ALFRED LELAND CRABB

by Suzette Asher

Alfred Leland Crabb was a writer to be sure, but he was more than a writer; he was primarily and predominately, a teacher and a professional educator. The little scratch pad and stubby pencil he carried in his right coat pocket were always available and, of course, he always wore a coat (Windrow, 1). His mind was ever in motion and consecutive, and his fabulous memory has been that of the proverbial elephant (Windrow, 1). Over the years, Dr. Crabb has had many honors bestowed upon him. He once was appointed a Colonel on the staff of the Governors of both Kentucky and Tennessee. He was honored in a resolution approved by the Staff Organization of the Public Library of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee on November 5, 1970. Nashville Mayor Beverly Briley, by proclamation, designated October 16, 1972, Alfred Leland Crabb Day. Governor Winfield Dunn proclaimed October 15-21, 1972, A.L. Crabb Week in Tennessee. On October 16, 1972, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce saluted Dr. Crabb as "student-educator-editor-author and goodwill ambassador and Nashville Civic leader for more than half a century." And, he has been recognized in numerous magazine and newspaper articles throughout the land (Windrow, 14).

Perhaps no Kentucky-born novelist wrote more often about the Civil War than Alfred Leland Crabb (Ward, 280). Nine of his novels took place in the city of Nashville, which was the city that Alfred Leland Crabb dearly loved.

Alfred Leland Crabb was born on January 22, 1884, in Warren County, near Bowling Green, Kentucky. He was the son of James Wade, a farmer, and Annie Arbuckle Crabb. Crabb spent his elementary years in a one-room school at Plum Springs. In 1904 he attended Bethel College. In 1906 he attended Western Kentucky State Normal School, now known as Western Kentucky University. He received his bachelor's degree at Peabody College; went to Columbia University for his master's, and then back to Peabody for his Doctorate.

Alfred Leland Crabb married Bertha Gardner on August 16, 1911. They had one son, Alfred Leland, Jr., and three grandchildren. Although Mr. Crabb was raised in Western Kentucky, he spent most of his life in Nashville, Tennessee.

Alfred Leland Crabb was a man of great faith and strong beliefs (Windrow, 9). For twenty-one years, twice a month, Mr. Crabb taught the James I Vance Bible Class at the downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville (Windrow, 9).

There is another aspect of Mr. Crabb's career that has almost been forgotten, that of teacher and professional educator (Windrow, 5). He taught in two rural schools in Warren County. He was principal of a consolidated school at Gabriel, Louisiana, for two years. He was also principal of a school in Paducah for three years and a school in Louisville for three years. At Western Kentucky University, he was the teacher of the history of education until 1925 when he became dean of the college. Two years later he went to Peabody College where he was professor of education. He helped to write a series of histories, a series of English books, and a series of spelling books.

Crabb published his first novel, Dinner at Belmont, in 1942. It pictures five dinners from 1858 to 1865 as the background for an account of life during the War Between the States. Supper at the Maxwell House, (1943), is about Reconstruction days and the opening of the Maxwell House Hotel on September 22, 1869. Breakfast at the Hermitage, Mr. Crabb's third novel, published in 1945, tells about Nashville rebuilding and a poor boy who realizes his ambition to grow up to be a builder of beautiful homes.Lodging at the Saint Cloud, (1946), narrates further events of the Civil War period, centered mainly around the activities of three spies sent by General Nathan Bedford Forrest into beleaguered Nashville. In 1948, Mr. Crabb wrote a novel, Home to the Hermitage, which presents episodes in the lives of Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel, from the time of their arrival at the Hermitage until her death, just before he became president.

A Mockingbird Sang at Chickamauga, (1949), is descriptive of the terrible conflict waged on September 19 and 20, 1863. Reunion at Chattanooga, (1950) portrays events in the Tennessee city during the years of the Reconstruction after 1865. Home to Tennessee, Mr. Crabb's eighth novel, tells about the soldiers returning after the war. Home to Kentucky, (1953), is a novel about Henry Clay. It begins when Clay, a youthful lawyer, makes his way over the frontier trails from Virginia to his future home in Kentucky. Peace at Bowling Green, in 1955, was Crabb's most successful book, according to Crabb himself (Windrow, 280). It differs from his other novels about the Civil War in that it covers a much longer period of time (Windrow, 280). His last novel, Journey to Nashville, (1957), is the story of the founding of Nashville under the leadership of James Robertson. After reviewing each novel and the dates that they were published, it becomes clear that Mr. Crabb wrote one novel about every year from 1942 through 1955.

My favorite novel is Peace at Bowling Green; it is a story of Kentucky, its people and its growth, covering over a half century culminating in the peace that came to a shattered land after the end of the Civil War. The characters are pioneer Jacob Skiles, his wife and son, and Bill Willie Blewett, Skiles' loyal jack-of-all trades. Jacob Skiles and Bill Willie Blewett typify the true frontier spirit. The setting is in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which adds to the vividness of the story. The theme behind Peace at Bowling Green is that Jacob Skiles along with Bill Willie Blewett can settle an untamed land and create the beauty that they find in Bowling Green.

The plot unfolds in 1803 when Jacob Skiles and his wife and son arrive near Bowling Green after a long journey from Virginia. An old friend, rough and ready, Bill Willie Blewett, goes to Kentucky months before to find land and build a suitable home for Skiles. The land was well selected; the home, well built, and the Skiles' settle down to carve out their dynasty in the Kentucky hills. Jacob Skiles wants to develop the area and leave something worthwhile behind when he dies. The novel portrays three generations of families in Bowling Green along with their heart breaks and their triumphs.

When Skiles arrives, he finds that his land is in dispute. The final decision on the land isn't made until the third generation-- until after the Civil War shatters the peace at Bowling Green. The disputed land becomes a park for all the people: those who fought for the South and those whose loyalties remain with the Union. Real peace comes to Bowling Green when the matter of the disputed land is settled.

All of Mr. Crabb's novels received favorable reviews. No one gave his novels negative reviews. This demonstrates his writing style affects his novels.

Alfred Leland Crabb died in 1980. Mr. George Crabb, a resource librarian at Eastern Kentucky University, and a nephew of Alfred Leland Crabb, was able to enlighten me about Alfred Leland Crabb's death. According to Mr. George Crabb, Alfred L. Crabb died in Lexington, Kentucky in a nursing home. He was in his mid-90s. When Mr. Crabb died he was blind, due to glaucoma, which had afflicted him for the last ten years of his life (Crabb, Interview). Mr. Crabb is buried in Nashville beside his wife who died two years before he did (Crabb, Interview). In 1994, his son was still living in Lexington with his wife and their three children.

Alfred Leland Crabb was a great novelist as well as and excellent educator. His life portrays the realities of both positions. His novels portray his love for Nashville through his writings. He will long be remembered as an accomplished educator and author.

Crabb, George. Interview. 6 October, 1994.

Ward, William S. A Literary History of Kentucky. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988.

Windrow, John E., Ed. Peabody and Alfred Leland Crabb: The Story of Peabody as Reflected in Selected Writings of Alfred Leland Crabb. Nashville: Williams Press, 1977.

by Suzette Asher

Breakfast at the Hermitage, 1945. A 312 page novel about the growth of Nashville and the rebuilding of Jackson's home in the period following Reconstruction.

Dinner at Belmont, 1942. A 385 page novel which deals with Nashville before and during the Civil War.

Home to Kentucky, 1953. A 339 page novel portrays Henry Clay, his home, and the early days of Lexington.

Home to Tennessee , 1952. A 229 page novel that attempts to recapture Nashville under the leadership of Nathan Forrest and General Hood.

Home to the Hermitage, 1948. A 318 page novel that tells the story of Andrew Jackson and his beloved wife Rachel.

Journey to Nashville, 1957. A 291 page novel that illuminates the founding of Nashville under the leadership of James Robertson.

Lodging at the Saint Cloud, 1946. A 255 page novel relating the story of three Southern spies who get the best of the Yankee group in 1862 while the union was occupying the city of Nashville.

A Mockingbird Sang at Chickamauga, 1949. A 297 page novel portrays the embattled Chattanooga.

Peace at Bowling Green, 1955. A 328 page novel tells the story of a pioneer community from the day it was settled until it became the city of Bowling Green.

Reunion at Chattanooga, 1950. A 308 page novel that relates the story of the developments of the city of Chattanooga in a social and economic manner.

Supper at the Maxwell House, 1943. A 372 page novel that is set in Nashville, portraying the plight of the people as they attempt to rebuild a shattered culture.