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 second voice is that of a writer, Robert Drake, talking about his hometown, Ripley, Tennessee, and the origin of his characters.  “What I Write About:  Death and Old Women” is the title of one of his works, and his answer when anyone asks about what he writes. This was recorded on June 1973 in Fulton, KY and here for the Society he discusses his early life which was populated with old maids and…

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,…