By Ray Hill Joseph Carlton Loser (pronounced Low-ser) enjoyed a successful career in law and politics for decades. The long-time district attorney for Nashville and Davidson County, Loser eventually wound up in Congress and became associated with a spectacular case of voter fraud, which ended his congressional career and launched the career of another Davidson […]
By Ray Hill Hazen Kreis is likely a name unfamiliar to the readers of this column, but there was a time when the six foot, five inch gentleman was wildly popular in Knox County. Kreis was elected to three two-year terms consecutively as Sheriff of Knox County. Ranging in weight from 340 to 375 […]
By Ray Hill In this column, I have written very little about local political figures but there are a few that would likely make some interesting reading. One is Jack Dance, who was Deputy to the County Clerk and a legitimate contender for Congress when J. Will Taylor died unexpectedly on November 14, 1939. Republicans […]
By Ray Hill This column is written for my friend John R. Mills. Johnny and I have been friends since 1976 and his was the first local campaign I worked on as a volunteer. Johnny’s wife, Charlotte, is a good friend of mine as well and so was her Dad, Mr. Hal Cate. The Cates […]
By Ray Hill For twenty years, Tennessee’s Second Congressional District had been served in the United States House of Representatives by J. Will Taylor. “Hillbilly Bill” Taylor was also the last congressman elected from this district who either did not live or later move to Knoxville. Taylor had become an institution inside the district and […]
By Ray Hill Tennessee’s Second Congressional District is the most Republican in the nation from the standpoint it has never been represented by anything other than a Republican since the party has been on the ballot. There is also another statistic that is interesting about the people of the Second Congressional District; they seem to […]
By Ray Hill Most figures in history are ephemeral and float through the pages of books only fleetingly. Some never even make the footnotes of history, yet probably should. There are any number of historical figures which were larger than life, the subject of admiration, if not adulation by students of history. George Washington, Abraham […]
By Ray Hill The story of Grace Moore is not at all political in nature and hopefully readers of this column will not be sorely disappointed. Miss Moore’s story is, however uniquely and quintessentially American. It is both an interesting story and certainly part of Tennessee’s history. Grace Moore rose from truly humble beginnings and […]
Previously printed on October 5, 2015 By Ray Hill Eleanor Medill Patterson was the first woman to successfully run a major metropolitan newspaper. Known as “Cissy” due to the nickname given to her in childhood by her brother, she was volatile, unpredictable, frequently gleefully malevolent and unquestionably gifted. Eleanor Patterson was born into a wealthy […]
By Ray Hill One year ago on August 3, I lost my beloved Scottish terrier, Mackie. I still miss the little fellow something fierce and there’s not a day that goes by without my thinking about him. Losing anyone we love profoundly is a terrible loss. It literally changes one’s world because without that loved […]