04/04/2025
We were saddened to learn of the passing of James B. Goode, former director of the SKCTC Appalachian Program. Goode’s legacy at SKCTC and particularly in the Appalachian Program is extensive. Following the Scotia Mine Disaster, Goode urged his students to record their family member’s stories of the historic event. These cassette tapes became the first items in the SKCTC Oral History Collection at the Appalachian Archive.
Goode continued to assign oral histories as part of the coursework in his classes and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. Between 1978 and 2000 over 900 oral histories were collected. Students recorded their loved ones life stories, recollections of historic events, expertise on Appalachian traditions and crafts, and life in the coal camps of Eastern Kentucky. In addition to the oral history collection, Goode was also instrumental in saving the photographs, negatives, and manuscripts from U.S. Steel and International Harvester. These two collections are an invaluable resource to our region and are frequently consulted by family historians, filmmakers, and authors.
Goode will be greatly missed but his legacy of preserving and sharing Appalachian culture will have a lasting effect on our region and the SKCTC community.
Obituary for James Barry Keith Goode Notable Appalachian author and historian, James Barry Keith Goode passed away into eternal life on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at his home in Lynch, KY. He was born August 8, 1948, at his home at 342 Poplar Street in Benham, KY. His grandmother Fannie
