FNP 51 Interviewee: Thomas H. "Tommy" Greene, Jr. Interviewer: Julian Pleasants Date: June 27, 2000 P: This is Julian Pleasants, and I am speaking with Tommy Greene, in Madison, Florida. The date is June 27, 2000. Would you tell me when and where you were born? G: Yes, sir. I was born here in Madison County, Florida, in the city of Madison, October 28, 1938. P: Describe for me your early life. What was it like? G: I grew up in the shadow of my daddy's sawmill. My daddy was a big timber merchant, the largest crosstie distributor in the southeastern United States, and so I grew up in the crosstie swamps and the turpentine woods. As I got older, [Daddy put me in the] pole [and] logging [woods], the big timbers for the big poles like went around the football fields and these big utility poles. P: Was working with those logs pretty dangerous work? G: Yes, sir. In fact, it's one of the most hazardous businesses in America, as I understand. P: And you had one bad incident where you got trapped under some logs. Would you tell me about that? G: Yes, sir. After I got out of the military, I came back and married my childhood sweetheart. We went all through school together. I was logging by day and farming by night, and we [were] top-loading. We did not have the big equipment then, and that's when you put a tickle up in one of your tallest trees. Then you take a tractor or mules, and I had a tractor, and then you [would] pull the logs up on top of the load of logs that you [were] going to [haul] out of there [on] the truck. The load shifted on me and pinned me under it, and I thought I was dead, but the good Lord saved me. I promised myself that if I could ever get out of farming, I'd never go back to farming, but I promised God I'd never go back to logging if he'd get me out of those woods [alive. He did and I kept my promise]. P: Who found you? G: Some of the crew found me. In fact, there was one there on the tractor who was working with me when he saw it, and he came running up then. I was worrying about one of those great big poles coming on down over because I was hanging upside down, and I was afraid for them to move the poles. I was caught, but I