Randal L. Hall's Books

Lum and Abner

Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio

By: Randal L. Hall

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Lum and Abner

Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio

By: Randal L. Hall

In the 1930s radio stations filled the airwaves with programs and musical performances about rural Americans—farmers and small-town residents struggling through the Great Depression. One of the most popular of these shows was Lum and Abner, the brainchild of Chester "Chet" Lauck and Norris "Tuffy" Goff, two young businessmen from Arkansas. Beginning in 1931 and lasting for more than two decades, the show revolved around the lives of ordinary people in the fictional community of Pine Ridge, based on the hamlet of Waters, Arkansas. The title characters, who are farmers, local officials, and the keepers of the Jot 'Em Down Store, manage to entangle themselves in a variety of hilarious dilemmas. The program's gentle humor and often complex characters had wide appeal both to rural southerners, who were accustomed to being the butt of jokes in the national media, and to urban listeners who were fascinated by descriptions of life in the American countryside. Lum and Abner was characterized by the snappy, verbal comedic dueling that became popular on radio programs of the 1930s. Using this format, Lauck and Goff allowed their characters to subvert traditional authority and to poke fun at common misconceptions about rural life. The show also featured hillbilly and other popular music, an innovation that drew a bigger audience. As a result, Arkansas experienced a boom in tourism, and southern listeners began to immerse themselves in a new national popular culture. In Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio, historian Randal L. Hall explains the history and importance of the program, its creators, and its national audience. He also presents a treasure trove of twenty-nine previously unavailable scripts from the show's earliest period, scripts that reveal much about the Great Depression, rural life, hillbilly stereotypes, and a seminal period of American radio.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

081318925X

ISBN 13

9780813189253

Mountains on the Market

Industry, the Environment, and the South

By: Randal L. Hall

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Mountains on the Market

Industry, the Environment, and the South

By: Randal L. Hall

Manufacturing in the Northeast and the Midwest pushed the United States to the forefront of industrialized nations during the early nineteenth century; the South, however, lacked the large cities and broad consumer demand that catalyzed changes in other parts of the country. Nonetheless, in contrast to older stereotypes, southerners did not shun industrial development when profits were possible. Even in the Appalachian South, where the rugged terrain presented particular challenges, southern entrepreneurs formed companies as early as 1760 to take advantage of the region's natural resources. In Mountains on the Market: Industry, the Environment, and the South, Randal L. Hall charts the economic progress of the New River Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, which became home to a wide variety of industries. By the start of the Civil War, railroads had made their way into the area, and the mining and processing of lead, copper, and iron had long been underway. Covering 250 years of industrialization, environmental exploitation, and the effects of globalization, Mountains on the Market situates the New River Valley squarely in the mainstream of American capitalism.

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Page Count

324

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813136245

ISBN 13

9780813136240

William Louis Poteat

A Leader of the Progressive-Era South

By: Randal L. Hall

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William Louis Poteat

A Leader of the Progressive-Era South

By: Randal L. Hall

William Louis Poteat (1856-1938), the son of a conservative Baptist slaveholder, became one of the most outspoken southern liberals during his lifetime. He was a rarity in the South for openly teaching evolution beginning in the 1880s, and during his tenure as president of Wake Forest College (1905-1927) his advocacy of social Christianity stood in stark contrast to the zeal for practical training that swept through the New South's state universities. Exceptionally frank in his support of evolution, Poteat believed it represented God at work in nature. Despite repeated attacks in the early 1920s, Poteat stood his ground on this issue while a number of other professors at southern colleges were dismissed for teaching evolution. One of the few Baptists who stressed the social duties of Christians, Poteat led numerous campaigns during the Progressive era for reform on such issues as public education, child labor, race relations, and care of the mentally ill. His convictions were grounded in a respect for high culture and learning, a belief in the need for leadership, and a deep-seated faith in God. Poteat also embodied the struggle with the intellectual compromises that tortured contemporary social critics in the South. Though he took a liberal position on numerous issues, he was a staunch advocate for prohibition and became a strong supporter of eugenics, a position he adopted after following his beliefs in a natural hierarchy and absolute moral order to their ultimate conclusion. Randal Hall's revisionist biography presents a nuanced portrait of Poteat, shedding new light on southern intellectual life, religious development, higher education, and politics in the region during his lifetime.

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Page Count

276

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813157684

ISBN 13

9780813157689

Lum and Abner

Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio

By: Randal L. Hall

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Lum and Abner

Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio

By: Randal L. Hall

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Page Count

276

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813156459

ISBN 13

9780813156453

Mountains on the Market

Industry, the Environment, and the South

By: Randal L. Hall

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Mountains on the Market

Industry, the Environment, and the South

By: Randal L. Hall

“This is a landmark not only of Appalachian history but of southern economic and environmental history as well.” —John C. Inscoe, author of Race, War, and Remembrance in the Appalachian South Manufacturing in the Northeast and the Midwest pushed the United States to the forefront of industrialized nations during the early nineteenth century; the South, however, lacked the large cities and broad consumer demand that catalyzed changes in other parts of the country. Nonetheless, in contrast to older stereotypes, southerners did not shun industrial development when profits were possible. Even in the Appalachian South, where the rugged terrain presented particular challenges, southern entrepreneurs formed companies as early as 1760 to take advantage of the region’s natural resources. In Mountains on the Market: Industry, the Environment, and the South, Randal L. Hall charts the economic progress of the New River Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, which became home to a wide variety of industries. By the start of the Civil War, railroads had made their way into the area, and the mining and processing of lead, copper, and iron had long been underway. Covering 250 years of industrialization, environmental exploitation, and the effects of globalization, Mountains on the Market situates the New River Valley squarely in the mainstream of American capitalism. “Southernists will now refer to this book first in thinking about the historical development of the extractive industries, their impact on the environment, and what it tells us about the South.” —David Brown, coauthor of Race in the American South: From Slavery to Civil Rights “An excellent microhistory of an understudied region of the Appalachian South.” —North Carolina Historical Review

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Page Count

462

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813140463

ISBN 13

9780813140469

William Louis Poteat

A Leader of the Progressive-Era South

By: Randal L. Hall

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William Louis Poteat

A Leader of the Progressive-Era South

By: Randal L. Hall

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

276

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813157684

ISBN 13

9780813157689

Book's by Randal L. Hall

Lum and Abner

Lum and Abner

Mountains on the Market

Mountains on the Market

William Louis Poteat

William Louis Poteat

Lum and Abner

Lum and Abner

Mountains on the Market

Mountains on the Market

William Louis Poteat

William Louis Poteat

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