"My eighth grade teacher was Miss, Anna D. Lancaster of Hawkinsville, Georgia and she was a well-educated and wonderful teacher. Haggard Gulid was another teacher at M.B.I.

"I had several teachers at Magoffin Institute who encouraged me to pursue my artistic bent. One of these was Miss [Eulah] Irvin, the art teacher who later married the local druggist Carl Cooper. She had been trained at Carson-Newman in Jefferson, Tennessee.

"Another teacher, Miss Rebecca Ross, was one of my English teachers and challenged me with a project that I greatly enjoyed and which let me use my talent. The project required that I memorize and illustrate Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake. I read it and reread it so that I could familiarize myself with each character, and picture each scene in detail so that I could make the drawing authentic. I remember taking particular pains with Malcolm Graeme ‘of stature tall and slender frame, but firmly knit . . . ‘ I got a very good grade on this project and my teacher kept the book and illustrations. The teachers taught us a lot of things about writing letters, themes and all that stuff. We had to memorize a lot, and I memorized a lot of Lady of the Lake. I don't know whether they do that today or not in school. And I loved to be in plays. I was in the senior play all four years in high school.

"In my senior year, 1931-1932, I was selected as Valedictorian of my graduating class. That meant I had to make the speech at graduation. The wife of Dr. Frank A. Clarke, the principal was one of my teachers. She sent me the note stating that I had received this high honor and would be glad to help me with my graduation speech. To this day I can't remember anything about that speech, it's title or one word, except that I do remember standing up on that stage in my new gray cap and gown, knees trembling and giving that speech. I guess one of the things that stands out on that occasion and the reason why I can't remember anything I said is something Daddy did. Mama and Daddy were in the audience as well as many other parents. It was a morning graduation exercise. Right in the middle of my speech Daddy got up, cleared his throat and walked out. I finished the speech I suppose, and I asked Mama later why Daddy had walked out right in the middle of my speech. She said, "Well, the only thing I know is that he just had to get back the Store.

"My brother Paul had graduated three years before I did [1929] from the Salyersville High School and he, too, was Valedictorian of his class. I remember the title of his speech was ‘The Ideal American.’ He made a good speech. The motto of his graduating class was ,Tonight We Launch Where Shall We Anchor.’ My class motto was, ‘Be Sharp, Be Natural, But Never Be Flat.’ I never went around bragging that I was the Valedictorian of my graduating class, but years later in telling my wife who graduated high in her class (which was a big one) in Oklahoma City in 1934, asked me one day, ‘By the way how many were in your graduating class?’ I feebly replied, ‘Twelve.’ She nearly died laughing and she kidded me many, many times about that. I was feeling rather low until I read recently about James A. Farley, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Campaign Manager and later Post Master General. It was Farley who was most responsible for getting FDR elected to the White House. Farley was telling about his boyhood days in New York and that he was the Valedictorian of his graduating class, a class of three! Now I feel better!"

"Archibald Rutledge wrote the stories for the American Magazine and the stories were illustrated by Charles Bull. He was one of the best artists that I had ever seen drawing animals. He could tell what muscles a deer was using when he scratched his head. So I wrote Archibald Rutledge about how much I enjoyed his stories in the American magazine and I still have that letter. He wrote me a letter back. He said, I've enjoyed your letter so much, in fact it's so good, I have given it to the editors of the American magazine because of the excellence of your style. Course I was just a kid then. He said, "by the way do you have any arrowheads down there in your section of Kentucky that I could come down and look for?" He was a wonderful guy; he said if you ever come to New York or South Carolina, I'll introduce you to Mr. Bull. He was an instructor at Mercersburg Military Academy at Mercersburg, PA. Right over the border from Virginia or Maryland. 

"I would write letters like that all the time. It's an interesting thing, the bigger the man, the easier it is to write him letters or talk to them I found. I tell you who brought that about was the former ambassador of the Philipines to the United Nations.  He said that his father told him something interesting once about seeing big, important people. The taller a bamboo grows, the lower it bends. The bigger the man, the lower it bends. The hard part is trying to get by the secretary because she's his buffer. That's the same way in the army; you could talk to a general as easy as talking to a second lieutenant. General Purcey was in Normandy and it was a rainy night. Purcey had his rain coat covering everything and a private came up to him and he said, hey, you got a match, I want to light a cigarette and Purcey said yeh, there you are, and he said what's your name and he told him and this guy said, Who are you? He said, well, I'm General Purcey and said this guy almost fainted. He said, just take it easy, he said, what you said to me first, you asked me for a match buddy, he said, that was OK, but don't ever say that to a second lieutenant."

"I became a Lone Scout - it was a part of the Boy Scouts of American. You just have to take your courses and send them to the headquarters in New York. There wasn’t enough interest for a regular Boy Scout troop, and I was the only Lone Scout in Magoffin County. I'd take hikes in the woods. It was kind of like merit badges, but they used Indian terms. I'd get Boy Scout Magazine, and they'd have a section about the Lone Scouts. Momma would give me a test every once in awhile with that.

"When the first radios came to Salyersville in the Twenties, I remember Ed Stephens was the first to own one. Many times he and his wife would put the radio out on their front porch with the huge curved horn which gave out the sound nearby. As boys a lot of us used to go by there and listen as Mr. Stephens would try to see how many stations around our country he could get. The static was very bad but once in awhile a station would come in very clear, particularly on a clear night.

"My cousin lived not to far from us, and they owned a pretty big estate with a steep hill overlooking their house and also from its top you could look down into downtown Salyersville. On top of this hill was a small family cemetery in which my cousin's brother was buried. Back in the twenties when the second Tunney-Dempsey fight was held we listened to it on the radio. My cousin took his small set and its loudspeaker horn up to the top of this hill and put the radio itself on the grave and the speaker with its long attached wire on top of the marble tombstone. As I remember it was in July and a clear night. The fight was being held in Philadelphia and as several of us boys with my cousin sat around the grave , we heard the fight very distinctly over this little radio. The reception was very good with just a little static. My cousin vowed that the marble tombstone helped the sound. [The second Tunney-Dempsey fight with the famous "long count" took place in Chicago September 22, 1927 and was won by Gene Tunney when it seemed to some Jack Dempsey should have been declared the victor.]

Halloween Pranks

"Halloween night was really something in our town. We celebrated Halloween the night before too and called it Corn Night. How it originated, I do not know, but most of the boys of the town shelled corn off the cob and would go all over town throwing corn at people’s houses and particularly windows. The chickens looked forward to Corn Night, for they knew there would be good feed the next day. Woe be the man or businessman who disliked Halloween and those who pulled the pranks, for he was surely to be the one that the pranks would be pulled on more than others. Most people took all their porch furniture into the house and any loose objects lying around were hidden away. A gate on the fence in front of a house was a good target and if not fastened down securely would find itself in the top of a tree or swinging merrily back in the woods from an old rail fence.

"Dr. John S. Cisco, who owned the only drug store was always the object of the Halloweeners because he hated the pranksters so. Not only would they soap his drugstore windows, but one time they set a huge log wagon on the front porch of his drugstore, so he had a difficult time getting out his front door. I think one of the greatest achievements of the pranksters was the year when, under cover of darkness, some of the boys took apart a Model T Ford and succeeded somehow in hoisting it to the courthouse roof and setting it up again. We never considered these things as destroying property or as the vandalism we find in our cities today. It was fun and maybe it inconvenienced some people, but they all took it in their stride as a once a year adventure.

"Something else that happened only at this time of year was the prank played on the outdoor toilet facilities (outhouses or "privies"). They were set a good ways back from the house and were, of course, very vulnerable to attack. Many of them were pushed over by boys for a good Halloween prank. That certainly inconvenienced a lot of people!

"At Magoffin Baptist Institute which was situated on a hill about two miles from downtown Salyersville, a big school bell sat on a platform on the school grounds. This bell formerly was situated in the wooden tower of the old building. It was used now to call the children to school each day. The bell could be heard all the way to town, and when you heard the first bell you knew you had time to make it to school before the second bell rang, after which you were pronounced late. Well, this bell on Halloween night usually found itself carried by "certain" boys many miles back in the woods behind the school and-once in a while someone would slip back there and ring it. It took several days usually to get the bell back on its perch so it could be used again.

"We found our own fireworks in Salyersville when I was young. Besides selling rolls of yellow colored dynamite fuse, my father also stocked squibs. Squibs were used to put into the end of the fuse which was attached to the dynamite when they were building the roads in Magoffin County . The squibs were about six inches long and one sixteenth of an inch in diameter. Shaped very much like a miniature Sky Rocket, we found that the squibs (which contained gun powder) could be used very effectively as fire works. By lighting one end of the squib the little vehicle would take off like a sky rocket with a swishing sound. It was hard to tell where they would go.

"One night I slipped a box of these squibs (a box contained about a hundred squibs) from my Dad's store and a friend of mine, the late James Woodrow Carpenter, later to become President of the Salyersville National Bank, thought we would have some fun with these unusual fire works. We ran over to the big bridge over the Licking River which leads to Dixie, a Salyersville suburb. We placed the squibs at different locations on the bridge, railings, braces and so on. We lit several with a match and as they streaked skyward, downward and in all directions, they looked like falling stars or meteors in the blackness of the night. About this time a man came riding his mule on the other end of the bridge. Jimmy and I decided to light the other squibs and see what the mule and rider would do. Pretty soon mule and rider came near us and we started lighting the squibs. They went off and swished in all directions, under the mule, over his head, at the rider, and for a few minutes we thought the mule would jump into the river. He reared and kicked his heels in the air as the rider sought to quiet him and at the same time cussing us out. We took off running with our box of squibs, realizing that we had some very good fireworks for future use. Daddy never knew of this episode, and, of course, we never knew who the rider was."

Wendell recalled the barn which used to be in the corner where Paul later built the Speaks house. The barn had a loft and the kids enjoyed playing hide-and-seek and other games in it. Wendell often had the responsibility of cleaning up the barn and taking care of their few livestock among which were the two mules, Beck and Jewell. Wendell didn’t recall any fires in the barn, but did recall nearly setting a barn across the street on fire with a misdirected Roman candle. Fortunately, it just missed the open hayloft window.

Fireworks were a fascination to him growing up and they had skyrockets, Roman candles with 20 to 30 balls inside and cannon crackers which were 3", 5" and 8". These were purchased in Clarksburg, West Va. and since it was illegal to set them off inside the Salyersville city limits, they would go across the Licking River to Dixie to set them off. He nearly blew off his right hand once when he forgot he’d lit one and it went off. Some kids played with some of the dynamite cord which was frequently left around when workers were blasting part of the mountain to make new roads. Some boys once time put some dynamite caps in a glass jar and set it off, and the docs worked for hours or days trying to dig all the glass out of them.

"In the winter when the temperature dropped way below zero and stayed that way for several days, all the ponds, creeks, and the river froze over. We didn't have skates that had shoes attached to them, but we attached skates to our brogan shoes using a key of course and straps around the top part of the foot and under the top part of the skates and then a strong strap at the back of the foot. As long as we kept the straps tight and the blades were sharp, we were ready for a wonderful time of skating. We usually tried out the State Road Creek first which was near our house to see how strong the ice was and then we would venture out on the river. Sometimes the worst ice was near the bank where a willow tree was growing, for usually the ice had air pockets at this point and the ice would break easily. We always kept a big fire burning on the shore to warm ourselves when we got too numb skating. At the fire one never could get warm because as the front warmed up the back end froze and vice versa. The speed we could attain on skates was unbelievable. Sometimes, when we skated along at a fast pace, our skates would hit a willow twig lying on the ice. The skater would be stopped immediately and sent sprawling headlong on the ice, and as people would hit we could hear the ice cracking in all directions, forming a star on the ice where their heads hit. Then they’d jump back up and away they’d go again. I remember the winters were more severe back in the twenties and the river would stay frozen longer. It was nothing at all to skate several miles up or down the river.

"One of the most popular places to skate was the pond about two miles up the Cheyenne Road. This pond was on the beautiful grounds of Circuit Judge D.W. Gardner. The Gardner home was a real show place. The house was set way back on a terrace kind of yard. It was a two story house and Mrs. Gardner, a wonderful genteel lady who originally came from Maysville, Kentucky, kept the grounds immaculate. The Gardners had two children, Elizabeth who was a close friend of Ruth (Arnett) Schoppe, and Ralph Leet Gardner who hung around with Max Howard. The grounds in front of the house were huge, and Judge Gardner had dug out between the house and the road a horseshoe-shaped pond with the legs near the road and an arched wooden footbridge across the center leading toward the house. The bridge's highest point in the middle was about three or four feet above the water. A sidewalk from the street, of concrete, led across the bridge three or four hundred yards to the Gardner home. Ducks usually swam on this pond in the summer and cattle grazed on the huge grounds covered with luscious grass. But in the winter the pond froze over solid, and it became a gathering place for skating parties from all around. The Gardners were very nice and let people come to skate on their pond even without asking permission. We had some wonderful skating adventures on that pond.

"One of the most interesting people who skated on that pond was a fellow named Rex Brown. He could speed skate, do figure-of-eights and skate backwards about as fast as he could go forward. The greatest thrill I ever witnessed-- and something I would never try--was watching Rex Brown skate a great distance around the curve of the pond, then turn around and skating at a terrific speed come rushing toward the middle of that wooden walk bridge looking like he was going to crash into it, but instead of crashing he would take a giant leap into the air, holding his knees against his chest and sail over that bridge, landing feet first on the ice. He would then execute several other interesting patterns on the ice before trying it again to the cheers of the crowd.

"As the Bible says, ‘There is a time to sow and a time to reap . . .,’ and it seemed that there was a season for everything such as the games we played as a boy back in Salyersville. We played marbles in the spring and summer, usually on the school house grounds near our home. We always picked a good level piece of ground, no grass, and then with a stick made a big ring in the center of which you placed the colored glass marbles which we called "tallies" or "agies." Some even had shiny steel ball bearings to be used as shooters, and, boy, when you would hit those glass marbles from the ring’s edge, sometimes the glass marbles would shatter. Ball bearings were outlawed because of their destructiveness.

"The game we all had the most fun playing was a game like baseball. We called it ‘Roun' Town.’ We had home plate, the pitcher's plate and three bases. Nobody wore gloves. The ball was a red hard sponge rubber and not very big in diameter. The bat, mind you, was not dike a baseball bat but a broom handle. You can imagine how small in diameter this was. To hit that ball from a guy who pitched it real fast was a real talented person. We used to play in back of the Salyersville Public School in the summer after school was out. It was a big playground behind the school which extended clear back to the Licking River. The part next to the river contained some big sycamore trees and willows which lined the river bank. If the pitcher throwing the ball to the catcher couldn't get the "Broom Stick" batter out and the batter made contact with the ball, the ball many times, went sailing not a short distance but either into the river or across it into a big corn field on the other side. I believe hitting a sponge rubber ball with a broom stick was a greater achievement than a present day baseball player with a much larger bat. We lost a lot of sponge rubber balls this way, but the balls were plentiful in my Dad's store and in other stores around town.

"Football was never played in our section of the mountains, but basketball was. In the fall, we played on outdoor courts with a basketball made especially for outdoor play. It was the same size as the indoor leather ball, but it had seams of leather sticking up at the points where the seams were sewed together. These leather seams stuck up about a half inch and when thrown real fast at a person, could hurt your hands. We had many games between high schools, and as the school crowd stood around the dirt court's edge, the dust got pretty thick as the players ran up and down the dirt court. In the winter, basketball became an indoor sport and the one place we played was in Charlie William's Garage in the upper part of town towards Paintsville. In the day time Charlie's Garage was used as a place to work on cars and trucks, but at night and especially on Friday and Saturday it was a lively basketball arena. There wasn't much room for the spectators, just about two or three feet around the walls at one end. There were no seats. Big heavy timbered rafters and bracing interlaced the section up towards the roof to support it. There were a lot of spaces open between the wood bracings and there were many boys on our school's basketball team who became quite expert at shooting the basketball through the right opening and it would disappear from sight for a brief few seconds and then would splash down through the center of the hoop for two points. The basketball score was never high for the simple reason that basketball was played a little different than it is today. After each goal the players would return to the center of the floor and the referee would have them jump center again. This slowed the game down and made for a low score. The score was never more than nineteen or twenty.

"Salyersville played teams from Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Betsy Lane, Pikeville, Maytown, Bonanza and other schools up and down the Big Sandy. Many times these games ended in a big fight, usually started by the fans who had imbibed too much from the bottle and couldn't stand to see their team defeated. My brother Paul was a good basketball player and also a boy named Jack Hoskins. The Salyersville High School team was called the ‘White Devils’, but they looked like ‘Red Devils’ sometimes after all the fights that took place after some of the games. Salyersville won a lot of games but were never too outstanding." Walter recalled playing basketball with some teams from the Magoffin Baptist Institute. He thinks he played guard, but was "too fast, and the coach told me that he overran the ball, and should go out for track. In addition to the running events he was a pole vaulter and thinks he cleared a height of twelve feet with the bamboo pole used. He also participated in the high jump.

"There was never a dull moment back when I was growing up. I remember when the circus came to town and all the people watching the animals and performers under the ‘big tent.’ And I remember when the horse was still holding his own in our town and paved roads hadn't yet come into being. One day my sister was visiting some cousins of hers up at Cousin Kate Blankenship's. Adrian Patrick, a second cousin about ten or eleven years old, was visiting there. The girls thought they would have some fun so they put Adrian up on the saddle of his father's horse tied his legs and his hands and arms to the saddle, tied the reins of the bridle to the horse's head and gave the horse a few licks on his rump and the horse took off at breakneck speed with Adrian screaming his head off. The horse, a mile or two from Salyersville, raced across the bridge near our house, headed through town and was on his way home, four miles, to the ‘Middle Fork’ where Adrian lived. The horse started slowing down as it came into town and several men rushed out and succeeded in grabbing the horses bridle. A scared Adrian Patrick was released from his bondage and crying and shaken was pulled down from the saddle. The girls, including my sister, denied all knowledge of the act.

"It was a great time to grow up there I guess. Lot's of good memories. You know a person is born in a little town and then comes to a city, he has two lives really. I have a life in Salyersville and I have a life in Louisville. But people who live in the big cities, they don't know what your talking about like living in a little city. They miss a lot.

"There were lots of things to do in Salyersville back in the twenties besides swimming in the Licking River, ice skating and playing marbles. My brother Paul was a good basketball player as well as a good swimmer. For a little extra fun in the summer time he and some more boys used to climb Jack Arnett's hill near our home. At the top of the hill facing down the other side which was heavily wooded there were lots of big nearly round rocks, some three or four inches thick and two or three feet in diameter. They thought this would be a good idea to roll these big rocks down hill. They had rolled several down hill crashing through the tree on their speedy descent. They decided to roll one more. It was turned upright, and the boys gave it a big shove to get it rolling. At the bottom of the hill was a very nice house in which lived a very genteel lady named Fan Johnson and her brother Arby, a World War 1 veteran. The front of her house faced away from the hill on which Paul and the others were rolling rocks. Her kitchen was in the back as was the custom of most of the houses in the mountains. She had a back porch on the house with a door leading into the kitchen. The boys had no idea where these rocks would go as they gathered momentum, but this particular rock was moving with tremendous speed missing by chance all the trees on its downward run. It rolled from a small clearing back of Fan Johnson's house crashed to her porch, rolled straight through the screen door leading into her kitchen, through her kitchen down a hall through the front door, across her front porch and came to rest in her front yard. Fan was in the kitchen at the time and was standing a few feet to the side as the rock came rolling through her kitchen. She thought ' it was an earthquake until someone told her what the boys had been doing. My father was told about the incident and Paul got a good lecturing.

"In 1924, I was the happiest and most envied boy of twelve in Magoffin County, for I had just won the most beautiful pony in all the world, complete with a fancy cowboy saddle and bridle. One afternoon I was playing around the house when my older brother, Paul, came running into the house and whispered to me that he had "obtained" a dollar out of our father's cash drawer at the store and we were going to buy two tickets to the picture show that night. The reason we were going was that at the end of the show a pony would be given away to the person having the lucky number on his ticket stub. Paul said, that a man named Dewey Garrett was giving the pony, as he was heading west. Garrett had come to Salyersville during the oil boom. Now Wednesday night was usually a good show night for that was when they had the best Westerns and a fifteen reeler at that. Being the only show in town a good show was known by the number of reels and one that had fifteen reels was a good one. That's when they usually showed my favorite cowboys like William S. Hart, Tom Mix or Hoot Gibson, just to mention a few. My mother was a very religious person and had other ideas for her family for Wednesday nights and that was to go to the Baptist Church for Prayer Meeting. In the afternoon Paul had bought two tickets to the show. He gave me one and it had No. 10 stamped on it. That same afternoon all the boys around town were showing their tickets hoping that they would have the lucky number. Skeeter Bailey approached me and asked to see my ticket. When he saw the No.10 he asked if I would swap since his was No.7. It didn't matter to me and so we swapped. After supper that night--without anyone knowing about it--Paul and I climbed down a rope ladder from our second story house, and off to the show we went. Somebody saw us go in and told our parents. Daddy had heard we had gotten the money to buy the tickets from his cash drawer and he was going to "wear us out" when we came home. [J26]

"The fifteen reel Western that was shown, I think was titled, "Hoot Gibson in Barbed Wire", but really we didn't care too much about the picture because we were looking forward to the drawing for the pony. After the tickets were thoroughly stirred up in the barrel on the stage, someone reached in and pulled out a ticket. When the manager shouted "No.7 draws the pony!", I nearly fainted. I was so shaken up that my brother Paul had to hold his hand up and answer for me. I was shaking like a leaf. Everybody was crowding around me and I was scared to death. Outside in front of the movie house was the pony, tied to a telephone pole, perfectly calm and not knowing that he had a new owner. [J26]

"Word had spread that I had won the pony. My dad was thrilled and my mother was horrified that I had won a pony by chance. Daddy who usually worked until nine or ten o'clock at the store after supper, closed up the store and came out to the barn where we had just taken the pony. The pony--which I named Billy--was brown with some white spots on it and was a very high-strung animal. I practically worshipped that pony. After milking our Jersey cow I would saddle the pony and take the cow and sometimes other people's cows to the pasture several miles from our house, where they stayed all day until time in the afternoon to go bring them back to be milked again. I rode the pony everywhere and he must have thrown me thousands of times. I would sometimes walk home with a piece of the saddle or bridle in my hand, but I loved that pony. Our blacksmith, named "Puff" Prater used to put new shoes on the pony, and, when I would ride down the dirt street and particularly when I would "rack" him across the little wooden floored bridge near our house, his shoes would pat a tune. [J27]

"I kept the pony a little over a year, and then my Dad sold him to Clay Prater for $65.00. That was a lot of money for a thirteen year old boy in 1925. I hated to give the pony up, but later on Daddy bought me another one. He was a small black Shetland and the laziest pony I have ever seen. He would go to sleep walking along, just like a big lazy dog. He was a good pony but I never liked him as well as the pony I had won in the show.

"My Dad invested that $65.00 in the Venus Oil Corporation which was the forerunner of the Ashland Oil Company of today. For a long time I received a check for $2.00 or $5.00 a month from the oil company and my savings increased to nearly $300.00. My Dad then invested that money in the Cities Service Corporation of New York and I lost about all of it in the 1929 crash. Up until a few years ago I would occasionally get a five or ten cent dividend from Cities Service from that original $300. I would frequently forget to cash the small checks and would get letters from Cities Service asking me to cash the checks as I was causing them to keep their books unbalanced. Finally they wrote me and asked me to sell out and sent along a check for $11.00 for my stock. That was the end of my pony money. Many years later my mother would tell me, "Well the money you got from the pony you won didn't do you any good after all. " Maybe she was right but it was a great event in my young life at the time.

To make extra money when I was home from school in the summer, I became quite a sign painter, though I never relished this kind of work. However, my Dad paid me very well to paint signs advertising his store on barns throughout our county and beyond. My Dad's store was known as a General Store. He sold everything from a thumb tack to fittings for caskets. He had a good shoe line as well as hardware, notions, dress goods, flour and fifty pound cans of hog lard. It was said, "If you can't find it at Gene Arnett's store, it ain't to be found." When I painted signs on the barns I had no scaffolding to erect, between two ladders. In fact I had only one ladder and I would climb up and paint a letter , then move the ladder to paint another. The barns had never been painted and because the board were never flush against each other there were always wide cracks. You had to first paint a large square black background so you could paint your message in large white letters. The boards really soaked up the paint and I had to use a lot of black. On one barn I painted a sign which said,

E.B. ARNETT'S DEPARTMENT STORE
A GREAT STORE IN A GREAT TOWN
6 MILES STRAIGHT AHEAD.

This idea came from the large Cincinnati store of H & S Pogue Company whose slogan was "A Great Store in a Great City."
I would use my cartooning ability as much as possible on the signs. On one I had painted a team of mules with a wagon and the driver whipping them to break neck speed to "E.B.ARNETT'S DEPARTMENT STORE WHERE STAR BRAND SHOES ARE BETTER." (I recently saw one of the signs still quite visible on one of' the barns that I had painted fifty years ago, and the paint was still good. The wood on those barns absorbed that black paint like a sponge soaks up water. My Dad could never understand why I was using so much black paint.) My father had a slogan which he had printed on the big rolls of green wrapping paper in his store. The slogan went, "E.B. Arnett Department Store. A Satisfied Customer Our Most Valuable Asset." He believed that the customer was always right and used all promotion means to get the customer's dollar. My father would even suggest things to the customer that he or she should have and eventually the customer would leave the store with more things than he had intended to buy. However, the customer always seemed happy that Daddy had suggested those things. [X6]

One of my jobs growing up in Salyersville back in the twenties was helping around the store., after school and at night lots of times. When a wagon-load of merchandise came to our store from the railhead at Royalton or Ivyton, my job was to help unload the wagon and then unpack the boxes. The boxes contained overalls, shirts, hats, shoes, hardware from the Belknap Hardware Co. in Louisville and the big wholesale house in Cincinnati where Daddy bought most of his goods. I remember vividly one day while unloading the boxes of merchandise from the wagon, I picked up a large carton of kitchen matches. There must have been four or five dozen small boxes inside the carton. The word "CAUTION" was stamped all over it and in big letters it said, "MATCHES! DO NOT DROP" and that is exactly what I did. I dropped it onto the concrete porch. Boy, it practically exploded. It seemed that every match ignited at once and it went up in smoke. Needless to say it ruined every box of matches in the carton and I was set "aflame" by my Dad for this stupid act. We used to get dishes from Louisville and Cincinnati wholesale houses in tremendous barrels called "hogsheads." The dishes were all packed tightly in straw to keep them from being broken and it must have taken the men who packed the barrels, weeks to do the job. I had to open the ends of the barrel with a crow bar and start removing the straw from around the dishes. I told my Dad there should be an easier way to unpack the dishes. I suggested setting the straw on fire and then the dishes could be easily picked up. I didn't stop to think what the fire would do to the dishes. Before I could carry out my idea my Dad said, "Don't you try!" And I didn't. Nails came in little wooden kegs and were sold under the designation of "pennies," such as an 8 penny nail, a 10 penny nail and so on. My Dad had rows of kegs of nails under the counter in the back of the store. Hanging on the edges of these open kegs of nails were many types of horseshoes. The horseshoe nails were in small boxes up on the shelves. Daddy frequently gave away a car or some other prize to draw people to the store. One time he gave away a 4-cylinder Willis Overland Touring car. There was a drawing and the lucky person got the car. [S29]

The House and Yard

Our house, a big stone house, sat about a hundred yards from our store and had huge grounds, plenty of yard to mow, fruit trees, and, of course, Mama had all kinds of flowers, especially roses. We drew our drinking water from a well and that water was really good. There were no chemicals like we have in the city water today. We added a little lime to the water once in a while, but otherwise it was deep cool well water with all the natural minerals. Water was drawn by means of a well bucket, pulley and well rope. We had to carry it into the house by the bucket and we always kept a big cold bucket of water on the table in the kitchen with cups and glasses ready to have a good cold glass of water on a hot summer day.

In the summer time I had many jobs to do around our house like mowing the big yard, trimming the hedge, helping Mama with her flowers and working in the garden. I remember one Spring afternoon the sun was shining, and it was a good day to be doing anything besides work in the yard. It was also a Saturday afternoon. We had a hedge next to the sidewalk that extended along our property from the store to the barn which was by the State Pond Fork Creek. It must have been two or three hundred yards long--a real job to trim. A concrete sidewalk ran along side this hedge and the road beside this. On this particular afternoon the wind was blowing just a little bit, and it so happened I was doing a job I disliked very much. Now pulverized sheep manure is very light and powdery and is one of the best fertilizers you can put on you lawn. It doesn't exactly smell like Channel No. 5, however. I had been giving the lawn a good coverage and the smell was awful. The wind was blowing a lot of it on my clothes. My mother usually had me disrobe before coming in the house after spreading the stuff. Well, on Saturday afternoons in Salyersville, everybody dressed up and came to town to shop or just hang around town and visit friends. I was "broadcasting" this sheep manure with a scoop since the wind was picking up a bit. When I looked up I saw one of the most fashionable ladies of our town, dressed up in all her finery passing right by our house on her way to town. As she came even with me I had just taken a big scoop of the manure and let it fly at the lawn in front of me but the wind had other ideas and that sheep manure with all its odor and burning effect caught that lady right in the face and all over her clothes. I've never heard such screaming, and by the time she had stopped I had already reached the banks of the Licking River. My mother was calling for me, but I was long gone. Mama tried to soothe the lady's feathers and clean her up but the odor was terrific and she had to go back home and change. I never did see her again. I don't know whether Mama told her it was an accident or an act of God! So when anybody mentions sheep manure to me now I run the other way. [W39]

In July when it got real hot and the blackberries got ripe out on the hillsides, it was the time to start making blackberry preserves and my mother was one of the best preservers in the business. Blackberries grew profusely back in the hills and everybody picked them or bought them from people who did. Back in the twenties blackberries were ten cents a gallon. Nothing was better than blackberry cobbler or blackberries and cream and sugar. Huckleberries were harder to pick, since they were smaller and so were more expensive. I have seen them go as high as eighty cents a gallon. Nearly all the hills around in our county contained wild blackberry briars or bushes and the people who owned these hillside lands containing the bushes didn't mind people picking the blackberries. After Mama picked the stems and debris out of the buckets of berries she would wash them and then put them on the stove after running them through the colander. She sometimes added Cert. to make the preserves gel faster. The smell of those blackberries on the stove cooking and being made into preserves was one of the greatest smells a young boy's nostrils could ever encounter! She also made grape jelly and jam from the abundance of Concord grapes we had on vines leading from the house to the barn. There were some Niagara grapes mixed in with the concord. They were white grapes and used mainly for eating rather than for being preserved. We had corn on the cob, fresh lettuce, mustard, tomatoes, cantaloupe, beans, potatoes and many other things from our own garden. Not only did Mama put out a big washing and do all the ironing and cooked three meals a day, she also helped in the store and was faithful in attendance at the First Baptist Church where she taught a class, sometimes played the piano, and led the GA's (Girl's Auxiliary). Mama could really cook. One of our favorite desserts after church on Sunday was Jell-O with lots of bananas and a big dab of real whipped cream. She also made a delicious pineapple upside down cake. We usually had company for Sunday dinner. Sometimes it was the preacher sometimes it was a relative. My Dad's Uncle Branch Higgins, his brother Joe or my Dad's sister, Aunt Erin, would have dinner with us. Sunday dinner was usually fried chicken, big bowls of mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, all kinds of vegetables, corn bread or rolls, milk, coffee, buttermilk and usually we had made some real ice cream and of course I had helped turn the crank, packed the ice and added the ice cream salt.

Back in the twenties when I was growing up people never heard of loaves of bread we find so abundantly in the grocery stores today. Daddy stocked flour and corn meal. The flour that was the most popular in the eastern Kentucky mountains was milled in Louisville by the Ballard and Ballard Co. which was the world's largest miller of soft winter wheat flour. Their brand of flour, so popular in making the best biscuits that ever graced a table, was called Ballard Obelisk Flour. It came in a twenty-five pound sack made of heavy white paper with the big obelisk emblem on one side. It was tied at one end with heavy wire, and our store sold many sacks of this flour. People carried out sacks of flour on their shoulder, taking it home to make biscuits. The corn meal of course made corn bread. You could a also buy the flour by the barrel, and Daddy stocked that in the store too. Another brand of flour that he stocked was called "Snow," and I believe it was also made by the Ballard & Ballard Co. The making of biscuits gradually tapered off and the store bought "bread" took its place.

Walt recalled the barn which used to be in the corner where Paul later built the Speaks house. the barn had a loft and the kids enjoyed playing hide-and-seek and other games in it. Walt often had the responsibility of cleaning up the barn and taking care of their few livestock among which were the two mules, Beck and Jewell. Walt doesn’t recall any fires in the barn, but did recall nearly setting a barn across the street on fire with a misdirected Roman candle. Fortunately, it just missed the open hayloft window.

During my growing up years, nobody had a gas furnace or an oil furnace. Each room in the house was heated by an individual gas stove. Your bedroom had a stove so when you were getting ready to go to bed you would light the stove and warm the room up. Maybe the room next to yours was ice cold because the stove in it wasn't lit. Of course you could light all the stoves in all the rooms and warm up the entire house but it would be very expensive. The stove in the kitchen was gas as well as the oven. Our house was built by Italian labor and had two stories with an attic of three rooms. The attic was our playroom in the winter. The walls in our house were rough plastered, no insulation, and were painted different colors. The wood work was all oak and the floors were quarter sawed oak, tongue and groove. There was a big kitchen, dining room and a large living room downstairs. Upstairs were four bedrooms, a bath and a large sleeping porch which ran all the way across the back of the house. I remember one night a bat got in our sleeping porch as they frequently did. I was sleeping in a bed at one end of the porch and my brother Paul at the other end. We were lying there with tennis racquets in our hands trying to see who could bring down that bat in the dark as it darted down over our beds. We didn't know then that bats use some kind of radar to keep from hitting objects in the dark. We finally succeeded in bringing down the bat, however.

We had running water, and with our Delco plant we had an electric pump at the side of our house which pumped water from our well to a big tank in our attic on the third floor of our house. In this way we had plenty of water for bathing and in case of fire. A large porch ran across the back of the house on the first floor. It was screened in and we ate breakfast here. Mama kept her Maytag washing machine here when this convenience came into being. The gas stoves could be very dangerous because most people didn't have them well-vented.

Another great hazard was that of gas pressure. At the upper end of town in "Cheyenne" was a little house that stood off to one side in a field in which was located several big valves and weights. This was the gas regulator house for all the gas lines in Salyersville. An operator was to keep tab on this regulator particularly during the severe winter to be sure that enough gas was coming through and enough pressure was created. The operator would take the weights off the valves so more gas would come through during the early part of the night when people were using more gas and he would put the weights back on later when people went to bed and turned off their stoves. The danger was that some people would kept their stoves on all night and the sudden gas pressure the next morning would send flames out of control and burn the house down. This happened one cold winter night back in the early twenties when a house caught on fire on the street we called Paintsville Street. I believe it was caused by such an accident of the stove gas getting out of control. Several houses were going up in flames. We had no fire department so the old "bucket brigade" was brought into play. Before the fire was put out several houses were destroyed. To keep other houses from burning, dynamite was used in the same way back firing was used to control a forest fire. Each room in our house had a gas light. They usually consisted of three gas mantles (some kind of material like asbestos) and, like the stoves, had to be lit with a match. These gas mantle lights gave a real white light compared to a reddish light that electricity gave forth. Charles F. Kettering, the General Motors electrical engineer, had developed a small electric power plant which GM thought could bring cheap electricity to rural homes throughout America. This home power plant was developed in Kettering's Dayton, Ohio's Delco Electric Co. Laboratories. (Among other things Kettering invented was the first self starter on the 1912 Cadillac, which eliminated the hand crank, and he also invented and developed Ethyl Gasoline.) The name of this electric power plant was DELCO which were the initials of Kettering's laboratory, Dayton Electric Laboratory Company.

My Dad bought one of the first of these electric plants and definitely the first in our county. He had it installed in the back room of his store. A concrete base, about three or four feet wide, was built from the ground up level with the wooden floor of the backroom. There was a space left around this concrete so the floor would not touch. This eliminated vibrations to the other part of the building when the motor of the DELCO plant was running. The DELCO plant was placed on top of this concrete base and around the walls of this room were built shelves on which were placed large glass batteries. You could see the plates inside and the water and on the side of each battery was a little glass bulge in which floated small white balls--one for each battery. When these balls were at the top of the small bulge you knew that the battery was charged sufficiently to use. The purpose of the motor on the concrete block was to keep the batteries charged. The electricity stored in these batteries furnished the lights for our house and store. The motor was cranked to get it started on gasoline, but we found later we could run it on natural gas. The exhaust pipe with its muffler was extended to the outside of the store building and it made quite a racket when it was running. Two wires with white clay-like material were used to attach the wires to the ceiling in each room of our house and a drop light hung down from the wires in the center of each room’s containing a clear glass bulb. Chandeliers containing many colored lights were used also in the living room and dining room. When the lights started dimming down, we rushed to the store and started the motor charging the batteries. The DELCO plant was quite successful for several years until electric companies like the Kentucky and West Virginia Power Company brought their wires in from Logan, West Virginia and so ended the little DELCO light plants.

The Licking River was our playground. In the summer it was our swimming hole and in winter our skating rink. We had three favorite swimming holes on the river. Two were up toward Royalton. One was called the Sand Rock, named for a huge rock that jutted out into the river creating a very deep pool of water. The other was Irvin Rock farther up the river from Sand Rock. One of the best swimming holes was down the river from Salyersville, called the Greasy Bend. We had a long rope tied to the top of a tree overhanging the river. We would climb up this rope and swing out and drop into the deep swimming hole. It is a wonder that any of us boys hadn't died of hepatitis, because the river was one long sewer pipe below Salyersville and some places above. Every house (ours included) which had indoor plumbing had sewer pipes leading down to empty into the river. Trash and dead animals were encountered throughout its length. I hope the river is a lot cleaner today. [F52]

Whenever the soil was plowed for my mother's garden, it seemed the biggest, fattest red worms were turned up for us to pick for fishing bait. We picked them by the hundreds, put them in a tin can with soil and kept them for the time we would go fishing on the banks of the Licking River. I never was too much of a fisherman, but I enjoyed it when I did go. We didn't have fancy tackle. We used a cane pole and pulled in a sunfish or sucker. When the river got muddy, as it frequently did in the spring and early summer after the swollen creeks had emptied into the river, we would go fishing and for the life of me it seemed that the only kind of fish you could catch were little Channel Cats as we called them. They had a sharp horn right behind the front fins and when you grabbed one to get it off the hook you would get stuck by the sharp horns and it really did hurt. The bigger catfish also had this kind of horn.

The Licking River rose in the southernmost tip of our county and after running in a northwesterly direction emptied its waters into the Ohio River at Cincinnati separating Covington, Kentucky and Newport. We loved the river in Salyersville because it was our swimming hole in the summer and our skating rink in the winter. When it flowed out of its banks it meant we didn't have to go to school because it covered the only road leading to the school. It also meant it came into my Dad's store and our house. Then we would take to boats, rafts or what have you and proceed to rescue animals and chickens and have a good time on the river's muddy waters.

I'll never forget one June back in the late twenties when we were awakened late one night by a pounding on the front door of our house. It was "Chick" Patrick, the local undertaker. We thought someone had died, but he said that he had just talked on the phone with someone in Royalton where a cloud burst about ten miles up the river had caused the river to go out of its banks and a wall of water twenty feet high was racing down stream towards Salyersville. The water was carrying houses, barns and live stock. We all got up in a hurry and started moving our furniture on the first floor up on tables to get it above water if we could. Our store, located about a hundred yards from our house was a little lower than the house, so all of us who were at home raced to the store and started getting things off the floor. Everything that water could ruin including sacks of Ballard Flour, cans of lard, horse shoes, axes, ax handles was put up on counter tops. The rain was pouring and I have never seen such dark clouds and lightening as dawn came upon us. A big bridge across the Licking River was a few hundred yards from our property and everybody was worried about it. We all headed toward the bridge to watch the water coming down stream laden with overturned houses, barns, chicken coops with chickens on top of them and also other animals. The houses and debris began to pile up against the bridge which was a few feet above the surface of the river. The danger was that with all that material piled against the bridge, it might dislodge the bridge and the town would be wiped out. There was fear also that should the bridge hold it would create such a dam that it would force water into the town and the town would be destroyed that way also. Many men came out to try and dislodge the debris and they finally had to use dynamite to break it up. The debris was cleared and the river gradually receded. At Royalton, a small community seven miles up the river, where the cloud burst had originated, was located one of the largest sawmills in eastern Kentucky. It was called the Dawkins Log and Mill Company and was owned by the Kitchen family of Ashland, Kentucky. It was the steam whistle on this mill which could be heard in Salyersville that awakened people and spread the alarm about the cloudburst.

Whenever we swam in the Licking River we had to get way above the town, for most all the outhouses backed up to the river and they drained into the stream. The sewer pipes from homes with indoor plumbing also led right into the river. As I look back and think of all the sewage, dead hogs and dogs, I sometimes wonder how we escaped having hepatitis and other diseases. Two of the best swimming holes as I remember were several miles up stream above town, and in summer these places were well attended. One was called the "Irvin Rock" and the other, "Sand Rock." These were large rocks jutting into the main stream, and the swift water circling these rocks dug out tremendously deep swimming holes, and this was where we swam. We would dive off these rocks into the clear blue water and really have a great time. Down river, way below town was another one called "Greasy Bend." How it got this name I don’t know, but the river turned a very sharp bend here causing a very deep hole of water as its swift current rushed downstream. A large grape vine was growing from the top of a big tree overhanging the stream, and when the lower end of this vine was cut it made an excellent device for swinging out over the stream and letting go at the appropriate time and diving head first into about eight feet of water. This was also one of the best places to swim. When we were reasonably sure that no girls would be present, we would swim in the suit nature had given us! [Ilk15]

The Licking River as any river was greedy for more land. Growing all along the length of the river were willow trees. Willows demand a lot of water and when a willow is near your house it can wreak havoc, for its roots, in search of water, can really tear up the sewer and water pipes. Sometimes, the Licking River, in making sharp bends would start eating out the river banks and a man owning land along the river would cut down the willows and let them hang into the stream. This would force the current of the stream to the other side of the river. However, the man on the other side, thinking the man who had cut the willows was seeking more land, would cut the willows on, his side of the stream sending the current back. This caused much friction between parties. The river had to run someplace and the willow cutting would often cause unnecessary flooding. [Ilk20]

The Licking River was not big enough to run steamboats or any large craft. However when the river was at flood stage, the Conley Brothers (Luther and Henry), would build a long wood flat boat fifty or so feet long with deep gunners and steer it down the river. The front and back ends were squared off, and in the back they mounted an automobile engine, usually a big six cylinder from a Nash or Buick or whatever was available at the time. The automobile engine propelled a paddle wheel and the boat looked like a streamlined steamboat. A long-handled paddle was set at an angle and placed between two upright pins attached at the front in the center of the boat, in order to steer it. A man would stand in the front and guide the boat while another man in the rear operated the engine. It worked well with the exhaust pipes set straight up in the air and it would make a terrific sound that reverberated between the hills as it roared up and down-the river. This boat was frequently pressed into service by local merchants, my Dad included, during flood stage. It would go the seven or ten miles to Royalton, Kentucky where the railroad was and bring back downstream to Salyersville, merchandise such as flour cattle feed, bales of hay, etc. that otherwise would have been brought down the muddy or flooded roads by mule and wagon. [Ilk20]

The boat transportation didn't last too long, but it was a great event in my life. The men who drove these boats were real heroes to me. They encountered many harrowing experiences as they drove the boat up and down stream dodging floating logs, getting over and under steel cabled swinging footbridges and maneuvering around sharp bends in the river. In the earlier years, my father told me, great rafts of logs were floated down the river in the spring when the river was at flood stage to a lumber company at Farmers, Kentucky named Rowan County Lumber Company. The rafts even had small shacks built on them so the men could have shelter and build fires to cook over. I used to find logs in our garden many years later bearing this company's name on them. They had lodged there during the spring floods. [Ilk20]

At Royalton, in the twenties and thirties, there was a big sawmill one of the biggest in the state. It was owned by the Kitchen family of Ashland. It had a steam whistle that could be heard eight miles in Salyersville. This big whistle saved Salyersville in 1927. After a lot of rain the Licking River was at flood stage. I remember the darkest clouds I have ever seen. The river started rising and you could hear the big whistle of the sawmill in Royalton. Somebody called down to Salyersville and said that a wall of water fifteen feet high was moving down stream. I remember going over to the bridge by the Baptist Church and seeing chicken coops; houses and all kinds of material floating and jamming against the bridge. The water was up to the bridge floor and with all the pressure they thought the bridge would be torn loose. Several charges of dynamite were used to break up the material lodged against the bridge. A lot of big logs used to lodge in our garden by the river during the big flood. [P15]

There were three main churches in Salyersville when Walter was growing up: The Baptist [now called the Missionary Baptist] located on the Licking River at the bridge to the Dixie addition, The Methodist Church where Gracie played the organ for many years located just down the street toward town and The Christian Church where the Subletts attended located on a hill just beyond the center of town. Charlie Sublett was said to have given $10,000 to each of the churches. 

Lucy Jones, who went to Salyersville as a teacher-missionary at the Magoffin Baptist Institute for the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention was a faithful member of the Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School and a group of GA’s. Her mother, Sallie Gruelle, had been a member of the Baptist Church in Bourbon, Illinois. Sallie’s immigrant ancestor, Peter Grouvelle, had come from France in 1774 with three boys. When Peter died shortly after arrival, the boys were taken into the homes of neighbors. One of the sons, Timothy, was given to a Quaker family, while John and Isaac were reared in a Baptist home. John Gruelle (changed from Grouvelle) was Sallie’s grandfather who had settled near what would become Cynthiana in Harrison Co, KY about 1790. [jwa]

Helen and Ruth were baptized at ages about 12 & 14 in the Licking River under the auspices of the Baptist Church there. Wendell was one of the first baptized indoors at the Baptist Church by Rev. Caudill. This Rev. Caudill was not the father of the Caudill girl whom Oaks married. Oaks was married for only about a year and then got a divorce.[Anec]

They had an ole, Preacher Moore came to Salyersville. He didn't have many people. He graduated same class with Woodrow Wilson. They had a little Presbyterian church for awhile and it folded up. But you'd see him walking all over Salyersville. He said that he'd tasted every kind of meat in the World except for human being. I felt sorry for him in the winter time. He came in there needing an over coat and folks wood give him an over coat and things. He lived up at Burning Fork, by himself, and raised his own garden. He was a bachelor. [T]

In Sept 1980 Wendell wrote Tim Bostic, editor of the Salyersville Independent the following letter:
"Dear Mr. Bostic:
I enjoy reading The Salyersville Independent every week, even though there are a lot of people I don’t know since I left there many years ago.
Albert Moore’s articles about his early days growing up in Salyersville and Magoffin County are very interesting. His story about Burning Fork and Rock House Creek I enjoyed very much. I am glad he explained how Burning Fork got its name. I have wondered over the years how it came about. [Leila said, "I didn’t know you had been wondering for the past fifty years how it got its name", ha! – margin note on article] Maybe he could enlighten us on how the name Cheyenne, Dixie, Sugar Camp Branch, Bear Tree and Cow Creek originated? All these names are familiar to me.

His story last week about Dr. George Moore (we called him Preacher Moore) was a most interesting story for as a lad in Salyersville I remember Preacher Moore well. But to me and nearly everybody else he was a mystery. I’m glad Albert gave us the interesting background of a most interesting man. I used to see him as he walked into Salyersville from as we would say, "Upon the Burning Fork." He was a not too tall, slender, bald headed man. I had heard the story that he was a classmate of President Woodrow Wilson, but I didn’t know that there was a Presbyterian Church in Salyersville and he had been its pastor. I used to hear it said of Preacher Moore that he had tasted every kind of meat except human. As Albert Moore stated in his interesting story, Preacher Moore was a man ahead of his time.

This summer my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Princeton University at Princeton, New Jersey, touring the beautiful campus and lunching in their cafeteria. I thought many times as we strolled across the campus, about Preacher Moore and President Woodrow Wilson who had been there. It was a great story Albert; keep up the good work."

How did I deal with stress? I'd just forget it and go on. I mean when one door closed, another door opened. I would just never sit down and grieve about it. I'd just figure, well, that door closed, I'll try another one. Momma was like that. She had an optimistic outlook on life and was a good Christian woman, but didn't make a big show of it or anything. She did a lot of work by mail with the missionary societies.

Alcohol and Tobacco

In the 1920's and 30's Prohibition was still the law of the land until it was repealed under Roosevelt's Administration. In my growing-up days during this period, I saw people drink anything that had an alcoholic content. I've seen men melt down Sterno Canned Heat and drink it. Bottles of vanilla extract, which at that time had a high alcohol content, were a very popular drink. I remember a man who came into our store and wanted five bottles of vanilla extract. I said to him, "Your mother must be going to bake a really big cake." He nodded and smiled and-a short while later I saw him beside our store downing the five bottles of extract. "Bay Rum" and rubbing alcohol were also popular items of drink at that time. Folks even drank hair tonic if it contained enough alcohol. The end of Prohibition ended all. this and people switched to real whiskey and still used moonshine.

We had quite a "Patent Medicine" department in our store, from "Wine of Cardui" to "Three S Tonic. to "Dr. Pierce's Swamp Root" and a thousand other medicines that were supposed to cure everything from Gout to Cancer. Most of them contained about twenty-five percent alcohol, and I think all the men and women who drank the stuff were getting on a cheap jag thinking that their ills were being cured.

I don't know what time. I've seen them come up in wagons over there and they'd buy a wagon load of goods. They'd buy lard, beets, 25 lb. bag of flour, corn meal, he had about 5 different barrels of sugar. Dark brown, light brown, all kinds. He had lump sugar with the biggest lumps I've ever seen. Hard as rocks. I said daddy, what would you use this for? He said the moonshiners would use this in making their whiskey. In their moonshine stills. The Feds would confiscate the moonshine and dump it in the streets? Yeh, and people would get out and suck it up in straws. They would cut the copper stills up with axes. The Government didn't mind that you were making whiskey but they wanted you to pay the tax. They would have to send the revenue to break them up cause the people were not paying the tax on that whiskey. A lot of men in town there became, well one of them, I used to know him Tom Patrick, he was a U.S. Marshall and he was a revenuer and he would arrest people for making moonshine whiskey. The most cases in the courthouse were moonshine cases or murder cases. Chester Back was the Circuit Judge. He was married to Maude Arnett and he had three counties. Magoffin, Breathitt and Wolfe. He held court in all 3 counties. It didn't have enough population for each county to have a judge. Now you take Jefferson County, it would have three or four circuit judges because of the population. But up there they would have one circuit judge to take care of three counties. Chester Back would hold Court in Jackson one week and camp until the nest week and Salyersville the nest. They were all murder cases or moonshine cases. Now if there was a real bad moonshine case, a federal offense, the Court at Catlettsburg, they had a federal judge there, Cochran, was the judge there and most of his cases were moonshining and most of them were from Eastern Kentucky or murder cases. He was a tough judge. [T9]

Lucy and Wendell were tee totalers. Eugene, Oaks, and Paul were not.

The fellows I admired as much as those "artists" in chewing tobacco, were the men up there who "rolled their own." There was one man who was a master at pouring out the "Bull Durham" tobacco into a cigarette paper held in his left hand, pull the draw strings on the tobacco pouch with his teeth while with his one hand holding the cigarette paper and tobacco in it, roll it without using his right hand. He would then remove the "Bull Durham" pouch from his mouth, lick the cigarette from end to end twisting one -end and then light it with a match having used his thumb nail to strike the head of the match. I tried this but could never master the technique. I called these fellows masters of their craft. If you really wanted to get sick, which I learned the hard way, was to pull a leaf of tobacco that was hanging up drying and chew it awhile. You just turn green!

Guns

Our ammunition department was well loaded too. Daddy kept all kinds of ammunition from 22 rifle bullets and shorts to longs and long rifles. He didn't sell guns or pistols, though he kept a 38 Special Smith-Wesson pistol. We boys all had 22 rifles. The pistol bullets he carried in the store ranged from 25 Automatic pistol, steel jackets to 38 Special and 45 Cal. When my mother was working in the store she would never sell pistol bullets for she knew that the person buying them was going to kill somebody.

Virgil Higgins’s brother in law was the sheriff of Magoffin. His name was Adams. Adams was Ms. Higgins’s brother. This guy was a good friend of his but he was drunk and he went to arrest him and he pulled a gun on Adams and it clicked once and Adams had to pull his gun and shoot him, kill him right there. It nearly killed him. It hurt him so bad that he resigned. Had to kill his best friend. Liz said he never got over it. He had to do it, or he would have killed him. Smith Adams was his name. Harold Higgins, Virgil's son, used to go in the Sheriff's office and take out guns. I went with him seYera1 time up into the woods. He would get a high-powered rifle and we'd bring it up to the woods and shoot them and then we'd take them back. They would get these guns from stills and things. 

There was plenty of gun play in Salyersville back in those days, and I remember one occasion when bullets went whizzing past my head. I was out in our front yard mowing the lawn, when I heard voices screaming and people running. I looked down toward town (which was about 1000 yards) and on the courthouse yard I saw a woman firing a pistol up my way and a man on a horse running from her at breakneck speed. He was lying down flat on the horse to keep from being hit by the 38 pistol she was firing at him. She emptied her gun but the bullets didn't find their mark. She was an Arnett and she was firing at a Holbrook man whose son, she said, had made her pregnant and she was out to kill any Holbrook she could find. This Holbrook just happened to be riding by at the time when her anger was hot and her pistol was ready.

There used to be a big man who came into my Dad's store early in the twenties. He was about the height and build of the movie actor, Sidney Greenstreet. He wore a big black coat over gray pants, a big wide black belt, a big black hat and a not too fierce look on his face. He had a very gentle voice, but everyone knew that he carried two 45 Colt revolvers on his hips. He had come over to live in our county from nearby Breathitt County which at that time, because of so many feuds and gun play, was known as "Bloody Breathitt." His name was "Big Joe" Wireman and it was said that he had killed five men. How or when I do not know, but as a little boy I was scared to death of him when he came to trade in my Dad's store. My Dad who imbibed a little moonshine himself, always kept some in the back room of his store though you would never guess he drank any at all. "Big Joe," it was said, brought a supply of moonshine to town frequently. The sheriff was afraid to arrest him because of his reputation, so he made him a deputy to solve all the problems.

Around 1935 an incident happened in Salyersville involving a man named Lewis Marshall. who was well liked, had good habits and was strong as an ox. When our house was built in 1917, Marshall poured the concrete porch surrounding our big house. It was a good job of concrete work, and I remember he had embedded his name and the year he had poured the concrete on a section next to the wall of the house. He was really proud of his strength and his physical build. I have seen him lift the front end of a tiny American Austin car off the street with no effort at all. A town Marshall was badly needed for our town, and someone suggested that Lewis Marshall would be a good man for the job. Marshall had never held a job like this, but he was highly pleased when his name was suggested for the job. He had been in office just a short time when his skill as a peace officer was tested. A man named Salyer from "up the river" as we called people from the section around Royalton, was in town. Salyer was a very quiet man and ordinarily a peaceful man, but this day he had been drinking too much and was getting boisterous and unruly. Lewis Marshall appeared on the scene and arrested him, taking him to the jail behind the courthouse. He took him up to his cell and had just closed the door when Salyer whipped out a pistol and shot Lewis Marshall three times at close range. Lewis reached for his own gun and succeeded in putting two bullets in Salyer before he (Lewis) died. Salyer died on his way to the hospital in Paintsville. Lewis Marshall had made the one mistake a good law enforcement officer does not make--he forgot to search his prisoner. After this incident revenge was running at fever pitch and so Governor Chandler declared martial law and sent in State Troopers to keep order. The town soon cooled off however and resumed its normal life.

Another time in Salyersville, word had spread that a rabid dog was coming down the road to our town. I remember I got my 22 rifle and tried to way lay the dog but I never could get a good shot. A lot of men who had been standing talking in the streets suddenly all ran into stores and shops and when they came out they had guns in their hands ready to kill the dog. (They must have had the guns on them all the time, but to keep from being seen with a concealed weapon they went into the stores to pull them from their pockets or belts.) The dog was finally killed on the outskirts of town by a man with a shotgun.

One of the most unusual men in Salyersville when I was growing up was a man by the name of Dan Brown. He was a small built man with black mustache, little squinty eyes, who wore an old black coat, black trousers and an old crumpled hat on his head. Dan was always a busy man around November, for that was hog killing time in the mountains. Nearly everybody besides having a cow to milk, killed a hog late each Fall to supply them with meat through the winter. Our family was no exception. Dan Brown was usually the man to handle the execution of the hogs around our town. One day Dan was supposed to kill a big hog for the Reese Magill family who lived down the street from us. Mr. Magill was a local merchant like my Dad. They had bought this tremendous hog that I think weighed over 600 pounds. They had asked Dan to come by and kill it for them and dress it out. I was down there to see Dan go about his business. First he threw some corn on the ground so the hog would be interested in eating and then with his single shot 22 rifle he maneuvered around in front of the hog so he could get a good shot.  One always used a small caliber rifle to kill a hog in order not to damage the meat or head too much. You tried to shoot the hog right between the eyes if possible so that the hog would stop in his tracks and a man could rush up with a long knife and cut the hog's throat so it would bleed freely. All the blood had to drain out of the hog or else the meat would ruin. Then the hog was pulled over to a wooden platform on the ground where boiling hot water was poured over the hog and men using round scrapers with handles proceeded to scrape all the hair off the hog from head to tail. After all the hair had been scraped off the hog was lifted up to a tripod which was made of heavy timbers and had two horseshoes at the top with the round ends facing downward. The hog’s hind legs were attached to each horseshoe. Then the hog was sliced inside the belly all the way from the neck to the hind parts. All the inside organs were removed. The intestines were gathered into a washing tub and we used to get the bladders and with a pipe cane, blow them up like balloons. The liver was saved. The hog was gradually cut up and the pieces well salted. The hind legs were carefully cut off for the country hams. The picnic hams came from the front legs. There were spare ribs to be cut up, the backbone, pork chops and that good country sausage. I helped to grind up a lot of that good eating. When we made sausage we put in some good meat, fat, big branches of sage and real red peppers and that sausage was really good. It's hard to find that kind of sausage anymore. My mother would put it in mason jars with lard and seal it and we would eat sausage for a long time. The hams would be put in canvas bags after they were salted and the curing mixture thoroughly rubbed in. The canvas bags were then whitewashed and left to hang in the back row of the store to age. That country ham sure did taste good a year or so later. The secret of a good ham was to be sure and cure it right and that meant getting the curing mixture down to the bone.

Now--getting back to Dan Brown--while that 600 lb. hog was eating the corn, Dan was trying to get a good position in front of the hog so that he could get a shot right between the hog’s eyes. Dan was all set and something happened that had never happened before in Dan Brown's hog-killing days. He didn't know whether he had closed his eyes when he fired or whether the hog raised his head as he pulled the trigger, but the bullet hit the poor hog in the nose and the hog went wild. Try as Dan could, he could never bring the hog down. Finally a man came with a 38 pistol and after two shots in the head brought the animal down. Dan felt real bad, for this was the first disaster he had ever had in killing hogs.

Many of the politicians traveled by horse to reach the people, particularly in the remote sections of the county and other sections of eastern Kentucky. As a boy living up in the Kentucky mountains in the twenties, I had many opportunities to see and hear many of the politicians running for governor or United States Senator. Two of the best orators that I ever heard were the late A. O. Stanley and the late Edwin P. Morrow. Stanley, a Democrat and Morrow a Republican were very close friends off the speaking platform, but bitter enemies on the platform. On one occasion Morrow was speaking at the courthouse in Salyersville. His voice was loud and clear and he was a gifted speaker as well as a wonderful story teller. The people would lean forward intently in order not to miss any word. Morrow said. "I'd rather be with one of these beautiful Kentucky Mountain girls than to be with Cleopatra in a canoe on the Nile River," he’d say to much applause, tobacco spitting and gallus snapping. [Ipo25]

One time when Stanley and Morrow were campaigning on horseback in the Kentucky Mountains, they came to a small mountain stream and decided to get down off their horses a and rest a spell. Morrow was stretched out resting his weary body by the banks of the stream when Stanley pulled a Mason jar wrapped in a Courier-Journal newspaper from his saddle pockets on his horse's saddle. Stanley, the Democrat, loved the Courier-Journal dearly, but Morrow hated it. As Stanley unrolled the paper around the jar of Kentucky moonshine, Morrow said, "Stanley, that is the best thing that ever came out of the Courier-Journal." [Ipo25]

All the men running for United States Senator came through Salyersville. Barkley was the last one that told stories. Most people didn't care about how much money it cost to build a road or anything, they were interested in a story and the politicians knew that. Happy Chandler was a great master of a crowd. He could tell the funniest story, and everyone would just die laughing and they'd say, Yeh, that's our man, we are going to vote for him. I remember he was running for Governor in 1935 when daddy introduced him. Daddy had prepared a big long speech and when Chandler got up he said, "I want to tell you good people here in Magoffin county that this is the greatest county in the state of Kentucky." Why, they just applauded and spit tobacco juice. They didn't know that he had already said that in 100 counties. Chandler had a way with a crowd you know. [T]

In 1935, while I was back in my home town of Salyersville for the summer, I entered enthusiastically into the drawing of political cartoons for the election of A.B. "Happy" Chandler, the state's lieutenant Governor who was running for Governor. He was running against Republican King Swope of Lexington. Chandler was a popular campaigner because he had promised that if elected Governor he would repeal the one-cent sales tax that Governor Ruby Laffoon had put on the people. Keen Johnson, who was running for Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Chandler was a Richmond, Kentucky newspaperman and was also Chandler's publicity manager. When I offered to draw cartoons, he accepted them enthusiastically and had mats of them made to run in all the papers in the state. In one cartoon I showed Happy at the controls of a locomotive bearing down on King Swope's car which was stalled on the tracks. The title was "Get Off the Tracks King: Happy's On Time." Another one, showing the capitol building in Frankfort, was entitled "Happy's Days Are Here" after the song "Happy Days Are Here Again." [Po5]

My father, a merchant, was obviously a strong Chandler man because he wanted the sales tax repealed. When Chandler came to Salyersville campaigning, my father was to introduce him to the crowd that had gathered at the court house. Daddy honed up on his speech and I have never heard such eloquent words as he praised this young Lieutenant Governor and waxing eloquent said," Chandler would make the best Governor the great Commonwealth of Kentucky has ever had." Chandler took the rostrum and received a standing ovation from those mountain people who could see a great champion for the Democratic Party. Not only was Chandler a gifted speaker but he had the unusual talent of being able to call over 10,000 people by their names, remembering their families and the kind of work they did. This was certainly a tremendous asset to a politician. When the applause died down Chandler started in on his opponent Republican King Swope. Chandler had great crowd psychology and the ability to understand what they wanted to hear. The crowds in those days didn't care for a lot of figures or statistics. They wanted to hear a good story and what the candidate would do for them (or rather their pocketbooks). There were no loudspeakers or microphones in those days so a speaker used his own voice as loud as he could speak and it usually carried all over town because the windows of the courthouse were open to let in any breeze that happened to be blowing (underarm deodorants were not as widely used then as they are now.) Chandler would bring a tobacco chewing, gallus snapping crowd to their feet when he would say," When ~ am your governor in that 'White House' on the banks of the beautiful Kentucky River, the latch string will be on the outside of the door. Lift it and come on in and eat country ham dinner with me." He would end his speech by saying, "You people of Magoffin County are among the greatest people of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky." Of course he had said this in the other 119 counties also, but that didn't matter because Chandler was their man. [Po5]

I suppose every town has its characters who stand out in our memories and Salyersville was no exception. I think of all the people whose nicknames impressed me and you began to wonder how they got their names. There was "Goosebite" Arnett who used to be the Assistant Jailer, with his sister Martha B. Arnett who was elected to a four year term as Magoffin County Jailer. Our blacksmith was called "Puff" Prater, but that was not his real name. Then there was "Coondog" Patrick whose real name was Green. And, of course, there was "Bean Belly" Prater. He did have a belly that looked like a bean, so I guess that's how he got that name. "Goodeye" Wireman got his nickname because he had only one good eye. The other could have been shot out as the Wiremans were pretty good with guns and pistols in the "up the river" section of our county. The families in our section of Kentucky were mostly Scotch and Irish descent. Charlie "Legs" Patrick was called that because he drove a hack with two horses. He took us many times to catch the train at Ivyton and over to Grandpa Arnett's home in Middle Fork. [Ifo27]

Back in the twenties in Salyersville I remember a man by the name of Ed Pease. He had a small restaurant in Salyersville's main street facing the old court house. He had an apartment above his restaurant. Pease had a very attractive wife, younger than he was. It wasn't long until her flirting eyes caught the attention of several of Salyersville's paramours and while her husband was cooking lunch and breakfast for his hungry patrons, some of these paramours were being entertained by his wife in the apartment above. One man I remember who used to come out of her love nest would be singing, "I feel like a song bird today." One day I happened to be in town when one man who had been frequenting her apartment quite regularly was surprised by the woman's husband. As he raced down the steps from the apartment trying to get away, Ed Pease was shooting at him with a 38 pistol. I saw the man run and crouch down behind a buggy that was at the side of the courthouse. Pease; was still shooting at him and several of the bullets hit the spokes of the wheel close to the man's head. The sheriff finally overpowered Pease and the shooting was over. Soon after this Ed Pease and his wife moved to another Kentucky town where the last we heard he was still in the restaurant business. Whether his wife was still with him we never knew. [Ifo36]

My great uncle Joe Higgins, used to come in my Dad's store smoking a corn cob pipe and the strongest smelling tobacco I have ever smelled. I was a twist commonly used for chewing, but he would crumble it up in his hands and smoke it in his pipe. Near the tobacco counter in our store was a lower shelf that held individual boxes of chewing tobacco so that you could select your favorite brand such as "Day's Work," "Apple" and "Strafer's Natural Leaf" (which was a good one that could make you stand on your head!) I tried some once and got sick as a dog. One of the thickest plugs I have ever seen was called "Star Navy." It had a little tin star spaced around on the plug which you removed of course before you put it in your mouth. A plug was made by pressing tobacco, honey, and molasses in layers until it was about an inch in thickness. Sam Patrick, who lived across the street from us used "Star Navy" brand of chewing tobacco. It was something to watch him take his little sharp pocket knife out, hold the plug gently, cut off a section and insert it in his mouth and as a man adjusting a handkerchief in his lapel pocket. Sam would return it to his pants pocket, select the right side of his mouth to hold the cud of tobacco and would be ready to converse with anyone about oil (which he was in), horses or whatever and every so often he would punctuate his remarks with a carefully aimed bit of tobacco juice at the ground. I envied that man the way he could chew and spit that Star Navy Plug. He was an artist in the art of chewing tobacco. [Ifo37]

As I have stated before, everybody quit work at noon on Saturday and came into town. It was always a big trade day at my Dad's store, and Mama spent a greater part of her day at the store besides running back to the house to see about getting dinner, her chickens and so on. She was an amazing woman. When Daddy wanted Mama to help with the trade at the store he would go to the back of the store and ring a small hand school bell and Mama would stop whatever she was doing and come running. On Saturday afternoon (back in the Twenties) I remember so well seeing Elizabeth Patrick who lived many miles up the Burning Fork Road come into town with her pretty white and brown spotted pony pulling a rubber-tired one-seated pony buggy. It had a big umbrella with gold fringe all the way around supported from a chrome plated rod from behind the driver's seat. It was a regular thing on Saturday afternoon to see Elizabeth come driving to town with that pony stepping high and Elizabeth dressed out in all her Saturday finery. [Ifo43]

Carl and Earl Cooper's Confectionery was the meeting place for all the younger set. The Coopers ran a good ice cream parlor and served a brand of ice cream which I believe came from Paintsville or Huntington, West Virginia. It was as we would say a "brought on" kind of ice cream. I still remember the name, "Imperial." It had a little different taste than homemade, though it too had all the rich ingredients that you don't find in store bought ice cream today. Coca Cola's were called "Dope" and they served "Cherry Smash" and "Green Rivers" using syrup and carbonated water. [Ifo43]

Bob Howington ran the one and only theater in Salyersville, back in the twenties. The theater was located in a large two story stone building located on Church Street about fifty yards beyond he Christian Church. The Masonic Lodge held its meetings on the 2nd floor. The street went up hill from its start on main Street at the Salyersville National Bank. Electric lights were strung along the sidewalk leading from the bank to the theater. When the show was about to start Bob Howington would flash the lights several times, and that was when we boys headed in that direction. Wednesday night were usually the best Westerns. Our Western heroes were William S. Hart; Tom Mix; Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson and a lot of others. The seats in the theater were long wooden benches--the slated kind. The floor had a slant from the rear to the front. There was a stage on which occasionally a vaudeville act was performed. To the left of the stage down front was an old battered upright piano, and one of the leading piano players of our town usually a woman would play music to accompany the movie being shown. These were silent picture days. The picture would be shown and next would be shown the message. The favorite food eaten as the movie was being shown was the everlasting Crackerjacks and pop corn. By the time the movie was over the floor would be littered with Crackerjack boxes and pop corn that had missed the mouth. It was a wonderful time to grow up. The theater at which I won the pony in 1924 was located on Prestonsburg Street (Our house was on this street also). The theater was next to the Methodist Church. [Ifo50]

The main hotel in Salyersville was the Phoenix. I guess every town in the country has or had a hotel called the Phoenix. The Phoenix was located on main street next to the Coal Branch a creek that flowed into the Licking River eventually. The hotel was a three story wood weatherboard building. It had three porches that ran across the front of the building. The porch on the street level was next to the side walk and people would come by and sit on the porch, and usually the hotel owner Wiley Rice and his wife would be there talking about the latest happenings of the day--local and national. It was said that if there was anything going on in the town or county Wiley Rice or his wife Rose would know about it. Drummers coming to our town to call on the local merchants usually stopped here. They served good meals. Breakfast, dinner and supper. Wiley Rice kept horses and mules in his stable behind the hotel and also had a farm which he worked in the summer time. He also was a good blacksmith. This outdoor life that he lived evidently paid off because he died not long ago at the age of one hundred and five and still had his original teeth. [Ifo51]

When the Circuit Court was in session at certain times of the year the Circuit Judge and his Commonwealth Attorney would stay at the hotel, and sometimes the jury would stay there when an important case was being tried at the courthouse across the street. Murder trials and moonshine eases were the most frequent on the docket. Our county and two other counties, Breathitt and Wolfe, were part of this Judge's circuit. He held court in each county seat. Breathitt County adjoining our county of Magoffin was commonly called "Bloody Breathitt" because of so many feuds and killings. During World War 1, it was said that not a man was drafted, they all volunteered. [Ifo51]

Back in the twenties when I was growing up , we had two or three doctors. They would be called General Practitioners now. Dr. John S. Cisco was one, and he also owned a drug store. There was Dr. Price who brought me into the world as well as my brother and sister. The old Doctor I remember so well was Dr. Dixon. He reminded me very much of the doctor on GUNSMOKE. He wore the same kind of clothes, always needed pressing and an old battered black hat. His constant companion was his little black medicine bag. When the doc would come to the house he would take your pulse, put a thermometer in your mouth, have you open your mouth and look down your throat. The question he would ask first would always be, "Have your bowels moved?" This evidently was the key to good health and still true today. Doc Dixon would open his little black case, and as it opened four little shelves on hinges would open and on these little shelves would be bottles of medicine. Some liquid and most in powder form. There was one medicine he was quick to give you, particularly if your stomach was upset and that was a course of Calomel (Powder form). Of course Castor Oil was the old standby taken with some brown sugar or and orange. Every time I eat an orange today I can still taste castor oil. Doctor Dixon hadn't gone too far in medical school but his diagnosis of what ailed you was usually correct. Dr. John S. Cisco was another good doctor and a very fine man. He spoke rather gruff, and at first you might be afraid of him, but his bark was worse than his bite and he was a valuable asset to our community. [Ifo49]

I remember back in the twenties when the big road builders were in our county building the roads through the mountains, the men who were doing the blasting with dynamite sometimes would carelessly leave a lot of little brass caps lying around by the site they were blasting. These little brass caps were filled with explosives and were used with dynamite. A little wooden peg the diameter of the cap was pushed into the side of a stick of dynamite, and the little brass cap was inserted in the hole. A copper wire was attached to the brass cap or a long or short yellow fuse was inserted into the end of the cap. The fuse was then lit with a match and the dynamite would go off. Two little boys over on the Middle Fork section of our county found some of these little brass caps. They placed them in some glass bottles, corked them and them hit them with a hammer. The ensuing explosion showered these little boys with thousands of pieces of glass. They were brought to Dr. Cisco’s drug store where he spent hours using tweezers and pliers removing the glass from their naked bodies. They were lucky that the glass didn’t hit their eyes. They were a bloody looking sight though, and everybody thought they would die. Dr. Cisco did a good job and they survived. [Ifo49]

The doctors in our town did a lively business with gunshot wounds due to so many killings up the Licking River. Guns and ammunition were easy to obtain and nearly everybody had a gun of some kind. Shotguns; pistols; high powered rifles and twenty- two rifles. I always loved guns having owned twenty-twos. There were so many dreaded diseases back when I was growing up. For instance so many young people in our county died of diphtheria. They used to get this in the early fall when the leaves began to fall and the story around there when I was growing up was that playing in the leaves and raking them would give you diphtheria. We all had to be vaccinated for Small Pox. Measles were prevalent, and everybody usually got mumps. I remember I had them in both jaws and I couldn't eat anything sweet. Scarlet Fever was another killer of children. Pneumonia was also a dreaded killer. I remember we just had one kind of pneumonia. It killed a lot of people. When you contracted Pneumonia and particularly if you got double Pneumonia (both lungs) they usually had the undertaker standing by. The doctor came and everybody waited for the crisis and the fever to break. Oxygen tents were scarce and unable to get hold of and undoubtedly they would have saved countless numbers of lives. Today there are many kinds of Pneumonia. [Ifo49]

Doctors and dentists in Salyersville and surrounding area: Dr. Skaggs practiced in Royalton, and had a son Forest Skaggs who was a dentist. Drs. Conley, Price, Dixon and Kash practiced in Salyersville. Dr. Price committed suicide in the 1920’s and was the physician who delivered Wendell and Paul. Later there was a Dr. Lloyd Hall in Salyersville who had a brother, Dr. Paul Hall who was a surgeon in Paintsville. [Anec]

Funerals were always big and well attended in Salyersville. When the funeral was held at one of the three churches, Baptist, Methodist, or Christian, an unusual thing was done. As the hearse containing the casket neared the church, the church bell was tolled giving the age of the deceased. There was much crying and outbursts of emotion for the loved one lying in the casket. After the minister had delivered his funeral oration and after a local man usually a prominent lawyer, read the obituary and gave the glowing character reference of the deceased, the organ or piano would start playing while the choir sang tear-jerking songs like "Abide With Me," "Sweet By and By," or "We Will Understand it Better By and By." The crowd would file by to take a last look at the deceased and then, having returned to their seats, would watch the relatives gather round the casket. Some would be crying hysterically as others would kiss their departed one. Sometimes friends and relatives had to pull and tug their friends away from the casket so the undertaker could close the lid and wheel the casket out to the hearse and take it to the cemetery. At the grave another brief service was held and the family would again go through the crying and outbursts of emotion. [Ifo16]

As a boy in Salyersville, funerals left a profound impression. The local undertakers were Patrick and Prater. Chick Patrick and Jim Prater were the owners. Their funeral establishment didn't have a funeral home as such, but it was the place where the body was embalmed, caskets were stored, and where people came to select a suitable casket for their loved one. Before the time of the motor-driven hearse, a hearse looked like the old stage coaches of the West, except it had heavy plate glass all around. It was a beautiful vehicle on rubber tired wheels. Up front was a high seat on which the driver and undertaker sat. On the left side of the driver and the right side of the undertaker were two large ornate kerosene lamps which were glass also. The hearse was pulled by two well groomed horses with shiny black harness. Sometimes the funeral was out in the county so this type of vehicle enabled them to traverse any kind of terrain at any time of year. [Ifo16]

Since we had no funeral homes, the casket, containing the body was always brought to the home of the deceased where it was usually placed on its stand in the living room or parlor. Then, relatives and friends would gather at the home to sit around the casket while the family was upstairs sleeping or resting. The people sitting up with the casket would sit around telling stories and would have free access to the kitchen and dining room where they would make sandwiches and coffee or food, and drink (something stronger than orange juice!) was brought in by friends. These people would sit up all night with the casket. This old custom was called a ''Wake." There was much superstition about sitting around the casket. For example, some people thought that cats would come in and carry away the dead body if it wasn't watched. The real reason for the Wake was to give the families a chance to rest before attending the funeral the next day. [Ifo16]

Another child to die young in Salyersville was Mary Sue Thompson who Walt mentions in one his letters as having died when her dress caught fire from one of the school’s gas stoves.

We had automobiles when they came into being. We had a Dodge Touring car, Overlands and later on we had two Willis Knights and our last car was a big black straight eight Hupmobile. It was a four-door sedan with real wire wheels and a trunk on the back. That was some automobile, and I really had fun driving it and I kept it shined up like a diamond. The big gear shift was on your right with the big emergency brake lever close on its right. Somebody had invented something new for cars that would help you save gas. It was called "Free Wheeling." It could be attached to your present car at little cost. My older brother Oakley persuaded my Dad to get it, and it was installed at a charge of $75.00 at the Bruce-Perry Motor Company in Huntington, West Virginia where Daddy had purchased the car. The idea of it was that when you had the car in "Free Wheeling," and you didn't have your foot on the accelerator, the car was coasting, and the engine was idling rather than using gas through use of the gears. The only trouble with this arrangement with cars up in the mountains was that you kept your foot on the brake and therefore you wore out the brakes on your car faster. The gear shift on our car had this silver looking button on top of the gear shift lever. When it was pushed down, you were in "Free Wheeling." When it was up you were in the old gear. One day a cousin of mine was riding with me down the road below town and he said, "Say I hear that you can throw this thing into second gear from high without pushing in the clutch at forty miles an hour with "Free Wheeling. Why don't you try?" Well I did, and I expected to hear all the gears being ripped out, but he had been right for it slipped right into second gear without a sound, but I was really scared. That Hupmobile gave us a lot of enjoyment. [Iau31]

I suppose one reason we had so many cars was the fact that my older brother Oakley loved automobiles too. He had the Willis-Knight agency at Paintsville for awhile and it was always a thrill for my brother Paul and I to go over to Paintsville. There were more things to do over there than at Salyersville. They had a fairly good swimming pool for one thing and better picture shows. My brother's automobile agency was out the street towards Prestonsburg and near the C&O depot. [Iau32]

Back in the twenties there were over two thousand automobiles made in this country. Indianapolis made most of the cars until they moved to Detroit. Even a town as small as Salyersville had lots of different make cars. The hard roads brought them in. I remember Mr. and Mrs. Ed Stephens had a MOON automobile, and so did Dr. Forest Skaggs (he was married to Lily Arnett, and after Forest died she married Ebb Henry). My uncle Glen Sublett, had a DIXIE FLYER made by the Kentucky Wagon Works of Louisville. It was big as a Cadillac. Willie Caudill had a DORT. At one time we had a DODGE, two HUPMOBILES and a WILLYS-KNIGHT. I remember Henry Lemaster had a STEARNS-KNIGHT. There were lots of MODEL "T" FORDS as well as ESSEX companion car to the HUDSON. My brother Oakley had the WILLYS-KNIGHT agency in Paintsville. Hobert Howard, son of William 0. Howard had the DODGE agency in Paintsville. To go to Paintsville from Salyersville was like going to a big city. Paintsville had brick streets and the C & O Railroad Station where we would catch the trains to Cincinnati and other points. [P12]

When I went to the grade school at Magoffin Institute, Carrol Caudill was my teacher. He was given the job at the Oil Springs School, either as teacher or Principal. Anyway, my mother wanted me to go to Carrol Caudill's school, so I would ride every morning with Carrol and his wife Reva in his Model "T" Ford touring car to Oil Springs. I sat in the back seat on the left side behind Carrrol. I always wore a white shirt. By the time we reached Oil Springs, my shirt would be covered with tobacco stains where Carrol, who chewed tobacco would spit out the side as we rolled along. The tobacco would get all over my shirt. After the fall session I enrolled back in Magoffin Institute, but not because of the chewing tobacco. [P12]

Eugene enjoyed having Wendell take him driving after dinner, and the family owned at various times two Willis Knights, a Hupmobile, and other automobiles. Walt developed a fascination for the automobiles, and his favorite was the Pierce Arrow with its headlamp as part of the fender, "a feature for which they had the patent some 28 years...the car was made in Buffalo, NY." Walt could never teach his dad to drive, and on one occasion when he was trying his dad--while driving--let go of the steering wheel to tie his shoelaces. Walt would often drive his dad to Cincinnati for trips when Eugene would buy goods for his store. On other occasions, Eugene would drive their two mules and a wagon to Ivyton to pick up supplies for the store. [walt1024]

Wendell recalled that he "grew up in the age of the automobile, and it was a great time to be alive." He recalls having driven the Hupmobile once up to nearly 80 mph in only 2nd gear, and that the gears were very smooth. Initially the gears of all the cars--he thinks there were some 29 different car manufacturers in the country, many in Ohio and Indianapolis--were all different and "you had to be careful, or you could hurt yourself if you slipped into the wrong gear." Later the gears were standardized and GM and Ford bought up many of the smaller car companies. On another occasion when changing a spark plug he dropped a brass cap accidentally into the cylinder, but other than the rattle as they drove along, no damage was done. Oaks did a lot of trading in cars, and Wendell got to see many different types because of his step brother’s interest. [1024]

"We had a big business house in Huntington called the Ritz Walt Ritter Company, it was a wholesale company. Daddy bought his automobiles there. I used to love that place. They have all the best shows in town, pictures. Between Huntington and Ashland there was a nice place. It's kind of an amusement park. But Coney Island was the place in Cincinnati. They had another thing there in Cincinnati, I always wondered why they got rid of it. It's called an incline plane. They had two platforms, one up and one down. On each of them there was a street car. It would lift that thing up till they were on hills and then they would balance each other. That's how they got the street cars on hills.

"In the early 1920's around Salyersville, there were no good roads, except those that were graded locally every Spring, and the only way to get around was by horse and buggy. The goods for my Dad's store were brought into Salyersville by a team of mules and wagon from the nearest railroad which was located at Ivyton, Kentucky, about ten miles south. The railroad ,was the "Big Sandy and Kentucky R.R." which connected twelve or fifteen miles to the east at Dawkins , Kentucky with the Chesapeake & Ohio R.R. The C&O later acquired this little railroad and extended the spur track into Royalton, Kentucky to the big sawmill and to Carver where there were some coal mines.

The roads in our county were dirt and they really got muddy and full of chuck holes in the winter. One day, during the time our county had an oil boom, I saw twenty pair of oxen yoked together pulling a big oil rig through the muddy streets of Salyersville. The rig was mounted on a carriage with large steel flat surfaced wheels. The driver of the oxen ran alongside the beasts with a long-handled whip and would crack it over the oxen heads to make them pull harder. I felt sorry for the oxen as they strained against the yokes to pull the tremendous oil rig out of the mud holes in which it was sinking. Oxen were shoed like horses with two metal shoes on each foot, but because of-their low stocky build, they could out-pull horses and mules, but were much slower. [Id18]

When the first automobile came into our section of Kentucky, especially the Model T Ford, road building programs were begun. The goal of every Governor of Kentucky was to see how many miles of good roads he could build in his administration. It was a big vote getter because everybody wanted a good road in order to get his produce to market faster. Graded dirt roads were built and oil was sprayed on them to keep the dust down in the summer months. An asphalt mixture was added and the road became better. Our section of the state needed roads built toward Lexington, Ashland, and Paintsville. [Id18]

I'll never forget the men of those road-building construction companies who came to our county to build the roads. Because of the mountains, there were tremendous fills to be made, sides of hills to be leveled off, bridges to be built in order to make the road bed. One of the big construction companies was a company out of Knoxville, Tennessee who won a bid to make the cuts on the Ivy Point Hill below Salyersville, over-looking the Licking River. There were no Diesel engines in those days, and the big steam shovels that were used were powerful machines. They were called Erie Steam Shovels, and I along with other boys wanted to become a steam shovel operator. To us they were in the same league as locomotive engineers. I would watch the steam shovel operators as they pulled on three or four levers and guided that immense shovel with its long steel teeth to take huge bites our of the hillside, swing around and empty the rock and dirt to the side of the hill. A fireman kept the coal pouring into the furnace and kept plenty of water in the boiler for steam. The steam shovel sat on two wide steel tracks like the present day Caterpillar tractors use. Its progress forward or backward was very slow, but they succeeded in removing thousands of tons of dirt and rock. Steam drills were used to drill into the rock and then charges of dynamite were placed in these holes to blow the rock apart so the steam shovel could dig the loose rock out without too much difficulty. [Id18]

My Dad kept all kinds of material needed for the use of dynamite. He did not sell dynamite but he did sell rolls of yellow fuse which was attached to the dynamite. A brass cap-which was of itself highly explosive, was placed in a hole in the side of the stick of dynamite. Then, one end of the roll of fuse was inserted into the cap and the rest of the fuse was stretched far away from the hole where the dynamite was placed. Either a match was used to light the fuse or a battery and plunger set off by electricity. In the latter case wires were usually attached to the cap and the dynamite itself. Just before the dynamite charge was set off, someone would yell at the top of his voice, "Fire in the hole!" This was a warning to anyone near by that they should seek cover. [Id18]

A smaller company from nearby Jackson, in Breathitt County built many roads too. Their names were Hoy and Grover Miller. Grover Miller, an Erie steam shovel operator, was bringing a big shovel up the road past our house one day. It was just barely crawling along and quite often Miller would get off the shovel as it propelled itself along. The steam shovel was to cross a steel trussed bridge with wooden flooring and cast iron railings. These iron railings along the sides of the bridge were rusty and eaten away by the constant practice of certain citizenry of urinating on the railings at night. The floor of the bridge was just wide enough for a team of mules and wagon, and it was to going to be a tight fit for this steam shovel coming across it. A day or two before, the bridge had been braced and shored up with huge timbers underneath so as to support the weight of the shovel. There were many in the crowd making bets that the steam shovel would break through the bridge. Grover Miller thought differently, but when the steam shovel got near the bridge and began its slow progress onto the wooden bridge floor, Miller jumped off after setting the controls. Someone asked him why he jumped off the shovel instead of staying on and driving it across. Miller replied, "Well, they make these steam shovels every day, but it takes twenty one years to make a man and I ain't risking my life on this thing." The shovel finally lumbered across successfully, but it sure made that bridge buck up and down as it crossed. [Id19]

The main garage in Salyersville back in the early twenties, was Howard Bros. owned by Nelson and Boone Howard. Nelson was the first graduate of Magoffin Baptist Institute, when Dr. A.C. Harlowe was the principal. The Howards sold Fords, and I still remember the standard Ford Motor Company sign that used to hang above its one gasoline pump, attached to the corrugated steel wall on the front of the garage. It was enameled and swung back and forth with its message stamped in blue on white background, "SALES AND SERVICE FORD AND FORDSON CARS, TRUCKS, AND TRACTORS." The Fordson was the name of the Ford tractor which was so popular back in those days. It had two steel wheels in front and two big wide wheels in the back on which were attached sharp steel plates at intervals around the wheels. This enabled them to dig into dirt. They had four cylinders and you had to crank them to start. [Id19]

Every Spring, as the muddy streets of Salyersville began to clear up, Nelson Howard would bring out his tractor and a drag and proceed to grade the streets up to our bridge and all through town, so people could get their cars if they had any out of their barns or garages. Many people kept their cars on blocks all winter to keep from ruining their tires. They would finally get the cars started or Nelson would send a mechanic to do the job. The cars were brought to the garage to get oil and gas and then given the real test of driving up a steep hill in high gear. One steep hill was Parker Bank and any car that could pull up this hill in high was something. [Id20]

As the good hard-surfaced road was built to Paintsville, eighteen miles away, everybody went there. Paintsville was more of a city. More wealth was there as well as the C&O railroad. It was situated on the banks of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The Levisa Fork was labeled wrong by nearly everybody in our section. It was called the Big Sandy River all the way to Pikeville in Pike County, but in reality it is the Big Sandy River, about thirty miles long, only from Louisa, Kentucky to Cattlettsburg, in Boyd County where it empties into the Ohio River. The Levisa in Kentucky and the Tug Fork on the West Virginia side come together at Louisa to form the Big Sandy River. [Id20]

My Dad kept all kinds of material needed for the use of dynamite. He did not sell dynamite but he did sell rolls of yellow fuse which was attached to the dynamite. [S18]

In a Sept 1980 letter to Tim Bostic, editor of the Salyersville Independent, Wendell related the following:

"I was awed and thrilled watching the big Erie Steam Shovels (this was before diesels came into use) as they moved the dirt and rock, building the Ivy Point Hill and the road to West Liberty.

The Codell Construction Company of Winchester, Kentucky built many of the roads in our county. I suppose though the most famous road builder that I remember was the Dempster Construction Company of Knoxville, Tennessee. I remember the names printed on their Erie Steam Shovels and their big trucks: "The Dumpster Construction Company, Knoxville, Tennessee, We Move the Earth." The steam shovels were fired by coal and they used lots of water to make the steam. They had a fireman as well as the engineer who handled the three big levers that controlled the operation of the shovel. There were no bulldozers in those days. After the steam shovel removed the dirt and rock, as many as ten or twenty men with two handled scrapers pulled by two mules to each scraper, pulled the dirt or rock to the side of the road being built, the man driving the mules would pull up on the wood handles of the scraper and dislodge his load of dirt or rock and return to repeat the procedure. Two years ago visiting Hershey, Pennsylvania we noticed in visiting their museum, there was one of those same scrapers that built the road in eastern Kentucky. The Dempster family became famous. One of the Dempsters became the Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee and I saw him on the program "What’s My Line." The Dempsters also invented the now famous "Dempster Dumpster" which is used in nearly every American city to collect garbage. I say all this to tell you about a famous family who built most of the roads and highways in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The road builders that I remember, but not on the scale of the Dempsters, were Hoy Miller and his son Grover, from Jackson in Breathitt County. I remember as a small lad standing near the State Road Fork Bridge which was near our house (the post office is located there now) with a lot of other people to witness a great event. Grover Miller was the engineer on a big Erie Steam Shovel piloting it up the street to cross the bridge. His destination was the big hill behind the Baptist Church. This road was being built toward Ivyton and Royalton. This bridge was a wooden floored structure with cast iron railings and other iron work supporting the bridge. A lot of heavy timber had been used underneath the bridge to give it support to hold up the steam shovel. As the shovel slowly approached the bridge, Grover Miller and his jumped off and came over to where we were standing. He had set the controls and the safety valve. Someone standing next to Miller said, "Grover, why did you jump off the shovel, why didn’t you stay there to guide it across the bridge?" Grover said, "They make these steam shovels every day, but it takes twenty one years to make a man; I don’t want to die yet." Steam shovels are on self-propelled tracks like tanks or tractors and their speed is very, very slow. As the shovel pulled itself onto the bridge, the bridge began to go up and down and the groaning and cracking of the timbers underneath the bridge frightened all of us and we were getting ready to head for a safer place, but after what seemed like eternity the steam shovel crossed over to the other side much to Grover Miller’s happiness. Growing up in a little town brings back many memories that lot of big city people miss."

Oil

During the twenties, Salyersville had an oil boom that made many people very wealthy, especially those who had oil on their land. Others made money taking options, drilling and getting a percentage. My father invested in several leases, and I still get a small check from that oil which has by now nearly been played out. Though the check is only for $2.63, it makes me feel proud to be a "big" oil man, selling crude oil to Ashland Oil Company! The oil boom brought many people to our county who wanted to work in the oil fields. A strong natural gas field was also found that brought jobs. The Louisville Gas Company even had a direct line to our gas fields. The oil workers, especially the drillers made very good money, because there was no income tax to speak of and they were able to pocket most of the money or spend it recklessly as many did. When the oil faded, many of these people stayed in Salyersville, started businesses, and became leading citizens. The Ashland Oil and Refining Company started in our county and the adjoining county of Johnson. Later on an oil boon came to Owensboro and Davies County. [Id21]

My Dad did quite a brisk business in the store as the oil well workers and owners of the land came to our store and bought goods by the wagon loads. There was a man who worked for the oil companies who I thought to be the bravest man I'd ever seen. He had a team of pretty horses, a converted buggy with rubber tires and unusual springs on the bed of the buggy as well as the seat where the driver sat. He usually traveled alone and always in the day time. His job was to "shoot the wells." He was the nitroglycerin expert, and the reason he had a rubber-tired buggy with excellent springs was that behind the driver's seat were rubber containers filled with bottles of nitroglycerin. A sudden jar and the stuff would blow you to "Kingdom Come." This man knew how to handle it, and he carried a very good insurance policy. Insurance companies readily insured him because none of these men had ever had an accident. After the well had been drilled down so many hundred or thousand feet, the "glycerin" man was called in to break into the pool of oil. A long aluminum container, containing a quart or so of nitroglycerin was lowered by the "shooter" into the well and then exploded. If it was a "gusher" the oil would begin showing itself above the drilling rig. [Id21]

The drilling rigs used in the Kentucky mountains when I was growing up were much different from the drilling rigs used in the West today. We had no tall derricks like they have now. The main difference was the drill bit used to drill through the rock. Oil drillers in the West used and still use what is known as a rotary drill. This was a bit with three cog-like bits which rotated. This bit was invented by the father of Howard Hughes and is still used throughout the world and rented or leased to the oil companies. The bit used in our county was called a "Star Drill." It had a kind of chisel-like bit tapered sharp in the center to hammer into the rock and mud. It was lubricated with mud and water as the driller went deeper and deeper. The men responsible for these bits being sharp were called "Tool Dressers" and were highly paid. A lot of people who made money in the oil business didn't know what to do with the new money. Some bought farms, expensive automobiles, properties in Ohio and Indiana and others moved to bigger cities. Most of the money went through their hands and they finally drifted back to their old homes. [Id21]

Planes

The discovery of oil brought many kinds of people, like iron fillings attracted to a magnet, hoping they too could profit from its find. Among this group were the "Barnstormers." "Barnstormers" were men who flew two-winged airplanes that were leftovers from World War I, called "Jennys"--Curtis J-N 4 D's. The top speed of these planes was about sixty five miles an hour. They had a six-cylinder water cooled engine that had its problems. These men came to our county from all parts of the country when the oil boom was on to make money taking people up for a ride over the mountains. They charged $5.00 for five minutes. Oil men of Salyersville were glad to part with $5.00 to see what their country looked like from an airplane. [Ipl22]

One of the pilots who flew up to our county during this time was a man named Bob Shanks. He later had his own airfield and hanger at Indianapolis, Indiana. When he flew up our way, word was passed among us boys that the great aviator Bob Shanks was coming. Very shortly we would see his little plane flying high in the sky above Salyersville. The sound of its motor reverberating against the hills and valleys made quite a racket with its exhaust pipes belching fire. It was a new sound to us. We heard that Bob Shanks would land in Will May's "bottom" (this was the term used for land lying near the river or some other level pasture land). After finding out where he would land his plane, we boys would tear off at breakneck speed on foot to see him land and maybe get to see him or at least get close enough to the plane to admire this man-made bird. [Ipl22]

The planes were cloth-covered, olive drab in color, two open cockpits, rubber tires with wire wheels and a tail skid in the rear. The pilot usually flew the plane from the rear cockpit. He wore a leather helmet, goggles, riding breeches, lace-up leather boots and he was the "Lancelot of the Air" to us. Cattle were a big problem for these "heroes of the air" as I called them. Cows would just look up and keep chewing their cud and wonder what this monstrosity was, or they would hoist their tails in the air and scatter in all directions. The aviator had to use his own judgment as to what direction the cows were going to move next when he came into land. It was always hard to know where the "Barnstormers" would land their planes. The "Will May Bottom" was a good place because of fairly level pasture, and there weren't many cows there. The Pilot had to watch our for ditches also. [Ipl22]

The "Jenny" planes could land almost anywhere and they didn't need much ground from which to take off. We used to stay around the plane all day to see if we could run errands for the aviator, but we were always instructed to stay clear of the front of the plane when a man came up to grab hold of the wooden propeller and , pull down on it to start the motor. I believe one of the most daring of these "Barnstormers" was a fellow who flew a "Jenny" into Salyersville back in the twenties. I can't remember this pilot's name but he also was lured up to our county by the big money being made from the "black gold." When he flew high over the hills around Salyersville, we all knew he was trying to find a good pasture land in which to bring his "Jenny" down. He finally disappeared from view, and word reached all the eager plane enthusiasts like me, that he had landed his plane up in the "Bluegrass." This meant only one place: the rolling hills around the Bluegrass Cemetery in Cheyenne. There was no level ground up there that we knew of but that was where he supposedly landed. We all raced the three miles up there to see if he had wrecked his plane and when we got there we saw the pilot standing next to his plane on a long narrow piece of grass about a hundred or so yards long. He had pulled his plane right up to a wire fence. He had done a terrific job of "bulls-eyeing" that little plane onto a spot like that and we wondered if he had had the eyes of an eagle to be able to do it. With the help of some men standing nearby, he lifted the tail and swung the plane around so he could take off again. [Ipl23]

He stayed in Salyersville two or three days and in that time he took a lot of people up to see how our mountains looked from the seat of an open cockpit plane. On the second day that he had been flying from the Bluegrass Strip. he took up several oil field workers who had been boozing quite a bit and had offered the aviator a few drinks also. He had been flying over our town for a while with these men and had decided to come in for a landing on that narrow grassy strip near the cemetery. He made a good landing, but I guess the liquor he had been nipping had affected his judgment and sense of distance so much that he plowed into the fence ahead of him. The motor conked out and the fence broke his propeller. To get another propeller he had to send to Huntington, West Virginia and have it shipped to him by rail to Paintsville where it was brought over by buggy to Salyersville. This took about a week and we got to see a lot of the pilot as he stayed at the only local hotel, the Phoenix, while awaiting the arrival of the propeller. An airplane pilot in our midst was quite something and to this day I have never gotten tired of watching planes. I kept a piece of the ends of that broken propeller for a long time after he had flown out of our county. [Ipl23]

When I went off to Georgetown College as a freshman in the Fall of 1931, I had another experience with airplanes that gave me quite a thrill. A friend of mine, [____ Patrick] also a freshman, said to me one September afternoon, "I understand that there is a National Air Show at Lexington, and they have one of the safest planes in the world there, a Ford Tri-Motor." He asked me if I would like to go and soon we were hitching a ride the thirteen miles to Lexington to see those planes. When we went out to where the races were being held (outside of Lexington) we were amazed at the number of planes. All the planes were open cockpit except the big all metal Ford Tri-Motor and they were all different colors. Two pylons were placed about fifteen miles apart and extended up in the air a hundred feet or less. The planes raced at top speed around these two pylons and the winner would win on laps. It was similar to automobile racing at Indianapolis. My friend and I were enjoying it to the utmost. Some of the best pilots of the time were at this meet. [Ipl23]

I remember one pilot in particular named Freddy Lund, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who held the world’s record for the "outside loop." He had done it over a hundred and fifty times. The outside loop done in an open cockpit plane is quite an achievement, since as he makes the loop, the pilot is on the outside of the circle and the centrifugal force is pulling at him very hard. Were it not for the seat belts that hold him in the plane, he would be dragged out. As my friend and I watched the planes making their race around the pylons that day, we noticed that the planes were racing very close to each other. Suddenly a plane came too close to the one in front of it and we heard a grinding crash. Metal and wood flew in all directions and the plane that had been clipped began to fall. We were about a hundred feet from the scene and the plane had been racing at about a hundred feet above the ground. Someone said, "Oh my Lord! That's Freddy Lund's plane!" About this time as his plane was losing altitude, Lund crawled up on the cowling of the cockpit wearing his parachute and jumped. To the astonishment of all of us there he hit the ground like a rock. [Wendell later recalled that Freddy hit the ground just fifteen feet from where he and ___ Patrick were sanding.] The chute had just barely gotten out of its pack. Freddy Lund was dead. The plane that had clipped his plane went on to finish the race before knowing the outcome of his friend Freddy Lund. The funeral was held the next day in Lexington and he was returned to Minnesota for burial. Before this accident my friend had suggested we take a ride in a big Ford Tri-Motor and I had agreed But after the accident I couldn’t and I have never since ridden in an airplane, though I am sure they are a lot safer today than they were back in 1931. (Eventually I made my first flight at the age of 65 when I retired from the Courier-Journal in 1977. We visited our daughter in Hawaii and flew there and back on a United jumbo jet out of Chicago. I still don’t know how those big planes can fly.) [Ipl24]

Cleveland, Ohio, back in the thirties was known not only for being Ohio's largest city and the home of the Cleveland Indians, but it was better known as the site for the world famous Cleveland Air Races which were held every year. The men who took-part in these races were some of the men who became great in the field of aviation. I had many heroes among those men and I followed their adventures with great zeal. One of those men was Roscoe Turner, who later wrote me a nice letter with an autographed photo of himself which I still have. Turner who died recently in Indianapolis, was the closest to being the "Lancelot of the Air" as any of the other pilots. He hailed from Corinth, Mississippi. He was handsome and wore a thin handle-bar hank mustache, leather helmet and goggles, lace-up leather boots, riding breeches, and a leather jacket. His planes were racing planes and he made so many transcontinental flights, I lost count. There was another very interesting thing about his flying. He always carried his mascot, Gilmore, a real lion cub, with him in the cockpit. Gilmore logged about as many miles in the air as Turner. When the cub died, Turner had him stuffed, and it stood in his den at Indianapolis. An adventure strip by Zack Moessley was written and drawn about the adventures of Roscoe Turner, a few years back. Turner won many of the air races at Cleveland. Then there were other favorites of mine like Jimmy Doolittle, Eddie Rickenbacker and Frank Hawkes. Back in the thirties Hawkes left New York on a flight in an open cockpit plane across country to California. Hawkes ate breakfast in New York, lunch in Kansas City, and dinner in San Francisco and then had time for a game of golf before dark, all in one day--quite an achievement then. Of course Charles Lindbergh has always been one of my all time heroes. He was also one of the "Barnstormers" back in the twenties and was known as "Slim." He flew the air mail from St. Louis to Chicago before his Atlantic hop. [Ipl24]

As more people began coming into Salyersville during the twenties, there was a growing need for more land on which to build houses. There would be auction sales and land would be staked off for lots on which to build houses. To get the people to come to these auction sales, the promoters would engage the services of these "Barnstorming Pilots" to fly in to Salyersville for the auction. A kind of carnival spirit prevailed and many people came to town attracted by the airplanes as well as the auction. Usually there would always be a daredevil wing walker who was also a parachute jumper. I'll never forget seeing the parachute jumper, high in the sky above the auction sale crowd, climb out of the cockpit in front of the pilot and weave his way among the struts and guy wires to walk the lower wing to its edge. He would pause a moment or two to wave his hand and then jump into the blue sky above us. Everyone would stare in amazement at the falling body dressed in white coveralls, falling head over heels. We would wonder why the chute didn't open and then just before it looked like he was going to plummet to the ground, the chute would open and he would drift to the ground in a white billowing parachute. The crowd would yell, applaud and rush over trying to see this man who would do such a daring act. The auctioneer would sell lots and the airplane pilot would take people for rides and it was a great occasion. [Ipl25]

The hot air balloons we have today are nothing new. Dale Sublett, a watch repairman and a genius at fixing anything, made a large hot-air balloon back in the twenties. I remember it well. It was a tremendous balloon made of paper and cloth. He took it up on a hill overlooking Salyersville. It was in the summer time. Dale had a little container of kerosene (we called it coal oil up in the mountains.) With the help of several local boys , Dale lit the coal oil and began the process of inflating the balloon. He had an attachment at the mouth of the balloon to hold the container of coal oil so the heat from the flame would make the balloon rise in the air. The flame filled the balloon and it took off high over the town of Salyersville and headed south toward another hill owned by Jack Arnett. It was about a mile across town and the balloon sailed high in the air. People were scared that the balloon would come down on a building in the town and set it on fire. The hope of Dale Sublett was that the balloon would rise higher than the hills and sail on no telling’ where. It didn't however and smashed into the top of Jack Arnett's hill. Now this hill like so many others around our town was covered with trees but the worst thing was broom sage , very dry and highly inflammable. When the balloon struck it deflated and the flame from the coal oil set the broom sage on fire and then all the available boys rushed up there to fight the broom sage fire as it was spreading. The fire was soon put out and the balloon was burned up too, but Dale Sublett proved that the Wright Brothers were not the only ones who could make things fly. This ended Dale Sublett's aviation interest. [Ipl49]

Trains

My brother's automobile agency was out the street towards Prestonsburg and near the C&O depot. Loving trains as I did, I would go over there to watch the trains come in and watch the big "Mallet" locomotives chugging along with their hundred coal cars loaded with coal moving down the tracks from the coal fields in Floyd County to the largest independent railroad yards in the world owned by the C&O at Russell, Kentucky in Greenup County to the north. From this yard the coal was sent all over the country: Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and so on. The "Mallet" or "Malley" engines had twelve drive wheels which pulled the 150-car coal cars out of Pikeville, Weeksbury, Wheelwright and Elkhorn City. [Tra33]

When the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad took its last passenger train off the run from Elkhorn City, Ky. to Ashland, Ky. in 1963, I felt like an old friend had gone. It brought back memories of my boyhood days. It prompted me to draw a cartoon based on the famous sculpture by James Earle Fraser entitled "End of the Trail" which shows an Indian with bowed head sitting on his pony, also with bowed head, on the edge of a precipice. An old friend had gone since Salyersville was just eighteen miles from Paintsville on the C&O line and we thought of this train as our train and everybody's train in our region. [Tra33]

We used to go up to Paintsville to see the train. We'd go to Ivyton, catch the train, it's called BS Carrier, but it ran from Royalton to Dawkins--just outside of Paintsville. We'd catch the big train going down towards Ashland. Then we'd catch the train from Paintsville to Ashland and then get on the big train from Ashland to Cincinnati. That was the main line of the C&O. This line to Paintsville was a branch line-- it was mostly for coal trains. The only time we ever took a train was to go to Cincinnati way back in the 20's. I used to go with Daddy to buy goods. I remember one time I was with him by myself. He'd take me down to all the big wholesale houses in Cincinnati where he would buy his goods. We'd eat in the cafeteria and stay at the palace hotel. They didn't have air conditioning. They'd have big fans in the windows. We'd stay up there for about 3 or 4 days. Oh, it was a great deal to go to Cincinnati. We'd see all the motion pictures shows, go up to Coney Island and the Zoo. It was a big city to me. Cincinnati has always been the big city. The Tafts were the big people of Cincinnati. They are to Cincinnati what the Kennedys are to Boston. The Tafts own the whole city. [T12]

My father was a Salyersville merchant for fifty years. About twice a year my brother and I and sometimes my sisters were thrilled to death to get to accompany our father by train on his "goods" buying trip to Cincinnati (the New York City Of my boyhood days). Cincinnati meant the big tall building of the Union Central Life Insurance Company (the Empire State Building of my day). It also meant flashing, moving lighted signs which were unlike the neon signs of today that just glow and have no life. Cincinnati also had the Incline Plane which were moving platforms that held one street car each. They were pulled to the top of Walnut Hills by cables. As one was going up the other was coming down and at the top of the street the cars would move off the platform and on to their destinations. At the top of the hill was Rookwood Pottery, a world famous pottery. A story is told of the Cincinnati lady who was in London and saw a beautiful vase. She paid a tremendous price for it, only to find she could have bought it for half the price because it was Rookwood pottery from Cincinnati. Out that way also was the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, a wonderful zoo. We always stayed at the old Emery Hotel on Fountain Square near all the big stores and movie theaters. We ate at "Neal’s Cafeteria" which was a real novelty to us. They could really mash those potatoes and mound them up on your plate with a big dip of gravy on top. Even the watermelon tasted especially good there on hot July and August days. The big ice wagons pulled by big Percheron horses as they clomped down the cobble stone streets thrilled me too. My brother and I used to see all the movies in town while my dad was at the wholesale houses buying goods. He would come back to the hotel just before super and away we would go to the cafeteria again for another delicious meal. The old Palace Hotel was another one we used to stay in when in Cincinnati. After seeing all the movies (silent pictures in those days) we would head for the river and get on the Island Queen steamboat for a trip up the river of twelve miles to Coney Island. This was quite an amusement park with a Roller Coaster and all kinds of rides. We enjoyed the steamboat ride as much as anything though. We sometimes visited the big wholesale houses with Daddy but it was a little boring for two energetic boys, so we spent most of our time in downtown seeing the sights. A lot of the Cincinnati Police rode on magnificent horses in those days and they were very impressive. People stayed clear for fear of being stepped on. [Tra34]

Had it not been for the C&O trains we could not have enjoyed the wonders of the big city. The return trip to Ashland on the C&O was never as good as the trip down because we knew our train trip would soon be over and back to the horse and buggy. I remember one of the big passenger engines that pulled the Big Sandy trains had a big "Gold Eagle" on the front up near the head light. (These were steam engines I'm talking about. I've never gotten used to the modern diesels.) The big moment in my life was standing there at the Paintsville Railroad Station with our suitcases nearby watching for the engine as it made its appearance around a curve above Paintsville coming into the station from Elkhorn City. We would hear the musical whistle as it echoed between the hills and down the Big Sandy Valley. Then we would see the smoke and the chugging exhaust like a panting tiger on the run. It was real scary standing close as the engine pulled into the station, steam coming from everywhere (or so it seemed to me, the brakes squeaking as the engineer brought her to a stop. How I wanted to be an engineer. The fireman on the left of the can and the engineer on the right would jump down with oil cans and start oiling the connections around the huge driver wheels and the conductor would help the people up the steep steps of the train with their suitcases. There was no air conditioning in those days and the best seat was near a window, not only because we could get some fresh air, but because we could hang our heads our the window and see the engine way down the track as it chugged around the curves and sometimes headed into a tunnel. The smoke and cinders would hit us in the face and eyes, but coal smoke never smelled so good as it did coming from a steam engine in those days. When the train approached a tunnel we were supposed to pull down the windows, but usually we were not fast enough and the car would be filled with smoke. Everybody began coughing and rubbing their eyes. The tunnels were not usually long and soon we were in the daylight again and fresh air swept through the car moving the smoke out. There were lots of short tunnels north of Paintsville at a place called Whitehouse. There were more curves, more views of the chugging engine from our window vantage point and finally we came to stop in Louisa, Kentucky. A fellow used to come by the train selling cheese sandwiches and we usually bought some. There were always lots of people down at the station to see the train come in. They loved trains, I suppose, like we did. After our brief stop at Louisa there were more curves and tunnels and then we pulled into Ashland, Kentucky. At Ashland, having completed the first leg of our trip to Cincinnati, we got on the "Big Train" as we called it. It was nicer, more plush and had many more cars than the train we had just arrived on from Paintsville. It wasn't air-conditioned either but it did have some little fans up near the ceiling at the ends of the cars, although they didn't do much good. The trip from Ashland to Cincinnati was on the main line of the C&O and it followed the Ohio River. The boats on the river seemed quite small and the river very large from the train. We could see steamboats and steam towboats pushing long barges of coal and other merchandise. Tied up along the banks were little house boats where people lived. It seemed the people were always looking up at the train. It seemed to us that they were wishing that they were on the train too. [Tra35]

It was on the train from Ashland to Cincinnati, back in the twenties, that a small accident occurred which still amuses my sister and me. She was not aware of what was happening until later. The boy sitting next to me was really the object of my envy, for he was sitting next to the open window and really enjoying keeping his head out the window watching the chugging engine way down the track as it rounded a long curve. My older sister was sitting in the seat in front of us. She was also next to the window, but she wasn't interested in looking at the engine. She was flirting with the boy sitting next to her. The "Butch" (the man who sold sandwiches, coffee and fruit) came by and the boy next to my sister bought her a cup of coffee as well as one for himself. My sister took one swig of that hot coffee and threw it out the window. My friend, sitting next to me, was really getting a good view of the engine with his head stuck way out the window, when the coffee hit him square in the face. He pulled his head in the window screaming, "Oh my God! The engine blew up!" I punched my sister and she nearly fainted when she realized what she had done. We finally got the boy cleaned up, but his watching of the engine was over for that day and we exchanged places. I was glad for the chance, but sorry that it had happened that way. [Tra35]

After stopping at Maysville, which was always an interesting place to me, the train sped on to Newport and Covington, crossing over the mouth of the Licking River which rises in our county and then across the big railroad bridge over the Ohio into Cincinnati's Union Terminal. Pulling into the station in Cincinnati with all the noise of steam whistles and people shoving and jostling and moving wildly about was real thrilling, but it was sad too, because this meant we had to get off the train. However we looked forward to the ride a few days later when we would take the train back to Ashland and then on the "Up Sandy" to Paintsville. When this train made its last run in 1963 it seemed to be not only "The End of the Trail", but the end of an era. As I recall to nostalgic memory those other days, the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "My Lost Youth" comes to mind:

"I remember the gleams and glooms that dart
Across the school-boy's brain;
The song and the silence in the heart,
That in part are prophecies, and in part
Are longings wild and vain.
And the voice of that fitful song
Sings on, and is never still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'" [Tra35]


Mt. Sterling

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, which lies 78 miles to the northwest of Salyersville was known back in those days as the horse-trading, cattle and sheep town. Those with herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, or droves of horses would gather them together in our section and drive them themselves or hire men to drive them to Mt. Sterling to sell at the market there. I used to see flocks of sheep coming through our town. A big sheep with a bell around its neck would lead them. He was called the "bell weather." Nothing smelled worse than a flock of sheep passing by. Across the street from our house was a man whose business was trading horses. He was one of the people who would drive horses through to Mt. Sterling. He really knew his horses and he was a good rider. I used to envy the pretty ponies he would bring to town and then watch him drive the twenty or thirty horses he had collected the 78 miles to Mt. Sterling. Horses and ponies were the means of transportation before the automobile made its direct impact on our town. There were a lot of good riders. John Hardy Patrick, who married a second cousin of mine [ ? ,] was an expert horseman. I used to see him come riding up the main street of Salyersville at break neck speed and somehow he would swing completely off the saddle on the left side still holding the pommel of the saddle and the reins and then back up into the saddle while the horse was traveling at a terrific rate of speed. [Id25]

Mamma tried to be a peacemaker. She would try to break up fights between Eugene and my brothers. She never talked about it - it was always there. Momma had the same feeling towards Helen and Ruth and Oaks as she did toward me and Paul. We were her flesh and blood and the other children were just as much her children as we were. They all liked her too. Oaks would poor out his heart to her about lots of things. She would have been a great missionary. She had a great friend in Philadelphia who was influencing her at Ohio Wesleyan I guess. I guess she was disappointed that she never got to be a missionary at the time. But in a way she became a missionary to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Ruth liked to talk about intellectual things that Daddy liked to hear. They would discuss a lot of things like that. Now Helen was a lot more down to earth. Helen had a great sense of humor. Ruth was always kind of reserved. [Wendell]

Paul went off to school and he liked the girls. Paul was smart, but he was given a free range, and Dad told him just to write checks as he needed money. Well I can see Dad, "Looky there the sweet shop, the sweep shop. I must be paving the street in front of the sweet shop." He was sending roses to the girls, and Dad had to put a stop to that. It ended up with Paul not graduating when he was supposed to - he had to go to summer school to make enough grades to get through. He was really a bright boy, but he just played. He didn't know what he was going to do when he got out of school so he decided to go into horticulture. He was going to be a landscape artist or something like that. Then, he took some courses at a Chicago Architect school. When he graduated, he didn't know what he wanted to do. I guess he then buckled down, and he was a good architect. Paul went to Salyersville High School, and he was valedictorian. [Ruth Schoppe]

Letter Alvin, Paul’s oldest son, wrote to Ruth Schoppe. Alvin (b. Feb 5, 1935) was 12 yo.
Aug 5, 1947
Dear Aunt Ruth,
Thank you for the letter "C." Grandma said you must have taken it from your Campbellsville sweater. She is going to knit me a sweater and put it on it. Grandpa and I went up to Aunt Mandry’s Saturday. He went up to se Aunt Nelus early Sunday morning. A lot of his old friends come in to see him. He is feeling much better, and Grandma says he sleeps better.
Much love, Alvin.

[The "C" likely stood for Charleston Junior High School which Alvin would have been attending.]

March 3, 1961 article featuring tribute paid by Paul Arnett to Charles Williams:

Among the many messages of condolence and words of kindly sympathy, and regret tendered to the family of Charles S. Williams is the fine tribute of admiration and respect given by Paul J. Arnett, a Salyersville boy, who is now a successful architect residing in Charleston, W.Va. In the perfect hand-printing of his profession Paul wrote: for himself, Ruth and their family:

"We wish to offer our deep heartfelt sympathy and condolences in this sudden tragic loss. This has been a sad year for all of us, and Ruth, and I can surely join with you in the grief and sorrow occurring during it, in the loss of our loved ones. We have counted the many dear friends and relatives leaving us during the past two years in Salyersville and the county, occasioning almost continuous sadness for the many empty places left by them.

Charlie was indeed a good friend to me from boyhood days and his advice and counsel was sought for and appreciated, as his knowledge of many things and his directions were given always in kindness and patience. I well remember his efforts in affording us a place to play basketball, indoors – the first in Salyersville, and also the only indoor recreation of roller skating. His magnanimous gestures on behalf of the young people were not approached by any other of the town’s citizens, and can only be appreciated by the then young people who cannot forget. The good of men lives after them. His loss is also a real loss to me personally for the many contributions that he provided in rounded development of myself and other youths in preparing us more fully to meet our future encounters with the outside world – which was really outside as far as we knew. He also spent much uncalled for time in the saw and planning mill showing me the development of rough lumber into the finished product, in recognition of species, and the proper preparation peculiar to the finishing of the particular species. I have never forgotten his interest and patience with regard to this and when I tend to become impatient at times with other fledglings as I turn the half century mark, I am always reminded of his patience on my behalf. So many of the older ones, self-learned in mechanics and construction, along with Charles S. Williams, gave me first hand information which was also visual [sic] that children are sorely deprived of these days. Such men were John Brown, Dale Sublett, Win Flint, Tobe Dixon, Tobe Fairchild, Wilbur Powers, Bob Howington, Hoss Salyers. Most all of them could do everything and do it well. There are others, but most of all these had kindliness and patience for the enquiring mind of the young boy – almost treating you as an equal which produced even more respect for them and their skill. Further, they were true craftsmen in the love for producing the best work of which they were capable with no thought of the long hours the difficult hardships accompanying the prosecution of it. The only acclaim they expected was in a job well done – a rare species indeed these days, and so regrettably.

My tribute is to Charlie and the many others, who without self-seeking gain, other than a livelihood, gave of themselves to the best of their abilities, to perform the work and craft they loved, for satisfaction to themselves and permanent benefit to their fellow man. That is true unselfishness, which Christ, raised under the craftsmanship of a carpenter, must surely smile and reach for the hand of his true fellow craftsmen, as they approach their final Home of rest.

Please extend our sympathies to the boys in the loss of their Dad, and tender the knowledge to them that he is remembered, and his loss grieved by many others beyond the family circle.

Paul."

February 25, 1965 letter from Gracie to "Folks" [either Leila & Wendell or Ruth & Schopppe]

"Oaks and I called Alvin about 10 after 9 last night. He had just gotten in from the hospital. They were supposed to have operated for delivery of baby yesterday but said baby was still too small to live at this time. I was anxious to hear the outcome. Nancy has been in bed most of the time since last August. She had cancer operation in 1963 and it took over half of her stomach, but they thought she had recovered from that. The cancer that she has is the rarest kind. Don’t remember name of it. Anyway this mass has developed in area of the liver and surgeons can’t do a thing until baby is born, which may be tow or three weeks from now. None of the doctors will say anything for sure. Said they were not miracle workers. Her condition is very grave but Alvin says she’s cheerful and they’re both hopeful. Actually made me feel a lot better. Everyone has been so nice to them. Her friends spend day time with her. Alvin goes on about his work and then when work is over he goes to hospital and stays till visiting hours are over. Her mother and father take care of little Paul. Alvin says he is wonderful little fellow. They already have name for new baby – Julie Ann – if a girl – Britton if a boy. I can’t think of first name of boy but the Britton is for your Dad. Nancy is having the best of care, the best doctors, and everything. She’s in same hospital [Bethesda Naval] that Pres. Johnson was in. I had letters from Mama’s sister, her brother and wife yesterday, and they’re having special prayers for Nancy and Alvin. Let’s all pray that whatever this mass is, can be removed safely and not be cancer, and if it’s the Lord’s will she may be spared for a long and useful life. She will be in the hospital indefinitely, maybe weeks and weeks. She knows that cancer may have come back, and Alvin is keeping nothing from her. He said she had been in hospital for some time now. Hope all of you are well. We’re all right here. Love, Gracie."

[Julianna b. Mar, 1965; Nancy Lee Pettry Arnett, b. Feb 21, 1935, died Apr 7, 1966 just over a year after the above letter from Gracie.]

Letter from Paul to Ruth Schoppe:
Nov 20, 1985
Dear Ruth:
Thank you for your letter of almost two months ago, and hope you will forgive me for not writing sooner and at least acknowledging your very pleasantly received gift. This has happened only a very few times in my life for such an unexpected gift and I remember all with gratitude and pleasure. I do not remember at all the working out of the frat. Camp money and the camera. I was painting the store that summer as one of the jobs to be done and making some money. I do remember three things clearly that you did for me: First – my first day in school to which you took me to Magoffin Institute. I remember I followed you to the girls' toilet at recess and you let me use it when no one was in. I had on a tan middie blouse with laces and a Windsor tie. Second – a cold rainy November afternoon in the fall of 1928 when I was a freshman at G’town. You and Louis Henderson drove up from Camp’ville, picked me up and we went to the U.K – Wash & Lee football game, and afterwards took me to supper and back to G’town. My first big time college football game. Third – the twenty-five dollars to go on the K.A. camp. It was probably the first real joyful experience I had had until then. I went each year after, paying my way the senior year by managing it. Adam Yancey (father Adam) and his bride Martha Jones were chaperones one year, and Jimmie Tichener and his wife another year. Both you and Helen were wonderful and loving sisters for a boy to have, and I have nothing but fond memories of you both during all those years. I am sure Mama really appreciated the way you all treated Wendell and me, and took care of us. You know I had Helen for a teacher in history and English my senior year in high school. That must have been hard for her, but I never gave her any trouble.

Our children are doing well in a very hard world. They are all self starters and work hard. They have managed to overcome problems and hardships which would have floored weaker persons. We are very proud of them and our grandchildren. I am sure Dad and Mama would be also. Jimmie (the youngest at 36) left AT&T and Bell Telephone after 12 yrs when the big national split up came. He and his wife Mary bought a franchise in the new Quick Print business – new electronic systems – and is doing OK after the first year. He has Dad’s business acumen and wanted to be in business for himself. He doesn’t mind the long hours and neither does Mary. Charles is a sales rep. for Hewlett-Packard computer systems for this area and is doing well after three years with them. His clients and customers are mostly businesses and manufacturing plants. Barbara’s children Stephanie and Tammy are doing well in school. Stephanie has finished A.B. degree U. of Wisconsin and Tammy is a sophomore at U. of Illinois. Stephie is in the medical field and Tammy in business admin. Dianne’s husband with Kaiser and Dianne is an admin. Assist to the pres. of a packaging co. in Oakland. Heather their oldest daughter is a sophomore at the Univ of Washington majoring in communications. Martha will be here for Thanksgiving at Jimmie’s with her two sons and husband. The boys are abt 12 and 10. Hurricane Gloria went across Long Island about 40 miles form them (i.e. the eye did). They were ok except for two trees blown down. Looked bad for awhile. Alvin is still with Conrail and comes in at intervals to meet with the legislative committees. Paul is thru college and helps Alvin quite a bit. Alvin will get thru law school next year. He has been attending at night. Julie, Alvin’s second is attending college in Maryland – a soph. Amelia is still in high school.

We will eat Thanksgiving dinner at Jimmie’s since our big meal days are behind us. Time has slipped so fast. WE had our 50^th anniversary last year. Hope you are feeling well and will have a fine Thanksgiving. Thank you again for your check and your thoughtfulness.

So much love, Paul & Ruth & the family.

Paul Arnett died Oct 7, 1987 and Wendell wrote the following obituary for the Salyersville Independent:

"Paul Jones Arnett, 76, of Charleston, West Virginia, died October 7 [1987] in General Division CA-MC, after a long illness. Born in Salyersville, January 2, 1911, he was the eldest child of the late Eugene B. Arnett and Lucy Jones Arnett. A graduate of Salyersville High School in 1928 and Georgetown (Ky.) College in 1932, he was a retired architect. A member of the American Architect Association, he practiced his trade and skill in Lexington and Eastern Kentucky as well as West Virginia. He designed and built several school buildings and courthouses in Eastern Kentucky, including the courthouses at Greenup County and Inez in Martin County, as well as the courthouse in Louisa, Lawrence County. School buildings he designed were constructed in Floyd and Pike counties. A high school building* he designed and built at Camargo, in Montgomery County, was dedicated by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt during her husband’s presidency. Later he became an architect with the Union Carbide Company in South Charleston, where he worked for many years. Later he established his own architect firm in Charleston where he designed lodges for the State of West Virginia’s parks. He also did other work for private businesses and built a hospital in Charleston, West Virginia….Paul was buried in Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston."

When they graduated from Georgetown College, Helen and Ruth contacted the Ohio Valley Teachers Agency, a placement agency - they could get you a job as a teacher somewhere you know. Ruth got her a job in Florida. Well Helen got a job teaching in Nokomis, IL, not far from Tuscola. It was the hometown of ‘Sunny’ Jim Bottomley -- a star baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. He had a date with Helen once. She taught for about a year there and used to go over to see him.

When my older sisters [Helen and Ruth] were courting at our house Daddy had a way of letting their boyfriends know that the hour was getting late. He would walk through the living room in his night shirt, part of his bald head shining, his stomach sticking out, sleeping cap on and an alarm clock in his hand and its bell ringing. He would be saying as he walked through, "Well girls, it's time to be going, the hour is getting late." The surprised boys couldn't get out the door quick enough after seeing this figure coming through. My sisters, Helen and Ruth, were always highly embarrassed. And speaking of being embarrassed, one summer Daddy took the oldest girls over to Virginia Beach, Va. My sisters Helen and Ruth got into their bathing suits very quick and headed for the beach to sunbathe. They were at the "boy struck" age and were looking for some member of the opposite sex. They had struck up a conversation with some boys when one of the boys said, "Look at that yonder"' My sisters looked up and saw it was Daddy coming down the beach with a straw hat covering his bald head, a striped bathing suit much too big for him and the legs of the suit way down past his knees. His skin was white as a sheet (for Daddy had never been swimming in his life, let alone worn a bathing suit,) and his big stomach sticking out. He came over to where my sisters were and they tried to hide and let the boys know that they didn't know who this character was. They headed quickly for the water. My Dad thought it was great fun! [HR42]


Ruth Arnett Schoppe (Aug 25, 1904 – Feb 1, 1992)
Charles Vernon (C.V.) Schoppe (Jun 27, 1897 – Jan 23, 1980)

Ruth attended Magoffin Baptist Institute and then graduated from Georgetown (Ky.) College. She then taught at Campbellsville College. She took additional studies at Univ. of IL, Peabody, and the Emerson College of Oratory in Boston. In 1930 she decided to move to Florida where she took a job teaching at the Live Oak High School. There she married the new principal, C.V. Schoppe and continued teaching until her retirement in 1959. She and Schoppe moved to the Dowling Park Retirement Village in 1978 and she remained until her death in 1992. She died of stomach or pancreatic cancer, and Leila and Wendell stayed with her in Florida during the last month of her life.

"Tribute to Ruth Arnett Schoppe" from her memorial service in 1992
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go –
Others stay for awhile,
Leaving footprints in our hearts,
And we are never ever the same

So it was with Ruth Arnett Schoppe, and we at Dowling Park have been distinctly privileged and bountifully blessed to have had her as a member of our ‘Village Family’ since 1978 when she and her late husband, Charles Vernon Schoppe, moved here from Live Oak. I know of no resident form this area who was more admired, loved, and respected than Mrs. Schoppe.

During the first decade of this century she was born in the beautiful mountains of eastern Kentucky and given the Biblical name of Ruth. Her father, Eugene Arnett, was recognized as an outstanding businessman of Magoffin County and the foremost merchant in the small town of Salyersville. Before Ruth was three years old, her mother, who had been a school teacher, died following a brief illness [TB]. Three years later Mr. Arnett married Lucy Jones, a recent graduate of Ohio Wesleyan and the Moody Bible Institute. The new Mrs. Arnett, who was also a school teacher, soon became the loving mother and mentor not only to her three step-children but also to an additional three of her own who were subsequently born into the closely knit family.

Her paternal grandfather [H.G. Arnett] started out as a farmer, as did most men of his generation, but later became superintendent of schools in Magoffin County. Her maternal grandfather [D.D. Sublett] was a lawyer and a member of the state legislature for many years. Thus, the Arnett children grew uup in a cultured and progressive environment rightly proud of their family background.

As a girl, Ruth attended the large mission school, Magoffin Baptist Institute, in Salyersville where her step-mother had come to teach. At an early age Ruth’s interest in speech and dramatics was whetted as she was often chosen to recite poetry at school and community social functions. At home her father and mother encouraged the Arnett children in their school work by reading to them in the evenings and surrounding them with worthwhile literature.

Being graduated from Magoffin Institute, Ruth continued her studies in the Baptist founded Georgetown College near Lexington. Following her graduation from college she taught in the Campbellsville Junior College while taking supplemental graduate studies at the University of Illinois, Peabody College in Nashville, and the famous Emerson College of Oratory in Boston. Later she received a Post Graduate Certificate from Florida State University.

During his interview with Ruth Schoppe for his article, ‘Village Profiles,’ Ralph Dodge asked her why she ever came to Florida. She smiled and said something about grass always being greener in some other pasture. Then she explained her statement by referring to a cousin [Lizzie Atkinson] whose family usually came to Florida during the winter and would send back postal cards depicting the beautiful flowers and other attractive scenery of Florida. Returning to Kentucky this cousin would tell about the wonderful climate and many places of interest and would exhibit the newest spring fashions they acquired. Ruth somehow received the impression that Florida was all sun and fun.

Ruth arrived by train directly from Boston via Jacksonville in 1930 and lived at Mrs. Georgia Butler’s colonial mansion on Duval Street where many of the teachers boarded. She soon settled down to teaching English and Speech which included directing all dramatic productions of the high school. Living in Live Oak was not dull; Miss Arnett and her teacher roommate were actively courted by the single male teachers of the school. It took young Charles Vernon Schoppe, who was a member of the faculty, two years to convince Miss Arnett that two can live for the cost of one. Therefore, at the end of the 1932 school year Ruth Arnett became Mrs. Charles V. Schoppe.

Both C.V. and Ruth Schoppe continued teaching in the Live Oak High School until they retired in 1959. It was estimated by one of her illustrious pupils that during her 30 year teaching career about 3,500 students sat under her instruction and were influenced by her life.

The following poem was found in her Bible and no doubt expressed a deep desire of her heart:

After Glow

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.
I’d like to leave an after glow of smiles when life in done.
I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the rays
Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days."

One of her students, Bill Gunter, former U.S. Congressman and Florida State Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner, wrote the following in a collection of essays paying tribute to teachers:

"The teacher who had the greatest influence on my life was Ruth Schoppe who taught speech and senior English at Suwannee High School in Live Oak. Mrs. Schoppe was a teacher who made the written and spoken word come alive. Those who had the good fortune to be in her classes would tell the younger ones to be sure to try to get Mrs. Schoppe as a teacher, so her classroom was always full. She seemed to have as much respect for us as we had for her. Her belief in us made us work hard for her approval. She took a personal interest in us as people and always found time for the problems of any student who came to her for help. She sacrificed her personal time to work with us during the lunch hour and after school. She could be stern at times and was never satisfied with anything less than our best. Though we were sometimes surprised by the talents we found within ourselves, Mrs. Schoppe never seemed surprised at all.

Mrs. Schoppe was excited about new ways of learning and teaching – creative ways to b ring all of us into the teaching process. When speech students found it difficult to talk in front of the class, she would stand up there with them and talk them through their shyness. She made us want to learn, to improve our skills and helped us understand how important education would be in our future lives. Her own skill as a communicator was so impressive that it made us want to be as good as she was. It’s not surprising that many of her students later became teachers as I did. She taught us how to express our ideas and creativity, how to debate and give formal speeches. She helped us put on our senior play. These experiences fired my interest in rhetoric, and through her encouragement, I decided to take part in a national speaking competition held by the Future Farmers of America. Mrs. Schoppe spent extra time with me, helping me for the competition and because of her help, I was able to win. That gave me the confidence to speak to groups and lead public event.
Mrs. Schoppe taught at Suwannee High School from 1930 to 1959 when she retired. Today she is well and active in her community in Dowling Park. I think whenever we who were her students confront a challenge that demands the best we have to give, we think of Mrs. Schoppe and the belief she had in us."

I remember back in the twenties when my oldest sister Helen got married at our home in Salyersville. The wedding was in our house and it was a pretty affair. The man she married," Don" Donaldson, worked for the Elkhorn Coal Company of Weeksbury, Kentucky. He was an aerial photographer in World War I and loved airplanes. When they went on their honeymoon in their Model T Ford touring car to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to visit his sister who lived there, Helen sent a photo back showing her taking her first airplane ride with her husband Don. I'll never forget what Daddy said when he saw it. "My! Just a fool would ride in a thing like that!" [HR41]

I really liked Don. He liked to go back in the woods and hike, and I used to go with him. He had these high powered binoculars and all sorts of cameras. He was an expert photographer. He was always developing pictures for people. Don trained at Langley Field, Virginia as an air photographer. He was also a kind of a naturalist. He was a nice guy and always had a great sense of humor, never got mad. Helen would ride him to death and Don would just laugh it off. Don liked Momma too. Momma would load up the car with chickens to take back to Weeksbury and she wouldn't have the legs tied very tight and one day they were, he and Helen were pulling, see their cars were touring cars then, and they were driving into Weeksbury and the strings came off of the chickens and the chickens were flying out of the car. They accused Don of stealing chickens after that. Don would just die laughing when he would tell that story. It was a great time to grow up there I guess. Lot's of good memories. You know a person is born in a little town and then comes to a city, he has two lives really. I have a life in Salyersville and I have a life in Louisville. But people who live in the big cities, they don't know what your talking about like living in a little city. They miss a lot. [T10]

Helen Arnett Donaldson, notes from son, Gene:

1920-24………….attended Georgetown College and graduated with a BA degree
1925-26………….taught in Salyersville School system. Uncle Paul was one of her students.
1927…………..…taught in Weeksbury School where she met and dated Clyde Donaldson
1928…….……..…with sister Ruth took graduate courses at Univ. of Illinois in Champagne during the summer
1928-29………....taught in Nokomis, Illinois where Clyde proposed marriage
Aug 3, 1929…..…Helen married William Clyde Donaldson at her father’s house and they moved to Weeksbury, KY.
June, 1930…….....birth of Gene at Paintsville
1930-42……….…lived in Weeksbury. Gene attended school at Pikeville through 6^th grade
1942………….....in summer Clyde transferred to Portage, PA
1948-49…….......Gene attended U of Pittsburgh extension in Johnstown, PA
1949-54…………Gene transferred to Cornell Univ, grad with ME degree
1954-56…………spent two years in US Navy at Norfolk, VA.
1956………….....Gene moved to St. Louis as engineer with Union Electric
1958……………..Clyde retired and moved with Helen to West Frankfort, IL.
June 10, 1960…...Clyde died of pancreatic ca at age 67; Helen moved to Maplewood, MO
Dec 20, 1963……Gene married Gloria Ruth Kern
1974…………….Helen’s dementia started & moved to Carrie Gietner NH in St. Louis
July 12, 1987……Helen died of sepsis at age 87.
Feb 2, 1992……..sister Ruth Schoppe died of stomach or pancreatic cancer in Florida
1993……………..Gene retired from Union Electric in January at age 62
Jan 1, 2002……..Gloria died of pancreatic cancer

J. Oakley Arnett known as "Oaks" was the half brother of Walter and son of Eugene and his first wife Julia Sublett. The Sublett’s were descended from Huguenot immigrants, and in later years Oaks was proud of his lineage and joined the Huguenot Society. Early in his life, however, he had to get over sowing some wild oats. It had always been his intention to work in his dad’s store and even own a store of his own someday. He chose this route rather than go to college. [--jwa]

It seems that all of the men in the Arnett family other than Wendell had varying problems with alcohol control. Walter recalled on more than one occasion breaking up a fight between his dad and Oaks when both were drunk, and Lucy got very upset with Eugene on an occasion when he had Paul put in jail for some behavior while intoxicated. In H.G.’s journal entry of 1931 he mentions that Oaks was engaged to marry a Fay Caudill. They apparently did get married shortly thereafter, but the marriage didn’t last.

At sometime in early 1930’s, Oaks was running with the "wrong crowd," and found himself persuaded by three other boys to participate in a robbery of one of the local stores in Salyersville. Oaks apparently drove the get-away-car, and the four took off with their loot. They probably would have been caught and done some time in the local jail with forthcoming reformation, but made the mistake of crossing the state line into West Virgina. This act made their deed a Federal offense, and Oaks and the others had to appear for trial in Cattletsburg. Oaks was sentenced to jail for two years and began his time at the Federal prison in Chillicothe, Ohio. One day, Walter drove his dad up to the Ohio prison and heard Eugene plead with the warden to have Oaks released, saying, "He’s the best salesman I’ve ever known." The warden said, "That may be but he’ll have to do his time." Later Oaks was transferred to a facility near Atlanta and evidently released on Jan 3, 1938.

Oaks probably had known Gracie before 1938 and they likely had corresponded while he was away. In fact, it may have been their attachment which got him through his ordeal. He later took over his dad’s store and continued to operate a successful Arnett’s Department Store for years, and was always generous to the nieces and nephews who’s stop by.

When Gene Donaldson was spending summers at grandma and grandpa’s house in Salyersville Oaks would get drunk on the weekends and end up in the jail. Lucy would make him sandwiches and give them to Gene to take to him until he got out the following Monday. [Gene Donaldson]

Oaks developed excellent political skills and was elected Mayor of Salyersville for a total of twelve years. He also owned and operated the Arnett Department Store after he has successfully helped his dad manage Eugene’s store. Oaks was always very generous to the nieces and nephews who would stop by Salyersville for a visit, giving them various items of clothing from his store.

Oaks died Feb 23, 1978. Gracie continued to be active and played the organ at the Methodist Church and died in 1989. They had no children. The following transcript is from a recording made just a few weeks before she died:

Gracie:We got married [abt Feb 1938,] in West Liberty. It was night and we had to get the man up out of the bed. The preacher, I can't think of his name right now. We then drove to Lexington and spent the night there.
John:Did you just run away?
Gracie:No, we didn't run away from anybody because there wasn't anybody to run away from. We just got married.
John:Why did you get married at night?
Gracie:Well, I'd been to church and Oaks was sitting out there at the barber shop, and I said, "Oaks, we are going to get married tonight." "Now," I said, "you go home and get your plaid pajamas... No," I said, "You go, get you a toothbrush, and I've got a pair of pajamas that will fit you." You know, he wasn't as big as anything. And so he said, "OK." And, listen, it snowed and rained and everything, and the next day we went to Vilaminos in Lexington and got this wedding ring. The little one had ten diamonds in it, I remember that, and oh, I thought we were rich.
John:Did you go anywhere after that?
Gracie:No, we went to the hotel and it had one of these, I can't think, it had one of these wall commodes, you know, that you pull a chain? I came down there and I said, "Now Oaks, I don't like that, that is too old-timey." He said, "Where do you want to go?" I said, "Well, let's go over to the Kentucky Hotel." And so we went over to the Kentucky Hotel, and it was nice, and I felt like now we were really on our honeymoon. The next morning we went and got this ring and both of us knew the Vilaminos. As soon as we got back to the room and Oaks was sitting on the commode, I said "Oaks, looky here. Now you put this on my finger. Now say with this ring I thee wed," and he said, "Now I'm not going to say that." I said, "Now you know that's the wedding ceremony," and I said we didn't have one and he said, " You take this so on and so on." I said, You say after me, with this ring I thee wed." He said, "O.K. I'll say it." And that's as far as he got with it. "All my worldly possessions I thee endow...," and honey we didn't have $100.00 between us. We borrowed to get married on and we had $25.00 left. He gave me the $25.00 and he took the balance of what was left and went to work the next morning. That was our honeymoon.
John:Where was he working then? Was he at the store?
Gracie:Yes, his daddy paid him $25.00 a week.
John:When did you move into the apartment?
Gracie:It was a month or two before then. That was when Lillie Mae and Alma and somebody else, three couples got married at one time. Forest Frazier’s mother fainted and we walked out. Where was I, I don't know, that's such a round bend tale isn't it? I was going with Fred Denny at that time. They said, "Now Gracie, you and Fred come on." I said, "Well if he comes down I will, and if he doesn't I won't." Well, he didn't want to. He didn't say he didn't want to, but I'm sure he didn't. I came back up town to go to Coopers Confectionery and Cookie had come in he said, "Now Gracie, you go get Alma and tell her that mother is better --his mother fainted--and tell her to come on, and we'll get married." I went tearing up the street for Alma, I said, "Come on Alma, honey, he's going to marry you!" We went on and they finally left, the three couples--and they were trying to get out of town before Mrs. Carpenter came back because they knew she would stop it. And she got back, but they were gone before she caught em. When they looked down here on Louisa Rd., why they all leaned over you know and played like they weren't going to get into the car. Now wasn't that a tale there?
John:So you played organ at the Methodist Church?
Gracie:It's been since Christmas since I've played, I haven't been able to play. You ask me how old I am, I'll knock you in your head. Don’t you know that I got in that ambulance the other day, and before I got out I had to tell that girl everything about myself? Tell her how old I was, I said, "Honey, I'm telling you, but if anybody else asks me how old I am, I'm going to kill em." I said now the very idea having to know how old I am to get to ride in an ambulance.
John:Did you and Oaks travel out of the state any?
Gracie:Well, he used to, he'd come in and say, "Let's go." I'd say, "Where you going?" "To St. Louis - be ready in 5 minutes." And away we'd go. We had a big time. Of course, we were both young and in our prime then. I couldn't get from here to tank number two now.
John:How long was Oaks mayor of Salyersville?
Gracie:I think it was around 12 years and I said, "Now Oaks, I'm not going to vote for you." He said, "Your not?" I said, "No, indeed, that's long enough for anybody."  And I said, "You have to pay all the telephone bills, and they don't pay you a cent." And I said, "Now, I'm not going to vote for you this time," and sure enough I didn't. He thought that was terrible. I said, "I don't care if you do, that's not right for you to have to go through all that mess and then pay all the expenses too."

Letter from Gracie to L & W
Thurs, Aug 2 [1984, Leila’s retirement year]
Dear L&W –
It was so good to see "you all" – I liked your cowboy hat and the hat band – you have such fine ideas and I’ll be they would sell – I know you’re pleased with the retirement picture Leila – another of Wendell’s many talents – Both of you have so much energy, "vim & vigor" – I’m ashamed of myself – never get anything done anymore – would like to go back to the time when I could mow yard, keep house (halfway) and cook a little something for Oaks – didn’t get up this AM until 10 o’clock – letter from Ruth S. this A.M. enclosing letters from your friends in England – am so glad you’ll be able to visit them & I know you’ll have wonderful trip – article from L-Times about your retirement and "jetting" to Europe sounds impressive – thank you all for taking time out to come up here to see me – thanks for magazines, newspapers, peach jam (it’s all gone & so good too) & everything – I pass magazines on to Mrs. Ramey & she then takes them to nursing homes & library -- Eliz Moore talked to her Dr. kin Fla this week – Dr. wants her to enter hosp. in Boca Raton for radiation treatments – Betty Jane (E’s daughter) is going to fly with E. to Boca – Albert is going to stay here for now. E. isn’t getting any better – talked to Nonnie last night – She, Eloise are driving up here in Sept. Grace is working in new place now – Started last Sat. and made $200 (not her take home pay). It’s a "Salon" where they cater to the rich folks – hair cuts $20 !!! Would be nice if G. could be satisfied and settle down into one place and stay there –She isn’t easy to get along with people – has a big inferiority complex – wasn’t the opening ceremony for Olympic games impressive? I enjoyed it ---84 pianos !!! Ramey-Cooper going to Ashland in the A.M. for all the wedding "doings" for Jimmie’s daughter on Sat P.M. Several from here are going on Sat. Glad I don’t have to go. Back is getting better but I couldn’t last all day etc. Didn’t go to church last Sun – Thanks for schedule of your trip. I can "keep up" with y’all from day to day. Thanks again for coming and for everything – tell children hello & I like the business cards for Carolyn & Johnny – Much love to all, Gracie"

J.Oakley Arnett obituary in the Salyersville Independent:

"J. Oakley Arnett, of Salyersville, passed away February 23 [1978] at the Highland Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg. He was born in Salyersville, the son of E.B. and Julie Sublett Arnett. He was self-employed as a merchant and was a protestant. He was married to Gracie Hickman Arnett. Mr. Arnett was ex-Mayor of Salyersville for 12 years, past president of Salyersville Kiwanis Club, member of El Hasa Temple in Ashland, member of Indra Consistory in Covington, member of Salyersville Lodge No. 769 F & AM, and a member of Magoffin County Shriners Club…Oaks was buried in the Gardner Cemetery."

"The body of Grace Hickman Arnett, who died at 3:30 a.m. Monday, June 12, at her Dixie home following a lengthy illness, was transferred to her native town of Ridgely, Tennessee for burial, following services in Salyersville on Wednesday. Mrs. Arnett came to Salyersville in 1928 as a music instructor at the Magoffin Baptist Institute after she completed studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She later provided private lessons in piano for many years. She also served as organist for Prater Memorial Methodist Church in Salyersville from 1941 until her health began to fail her earlier this year. She was preceded in death by her husband, J. Oakley Arnett, a former mayor and longtime businessman in Salyersville, who died in 1978."

In 1930 it [the Hupmobile] was new, and we took a trip to Cleveland, Ohio. My younger sister [Bernice who appears to have had Downs’ Syndrome in photos] had thyroid gland trouble, and the doctors in Cincinnati couldn't seem to do her any good so they recommended we take her to Dr. George Crile, the world-renowned Gland specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, and so we did. Dr. Crile couldn't give her much encouragement either. On this trip we drove to Niagara Falls, Jamestown, N.Y., Chautauqua Lake, visited the famous Roycrofter Shop and Elbert Hubbard at East Aurora, N.Y. We stayed all night, one night in a little town in Canada called Chatham. After supper that night, my brother Paul and I watched some senior citizens playing a game on the lawn in front of our hotel. They called it "Bowling on the Green." This must have been the forerunner of the present day game of bowling. Next morning we drove to Windsor, Ontario where just across the Detroit River lay the city of Detroit. Before crossing the "Ambassador Bridge," my mother wanted to buy some kind of potted plant, but the lady in Windsor said, "I’d like to sell it to you, but the custom officials will take it away from you on the bridge because of plant disease." It was a good thing she didn't get any because there was a tall stack of shrubs, flowers and plants of all kinds that had been confiscated by the custom officials. When they came out to examine our car (Prohibition was on then), the official saw our 1930 Kentucky license plate. He didn't examine the trunk of our car but said to my dad, "Kentucky! Do you have any of that 'Mountain Dew' in your car?" My dad replied, "No, but we have a gallon of good 100% Canadian Maple Syrup." The official smiled and waved us on. Later on we bought another Hupmobile. This time the Auburn automobile had gone out of business and the Hupmobile people had bought the dies and our new Hupp was made on the old Auburn dies. It too was a good car and very pretty. [B32]

His sister, Helen, and Lucy and some other girls once tied Adrian Patrick to a horse with his hands behind him and sent the horse galloping toward the Middle Fork. He could have died had the horse run under a limb, but some of the townsfolk were able to catch up with the horse and rescue Adrian

1912 – Titanic sank less than a month before WWA was born
1927 - Production of the Edison phonograph player, later purchased by E.B.
1927 - Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis
1929 - Stock market crash of October 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression
1933 - World’s Fair in Chicago. Wheeler arranged a train to take Walter and others

Slide Show for this period of Wendell's life:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59496800@N04/sets/72157629537071420/show/