Joint Appearance of Governors Started with a Phone Call

Governor Phil Bredesen is still carrying out ceremonial duties in the final months in office, including a ribbon cutting Thursday near Clarksville with the governor of Kentucky. A new sign points the way to the birthplace of author Robert Penn Warren. The rare joint appearance started with a citizen’s phone call.

Robert Penn Warren, who was born in Guthrie, Kentucky, was a good friend of Mack Linebaugh Jr.’s family. To help out the small museum in Warren’s old home, Linebaugh called the Tennessee Department of Transportation asking for a sign on I-24.

“Next thing I know, it’s set for November 18th on the interstate and Governor Bredesen and Governor Beshear from Kentucky will both be there. Well, that’s great. It’s almost more than I could have expected.”

Linebaugh says it was just good timing and hopes the sign will drive more people to the museum.

The late writer was both a poet and an author. He’s best known for the political novel “All the Kings Men,” which includes campaign quips like “Town from the waist, country from the waist down. Get both votes.”

Warren attended high school in Clarksville and college at Vanderbilt University. He went on to become a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He’s still the only writer to win a Pulitzer in fiction and poetry.