Back to Tennessee

I've never been to Tennessee. I should probably go though, because I now know two great songs about going back to Tennessee. Whoa, man. Boy do I love having a blog...yeah, this has something to do with industrial history.


Of course, the Grateful Dead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7oNS-bDZqc

And, from her really, really good and brand new album The Harrow and the Harvest, Gillian Welch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRA3sQoCluo

This made me wonder what's so great about Tennessee, and then I found this: http://www.bemishistory.org/ Click it! Bemis, Tennessee (Bemis also being, weirdly, the most annoying of my childhood parental nicknames): Where Industry and Friendliness Blend Into Progress. Early 20th century southern cotton mill ideology at its most succinct!

Anyway, after my snotty northern socialist self got over that old-timey corporate line, I got to thinking about the thousands of very local industrial history sites around the country. The website isn't the slickest, but its grassroots community focus, pride, and content is apparent -- an online exhibition, local events, ways to contribute memories, conduct family research, and get involved in preservation. And that's an immediate audience connection that bigger, shinier museums sometimes struggle to capture.