Tom Raymond

Memories

I have been honored to have my images of Ray be the centerpiece of my collection at the Library of Congress.

Jimmy Neil

Memories

… in 1973, I was on a quest to find… the “perfect” storyteller from the rich oral tradition of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Connie Regan-Blake

Memories

When I think of Ray and Rosa, images and memories come pouring in. I love seeing Rosa in her field of flowers next to the ripening corn and beans. There is a large expanse of dahlias in every color, shape and size, and Rosa practically skipping along, looking like a 16 year old, pointing out … Read More

Tom Burton

Memories

The Executive Director of the Tennessee Arts Commission asked me to organize a mini-folk festival on the capitol grounds in Nashville in the early 1970’s. Arlie Watson, Ora Payne, Willard Watson, and another area craftsman agreed to participate. At the last moment the craftsman backed out because of physical reasons. I didn’t know quite what … Read More

Keith Smith

Memories

[I] saw a tent where Ray was gonna speak. I’d never heard of this man, but something drew me inside. I had never seen a storyteller, it was all new to me.

Doug Elliott

Memories

Ray said he was followed by a panther one time. He filled his shirt tail with rocks and kept throwing them at it, but it was in the trees following him.

Wanda Hubicki

Memories

He brought back the voices of my grandmother and grandfather from Alleghany County, NC.