Minnesota Farm Advocate Oral History Project: Interview with Ruth Ann Karty

Titles: Minnesota Farm Advocate Oral History Project: Interview with Ruth Ann Karty (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Ruth Ann Karty and her husband, Brian, farm 160 acres in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota. They raise steers, custom hogs, corn and beans. Brian bought the farm in 1969; they were married in 1972. They have 3 children. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Lou Anne Kling/Farm Advocates helped the Kartys through their own farm problems in 1986 and Ruth Ann joined the program soon afterward. She tells how the Advocate can be a victim of a client's crisis (as are the farmer, his family and friends). One of her clients committed suicide even though the mediation of his case had just been sucessfully completed. In working through and talking about her own fury, anger and hurt over this suicide, Ruth Ann unknowingly prevented the suicide of another client (that client, a woman, told her so). She believes that the real victories for Advocates lie in changes they see in people - seeing farmers get over being afraid, become strong and proud of being themselves, begin doing their own financial research. More and more farmers are being referred to Farm Advocates by loan officers, attorneys, pastors and bankers - and this is a victory of a different kind. Ruth Ann is complimentary of the support she receives as an Advocate, e.g. from Anne Kanten, Anne deMeurisse, the FLAG (Farmers' Legal Action Group) attorneys and other Advocates. The geographic spread of the Advocates is helpful (in the variety of experiences that result). She feels that many more farmers could be saved if there were more Advocates. She prefers working from an office in a center (rather than from her home) and indicates that the confusion at the RERCs has been a real loss to the state.

Dates

• 06/15/1988 (Creation)

Creation

• interviewee: Karty, Ruth Ann
• interviewer: Hunter, Dianna
• interviewer: Meter, Ken

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 37
• Accession Number: AV1991.158.21

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Minnesota Farm Advocate Oral History Project' <OH 37>

Quantity: 1.5 hours sound cassette 18 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Subjects

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