Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2023/Fall/Section20/Imogene Coleman

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Biography[edit | edit source]

Early Life[edit | edit source]

Imogene Coleman was the youngest child with two sisters and two brothers. Her parents were divorced, but found new partners and lived a mile apart from each other. Her place of birth and childhood were not disclosed.[1]

Adult Life[edit | edit source]

Coleman worked as a waitress and hostess while living in Detroit, Michigan for eight months. Coleman married twice but divorced both times. A month after her second divorce, she moved to a location along the Tennessee and Kentucky border where she lived with Rufus Snow.

In 1938, Snow and his cousin, John, robbed a man from Golden Pond, Kentucky (the town no longer exists), and brought the money to a cabin. John then drove Coleman to the cabin where they were both arrested while Rufus ran away and was presumably never caught. Their lawyers told the Coleman and John to plead guilty, and the victim did not prosecute further. They were then sentenced to 7 and 8 months respectively. Coleman states that the victim was afraid of legal activity because he was a “liquor runner.”

During her internment in Paris, Tennessee, Coleman was regularly visited and brought food by and her family. She was also visited by her second ex-husband, Chet Younger, on two separate occasions. The Sheriff allowed Coleman to leave jail during Christmas weekend where she then returned by Monday. In 1939, Coleman started a campaign to raise money, so that she can ask the Tennessee governor, William Prentice Cooper Jr., for a pardon. [1]

Social Context[edit | edit source]

Prohibition[edit | edit source]

In 1919, the 18th Amendment was ratified which outlawed the consumption, selling, and production of alcohol.[2] These rules lead to a rise in illegal moonshine production and in organized crime which heavily profited from the restrictions.[2] From 1925 to 1939, the overall crime rate increased by 5% every year.[3] 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, ran on the campaign of ending Prohibition and enacted the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th.[2]

The Great Depression[edit | edit source]

The Great Depression lasted from 1929 until 1939 and was largely caused by a combination of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the banking collapse, and the dust bowls.[4] These factors lead to an increase in debt across the middle and lower class, and in 1933, unemployment rose to 24.9%.[4][5] FDR's New Deal is largely responsible for improving conditions of the Great Depression and decreasing crime rate from the late 1930s and onward through programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) which offered employment for people who could not find jobs.[4][6] In Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority reported an employment increase of 9,000 workers between just 1940 and 1941.[7]

History of Tennessee Incarceration System (1930-1931)[edit | edit source]

In 1930, Tennessee funded the creation of female only prison infrastructure that is physically separate but operated by the same administration.[8] In 1931, the Advisory Board of Pardons creates a pardon system for inmates to be released if they recieve approval from the Tenneessee Govenor.[8]

Aerial photo of Golden Pond, Kentucky (1964), Credit to TVA/LBL

History of Golden Pond[edit | edit source]

Golden Pond is a now extinct town between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers which was infamous for its illegal activities.[9] It was referred to as the “Moonshine Capitol of the World” due to its high moonshine production which would then be sold illegally to Chicago speakeasies for profit during Prohibition.[10] The town was also a regularly production location for Al Capone.[11] In 1932, with the passing of the Lindbergh Law which gave Federal authorities greater enforcement power across state borders, the town received several crackdowns.[6] In 1963, Golden Pond was removed for the Land Between the Lakes development lead by the Tennessee Valley Authority.[12]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Folder 963: Toler, Nellie Gray, and Aswell (interviewers): No Grunt Coming” in the Federal Writers' Project papers #3709, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/03709/id/1198
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 History.com Editors. “Prohibition: Years, Amendment and Definition - History.” History.com. Accessed October 18, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/prohibition.
  3. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau. Bowie, Chet. Prisoners, 1925-81. Prisoners. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/p2581.pdf.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 “Great Depression: Black Thursday, Facts & Effects.” History.com. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history#.
  5. ↑ “Great Depression Facts.” FDR Presidential Library & Museum. Accessed October 20, 2023. https://www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts#:~:text=throughout%20the%201920s.-,At%20the%20height%20of%20the%20Depression%20in%201933%2C%2024.9%25%20of,economic%20disaster%20in%20American%20history.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 History.com Editors. “Crime in the Great Depression.” History.com. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/crime-in-the-great-depression.
  7. ↑ Kathryn, Murphy, and Melton Gordon. “FEDERAL PERSONNEL BY TYPES OF WORK PERFORMED, JUNE 1940 AND 1941.” Essay. In Subject Index of Volumes 52-71: Monthly Labor Review, January 1941 to December 1950. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1953.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 TN Department of Correction. “TDOC Historical Timeline.” Accessed October 10, 2023. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/correction/documents/HistoricalTimeline.pdf
  9. ↑ Rennick, Robert M. (1984). Kentucky Place Names. University Press of Kentucky. Accessed October 11, 2023. https://archive.org/details/kentuckyplacenam0000renn/mode/1up
  10. ↑ Craig, Berry (May 25, 1989). "Moonshine not a factor in new town". Kentucky New Era. p. B1 – via Google Books. Accessed October 17, 2023. https://books.google.com/books?id=c_MrAAAAIBAJ&lpg=PA5&dq=Little%20Golden%20Pond%20Kentucky&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q=Golden%20Pond&f=false
  11. ↑ Admin. “The Life & Death of Golden Pond, Kentucky.” Four Rivers Explorer, September 8, 2020. https://www.fourriversexplorer.com/golden-pond-kentucky/.
  12. ↑ Kleber, John E. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. Accessed October 11, 2023. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_united_states_history/146/
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