’ve decided that it will not affect the research. My purpose in watching this particular segment of interview is to gain a better insight in to Moore’s personal life and historical background. On one hand Moore’s telling of his history now is colored buy years of experiences and may not be completely accurate, but I think this a factor in all ethnographic research.

Moore grew up in Oklahoma and was a raised on a farm. He was part of a large family with seven boys and one girl. In this video, he does not mention where he fell in terms of being one of the older children or one of the younger. It may matter in terms of psychological temperament, but overall to my research the fact that he is from a large family seems to be the most important instead of where he fell within this family. His father died when he was only three which could play a significant role in his development, yet again I wonder how much of this information will be useful to me when I am just trying to set-up a small biographic / historic profile to contextualize my research.

One of the areas that I think will be extremely important is the information about Moore’s schooling. This video interview lacks specifics on the what, when and where of Moore’s scholastic endeavors. What I do know is that he finished eighth grade, that he rode the bus to high school and that he was recruited to play basketball at a college in Oklahoma. I think the specifics of what he studied would be interesting to the context of his column. This information may be available from the public library, when I am able to visit the archives I will also look for some biographic information on Ivory Moore.

One of the best quotes that I was able to get from this video interview was when Moore was talking about his opportunities at Paris Junior College. He says of the time that it “gave me a chance to start writing” I am really curious to see if this was the time in which he started his column for the paper. It seems like it would make sense that if he had time and was thus inclined that he would start the column. From the second video interview, I learned that Moore got to know many of the key players in the Norris Community when he came to Commerce. I think his sojourn to Commerce was after Paris. So even if he was not writing the Town and Gown column at the time of the quote, he was possibly honing his skills in anticipation.

This interview does give me some biographical info to start my paper with, I will be able to sketch out a rural background where education is important (Moore went to both high school and college). I think I can also draw a parallel to Moore’s upbringing on the farm and the rural conditions of the Norris Community. I would speculate that Moore’s upbringing was crucial to helping him communicate with and understand the struggles of the Norris Community.