Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At one time, the leather tannery in Frank was the largest producer in the tannery industry. It began in 1902 when The Pocahontas Tanning Company was formed by the Howes Brothers and Hoffman and Sons. In the 1940s, the company merged with Howes Leather Company, Inc., which continued operations until it closed in 1994.
In an effort to keep the history of the tannery alive, members of Upper Pocahontas Community Coalition – UPCC – have started an oral history project with the help of several AmeriCorps volunteers.
On March 27, the volunteers – Sam Kniery, Eleanor Renshaw, Riley Phares and Lauren Bowlin – joined UPCC members Jason Bauserman, Judy Fuller and Nancy Egan to record the oral histories of several former tannery employees.
The group set up at Durbin Community Library where the interviewees were welcomed to share photos and stories on camera.
“We had eight people to come in to give oral histories,” Fuller said. “We asked them to bring in pictures so I could scan them.”
Once all the information is collected and edited, Fuller said it will be available to the public online and at the library.
“Sam is more experienced in this,” Fuller admitted. “He’s going to get a UPCC YouTube page together. We could have them in some form here at the library so people can come in and listen to them.”
The group is also planning another day for interviews and hopes to attract more former tannery employees to share their stories, as well.
“We want to continue to do them,” Fuller said. “We have a two-page list of people we want to talk to.”
This is not the first time UPCC has recorded oral histories. Fuller said she spoke to Charlie Bryant about the history of the Mower property and his involvement with Snowshoe acquiring a portion of the land to build the ski resort. She has also done several interviews with individuals who had COVID-19 during the pandemic.
In addition to recording the tannery employee’s histories, the AmeriCorps volunteers also took photographs of the men to include with the multi-media project.
The AmeriCorps volunteers are working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area.