Finally, Hank Williams has more than a grave in Montgomery, Ala.
HOWARD MILLER
* 03/14/99
Houston Chronicle
(Copyright 1999)
MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Many mysteries surround the life and death of
Alabama-born Hank Williams, the singer-songwriter who, in his
* tragically short life, set the standard for most country music
artists who followed.
How did a man with his limited education become one of the most
famous songwriters who ever lived? How much of his marital discord
ended up in his lyrics? What really caused his death? Exactly when
and where did it occur?
These and other questions have been pondered since Williams' death
in 1953 and may never be answered fully, but one often-posed question
has finally been resolved. Fans asked for years why there was no
Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, the city where he began his
career and where he is buried.
Last month the Hank Williams Museum, located in the old Union
Station, officially opened.
It's fitting that Williams' museum is in a railroad station, for
trains figure prominently in much of his music. The railroad track
still runs right behind the station. The museum's next-door neighbor
in the station is Lek's Railroad Thai Restaurant.
The centerpiece of the museum, literally and figuratively, is the
car in which Williams died, either early Jan. 1, 1953, or late the
night before while en route to a concert. (The suspected cause of
death was an interaction between alcohol and a physician-administered
drug for his chronic back pain.) The baby-blue 1952 Cadillac
convertible sits and shines in the center of the floor, surrounded by
a protective fence.
The restored automobile is on loan from Hank Williams Jr., who
decided to send the car back to Alabama after his own museum closed
near Music Row in Nashville, Tenn.
There's much more to see, though, such as the old fiddle Williams
used to play over radio station WSFA in Montgomery, and the saddle he
used to ride his horse, Hi Life.
A few items might be considered a bit morbid, such as the
partially empty tube of Pepsodent toothpaste Williams had with him on
his last ride. A mannequin models the blue, western-style outfit the
singer was wearing when he died.
Of course, the museum houses displays of Williams recordings,
ranging from rare and fragile old 78s to the stereo LP albums issued
long after he died.
Other exhibits showcase people and kinfolk who were close to
Williams. One glass case is devoted to his first wife, Audrey, who
inspired many of his most lovesick songs.
Another case is filled with some possessions of Braxton Schuffert,
who played guitar in the earliest version of the Drifting Cowboys,
Williams' band.
Hank Williams Jr. has an exhibit case, as does Merle Kilgore,
whose main connection to Hank Sr. was that he used to carry Williams'
guitar up the stairs in a Shreveport, La., radio station. Today,
Kilgore is Hank Jr.'s manager.
In one corner of the museum sits a 1940s jukebox that would have
looked right at home in the honky-tonks in which Williams used to
perform and sometimes fight.
At the second-floor level, archways at either end of the train
station bear the words "Beyond the Sunset" and "I Saw the Light."
Exquisite stained-glass windows give a spiritual feeling to the
space.
The museum's gift shop offers the obligatory T-shirts, ball caps
and some books, posters and tapes.
The Hank Williams Museum is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through
Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Admission is $5 for anyone age 12 or older, $1 for those younger.
For more information, call 1-334-262-3600.
