Following Trails Grown Dim

By Sam Perry Sometimes, on quiet Sunday afternoons, I enjoy visiting the graves of my long-departed relatives who lie at rest in many of the old cemeteries in McCreary County. Recently, I visited one of my favorites, the Bruce-Shepherd Cemetery which is located just above Laurel Creek out on Highway 478.  It is a very…

Mac McCarty stared at the papers splayed before him and tried to focus his attention on the job at hand.  It was not an easy task. As Lands Officer for the infant Laurel Ranger District of the Cumberland National Forest, it was his responsibility to make sense of the myriad parcels of worn-out farmland the…

By Sam Perry The man closed his eyes and listened to the doxology that rose, like incense, from the men, women, and children standing in front of him.  Their angelic voices, united in common prayer, were comforting, and he felt the presence of a God who knows  no rich or poor, no strong or weak,…

By Sam Perry A note to my loyal readers: This column appeared in The Voice about twenty years ago. Because, at this time of year, I spend more time with my hands wrapped around a goose-neck hoe than curled over a keyboard, I am using it as a retread. Thanks for your patience. In 1945,…

By Sam Perry The mid-day sun drilled down upon the foam-flecked backs of wheezing mules as they leaned against the leather collars tethering them to the wagon.  The wagon was heavy and they struggled to pull it through the sandy bottoms and rocky inclines of a road that seemed to have no end. They had…

By Sam Perry On the morning of September 27, 1946, a slightly built man in a pin-striped suit peered through wire-rimmed spectacles and addressed a group of children in the rich baritone that had put him in demand by Gospel quartets throughout the Big South Fork River region. The children, transfixed respect and a bit…

By Sam Perry There were twelve of them and they stood with their backs against the wall, listening intently to words coming from a slender man dressed in a green uniform. They did not appear fearful, but their faces betrayed a common sense of bewilderment and apprehension that had been theirs ever since they had…

By Sam Perry  “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” That memorable phrase by Sir Walter Scott came to mind at a recent meeting of the McCreary County Historical and Genealogical Society when Tony Kidd, McCreary County Road Supervisor, presented a copy of a plat map to the Society.…

As the newly appointed Extension Agent for McCreary County, Kentucky, William Elmer Boggs knew that he had his work cut out for him. He had been sent by his supervisors at the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service to the Commonwealth’s youngest county to teach its farmers how to increase crop yields, thereby uplifting them, and the…

By Sam Perry The memory of my conception is, understandably, hazy, and I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I am pretty sure I know where it took place. That may explain why I suffer from what super-educated people call Acrophobia, otherwise known as fear of heights. I am not aware of anyone who…