Hazard's Glory Years

This Is No Place For Lady, But Fine For Tramp

2011-08-30T00:34:00.001-04:00

It's always a boost to the morale to get a letter such as has been received from Mr. and Mrs. Edward Nunn, Edward Nunn Jr., and Miss Emma Lee Nunn, now of Chicago. They were spurred to write when they read in a Chicago newspaper that Perry County hasn't sold a single dog license this year because there were none to sell. The letter follows:

"Dear Sir; I was most pleased and surprised when I read the Chicago American newspaper this evening. My husband and I and our small son left Hazard in September 1950. Since then, we have made our home here in Chicago, spending only a week a year in Hazard.

In the Chicago American on the second page was this item titled, "This Is No Place For Lady but Fine for Tramp." It was very amusing and enlightening after a hard days work. It told of the trouble Sheriff Bill Cornett was having getting dog tags for the canines in Hazard. Also it mentioned the fact that the dog warden had quit because there was no pay for him.

It brought a smile for all of us. Even though it was only a small paragraph about dogs, it brought home close to us for a while, and I thought I'd let you know that even though Hazard is only a small town, we still think of it as home. To have our town mentioned in a newspaper of a large city was very heart warming. We all lived in Walkertown." 1955

Small Fry Taking To The Water

2011-08-29T00:10:00.002-04:00

There is a story from Louisville about the first of 13 new passenger coaches bought by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad being placed on display at Union Station in that city. Along with the $143,000 light weight steel coach will be an obsolete coach which cost $9,000 in 1913. The new coach will be placed in service on the South Wind, a Chicago - Louisville - Miami streamliner.

I wish the L & N would take that new coach around its territory, including Hazard so that we could see what other people ride. We know that 1913 Coach very well.

Up at Bobby Davis Memorial Park Sunday afternoon I joined a goodly crowd to watch the swimming show directed by Miss Mary Chloe Cisco, swimming instructor. A lot of little fellows dared the diving board and performed their acts apparently unabashed by the spectators. And there really were some small fry in that show.

I never learned to swim 40 yards, even though I was a Boy Scout. Now, I see tots taking to the water like fish, and I wish I had it all to do over again. Swimming is a good sport and it lends courage to an individual. But I never took it up.

Miss Cisco had large classes at the pool this summer, and the Sunday show told the results of her ability to teach. 1955

You Slapped Her First

2011-08-19T00:45:00.004-04:00

It seems that our former magistrate Sam Campbell bought himself a six year old mare not too long ago. Folks, you know Sam is no longer a spring chicken. I would say he is knocking around the 70''s or better. It seems the first night Sam brought this mare home, he was fixing her a place in the stable. His young grandson, Bill, age 10, wanted to see everything well done. It seems that Sam wanted the mare to move over to one side of the stable. It seems that the mare didn't want to move, so she ups and slaps Big Sam with a kick on the knee. Little Bill ups and states, "Pap Paw, you asked for it. You slapped her first." Sam, I would say - do your slapping on mares from now on out of the sight of your grandson. If she wasn't a saddle mare, I wonder what you wanted with her, Sam. I am confident that you're not going to do too much plowing.

Maybe the reason you bought her is to keep the old family tradition as you knew it all your life, that is to have at least one horse or mule around the place. Of course you could have been wanting to show little Bill a few things of your boyhood days. I would say this wouldn't have been a very bad idea. I often wonder that so many of our youngsters that are growing up today would know how to place the bits in a horse's mouth, or the saddle on it's back. Much less placing a set of gears on one. That was the hardest thing for me to learn. 1958

Raised On Cornbread & Trouble

2011-08-18T00:07:00.003-04:00

I knew a family by the name of Ray. Among them I can recall such names an Manuel, Wallace, Quentin, their mother and father. I can recall all the happy moments I spent in their mist.

Of course they wandered from the hills of Leslie County many years ago, which they called home. Not too long ago, I heard from this family, as they state it, they are still country boys, ridge runners or whatever people want to call them, but their heart is here in the mountains where they were raised on cornbread and trouble. I would say this would be a good diet as long as it will produce people such as the Ray family.

Yes folks, they are old timers, but living in another city. Before modern plumbing, bathrooms and etc, we use to call it an outhouse or privey, along came the slop jar, which was the old day version of it. Today they call it a cabinet. Regardless of what name they give it, as long as they keep making it. It is still a long trek to the out house when it is two above zero. 1958

Best People On Earth

2011-08-17T00:43:00.003-04:00

Mrs. Vara England, of Kansas City, Missouri recalls the days that she resided here in Hazard before there was any side walks and streets. She was really surprised a couple of years ago when she visited here again. She happens to be some more of my kin folks, sister-in-law, Vara, it's funny you are not the only one that has ever been in these mountains that hasn't thought of them many times. From the many people I talk to and hear from, they can always recall so many things that happened to them during their stay in our area.

It was nice seeing Jesse Denham during a recent visit back in Hazard. Jesse has retired from the railroad, now living in Lexington. He said, "I just have to come back now and then where the best people on earth live."

To you Jess Collins, thanks for the Polk of Horehound candy that you fetched. It was good. I even introduced it to some of my neighbor kids. They like it also. Been a long time since I have seen any of it. I can recall the days when, the old folks use to make cough syrup from it. Folks, it's a funny thing to me that now and then you will see some company start making the old time things again such as the candy I mentioned, old clay smoking pipes, cast iron kettles, coffee grinders. They may not be right up to what the originals were. Ho me, it says someone in one of these factories never forgot his raisin.'

I never have been accused of being a farmer, although I have broken up several clods of dirt in my life time, also a few hoe handles. I recall that one hoe handle I broke just about half way. I had to hoe the rest of the seasons with that one. I felt like the hunchback of Notre Dame before that season was over. I just about had to get on my knees at times. I was a the age then of a big long legged gangling boy that would do anything to get out of work.

Podge Moore states that he came to Perry County to fill his barrel, then retire to some other area. I have found so many that have tried the same thing. Podge, my suggestion would be regardless of where you make your abode or try to fill your barrel, leave a little of it behind in the community that you are trying to make your stake in, because remember that the next generation is following along in your foot steps. Why not try to leave something to give them a start on. Such as our forest, streams, and all other things that God placed upon this earth for us to use wisely. I am speaking of the changes I have seen since I was a kid running up and down these river banks, when our streams were clear, never heard of the word pollution. I hope to see them run clear again. 1958

Hard Working Mountain People

2011-08-16T00:00:00.003-04:00

Uncle Noah Couch was Granny's brother and my memories of him are as strong today as they were when I was making them riding in the back of his old "jolt" wagon filled with produce from his garden up on Bluegrass. He let me ride shotgun I reckon and I thought I was the "berries" and I would count out the ears of corn, etc. and when he let me off the wagon at the end of the day with him, I was tired and watched him ride out of sight til the next time.

Oh, the stories he had in his head and could relate to us youngans were awesome, most of them were true, but he called them "tales". They had dinner on the ground once a year up at his house in the holler there at Blue Grass and it was to honor the ones of the family that had passed. It was a huge gathering and lasted most of the day. You talk about good "grub", I don't think you could mention an item that was not found on the tables that were loaded with good home cookin'.

One thing I remember though was the sad, plaintive songs they would sing when the singing "commenced". We were very young but it stung our heartstrings to hear what was going on above us. We played in the area below the shelter built for this event, but I still can hear the sad voices that blended, without music, as they lifted their thanks to God and sent their love on the country breeze blowing in that holler.

What a time for remembering and their way of rendering honor to those gone from the clan, and giving thanks for those still living. Just writing about it brings tears for they were hard-working mountain people who loved and gave lots of it to family and friends. God gave me the best of the best.

Trials & Tribulations

2011-08-15T00:15:00.003-04:00

I can recall Fred Couch over Big Creek way. The first time that I really knew him was on a train ride up this valley from Lexington. Fred, I believe had his first operation. I enjoyed that trip along with his good wife. It was a night trip, as many of you recall the passenger trip by train was an ordeal. I really enjoyed this one. To me, Fred was the type of man that really loved and enjoyed his family, even his son in laws and daughter in laws.

I can recall Uncle Noah Couch. Many a good story I have heard come from him back in the days of trials and tribulations. I often wonder how many of us today could have traveled the trail that he did. It was a pleasure to have known men of his type, rugged to have been able to have taken the hardships that he must have encountered during his days on the river in all types of weather. From what I can learn, the men that manned the rafts down the Kentucky River toward Hazard, encountered everything from foul weather to storms, ice, high water and etc. 1958

Gleam In His Eye

2011-08-12T04:06:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday morning, I received a knock on my door before I had hardly gotten out of bed, about the same time I received the knock, the phone rang. After clearing everything away from the phone call, I ventured to the door still in my pajamas, there to find none other than my old friend Brooks Deaton from over Blue Diamond way. Noticed Brooks had sorta a gleam in his eye. I was sure something had happened to him. Sure enough fellows, it had. Brooks brought out of his car a 36" catfish weighing 20 pounds that he had caught on a rod and reel down Lake Cumberland way, to be exact on Rockcastle River. Brooks stated he caught it on a live minnow about five inches long. Brooks, I don't blame you for being happy over this catch. I dare say that you have accomplished something that many would like to do on a trot line, much less catching this size fish using a rod and reel, above all, on a small crappie size hook. Brooks, I know you have been trying for a long time to get one of this size. Incidentally, Brooks lost another one, he thought could have been as big, of course bigger, because it broke his line. 1957

Horehound Candy

2011-08-11T01:17:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, none other than Rufe "Doug" Vermillion approached me on a subject, which went something like this. "Why in the world don't the stores of today serve cheese and crackers? Where is brown sugar on crackers which I took for granted would be the desert?" Well, I can remember those big lumps of brown sugar. They came in a very large barrel. The many times I sneaked around my dad's counters in his store in Hazard to pick out the big lumps, also with a few sticks of Horehound Candy, the type the old folks made cough syrup from. I recall sucking many a stick of it, along with a few peppermint ones on the side. I always preferred the latter because it was never used as a medicine. 1957

Home

2011-08-10T01:30:00.002-04:00

Folks, I always like to write about the happy moments of our lives and the things we do. But time changes this, to where I must write about some of the sad things of this life.

Azelle King passed away. I know this will be a shock to so many of you that attended school with him. Also all of you that knew him as a fair haired boy with a big smile while he worked in our local drug stores. He went into the service during World War II, developed paralysis, which he could never over come. He was residing in Chico, California since his release from the army. He was a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Strong of this City. You that knew him can never forget that pleasant look and smile he always had to greet you with. Azelle never forgot Hazard and the friends he had made here. In his letters, he always asked about home. 1957

Hazard's Little Pavilion

2011-08-09T00:00:00.003-04:00

I've watched Aunt Laura and Mom grit and gasped when their knuckles got too close to the gritter, but they'd holler a little and go right ahead because at that time they would grit a dishpan full of corn to make gritted cornbread and cream style corn. Good fixins' and I still do it today but very carefully. My son loves to grit the corn and make the cream style corn and he fixes it for us when we all get together. My gritter is still a big part of my kitchen utensils.

The old swimmin' hole that I remember so well was at the back of Ma Brewer's house there on Maple Street. Yep, we called it, of course, "The Brewer Hole". That is where I used my first sand bucket and shovel; I grew up goin' daily during the hot summer to Ma Brewer's and cutting down by her house and took the path that led to The Brewer Hole. It was always crowded; I never learned to swim but would hang my toes off'n a rock and let the little minnows nibble at them; oh, we had grapevine swings too there on our little beach; I loved watching the older boys and girls swinging and them jumping off into the water; we had added attractions. The old saw mill was across the river and some of the kids would swim off, jump into the shavings, woller around, get all coated and then jump back into the water; and then several times during the day the train would come by, blow its whistle at us all, and the engineer would wave and go on down the line. You might say The Old Brewer Hole was Hazard's little pavilion for back then offering, swimmin', sand, sawmill shavings, grapevine swings, and a wave from the engineer of the old L & N making its daily rounds. Yep, it was a day full of good, clean fun and if we were lucky, Mark Hampton would come down the river with one of his big turtles he caught almost everyday. Proud as a peacock he was of his catch and he told me and Daddy that the meat that they got from the big turtle was mouth-slappy good.

I remember with fondness the days of the old Brewer Hole and the gritted knuckles....

Shoot, They Ain't No Wind In Here

2011-08-08T00:09:00.003-04:00

1928 was a good year for Carr Creek. Their high school basketball team made history. Noted for playing barefoot in cutoff overalls and not having a gymnasium at school, practicing outside on a dirt court, they finished second in the big State Tournament in Lexington. Richmond fans had furnished them real uniforms and gym shoes to make them equal to the competition. After that they continued on to the National H/S Tournament in Chicago, where they finally lost in the Quarterfinals. A great accomplishment for the poor Eastern Kentucky team that were all cousins.

But that is not all of the story.
In Dayton, Ohio, 1928, the Stivers High School basketball team won the Ohio State Tournament. They featured the gigantic "Wild Bill Hosket" who later went on to Ohio State and became their first "big man" at seven feet tall.

During that time, Si Burick was a young sports reporter with the Dayton Daily News, who had graduated earlier from Stivers. Stivers won the State Tournament 3 years in a row.

In 1930 the Dayton Daily News promoted an exhibition game between Carr Creek and Stivers at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Dayton. It was a big event.
In later years Burick always wrote an article about this game on his Sports Page annually. There was one specific incident he loved to talk about.

During the shoot around before the game started, Si was was all over interviewing each player of the famous Carr Creek team. He noticed one of the boys over in the corner shooting set shots. He counted 8 in a row. Interrupting the player to compliment him on his shooting ability the young man replied: "Shoot, they ain't no wind in here."

That's the way basketball fans in Dayton remembered Carr Creek, Kentucky.

Contraption

2011-08-05T08:58:00.003-04:00

A few days ago a piece of tin stretched on a board with a lot of holes punched into it brought a lot of questions in regard to what it was. These gritters are on display in the window of Davis Brothers on Main Street in Hazard. Folks, in the olden days people used to use this thing to make gritted bread. They would take an ear of corn and rake it up and down on this contraption. Some like it of the Rousner type corn while it was soft. Others like it medium, and others like it well done, when the corn got well and dry, yes the mule eating stage. A few of us have the teeth this day and time to try and work this over. But with the gritted variety, you can handle it with your store bought teeth. Many of you thought we had bought these from a manufacturer. The ones you noticed were made by none other than Ruf "Doug" Vermillion. The large one you saw was made for Dewey Daniel. Slim Hollon states that Dewey left all the gritting up to John Flat Williams. This I can't say I will blame him because if you haven't done it for some time, I would be willing to leave it up to someone else. A gritter can play havoc on your knuckles if you fail to make the right stroke. Not only will you bark your knuckles, but also the palm of your hand can take a real skinning. This is just a word of warning in regard to you amateurs that are just starting out on your first mess of gritted bread. Since these gritters appeared to be the fetched on type, we have had many inquiries in regard to gritted bread. I would appreciate hearing from some of you old timers in regard to the way you make yours. I have talked to several in regard to it. It seems that many of you use a different formula in preparing gritted bread. I have one that I usually forget from one year to another. Sometimes it works out fine and others, "Not so good." It seems the out house is farther away after eating a good bit of it. I have had a few messes of this type. 1957

The Old Swimming Hole

2011-08-04T03:42:00.002-04:00

I was talking to Manuel Cornett the other day. Manual says he recalls the old swimming hole, what was known as the deep hole just above the Lothair railroad bridge. Boys, how well I remember it. I can remember those swimming suits in those days, we tied our britches into knots. By Granny, I for one have been thinking about everything else but the old swimming hole. 1957

D. K. Ritchie

2011-08-03T00:00:00.009-04:00

Not too long ago I mentioned D. K. Ritchie. When I was a small boy, he was Chief of Police in Hazard. D. K. loved the outdoors, he loved to hunt. In the fall he was on a squirrel hunting trip. At the time, his brother, Dr. S. M. Ritchie, age 82, was trying to kill himself a deer. To me, it is remarkable that men of their age are still pursing the hunts of their boyhood days. D. K. was always kind to us kids when he was on the police force in Hazard. Memories like this you never forget. I wouldn't even want to try to forget them. 1957

Rich or Poor

2011-08-02T00:13:00.002-04:00

Dr. Britt Combs served the people of Eastern Kentucky for many many years. Yes, maybe more than he should have been called upon to do. I had known him since a small boy, rending the services of his profession. Rich or poor, it made no difference to him. In fact many that had no fees to offer. He is missed by so many that were sick and afflicted. 1957

Just Keep It Up

2011-07-29T01:04:00.003-04:00

So glad to hear from so many of you so soon in regard to the Ox shoes I mentioned yesterday. Folks, without a doubt the Oxen did use a right and left shoe from all reports I have had. To prove it to you, Mr. Cris Brown has brought to me two shoes, one for the left and one for the right. Boys, I have also learned that it takes eight shoes per head. Now I have another question. What type of nails did they use to put these shoes on with? This I think I already know. Mr. Brown states that they were of the cut nail type. Here we go again. I am waiting to hear from you old timers of the Oxen Team days. Fellows, you sure caught me quick on this Oxen deal. So just keep it up. 1957

Left or Right?

2011-07-27T23:36:00.004-04:00

To some of you old timers, I have a question that I want to ask you. In your days of the oxen when they were hauling goods into Hazard and Perry County, did the oxen wear a left or right shoe, or both? I have had some discussion in regard to this. I am looking forward to some of you fellows to get me straightened out on this. I think I know. 1957

Corn Pone

2011-07-26T23:03:00.000-04:00

I bake a fresh corn pone daily and sometimes I crumble it in ice old buttermilk or just butter me up a good sized piece while it is steaming hot with good butter, not margarine, and do not need another thing to go with it, that's my meal at times. Remember, corn pone goes good with lasses too. Then if it gets cold, which it never stays in my old iron skillet long enough to get cold, but at times it does, I just wet a good paper towel, place it around my piece of corn pone, sock it into the microwave and in a few seconds it has the same texture it did when it was fresh bakes hours ago. Oh, yeh, a little bowl of friend apples, and a piece of corn pone is lip smacking good, ain't that right, C. H. and Roscoe?

It Would Raise The Hat Off Your Head

2011-07-26T00:00:00.004-04:00

Not too long ago I ran into a gentleman. I did not get his age or his name. I asked him how he was getting along. He replied, "O.K. - just Moonshining. Made a little apple brandy this fall for me and my friends," he said. Me knowing this was a very good apple year, I wondered if he had any enemies. One of the boys along asked the old gent if the moonshine was good. "Oh yes," was his reply. Another stated that he would bet that it would raise your hat off your head. "Oh yes," replied the old gentleman. "It will do that to. There is salvation in it also if you don't drink too much," he said. With that reply he made his way down the road. Evidently he did not consider us a friend or enemy. 1956

Keep Your Feet On The Ground

2011-07-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Preacher John Flat Williams had a nightmare. As John tells the story, he thought he was flying. Boys, I guess he was until he landed across the foot of the bed with a sprained back. Nevertheless John spent several days in the hospital because of this nightmare. John, I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't blind on one side. Glad you are out and able to carry on your work again. John, you haven't been by yourself. I have heard of a few others that have done the same thing. I haven't been able to get full details in regard to them. So you don't feel too bad about having one. I would suggest that we might have to get a blind bridle for these mares. 1956

2011-07-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

There's something about "Tater-plantin' Time" that gets next to a used-to-be farmer. Sure I worked on a farm (under silent protest) for many years. To be more explicit, we called it a farm. It wasn't so steep that we could look up the chimney and see cattle grazing on the hillside, but the hills were so steep that we were in danger of falling into the river from a cornfield that was near the mountain top.

My investigators tell me that the problem now is finding a plow animal to break up gardens and get planting done. It seems that owners of plow animals take orders and do the work as they get around to the different planters. We need more plow horses and mules.

Our farm people need more cows and chickens, hogs and sheep. They need to plant three times the amount of potatoes, onions, cabbage, beans, tomatoes and other garden items, instead of depending on a "paper poke" and can cutter for something to eat. Sure, I'm crazy, but any time you tell the truth now, it sounds crazy.

I paid 26 cents for a loaf of bread this week and looking back over some of my order books, I find where I sold 25 pounds of corn meal at that price some few years ago. Those good women who still know how to bake a good pone of corn bread can do their families a good turn and save an enormous amount of money by buying corn meal and flour and doing their own baking. 1957

Way Back When

2011-07-21T00:00:00.010-04:00

Yesterday's spasm with suggestions that we go back to the safe and sane way of living by putting in more time raising food, instead of following Uncle Sam with our hands stuck out, seems to have hit a familiar cord in most cases.

It made me feel like others in the community could remember "Way-Back-When," with so many people agreeing that there are many ways in which we could help ourselves by a little more work.

It may be well for us to face the fact that there are few prospects of another boom in our section in the near future. We will have some good business, with payrolls to keep us going, but many things enter into our economy that works against our particular coal field. It does not help to play ostrich and hide in the sand.

By taking advantage of the payrolls that are still with us, and preparing to raise more food also, we can build up the wealth of the county substantially.

There seems to be an epidemic of car thefts in and around Hazard, mostly by youngsters. In line with previous suggestions regarding raising food, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a good county farm where these birds who are not willing to work for money to purchase cars and gasoline, could spend a year or so raising food and thinking over their prospects.

Too many youngsters dream about driving fast cars, spending big money and living on a high level without work. They are not willing to get a job and build themselves up gradually. They want to start at the top and tell the boss how to run his business.

When you start at the top there is only one direction you can go. Down! 1957

Biscuits On Sunday

2011-07-20T00:00:00.009-04:00

How many of you old-timers can remember sitting down to a meal of corn bread, shuck beans, platters of fried ham and red gravy, big bowls of stewed backbone and spare-ribs, country butter and milk, home-made stackpies, cushaw butter, platters of fried eggs, fresh cane molasses, blackberry cobbler from homecanned berries, hominy, etc, all gathered from the efforts of hard labor on a hillside farm where money was the one thing that seldom made an appearance?

It was done from the time of Daniel Boone down to the entry of the railroad into the mountains. A barrel of flour in wood lasted a family of six to ten people for half a year, with biscuits ONLY on Sunday morning. A few pounds of green coffee, small amount of brown sugar and a little salt, were purchased with the flour. That was the extent of grocery purchases in those days. Everything else came from "The Sweat of the Brow," and brother, if you followed a hard tail mule around one of these mountains all day, you knew what sweat meant.

After this fantastic journey back into the long-forgotten land of a world without government support; a time when nobody would have lined up in the sunshine all day for a little bag of tasteless surplus food, commonly known as "commodities," back to a time when it was no disgrace to work and pray; when some dope by the name of Smith said, "No Work, No Eat;" back to the good mountain custom of loving your neighbor so much that you would go in and do his work, take care of his farm and divide "side-meat" with him from your smoke-house when he was in trouble. Even back to the time you would stop and mourn with his relatives and take time off to help dig his grave when he died. What a Crazy World they had then. 1957

Crazy Venture

2011-07-19T00:00:00.005-04:00

In my old-fashioned way, I sometimes wonder what would happen to this mountain country if every home from the Owsley County line, from the Breathitt, Leslie, Knott, Letcher, and Harlan County lines were to start a new way of living by pledging themselves to plant every available acre in some kind of crop. In addition to this bold move, they could install a good cow in the barn, raise chickens, hogs, a few sheep, and go back to planting cane for molasses. They could further add to their craziness by drying beans and apples, raising enough potatoes to feed their families, instead of buying thousands of bags annually that are raised in all corners of the United States.

By raising crops they would cut down on feed bills and their supply of good, whole milk, cream and butter would cost them only a fraction of what it does now.

This could not be done by the so-called "Ol Folks" alone. If the crazy venture is to succeed it would have to be a family plan, whereby the oncoming generation would drop some of the hot rod and "Jenny-Barn" activities and offer their help. It COULD be done without much expense, IF the youngsters joined in the plan. Jobs in the mines, in stores, on railroads and other positions that are now "paying" jobs could be carried on as usual. Very few people work more than eight hours daily for their pay envelopes. That leaves 16 good God-given hours for recreation and sleep. Five of these hours could be spent by the entire family working the farm, repairing fences, diggin' Taters, even pulling fodder for Old Dobbin. Some of the youngsters may blush when they approach Old Bess in preparation of persuading her "to give down her milk, but they would get used to it. 1957

Trains, Automobiles & Modern Girls

2011-07-18T00:00:00.005-04:00

I enjoy the comments by C.H. Combs. You knew you were hitting home to a lot of people about not seeing a train or automobile until they were old enough to have killed a lot of squirrels. Well, I was raised until after grade school in Leslie County. My people died there, and I guess if living today, they would say, "I went to school in the Blue Back Speller, walked five miles to a log school, so if I did, it's good enough for my youngsters."

C.H. said we may have been better off without the invention of the automobile. My friends, I have a Jalopy, take my brood to school, when this hot rod will start.

Somewhere I read or saw a picture where a fellow went a courting with a club. Next I saw him with a girl by the hair, she wasn't dressed very well, and had no form - I mean she wasn't "chic," so from my experience, we don't want to go back to the stone age, so give us lots of trains, automobiles and the modern girls, and above all comments from C.H. Combs. 1956

Never A Dull Moment

2011-07-14T23:43:00.004-04:00

Sometimes when my pals and I went up on Peters Peak to shoot our guns, George Cowboy Smith would be there too. I didn't know him well, but he was a loner like me and we got along. He liked guns and had several pistols he would shoot. One was a nickel plated single action Colt .45. with pearl grips and he did wear a white cowboy hat sometimes. He was a tough guy and I believed his destiny was to be somebody who would eventually live by his gun either good or bad. I lost track of him when he went into the Army and I also left Hazard. Around 1952 when I hooked up with Dick McIntyre again in Hazard he told me a story about Cowboy. I was not surprised.

Down at the end of Main Street right on the corner where you turn right to go to Big Bottom, there was a regular Saloon there called The Wheel. That old three story building was always the bad part of town. They ran whores upstairs and downstairs. You could get any thing else you wanted. Some sold moonshine and dope on the street. Apparently the Wheel's business was doing very well. Booze, gambling and it looked like a place right out of "Gunsmoke." They were also cutting and shooting and fighting nightly. I can't remember the owner's name but he was a tough guy. He avoided being shutdown legally for a couple of years. I never understood Hazard politics. One year its wet, one year its dry. Anyway, Cowboy had been in to it with this guy several times but could never get anything to stick. One Saturday night Cowboy walks into the crowded place with the police department's Thompson sub-machine gun and empties a whole clip into the walls. The owner was slightly wounded. I'm not sure about the rest of the story but after that the place was closed for good.

Never a dull moment in Hazard back in the good ole days.

The Way I Figger It

2011-07-14T00:09:00.004-04:00

"T'other day a man yelled to a woman across the street in Hazard, "Hey, has your husband decided about that?" She replied, "He ain't pime blank sure yit." A feller standing by me said, "She orter said he ain't pint blank sure." Nope, said I, you're both wrong. She orter said he aint point plank shore.

You know I was way up in my twenties before I knowed that Adam's off ox was the one on my right goin' yanway and the one on my left acomin' thisaway. And the lead ox was the one on my right acomin' thisaway and the one on my left goin' yanway. So it depends where you're a standin' at which Buck an' Ball are a goin' and acomin'. Leastways, that's the way I figger it. 1955

Questions From All Angles

2011-07-13T00:00:00.008-04:00

This past week I had the privilege of speaking to a group of children at the Upper Broadway School, in the classrooms of Mrs. Rose Caudill, Mrs. Ann Tate, Mr. Estill McIntyre, and Mrs. Sara Gilbert. To you mothers and fathers that have children attending any classes under the above mentioned teachers, I want to say it would have been a pleasure for you to have listened in. I asked them if there were any questions that they cared to ask in regard to conservation. Boys, I will need some help the next time I attend a meeting at Upper Broadway School. These youngsters fired questions at me from all angles. Really, I was surprised to know how much these kids realize the importance of our natural resources. They were very much concerned about the forest fires, in regard to the amount of damage that we have had. This I hope to be able to give them shortly. The day I appeared before them, was hardly a 24 hour period after our rain came. To all it was a God send to stamp out the fires. To me it was more than a pleasure to meet with a group of children and interested teachers that have the foresight to look ahead for the next generation. These same kids will soon be the leaders of our communities. 1956

2011-07-12T00:00:00.003-04:00

Interesting story came to me a few days ago. It seems that my old friend Raleigh Pratt from Hardburly can really tell them. As he relates, a young chap down on the Pine Ridge area, (who couldn't have been over 12 years old), flagged down a Greyhound bus. The driver stepped out and the kid said, "Mr., want to buy a possum?" This sort of provoked the bus driver and he said, "Do you want to ride some where?" "No....Do you want to buy a possum?" the kid asked. "Hell no" replied the bus driver. The kid said, "Don't get too upset about it, I haven't caught the possum yet."

This is the wit that will always prevail with our mountain folks. 1956

Before The Advent Of The Railroad

2011-07-11T00:00:00.004-04:00

I am probably living more in the past than in the future, one that doesn't think that a return of the "Good Old Days" would get us out of the mess we are in. One who never saw a train until he was almost grown, and who never saw an automobile until he had voted. (Some 40,000 souls in this country now occupying the allotted six feet of good earth each year would have been better off if they had never heard of an automobile).

I would only be kidding myself if I thought the so-called younger generation has any interest whatever in the trials and tribulations of the old fogy set that came along my time. I could spend the rest of my life telling them that our pioneer fathers and mothers were real heroes and possessed a spirit that is not found in the bosom of the average youngster today, when they married and settled down on a hillside farm (I use the word lightly) with less than one good American dollar in their pockets in a land that had nothing to offer but honest people. The spasm would be laughed off as the ravings of a warped mentality.

Parents who came up through the era of poverty, hardships, sacrifice and suffering in this mountain country before the advent of the railroad and automobile are just plain back numbers - or so we learn by listening to the hot-rod generation. If they had been smart they would never have been in this position, we hear. Maybe this will be discussed some more, as we go along. Maybe not.

We will discuss various things, but we want to serve notice that personalities are OUT. Politics, religion, and women's ages, we can't discuss. (In all the Bible only one woman's age was given, and this Good Book was written by some of the bravest men of the Adamatic family. So who are we to be different?)

Everyone has problems. The world is in turmoil. More than half the world population goes to bed hungry each night. We are the richest and most selfish nation in the world, but we spend little time worrying about the problems of our fellowman.

Our entire nation is hell-bent on rushing down the highway of life, getting ahead of the other fellow, making more money and spending it for luxuries that seldom reach the rest of the world. We're not satisfied with a fair share of the good things of life. We want ours and half what should go to our neighbors. Just how we get his share is another story. 1956

The Only Way To Fly

2011-07-08T00:00:00.008-04:00

In 1941 the War had begun and our lives were beginning to change. All good things were about to become scarce. Food, gasoline, and automobiles were on top of the list. A big part of my life as a kid in Hazard was centered around my bicycle. The ultimate in transportation, especially during the Summer. I had a pair of roller skates and a scooter but I was 10 years old now and I was ready for the next level. I had an old Morrow bike but it was just about worn out. I wanted a new bicycle but there were none around. So I started looking around for something second hand. After a week of shopping around the neighborhoods I find a very unusual bike over on Cedar Street. This gentleman had it parked in the garage and said nobody was using it any more. This bike turned out to be a Silver King, the all aluminum bike. It was about four years old, good rubber, light weight and it had 24 inch rims. I had heard of the Silver King but it was the very first I had seen. It had to be the only one in town. Didn’t take me long to make up my mind. I knew I was going to look good racing around Hazard on that. And I did...

Leaving Something Behind

2011-07-07T04:02:00.005-04:00

I can remember as a small boy when Dad Wooley came here to make Hazard his home and the many times he took us teenage boys into his offices that were located in the Johnson Building. He had deer heads, bear rugs and all types of printing around the walls, all regarding needs for conserving our natural resources.

Dad Wooley left a lasting impression on me as a boy about the needs for conservation. As I remember, he represented a land company after he came here. I consider him a pioneer in our conservation in Eastern Kentucky along with Robert Cooksey and Grover Vance, past president of the Perry Fish & Game Club. They, along with other founders of the club, have passed on. But I can recall a few charter members including Willie Jim Howard and Burley Harris.

In the early 1920s, people were too interested in making money and they came to Perry County for that sole purpose. Dad Wooley was one of the few who were interested in leaving something behind. And he has left a lasting impression for the cause of conservation. 1955

Great Day For Us Kids, Not The Cat

2011-07-06T01:37:00.007-04:00

The Fourth of July was always a great day for us kids. Now we can terrorize the neighborhood with our firecrackers and it will all be legal. Firecrackers of various kinds were the real thing back in the 40s. Not like the wimpy stuff they sell today. The M-80s and the Cherry Bombs were terrific. We got our money’s worth with each explosion. They could be dangerous, too, which we learned from experience. Our group usually pooled all our nickels and dimes and then we went shopping for the good stuff. We didn't care about smoke bombs or Roman candles. Those were for girls. “Look mom, at my sparkler!”.

I still remember one Fourth when we had enough money to buy a big Cherry Bomb. The big one. It cost a whole dollar. It was so big it had its own wooden base and it had to be erect, pointing at the sky, before you lit the big fuse. Our youngest member, Burley Horn, wanted to be the one to shoot it. So we set up the bomb and give him a match and we all backed off looking for a safe place to hide. Well Burley was a little nervous and when he lit the fuse he jumped out of there in a hurry knocking the stand over in the process. Now it was in a horizontal mode, which was not good. It was pointed down Laurel Street directly toward Charles Davis’s house on the corner. The fist explosion was the launching charge that got the cherry bomb going. The big round bomb came out of the chute at flank speed, bounced down the middle of the street and went right into the gate in the front yard followed by a tremendous explosion. Now remember that cherry bomb was supposed to be a hundred feet in the air when it went off. Mrs. Davis came screaming out the front door, “What the hell was that?” Fortunately, by that time, we had all made a hurried escape and there was no body left on the scene.

Later we were cruising around Upper Broadway looking for other things when we came upon Mrs. Waltman’s white cat. Now, Mrs. Waltman was the principal of that school and also taught eighth grade. She was not our favorite. The cat was a little unusual because it had one blue eye and one green eye. We thought it would be neat to tie a small pack of fire crackers to his tail and see how fast he was. Well, he turned out to be pretty fast. Before the second cracker went off he was already sitting on top of his favorite telephone pole. After that he had no other choice but to sit there and count off ten or twelve more.

2011-07-05T03:56:00.003-04:00

Anybody want a little alligator? Just a little fellow about 18 inches long? Bill Douglas, of Hazard, says he is willing to give it to anybody who will make a pet of it.

How one goes about making a pet out of an alligator, I don't know and I don't think Bill Douglas knows. But maybe there is someone, perhaps a lonely school teacher, who wants a pet.

Mr. Douglas received his alligator from a friend who brought it up from Florida. He says it will eat baloney (of which there will be plenty until after the November election) and other not so hard to get items. They're fond also of left legs, right hands and little children when they get a little larger. 1955

Our Flag

2011-07-04T03:44:00.002-04:00

The life of a World War veteran reminds us that people of Hazard have too little respect for the flag which I have often witnessed and regarded. When the American flag is flown on the screen of any picture show in other cities the house is almost brought down with cheering and handclapping. In Hazard there is no sign that anyone recognizes the flag. That is partly the fault of the American legion (of which I am a member) and mostly the fault of the public. It should not be necessary to teach enthusiasm for our flag in these days, when the country is crowded with Reds and Bolshevists who are trying to wreck the government over which the flag is flown.

When the flag is carried along our streets every man should remove his hat at once, in respect. Living in the greatest country in the world, the only place where people enjoy any freedom, we should be proud of the flag that symbolizes our freedom. It is an honor to bow to such a flag. 1939

2011-07-01T03:20:00.003-04:00

It is hot! Meet with almost anybody in Hazard and you'll get a very intelligent remark about the heat. One of the best heat fighters I know is calmness. And that means more than slowing down physically. It means avoiding mental panic. Think about something besides the heat.

At the Kiwanis Club meeting last night in that hot little meeting room off the mezzanine of the Grand Hotel, the song of the night was "Jingle Bells." And before it was over, I almost had a chill. Not from the psychological snow and ice, but from Alva Hollon's singing.

Sure the thermometer is away up high, but that's no reason for us to climb aboard a hot seat. We can be cooler by slowing down our walk, by giving our tongue a rest, by slacking off our curiosity about other people's business, and by thinking about the snow and ice we will have a few months from now.

But it is hot, isn't it! In fact, it's too hot to finish this... 1955

Sterling Hardware

2011-06-30T02:51:00.006-04:00

Sterling Hardware Company opened on Main Street in Hazard on June 30th 1916.

E.P. Phelps was manager of the Philco Department at Sterling Hardware. He was replaced by Rex Farmer in 1952 who was also manager of the furniture department.

Frank Medaris joined the company in 1946. He lived at Harveyton where he was president of Harvey Coal Company.

Joe Eversole became a retail clerk at Sterling Hardware in 1947. He was a traveling salesman for the company in the 1950s. Joe was the buyer of hardware and mine supplies.

Guyn Haydon went to work in the Shipping Department of Sterling in 1927. He was the Shipping Clerk. He became manager and stayed with the company over 30 years.

Ed Farmer joined the company as a salesman in 1953. He lived in Hyden.

Pleasant Surprise

2011-06-29T03:48:00.002-04:00

In the early 50s Hazard had a nice little dive called the Colonial Club. Out on State route 15 on the other side of Walkertown. I usually visited the Club on Saturday night and it was usually packed. They always had a live band and all the cold beer you could drink. But if you asked for a whiskey sour or a martini you got a blank look from the bar tender. It was usually a well behaved, friendly group and every body just had a great time.

The one night I remember the best was when Dick McIntyre and I came down from Dayton for the long Labor Day weekend. I had a nice 40 Ford coupe and we made a lot of trips to Hazard with it. On that particular night he had borrowed his Dad's Plymouth and we left the Ford parked in town. That turned out to be a problem because I met a very good looking girl at the dance and I really needed my own car. So when it neared closing time, Dick and I jumped into the Plymouth and drove back to town to get my Ford. On the way back I needed to hurry not wanting to keep the girl waiting too long. As I drove down the hill off high street where it curves into East Main I did a power slide through the curve and really stepped on it. Unfortunately there was a cop parked there and he ran me down in Walkertown. I explained the situation to him and once convinced I had not just stuck up a carryout, he gave me a ticket and I proceeded to the Colonial Club. I got there in plenty of time and everything worked out fine. I told the girl everything that happened and was pleasantly surprised to find out that her uncle was the Traffic Court Judge. Yes, she had the ticket fixed. Was that a friendly town or what...

Now & Then

2011-06-28T05:44:00.003-04:00

Hazard has grown from a village of some 240 people to a city of nearly 10,000 population. The city had been built up around the location of an early post office, established for the convenience of mail carriers between Manchester in Clay County and Prestonsburg in Floyd County as an overnight stopping place. Being in the midst of a thickly timbered section on the north fork of the Kentucky River, it was no uncommon sight to see oxen pulling poplar logs down what is now Main Street in Hazard.

Highways, railroads and newspapers were seldom heard of and few people had any hopes of living to see them. Mail reached the town about once a week, depending upon the weather. All supplies for merchants were hauled from Jackson, 45 miles down the river, via mule and wagon. During periods of high water in the winter season, many merchants were forced to have their supplies shipped to Stonegap, Virginia from which city they were hauled across Black Mountain and into Hazard.

When the first automobile arrived in Hazard on August 27, 1914, many people were there to greet the driver. 1939

2011-06-27T03:36:00.009-04:00

It was a sad moment in my life when I heard that the last run of our passenger train had been discontinued after being in service 44 years. As a small boy I can recall the first trip a train made to Hazard. What a thrill it was.

Thanks to you Al Mazer at Al's house of bargains. You state that I write like some of the people from Letcher County. Al, to me that is a compliment. Also, to you Hugh Moore in regard to this column, you state I write along the lines of Allan Trout of the Courier Journal. Thanks to both you gentlemen that you enjoy reading this column. Also to you Mr. Tom Moore, Dr. G.M. Adams. Well I can remember the days of Dr. Adams when a real toothache hit one of us kids. Also, thanks to you Mr. and Mrs. Chris Brown about your nice remarks about his column. Cris and Pearl have moved their Button & Bows Shop from East Main Street to the Walkertown section just across the street from Lee Lykins new IGA market. 1956

Outdo The Rainbow

2011-06-24T03:48:00.004-04:00

No one who knows me would remark to anybody else that there is a sprig of the artist sprouting in my makeup. It doesn't show from any angle from which one can view me. It doesn't exert itself except on occasions and no one but another artist of the same category could recognize it.

There is at least one fellow in Hazard who has the same artistic whim. He is Hal Cooner of the Hal Cooner Studio and this has nothing to do with photography. Hal is a good man in his profession. I've has some experience in mine. We both have a common ground, appreciation of an art that has disappeared almost from the scene.

A discussion of this almost-gone art occurred a few days in a place where soft drinks and sundaes are served. The eating of a sundae and the watching of several sodas and sundaes being served to other persons brought up recollections. We both talked about times we worked behind fountains, back in the days when fountain work was more than a job. It was a privilege, an opportunity to be something "extra" in a community, not just a soda jerk.

Maybe it was Hal who started the subject. "I remember when I worked at a fountain, when a fellow who served what we get today would be looking for another job next day," Hal mused. "This is nothing more than a scoop of ice cream with some flavor slapped on the sides. No thought behind it, no effort, no art." He sounded sad.

I could understand such words. I felt just as Hal. Art of a grand stature of years ago...going...going...almost gone. It has been run over by the modern times, degraded by the hurry of today.

There was a time when a banana split bought most anyplace, was a delight of color and fascination, created by a fountain artist who knew just how to cut the long golden fruit which formed the base in a long, shining clear glass container. The ice cream was not slapped onto the dish, but placed there gently in varied colors, each with a tantalizing beckoning, as if the handler loved what he was doing. The many fruits that sought to hide the glow of the ice cream, and failed, were an artist's effort to outdo the rainbow, and the gently crushed nuts were placed lightly as culler would handle a diamond. And the marshmallow, always a "must," was guided around the edges of the dish to form a white rivulet which reflected the peaks of the ice cream now capped with flaming red cherries.

That, my friends, was what used to be placed before anyone who ordered a banana split. It represented time, affection, and love of customer. It was never meant to be disheveled, rushed and smeared. It was never meant to be created by anyone but an artist's hands. It was never meant to be ordered by anyone but one who had time to relax.

Hal and I didn't stop with banana splits. We talked about the careless sodas of 1955, the ruthless creations now called sundaes. Just ice cream and fruit or ice cream and water to too many fountain workers today. We longed for the old days, and as we did we let our tears fall into the mess that would have been a beautiful concoction several years ago.

We didn't blame the boys and girls, men and women who work behind soda fountains today. We blamed their bosses for failing to insist on the artistic standards that once lived. 1955

The Past Lives Again

2011-06-23T06:05:00.004-04:00

Let me grab my books and away I will go to the Lower Broadway school. I will meet you all at the front door. I can smell the old wood now.

How I would love to walk those halls again and somehow I feel if I could I could hear the laughter and the scolding of Mrs. Oldham through the walls. You know, God is awesome for He gave us such a visionary and imagination and put them together and we can just about make it through a school day, huh? I hate to see what is happening to the young and some of the old these days. They do not even know what imagination is. Brain dead to the many things they left behind as they grew. I love all of my memories and the past still lives again, in my present.

Quite Again On Lyttle Boulevard

2011-06-22T04:13:00.002-04:00

I saw something Tuesday night about 8 p.m. that made me wonder if both Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett had come to life again. It was raw courage, daring of the type which has written our history. I was proud to have been a witness to a night of cunning maneuvering and bravery for the safety of others.

Right after Kiwanis Club meeting, I rode up to Lyttle Boulevard with Robert Bergman and the Reverend Frank McGuire of the Hazard Christian Church. We're all neighbors, including the church building. After a minute or two of lingering, I started on down the street to home when I heard Mr. McGuire and Mr. Bergman discussing wasps. That was too much, so I turned back and asked why such a conversation at that time of night.

They revealed that a swarm of wasps had made their nest near a light just outside one of the front doors of the Christian Church. Mr. Bergman and Mr. McGuire had agreed to get rid of the situation. I don't know whether the decision was theirs or whether the church's ruling board decided it.

As I hid behind a telephone post on the opposite side of the street, obviously a coward, these two nerveless men entered the church, Mr. Bergman carrying a six-foot cane pole. From the telephone post shadow I saw the front door eased open just enough for the cane pole to be slipped through. Mr. Bergman moved quickly, and the pole brought down most of the wasp nest. The night's usual quietness was broken by the cane pole being hastily withdrawn into the church. Mr. McGuire and Mr. Bergman could be seen looking out at the damage they had done. But they weren't through. Again the action took place and the last of the wasp nest fell to the concrete.

In a few minutes I heard the backdoor of the church open. Two shadows hurried out. One went in to the church dwelling next door, and the other ran across the street, hunched over, and literally flew into the Bergman home. Quite again took over Lyttle Boulevard. There was no showing sign that two brave men once stood near the white columns of the stately church edifice. Only the buzz-zzz of homeless wasps could be heard. 1955

Something Unusual

2011-06-21T05:35:00.003-04:00

Ah, but what is so rare as a day in June! Don't give me credit for such an expression, but it does give vent to my feelings. I remember about this time last year when I was living in Lexington in an apartment house facing U.S. 27. No cool night, no quite.

A few minutes ago I looked out of the office door and was hit in the face by something unusual. At first I was startled, but there was no pain to it. I wiped my face with a handkerchief, but nothing came off. However, it was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant. I looked around at Clifford Bullard and saw something on his face. He was standing near me. Then I had to laugh. It was nothing but plain old sunshine!

I suppose you've heard comments during the last several days about the weather. Almost everybody I have talked to about the weather has said there has been nothing like it in his lifetime. But there are a few who remember snow in July.

My good friend Victor Tedesco, manager of Papania's Jewelry, stirred his coffee and remarked: "My boss is coming to town. I just received his suitcases." Which made me wonder how his boss, Sam Papania, is traveling these days out of his headquarters at Miami. Vic quickly explained that he apparently was coming by plane and had too much luggage, so he expressed the surplus. 1955

2011-06-20T03:08:00.008-04:00

As a kid I think I visited every town in Eastern Kentucky, usually with my Dad. Jackson, Vicco, Hyden, Campton, Prestonburg, Irving and many others. There was no comparison between those towns and our down town Hazard.

Our Main Street was always bigger and better and cleaner. We had more schools and more churches. There was a big variety of retail stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and drug stores.

Major’s Department Store carried a good line of clothing merchandize and shoes. Sterling Hardware had everything else you might need. Besides just hardware they sold sporting goods, refrigerators, radios, and a selection of American Flyer electric trains for Christmas.

Down town had banks, two nice movie theaters, two Dime Stores, Firestone and Western Auto stores, pool rooms, liquor stores and a fully equipped shoe repair store.

If you could afford it you could buy any kind of new automobile you desired. Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, Oldsmobile. They were all well represented. I remember right after the end of WWII, people heard that the American factories would soon be cranking out new cars once again. What would the new 1946 Fords and Chevys look like and what would they cost. They hurried down to their favorite dealers and plunked down a hundred dollars to get in line for the first cars to arrive in Hazard. Sure, they were going to cost more than they did in 1941 but nobody cared. They all wanted a new car!

One of my favorite places was Western Auto. Besides auto supplies, they sold Bicycle tires & tubes and parts. They also sold air rifles and BBs. My Dad bought a .22 rifle and pistol there along with .22 caliber ammo.

I enjoyed eating lunch at the J.J. Newberry dime store. Around 1946 “Birdseye” first came out with their packages of frozen vegetables. The giant frozen peas were new and different and they were a standard item on the Newberry Lunch Menu. Wow, they were really good. Lunch was about 50 cents.

If you wanted a nice dinner you could get a T-bone steak across the street at the Hazard Lunch for a dollar,with all the trimmings. Ma Combs served a great meal for Lunch, also for Fifty cents.

Main Street in Hazard was busy day and night. Something for everybody. Especially on Saturday night when everybody went to down town and jockeyed around for a good parking space where you could get a good view of all the action.

The big sports attraction was the Hazard High basketball gym up there on top of Baker Hill. It was small but there were a lot of classic games played there along with some classic players & coaches.

There have been a lot of changes between the old and the new since the 40s. If I still had a choice I would still prefer the older.

Freedom

2011-06-17T04:59:00.002-04:00

I spent six years in the old Broadway School. Most of that time I lived on Lyttle Boulevard. Every morning I left the house at 7:30 walking across the old wooden bridge and up the hill to the school. It didn't matter if it was raining or snowing or freezing we always had to be inside the front door before the bell rang at 8:00am. You didn't dare be "tardy". That would be a fate worse than death. If you wore a coat you hung it up in the "cloak room". I never really knew why it was called a cloak room and didn't ask.

Most of my teachers were old and old fashioned with their long dowdy dresses and their high top button shoes. Always walking around the halls with their noses in the air trying to look proper. I always thought they would cringe with disbelief when they saw me coming or going. Me with the overalls, marbles in the pockets and chewing bubblegum with an occasional bubble sticking to my nose. A total disregard of protocol of any kind. How many times did Miss Harris demand I open my mouth so she could look all the way down my throat for candy or gum or remind me that I didn't wash behind my ears or cautioned me from pulling Rita Fay's pigtails. The most vile word in her vocabulary was that disgusting "homework". Would I ever, in my life, be able to breathe freely again without that terrible burden I had to bear five days a week. Lois Faye apparently liked homework. She carried all her books home every day. I decided it was people like her that made it tough on the rest of us. My hands were never clean enough for miss Mobely and she didn't like it when I wiped my runny nose on my shirt sleeve. But my just reward always came when that bell sounded at 3:15. Freedom! Isn't that what we all strived for? How many more weeks to Summer Vacation...

It's A Great Game, Aint' It?

2011-06-16T05:15:00.004-04:00

When we were kids in Hazard we all dreamed of Kentucky. No not the State, we dreamed of The University of Kentucky Wildcats. Any kid in Hazard that ever picked up a ball dreamed every night of playing basketball at the most famous University in the United States of America.

Bill Davis, Garland Townes and Johnnie Cox all made the big jump. Dick Mitchell made it to the football team.

I remember when Hazard finally got the big TV tower up on top of the hill. My Uncle, Sammy Burke, was an avid UK fan. He would sit in front of that little B&W TV to watch UK games which was mainly a lot of snow off and on. Occasionally the picture would clear up enough to watch the game and then it would fade away again and you could hear Uncle Sam cursing all the way downtown.

By that time I was living in Dayton, Ohio and enjoyed many seasons of UK basketball on TV. I have been fortunate enough to see games in person always during road games. I've seen them play at Vanderbilt in Nashville and Knoxville in Tennessee, Gainsville Florida and Notre Dame.

I had two good friends from Hazard, Don Grey and Bill Marcum, who went to school at UK. We could not get basketball tickets but during Football Season several Hazard friends and I drove down to Lexington on Saturday and met them at the Sigma Chi Fraternity House. We didn't have tickets but we had a plan. We went to the old stadium right there in downtown and Bill & Don used their student IDs to get inside. They went up to the second floor tossed the cards down to us and we used them to get ourselves in. A total of six got in that day on two cards. I remember Georgia Tech was there that day. Dick Mitchell was playing for the Cats. He was the kick returner. Being a small stadium it was packed. I had my 35mm camera with the telephoto lens so I eased down to the Georgia Tech bench and they squeezed up and gave me a seat on the end, thinking I was an official photographer. Of course UK lost. Georgia Tech was a powerhouse back then in 1953.

Over the years the Wildcats have furnished us with thousands of hours of entertainment. Anywhere we went and somebody mentioned basketball we held our heads high. And now it looks like the good days are coming back again. So now when the game comes on my new HD TV in Dayton, I'll be thinking of all you guys way back up there in the Eastern Kentucky Mountains glued to your own sets watching the Wildcats. Its a great game, ain't it?

Up My Britches' Leg

2011-06-15T03:09:00.003-04:00

I was sitting here thinking about the hot day outside and where I would be back in time and I found myself sitting on the sidewalk that led from our bottom porch down to the lower yard. We played hopscotch, skated, jacks, etc. on this sidewalk as it was concrete and cool. There was a big tree and I would take one of those canvas fold up chairs down there, and being an avid reader, of course, my book was with me. I always read about 3:00 in the evening and where I sat I could watch the fellers that drove the Double Cola Trucks coming in to reload, and, of course, flirt as much as I could. Well, this one day I had on capri pants and was engrossed in my book (Grace Livingston Hill) and my leg began to sort of itch; I just jiggled my leg a little and kept on reading, then up above my knee it really "tickled" not itched. I reached down and ran my hand up my britches' leg and looked down and saw something sticking out of my britches, and Dad saw it too as he was above me looking down and he said, "Idy, take it easy, there is a snake up your britches, reach down and pull it out with its tail." Oh, Lordy, I couldn't do that and I started crying and jumping around, and by that time I had alerted everyone on Liberty Street it seems, for in no time I had an audience. Dad said, "Oh, its a little green snake, I can tell, and you have scared it to death too..." He told me to hit the concrete and jump as hard as I could and shake my legs at the same time. This I did and out come that little green snake. It was confused as I was and laid there to gain its composure I suppose and then off it went into the bushes.

The Newspaper Was King

2011-06-14T00:00:00.004-04:00

During the '30s & '40s if you wanted to know what was going on in the World you read a newspaper. Hazard was a small town but it was well informed. You had your choice of the Hazard Herald, The Lexington Times, and the great Louisville Courier Journal. The Courier Journal was the dominant paper in Kentucky. It had a huge Sunday edition with several sections including my favorite the Sunday Comics. There was the Katz and Jammer Kids, Smokey Stover, Smilin' Jack, Little Orphan Annie, and Blondie. You could swing through the Jungle with Tarzan, fly through the clouds with Tailspin Tommy and shoot up the bad guys with Dick Tracy all in living color. Popeye and Olive Oil were always good for a laugh even if you didn't like spinach.

Newspapers kept us up to date with WWII. Kept us informed about Major League Baseball, College Football and Basketball. We all followed the Cincinnati Reds, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Kentucky Derby. We learned about the exploits of Ernie Lombardy, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Lujac, Ralph Beard, Wah Wah Jones and Glen Davis and Doc Blanchard.

For the local, county and state news we read the Hazard Herald. No TV back then and very little radio. Today the competition for the news is huge. Radio, TV, and the Internet are all great but back in the good ole days in Hazard, Kentucky, the Newspaper was King.

The Parking Baby

2011-06-13T00:00:00.006-04:00

On June 13, 1945, I came to Hazard. My mission was in the interest of my health, and my memory being very poor, I forgot for the moment to pay the parking baby. I went over to the post office to pay $5 for a vehicle usage stamp, another car owner’s unpleasant baby. As I came out of the post office I thought of the parking baby, but lo and behold, too late; I was tagged. I had to pay a dollar to another baby. We car owners have a lot of babies to care for.

Now I have in the past truly appreciated those meters, because I find it, easier to find parking space, but if they are going to be used to rob people, then I wouldn’t mind seeing one of Uncle Sam’s bulldozers come up one side of the street and go down the other at full speed ahead. I was taught that the law was to serve, protect, and help the people, not mistreat them. Now I am just a plain, dumb, got no sense, gump, and may have the wrong idea, but it isn’t making me respect the law any more to be treated like that by the law.

Well, anyway, I wish to thank the chief for not holding me until one o’clock for I had a date with a hypodermic needle at Allock at twelve and I would have been plenty wrong had they kept me there too long and I ain’t just tickled pink about the affair anyway. I know as well as a grown person when I am unjustly treated.

Well, whoever thinks I am wrong about this, go stand on your head. Those who think I am right, please give me a dime. My memory is very bad and I may park down there again and I guess they need their coffee. 1945

Hazard People

2011-06-10T00:00:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine came through Jackson a few evenings ago, driving at a moderate rate of speed. When some distance outside the city he heard a siren and was ordered to pull over to the side of the road. A Jackson policeman told him he had been speeding when he passed through the city, and the driver had quite a tussle to prevent being “taken in” and forced to go to court.

The policeman said during the coversation that Hazard people must stop speeding through Jackson. The police force is determined to “get” anyone from Hazard who speeds in the future, he said.

Jackson is a good town, and is full of good people. The people of Jackson have members of their families in Hazard and surrounding territory. We are of the same families in most cases. It is regrettable that officials of Jackson feel that Hazard drivers are taking advantage of their good nature and have started speeding through the city.

We feel sure that drivers from here have no intention of violating traffic rules
while driving through Jackson. We feel equally certain that the good people of
our neighboring city are not anxious to allow the news to get around that “speed traps” are being set for Hazard drivers.

Speed traps create adverse publicity for any town. They accomplish little or
nothing. Speeders should be dealt with, however, but we are of the opinion that the average driver from this section has no intention of violating traffic rules while driving through Jackson.

Let’s continue the good neighbor policy and all cooperate. 1945

School Was Not So Bad, After All

2011-06-09T00:00:00.005-04:00

Back around 1944 my parents decided to move into a nicer house. We had previously lived on East Main and then on Laurel Street since 1937.

The new place was on Walnut Street right behind Hazard High School that winds around the back. This neighborhood was a new environment for me and I soon realized it improved my plight in life quiet a bit. I was about halfway through the eighth grade at Upper Broadway and the following year I would be a Freshman at Hazard High. Instead of walking a half mile to school every day the new trip would only be about 50 feet.

School traditionally began at 8:00 AM. For eight years I had been getting up at 7:00 AM to make it on time. Now I could get up at fifteen minutes to eight and make it to the side door before that hateful bell rang. I did not have to waste any of my precious time eating breakfast because around 10 0’clock the cafeteria prepared a snack bar in the hallway full of goodies. That’s where I developed a taste for pimento cheese sandwiches. School was not so bad, after all.

What A Day

2011-06-08T00:06:00.003-04:00

On a daily basis I would take a walk through the alley that went from my house behind the bakery, behind the Howards, behind the Lykins, and then at the apartment that sat between the Lykins and P. L. Johnson where Alva Hollon and his young family lived; then to P. L. and Bess' back yard where I would stop and visit with them from the fence; they would be in their Victory Garden and precisely the same time of day. I can see them as they were then, she in her sunbonnet hat, he with his hoe in hand, busy as bees. They were special people to me, she was my Sunday School favorite teacher, and he was one of my favorite conversationalists. Together, they comprised almost, in my young eyes, a perfect couple. I loved watching them giving tender loving care to their victory garden, and you could see the pride on their faces as they pointed to their veggies. Yep, my daily visits I kept watch with them over their Victory Garden.

I would continue on my way out the alley, past the Heaths, the Maggards, the Schuttes, etc. until I got to the place to turn down onto East Main Street from the Alley. At the end sat the beautiful old home of Jim "White Jim" Combs and his family. I would then take my skates off of my shoulder, put them on and skate down the sidewalk back to Liberty Street. A fun filled evening with the best of Big Bottom. What a day!!!!

2011-06-07T00:00:00.019-04:00

Three very important things right now we should do for our country. First, pray for those in authority. Second, buy war bonds. Third, plant and cultivate a victory garden.

It is clear to most people the importance of the first two. Regarding the third or victory garden, many of us are missing a fine opportunity to help in the world’s food supplies for the war ridden countries.

The planting and cultivation for this garden food is a great source of comfort when we are somewhat confused with worldly cares, for the garden work for many of us, in so doing, permits us to forget shop.

Furthermore the food from your garden is fresh, and much lower in cost than from the local markets.

There is another way to speak of its lower costs. This is outstanding for the labor spent in the garden. One efficient day’s work in the garden by one person will produce enough food, as far as pounds are concerned, for that one person to eat from twenty-five to fifty days. Or one half hour average spent each day for one person or an approximate total of sixty-five hours in the planting and growing seasons will produce enough food for that one person for over two hundred days.

If records are kept one should find that, taking a dry season like 1944, one dollar spent for seeds and other material will show a profit of approximately eight dollars.

If you need information on war bonds, Mr. W.W. Reeves or his assistants will take care of that matter. Mr. E.R. Russell, the Perry County Agent, will help you with garden information.

With further reference to the first paragraph, if you don’t know how to pray, get in touch with an old-fashioned soul winning preacher. 1945

Road Trip

2011-06-06T00:00:00.003-04:00

I remember the Hazard Bulldogs football team in the Fall of 1946. I was a student manager on the team coached by Pop Collins. We had Jack Steele at Quarterback, Bobby McGuire at End and Bill Ross was the Half Back. There was Charles Davis, I. G. Manus and Bobby Cisco in the line. The toughest game of the season was at Pikeville. We loaded up the old school bus and left early Saturday morning. It was a long tiresome trip through the mountains but it was a night game and we had plenty of time.

It was a rough game. McGuire finally scored on a long pass from Steele. But the great play of the game came when Bill Ross scored a touchdown on the kickoff to start off the second half. During the season, Ross did that several times. He was a remarkable open field runner. We played as well as we could but Pikeville eventually won the contest.

After the game we loaded up all the equipment in the back of the bus and I climbed up on the pile and found a nice level place to sleep. About three o'clock in the morning I woke up with a bang. I didn't know what was going on. We had some kind of wreck and I was tossed all over the back. During the melee I banged my head on something hard and got a big knot over my left eye. Everybody else was OK, though. I guess the brakes failed on the old bus on top of the mountain and the driver drove into the ditch on the side of the road to stop us before we went to the downhill. After they got it all sorted out I climbed back into my bed and finished the trip back home. It was several days before my black eye cleared up and I was fine.

Second Fiddle

2011-06-03T00:00:00.006-04:00

We were down talking with Don Fouts about newspapers. He worked on newspapers in 37 states in his journalistic life, and has really had some experience. He was with some of the largest newspapers in America.

Majors is, according to their slogan, Hazard’s “oldest and leading department store,” and greatly benefits the community by bringing thousands to town through their promotion. Major’s has always been a good promotion minded store and are really going to town under the direction of “Buddy” and Mrs. Bea Mazer.

My wife writes that our little daughter, age two, is acting very forlorn these days. Mike, our boy, had his tonsils out and is being treated like a king while he recuperates and the daughter has to play second fiddle. She’ll learn. 1945

Nervous Wreck

2011-06-02T00:00:00.003-04:00

After a week under a shade tree in Ohio and some business traveling, I finally arrived home in Hazard and a lot of work piled up. Finally got out from under it at last.

While my wife was at her home, where someone can take care of our little daughter, we decided to have the boy’s tonsils out. Saturday they did the job.

Now, I’m like a lot of people, I kid myself. I made myself believe I didn’t worry much or get excited but Saturday my wife was to call me at noon after the boy’s tonsils were out and give me the good news. I started getting nervous and worried about ten o’clock and when she finally called about 12:30 I was a nervous wreck. I knew that it was a simple operation, not dangerous, but still it made me jumpy.

I’m sure many of you enjoy the comments of C.H. Combs on here. His son , who was in a German prison camp, is home and C.H. has been neglecting us. We are mighty glad to know the boy is home safe and sound and don’t mind at all being neglected while C.H. visits with the boy. Have a good visit. We know you will. 1945

Lower Broadway School

2011-06-01T00:00:00.010-04:00

Sunday afternoon the wife, baby and I took a walk. We left the boy at the neighbors’. We went over the Broadway bridge, up Lyttle Boulevard, down Cedar Street and out past the Lower Broadway School.

My, but it is beautiful on that walk. So many pretty houses and lawns. We certainly enjoyed the walk.

When we turned back on Broadway, as we passed the school, my wife asked me if that was the school where our boy would start next year. I told her it was. “Do the children play on that hard, rocky ground?” she asked. I told her I guessed they did. “What about those big rocks sticking up out of the ground everywhere? Wouldn’t a first grader be in danger playing in a place like that?” I told her it looked like it. “And what are those wooden stairs coming down out of the building?” I told her I imagined it was an emergency exit in case of fire. “Half of the protecting banister is broken off,” she said. “A first grader, especially in an emergency, might fall down those dangerous stairs, mightn’t he?” I told her it looked like it. “Why do they have such awful playgrounds and dangerous stairs, Bob?” she asked. I told her I didn’t know. “Are the schools hard up for money?” I told her I thought the tax rate here was about as high as any place in the state. She just shook her head. You see, we love our little boy and he is going to have to go to school next year. 1945

Dodging Bomb Craters

2011-05-31T00:00:00.009-04:00

It seems a long time since we heard such a flowery story about “Steve” and what he was preparing to do for us in the way of making roads in the county. (Steve is the State Highway boss).

The story included repaving Main Street through Hazard. This road is getting almost impassable as all drivers are find out. Going up “Hospital Hill” is like dodging bomb craters in No Man’s Land. You are lucky to get through without losing a wheel or breaking an axle.

We’d like to have this road repaired with real road material. That malarkey they used before has faded, as most political bunk usually does. 1945

The Only Subject Was - Invasion

2011-05-30T01:09:00.009-04:00

The invasion news reached me at 8:20 yesterday morning and my ear was glued to the radio for hours listening to details of what our boys were doing. I have been fearful of the results of trying to land on the French coast.

All through the day, along the streets, in the barber shops, the stores, anywhere you went in Hazard, the only subject was - invasion.

Thousands of boys had tumbled from airplanes into enemy territory, loaded with dynamite, grenades, tommy guns, knives, and everything else necessary to fight at close quarters. Other thousands were wading into the fire of German coastal guns, getting their feet planted on enemy soil at great cost in lives.

Relatives of men known to be in England went about their duties through the day in sadness, praying for the welfare of their sons.

When night came most of us heard ministers gather in front of the Perry County Court House and praying earnestly for the welfare of our soldiers, while the crowd stood in silence.

We came home to listen to President Roosevelt lead a hundred and thirty million people in prayer, pleading with Almighty God to be with our boys in time of great trouble. "They will be sore, tired, by night and by day, without rest until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent with noise and flame," he said.

"Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy Kingdom. And for us at home - fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them, help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice," he prayed.

The President continued, "Give us strength, too - strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces."

A reporter related the sad scene of a boat bringing the dead and wounded back to the shores of England. Our fellow Americans who went out there to fight - that we may live and have peace. 1944

Corner of Main & Fleet

2011-05-26T04:28:00.004-04:00

Sometime around 1940 I was walking around downtown when I came across some kind of construction project on the corner of Main and Fleet Streets. Right there by our one and only traffic light. They were putting up some kind of prefab building in two parts partly on the sidewalk and partly on the street. It was all white. One of the guys said is was a new kind of restaurant that specialized in five cent hamburgers. All this stuff was hauled in on an L&N flat car. Sure enough, after it was finished, I went in and sat on a stool and bought a hamburger for a nickel. I thought that was a great deal. I think the name of the place was the Krystal Burger. It did not last very long though. That’s about all I remember. I do not know what happened to it. I guess they found out you had to sell a lot of five cent hamburgers to make any money. Fleet Street was re-named Lovern Street in 1954.

Chickens & Dogs

2011-05-25T00:00:00.003-04:00

Every spring, every year, in every section of Hazard, we have the same complaints. Chickens and dogs destroying gardens. Having only enough of the "Good Earth" for a house seat, I possess neither chickens, dogs, nor a garden. If I had either, I feel sure I would not bother other people with them. In the case of dogs or chickens, I would keep my animals and fowls at home. If I had a garden being destroyed by other people's live stock, I would take action also. 1945

Drive Downtown Around The Loop

2011-05-24T04:14:00.003-04:00

My Dad's Refrigeration Service and Sluder's Recapping Shop were directly across the street from the Methodist Church. I think the Methodist Church Parsonage was next door on the right. There were two brothers that lived there: Roland & Roger Combs. I assume their Dad was the Methodist preacher at that time.

The newspaper headlines announced the end of WWII. I would guess that was the Louisville Courier Journal, which was the dominant newspaper back then, especially the Sunday edition. Some people subscribed to the Lexington Herald and my buddy and I sold the Knoxville News Sentinel on the street downtown after 5:00 O'Clock during the week. All came in on the L&N passenger train every day.

I heard Bobby Rankin died at an early age. We went to Grammar school together. Bill Horn was a year older than me and worked for Sluder off and on. He was the last guy I shook hands with when I left Hazard. Next to Sluder's shop was a bowling alley. I used to go there at night and set pins the old hard way for 10 cents a game. Dad parked his 1938 Oldsmobile behind the building across from the rear of the Post Office. There was a large parking lot there, always empty. That's where I learned to drive, at an early age. Used to sneak it out and drive downtown around the loop. I had to sit very upright to see over the dashboard. Sometimes I would take Roland & Roger along. We thought that was a great adventure. Never got caught...

Corn-Pone Soup Beans No More

2011-05-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Traveling men tell me that it is almost impossible to get anything to eat in Hazard. That is not so strange, but they go further and say that this condition could be remedied by people who live here.

One man who makes Hazard at regular intervals and who knows the local people, tells me that Hazard people rush down to the eating places and "hog the show" every day, using up food that should go toward feeding those who visit us and have no place else to eat.

That seems to be a general condition all over the country. Louisville eating places are broadcasting urgent appeals to those who have homes to take their meals there.

Butter and meals are scarce. They are getting more scarce daily. Money is plentiful. People who lived on corn-pone soup beans in days gone by have the cold cash to buy their meals away from home. It is easy to go down town and eat in order to save points that are scarce in the ration books.

That isn't the important thing. Most of us are getting along with the ration allowed us without suffering. We eat at home regardless of what we are allowed. We leave room for our visitors in the few eating places left in Hazard. That seems the sensible thing to do.

Eat less, chew more,
Ride less, walk more,
Clothe less, bathe more,
Worry less, work more,
Idle less, play more,
Go less, sleep more,
Waste less, give more,
Scold less, laugh more,
Preach less, practice more.

1945

Stranded In A Strange Town

2011-05-20T00:00:00.010-04:00

It was near midnight. Rain had been pouring for hours. Four weary, sleepy, tired soldiers came up the stairs of the Hazard Service Men's Club, following the janitor who had met the last bus from Lexington.

One soldier was from Mousie over on the Beaver Creek side of Knott County. He had only four days to get from Camp McCain Mississippi to Mousie and return in order that he might see his wife and mother. Time meant a lot to him.

Another of the four was from Neon, far up in the upper end of Letcher County. Another from Wooton, in Leslie County and the fourth from Delphia, in the Leatherwood country, up near the Harlan County line. Not a one of the four could find transportation out of Hazard that night.

They were grateful for the accommodations of the club. When they found free cold drinks they were thankful. All were sober and courteous, proud of the uniform they wore and with a feeling that somebody in Perry County had looked ahead and provided for the service man who may be stranded in a strange town.

Some of these boys could have gone to a hotel, probably and spent the night. Some of them didn't have the money, or at least could not well afford to spend the little amount left from their small Army pay.

Two others had registered earlier in the night and were sleeping soundly, after taking a hot shower and crawling into a nice clean bed. They appeared at the club wet from head to foot, with water standing in their shoes. They had hitch-hiked twelve miles in the rain, finally catching a ride into Hazard. They wanted to know "how much it cost for rooms there."

In looking over the register kept by the club hostess, I learned that more than 2,100 different boys have registered at the club, with hundreds of them returning numerous times to take advantage of the club's accommodations. The number who have spent the night there is approaching the thousand mark rapidly. The club was opened last October.

Some of the boys may have been forced to walk the streets, cold and hungry, if the club had not been there. We will never know the exact number who went out of Hazard with an undying feeling of gratitude for the thoughtfulness of the people here providing a place for them to spend the night.

This club is maintained by donations from a small number of business and professional people. Money comes from Hazard with some donations from the outside. It takes about six thousand dollars a year to operate the place.

An interesting book could be written dealing with the experiences of the boys who have found rest and comfort at our little club here. 1944

What I Heard Along Main Street

2011-05-19T00:00:00.007-04:00

Most of my comments here are the outgrowth of something that is discussed along Main Street, at the post office, around the court house and in many other places where I find myself witnessing what is going on.

This happens to be one of the days when I take no responsibility for what is said, other than to quote some mighty good people who were talking up and down Main Street in Hazard on Saturday afternoon.

Members of the Business and Professional Women's Club and the United Mine Workers were hotter than Herman Goering when the first airplanes bombed Berlin, Saturday afternoon. As they told their story: The good women volunteered to hold forth along Main Street the previous Saturday with tables whereby the passing public could be asked for donations to the Red Cross. Some good money had been spent to prepare for these solicitations. More good money has been gathered in the previous Saturday to swell the Red Cross fund.

As they told it, still not my story, one merchant told them to "scram" from in front of a place of business where money had been collected the preceding Saturday. "We lost more than $300 last Saturday by this table being near our place," the merchant said.

The table was moved in compliance with the order given, but the talk failed to die down. In fact it got hotter and hotter. Ed Reynolds, speaking for the mine workers, made no bones about how his organization felt and said this would be not the last of this matter.

Some of the good women called attention to the fact that our boys could not make $300 in a whole year, spreading their precious blood over the snows and in the foxholes of Germany.

Ed Reynolds says he feels sure that St. Peter won't allow anybody to take money inside the pearly gates. This will be a sad disappointment to some people, he seems to think.

That's what I heard along Main Street. 1945

Panic At Mount Mary

2011-05-18T00:00:00.003-04:00

Back in the 30s and 40s, my dad, Sebe Watts, started the first refrigeration service business in Hazard. He originally was a brakeman on the L&N railroad but lost his job during the hard times of the depression. Forced to start another career of some kind he decided to go to an electrical trade school in Chicago. There he studied radio and refrigeration, with the help of President Roosevelt and a Federal training program. Both the radio and refrigeration industries were just beginning to grow during that time. Turned out to be a good move.

When he graduated and came back to Hazard he had a shop on the second floor of Sterling Hardware. He assembled, set up, and serviced the new modern refrigerators that Sterling Hardware sold in Hazard and all the surrounding towns and coal camps. Sterling was probably the first big refrigerator retailer in that part of Kentucky. They sold Kelvinator, GE, Philco, Norge, Crosley and the awesome Frigidaire. By 1941 there were more than 3 million electric refrigerators in American homes.

Eventually, he opened up his own place on High Street right next door to Sluders Tire Recapping shop. During WWII the coal industry was booming. All the big coal camp commissaries had refrigeration units and freezers for their meat and dairy products. Dad serviced them all, no matter how far up the holler they were. He traveled in a Model A Coupe with a "C" gasoline sticker on the windshield. I remember the commissary managers would slip him a carton of Avalon cigarettes to keep him happy. During the War cigarettes were hard to come by.

Servicing these big units was not all fun and games. Back then there was a variety of gasses that were used for cooling. Freon, F-12, Ammonia and dichlorodifluoromethane were just a few. Some were toxic and dangerous to breathe. One night Sebe got an emergency call from the Hazard Hospital. Their air conditioning system was leaking gas out into the hospital wards. Knowing what could happen, dad rushed over to see what had to be done. Now, he had a gas mask for emergencies like this but it was in the shop, not the car. He went in and found the leak and he could tolerate some of the gas but during the repair the old rusty pipe broke and the gas came out under pressure. He had no choice but to stay there and fix the leak. It only took a few minutes but by then he had inhaled too much gas. He was almost blinded and had trouble breathing. They rushed him upstairs and he ended up being there for two days. In another week he was back to normal and happy that he had saved the day for the hospital. He was still a railroad man and a tough old bird...

Feeding The Kitty

2011-05-17T00:00:00.007-04:00

In watching a policeman yesterday covering the "Mail-call" beat in front of the post office, wearing out a good pencil writing tickets for every motorist who dared to run in and get his or her mail without feeding the kitty, I was made to wonder just how much ill will had been built up (or down) for the good city of Hazard through tactless and deliberate tagging of every car that stops in the city without paying the meters.

I wondered just how many people have been sworn never to stop in Hazard again, after finding their cars tagged in front of a local hospital, the post office, along the highway, or around the court house, and having gone to the city hall to be told they could either pay up or else. Service men have not been given much consideration in the matter of these tickets when they went to the city hall, we are told. The police judge never assesses a fine against a service man for failing to pay the meters.

No doubt the meters serve some good purpose on Main Street, but they should never be in front of the post office nor the hospitals. 1945

Met...Wooed...& Wed

2011-05-16T00:00:00.004-04:00

So far as I know only one of our Perry County boys has married an Australian girl. I met and had a nice talk with Sergeant William C. Autry of the U.S. Marine Corps this week, the lucky man who is helping to cement relations between our country and the good country of Australia.

Serving as Communications Chief of a crack U.S. Marine unit, Sergeant Autry was located in a town in Australia for eleven months. There he met, wooed, and wed one of the fine girls from the country down under. He hasn't seen her for 17 months, but he is looking forward to the time when transportation will be available for her to visit the country she has dreamed about but never hoped to see until the Marines landed down there.

Sergeant Autry lived at Vicco before entering the service some four and a half years ago. He has served in most important islands of the South Pacific, wears a ribbon with two Presidential unit citations, and has been in numerous major battle engagements.

This fine Marine thinks well of the Australian people and is able to tell more than the average returning service man about the country. The people are quiet, religious, and home-loving, with girls taking an interest in house-keeping and other duties of the homes and farms, he tells me.

In questioning him, I got the impression that jitterbugging roadhouse whoopee, all night parties, hell bent driving of automobiles, and wild life in general has not reached that country yet, which makes some of us cast longing glances in that direction at times.

The old-fashioned girl is not something that brings memories of the past in that country, but a reality, I learn.

Sergeant Autry said nothing against the girls of his own country, except that this was the only country in the world for him. I was genuinely interested in learning something of the character of the people on the other side of the world from us. This Marine is proud of the girl he married, as well he should be. We all look forward to the time she will visit this community. 1945

Main Street at Night

2011-05-13T13:42:00.007-04:00

The downtown stores in Hazard are normally open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. every day. But now stores are staying open on Monday nights until 9 pm.

Vic Tedesco, Papania's - "I'm in favor of opening on Monday nights. I think it will work out fine. You can't do any business with your door closed."

Ray Newkirk, Newberry's - "I think it's wonderful to give the people of Perry and surrounding counties the opportunity to shop one evening during the week."

Nelle Harper, Johnson's - "I like it. I couldn't tell much about it last Monday night because of the rain. I think it is better than Saturday night because most people want to go someplace and relax on the weekend."

Jim Altizer, Ammar Brothers - "We'll cooperate in every way to help business. If everyone wants to stay open, we'll be glad to go along."

George Kawaja, George's Shoe Store - "I think the first night went over fairly good. It's a good idea if the merchants will continue backing it up. Perhaps some special bargains would encourage the people to come down town after work."

Hugh Beeler, Stiles - "I'm in favor of it. I think it will take time to educate the people about the stores being open on Monday night. I believe we should stay open one night a week."

Willie Dawahare, Dawahares - "I've been open at nights for a year and have found it very satisfactory. It gives the family with children a chance to come to town and shop. It also helps the working people and the folks in the county." 1961

Finest Man

2011-05-13T13:25:00.003-04:00

A mighty good Louisville & Nashville Railroad conductor made his last official trip out of Hazard this morning when passenger Train No. 4 started toward Lexington. C.S. (Charlie) Mount left here headed toward retirement not waiting to see the outcome of the move by the railroad to discontinue his train.

I remember Charlie Mount because I made two trips with him late last year. If he asked me once If I wore comfortable, he asked me a dozen times during the 145-mile ride. He was that way with other passengers.

It was purely by accident that I found out about his last run and retirement plans. A call to the office of Master of Trains V. B. Rogers to find out the number of out-going passenger train brought T. A. Sutton, operator, to the phone. When I mentioned Train No. 4, Sutton said he was just then ready to go out of the ticket office and bid goodbye to Mount.

Later, Sutton called and said "there were tears in the old boy's eyes this morning, and I felt them in mine, too."

"He is a fine fellow, and we hate to see him leave the field," Sutton added. "He knew his old passengers by name and he knew their families. He was as friendly as they make them."

Rogers also added his tribute to Mount, calling him one of the finest men who ever walked between the aisles.

Mount has rounded out 45 years in service, three fourths of it on the Lexington - Hazard runs. 1955

Here & There

2011-05-11T04:58:00.004-04:00

Out at Begley's Drug Store in Hazard last night Carl Begley was running around looking for a fountain pen he had "lost." After accusing every one in the store of taking it or hiding it, he looked at his shirt pocket...and there it was. He tried to apologize but it didn't go over very well.

Which recalled the time I lost my pen at the office. I knew that one of the visitors had taken it and I said some very uncomplimentary things about it. I found my pen on my shirt under a tie.

And that brought on another remembrance. Mrs. E.E. Begley was fussing and fuming about the house not long ago about an alarm clock that was missing. She knew someone had broken into the house and taken it. Dr. Begley, the dentist, later went to the ice box for a snack, and there was the alarm clock making good time. 1955

We Have To Find This Monster

2011-05-10T00:00:00.003-04:00

One Saturday morning back in 1942 Dad came running into the shop, on High Street, almost out of breath. He tells me to lock up and go with him. We have to drive home and pick up his shotgun. He had just come back from a service call over at Blue Diamond and on his way back he saw this big Canadian goose land in a cornfield along the river. He says we have to get back there right away and find this monster. So we pack up the 12 gauge Browning automatic, a box of shells and I grab my .22 Stevens automatic rifle. Now, I was only 11 years old and not an avid goose hunter but I figured if I'm going out in the country around the river I will get a chance to fire a few rounds at targets.

It was a cool December day but it was clear and calm. We were about ten miles up the road when Dad slammed on the brakes of the old "Model A." He looks all around for a second and decides this is the place. He loads up the Browning and walks off Route 15 down the hill into a large cornfield full of stalks in a bottom next to the river. I sit by the car with my rifle in my lap just enjoying the adventure. I had never really seen a big Canadian goose up close. I had seen thousands flying South in the big vee formations but had never shot at one.

It seemed Dad had been moving around down there forever and I was getting a little bored. Because of the cover in the bottom I couldn't see him all the time and I wondered what was going on. I was just beginning to nod off when I heard him yell "There he goes!" I hear two big blasts from the 12 gauge. And sure enough he had flushed the goose. Dad is on target but he is just too far away to knock him down. The goose is flapping those giant wings and he is getting out of Dodge as fast as he can. I was watching all the action there with my mouth hanging open, like I was catching flies, when I see the goose make a hard right turn and now he is coming directly at me gaining altitude and picking up speed all the time. It was not until that moment that I saw just how big he was. I heard Dad yell, "Get him Sonny!" Being a little slow to react I finally raised my rifle to fire. I wasn't ready for this. The big bird was directly overhead now. I had to turn to get a him in my sights. I tried to be calm and take my time, but again, he was up pretty high and moving away fast. I fired four rounds in quick succession and remember seeing tail feathers fly but he kept on going. "No Christmas goose for you pal."

When Dad made it back up to the road he was a mess. He was unhappy, wet and covered with mud. Just as we were getting into the car I looked up and could barely see the goose circling way up high in the sun. He had survived the hunt but he didn't want to leave his place by the river. Maybe he didn't feel like flying all the way to Florida this Winter.

Let The Celebrations Begin!

2011-05-08T02:14:00.003-04:00

On May 8, 1945, VE Day, the news went out all over the World. World War II in Germany was officially over. All those Names and places we had lived with for the last four years were now headed for the History books. Eisenhower, Clark, Patton, Churchill, MacArthur, Roosevelt, Stalin, Truman and hundreds more would never be forgotten. Let the celebrations begin!

How would a 14 year old kid celebrate the biggest event ever in Hazard?

Cromwell Sluder had a nice clean 1941 light blue Plymouth coupe. That car had been washed so many times I thought we were going to wear it out. A couple of years earlier, Sluder was up around Vicco one Sunday afternoon when he spied this same car sitting in a front yard. The first thing he noticed was the car had no wheels. It was just sitting there on big wooden blocks. Sluder went in and talked to the lady sitting on the porch and wanted to know if the car was for sale. This was not unusual for that time. During the War automobile tires became very scarce along with a lot of other things. If people who owned cars that weren't being used because Dad or a son had gone off to war they soon realized that they could take the tires off and sell them at a good price. Those were the old standard 600/16 inch tires with the inner tubes. When the lady told Sluder the car was for sale he quickly made her an offer and bought it. Tires would be no problem for him because he owned the only tire recapping shop in Hazard. It wasn't long before Sluder was bopping around town in a practically new Plymouth with four whitewall synthetic rubber camelback recapped tires. l Yes it had a radio, heater and a column stick shift. One day a guy from Lexington came in the shop and sold Cromwell a giant air horn taken off a diesel locomotive. Another new adventure. We rigged an air pressure tank in the trunk and ran a hose under the frame to the front end. The horn was mounted behind the front grille pointing down. When the hood was closed nothing showed.

We had a lot of fun with that horn riding around Perry County blowing at everybody, bicycles, cars and trucks. That thing was really loud. When I reached down and pulled that lever the whole car vibrated and you couldn't hear a thing above that blast. So getting back to the celebration; We pumped up the tank with a 100 pounds of air and drove down town. We were going to make our mark that day. The crowd along Main Street was huge. I never knew there were that many people in this town. Screaming, hollering, dancing around, waving flags and throwing stuff. What a day! When we got in front of the Court House I pulled the lever on the horn and held on tight. The blast covered up all the rest of the noise in town. It was like everything was suddenly quiet. All you could hear was that horn. We were going to give the people something to remember that day. With the horn blowing full blast the air supply only lasted to the end of Main Street . So, we turned left back on High Street to the shop and pumped it up again. I think we made at least four more trips. My head was getting sore. Sluder and I were very proud of the fact that we got to participate in Hazard's greatest celebration. I wonder what happened to that old horn. It had to be illegal.

Think Of These Boys Of Ours

2011-05-07T21:48:00.005-04:00

War minded citizens of Hazard and Perry County have during the last two years been assigned home front war jobs to do by the hundreds and they have done them well.

General Eisenhower has promised victory against Germany this year but he makes it plain that it will come only if the home front continues to function in high gear.

We all want our sons back and we know they want to come back. We are expecting them to win this war with their own blood and they must certainly have the right to expect us here at home to help with our time and money...

In 1944 the grim reaper will begin to exact a terrible price from the mothers and fathers in the lives of their sons, so let us not falter or fail them in this most trying year.

As you close your eyes tonight think of that boy across the street or perhaps our own son freezing on the side of a high mountain in Italy; wading the deep mud half crazed from the roar of big guns and death everywhere about him. Think of him in the steaming jungles of the South Pacific fighting a fiendish and cunning enemy that may ask of him the supreme sacrifice any minute. Think of these boys of ours all over the world tonight, thousands of them making their peace with God knowing the end is near. Yes, draw on your mind for a real picture of what war really is.

L.O. Davis 1944

Editor's note: Two years later, in 1946, L.O. Davis' only son, Bobby Davis, was killed while serving oversees in Germany. He died in a train wreck two days before his 20th birthday. L.O. Davis' gift to his son and the city of Hazard was a living memorial, The Bobby Davis Library, Park and swimming pool. Today it is known as the Bobby Davis Museum.

Clear Hazard Champion

2011-05-05T04:00:00.005-04:00

Around 1944 a fourteen year old kid from Hazard was, for a while, the most famous young man in Kentucky. His name was E. L. Adams.

He was our All American Soapbox Derby Champion from Hazard and later went on to Louisville and became the State Champion. E.L. was three years older than me and I didn't know him at all until we began participating in the annual Soapbox races held at Cornett Hill. By the rules, E.L. designed, built, and raced his own car. I remember it very well. He built a solid, good looking car. Smooth as glass.
After four different heat races he was the clear Hazard Champion.

That was the last time I saw him and I don't really don't know why. Just like all the other kids I knew, we all eventually went out separate ways. I read in the Louisville Courier Journal that he won the Kentucky event and was on his way to the Nationals in Akron, Ohio. The competition in Akron was tough. Local champs from all the 48 states and Hawaii were there. I think Adams actually finished third overall. Which was a great achievement for a kid from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

Back in 1990 I researched Soapbox Derby records on line to verify his success. I could only find the results of the Louisville races. Later on I came across in an older gentleman who was an official during the Akron races. He had all those records in a box in his basement. He checked them out and verified what I remembered about 1944.

Months later, after things quieted down in Hazard, I was strolling down Main Street and something caught my eye in the window of a little shop next to Don's. It was a big golden globe of the World and it had a small Soapbox Racer on the top. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It turned out to be the Championship Trophy from the Kentucky finals in Louisville. It was on display for several months and every time I went to town I would stop there and marvel at that
wonderful example of teenage ingenuity.

I noticed that E.L. Adams passed away in April at age 83. Hazard may have forgotten him but I didn't.

The Ultimate Vacation

2011-05-04T03:41:00.003-04:00

In 1938 Grandpa Henry Lee McCollum bought a brand new Pontiac four door sedan. Remember the suicide front doors?
It was well equipped with a radio and a heater. Pretty nice. Grandpa had decided to take the ultimate vacation, a trip to Florida. He had a Brother that lived in Fitzjerald, Georgia and a brother that lived in West Palm Beach, Florida. He wanted to visit them both with one trip. This was not something a guy from Hazard did very often.

So it was decided that Grandma and her three daughters would go on this great journey. They threw me in for good measure. A seven year old kid wouldn't take up too much room. It was pretty crowed though. It was a long trip through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia on that old two lane road. It took grandpa 3 days driving time to get to West Palm Beach. We stayed all night at different "tourist homes." Along the road. People would rent out bedrooms to travelers in their own homes. they would also serve breakfast before you left the next morning. There weren't very many motels along the highways back then. It was all fun to me. I saw a lot of new and interesting things on that trip.

When we finally got to Florida we saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time just south of St. Augustine. Grandpa parked the car and took out the old Kodak box camera. The girls took their shoes off and walked barefoot on the beach. I waded into the water and romped around in the surf. The Ocean and the waves were awesome to see. What a great day! We also enjoyed West Palm Beach with the orange trees and the coconut trees in the back yard. Then after a great vacation week in Florida we packed up and started back to the mountains, wishing we could come back again someday.

In the photo left to right: Aunt Lorene Huff, my mother, Lilly Mae Watts, Grandma, Dora lee McCollum, Aunt Norma McCollum and me.

I've Been Working On The Railroad

2011-05-02T03:57:00.008-04:00

During WW II one of the most desirable jobs a man could have in Kentucky and Tennessee was working on the L & N Railroad.

Practically all the men in our family were "Railroad Men". My Dad, my Grandpa, Grandpa's brother-in-law, Grandpa's son, and two of my my aunt's husbands.

The L & N passenger trains and freight trains ranged from Hazard, Leatherwood, Jenkins, Whitesburg, Jackson, Irvine, Lexington and Louisville. Their famous passenger train, "The Hummingbird" ran daily from Chicago to Louisville, to Nashville and on to New Orleans and back. I rode the Hummingbird during the War when it carried a record number of coaches filled with Service Men and Women plus regular travelers. The seats were all filled and the aisles and the vestibules were also full of passengers either standing or sitting on their suitcases or duffel bags. WWII was an exciting time for railroad travel and entirely necessary for the War Effort.

The main L & N service for us were the freight trains with hundreds and hundreds of coal gondolas each carrying 16 tons of coal out of the Hazard Holler to all points of the United States. The rail tracks from Hazard to Lexington had to be one of the most difficult routes in the world for a heavy coal train to navigate. All those sharp curves and up and down the mountains. All those skinny trestles across the Kentucky River. The Engineer could only see down the tracks for about a quarter of a mile, night and day, rain or shine. Back then freight trains carried an engineer, a fireman, a conductor, brakeman, and flagman. The conductor, brakeman, and flagman traveled it the famous old caboose car at the rear of the train. It was equipped with a sink, toilet, bunk beds and a coal burning pot bellied stove for heat and cooking. Some times a crew might spend two or three days on a run.

Grandpa's job was to marshall these coal trains in the Hazard yards and then send them North, every day. I can still remember, like it was yesterday, hearing the giant coal burning steam engines churning its heavy wheels with giant puffs of smoke straining to get a 120 car coal train moving up to speed. No Diesels in Hazard, yet. If you lived anywhere in town that noise was just routine. The smoke was always hovering over downtown and the smell was just as bad. After a while you paid no attention. It was our way of life.

The other exciting L & N service was the Passenger Train to Lexington. That's the part I loved. It came in from Whitesburg every morning and continued on to Jackson and Lexington. Grandpa would get me a pass every so often during the summer and it was good on any L & N train. I used to ride to Oakdale and visit my uncle's farm for a couple of weeks then ride the train back home. When my Dad and I rode to Lexington I remember the girls in Jackson that set up their stands and sold box lunches to the passengers for Fifty Cents. Several times we went all the way to Cincinnati to see the Reds play baseball. What an adventure that was. Equal to sledding down Baker Hill, Hazard Bulldog Basketball and Ma Combs peach cobbler. The evening train came in from Lexington around 4:30 pm carrying passengers, various newspaper bundles, Railway express mail and packages and 20 gallon cans of fresh milk for the City.

Well the song is right: "The L & N don't stop here any more, but I'll never forget it...

Soup & Sandwich

2011-04-29T04:54:00.006-04:00

Willie Dawahare remembers a trip which he, Ted McGuire, Bill Sturgill and Chester Duff made to Nashville.

According to Willie, it "just happened" that their visit coincided with the date of the Kentucky - LSU basketball play-off game for the SEC championship.

Anyway, before they left town they decided they would name Ted the "treasure-man" and split all the expense of the trip four ways. They arrived in Nashville just in time to eat and get to the game. Ted ordered first in the restaurant and chose a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Willie, Bill and Chester each ordered a steak. The waitress started for the kitchen but Ted called her back and changed his order to a steak, too. Said he'd be durned if he was going to help pay for a T-bone for the other three and not eat one himself. 1954

Nice Town

2011-04-28T02:41:00.007-04:00

Tom and Mrs. Ballantine visted Hazard a few nights ago to attend Civic Night. They drove down Main Street looking for a parking place as near the hotel as possible. They didn't find one (naturally) and stopped a stranger on the street to ask him where they might hitch their car.

The man gave the Ballantines detailed instructions about turning left at the Central Hotel, left again at the traffic light, again at the Hurst Snyder Hospital and then crossing Main to Taxi Alley and onto the parking lot.

Mr. Ballantine said he understood the directions completely but was most surprised when he reached the Main and Fleet Street intersection to see the fellow who had given the instructions waiting there to see that the Ballantines found their way all right.

They were impressed and pleased at the interest this stranger showed in their well-being. The man had been walking south on Main Street, but turned around and went out of his way to help a visitor in our town.

We don't know who this Good Samaritan was but we do know that it speaks mighty well for the community. Hazard and Perry County have always been considered friendly and hospitable to visitors and this little yarn simply emphasizes the importance of a little courtesy. It doesn't cost anything to be nice to people and it goes a long way. 1954

Wonderful Stage Of Life

2011-04-27T14:03:00.003-04:00

While we've been writing this blog, our attention has been diverted several times to a baby lying on a bed on the second floor of Mount Mary Hospital. A day seldom passes that we don't notice a little fellow or two up there and we generally feel a pang of regret that they have to be cooped up in a hospital. Some of them appear to be mighty sick and then others seem to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. This little fellow this morning has been lying on his back and kicking his feet in the air as if he didn't have a care in the world. Little does he know what a wonderful stage of his life he is going through right now. Don't we all wish we could be that oblivious to and free of the worries and cares of our day to day lives? 1954

Amore

2011-04-26T03:56:00.007-04:00

The Spring weather sure does something to one's attitude and state of mind. There have been several mighty nice days lately and apparently they affect most everybody about the same way.

For example, today we were running around on Main Street without a coat and met Gene Baker. He was all smiles and said he felt so good that he had gotten the idea of proclaiming a Week of Amore. His idea was to encourage the fellows around town to devote a week of being especially nice to their gal friends, wives, mothers and even their mothers-in law. The mayor suggested such things as taking them out to dinner, a show, or anything they'd enjoy. 1954

Hazardite? Hazardonian? Hazardian?

2011-04-25T03:07:00.004-04:00

What do you call a person who resides in Hazard? A what?

Take a person from Lexington, for instance. He's called a Lexingtonian. Or one from Louisville is a Louisvillian. But what about a person from Hazard? What is his or her designation?

We remember hearing Grover Wilson, R.T. Whittinghill, Willis Reeves and others discuss the subject at length on a number of occasions. But, so far as we are able to learn, no definite conclusion was ever reached.

Our tireless research reveals that there is no authority which can be completely relied upon to furnish the answer to this problem. In fact, we are even more confused now than when we started. So, we've decided to ask the Hazard Blog readers to help decide the issue once and for all.

To give you the benefit of our efforts, the following designations have been offered by various and sundry individuals:

Hazardonian (pronounced Haz-ard-don'ian with a long "o") seems to have the greatest following. The proponents of this term claim it has dignity and a pleasing sound as well. We seem to remember a school paper at HHS some years back called the Hazardonian or was it the year book?

Hazardian (pronounced Haz-ard-'ian) is liked in some quarters but it seems a little harsh to us. The emphasis in this particular label is on the "zard" as in "hard."

Hazardite has a smattering of followers and numerous critics.

Anyway, those are the suggestions which have been offered to us. Maybe you know of still others. So, we'll await your verdict. Do you want to be called a Hazardonian, a Hazardian, a Hazardite or something else? Let us know and while you're at it, tell us why you like your particular choice. 1954

Kitty

2011-04-22T04:21:00.002-04:00

Mrs. Dewey Daniel brings me a message from Mrs. Houston Powell, now of Lexington. I can never forget "Kitty" as she is known by her friends.

So well I recall those cold wintry days when I used to bring your mail, Kitty, and you would invite me in to get warm and have a hot cup of coffee. In my opinion, it isn't the big things in life that endears the memory of one person in the mind of another. And thanks again, Kitty for the nice remarks about this column - also to Tommy Tayloe and others.

Here's something for you to think about. People who complain that they don't get all they deserve should congratulate themselves. 1955

What Have You Been Doing All day?

2011-04-21T03:57:00.005-04:00

During the strep throat epidemic several years ago, I was among those who came down with the infection. I was hospitalized several days. I was treated there by my good friend, Dr. J.E. Hagan. I'd ask him each day when he intended to turn me loose. He'd never give me a definite answer. One morning he came into my room carrying a fishing rod and a box of tackle. He looked at me in the eye and said, "Roscoe, I am going to let you go home if you will promise me one thing," "Okay," I said. (I would have promised anything). "What is it?" I asked. "I want you to go to Florida and get some sunshine and fish," Dr. Hagan said. "I have some new tackle here that I want you to try out." I asked him why he didn't try it out himself. He said he was too busy. I took his advice and enjoyed a speedy recovery. Dr. Hagan was a dear friend from that day on. I thought perhaps after his many years of service to humanity in relieving the suffering of others, he might be able to take the advice he gave me that bleak day in the hospital - That he might take a similar trip to Florida. But he never did.

Not too many years ago, he went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to try his luck at fishing and just to rest. He asked me many times to go there with him. He became interested in skin-diving, fishing with arrows and so forth. That was in vogue on the coast at that time.

I remember Dr. Hagan as he would be waiting for me to open the store when he needed something to work in his flower garden or lawn. I can hear him say, "What have you been doing all day?" He was up in the morning when many folks were still in bed. 1955

The Texan

2011-04-20T00:00:00.004-04:00

It was a regular routine every Saturday. At the Virginia or the Family the admissions were ten cents, the Horse Operas were black & white and the pop corn was a nickle. The good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black. The outlaws were always brought to justice by the end of the movie and to celebrate, the good cowboys always kissed their horses not the girls.

The big stars always wore those fancy leather rigs with the nickel plated pistols and pearl handled grips. The belts & holsters were tooled leather with intricate silver conchos. There were many different styles obviously created by Hollywood professionals. Besides the good looks they were designed to enable the cowboy to execute his fastest draw in an emergency. The really great looking stars were: Tex Ritter, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

Since we all wanted to be cowboys we had our own personal equipment. A belt, holster, and the all important cap pistol. There were several different kinds. Single shots, six shooters and the more expensive roll fed, rapid fire, get the job done in a hurry, type.

One Saturday afternoon, between movies, I moseyed over to Newberrys to check out the new stuff in the toy department. I was surprised to see a new display of the latest Western style cap pistol. Silver with an ivory grip, it was bigger and better. It was called "The Texan!" And it was beautiful. I had never seen anything like that in all my years of riding the range. Even better than my Red Ryder lever action BB gun. It had a long shiny barrel and a Texas Longhorn Bull engraved on the handle.

The bad news was it cost a whole dollar. A ridiculous amount of money for a cap pistol. But I had already imagined how good I would look with that pistol strapped on my side. Instant respect. It took me a couple of weeks to come up with the dollar but it was worth it. Now if I could only find a way to come up with a good horse...

You Say Shuck, I Say Shuckey

2011-04-19T05:05:00.005-04:00

The people in most counties do not appreciate the coming of outsiders who challenge local customs and habits, and I try not to be a meddler in that respect. But when there are some old-timers who agree with me, then I have a ground on which to stand. At least I won't be fighting everybody.

For as far back as I can remember, I have eaten dried green beans. I remember them being strung on threads at our home in Virginia and later in Harlan County. The fact that it took longer to cook them only enhanced their value.

Such beans are part of the menu of many Perry Countians, I've learned by observation since coming back to Hazard. But there is one big difference in the Perry County beans.

Last Friday at noon, a bunch of fellows were sitting in Don's when somebody mentioned he was going to have a supper of "shucky" beans. Or maybe he said "shuckey beans. Anyway, the pronunciation was caught in a free for all discussion.

Bruce Stephens, the lawyer, said he never hard of "shucky" beans before he came to Hazard. He asked me. I had to admit that there was no such word in my active vocabulary, that the only thing I'd ever heard those delicious things called was "shuck" beans, dropping the fancy ending evidently brought into this country once upon a time by a high class drummer.

Fred Bullard and Paul Petrey insisted the pure "Anglo Sexton" pronunciation is "shuckey." Tolbert Combs being county attorney and a good politician, didn't want to make too big a mistake, so he said he believed it was "shucky" or "shuckey" and that it could be "shuck." Don Fouts stopped long enough at the table to declare that beyond a reasonable doubt, the beans referred to are "shuck" beans; that only the people born and raised in this county stuck to the "shucky" or shuckey" side.

We stopped a number of person in the restaurant and on the street to inquire about their pronunciation. Most of the "y" "ey" group were natives of Perry County or hadn't been past Jackson in years. 1955

Have You Ever Sopped?

2011-04-18T03:06:00.003-04:00

Shuckey beans is, and always has been, a delicacy in my book. They are special beans, made with lots of tender loving care, to make sure when they are put on the table, you know you are going to have a feast.

Shuckey beans were a part of my life since I can remember. I went to the garden with the folks, watch them plant, harvest, etc. and then I put my grubby little hands in the basket and tried to follow what I saw the older folks do, stringing the beans to make sure no strings were left. Then I watched as they carefully took a needle and very fine thread and took a bean, & so gracefully put the needle through the bean, pulled the thread through and followed suit until they had a string that was full. They would then place that string on a snow white sheet they had been laid down and began to fill another string of beans. While they were doing this they would talk (and gossip I learned to call it in later years) and Granny never strung a bean that I remember without that old cob pipe (bileing, pronounced bile-ing, which meant boiling). There was lots of laughter when they were making shuckey beans. Then they would hang the many strings of beans in a dry place, away from bugs, etc. until they became dry and looked ready to be put away for cooking when wanted. I can remember strings and strings of beans hanging behind our old cook stove in the kitchen. That old cook stove was a jewel. It not only cooked delicious tasty food but kept us very warm in the cold, snowy winters.

You see, preparing these tasty morsels when gardens were in - prepared us for good food during the cold winter months, and believe you me, there is nothing no better than a dish of piping hot shuckey beans, a big piece of onion, cornbread, and maybe a cold glass of buttermilk while the weather outside was acting up. That might have been, but the climate inside was favorable as we were engrossed in such a good meal. When the old folks died off I soon learned the importance of the heavenly taste of shuckey beans. I was older and had a family of my own, but thank God I had learned the art of preparing shuckey beans.

As I type this, I can open my pantry door and on a top shelf are glad bags full of shuckey beans just ready to be cooked. Now, we have them twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then what is left I freeze them and eat on them until they are gone. My daughters make sure we have shuckey beans. They go to Farmer's Market or they sometimes find good green beans back home. They get together with their husbands and string the beans, and here is where we deviate from what I was taught to do. We snap our green beans, lay them on a clean white sheet on a table down here in our hot, hot sun and they are dried within two days, some in one day. Then they take them and put them in a clean, white, pillow case for storing til we want a "mess". Now, I have shortened it to putting them into zip-lock bags, each containing a "mess" to be prepared.

My daughter had been buying portions of shuckey beans for our Thanksgiving Table each year from several old farmers that still "farmed" and had them for sale, $12.00 a little bag, was the cost of the last ones purchased, and then we decided to try our hand at shucking beans. Turned out good and we are still at it. What I have in the pantry will last until the newer ones are ready to be "sacked" up and put away. I share bags now and again with friends, a lot had never heard of shuckey beans and just wanted to try them. I sent my good friend, Zoe Draughn, a bag not too long ago and she prepared them and told me they were delicious.

And, by the way, the "juice" that fills the pot from cooking these shuckey beans makes a good "sopping" sauce. Have you ever sopped? If not, you have lost out, honestly.

When I came to South Carolina I found no one who knew what a shuckey bean was until one day I was talking about them and one old man said "I think I know what you are talking about, we call them "leather britches" and that is what I learned they are called down this way.

Blue Backed Speller

2011-03-22T01:58:00.007-04:00

He learned the three R's from the old blue backed speller while sitting in seats of hewn logs and writing lessons on slates. Jim Fields of Typo was born on March 21, 1876 on Big Creek (now Avawam). Young Jim's schooling was limited but he remembers his first teacher, a gentleman by the name of Mr. Smiley who taught the regular school term of three months.

The school building was made of hewed logs, and the seats were long benches, each made a half log, the split side was hewed smooth and the peg-like legs fit right into holes made from an old time auger.

Instead of tablets or notebooks, the students had slates on which to write and cipher (ciphering is now termed arithmetic). Slates at the time cost five cents each and pencils were just a penny. The buying of textbooks was no problem because there were none. The only book necessary until the 4th grade, when counting classes were organized, was the blue backed speller. The old blue-back served as speller and reader and from it many good, moral lessons were learned from characters such as "Old Dog Tray" who got into trouble because he was caught in bad company.

No doubt the school building on the point near Woodson Couch's store was an imposing structure and a passer-by resting there a moment could hear Mr. Smiley carefully pronouncing the words to be spelled. The teacher in those days required beginners to go through the book one time, pronouncing words by syllables as they were spelled.

This process required about two months and the remainder was used to spell off the book. Jim agrees that it was everlasting credit to the teacher to finally teach phonetics. By the time the primary class was ready for the advance class of 5th reader, every pupil could pronounce the words in the Blue Back Webster's Speller.

At an early age, Jim had great admiration for a certain little girl, Liza Jane, the daughter of Jim Eversole and granddaughter of Uncle Irvin Eversole, pioneer Regular Baptist preacher of Perry County. "Pon my honor Liza Jane was the prettiest brown-eyed, red checked girl I had ever seen," he said. The two were married on June 12, 1901.

Not long after the wedding, Jim recalls he was out with the boys one night and took one too many. He rode home on "Old Barney," the mule and at the gate, his loving wife helped him to the ground after which she gave corn and fodder to Barney. Then she spoon-fed her husband and the "old boy" fell asleep.

Next morning Jim was thinking of the kindness and gentleness of that pretty brown-eyed girl, when suddenly to his surprise, she appeared. Apparently in good humor, but with firmness in her voice, Liza Jane said, "Jim, I've have no drinking around here." Convinced by her manner that she meant it, Jim left off drinking ever since.

2011-03-20T23:41:00.004-04:00

I remember Pauline Beams' restaurant on East Main Street. It was awesome with its crisp linens, etc. I was never in her restaurant at the Hurst Hotel. I did go by it time and again and the aroma made my tummy growl loudly and I knew whomever was partaking of her food was getting Hazard's best. However, I was a teenager and was not highly interested in anything at that time but Steele's Drug, Don's and Nell's, what I called Babe Noplis' little hotdog diner that sat right beside the Virginia Theater.

Pauline was the sister of Doug and Marcus Combs. Years later my husband worked for Don Beams as an electrician for a while. Pauline and Don lived across from Collins Grocery on East Main and later I remember a filling station there I think might have been run by Don, but the house was a big house and I remember Don's sister, Mickey, living there so it must have been their family home. My best friend lived on Chester Street right behind the house. We would go and sit down on the top of the Seale Motor Company Garage and watch the fellers work and flirt with them .

Hard Nosed But Tender Hearted

2011-03-17T00:00:00.012-04:00

Hazard High School coach Pat Payne was one of the most successful coaches in the state of Kentucky. He came to Hazard in the fall of 1926 and immediately set forth with the idea that Hazard could compete with the Lexington and Louisville schools. "It took Pat sometime to convince the people of Hazard that was possible," said Sanders Petrey, a former player.

In 1930 Payne led the Hazard girls team to the state championship and in 1932 took the HHS boys to the state title. (The only coach ever to accomplish this feat in Kentucky).

He was a coach in almost every sport. In 17 years (1926-43) his teams won 101 and lost 41 football games, and won 345 and lost 70 basketball games.

Payne served as golf coach, baseball manager, track coach as well as being an excellent chemistry and physics teacher.

Some of those who played under the legendary coach are Sanders Petrey, Pappy Edwards, Boots Steele, Hoot Combs, Roscoe and Bill Davis, Arnett Strong, Johnny Horn, Fred Bowles, Morton Combs, Bill Morton, and Talmon Barker, to mention a few.

Sanders Petrey: "Pat was as fine a man as I ever knew. He never taught us anything dirty about sports, only the way it should be played. He stressed defense and rebounding. He was a hard-nosed coach but a tender hearted one. I remember we were playing Irvine on a Saturday night on the road. Hoot Combs looked over at me while we were warming up and said we may have a bad game. I agreed with him. Irvine had a small team and sure enough at the half we were behind 9 to 1. Well, we expected a good chewing out from Pat. We walked in the dressing room and kept an eye on the door. Two minutes past, then five, still no coach. Finally when it was about time for us to go back for the second half, Coach Payne poked his head around the door and said 'Gentlemen, we've tried everyway possible at Hazard High to have the best. We stay at the best hotels, eat fair and try to be pretty fair ball players. But tonight I'm ashamed to be part of this.' When the second half started Pat wasn't anywhere around. We knew who would start so we went out and won 39-9. About midway through the final quarter Pat showed up and sent in some subs."

Johnny Horn: "We were playing Irvine and Pat always made me room next to him. He wouldn't let me out of his sight. We were supposed to be in our room but I wasn't. I heard him coming but didn't have to get in my room so I jumped in his closet and pulled the clothes rack around me."

Pappy Edwards: "He was one of the best if not the best that ever coached. When he said something he meant it. If he caught a player downtown in the pool room he would say, 'boy, don't you need to he home resting?' Pat knew I'd be gone, but checked anyway. After he left I snuck in bed and pretended like I had been asleep all the time. Until he passed, he never knew where I was."

They Knew How To Dress A Window

2011-03-16T02:23:00.004-04:00

I worked near George's Shoe Store on Main Street in Hazard and everyday I had occasion to go by the business several times. I stopped and gave his shoes a big "Double O" (as Frankie Avalon said in one of his movies, a "double O" is a big "once over" to see what had been added or taken away. I was a on the spot shopper and if a pair of shoes in his window hit my fancy, I'd count my extra cash and if I was so endowed I would go in and get what I wanted. Sometimes I would put the old ones in a box and wear the new ones out. That way I was assured most of the time that no one would notice I had on new shoes. George Kawaja and his staff knew how to dress a window for shoppers, no doubt about it. I remember a lot of times seeing his wife, and the children would play around inside. It was a store to enhance Hazard's Main Street.

Spending Ourselves Into Prosperity

2011-03-15T07:39:00.022-04:00

It seems that the County Judge and Fiscal Court have decided to tear down the Court House and build another one on the same spot. To me it is a shame, and I think the public generally feels the same way I do about it. The Court House we have has ample room, good heat and good lights and is substantial building. It seems wrong to me to just destroy valuable property; but there are a lot of people who seem to feel it to be their duty to get all the money they can out Federal Treasury. Wonder what they will do when the Government goes broke? We can not always keep spending ourselves into prosperity.

Well, the old Court House was destroyed by fire in the Fall of 1911, along with the Jailer's residence. By hard work, the records of the two Clerk's offices were saved. That was before any train had come into Hazard and the bucket brigade kept the fire from spreading to other buildings. I remember that Si Wright had his barber shop in the old Eversole store building, where the Fuller building occupied by Citizens State Bank and others is now located. The boys jokingly said that Si got so excited that he carried his barber chairs and equipment down to the edge of the river. Well, J.G. Campbell was the County Judge. He and the Fiscal Court went to work immediately to get a new Court House. The cost would and did exceed the indebtedness permitted by the Constitution, but Judge Campbell was able to get a contractor to build the Court House. A bond issue was voted by the citizens to pay for it. As I remember it was completed in the latter part of 1912. I can remember that I filed for nomination for County Attorney in 1913 and it then had been constructed and was in use, and Judge L.D. Lewis presided over the Circuit Court terms in that year.

Well, it would seem to me now, that it will take at least two years to erect a new Court House. It is my information that they plan to move the offices down to the Lincoln Hotel building. It is going to be hard on me and Scott Duff and Vernon Faulkner and Ernest to have to walk all the way down there every time we have to go to one of the Clerk's offices.

All of it seems to me to be a foolish and unwise step, but I guess I am a little bit old fashioned. In my younger days we did not have any Government hand-outs. We had to pay our own way. Let us just hope that it will turn out for the better. 1964

Basketball Draws Up Closer Together

2011-03-14T00:00:00.004-04:00

This the 14th day of the good old spring month of March 1965 has brought on more talk here than the weather or planting those gardens. The main topic has been basketball which is one of the finest competitive games I know of. Folks, it draws us closer together here in our region. This week we will broaden our steps as we have done before. We will move into the bright lights of our neighbors down state way. We have had two fine tournaments in both the district in Hazard and the regional in the new gym in Jackson. One of the finest things I have heard so far is the fine sportsmanship that has prevailed throughout these two tournaments. Reminds me of the days of my youth. Lets get behind our team that will represent us at Louisville at the state tournament.1965

The Ultimate Escape

2011-03-09T00:34:00.008-05:00

When I was around 7 or 8 years old I discovered the wonderful world of movies. Since we had two movie theaters in town within walking distance that only charged 10 cents admission, made it easy. I soon found out that there was something better in life other than playing stick ball, shooting marbles, chasing the girls and pulling their pigtails and swimming in the Kentucky River. The movies were full of fabulous adventures, beautiful women, risk taking heroes with their swords, guns and horses and fast cars. I couldn't get enough. All the movies were great. Adventures, tragedies, love stories, musicals, war stories and pirates of the seven seas. When I wasn't in the movies I was day dreaming about movies. Sitting in the swing on the front porch I might be flying my speedy P-40 high in the sun, my eyes peeled for the ruthless ME-109s over Germany, showing them no mercy. I could be romancing the beautiful Hedy Lamar trying to steal a kiss or two and then dancing off gracefully into the night, even better than Fred Astair. Or day dreaming during arithmetic in Mrs. Waltman's third grade imagining that the slap on the shoulder was the Human Monster trying to drag me down into his darkened dungeon.

All this stuff was just great but could there be anything better than this? Yes there was. Westerns. I had discovered the greatest thing in the world. The Saturday Matinees, the black & white shoot-em-ups, the double feature horse operas. The ultimate in entertainment. The definitive good triumphs over evil, one hour at a time. The great looking cowboys with the immaculate white hats, silver pistols, and fire breathing stallions with the flowing manes and the hearty cry, "High Yo Silver, Away!

In the Virginia Theater on Saturday afternoon sitting half way down in the middle, my world went to the next level. I was consumed by the gun shots, the horses racing over the trails through the clouds of dust. The good guys in constant peril kept me on on the edge of my seat often missing my mouth with my popcorn. This was my new world and I loved it and I never wanted to come back. I, soon, learned all about Colt 45s and Winchesters and how exciting it was to draw you pistol in the middle of Main Street and shoot the rustlers, bank robbers, and all those vicious Indians who seemed to be everywhere.

After it was all over and it was time to go home and resume my boring real life, I still tried to avoid reality. Who would I be on the way home and for the rest of the day? The Lone Ranger? No, everybody wanted to be the Lone Ranger. Or Zoro, with his black whip, his flashing sabre, his two gun rig and his amazingly beautiful ebony horse with the long flowing tail? Hopalong Cassidy was good. How about Bob Steele? He made 120 movies and I think I saw them all. But Humphrey Bogart shot and killed him in "The Big Sleep" and I never forgot that. How about Don "Red" Barry? Nah, he is too short. Him and Alan Ladd could have been twins. I like "Wild Bill Elliot" Big tough good looking guy.He had an two gun rig that he wore backwards. Usually played "Red Ryder" with "Little Beaver". I heard that Robert Blake hated that name. He was a peaceable man. Gene Autry was a great cowboy. Always wore those fancy, pointed toe boots. I wondered if his socks were just as fancy.

Wait a minute! I forgot! On the way home I go right past the Family Theater. Tex Ritter is on there in: "Blood on the Saddle". I'll have time to see that before supper time.Another hour in Horse Opera Heaven, WOW!

2011-03-08T00:00:00.003-05:00

We are entering into a fringe of a great season that is basketball. Let's hope that we will see the finest of all sportsmanship displayed thoroughout these contests. I've heard some say that maybe the public didn't appreciate the teams of today as years ago, nor do they have the respect for the officiating as was done years ago. Above all, I would say - keep the game as it should be, because the kids that are playing during these tournaments are the ones to be considered. 1965

One Shoe

2011-03-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

I had bought me a new pair of penny loafers and went to see Hindman vs. Hazard. It got down to the last minutes and one point was holding Hindman and I remember so well the Referee made a call that me and the rest of the crowd thought was entirely out of order and I got carried away, pulled off one of my new shoes and threw it at the Ref hitting him right in the back. They started looking for someone with only one shoe and my boyfriend told me to fake a faint sort of which I did. He covered me up with a big coat and carried me to safety and to this day I don't think anyone except those nearby ever knew what happened.

SMILE

2011-03-05T03:30:00.007-05:00

James C. Riley of New Albany, Indiana, sent me the following poem some time ago.

Such a wee, small thing is a cherry smile, as we pass along life's way. But it means much more to those we meet, than we could begin to say. If we go through the day with never a smile, we may count that day as lost. But we've done one thing worthwhile if we've smiled. And not a cent has it cost. The folks that we meet on life's busy street, have problems we never can know. But a passing smile as we go along, will brighten the way that they go. If you doubt what I say why not make the test? And look for the ones who smile. Then watch the gloom on the smileless face, and see if its been worthwhile? In business, in school, in the home, on the street, it will ever win the day. For a smile is one of the dear Lord's means of driving dull care away. And though no reward is offered this one, who brightens life's way all the while, He will always be known and remembered by those who've been helped by his bright cherry smile. 1961

Not Fit For A Table

2011-03-04T05:19:00.003-05:00

I ran into Mrs. Tucker Bowling and Mrs. Floyd Bowling recently. Both had to move from the Buckhorn section. Water will make anyone move. So glad to know that you have adjusted yourselves to an area near Booneville. Good to see you ladies back in Hazard again. Mrs. Tucker stated while she was buying some flowers, that her good husband said that they were not fit for a table. Mrs. Bowling replied since there is not a good looking man around the place, the home must have something to keep it up. 1961