Bio

Mr. Anthrom Green Jr. was born in Soperton, Georgia on October 27, 1918 on the Gillis Plantation. He came to Jacksonville, Florida in 1938 and has lived there since that time. Green was introduced to the business of turpentining by his father, Anthrom Green Sr. at the age of 17 in 1935; he and his father worked side by side. Green guides us through his recounting the hardships of the various jobs he held in the turpentine woods. As he takes us from job to job and from town to town, he remembers various bosses and woods riders, and the process of turpentining, from start to finish.

Though he feels that he began his career in the woods far too early in life, he went on to master various aspects of the job. He relives his days on the Gillis Plantation, and life in the camps. He describes in detail for us camp diets, entertainment, share-cropping and payment, camp conditions, the house that he grew up in, and the treatment of camp workers in different camps.

Education, religion, playtime, avoiding snake bites, worship services and life for the women in the camp are all covered well by Mr. Green in this interview. Then, he recounts for us the some of the events that led up to his departure from the woods, as he decides to go to Jacksonville. This is his story; he is 85.

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