- Collection:
- Reflections on Georgia Politics oral history collection, 2006-2010
- Title:
- Tommy Irvin, 17 April 2008.
- Creator:
- Irvin, Thomas T., 1929
Short, Bob, 1932 - Contributor to Resource:
- Short, Bob, 1932-
- Date of Original:
- 2008-04-17
- Subject:
- Georgia--Department of Agriculture
Georgia--General Assembly
Political campaigns--Georgia
Governors--Georgia
Legislators--Georgia--Interviews
Agriculture--Georgia
Agricultural laws and legislation--Georgia
Segregation--Georgia
International trade
Produce trade--Georgia
Agricultural laws and legislation
Agriculture
Governors
Legislators
Political campaigns
Political participation
Politics and government
Produce trade
Segregation
Georgia--Politics and government
Georgia - People:
- Irvin, Thomas T., 1929-
Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary works)
interviews - Type:
- MovingImage
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- Thomas T. "Tommy" Irvin was born July 14, 1929, in Lula, Georgia, and was the son of sharecroppers. He grew up on a farm in White County. After the death of his father in a sawmill accident, Irvin was forced to drop out of high school to support his mother and siblings. He went on to make his father's sawmill business extremely successful. He moved to Habersham County, and in 1956 was elected to the school board. He later became chairman and president of the Georgia School Boards Association. In 1956 he was asked to run for the state legislature. He won, and at 33, Irvin was one of the youngest members of the Georgia General Assembly. Lester Maddox asked him to manage his gubernatorial campaign. Upon Maddox's election, Irvin became floor leader and executive secretary. In 1969, Maddox appointed him to be agricultural commissioner. He became the longest serving agricultural commissioner in the United States, retiring in 2010.
Irvin discusses his early life working on a farm and his public service career, including his role on the Habersham County School Board, his later service as chairman and president of the Georgia School Boards Association, his election to the Georgia General Assembly, his management of Lester Maddox's 1966 gubernatorial campaign, and his role as Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture from 1969 to 2011. He covers issues related to agriculture on state, national, and international levels, such as food safety, foreign trade, food prices, and the effect of immigration on production. Irvin also addresses the broader sphere of Georgia politics by discussing issues related to segregation and the legacy of several former governors.
Finding aid available in repository.
Interviewed by Bob Short. - Metadata URL:
- http://purl.libs.uga.edu/russell/RBRL220ROGP-024/ohms
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule.
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Reflections on Georgia Politics Oral History Collection, ROGP 024, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
- Extent:
- 1 interview (69 min.) : sd., col.
- Original Collection:
- Reflections on Georgia Politics Oral History Collection
http://sclfind.libs.uga.edu/sclfind/view?docId=ead/RBRL220ROGP.xml - Contributing Institution:
- Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
- Rights:
-
