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The Covington Historical Society will hold a meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. in the Charles Dixon Room of the Andalusia Public Library with retired judge and Opp historian Trippy McGuire speaking.

McGuire will bring copies of his first novel entitled “A Roaring 20’s Flapper Who Broke Glass Ceilings: Winnie Wright” to the meeting. The public is invited to attend.

The book features a history of Opp from the year 1919 to 1932. According to McGuire, all the people written about in his work were actual people who lived during that time.

The book transports its readers back in time to the Roaring Twenties as seen through the eyes of Winnie Wright. Her story takes place in her adopted hometown of Opp during its early boomtown years.

“The novelty of a woman’s being in the office with a man sometimes led to unwelcome advances by the male employer toward the female employee. After years of working in an office, Winnie encountered such a situation. She then became the center of a firestorm that captured headlines and resulted in the trial of the century of Covington County up until that time. She broke another glass ceiling by being a woman testifying as a star witness in a trial. The trial involved some of the greatest courtroom gladiators of that day,” a release stated.

As a former prosecutor, McGuire uses his personal experiences to help convey the book’s historical facts to its readers. He is currently working on his second book titled “The Shepherds of Poley” to be released at the end of 2023.

McGuire earned his degree in History from Auburn University in 1975 and then graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in 1978. He practiced law in Opp for 13 years and served as the district judge of Covington County for 21 years until he retired in 2014. He is the current board chair of the Alabama Partnership for Children and chairman of the Covington County Children’s Policy Council.

He has offered several book signings in the local community. His book is also available for purchase on Amazon.