Jackson Purchase Historical Society

We recently had a chance to talk with Constance Alexander, oral historian and lady of letters in advance of her presentation to the Society at the Spring Meeting this coming Saturday. She recounted her youth growing up in New Jersey, her time gathering and recording the history of the Jackson Purchase and the joys and difficulties of conducting oral history interviews. Constance has her own website at www.constancealexander.com. You can email her at constancealexander@newwavecomm.net.

The Spring meeting is this Saturday, April 17 at 10:30am at the Wrather Auditorium on the campus of Murray State University. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to hear Constance talk about our history.

This episode is available on iTunes or you can listen to the podcast here.

In this series, we are going to bring you voices from the past – recordings recently found of four of our speakers from the years 1973-1975.

This third voice is that of a historian, James W. Hammack, Jr.   Dr. Hammack was on the Department of History faculty of Murray State University (MSU) for 30 years, 10 years of which he served as Department Chair.   Following his death,  a Scholarship Banquet has been held, for the past 8 years, at which the Dr. James W. Hammack, Jr. graduate scholarship is awarded.

Dr. Hammack was the author of a book entitled, Kentucky and the Second American Revolution:  The War of 1812. This recorded speech was given December 5, 1975.

Dr. Hammack’s speech explores the various battles of the War of 1812, including the Battle of the Thames and the Battle of New Orleans, and how the valor and skill of the fighting men from Kentucky gave birth to the term “Kentucky Rifleman” .

This recording is the exclusive property of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society. It is made available for your personal use only and may not be used for any other commercial or non-commercial purposes, including any public performance, broadcasting, or copying of this recording. If you have any questions about how this recording may be used, please contact the President of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society at info@jacksonpurchasehistory.org

In this series, we are going to bring you voices from the past – recordings recently found of four of our speakers from the years 1973-1975.

This first voice is a musical one, that of Jimmy Driftwood on July 28, 1975.   Records of the Society do not reveal the name of the building at whose dedication Driftwood is speaking.

Jimmy Driftwood was a school teacher who was also a songwriter.  His most famous song was “Battle of New Orleans” and sings it during this speech.  He also sings and discusses old ballads.  For those of you who are not Southerners, when Driftwood speaks of “ambeer” he is talking about tobacco juice.

Driftwood (born James Corbitt Morris, 1907-1998) was one of the original members of the Grand Ole Opry and was instrumental in establishing the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas which preserves Ozark Mountain culture.  The Center has since been absorbed by the Arkansas State Park System.

When the “Battle” was recorded by Johnny Horton it stayed 21 weeks on top of the pop and country charts and was awarded a Grammy for the Song of the Year in 1960.   He received Grammy awards for others of his songs such as “Wilderness Road”, “Tennessee Stud”, and “Songs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb.”

This recording is the exclusive property of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society. It is made available for your personal use only and may not be used for any other commercial or non-commercial purposes, including any public performance, broadcasting, or copying of this recording. If you have any questions about how this recording may be used, please contact the President of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society at info@jacksonpurchasehistory.org.

Mausoleum of Thelma and Leslie Murdock, founders of Paradise Friendly Home, Highway 97, Bell City, KY (south Graves County)

We had the extreme pleasure of talking with Teresa Ray of the Paradise Friendly Home an orphans’ home located in Farmington, KY. She recounted her time there as an orphan as well as Paradise Friendly Home’s place in the history of Western Kentucky. She will be the guest speaker at the quarterly meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society on January 16. Now available through iTunes or you can listen to it here.

We recently sat down to talk to Dr. Kit Wesler, the upcoming speaker at the Fall 2009 Quarterly meeting. To listen to our conversation, click on the podcast link below.

JPHS Podcast – A Link To The Past with Dr. Kit Wesler