Real Country I, II, III, and IV had their beginning perhaps as many as twenty years ago. Work on it moved with numerous interruptions over the decades. Nancy Brown provided amazing and energetic support during the final phase, as did son Dr. Robert Bevins. When author Ann Bevins decided two years ago that her life would not be complete should she not finish her college degree that began in 1954, Dr. Rosemary Allen, Georgetown College provost and academic dean, not only welcomed Ann as a returning student but took on the responsibility of being her faculty advisor and included Real Country as independent study. History professor Dr. Ellen Emerick agreed to supervise this independent study. Without the support and input of these two scholars, this work would not have arrived at this point that gives it to you the readers.

_________________

Ann Bolton Bevins has spent a lifetime collecting the stories that define Scott County, and the stories in Real Country bring that history to life. The photographs provide invaluable context, but my favorite part of her work is always the stories that go with the pictures. The details of everyday life and human experience provide a way for the imagination to supplement these still pictures with dimensions and movement that evoke days gone by. I love, for instance, envisioning Mrs. Askew’s teahouse, and above all I love the story of Henry Viley Johnson The collection of all these pieces of gold makes Real Country a treasure for all of those who love history.