Tom Chandler interview about turpentine industry

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. In this recording, an unidentified man whose family worked in the turpentine business, discusses the industry in the south, including some of his family traditions and uses for turpentine. He starts by explaining that his family has used turpentine for generations. At 7:20 he talks about industrial supplies and traditional methods to harvest turpentine from trees. At 15:30 he specifically discusses how seasons affect the trees from which they harvest and the tools that they use. Next at 23:50, he talks about uses for turpentine, such as creating gunpowder. At 28:20 he returns to the topic of his familys farm. At 30:00 he talks about town stores, such as commissaries that sold books, small goods, and sometimes turpentine. As an adult, he sold the turpentine that he harvested at these commissaries. At 34:00 he recalls daily farming operations, such as what hours they worked. At 43:15 he describes privies that turpentine farmers used while working. He also mentions photographs and calendars that farmers used to track the seasons. At the end of the recording at 45:00, he recalls that turpentine farmers moved between farms for years at a time, so he moved a lot as a child. No biographical information has been determined. No transcript exists for this recording. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.