Category: West Tennessee History
-
A Chickamauga Battlefield Map With a Haywood County Connection
Photo: Lynn Shaw / I recently purchased a collection of books and several other items from an online auction of the estate of Lynn Jackson Shaw (1940-2019). Shaw served for many years as the Haywood County historian and helped establish the Haywood County Museum in Brownsville. Years ago, he gave me a personal tour of…
-
The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune of West Tennessee’s David Crockett
When I first moved back to West Tennessee, one of the first things at Discovery Park of America that sparked my curiosity was the statue of David Crockett. I began exploring what made this Tennessean so special that he deserved a statue. From that spark of curiosity came “The Accidental Fame and Lack of Fortune…
-
“Fury in the Earth”: Harry Harrison Kroll and the New Madrid Earthquakes
Harry Harrison Kroll (1888-1967) is my “lesser-known Tennessee author from the past” for the summer of 2018, as I wrote in a blog post a few weeks ago. My wife and I recently took a quick trip to Virginia Beach, so I brought along Kroll’s “Fury in the Earth” to keep me company. Published by…
-
The Battle of the Bozos
When I was last home, my parents, Alex and I stopped for a quick meal at Bozo’s Hot Pit Bar-B-Q in Mason, Tennessee. I have eaten at Bozo’s many times through the years with family. During this visit, however, somewhere between devouring a half rack of ribs and a pulled-pork sandwich, I became curious about…
-
‘I’d Like to Kiss You, but I Just Washed My Hair’: Tennessee Writer Harry Harrison Kroll
Every summer, I select a lesser-known Tennessee author from the past and add some of his or her work to my reading list. This summer, I chose novelist, short-story writer, illustrator and professor Harry Harrison Kroll (1888-1967). His subjects, characters and descriptions provide a fascinating bridge to the lives of rural West Tennesseans several generations…
-
A Search for Old West Tennessee Film Footage Reveals a Story of Racism, Injustice and Tragedy
A few weeks ago, I discovered the Brownsville, Tennessee, train depot had been used as a filming location for the movie “The Liberation of L.B. Jones.” Of course, I wanted to watch the film and see whether any other familiar West Tennessee locations appeared. I had never heard of the movie, the novel on which…
-
Is a Fort Pillow commander buried near Poplar Corner Road?
Photo: An unidentified Union soldier; Photo credit: Library of Congress, Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs / Could a Union officer from Obion County, Tennessee who commanded troops during one of the Civil War’s most notorious massacres be buried in an unmarked grave near Nixon Creek in Haywood County? Rodney Wright, a longtime friend…
-
Womanless Wedding
My cousin Sandra sent me this photo from The Brownsville States-Graphic. It shows my grandfather, Jesse Lloyd “Bo” Williams (1910-2008), dressed as a minister and looking a bit like Charlie Chaplin. Her grandfather, Bear Mann (1902-1966), was the bride in the wedding. The caption under the photo is: Nuptial Headliners – Playing top roles in…
-
Hugh Jackman, Andrew Lytle and Me in the Bahamas
Last week, my wife and I were at the water park at Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, with Hugh Jackman. OK, we were not exactly “with” Hugh Jackman. We were at the same place at the same time. But as you can see from the photo, I have proof that we stood close enough…
-
Herbie Town
Yesterday, my Dad and I headed to Crockett County near Alamo, Tennessee, to look for the graves of some of our Johnson ancestors. We found what we were looking for, and I’ll share more about that another day. But our genealogy road trip also gave us an opportunity to stop by a place called Herbie…