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Pining for Turpentine Critical Nostalgia, Memory, and Commemorative Expression in the Wake of Industrial Decline

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Pining for Turpentine Critical Nostalgia, Memory, and Commemorative Expression in the Wake of Industrial Decline Pining for Turpentine Critical Nostalgia, Memory, and Commemorative Expression in the Wake of Industrial Decline Timothy C. Prizer A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Folklore Program, Department of American Studies. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Dr. Patricia E. Sawin Dr. William R. Ferris Dr. Laurie K. Sommers UMI Number: 1467322 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 1467322 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 ©2009 Timothy C. Prizer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii Abstract TIMOTHY C. PRIZER -- Pining for Turpentine: Critical Nostalgia, Memory, and Commemorative Expression in the Wake of Industrial Decline (Under the direction of Patricia E. Sawin) The late twentieth-century decline of the turpentine industry in south Georgia and north Florida has inspired efforts on the part of former workers to memorialize their industry. Because the production of turpentine involved the tapping of pine trees for the extraction of resin or crude gum, the industry made a significant and conspicuous impact on the landscape. Today, former turpentiners employ this landscape – in addition to collecting and displaying turpentine’s material culture – to commemorate the disappearance of their industry. This thesis explores the intersection of work, memory, and nostalgia in commemorative expression. It argues that nostalgia is often misunderstood as idle longing for an irrecoverable past when in fact it inspires commemorative action, exhibits critical thought, and offers paths for the future. The thesis also addresses conflicting interpretations of the industry’s past as a result of race and differential identity. iii To those, living and departed, who labored among the pines in the turpentine woods of the American South. Special dedication goes to the men and women who so graciously welcomed me into their homes, fed me meals, and opened their minds and their hearts as we talked about their lives. And to Archie Green (1917-2009), whose infectious passion for workers’ culture graces every page herein. May his passing bring a sense of urgency and a deepened purpose to carry on in his legacy. iv Acknowledgements The words inked upon the pages of this thesis tell an important story, but they are only a portion of one that remains untold – the story of its writing. This work would never have been possible were it not for the love, guidance, support, encouragement, and reassurance from some very special people. In the interest of chronology, it was my dad, Herb Prizer, who, in May 2008, sent me an email that shook me out of the state of idle comfort I had assumed since completing my Master’s coursework. His note urged me to plunge into the task of writing this thesis without further delay. It would be difficult to exaggerate the impact of his message. “Begin to focus on the task day-in and day-out,” he wrote, and “set forth to do it with the dogged tenacity of a bulldog – nothing will get in your way.” Alongside urgent, stirring quotations about the perishable talent of youth and the weariness brought on by work not done – all from Eric Hoffer, one of his favorite contemporary philosophers – my dad vowed to “be there to back you up with encouragement, advice and money as you need it.” His were not empty promises. Indeed, he has lovingly pledged and unfailingly delivered these things throughout my life, in every endeavor I have ever undertaken, and this time would be no exception. In fact, aside from the members of my committee, he is this thesis’ editor-in-chief. I know how lucky I am. There is no doubting it in the tireless support of others as well. More than anyone else, my love, Lindsay Penny, assumed the tasks of supporting, reassuring, loving, and simply tolerating someone engaged in the writing of a thesis. She met these challenges daily for well over a year, and she did so not only without complaint but with v selfless patience, steady encouragement, and indefatigable support. There are not words to express to her how crucial she is to this work, but I will forever do all in my power to return the love and encouragement she has shown me throughout. Special thanks are in order as well for my mom, Claudia Prizer, whose unfailing love and support in all realms of my life carried over into this endeavor too. On a number of occasions throughout my writing, my mom served as a sounding board – fresh ears, if you will – for me to test out a new paragraph or page here and there. Her reassurance helped me to continue pushing through. I must also thank my sweet sister, Katie, who, while having no direct influence on this document, ultimately influences and positively impacts every aspect of my life. Her love for me is real and always felt. Finally, I owe enormous thanks to the members of my committee – Drs. Patricia Sawin, Bill Ferris, and Laurie Sommers. Each of them brought a unique perspective to my work. Patricia Sawin provided theoretical guidance in a way few people could have. Her grasp on the most opaque of ideas – and her ability to put them in plain language – has long amazed me. As Chair of my committee, she made herself continually available and was eagerly responsive to my requests for advice and direction. Bill Ferris, as anyone who knows him will attest, is a walking encyclopedia of any and all aspects relating to the culture, history, and folklore of the American South. He is also a man strongly rooted in place and an articulate observer of the Southern places that have shaped him. The power and poetry he finds in his everyday surroundings – and in his memories of places past – have influenced me to such a degree that they permeate virtually every page of this thesis. Last, but by no means least, is Laurie Sommers. She has supported, advised, and directed my research since the formative days of my interest in folklore as an academic discipline. It is impossible to overstate her contribution. Indeed, I owe my awareness of the turpentine industry’s existence to her. Her local vi knowledge of the industry and her networks with many of the industry’s people have been invaluable to me over the last seven years. Along with the workers and their families who kindly made me at home in theirs, she is the bedrock of my research. vii Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................x Chapter I. TO ‘PINE’ FOR TURPENTINE: AN INTRODUCTION................................1 A Theoretical Foundation for Studies of Memory and Place.......................4 A Relationship with the Land.....................................................................14 Race, Nostalgia, and Industrial Decline.....................................................25 II. A HISTORY OF NAVAL STORES AND TURPENTINE............................30 In Wrath and Transoceanic Progress: An Early History...........................30 An Ancient Resource in a New World: Naval Stores in North America............................................................................................34 Slavery on Plantations of Pine: The Roots of Racial Divide......................49 The Camp, the Commissary, and Debt Peonage........................................59 The Demise of an Industry, The Birth of Remembering............................74 III. WORK-SITES OF EXPERIENCE: LANDSCAPE AND PLACE IN THE TURPENTINE BELT...................................................................................77 Echoes in the Pines: Turpentine’s Sensory Landscape..............................77 Space and Place, Land and Landscape: A Theoretical Discussion............82 Music in the Woods: A Turpentiner’s Relationship with Place.................87 Standing Tall, Standing Firm: Trees and Efforts to Protect Them............96 Marking Place, Leaving an Impression: Catfaces and Conflicts of Memory.....................................................................................................120 Race, Nostalgia, and Black Experiential Memory....................................152 viii IV. DISPLAYS OF NOSTALGIA: MATERIAL CULTURE AND MEMORY IN THE TURPENTINE BELT........................................................................167 Outside-In: Blurring Boundaries between Landscape and Artifact.........167 Material Articulations: Theories of Materiality, Metaphor, and Memory......................................................................................................191 Assemblages of Assessment: The Industrious Collection of an Industrial Past ..........................................................................................................208 Setting History Straight: A Turpentiner Tours a Mobile Collection.......228 V. THE FRUITS OF CHANGE: AN EPILOGUE...........................................246 APPENDIX: Glossary of Terms............................................................................259 REFERENCES CITED..........................................................................................266
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