About the Author
Bobbie Smith Bryant is a native Kentuckian, born in the Black Patch of Calloway County.
She is proud of her family’s ten-generation tobacco farming heritage and deeply committed to Western Kentucky. She provides marketing and promotional assistance, as well as historic and genealogical research, to Smith Farms.
Bobbie enjoys Kentucky history and genealogy and because of that passion, she became a freelance writer and speaker. She has published four books and several of her articles have appeared in a variety of state, regional and local publications. She continues to make presentations on topics related to her family, their tobacco farm and her interests in Kentucky history. She was also the co-producer of Farming in the Black Patch, a KET documentary produced by Michael Breeding Media.
Through listening in prayer and in volunteering for the United Methodist Church Wesley Foundation’s campus ministry at the University of Louisville, God moved her to write about her faith. She continues to serve as an instructor and speaker on numerous topics for both faith-based and secular organizations.
In her professional career, Bobbie served the Kentucky League of Cities as a community development advisor from 1997 to 2021. Over those years, she assisted cities with community and economic development issues. She is a certified Main Street Manager, a national designation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Bobbie is a professional facilitator and instructs communities on strategic and comprehensive plan development.
She previously owned and managed a successful retail business. She also hosted a daily morning television show and a monthly broadcast featuring notable people of Western Kentucky.
A previous speaker for the Kentucky Humanities Council, Bobbie enjoys making presentations on a number of topics. For a complete list, please link to:
Bobbie's Presentation Topics
Books by Bobbie
Bobbie is an author and freelance writer. Her publications include:
Farming in the Black Patch
The Black Patch region of far western Kentucky and Tennessee is known for its dark, rich soil, locally produced dark-fired tobacco, and proud heritage of family farms. In her book, Farming in the Black Patch, Kentucky author Bobbie Smith Bryant captures the culture of the region and the intricacies of tobacco production. She details the arduous work of running a modern tobacco farm, and records much of the region’s history, including the Black Patch War of the early twentieth century.
This beautiful, nine-by-ten-inch book includes 192 pages and hundreds of full-color photos. It’s a wonderful tribute to a way of life savored by generations of farm families.
and
Passions of the Black Patch: Cooking and Quilting in Western Kentucky
You'll want to pull up a chair at the Smith family's dinner table as you read through Passions of the Black Patch: Cooking and Quilting in Western Kentucky — Bobbie's rich and colorful collection of over 200 family recipes, hand-crafted heirloom quilts, and delightful stories celebrating the special traditions of her family, its farm, and the "Black Patch" region the Smiths have called home for ten generations.
"History, folkways, foodways, and more all come together in Bobbie Smith Bryant's new work. Kentuckians will enjoy the book, but more than that, they will learn much about the Commonwealth and its rich traditions."
James C. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky,
Professor Emeritus of History at
Georgetown College
and
Forty Acres & A Red Belly Ford: The Smith family of Calloway County
"Forty Acres and A Red Belly Ford: The Smith Family of Calloway County is a thoughtful tribute to ten generations of the Smith family, but more importantly, it brings alive the history of Kentucky and its farming families. It's a special treat for readers who didn't grow up on a farm as they will learn a great deal about what it was like through these colorful tales of family life."
Bill Cunningham,
Kentucky Supreme Court Justice
Author of
On Bended Knees: The Night Riders Story and
Castle: The Story of a Kentucky Prison
and
A
Beautiful Star: The Life of Lois Etoile Brewer
In Bobbie's first
biography, she captures the simplicity of farm life from the turn of the
century into the industrial age and beyond. The social and cultural elements of
the family farm are firmly embedded in Kentucky’s heritage as the story is told through the life of one
woman and her family in rural western Kentucky.
