The Sloss Holler Scholar

Rick Watson grew up in Sloss Hollow (pronounced holler). Sloss Hollow is a small coal mining community near Dora, Alabama in East Walker County.

“The Sloss Holler Scholar” was thought up by Jilda, Rick’s wife of 34 years and songwriting partner. He had been trying to come up with a good title for this first book, which is a compilation of weekly columns written for The Daily Mountain Eagle in Jasper, Alabama. Many of his columns are about growing up in Sloss Hollow. Most of his book titles were so bland, readers would have fallen asleep before ever cracking the cover. Jilda came up with the snappy hook because Scholar rhymed with Holler….once a songwriter, always a songwriter.

“I wouldn’t intentionally describe myself a scholar,” Watson says “though I managed to get a Masters Degree from Birmingham Southern College in a mere 29 years. I would describe myself as a student of life, and I have had my share of tests before I got the lessons. Maybe in that regard, I am a scholar.”

“I can tell you this, had I realized I was going to write, I would have paid more attention in English class when I was in school,” he explains.

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