A True Vindication of the South
Emmet Rodwell Calhoun reflects on Thomas Manson Norwood's rare defense of the Confederacy, arguing Northern publishers buried Southern accounts while wondering if a narrative approach like Margaret Mitchell's famous novel could have altered public sentiment nationwide.
Rodwell "Cal" C. Johnson
Commander Rodwell “Cal” Johnson, USN (Ret.), passed away on November 4, 2026. A 22-year Navy veteran awarded the Bronze Star, long-time Houstonian, and devoted family man, he met both triumph and deep grief with quiet courage and enduring grace.
My Faith Journey
Cal spent 20 years writing this. Our beloved husband, brother, father, and grandfather passed away on 4 November 2026 of complications due to dementia and Alzheimer's disease, almost exactly six years and six months from the passing of his son. Published posthumously.
West Coast Trip and Sleeping Bears
In 1921, ER rode western rails through Pacific Northwest timber towns and a July snowstorm in Yellowstone. From bitter WWI veterans shut out of work to tourists shivering in summer boater hats and wild bears feeding at hotel dump pits, these stories capture an America facing hard adjustments.
They Invariably Confess
A 1938 clipping by E. R. Calhoun captures an outsider trying to decipher the Moscow show trials. Relying on an observer named Krenker, Calhoun theorized victims confessed to buy marked graves for their kin. The true terror was far darker, trading families as hostages rather than resting places.
Alabama Sales Tax Debate & Reflections on Translating the Lord's Prayer
To save Alabama’s bankrupt rural schools, legislators fought over penny sales tax tokens. Calhoun ignored the political noise, pulling out classical Greek texts to trace public revenue back to the biblical marketplace and revealing the scholar behind the proofreader's desk.
Haircutting Is Art Few Acquire
The first time I got a haircut in a salon, I was thirteen. I can still smell that exotic Vidal Sasson shampoo in the tall brown bottle. Nowadays the barber shop is a novelty. Here is ER's take on the salon in 1937.
Post-Repeal New England Travel Dispatch on Liquor Sales
After repeal, ER toured New England to see how legal spirits were managed. Used to the South’s illicit bootleggers and dry politics, he admired the orderly dispensaries of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, noting with dry humor that cutting out illicit profit took the rowdiness right out of drink.
. . . And In Our Own Bldg
This companion piece from The Birmingham News introduces the E.R. at his post, profiling three newsroom veterans and capturing E.R. in his element as head proofreader—presiding quietly over hot lead, galley proofs, and grammatical tangles with his trademark pencil and dry humor.
Recollections from the Composing Room: The Scrapbook of E. R. Calhoun (1870–1956)
A 52-week dispatch from the vanishing oral history of the Deep South.
