|
Each month, The Kentucky
Explorer magazine receives literally scores of letters from
our faithful readers. Whenever possible, we try to publish as
many of them as possible in the 12 pages we have set aside for
"Letters to the Editor."
Here are actual
letters from October 2005
Memories Of Cutshin Creek
Dear Editor:
Thanks for publishing the memory of Cutshin Creek and Wooton,
Leslie County, Kentucky, in the August 2005 issue of The Kentucky
Explorer. I would like to share some things that took place after
some people read the story.
First, I got a call from a Mr. Williams of Berea, Kentucky, who
asked which house I lived in at Saw Branch on Cutshin Creek.
When I told him, he said his family moved into the house when
we moved to Ohio and that his dad ran the coal mine on Saw Branch
after Dad closed it. This mine is where I got my eye put out
in 1942.
Next, I got a letter from a granddaughter of Margaret Cornett.
We stayed overnight with Mrs. Cornett when the water was too
high for the family to get across Cutshin Creek when we lived
at Wooton. The granddaughter told me that my mother and father
sold a large oak table to her grandmother when we moved from
there, and when her grandmother died she got the table and still
has it.
Then I got a call from the son of two teachers, Mr. and Mrs.
Ace Davidson, who taught many years ago at the Dixon Branch School.
He said his mother is still alive and would like to see me and
talk about those days in Kentucky and that she lived about one
to one-and-a-half hours from where I live. Mrs. (Drucilla) Davidson
is now 95 years old and in a nursing home after she broke her
hip. What a real joy it was to hear from these people and to
know again that The Kentucky Explorer still gets people together,
as this has happened several times since I have been a subscriber
to the magazine.
On July 9, 2005, I drove to see Mrs. Davidson at the Florence
Care Center in Florence, Kentucky, and was glad to be reunited
with her. She is now 95 years old and has such a great memory
of her former students. I asked her if she remembered me and
she said, "I remember all of my kids." She and her
husband lived at McIntosh just over the hill from Wooton and
not in Hyden, as I thought and stated in my writing. She told
me that I was in her class in the fourth grade, and I remember
being in her husband's class in the fifth grade. After 67 years
it is easy to forget some things.
Thanks for a great magazine.
Joseph Dalton
6501 Germantown Road, #402
Middletown, OH 45042
Interested In Agate Rock
Dear Editor:
I want to thank all the readers who sent buttons and songs that
I requested.
People from Kentucky are wonderful.
I recently saw a television show about agate rock. It was reported
that this type of rock is found in the creeks of Eastern Kentucky
and when the rock is cut it has all different colors.
I would appreciate any information readers have to share.
Bonnie French
2148 Taylor Creek Road
Summerville, KY 42782
More On "Bad"
Tom Smith
Dear Editor:
I would like to share some input on where "Bad" Tom
Smith is buried.
My grandfather, Phillip Smith, told me what he knew about Tom.
He said he was four years old when Tom was hanged in Breathitt
County and that he was buried in Knott County near his parents.
He said he didn't remember much, but Tom Kelly, the man who married
my grandparents, told my grandfather a lot about "Bad"
Tom.
My grandfather died about 15 years ago. He was 14 days away from
100 years old. He was a good man.
Gary Smith
GARYSMITH@indot.state.in.us
Ghost Stories Wanted
Dear Editor:
I am interested in obtaining ghost stories and stories of haunted
places and witches in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Sharon Hackney
415 Bastin Road
Kings Mountain, KY 40442
Thanks For Recipes
Dear Editor:
I want to thank everyone for the nice response to my request
for peach pudding recipes. I received several from Kentucky and
different states.
Frances W. Boggs
Valley View Apartments
P. O. Box 401
Corbin, KY 40701
Heirs Of Alamander Martin
Dear Editor:
If you descend from Alamander Martin through Nancy, Mahala, Rhoda,
Wyatt, or Simpson Martin, I would like to hear from you. It is
very important that all heirs are located.
I would also like any information on Mahala Martin who married
Wilson Caudill. A photo would also be appreciated.
Norma Hedrick
2791 Senior Road
Morrow, OH 45152
|