File #4284: "Transcript.pdf"
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Nathaniel Mayo
Transcript
Nathaniel Mayo: My name is Nathaniel Mayo. I am here with Robert Moomaw. He was a
resident of Bird Haven, Virginia and I am here to interview him about his time there.
How are you doing today sir?
Robert Moomaw: Okay
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright my first question is, how did you come to live in Bird Haven? Were
you born there or did you like move?
Robert Moomaw: Well first of all, I didn’t live in Bird Haven. I was born and raised in Orkney
Springs, which is about 5 miles from Bird Haven.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay how did you come to work in Bird Haven then?
Robert Moomaw: Well I’m not sure whether it was through my sister in law, the manager there
or it could have been through my uncle who was the mail carrier and he delivered mail
there every day.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay. Did your sister in law live in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No she didn’t. She lived in Orkney Springs also.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay. Since you didn’t live there, I’m sure you knew people that did. How
close were you to these people? Were you friends were you colleagues?
Robert Moomaw: I was class mates with some of the Barbs that lived there. I knew, before I
started to work there, I knew a few of them.
Nathaniel Mayo: Are they the ones that like convinced you to work there, in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No not really.
Nathaniel Mayo: Now that we’ve established that you didn’t actually live there and that you
came there to work, what did you actually do while you were there? What was your
profession?
Robert Moomaw: Well I was 17 years old and very engrained in this sort of work. I started out
working with Harold Barb and we would… one of our jobs was put lumber in and out of
the kiln to dry it and the other one was planing this lumber to get it ready for the
buildings and things it was building.
Nathaniel Mayo: What did you build? What was built with this lumber? Did you actually do
any of that building or…?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I helped build some of it. I didn’t do any of the actual assembly, but
there was a lot of hand-work, sanding and that sort of thing. They made cobbler benches,
which was a really nice coffee table is what it was. And the made magazine cradles and
whatnot shelves for the corners. They made a lot of bowls, I never actually worked with
on the bowls but they made a lot of them. And they made spoons and fork sets. And
some other things that I don’t really remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you actually ever get to use any of your products or did you just provide
them for other people?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you actually get to use any of the products that you helped make or
facilitated making or did you just make them for others?
Robert Moomaw: I do have a few of the things here.
Nathaniel Mayo: What do you have? If you don’t mind.
Robert Moomaw: I have one of the magazine cradles. I have a load of forks. My daughter has a
shelf that fits in the corner of the room?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you like being a woodworker or is there anything that you wished you had
learned or done instead?
Robert Moomaw: You say did I like working with them?
Nathaniel Mayo: Yeah, like did you like being a woodworker
Robert Moomaw: Yes, yes. I enjoyed my time there. It was work, nobody was pushing you, you
worked at your own pace or your partner’s pace, and that was it.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there any other profession that you wish you would have gone into instead or
are you happy with what you did?
Robert Moomaw: Well you have to understand that I was only there 13 months and after that I
moved to Ohio. I had various jobs here. I worked in several factories and I worked for a
large supply business and actually ended up retiring from that. I was a manager.
Nathaniel Mayo: Have you lived in Ohio, since you lived in Bird Haven
Robert Moomaw: Yes I have.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you prefer to live here in Virginia or is it better up there in Ohio, just
curious?
Robert Moomaw: Well it seems like there was a better opportunity in Ohio at that time. Actually
I think it has been for me. In the meantime in the 60-something years I’ve been here, I’ve
acquired a 200-acre farm and I think its worked out pretty well for me.
Nathaniel Mayo: What have you done since you left? What have you worked on or where have
you worked in Ohio?
Robert Moomaw: I worked... I started out the first job in a rubber plant, making rubber gloves. I
worked there for 6 years. And then I moved on to a job on a farm.
Nathaniel Mayo: What was… now going back to Bird Haven… you said that when you were
working it was at your own pace? Nobody was pushing you. That it was from what I can
tell, good working conditions.
Robert Moomaw: Good working conditions?
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m sorry?
Robert Moomaw: You say good working conditions?
Nathaniel Mayo: From what I could tell they were… nobody was pushing you making you do
anything you [don’t] want. Is that the case? Is there anything you did while you were
working that didn’t feel necessarily safe or that you didn’t want to do?
Robert Moomaw: No I felt safe all the time, there was no problem with that at all. And I got
along with all the other people I was working with. I had no problems with it.
Nathaniel Mayo: What other workshops were there? Were there metal-working?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so. As I remember, there was a fairly large building which
had a large planer in it.
Nathaniel Mayo: A large what?
Robert Moomaw: Planer, where you plane the lumber to get it ready. There was also a room in
there where some older gentlemen who did a lot of hand-sanding. They sat there with an
apron on and a piece of sandpaper and just sanding away. And there was a large drumsander in there in a different room. They had some band saws and I don’t remember
exactly all… There was a potbelly stove which kept us warm in the winter.
Nathaniel Mayo: Would it be safe for me to say that the industry of Bird Haven was wood
products or lumber? Things like that?
Robert Moomaw: Everything we worked on while I was there was… yes maple lumber.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Were any of the working conditions in the other buildings other
workshops? Were they different than yours? Did they get worked harder not as happy
things like that?
Robert Moomaw: I can’t really say. There was a paint shop with mostly women, or maybe all
women that worked in that. I really can’t say what the conditions were, but I don’t recall
anyone leaving while I was there, so it must not have been too bad.
Nathaniel Mayo: So, I’ve done a little bit of reading about Bird Haven and from what I could tell
there was a more community feel in this area. Did you get a chance to experience that?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again?
Nathaniel Mayo: I’ve done a little bit of reading on Bird Haven…
Robert Moomaw: Okay.
Nathaniel Mayo: And from what I could tell, the workshops, the people, including you based on
generalization, which is bad, it was more of a community based work environment.
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I would say that.
Nathaniel Mayo: How would that… How did that present itself?
Robert Moomaw: Well I’m not sure I know exactly what you mean but…
Nathaniel Mayo: Like how could you tell that it was a community-based work environment?
Robert Moomaw: Well it was a small place. There was 12-15 people working there at that time,
and they all got along well, a lot of them were related. There were a lot of Barbs there?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you think that the family connections helped to make it more of a
community, more of a like…?
Robert Moomaw: Well that I don’t know. The people that owned it, I wouldn’t say it was very
closely, I don’t think that I saw more than one or two times in the 13 months I was there.
There was another younger man that… I guess you could was all of our boss, but he
didn’t come around often.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was he just the manager, I guess?
Robert Moomaw: I guess you could call him that.
Nathaniel Mayo: How do you... If there was… actually no not that question. Do you think that
since there was a tight or kind of tight community in Bird Haven while you were there,
that other workers would help you if you needed it? If you asked, things like that, in any
sense of the word?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah, I get that feeling. There was cooperation.
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m sorry?
Robert Moomaw: There was cooperation, between the workers.
Nathaniel Mayo: What is an example of that? What happened?
Robert Moomaw: Well… oh I don’t know… if you needed a couple hours off once in a while,
there was no problem for someone covering for you. I guess other than that I don’t have
an example right now.
Nathaniel Mayo: While you were in Bird Haven, were you able to establish any sort of
relationship with anybody there? Like romantic, friendship, things like that?
Robert Moomaw: No.
Nathaniel Mayo: No? Were you just a worker?
Robert Moomaw: I was just a worker.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any good memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Do I have any what?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any good memories of working there?
Robert Moomaw: Oh yeah, I have good memories.
Nathaniel Mayo: Like, give me a few while you were actually working.
Robert Moomaw: Well we had fun, there was some horseplay. We usually ate our lunch
together and talked and joked and get the news together if there was any.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there anyone in particular that you feel like you were closer to that you
worked with?
Robert Moomaw: Uhh… not really I guess. I got along well with everybody.
Nathaniel Mayo: That’s always good. If you don’t mind me asking do you have any bad
memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Do I have any what?
Nathaniel Mayo: Any bad memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Bad?
Nathaniel Mayo: Yeah, bad.
Robert Moomaw: Oh, I don’t think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. From some of my reading, I was able to see that a lot of outside
interest, like a lot of outside parties, took interest in the work that you did there and the
products that you guys made. Were you able to experience any of that? People coming
in and… people coming in from outside the community and wanting to buy your
products?
Robert Moomaw: Well I think that was going on but I wasn’t involved.
Nathaniel Mayo: You weren’t the person in charge of…?
Robert Moomaw: No I wasn’t part of it. I didn’t sell anything or anything like that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Like, you just made the stuff?
Robert Moomaw: I helped to make it yes
Nathaniel Mayo: While you were making… while you were actually working, is there any event
or any particular day or thing that happened that really sticks with you that you’ve carried
with you ever since?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. What was the political ideology of the people of Bird Haven? Did you
ever get a chance to experience, learn any of that thing, or any of that stuff?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think it was ever… we never talked about it from what I saw.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you mind if I ask you what your political ideology was at that time?
Robert Moomaw: Well I was 17 years old, politics wasn’t really at the top of my list. I was more
into fishing and hunting, and playing baseball. But my folks were Democrats all their
life, and I haven’t said I’ve voted straight Democratic party, but I have voted along that
lines for a while.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you think that being a Democrat may have influenced anything you may
have done while you were there?
Robert Moomaw: No.
Nathaniel Mayo: No, okay. Is there…? That’s my entire list of general questions. Now I am
probably just going to start winging it. Is there anything in particular that you would like
to let this museum know or let me know pertaining to your experience in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Well the only thing I can say, at least this is the way it seems to me, is we
made quality products. I mean it wasn’t something that was just slapped together. It was
made out of good heart, good wood, made to look nice.
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m assuming then that you prefer high quality stuff, higher quality goods, than
higher quantity?
Robert Moomaw: Well yeah, I prefer American Made.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright yeah, I get that. But has that higher quality ideology stuck with you
since this and do you think that this belief also pertains to the other people that worked
with you?
Robert Moomaw: Well I think so. Well I guess I can’t say on that. I was only there 13 months
and I didn’t know a few of them before. I really can’t say on that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. Are there any – this may seem like a similar question to the one I just
asked so if it is just let me know – are there any of your own experiences while you were
there that you really want me to know? Like a specific day or a specific product that you
made that really stuck out or wished you had kept?
Robert Moomaw: Well the cobber benches were definitely their biggest and nicest product. I
never owned one and I don’t even have a clue what they cost and Im sure it wasn’t cheap.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you wish that you would have gotten one of these benches then?
Robert Moomaw: Did you say I would have?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you wish you would have?
Robert Moomaw: Well I guess I haven’t thought about that but it would be nice to have one I
guess.
Nathaniel Mayo: Could you go through the process of making on of these from start to finish, if
you can recall?
Robert Moomaw: Well I can kind of try. The tabletop I think was approximately 2 inches think
and maybe I’m going to say maybe 20 inches to 2 feet wide. And we started out with,
they had to plane the limber of course and then they’d have to be, glued together and put
this lumber in… They had this big wheel type thing, looked like a small Ferris Wheel
where you put this lumber in and put glue between it and clamp it tight and set it there
overnight. And at least overnight, I don’t remember exactly how long. Then it had to be
sanded and by that time you’d have the tabletop and that’s pretty much what I did, and
then someone else took over and they had some more. Boxes like on top of it were where
they put the supplies or tools and someone else did the turning of the legs and that was
put together in another building. That’s about as much as I remember then.
Nathaniel Mayo: So, you would say that this entire process is similar to, similar but not exactly
like an assembly line? Everybody has a certain thing that they would do.
Robert Moomaw: Yeah… but it was far from an assembly line. When we made those benches,
we’d make… and I don’t remember what the number was… but we might make say 10 of
them and get all that ready and we would all…
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would it take you to make each of the various items? Would you
know that?
Robert Moomaw: No I wouldn’t know.
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would you individually spend working on each item?
Robert Moomaw: What was that?
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would you individually spend working on a specific item or process?
Robert Moomaw: Well we had a… I wouldn’t say we had a deadline, but we had a certain
amount of time to get so many ready. I don’t know what… It would probably take, from
the time you started, it would probably take I want to say a week to get 10 of them ready.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. And these are for the tabletops you said?
Robert Moomaw: What’s that?
Nathaniel Mayo: That’s how long… It would take a week for you to make 10 of these tabletops
you said, right?
Robert Moomaw: Yes but that’s an estimated guess, I really don’t remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: What was your favorite product to make? Or if you don’t have one what was
the community’s favorite product to make?
Robert Moomaw: Well everyone worked on different things it seemed like. I know one guy, and
I can’t remember his name, he worked on the spoons and fork sets. I think he fairly
enjoyed that. He was there when I started and he was there when I left but I can’t tell you
his name.
Nathaniel Mayo: Are the… Based on what you know, did the other people that worked there did
they tend to work there longer or were they there for a similar amount of time that you
were?
Robert Moomaw: I think longer. I’m sure of that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Could you possibly be someone who worked there the shortest amount of time
during that period?
Robert Moomaw: Say that again.
Nathaniel Mayo: Here, I’ll rephrase it. Were there other people that worked there worked there
over a shorter period of time than you did? Less than 13 months?
Robert Moomaw: Not that I know of. I don’t remember anyone quitting while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And when you left was it… okay were you fired or did you quit or did
you decide that you wanted better opportunities up in Ohio.
Robert Moomaw: Oh I quit. I wasn’t fired. I… I quit, I gave them my two weeks’ notice or
whatever it was and I left there on good terms with everybody as far as I know.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there any specific reason that you quit or is it because there were better
opportunities elsewhere?
Robert Moomaw: Better opportunities I thought.
Nathaniel Mayo: And did most people that worked there understand why you left?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again please?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did most people there understand why you left?
Robert Moomaw: Oh yeah, I think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. I have got nothing else. Is there anything else that you would like to
talk about? Is there anything else you would like me to know?
Robert Moomaw: Well I don’t think so. That’s about everything… I didn’t tell you what the pay
scale was.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh yeah, that just seemed like a rude question. What was the economic status
of you and the other workers? How much was pay? How much was living things like
that?
Robert Moomaw: I was paid $0.55 an hour and my… the guy I worked with, I guess he would be
called a lead-man and he got $0.60. And then there was two others who, one that worked
on the… they did more… I can’t think what the word is. Did more precise things like go
work another lane and they got $0.65 at that time. And we worked 10 hour days, we
started at 7:00 and ended at 5:30.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was the $0.55 and hour enough to live on?
Robert Moomaw: Well I guess it must have been.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was it comfortable living or were you living paycheck-to-paycheck?
Robert Moomaw: Well yeah, pretty much.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And how easy was it for you to get like a raise or an advance in the
company?
Robert Moomaw: I really don’t know that. Nothing changed for me while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Did a lot of other people get raises or promotions or whatever?
Robert Moomaw: I don’t think so. That $0.55, $0.60, and $0.65 was prevailing rate while I was
there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Were… Were there standard I guess gender assignments while you were
there? Like women did one project while men did a different project?
Robert Moomaw: Yes. Women worked in the paint shop. I think they also did some of … some
of the assembly work.
Nathaniel Mayo: Some of the what work?
Robert Moomaw: Assembly… putting things together.
Nathaniel Mayo: And what was different that the men did?
Robert Moomaw: Well the men did the… men did… anything that took any sawing and cutting
out. Things like that. Men did all that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay.
Robert Moomaw: I think the women worked in ways, they shipped things out by mail I’m sure.
And the women did the packaging on that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, so the women were the more administrative side of the community?
Robert Moomaw: Well, I don’t think they were administrative. They did the packaging.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and is there any… was there any change in that ever? Or was it always
like that, in your experience?
Robert Moomaw: I think it was always like that?
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and it never changed while you were there?
Robert Moomaw: Not that I know of.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay what was the age difference between the workers there? Were they your
age or…?
Robert Moomaw: Oh wide, wide, range. There was men there that… it was in their 60s, it
could’ve been a couple in their 70s. That would have been in 1950.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay.
Robert Moomaw: I can tell you this much. Some of them had children older than I was.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay.
Robert Moomaw: So they would’ve been fairly old.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did the age ever affect the work? Did the more elderly people tend to do one
job and the younger tended to do the others?
Robert Moomaw: Yes, yes that’s true.
Nathaniel Mayo: What would the more elderly people do?
Robert Moomaw: Well an awful lot of, two of them I’m thinking of particularly, they did a lot of
hand-sanding, with a little piece of sandpaper and just sat there and smooth that stuff up.
Nathaniel Mayo: And were younger people… did they work more with the saws and the more
dangerous equipment maybe?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I suppose. The equipment wasn’t real modern. I mean it wasn’t… we
wouldn’t pass inspection today for safety.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was it modern for the time or not?
Robert Moomaw: Oh it may have been, some of it yes.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And was there ever any instance while you were there that somebody
got hurt, using a saw or sanding or…?
Robert Moomaw: Nothing that I can remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay so it was fairly safe. It sounds like you enjoyed your time there.
Robert Moomaw: Oh I enjoyed it. I didn’t know any better it was my first full-time job. Before
that I worked at the Orkney Springs hotel, a dishwasher, a ten-setter in the bowling alley,
a caddy on the golf course.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, was it a good first full-time job?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Did you wish that you had actually lived in Bird Haven, or was where
you lived better?
Robert Moomaw: Well Orkney Springs was near and dear to me. My grandparents and parents
grew up right there in Orkney Springs. It was dear.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and was there anyone else that you worked with that lived near you, or
did they all live in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No some of them lived in Bird Haven, some lived in Bayse which is right there
close. And some lived farther away, between Bayse and Mount Jackson. I think the
farthest anyone lived was I would say, 7 or 8 miles.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and I’m assuming it was easy to get there? Did you have a car then?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I had a car.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and my last question is do you have any idea why it’s called Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: You know I don’t have a clue, I really don’t. There was one time before I
worked there, they made a lot of ornaments. And a lot of them would be, now I’m
talking about yard ornaments, a lot of them was birds. They’d have them be birds, and
have them all painted up nice and all. They’ll have them on a stick and stick them around
the yard. But that was before I got there. The reason I know that they did it… well there
was a boy, I guess it was Stuart Barb’s son who was in my class in school, and he would
bring some of that stuff to school once and a while. But I don’t know if that had anything
to do with being called Bird Haven.
Nathaniel Mayo: Eh it could, I thought that maybe it was because they made bird houses or
something.
Robert Moomaw: Well, it’s a place that would be attractive to birds. I don’t recall seeing a lot of
birds while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any idea what’s going on there now?
Robert Moomaw: I have no clue.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, well that is all the questions that I have got for you. Is there anything
else you would like to add before we finish up this interview?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so. I think you have all I know or all that I remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright well thank you for your time and you story. I appreciate it and I’m sure
the museum will appreciate it, and again thank you.
Robert Moomaw: Okay thank you.
Transcript
Nathaniel Mayo: My name is Nathaniel Mayo. I am here with Robert Moomaw. He was a
resident of Bird Haven, Virginia and I am here to interview him about his time there.
How are you doing today sir?
Robert Moomaw: Okay
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright my first question is, how did you come to live in Bird Haven? Were
you born there or did you like move?
Robert Moomaw: Well first of all, I didn’t live in Bird Haven. I was born and raised in Orkney
Springs, which is about 5 miles from Bird Haven.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay how did you come to work in Bird Haven then?
Robert Moomaw: Well I’m not sure whether it was through my sister in law, the manager there
or it could have been through my uncle who was the mail carrier and he delivered mail
there every day.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay. Did your sister in law live in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No she didn’t. She lived in Orkney Springs also.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay. Since you didn’t live there, I’m sure you knew people that did. How
close were you to these people? Were you friends were you colleagues?
Robert Moomaw: I was class mates with some of the Barbs that lived there. I knew, before I
started to work there, I knew a few of them.
Nathaniel Mayo: Are they the ones that like convinced you to work there, in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No not really.
Nathaniel Mayo: Now that we’ve established that you didn’t actually live there and that you
came there to work, what did you actually do while you were there? What was your
profession?
Robert Moomaw: Well I was 17 years old and very engrained in this sort of work. I started out
working with Harold Barb and we would… one of our jobs was put lumber in and out of
the kiln to dry it and the other one was planing this lumber to get it ready for the
buildings and things it was building.
Nathaniel Mayo: What did you build? What was built with this lumber? Did you actually do
any of that building or…?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I helped build some of it. I didn’t do any of the actual assembly, but
there was a lot of hand-work, sanding and that sort of thing. They made cobbler benches,
which was a really nice coffee table is what it was. And the made magazine cradles and
whatnot shelves for the corners. They made a lot of bowls, I never actually worked with
on the bowls but they made a lot of them. And they made spoons and fork sets. And
some other things that I don’t really remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you actually ever get to use any of your products or did you just provide
them for other people?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you actually get to use any of the products that you helped make or
facilitated making or did you just make them for others?
Robert Moomaw: I do have a few of the things here.
Nathaniel Mayo: What do you have? If you don’t mind.
Robert Moomaw: I have one of the magazine cradles. I have a load of forks. My daughter has a
shelf that fits in the corner of the room?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you like being a woodworker or is there anything that you wished you had
learned or done instead?
Robert Moomaw: You say did I like working with them?
Nathaniel Mayo: Yeah, like did you like being a woodworker
Robert Moomaw: Yes, yes. I enjoyed my time there. It was work, nobody was pushing you, you
worked at your own pace or your partner’s pace, and that was it.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there any other profession that you wish you would have gone into instead or
are you happy with what you did?
Robert Moomaw: Well you have to understand that I was only there 13 months and after that I
moved to Ohio. I had various jobs here. I worked in several factories and I worked for a
large supply business and actually ended up retiring from that. I was a manager.
Nathaniel Mayo: Have you lived in Ohio, since you lived in Bird Haven
Robert Moomaw: Yes I have.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did you prefer to live here in Virginia or is it better up there in Ohio, just
curious?
Robert Moomaw: Well it seems like there was a better opportunity in Ohio at that time. Actually
I think it has been for me. In the meantime in the 60-something years I’ve been here, I’ve
acquired a 200-acre farm and I think its worked out pretty well for me.
Nathaniel Mayo: What have you done since you left? What have you worked on or where have
you worked in Ohio?
Robert Moomaw: I worked... I started out the first job in a rubber plant, making rubber gloves. I
worked there for 6 years. And then I moved on to a job on a farm.
Nathaniel Mayo: What was… now going back to Bird Haven… you said that when you were
working it was at your own pace? Nobody was pushing you. That it was from what I can
tell, good working conditions.
Robert Moomaw: Good working conditions?
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m sorry?
Robert Moomaw: You say good working conditions?
Nathaniel Mayo: From what I could tell they were… nobody was pushing you making you do
anything you [don’t] want. Is that the case? Is there anything you did while you were
working that didn’t feel necessarily safe or that you didn’t want to do?
Robert Moomaw: No I felt safe all the time, there was no problem with that at all. And I got
along with all the other people I was working with. I had no problems with it.
Nathaniel Mayo: What other workshops were there? Were there metal-working?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so. As I remember, there was a fairly large building which
had a large planer in it.
Nathaniel Mayo: A large what?
Robert Moomaw: Planer, where you plane the lumber to get it ready. There was also a room in
there where some older gentlemen who did a lot of hand-sanding. They sat there with an
apron on and a piece of sandpaper and just sanding away. And there was a large drumsander in there in a different room. They had some band saws and I don’t remember
exactly all… There was a potbelly stove which kept us warm in the winter.
Nathaniel Mayo: Would it be safe for me to say that the industry of Bird Haven was wood
products or lumber? Things like that?
Robert Moomaw: Everything we worked on while I was there was… yes maple lumber.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Were any of the working conditions in the other buildings other
workshops? Were they different than yours? Did they get worked harder not as happy
things like that?
Robert Moomaw: I can’t really say. There was a paint shop with mostly women, or maybe all
women that worked in that. I really can’t say what the conditions were, but I don’t recall
anyone leaving while I was there, so it must not have been too bad.
Nathaniel Mayo: So, I’ve done a little bit of reading about Bird Haven and from what I could tell
there was a more community feel in this area. Did you get a chance to experience that?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again?
Nathaniel Mayo: I’ve done a little bit of reading on Bird Haven…
Robert Moomaw: Okay.
Nathaniel Mayo: And from what I could tell, the workshops, the people, including you based on
generalization, which is bad, it was more of a community based work environment.
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I would say that.
Nathaniel Mayo: How would that… How did that present itself?
Robert Moomaw: Well I’m not sure I know exactly what you mean but…
Nathaniel Mayo: Like how could you tell that it was a community-based work environment?
Robert Moomaw: Well it was a small place. There was 12-15 people working there at that time,
and they all got along well, a lot of them were related. There were a lot of Barbs there?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you think that the family connections helped to make it more of a
community, more of a like…?
Robert Moomaw: Well that I don’t know. The people that owned it, I wouldn’t say it was very
closely, I don’t think that I saw more than one or two times in the 13 months I was there.
There was another younger man that… I guess you could was all of our boss, but he
didn’t come around often.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was he just the manager, I guess?
Robert Moomaw: I guess you could call him that.
Nathaniel Mayo: How do you... If there was… actually no not that question. Do you think that
since there was a tight or kind of tight community in Bird Haven while you were there,
that other workers would help you if you needed it? If you asked, things like that, in any
sense of the word?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah, I get that feeling. There was cooperation.
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m sorry?
Robert Moomaw: There was cooperation, between the workers.
Nathaniel Mayo: What is an example of that? What happened?
Robert Moomaw: Well… oh I don’t know… if you needed a couple hours off once in a while,
there was no problem for someone covering for you. I guess other than that I don’t have
an example right now.
Nathaniel Mayo: While you were in Bird Haven, were you able to establish any sort of
relationship with anybody there? Like romantic, friendship, things like that?
Robert Moomaw: No.
Nathaniel Mayo: No? Were you just a worker?
Robert Moomaw: I was just a worker.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any good memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Do I have any what?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any good memories of working there?
Robert Moomaw: Oh yeah, I have good memories.
Nathaniel Mayo: Like, give me a few while you were actually working.
Robert Moomaw: Well we had fun, there was some horseplay. We usually ate our lunch
together and talked and joked and get the news together if there was any.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there anyone in particular that you feel like you were closer to that you
worked with?
Robert Moomaw: Uhh… not really I guess. I got along well with everybody.
Nathaniel Mayo: That’s always good. If you don’t mind me asking do you have any bad
memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Do I have any what?
Nathaniel Mayo: Any bad memories of Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Bad?
Nathaniel Mayo: Yeah, bad.
Robert Moomaw: Oh, I don’t think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. From some of my reading, I was able to see that a lot of outside
interest, like a lot of outside parties, took interest in the work that you did there and the
products that you guys made. Were you able to experience any of that? People coming
in and… people coming in from outside the community and wanting to buy your
products?
Robert Moomaw: Well I think that was going on but I wasn’t involved.
Nathaniel Mayo: You weren’t the person in charge of…?
Robert Moomaw: No I wasn’t part of it. I didn’t sell anything or anything like that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Like, you just made the stuff?
Robert Moomaw: I helped to make it yes
Nathaniel Mayo: While you were making… while you were actually working, is there any event
or any particular day or thing that happened that really sticks with you that you’ve carried
with you ever since?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. What was the political ideology of the people of Bird Haven? Did you
ever get a chance to experience, learn any of that thing, or any of that stuff?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think it was ever… we never talked about it from what I saw.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you mind if I ask you what your political ideology was at that time?
Robert Moomaw: Well I was 17 years old, politics wasn’t really at the top of my list. I was more
into fishing and hunting, and playing baseball. But my folks were Democrats all their
life, and I haven’t said I’ve voted straight Democratic party, but I have voted along that
lines for a while.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you think that being a Democrat may have influenced anything you may
have done while you were there?
Robert Moomaw: No.
Nathaniel Mayo: No, okay. Is there…? That’s my entire list of general questions. Now I am
probably just going to start winging it. Is there anything in particular that you would like
to let this museum know or let me know pertaining to your experience in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: Well the only thing I can say, at least this is the way it seems to me, is we
made quality products. I mean it wasn’t something that was just slapped together. It was
made out of good heart, good wood, made to look nice.
Nathaniel Mayo: I’m assuming then that you prefer high quality stuff, higher quality goods, than
higher quantity?
Robert Moomaw: Well yeah, I prefer American Made.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright yeah, I get that. But has that higher quality ideology stuck with you
since this and do you think that this belief also pertains to the other people that worked
with you?
Robert Moomaw: Well I think so. Well I guess I can’t say on that. I was only there 13 months
and I didn’t know a few of them before. I really can’t say on that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. Are there any – this may seem like a similar question to the one I just
asked so if it is just let me know – are there any of your own experiences while you were
there that you really want me to know? Like a specific day or a specific product that you
made that really stuck out or wished you had kept?
Robert Moomaw: Well the cobber benches were definitely their biggest and nicest product. I
never owned one and I don’t even have a clue what they cost and Im sure it wasn’t cheap.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you wish that you would have gotten one of these benches then?
Robert Moomaw: Did you say I would have?
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you wish you would have?
Robert Moomaw: Well I guess I haven’t thought about that but it would be nice to have one I
guess.
Nathaniel Mayo: Could you go through the process of making on of these from start to finish, if
you can recall?
Robert Moomaw: Well I can kind of try. The tabletop I think was approximately 2 inches think
and maybe I’m going to say maybe 20 inches to 2 feet wide. And we started out with,
they had to plane the limber of course and then they’d have to be, glued together and put
this lumber in… They had this big wheel type thing, looked like a small Ferris Wheel
where you put this lumber in and put glue between it and clamp it tight and set it there
overnight. And at least overnight, I don’t remember exactly how long. Then it had to be
sanded and by that time you’d have the tabletop and that’s pretty much what I did, and
then someone else took over and they had some more. Boxes like on top of it were where
they put the supplies or tools and someone else did the turning of the legs and that was
put together in another building. That’s about as much as I remember then.
Nathaniel Mayo: So, you would say that this entire process is similar to, similar but not exactly
like an assembly line? Everybody has a certain thing that they would do.
Robert Moomaw: Yeah… but it was far from an assembly line. When we made those benches,
we’d make… and I don’t remember what the number was… but we might make say 10 of
them and get all that ready and we would all…
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would it take you to make each of the various items? Would you
know that?
Robert Moomaw: No I wouldn’t know.
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would you individually spend working on each item?
Robert Moomaw: What was that?
Nathaniel Mayo: How long would you individually spend working on a specific item or process?
Robert Moomaw: Well we had a… I wouldn’t say we had a deadline, but we had a certain
amount of time to get so many ready. I don’t know what… It would probably take, from
the time you started, it would probably take I want to say a week to get 10 of them ready.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright. And these are for the tabletops you said?
Robert Moomaw: What’s that?
Nathaniel Mayo: That’s how long… It would take a week for you to make 10 of these tabletops
you said, right?
Robert Moomaw: Yes but that’s an estimated guess, I really don’t remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: What was your favorite product to make? Or if you don’t have one what was
the community’s favorite product to make?
Robert Moomaw: Well everyone worked on different things it seemed like. I know one guy, and
I can’t remember his name, he worked on the spoons and fork sets. I think he fairly
enjoyed that. He was there when I started and he was there when I left but I can’t tell you
his name.
Nathaniel Mayo: Are the… Based on what you know, did the other people that worked there did
they tend to work there longer or were they there for a similar amount of time that you
were?
Robert Moomaw: I think longer. I’m sure of that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Could you possibly be someone who worked there the shortest amount of time
during that period?
Robert Moomaw: Say that again.
Nathaniel Mayo: Here, I’ll rephrase it. Were there other people that worked there worked there
over a shorter period of time than you did? Less than 13 months?
Robert Moomaw: Not that I know of. I don’t remember anyone quitting while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And when you left was it… okay were you fired or did you quit or did
you decide that you wanted better opportunities up in Ohio.
Robert Moomaw: Oh I quit. I wasn’t fired. I… I quit, I gave them my two weeks’ notice or
whatever it was and I left there on good terms with everybody as far as I know.
Nathaniel Mayo: Is there any specific reason that you quit or is it because there were better
opportunities elsewhere?
Robert Moomaw: Better opportunities I thought.
Nathaniel Mayo: And did most people that worked there understand why you left?
Robert Moomaw: What was that again please?
Nathaniel Mayo: Did most people there understand why you left?
Robert Moomaw: Oh yeah, I think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. I have got nothing else. Is there anything else that you would like to
talk about? Is there anything else you would like me to know?
Robert Moomaw: Well I don’t think so. That’s about everything… I didn’t tell you what the pay
scale was.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh yeah, that just seemed like a rude question. What was the economic status
of you and the other workers? How much was pay? How much was living things like
that?
Robert Moomaw: I was paid $0.55 an hour and my… the guy I worked with, I guess he would be
called a lead-man and he got $0.60. And then there was two others who, one that worked
on the… they did more… I can’t think what the word is. Did more precise things like go
work another lane and they got $0.65 at that time. And we worked 10 hour days, we
started at 7:00 and ended at 5:30.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was the $0.55 and hour enough to live on?
Robert Moomaw: Well I guess it must have been.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was it comfortable living or were you living paycheck-to-paycheck?
Robert Moomaw: Well yeah, pretty much.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And how easy was it for you to get like a raise or an advance in the
company?
Robert Moomaw: I really don’t know that. Nothing changed for me while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Did a lot of other people get raises or promotions or whatever?
Robert Moomaw: I don’t think so. That $0.55, $0.60, and $0.65 was prevailing rate while I was
there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Were… Were there standard I guess gender assignments while you were
there? Like women did one project while men did a different project?
Robert Moomaw: Yes. Women worked in the paint shop. I think they also did some of … some
of the assembly work.
Nathaniel Mayo: Some of the what work?
Robert Moomaw: Assembly… putting things together.
Nathaniel Mayo: And what was different that the men did?
Robert Moomaw: Well the men did the… men did… anything that took any sawing and cutting
out. Things like that. Men did all that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay.
Robert Moomaw: I think the women worked in ways, they shipped things out by mail I’m sure.
And the women did the packaging on that.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, so the women were the more administrative side of the community?
Robert Moomaw: Well, I don’t think they were administrative. They did the packaging.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and is there any… was there any change in that ever? Or was it always
like that, in your experience?
Robert Moomaw: I think it was always like that?
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and it never changed while you were there?
Robert Moomaw: Not that I know of.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay what was the age difference between the workers there? Were they your
age or…?
Robert Moomaw: Oh wide, wide, range. There was men there that… it was in their 60s, it
could’ve been a couple in their 70s. That would have been in 1950.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay.
Robert Moomaw: I can tell you this much. Some of them had children older than I was.
Nathaniel Mayo: Oh okay.
Robert Moomaw: So they would’ve been fairly old.
Nathaniel Mayo: Did the age ever affect the work? Did the more elderly people tend to do one
job and the younger tended to do the others?
Robert Moomaw: Yes, yes that’s true.
Nathaniel Mayo: What would the more elderly people do?
Robert Moomaw: Well an awful lot of, two of them I’m thinking of particularly, they did a lot of
hand-sanding, with a little piece of sandpaper and just sat there and smooth that stuff up.
Nathaniel Mayo: And were younger people… did they work more with the saws and the more
dangerous equipment maybe?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I suppose. The equipment wasn’t real modern. I mean it wasn’t… we
wouldn’t pass inspection today for safety.
Nathaniel Mayo: Was it modern for the time or not?
Robert Moomaw: Oh it may have been, some of it yes.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. And was there ever any instance while you were there that somebody
got hurt, using a saw or sanding or…?
Robert Moomaw: Nothing that I can remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay so it was fairly safe. It sounds like you enjoyed your time there.
Robert Moomaw: Oh I enjoyed it. I didn’t know any better it was my first full-time job. Before
that I worked at the Orkney Springs hotel, a dishwasher, a ten-setter in the bowling alley,
a caddy on the golf course.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, was it a good first full-time job?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I think so.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay. Did you wish that you had actually lived in Bird Haven, or was where
you lived better?
Robert Moomaw: Well Orkney Springs was near and dear to me. My grandparents and parents
grew up right there in Orkney Springs. It was dear.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and was there anyone else that you worked with that lived near you, or
did they all live in Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: No some of them lived in Bird Haven, some lived in Bayse which is right there
close. And some lived farther away, between Bayse and Mount Jackson. I think the
farthest anyone lived was I would say, 7 or 8 miles.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and I’m assuming it was easy to get there? Did you have a car then?
Robert Moomaw: Yeah I had a car.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay and my last question is do you have any idea why it’s called Bird Haven?
Robert Moomaw: You know I don’t have a clue, I really don’t. There was one time before I
worked there, they made a lot of ornaments. And a lot of them would be, now I’m
talking about yard ornaments, a lot of them was birds. They’d have them be birds, and
have them all painted up nice and all. They’ll have them on a stick and stick them around
the yard. But that was before I got there. The reason I know that they did it… well there
was a boy, I guess it was Stuart Barb’s son who was in my class in school, and he would
bring some of that stuff to school once and a while. But I don’t know if that had anything
to do with being called Bird Haven.
Nathaniel Mayo: Eh it could, I thought that maybe it was because they made bird houses or
something.
Robert Moomaw: Well, it’s a place that would be attractive to birds. I don’t recall seeing a lot of
birds while I was there.
Nathaniel Mayo: Do you have any idea what’s going on there now?
Robert Moomaw: I have no clue.
Nathaniel Mayo: Okay, well that is all the questions that I have got for you. Is there anything
else you would like to add before we finish up this interview?
Robert Moomaw: No I don’t think so. I think you have all I know or all that I remember.
Nathaniel Mayo: Alright well thank you for your time and you story. I appreciate it and I’m sure
the museum will appreciate it, and again thank you.
Robert Moomaw: Okay thank you.