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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

By Ray Hill Ohio and Virginia vie for having produced the most Presidents of the United States.  William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding were all...

By Ray Hill Carroll Reece had served in Congress for a decade before unexpectedly losing reelection in the 1930 general election. Reece had been upset by Oscar B. Lovette, who had held several local offices as a Republican, but who ran in 1930 as an Independent....