A Glimpse of the Past

Submitted by McCreary County Museum Faculty Top Row L-R: Mrs. James Spencer, Mrs. Willa Harmon, Mrs. Robert Connelly Second Row L-R: Mr. Rodney Cox, Mr. Byron Ramsey Third Row L-R: Mr. George A. Cordell, Mr. Dorman Strunk, Mr. Arleis Ross Seniors Top Row L-R: William Clay “Billy” Adams, Brian J. Anderson, Joyce Caddell,  Maxine (Lovett)…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum First Row L-R: Wilburn Spradlin, Burl F. King, Crit Waters, Jasper Tapley, Lestle Hall, George Miller Burke, William Hamby, Shelt Smith, Sedlay King, Roscoe Meadors,       Oscar Duncan, Alfred Layton, Luther Cage Phillips, Nelson Watters. Second Row L-R: Ernest Bryant, George Owens, Clarence Watters, Unknown, Beecher Coffey, Elmer…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum Recently George “Buddy” Wilson and Eddie Stephens shared with me an amazing fact. Within a half mile radius of the Whitley City First Baptist Church ,over seven citizens lived to be 99-100 years old. Each of these individuals lived an exemplary life and made lasting contributions to our community. One…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum Nestled above Cumberland Falls, picturesque DuPont Lodge has been a favorite of visitors and local residents since 1933. Over the years, numerous McCreary Countians have worked at DuPont Lodge or the shops at Cumberland Falls. But, how did DuPont Lodge get its name? In 1890, Henry C. Brunson purchased an…

Submitted By McCreary County Museum The first store and office building of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company, pictured right, was in use as early as 1902. The original store had less than 1,600 square feet of floor space and contained a potato room, flour bin, and post office. Dry goods, medicine, picks, shovels, and…

Shop and Smokestack This picture of the shop and smokestack was taken in 1942 and sent to William Bradley “Diehard” Cordell while he was serving as a gunner stationed in Australia and New Guinea. On the back of the picture is written, “This is the shop at Stearns, KY.” The shop is now the home…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum Alisha Cordell, granddaughter of William Bradley “Diehard” Cordell (December 20, 1921-June 5, 1990), recently visited the McCreary County Museum. She donated her grandfather’s WWII uniform and permitted me to scan a photo album containing photographs “Diehard” had taken during WWII. The album also contains photographs family members mailed to him…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum The Voice proofreaders “over corrected” in last week’s Glimpse of the Past and mistakenly changed the correct spelling of “dyeing” to “dying!”  (As in dyeing fabric green!)  The Voice apologizes for the error.  In the early 1920s, McCreary County had been a county in Kentucky for only a few years,…

On July 24, 1930, during the Great Depression, Jessie Earl Kidd, aged 22, and his wife, Madge Lee (Stephens) Kidd, aged 19, welcomed the first of their nine children, Denver Gene Kidd. Gene served as a tank commander during the Korean War assigned to the 72nd tank battalion as an SFC. During the Vietnam War,…

Submitted by McCreary County Museum Kentucky Choral Directors Association, Owensboro, KY The students of McCreary County have a long history of excellence. Throughout my thirty-four year career as a music educator, students from McCreary County demonstrated musical skills unparalleled across the state. In addition to being outstanding musicians, the students were respectful and cooperative at…