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ORAL HISTORY
Michael Prince
Michael Prince, born in 1963, grew up in Sherwood, Tennessee surrounded by a large extended family. Prince spent much of his boyhood in the rural Sherwood Valley. Every fall, he watched his uncles, grandfather, and father plant, harvest, and cook sorghum syrup. Prince’s father, Bill Mike Prince was a prolific gardener, cultivating and saving heritage varieties of seed.
As an adult, Michael Prince left Sherwood to work in Chattanooga. He returned and bought his aunt Lucy’s house. Prince continues the family tradition, planting heritage seeds his father saved and growing sorghum on his family’s land. Almost every year, he grows and processes sorghum just like his family did in his boyhood.