On A Burning Deck. Return to Akron.: An Oral History of The Great Migration - Softcover

Jones, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1545565767 ISBN 13: 9781545565766

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

Who were the "hillbillies" that built modern industrial Ohio?

In the earliest decades of the 20th century, more than twenty-eight million men and women--black and white--began "The Great Migration" north from the Deep South and Appalachia, lured by high wages and the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families. Among the white southerners who left their homes, literally hundreds of thousands came to work in the rubber factories of Ohio during the teens and twenties, forever changing its culture, history and politics. 
Who were they? Other than the throwaway term of "hillbillies," the astonishing fact is that historians really haven't had any idea at all. They tell us that no records, no memoirs, no photographs, no letters home exist for these workers during this defining period of northeast Ohio's history. However, there was one archive that none of these historians knew existed. 
Based on over 50 hours of previously unpublished oral histories and dozens of family photos, "On A Burning Deck, Return to Akron" continues their story begun in "On A Burning Deck, The Road to Akron," as the head of the family struggles to support a family during recession, depression and strike only to eventually take his place in local government, personally establishing a modern police department and shepherding his community's growth in the years following World War II. 
Meticulously researched, rich in detail, thoroughly referenced for historical perspective, and completely indexed with hundreds of names, this contextual oral history offers the only first-hand account of industrial Ohio's boom years. A must-read for anyone interested in 20th century history, Kentucky or Ohio history, industrial relations, local governance or genealogy, "On A Burning Deck" is a tale well-told with wry humor and deep insight into the people, the "hillbillies," who built modern industrial Ohio.

Pick up your copy today by clicking the "BUY NOW" button at the top of the page!

About this title

About the Author

Tom Jones was born in Akron, Ohio when it was still "The Rubber Capital of the World" and the acrid smell of sulphur in the air was a matter of civic pride. Like his grandfather and his father before him, he, too, was employed at Firestone Tire & Rubber as a young man. Instead of helping to build the company up, however, he instead helped to document its decline.
 
This, as he and a dozen other employees (all children of Firestone management) worked nights and weekends keying in thousands upon thousands of dealer adjustment forms for the Firestone 500 Steel Belted Radial--a product so disastrous that its eventual recall still stands as the largest tire recall in U.S. history. 
 
Following his graduation from Kent State University, he packed his Chevette, fled what was then rapidly becoming known as "the rustbelt" and headed to Houston. Following the collapse of the oil industry there, he found employment within the advertising industry in San Antonio for twenty years as a nationally award-wining copywriter.
 
Ten of these years were at his own firm, Flying Terrier Creative Company, which was named after a stray dog with a broken tail that he adopted off the street. That dog's name was Waldo, which inspired his first book, "Waldo Maccabees, In the Footsteps of Christ"--a fictionalized narrative of the ministry of Christ as seen through the eyes of His dog.
 
Tom is the also the author of the award-winning work, On A Burning Deck, The Road to Akron, and On A Burning Deck, Return to Akron. Based on over 50 hours of previously unpublished oral histories, letters and a wealth of rare photos, it tells the story of one family's origins in rural Kentucky and move to Akron, Ohio in the earliest years of the Great Migration.
 
Tom lives in New Braunfels, Texas, with his wife, Steffanie.  If you purchased this book on Amazon and enjoyed it, he would appreciate you leaving a review there. For questions or comments, Tom can be contacted at Tom@OnABurningDeck.com

Review

"Outstanding Achievement Award in the Category of History Outreach: Media & Publications" Ohio Local History Alliance, 2018

"In Volume 2 of On a Burning Deck Tom Jones continues the story of the Great Migration from West Kentucky and adds significantly to our understanding of the history of the Jackson Purchase.  The story he tells is that of the ordinary man and woman struggling to support their family and build a future in hard economic times. The interviews provide rich detail about how larger historic events shaped the lives of real people. I can only restate my concluding words about Volume 1 -- This is good history, but also a compelling story, well told."

William H. Mulligan, Jr., PhD
Professor of History, Murray State University
President, Jackson Purchase Historical Society

"On a Burning Deck: Return to Akron completes a unique oral history which provides a valuable lens through which to view the phenomenon of Appalachian migrants to Ohio industrial cities. Viewing the experience through the eyes of some of the people who participated in this great migration allows the reader to develop a fuller and more immediate understanding of those turbulent times."

Dr. Kevin F. Kern
Associate Professor of History
The University of Akron

Kentucky Historical Society Publication Award
Kentucky History Awards, 2018

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1545565767
• ISBN 13: 9781545565766
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 309