OH097 Edward Broady Oral History
Abstract
Edward Broady discusses his early childhood by describing daily chores and attending segregated school. He recalls his career as a laborer and mechanist for the Illinois Central Railroad Company at Paducah, Kentucky. He reflects upon the times he attended church, the flood of 1937 and the Great Depression. Broady details the decline of African American men working in railroad construction, coal mining and the riverboat trade. He describes his mother's laundry business and how she collected clothes with a horse and wagon. He mentions the prohibition era and an underground saloon and moonshine distillery in Paducah. He concludes by pointing out numerous changes that have occurred in Paducah from the time he was child to the 1970s. He also mentions attending the "8th of August" celebrations as young child.