Hoy Deal was born in Newton, NC. After completing the fifth grade, he set out to earn money. He did so in a variety of positions in North Carolina's growing industrial sphere, handling wood at a few lumber mills and turning gloves at a glove factory, as well as spending time with a Works Progress Administration crew. Deal spends a significant amount of time describing his life at the time of the interview, including his difficult family relationships and his devout Christianity, but his memories of his early life in the rural South can be vivid, especially when he recalls his adventurous childhood and his macho exploits as a young man. This interview is a good source of vibrant stories about male life in an industrializing southern state.