Mike Goodson has been interested in local history for many years. He grew up in the Alabama City suburb of Gadsden in northeast Alabama and was educated in the public school system of Gadsden. He has been writing and researching local history now for many years. Goodson writes a history-based column for the Gadsden Times that began in 1999 with the Looking Back section. Since then, he has written more than six hundred columns relating to local history. Goodson has authored and coauthored several books on local history and has conducted several local walking tours in downtown Gadsden. He has also conducted a ghost walk and ghost watch downtown during Halloween each year. These have proven to be very popular! He is a lifelong resident of Gadsden and Etowah County. He is married to the former Ann Moore, also a lifelong Gadsden resident.