Ole Red McLaughlin of WOWL Broadcasting Fame

The man known as “Ole Red” to thousands of mid-20th Century Shoals radio listeners was born Nelve Pancie McLaughlin on August 26, 1910, in Lauderdale County. His home was near Green Hill in a community called Cow Pen, a fact he often made mention of in his radio broadcasts.

As a young man, Red married Helen Redding, and they were parents to one child, Gene Howell McLaughlin who died a short time after his birth in 1931. Helen died in 1981, eleven years before her husband. 

While Red’s primary occupation was that of an ironworker at Reynold’s Metals Company outside Muscle Shoals, he also toiled as a disc jockey at WOWL Radio in Florence, raised horses, and even ran for sheriff in 1960, but it was his second calling as a Country & Western entertainer which brought him regional fame. For a short while, his radio show also branched out into weekend programming at WOWL Television each Saturday. 

Red’s favorite song was North to Alaska, and few shows went by that he didn’t perform the Johnny Horton classic accompanied by his band the Ranch Hands. The country entertainer also made it a point to feature new talent in his line up and was one of the first to introduce local legends Melba and Peanut Montgomery to the public. 

Richard Taylor is a Florence native who now resides in Linden, Tennessee. The owner of Singing Wood Guitar Company, Richard was already a virtuoso as a young music student. He shared this memory about Ole Red and the Ranch Hands:

“My guitar teacher, Lyndon Smith, was the guitar player in that band and he used to let some of his students go on the show and do a song or two. My family lived next door to the TV station and I remember walking across our yard with my guitar and singing "That's All Right Mama" with Lyndon Smith standing beside me encouraging me all the way. He was a GREAT teacher; and Ole Red and his band treated me really nice. This was in 1958 or 1959. My first ever time to play on TV.”

In the late 1960s, networks began to leech more time from independent radio and television stations, causing such programs as McLaughlin’s to be phased out. Ole Red McLaughlin passed away on October 16, 1992, and is buried next to his wife Helen in the Emmaline Stutts Cemetery near El Reposo Nursing Home in Lauderdale County. His memory lives on in those he entertained for decades. 

Note: The photos in the above collage are WOWL publicity stills and were hand colored by Keith Williams for the Lauderdale County, Alabama, History page on Facebook.

Bette F. Terry holds a degree in History from UAH

African American Heroes of the Tennessee Valley

On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation warning that in all states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves free. The historic event was an important point in the Civil War and the beginning of the United States' transformation into the land of the free.

Many African American heroes, who made their mark on the world, called the Tennessee Valley home. The African American people of the Valley have been major contributors to the history, heritage, and culture of the land and have shown uncommon courage in most remarkable ways. Today, museums stand in their honor to showcase objects and materials of importance in their lives and to present them to the public for the purpose of education and enjoyment.

Green McAdoo Cultural Center and Museum

August 26, 2019, marked the 50th anniversary of the walk down a hill to attend public schools by the Clinton Twelve. The museum tells the compelling story of twelve high school students, who in 1956, braved threats of violence to attend Clinton High School, making it the first desegregated public high school in the South and the first integrated school in the South to graduate a student of color after the historic Brown vs. Board of Education landmark decision. The Green McAdoo Cultural Center and Museum follows the chronologically detailed story of the 1956 desegregation of Clinton High School in life-size pictures with dramatic narrative.

Jesse Owens Memorial Park

The Jesse Owens Memorial Park, located in Oakville, Alabama, honors the life and accomplishments of the Olympic sprinter and gold medalist. Born in 1913 in Oakville, Alabama, Jesse Owens captured four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin where Adolf Hitler famously refused to congratulate him. The first American to win four gold medals in track and field, he is honored in his hometown with a statue, museum, home replica, a 1936 torch replica, and a long jump pit to tests one’s ability in reaching his gold medal distance of 26 feet 5 5/16 inches. In 1955, he was named Ambassador of Sports by President Eisenhower and toured the world promoting the virtues of amateur programs. He served as Eisenhower’s personal representative to the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. In 1970, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, presented the Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford in 1976 and received the Living Legend Award in 1979 from President Jimmy Carter.

Alex Haley Statue at Haley Heritage Square

In honor of the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Alex Haley Heritage Square sits on the slopes of Morningside Park in Knoxville, Tenn., with views of the city, downtown business district and the Smoky Mountains. Within the Alex Haley Heritage Square, there are play structures, a paved loop and a peaceful green space with benches. The focal point of the community-built playground is the stunning 13-foot high bronze statue of the author and Pulitzer Prize winner.

Throughout history, music seemed to be the one channel in bridging the disparities of race. Noted musicians calling the Tennessee Valley home are W. C. Handy, Bessie Smith, and Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong.

W. C. Handy Home, Museum, and Library

Father of the Blues W.C. Handy was born in a small log cabin in Florence on November 16, 1873. He presented to the world the sounds of rhythm-and-blues, jazz, and soul with famous tunes such as “St. Louis Blues,” Memphis Blues,” and “Beale Street Blues”. The museum houses a collection of memorabilia, musical instruments, personal papers, and original sheet music. Handy's famous trumpet and his personal piano are just a few of the items on display.

Chattanooga African American Heritage Museum and Bessie Smith Cultural Center

Crowned as Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith earned the honor as the greatest classic blues singer of the 1920s. The museum’s original goal was to present the many contributions African Americans made to the development of Chattanooga. In 1996, a newly renovated facility became the new home of the Chattanooga African American Museum and the Bessie Smith Hall and included a world-class performance hall within the complex. The Bessie Smith Performance Hall has become well known in the Chattanooga community as an educational institution and spectacular venue to host performances, banquets, meetings and various community events.

Louie Bluie Festival

The Louie Bluie Festival is named in honor of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, a LaFollette native and internationally acclaimed string band musician who grew up in LaFollette in the 1920s and became one of the nation's finest string band musicians, as well as artist, storyteller, and writer. Growing up, “Louie Bluie” was influenced by the genres of music that early settlers brought to Appalachia. He learned to play a fiddle at an early age and would go on to become one of the nation's finest black string band musicians, receiving a NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship. The free festival is set for September 28, 2019, in Cove Lake State Park in Caryville, Tennessee.