Title

Interview with Larry Palmer

Authors

Michael G. Hillard PhD, University of Southern MaineFollow

Files

Date of Interview

7-10-2004

Duration of Audio File

Audio File 1 -- 01:20:58; Audio File 2 -- 01:21:02

Interviewee

Larry Palmer

Age

Born approximately December 28, 1937, 66 at time of interview

Gender

Male

Birth Place

Patten, Maine

Residence

Patten, Maine

Occupation/Work History

Mr. Palmer worked most of his life as logger/woodcutter, most likely from the late 1950s until around 2000. He also spent 8 years in Connecticut working as a blue collar employee at a tire factory.

Role

Union

Mill or Principal Employer

Logging contractor Carroll Gerow of Patten Maine

Mill Location

Aroostook County industrial forestland

Keywords

Palmer was an important participant in the Maine Woodmen's Association (MWA) statewide strike of 1975. His close friend Wayne Birmingham was President of the MWA. The interview includes an account of the strike, descriptions of logging work, and the fall out of the strike and MWA's activities during its ensuing existence as a small organization that survived the strike's defeat.

Description

Palmer was an important participant in the Maine Woodmen's Association (MWA) statewide strike of 1975. His close friend Wayne Birmingham was President of the MWA. The interview includes an account of the strike, descriptions of logging work, and the fall out of the strike and MWA's activities during its ensuing existence as a small organization that survived the strike's defeat.

Comments

Palmer was a close friend and associate of Wayne Birmingham, President of the Maine Woodmen's Association from 1975 through 1980. He, his "boss" Gerow, and Birmingham formed a small crew of friends who logged together from 1974 into the 1990s. They also were key activists who helped to organize what became the MWA in 1975 months before the fall strike that year. A crucial segment of the interview is an account of he and Birmingham's seven year stint (1967-1974) stint in a Connecticut tire factory. They experienced being members of a strong and combative union, and brought the lessons of this experience back to Maine and applied them in organizing the MWA and conducting the strike. Palmer's interview is important because Birmingham had passed away in the 1990s, years before the author began interviewing about the MWA.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Hillard, Michael G. PhD, "Interview with Larry Palmer" (2004). Maine Woodman’s Association Strike of 1975. 15.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/maine-woodsmans-strike/15