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ORAL HISTORY
Anthony Bledsoe
Anthony Bledsoe cuts his own trees for fuel. He chooses hickory trees from the forests that surround this tiny community of Woodstock, Tennessee. Fresh green hickory imparts a flavor, he says, that is unbeatable; conventional dried, aged, and soaked hickory chips just go up in smoke.
Located between Millington and Memphis, the Woodstock Store N’ Deli actually straddles town and city; the customer orders in Millington or the front half of the Store, while the barbecue is smoked and the sandwich prepared in Memphis.
Mr. Bledsoe started working in barbecue pits in 1966, at the age of thirteen. He says he’s been perfecting his hot sauce for just as long. The sauce can be had on a Sleeper, a pound of chopped barbecue between a bun.