James G. "Bobo" Driver family Smithville collection

James G. “Bobo” Driver and Nell Driver were both prominent members of Smithville, Tennessee. Along with their children, the Drivers formed the Driver Family Band, which performed locally, such as on the steps of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Smithville, Tennessee, as well as professionally at the Junior Grand Ole Opry. Bobo was an integral founder of the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree, alongside Berry C. Evins and Joe L. Evins. Nell also worked within the Jamboree, serving as the registrar of the festival for fifteen years. The Drivers’ involvement in the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree contributed to the eventual donation of the Driver Family Collection, as the items were gifted to Tennessee Technological University Archives and Special Collections to append to the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree Collection. The Drivers were also close friends of United States Congressman Joe L. Evins, and they attended many of his political rallies and events. One of the most notable in the collection is the Joe L. Evins Tribute, which was hosted at Tennessee Technological University in 1976. It was through this friendship that the Drivers acquired numerous ephemeral and personal items from Evins, gathered in the form of a scrapbook. The Drivers, as pillars of the Smithville community, participated in the Smithville-DeKalb Founders Day Celebration in 1968, and objects from the celebration are included in the collection.