Kalei Woodford

This past Saturday, March 29, the University Libraries hosted an event called Imagine Weekend. There were a few events relating to Special Collections & University Archives. One was “Archives in Action.” We were delighted to have two of our donors speak about their collections.

As the digital collections specialist for Rick Boucher’s Papers, I will be focusing on Rick Boucher’s talk and collection. He was a member of the Virginia’s State Senate from 1975 until 1982. He was then elected to represent the ninth district of Virginia in the House of Representatives from 1983 until 2011. He also practiced law while participating in the state senate and continued after 2011.

For the event, I selected thirty-three items from the collection to accompany his talk.

The exhibit tables with the selected items from Boucher’s collection

This included a photograph of Boucher and his mother the night he won his state senate seat:

Following that were Boucher’s statement and speech against impeaching Bill Clinton. Boucher was the lead author of the Democratic resolution of censure. A censure was the alternative to impeachment. Boucher was chosen to take the lead on it because of his willingness to work with both political parties.

A handwritten statement by Boucher offering a censure resolution instead of the impeachment of Bill Clinton

A speech given by Boucher against the impeachment of Bill Clinton

Boucher and Bill Clinton shake hands at the White House

Boucher shakes hands with Bill Clinton at an event

Boucher with Harold Berman (CA) during a judiciary committee meeting for the proceedings of the impeachment of Bill Clinton in Washington, D.C.

During Boucher’s talk, he also discussed his efforts to expand the economy in Southwest Virginia. He started a program called Showcasing Southwest Virginia to garner interest from national companies to start branches in the various counties of the ninth district. To provide examples of Boucher’s efforts to improve Southwest Virginia, I included three photographs that were taken at these events. Along with the photos, I included the announcement Boucher released concerning the creation of Showcasing Southwest Virginia. The final item relating to expanding the economy in this region is a newsletter containing updates on Showcasing Southwest Virginia.

Boucher speaks to the Board of Supervisors for Pulaski County during a tour to showcase Southwest Virginia

Boucher’s statement on how he plans to use the Commission on the Future of Southwest Virginia to benefit his constituents

Boucher reviews a plan for C and P Telephone, now known as Verizon, with Hugh Stallard, who was the president of the Virginia branch of C and P, during a Showcasing Southwest Virginia visit in Pulaski

Boucher, Madison Marye, and Dick Bagley cut a ribbon during a Showcasing Southwest Virginia tour

A newsletter promoting Boucher’s Showcasing Southwest Virginia program

Another topic Boucher focused on during his talk was his efforts in environmental policy. Boucher played a role in making the Virginia Creeper Trail a nationally recognized trail. He also helped pass the Wilderness Bill which helps preserve natural areas and trails in Virginia. As part of his time in the House of Representatives, Boucher was part of the energy and environment committee which I included a photo of. As part of that committee, Boucher toured a science station in Antarctica and encountered penguins.

Statement given by Boucher about developing ecological tourism in the region

Handwritten speech given by Boucher about increasing tourism to the area

A portrait of the members of the Energy and Environment committee

Handwritten statement given by Boucher about a piece of legislation meant to protect wilderness areas

Boucher wears a backpack on a hike celebrating wilderness

Handwritten speech given by Boucher about protected wilderness areas in Southwest Virginia

Boucher poses with penguins on a trip to the South Pole

The major policies Boucher was influential in were telecommunication legislation. For this topic, I included several of Boucher’s speeches and statements regarding telecommunications:

Handwritten speech on telecommunications

Statement given by Boucher about developing electronic spaces for community members

Handwritten speech given by Boucher about a proposed plan for broadband internet

Handwritten remarks given by Boucher about access to TV service in rural areas

Handwritten speech given by Boucher to the Carolina- Virginia Telephone Association about legislation pertaining to telecommunications

Handwritten speech given by Boucher about a program intended to bring fiber optic lines to Southwest Virginia homes

Handwritten speech given by Boucher outlining rules that telecommunications companies must follow

Handwritten remarks given by Boucher about the effects of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act on fair use

A marked up copy of a speech given by Boucher about the fair use exception to copyright law

A statement by Boucher regarding power for telecommunications support

Virginia Tech Resources:

Click here to explore the Rick Boucher Papers where you can view the documents and photos I’ve included in this post as well as the rest of the collection.

Rick Boucher Papers, Ms2021-048, Special Collections & University Archives at Virginia Tech

This past October marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of the twin cities of Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee as the official birthplace of country music as declared by the U.S. government on October 12 1998. The resolution was co-sponsored by Rick Boucher, a Virginian Congressman from 1983-2011. He worked with the sponsor of the resolution, Congressman William L. Jenkins, to ensure the resolution passed both the House and Senate. In 1995, prior to this resolution, Boucher also supported the nominations of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family for the Presidential Medal of Freedom due to their contributions and influence in country music.

The Birthplace of Country Music museum in Bristol, Virginia celebrates not only the city being named as the birthplace of country music but also the event that awarded them the title of the birthplace of country music: the Bristol Sessions.

The Bristol Sessions occurred from July 25 through August 5 in 1927. Ralph Peer recorded seventy-six songs from nineteen performers. Johnny Cash, a legend of country music in his own right and husband of June Carter of the Carter Family, would later call the Bristol Sessions “the most important event in the history of country music.” The Bristol Sessions are often called the “big bang of country music” because of how the Bristol Sessions popularized country music and brought it into the American public.

Ralph Peer was a record producer employed by Victors Records. Prior to that, he was employed by OKeh Records where he recorded Fiddlin’ John Carson in 1923. After listening to a few early country music stars, Peer coined the term “hillbilly music” which later became known as country music.

What made the Bristol Sessions so successful was the superior quality recordings Peer made. Because the recordings captured both the music and singing better than before, the songs became an instant hit when they were released. In 1927, sound waves were recorded by the new Western Electric microphones and an acoustic phonograph. The acoustic phonograph allowed for more comfortable recording as well as remote recordings.

Previously, phonographs were stationary in a recording studio. Because of this, musicians and performers had to be strategically placed and constantly adjusted if an instrument or singer were too loud or too quiet. An interesting note about phonographs prior to 1925 is that string instruments were too quiet to be heard on the recordings. After 1925, the combination of better understanding of positioning, better phonographs, and new microphones, string instruments could be heard on the recordings. This was fortunate timing as string instruments are even now a cornerstone of country music.

Peer set up this new technology in an abandoned hat factory in the city of Bristol. In 1927, Bristol sat on the border of Virginia and Tennessee. Because of previous recordings by Peer, several local musicians in Bristol, including Jimmie Rodgers, now known as the father of country music, and the Carter Family, the first family of country music, showed up to Peer’s makeshift studio and recorded their songs. The Bristol Sessions catapulted country music into the forefront of American culture and cemented it as a professional genre of music.

References:

The U.S. Congress Resolution on the Birthplace of Country Music

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum

Special Collections & University Archives at Virginia Tech

The Carter/Cash Family Collection, Ms.2009.090, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Box 34, Folder 141, Rick Boucher Papers 1968-2017 (bulk 1975-2011), Ms2021-048, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Box 35, Folder 49, Rick Boucher Papers 1968-2017 (bulk 1975-2011), Ms2021-048, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Box 8, Rick Boucher Papers 1968-2017 (bulk 1975-2011), Ms2021-048, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech Libraries

Gleason, Holly. Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives. 1st ed. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017.
Ken Burns: Country Music. Public Media Distribution, LLC, d/b/a PBS Distribution, 2019.
Wolfe, Charles, and Ted Olson. The Bristol Sessions : Writings about the Big Bang of Country Music. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland, 2005.

Author: Kalei Woodford

A Recap of Imagine Weekend: Archives in Action

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The Birthplace of Country Music

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