The Donaldsons of Orlando, Glimer County
It is set in an area that today we don't think of as Orlando. The program and Mr. Donaldson were in Sand Fork, or more precisely, Rocky Fork of Indian Fork of Sand Fork of the Little Kanawha River, in Gilmer County, a few miles north and west of downtown Orlando. This area still bears the US Postal address of Orlando. What is more, from my research to date (May, '06), it seems that the Oil Creek/Clover Fork community was from the earliest times closely tied to the somewhat younger Sand Fork community. The oldest of Catherine (Scott) Skinner Posey's sons, Samuel Sanford Skinner with his wife Elizabeth Bailey, settled on Sand Fork while the other Skinner boy, Alexander Newton Skinner, with wife Phoebe Conrad settled at the confluence of Oil Creek and Clover Fork.
Those who knew Orlando, folks spanning the 1940s to '70s, all agree the essay looks just like parts of the neighborhood along Oil Creek and Clover Fork, even well into the 1960s. The only discrepancy I see is the fancy wooden bridge Mr. Donaldson is using. I would have expected a swinging rope bridge in that scene.
Just a few of the photos from the NDN website are here. See the rest of the
Donaldson Photo Essay http://newdeal.feri.org/Library/h_3s_gp.htm
Also, check out an Orlando farm in operation is this area today. Rocky Fork Farm http://www.homestead.com/rockyforkfarm/
