The Society of Back Roads

A family story. An old newspaper article. And a killing nearly lost to time.

While interviewing Dale Noles about old Frolona, he told me his grandfather had killed a man at Ridgeway Church in the 1920s — supposedly in self-defense. Later, Dale’s daughter Arianne gave me the original newspaper article that sent me digging.

That trail led to a man remembered as “Preach” Webb.

In this episode of Society of Back Roads, I follow what we know, what the family remembers, and the pieces still missing from a nearly century-old Heard County mystery.

Where the pavement ends, the story usually doesn’t.

Before we go any farther down these back roads, I figured you ought to know who’s driving.

In this episode, I’m stepping away from the folklore, old stories, and questions for a minute to tell you a little about me—where I came from, where I’ve been, and why coming home means something different to me now.

When I was a kid, all I did was fight to get away from here. Funny thing is, from the day I left, it feels like all I’ve done is fight to get back home.

I’ve been all over. I’ve lived hard, made mistakes, survived things I probably shouldn’t have, and spent a lot of years running in one direction or another. At 40, I think I’m finally ready to quit running.

Maybe finding your roots isn’t always about discovering where you came from.

Sometimes it’s about realizing you never really left.

Welcome back to Society of Back Roads.

What happens when the stories everybody knew were never written down?

In this episode of Society of Back Roads, I start digging into the memories of the people who grew up around Frolona, Georgia—including conversations with my mama and Dale.

We talk about the old Frolona post office and voting place, swimming at a spot locals called Horseshoe Bend, moonshine that apparently everybody knew about but nobody talked about, strange lights, Bigfoot, big cats, and how drugs have changed this little community.

And then Dale casually drops a family story I absolutely cannot leave alone, but I’m not giving the secrets away here. You’ll have to listen

I haven’t proven his story, but i will.

Because Society of Back Roads isn’t just about ghosts and legends. It’s about saving the stories, names, places, and memories that disappear when the last person who remembers them is gone.

Everybody knew. Nobody talked about it. So I’m asking.

Episode 1

The Society of Back Roads

Every back road leads somewhere. Some lead to forgotten towns, abandoned bridges, old family land, country stores, swimming holes, graveyards, and places that disappeared from the map. Others lead straight into stories nobody ever bothered to write down.

The Society of Back Roads is a podcast about the history, mysteries, people, folklore, and everyday life of rural communities—told by the people who know those places best.

We follow dirt roads, dig through old records and newspapers, sit down with longtime locals, chase half-remembered stories, and try to separate what really happened from what everybody swears happened.

From moonshine and old country stores to lost communities, family legends, strange happenings, forgotten landmarks, and the people whose names still belong to the land, this is about preserving the history that usually never makes it into a history book.

Because sometimes the best stories aren’t found on the main road.

You have to know which road to turn down.