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Photo, Print, Drawing Joe Williams digging a ginseng root with his "seng" hoe. The root must be dug carefully so that the complete root is in tact when lifted from the ground.

About this Item

Title

  • Joe Williams digging a ginseng root with his "seng" hoe. The root must be dug carefully so that the complete root is in tact when lifted from the ground.

Names

  • Williams, Ronnie J. "Joe" (Depicted)
  • Eiler, Lyntha Scott (Photographer)

Created / Published

  • September 27, 1995

Headings

  • -  Fall
  • -  September
  • -  Commercial gatherings
  • -  Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia)
  • -  Harvesting of fruits and vegetables
  • -  Tom's Hollow
  • -  Photographs
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  West Virginia -- Boone County -- Whitesville

Genre

  • Photographs
  • Ethnography

Notes

  • -  Event: Ginseng Hunting.
  • -  Ginseng is protected under the Fish and Wildlife Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). According to the law, state ginseng programs set seasons for ginseng digging, penalties for violations, and advise diggers on propagation techniques. Wild ginseng requires rich soil in deep shade, and has not been addressed in reclamation planning. On Coal River, where "seng hoes" are standard household equipment, such techniques as replanting the "kernel" and dispersing the seeds have long been practiced by seng hunters. During ginseng season, one often sees ginseng hanging in windows, drying in the back windows of automobiles, or arranged around heat sources in homes.

Medium

  • 35 mm Color Slide

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1999/008: CRF-LE-C012-13

Source Collection

  • Coal River Folklife Collection (AFC 1999/008)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • image

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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The American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Copy photographs of numerous historical still photographs owned by Woody Boggs and Rick Bradford were made and are reproduced here with permission of the owners.

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Credit line

Coal River Folklife Project collection (AFC 1999/008), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Williams, Ronnie J. "Joe", and Lyntha Scott Eiler. Joe Williams digging a ginseng root with his "seng" hoe. The root must be dug carefully so that the complete root is in tact when lifted from the ground. Whitesville West Virginia Boone County, 1995. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/cmns000008/.

APA citation style:

Williams, R. J. ". & Eiler, L. S. (1995) Joe Williams digging a ginseng root with his "seng" hoe. The root must be dug carefully so that the complete root is in tact when lifted from the ground. Whitesville West Virginia Boone County, 1995. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/cmns000008/.

MLA citation style:

Williams, Ronnie J. "Joe", and Lyntha Scott Eiler. Joe Williams digging a ginseng root with his "seng" hoe. The root must be dug carefully so that the complete root is in tact when lifted from the ground. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/cmns000008/>.