About John Matthews
5th Generation Southerner and Jokester!
John Matthews is a fifth generation West Tennessean; his ancestors arrived here in the early 1840’s after being kicked out Scotland, Ireland, Virginia and North Carolina. He is a true Son of the South and was raised to respond with answers such as “Yes Sir”, “No Ma’am”, “May I please be excused from the table” and “Why, no sir officer, I have no idea how fast I was going”. In high school, he traditionally would take a hot date to the county landfill and impress the young lady by shooting rats with a .22 rifle. Trust me, if you find anything more Southern than that John will surrender his collection of seersucker suits.
John has a passion for history, story and travel. A career in international marketing led him to 45 countries and a history-making grandfather taught him the value of how a well told story is the most effective teaching tool. Mix that with being a certified history nerd and you end up with guide who entertains, educates and delivers a passion for exploring who we are by defining who we were. John strongly agrees with the William Faulkner quote, “The past is not dead. It is not even past”. Also, he thinks that quoting Faulkner really impresses people!
John is a voracious reader and a dedicated researcher of Memphis, Southern and American history. He loves hosting visitors to his city and loves the fact that he learns so much from his clients. Given all that, plus 19 years of schooling and a fair amount of walking around sense, he still has no idea why we have Daylight Savings Time.
