This marker in Shelby pays tribute to a local. The marker reads, "W J. Cash, 1900-1941. Author of The Mind of The South. Editor & journalist. His grave is located 1600 feet north."
Online there is more information. "Wilbur Joseph Cash, author of The Mind of the South, was born in South Carolina on May 2, 1900, as Joseph Wilbur Cash. (Cash later reversed the order of his given names and primarily used only his initials.)"
"Between 1923 and the summer of 1927, W. J. Cash worked for the Charlotte Observer, Chicago Post, and Charlotte News, successively. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, he left home to bicycle through Europe. Upon returning, he edited Shelby's semiweekly Cleveland Press. Quitting in 1929 to freelance, Cash penned an article, called "The Mind of the South," that was brought to the attention of New York publisher Alfred A. Knopf."
"Completed in July 1940 and published in February 1941, The Mind of the South is considered to be a classic work of history and social criticism. The book won the Mayflower Cup that year."
For those unfamiliar, The Mind of the South is a literary achievement. From its investigation of the Southern class system to its pioneering assessments of the region's legacies of racism, religiosity, and romanticism, W. J. Cash's book defined the way in which millions of readers -- on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line -- would see the South for decades to come.
[Review 14986 overall, 488 of 2021, number 2852 in North Carolina.] read more