Peggy Hensley | Southern Foodways Alliance arrow left envelope headphones search facebook instagram twitter flickr menu rss play circle itunes calendar
August 25, 2021
Gravy podcast begins Alabama Black Belt episodes
October 15-16, 2021
2021 Southern Foodways Symposium ⟶
Support
the SFA
Support
the SFA
August 25, 2021
Gravy podcast begins Alabama Black Belt episodes
October 15-16, 2021
2021 Southern Foodways Symposium ⟶

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to annemarie@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Carter Family Fold

ORAL HISTORY

Peggy Hensley, Relative and Volunteer

Carter Family Fold

Peggy Hensley’s great-grandmother and Janette Carter’s great-grandmother were half-sisters. Even so, Peggy considers herself more of a friend than family. But that doesn’t stop her from volunteering at the Carter Family Fold every Saturday night, taking tickets and helping to celebrate the Carter Family’s musical legacy.  Peggy also has a role in the annual Carter Family Memorial Music Festival, which takes place every August. For years Peggy, as a member of the Hiltons Ruritan Club, made and served traditional Appalachian foods, such as cornbread, soup beans, and a popular boiled-dressing coleslaw that’s now known as Carter Fold Cole Slaw. Her connection to the Fold has solidified her appreciation for the place, the people, the music, and the food. And it’s also made her realize that “different people from a lot of different backgrounds appreciate the same things we do.”

Date of interview:
2009-02-21 00:00

Interviewer:
Amy Evans

Photographer:
Amy Evans

Download Transcript

“

"We did have a lot of people who would ask for our recipes, like our coleslaw recipe, so we decided it would be a good idea to ask a lot of people that come to the Fold [to share recipes]. So many of the people that have recipes in that cookbook [Recipes from Carter Country] are no longer with us here at the Fold, so it’s a nostalgic thing to go back through it." - Peggy Hensley

Other Project Interviews

Interview

Vicki Virts

Vicki Virts didn’t grow up in a musical household, but she grew up next to one. Vicki’s family lived next door to…

Interview

Rita Forrester

Rita Forrester, granddaughter of A. P. and Sara Carter, is the executive director of the Carter Family Fold. Her…

Interview

Nancy Carter

Nancy married Joe Carter, son of A. P. and Sara Carter, in 1948. They met at the Bristol Weaving Mill, where many…

Interview

Mary Hartsock

Mary Hartsock and her older sister, Nancy, worked at the Bristol Weaving Mill, where they each met and later married…

Interview

Marianna Roberts

In 1927, the same year that the Carter Family recorded their famous Bristol Sessions, Dykes Magic City Trio traveled to…

Interview

Flo Wolfe

Today, Flo and her husband, John Wolfe, work the souvenir table at the Fold, where they celebrate the Carter legacy by…

Interview

Faye Collins

Residents of Kingsport, Tennessee, Faye Collins and her husband, Blanard, have been traveling to Hiltons, Virginia, and…

Interview

Chickie Renfro

Chickie Renfro and her husband, George, have been regular visitors to the Carter Family Fold since 1980. Every Saturday…

WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN CULTIVATE PROGRESS.

The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Alex Raij Txikito

Let’s Stay in Touch

Sign up for the SFA newsletter to have the latest content
delivered directly to your inbox.