American Turpentine Farmers Association Minute Books, 1936-1999 provide the administrative record of the American Turpentine Farmers Association (ATFA), which was established in March of 1936 by Judge Harley Langdale of Valdosta, Georgia, along with 900 other men from the Southern turpentine industry. ATFA was formed to represent the interests of gum naval stores factors, producers, and dealers in the United States "turpentine belt" (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas). Activities of the American Turpentine Farmers Association (ATFA) document the interconnection of land use and environmental stewardship to the broader issues and policies of modern Georgia's rural development.
The minutes are arranged in blocks of years. You can read them straight through. There is a full text search box. The timeline gives one an overview of the association.
As I read the minutes, I was intrigued by Judge Harley Langdale. I do genealogy research for fun. From reading the minutes, Judge Langdale seems like an interesting and focused person. The timeline notes Langdale died in 1972. I read the 1972 and 1973 minutes looking for a memorial for him. There wasn't anything. I did a search for his name in the minutes. The last mention of him in the minutes was in 1965 when he resigned as President and Director. He was elected President emeritus at that meeting.
I wonder why they didn't mention him in the 1972 or 1973 minutes? There is a book about the Langdale family : Judge Harley and his boys: the Langdale story By John E. Lancaster. There are 19 references to ATFA in The Langdale Story.
The minutes don't tell the whole story but they lead one to wonder what the back story might be. American Turpentine Farmers Association Minute Books, 1936-1999 are available through GALILEO and the open web.
-kss
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment