Soldiers, Saints & Sinners

"Soldiers, Saints and Sinners: Stories of Long Ago" is a series of short stories about West Tennessee history, stretching from the pioneer days to more recent times.

The characters in these stories range from Civil War soldiers -- and a sniper, "Confederate Long Rifle;" to Lucy Holcombe, the "Sweetheart of the Confederacy;" to a con artist posing as a Baptist preacher, "The Holy Cheat;" to Roscoe Turner, amazing aviator and his pet lion Gilmore, "The Lion Who Flew." Gilmore flew all over the nation and spent his last years sunning himself on an African lion farm.

Historic figures include doctors, entrepreneurs, pilots, game wardens, football coaches and musicians. We wouldn't have the Waffle House if it hadn't been for Joe W. Rogers, Sr. of Jackson, Tennessee. The music world wouldn't be the same without Carl Perkins, Eddy Arnold and "Sonny Boy" Williamson. These true characters laughed, cried, went to war or into business and shaped the history of West Tennessee, and in some instances, the nation and the world.

Take a journey through time in the pages of "Soldiers, Saints and Sinners: Stories of Long Ago." Our history is all around us if only we look. You'll come away with something new to think about, and perhaps you'll reach the last page saying, "Well, I never knew that "