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 Acknowledgments Many people helped me to research and write this book, and I am grateful to each and every one of them. At Western Kentucky University, history department chair Richard Weigel read the manuscript and made helpful improvements. Department secretary Marsha Skipworth helped in many ways with this project. Nancy Marshall of the Helm-Cravens Library was always on hand to look up difficult-to-find sources, and I am most appreciative of her help. My graduate assistants, Caleb Pickering, Jonathan Chilcote, Crystal McFarland, and Phillip Shaw, were unstinting in their efforts to put this work together. I deeply appreciate their help. At the University Archives, Sue Lynn McDaniel was extremely efficient in getting materials to me and advising me on the details of the project. I cannot thank Sue Lynn enough, especially for compiling the discography. Others in the Kentucky Library and Museum who helped in many important ways are Nancy Baird, Reid Brigl, Earlene Chelf, Amanda Hardin, Pat Hodges, Jennifer Howard, Sarah McCaslin, Connie Mills, Lynn Niedermeier, Leonetta Strange, and Sally Ann Strickler. The Kentucky Library and Museum on the campus of Western Kentucky University is a place in which all Kentuckians can rightfully take pride. Josh Hawkins of the Western office Acknowledgments 8 of alumni relations and Sean Kinder of Helm-Cravens helped procure some much-needed materials. I thank both these young gentlemen for their help. If I have overlooked anyone here, please forgive me. My friend and colleague, Bill Shurck, from the Bowling Green State University in Ohio, read the entire manuscript and put his expertise at my disposal. I thank him very much. I also thank Cheryl Hoffman, of Hyattsville, Maryland , for her excellent copyediting of this manuscript. I am grateful to Doc Livingston and Lee Robertson for writing such fine forewords to my work on the Hilltoppers. Bobbie Ann Mason allowed me access to her collection at Western, read the first three chapters of the manuscript, and made useful comments on them. Certainly, I extend my thanks to Don McGuire and Jimmy Sacca. They granted interviews and access to their collections, and at every stage of the research, they gave me their encouragement. Thank you. To all those who wrote to me, either by e-mail or “snail” mail, and granted interviews, thank you very much indeed. I could not have written this book without you. And last, but certainly not least, I wish once again to express my gratitude to my lovely family: my daughters, Beverly and Hilary; my sons, Daniel and Matthew; my granddaughters, Colleen, Megan, and Katharine; my grandsons, Travis, Patrick, Austin, Liam, Rowan, Carlton, David, and Finn. And to Steve and to Arthur and to Chris and to Ling and to Elaine and Alec and to Grace. And, as always, to Pat. ...

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