Pike County Magazine 2010

PIKE COmagazine UNTY

SUMMER 2010

Contents 8 12 16 20 24 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54

Pike County wins four national awards Pikeville College changing the face of Pikeville Elkhorn natives keep building Stone Heritage preserving history New animal shelter is a dream come true Reclaiming beauty Aviation campers soar into the blue Georgia volunteers jump-start Caney church Soft drink heralds take Dorton preacher back to simpler time Hatfield-McCoy Marathon growing Life on the goat farm Hornet’s a clearinghouse in Phelps Preserving the past HELP, Inc. gets some needed help Mountain Pub Links worthwhile community effort Bitter blood turns to tourism boon Freeburn: Coal, steel and education EC RR Museum volunteers work a labor of love Jones: Radio personality leaves lasting legacy

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A photo of the doughboy statue in front of the Pike County Courthouse honors Pike Countians who died while defending the country during foreign wars. Their courage and commitment to something greater than themselves represents the scenes of community which makes our region so strong.

PIKE COUNTY magazine Summer 2010 Publisher: Jeff Vanderbeck Editor Jerry Boggs Section Design: Special Publications Manager Tracie Vanderbeck

Letter from the Editor

Advertising Director: Mike Davis Advertising Design: Andrew Littleton Jamie Beckett Sales Representatives: Lynn Massey Melissa Keller Tony Thacker Krista Duty Aimee Thacker

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A Special Supplement to the Appalachian News-Express 201 Caroline Avenue, Pikeville, Kentucky 606-437-4054

But what makes Pike County special extends beyond those who have statues built in their honor, or have bridges and roadways named for them.

What makes Pike County such a wonderfully diverse place to live is the unique people and places which dot the landscape.

Travel the roadways of our great county and you’ll discover home-grown historians, historic feuders, budding pilots helpful hearts and fainting goats.

In these page we have attempted to sample some of the millions of stories which intertwine to weave the fabric of our community. Each area, each building and each person has a story. These are some of those stories. Enjoy Pike County!

Jerry Boggs Editor

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Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards

The Pike County Chamber of Commerce Awards were held in July. The gala event included entertainment by magician Terry Edwards and his assistants, pictured at right with Shad Walters, business of the year owners Shannon and Kendall Wright (at top), an award to Paulette Jones, wife of Randy Jones and a check presentation for $72,000 from Hillbilly Days, among much more.

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Welcome to The City of Pikeville Most newcomers and visitors are amazed at the range of services, facilities and amenities available in our community. We are thankful to live in a city where progress is changing the future of our town and realize Pikeville/Pike County continues to grow despite the challenges in today’s economy. We pride ourselves on maintaining a pleasant, comfortable and visually stimulating place to live, work, play and visit. In order to accommodate Pikeville/Pike County’s growth, community leaders are creating a future vision for the area. The City of Pikeville and Pike County Government are working together on several projects which will bring new The Garfield Community Center developments to Pikeville and our service area. Our goal is to aggressively seek developments which will create more jobs, new businesses, affordable housing and offer a better quality of life.

We are very thankful to the people of Pikeville, Pike County and Eastern Kentucky who continue to contribute to Pikeville’s thriving economy and have chosen Pikeville as their full service city. A new state-of-the-art emergency 911 system directly provides the City of Pikeville residents with police, fire, and ambulance/EMS services. The Pikeville Fire Department provides fire suppression and emergency medical response from three different locations within the city. Pikeville Fire Department is proud to provide residents with an average four to five minute response time which contributes to the benefit of a low 4 ISO rating resulting in lower homeowners insurance rates.

To meet the needs of a growing city, Pikeville is constantly updating our city’s infrastructure, utilities and city services. Our recreational offerings are outstanding. The city has 3 beautiful parks: Bob Amos Park, Pikeville Mini-Park and Pikeville City Park. Located in the Pikeville City Park is the newly remodeled Garfield Community Center, a perfect gathering location for any special occasion or event. As a thriving business community, Pikeville boast amenities that no other Eastern Kentucky city can offer, such as the Hampton Inn, conveniently located within walking distance of the East Kentucky Exposition Center, Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine and the city park.

We are proud of the many successes of our businesses and of the partnerships we have developed with them. We are also proud of the efforts that have been made toward preserving our history even as we look to the future and the attraction of businesses that will make Pikeville/Pike County a viable location in a growing marketplace.

Randy Jones, right, poses for a photo at a Hillbilly Christmas in July event with Jimmy Kinney, with whom Jones worked to found the Hillbilly Christmas in July organization, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Lexington since its inception.

And, Kinney said, Jones was like a brother to him.

“When we rode, he was right there on my right-hand side,” Kinney said.

Another branch of the Hillbilly Christmas in July on which Jones was working was the establishment of a handicapped-accessible playground for the children of the community.

Kinney said that effort will continue without Jones.

“Now we’ve got to make it work even harder,” Kinney said.

Blackburn, who is also a member of the Hillbilly Christmas in July board, said it was Jones’ love of children which motivated him to work so hard for the Shriners Hospital.

“His passion was evident in his enthusiasm,” Blackburn said. “He tried to make a difference in these kids’ lives.”

And, Blackburn said, that enthusiasm was infections.

“It made us want to come back and do it year after year,” Blackburn said.

Casebolt said he doesn’t believe that Jones ever expected anything in return for his charity work.

“I don’t know that Randy ever really asked for any kind of help for himself,” Casebolt said. “He really wanted to help. He saw the good in people. He saw the good in what charity work could do.”

And, while Casebolt said the community has lost an ambassador and a consummate promoter for Eastern Kentucky, those close to him have lost more.

“The main thing is, we’ve all just lost a friend,” Casebolt said.

Because of Jones’ love of motorcycles and his connection with the community of riders, motorycyles escorted his funeral procession from the funeral home to the gravesite at Annie E. Young Cemetery.

Pikeville Mayor, City Commission, and City Manager 6 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

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★

Pikeville PIKE COUNTY

Jones: Radio personality, philanthropist and friend to Eastern Kentucky leaves lasting legacy

The City of Pikeville A Commission of Progress The City of Pikeville offers many high quality services and is a full service city.

Under the leadership of Mayor Frankie Justice, the expertise of the Pikeville City Commission and the innovation of the City Manager, Donovan Blackburn we welcome the opportunity to serve the citizens of Pikeville.

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer For decades, Randy Jones’s signature gravelly-deep voice has become ubiquitous throughout Pike County, from the radio to even announcements over Pikeville Medical Center’s public address system.

However, on June 20, that voice was silenced when Jones, 59, died of what is believed to have been a heart attack at his Pikeville residence, taking away a family man, one of Pike County’s most beloved radio personalities, a philanthropist, and according to many, a friend to Eastern Kentucky.

Jones, 59, first began his career in radio when still in high school.

Walter May hired Jones at East Kentucky Broadcasting in the 1960s.

May said he was impressed with Jones from the beginning, especially considering his mode of transportation to the station to apply.

“He walked from his house at the foot of Julius Avenue all the way to the station,” May said.

Keith Casebolt, president and general manager of East Kentucky Broadcasting, said that, while Jones left the radio business a few times, he always returned, and spent the last 12 years making a strong connection to the community through his morning show on country station WDHR. Both May and Casebolt said Jones was dedicated to using his job to help his community.

May said that anytime there was a flood or other disaster, Jones was dedicated to getting information out to help people.

“He was the first one to come in on his own time, and he was the last to leave,” May said.

His distinctive voice made him recognizable to people in the community, even if they didn’t recognize him by sight.

“A lot of people didn’t know what he looked like,” Casebolt said.

But Casebolt said people instantly recognized him when he opened his mouth and spoke.

Jones’ humor also came through on the radio, an example of which was provided by Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn.

Blackburn said Jones was a great help to the city, in getting messages and announcements out to his listeners. However, that connection to his listeners also got Blackburn in trouble on April Fool’s Day one year, when Jones’ sense of humor was not immediately shared by many in the community.

Blackburn said that, as an April Fool’s joke, Jones enlisted him to come on the radio and be interviewed about “plans” to make Hillbilly Days a paid event, for $10 per carload.

“We got an overwhelming amount of calls that day,” Blackburn said.

“It got me into a lot of hot water.”

But Jones’ radio personality was only part of his connection to the community.

Jones used both his position with the radio station and his free time to support several charities, including the El Hasa Shrine Temple, Hillbilly Days and several local organizations and events, including Kentucky Blood Center.

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Front Row: Commissioner Gene Davis, Mayor Frankie Justice, Commissioner Dallas Layne Back Row: Commissioner Barry Chaney, City Manager Donovan Blackburn, Commissioner Jimmy Carter

We invite you to enjoy Pikeville!!

Longtime radio broadcaster Randy Jones left behind a legacy as one of the community’s most beloved personalities and philanthropist.

But, in recent years, Jones had focused a lot of effort into the Hillbilly Christmas in July organization, a group with a sole mission of providing funding and other support to the Shriners Hospital in Lexington.

Along with Jimmy Kinney, Jones founded the organization, as the men’s love of both riding motorcycles and helping the children at the hospital led them to try to fill a gap left when a local organization found itself unable to do a traditional toy run to the hospital in the summer.

Now, the organization has grown into a year-round support system for the hospital, providing money throughout the year, and the traditional toy run each July.

Kinney said his and Jones’ dedication to the Hillbilly Christmas in July affected their ability to ride together as friends, as most motorcycle trips have become efforts to promote the Christmas in July.

“We haven’t rode in five years,” Kinney said, adding they agreed to ride after this year’s Hillbilly Christmas in July event, which will now be dedicated to Jones’ memory.

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PIKE COUNTY

Pike County wins four national awards

photos by Chris Anderson

Roy Owens, left, and David Cantrell stand among the various photographs and pieces of railroad memorabilia at the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum.

Still, the museum’s staff stays the course and welcomes guests into the collection of railroadiana, which will eventually include a complete control stand of a locomotive, which Cantrell is constructing out of salvaged parts.

And Owens said the volunteers are committed to keeping the museum

accessible.

“As long as people want to come in here, we’ll come and let them in,” he said.

For more information of the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum, visit www.elkhorncityrrm.tripod.com.

Pike County officials break ground on a methane recovery project at the landfill.

The project was one of three with earned the county natinoal recognition.

Special to the News-Express Pike County was once again recognized by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for implementing innovative county government programs to better serve area residents. Winners of three 2010 Achievement Awards, the programs will be recognized July 18 during NACo’s Annual Conference and Exposition at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev. This year marks the second year in a row Pike County programs have been recognized by NACo, and is also the second year in a row as the only county in Kentucky to win any NACo awards.

“These awards are a direct result of the hard work and innovation of our county government,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “The three programs that won this year and the five last year show that Pike County is the most progressive county in eastern Kentucky.”

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This year, the following county programs received awards: • Pike County Nuisance Ordinance • Pike County Heritage Hall • Landfill Gas (Methane) Recovery Project The Nuisance Ordinance, also known as the blighted housing ordinance, has been very successful. Its numbers are as follows: 12 torn down by county; 50 torn down by owner and 35 being processed. It is a collaborative effort between the fiscal court and the solid waste department.

“Many structures in Pike County are very old. They have withstood disasters, neglect and abuse,” Pike County Deputy Solid Waste Commissioner Mike Lyons said. “As a result, many structures become not only eyesores, but safety and fire hazards. The ordinance is intended to spruce up communities and make areas safer. With a lack of flat land in a mountainous county, many structures are built along road and waterways. After becoming dilapidated, they become dangerous in many different ways.

Thank you for reading the Appalachian News-Express!

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Elkhorn City ★

PIKE COUNTY

Working hard to barely get by: EC RR Museum volunteers work a labor of love

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer

background.

“After you get on the railroad, it gets under your skin,” Owens, Nestled away in a quiet corner a second-generation railroader, of Elkhorn City, just off of Main said. “It’s a part of you.”

Street, lies a modest collection Owens’ fascination with the of relics from days gone by. railroad was born from the servRelics from the days when coal ice given to the Clinchfield was truly king. And from the Railroad by his father, who was days when the Chessie Cat hired on with the Chesapeake prowled across the Appalachian and Ohio Railway in 1918 landscape, while the Clinchfield before going to work for the burrowed under it.

Clinchfield in 1923.

And in charge of the collection, The fascination continued a group of dedicated individuals throughout Owens’ own career with nothing to gain but the satwith the Clinchfield, which lastisfaction of preserving a small ed from 1944 until his retirepart of a by-gone era in ment in 1985. Even through the American railroading.

A control stand from a scrapped diesel locomotive is in the industry’s most drastic change The Elkhorn City Railroad process of being reassembled as an exhibit at the museum. — from coal-fired steam Museum was formed in the early engines to more clean-burning, 1990s, when Clinchfield Railroad retiree Edward “Chick” Spradlin and but less romantic, diesel engines — Owens never lost his awe for the a group of three other former railroaders — Albert “Birdie” Stafford, Ed rails.

Stone and Jerry Slone — collected railroad artifacts and photographs “I worked during the steam days and saw the change from steam to and opened the museum in the former office of a coal company, accorddiesel,” Owens said. “I was fascinated by it. I still am fascinated by the ing to the museum’s official website. railroad.”

The museum was well-suited for the town, which has a rich railroad Owens’ continued fascination with the railroad remains the reason he history, having been the connection between the Chesapeake and Ohio devotes so much of his time to the museum and the preservation of the Railway; which entered the city from the north, and the Clinchfield memories of Elkhorn City railroading in the twentieth century. His Railroad; which entered from the south. efforts to keep the museum open are now shared by several other volThe two railroads were very interesting companies during their exisunteers — Morris Wallace, Rodney Ruth, Jim Lee and David Cantrell. tence. The Chesapeake and Ohio was a powerful coal hauling railroad, Cantrell, an engineer for CSX Transportation — the succeeding railwhose endeared mascot, Chessie Cat, became a staple of popular culture road of the Chesapeake and Ohio and Clinchfield — and general from the 1930s to the 1980s. The Clinchfield Railroad was a smaller, handyman for the museum, said he grew up along the tracks of the but no less vital rail network, spanning from Elkhorn City to Clinchfield and always knew he’d end up on the railroad.

Spartanburg, S.C. The Clinchfield route had numerous tunnels and “We practically raised him,” Owens said of Cantrell. bridges as it crossed through some of the most rugged of the Owens said the museum has touched the lives of people not only Appalachian landscape. There were 55 tunnels on the route, 21 within from Eastern Kentucky, but from other continents as well. He tells stothe first 35 miles. ries of an English pilot and flight attendant, both train enthusiasts, Spradlin, along with his three partners in the museum,worked for one who visited the museum while in the United States. He also tells the of the two railroads. story of a German woman, whose father he had befriended, during After Spradlin’s death in 1999, after years of service to the museum, the World War II. She and Owens figuring out the connection when the task of keeping the museum open was left to “Birdie” Stafford. Stafford woman visited the museum in the 1990s. worked to keep the museum open three days a week until he left “The museum is important,” he said. “It should be kept open.”

Elkhorn City for Florida, in order to be near his daughter, following his But keeping it open is becoming more and more difficult, he said. wife’s death, the website said.

A sign on the door of the museum gives visitors several phone numWhen the first group of lead volunteers at the museum moved on, bers to call if they come upon the museum and it is closed. Owens another group, including Roy Owens, rose to take the reins. said a volunteer is always willing to come out and open up the museFor Owens, like his predecessors, the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum um for visitors, but it’s nearly impossible to keep it open on a regular and its collection of artifacts are important parts of his heritage and schedule.

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Work continued this spring on Phase V of the Pike County landfill, as officials broke ground on a nearby project, which will mitigate the gases produced by the garbage which has been buried at the landfill over 17 years.

The Pike County Heritage Hall was also a collaborative effort among many entities.

The hall is in the large main hallway in the Pike County Courthouse and is dedicated to displaying the rich history of Pike County. Pictures, music and artifacts are on display in 10 large, secured display cases. The Heritage Hall is a collaborative effort among the Pike County Fiscal Court, Pike County Library District, Big Sandy Heritage Center museum, Shelby Valley Historical Society and private donors. The mirrorback cabinets display items along with a certificate depicting owner of the item and its significance to Pike County’s history. A 32-inch flat screen television displays scrolling old pictures accompanied by music.

The Landfill Gas (Methane) Recovery Project remains under construction, but was still worthy of an award.

Shaw Enterprises, of Baton Rouge, La., was awarded the bid for the methane project and Summit Engineering negotiated the price with Shaw.

“We have the potential to generate carbon credits with this project,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “We also have the potential to generate electricity that can be sold back to the grid.”

Jack Sykes, of Summit Engineering, said he personally researched Shaw and determined they are one of the companies on the forefront in regard to this type of project.

Pike County Solid Waste Deputy Commissioner Mike Lyons notified

the court that the Environmental Protection Agency has set forth guidelines that will require this type of project in the near future.

“We will not mobilize construction, we just need to award the bid to Shaw so we can negotiate deductions with them,” Lyons said. “We need to convince the EPA that we have a plan in place that complies with regulations.”

The three award-winning programs this year and five in 2009 make eight in the past two years for Pike County.

The Achievement Award Program is a program that recognizes counties for improving the management of and services provided by county government. Since the program’s inception, the Achievement Award Program has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided finer customer service and helped to develop a better-trained work force.

This year’s winners represent 30 states and 111 counties.

“In the past few years we saw more applications than in previous years, counties once again demonstrated their resilience and their ability to work harder in tough times,” said Jacqueline Byers, NACo’s Director of Research. “Many of these programs were amazing, as well as smart, efficient and cost-effective.”

For more information on the NACo Achievement Awards, visit, www.naco.org.

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Freeburn

★

PIKE COUNTY

Freeburn: Coal, steel and education

The railroad running through Freeburn is a constant reminder of the community’s role in Pike County history. The community was named for the free burning Emperor Coal Company.

Kassie Williams For the News-Express Eastern Kentucky produces coal, but coal also produced a part of Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern Coal Company was established in 1916 and was later changed to Emperor Coal Company. Between the years of 1934 and 1958, Emperor Coal Company was located in what is now Freeburn, Ky. Freeburn derived its name from the free-burning aspect of the coke and coal company.

The company, owned by the Wheeling Steel Corporation, was sold to Portsmouth Steel Corporation with the intention of producing semi-finished steel for the Steubenville South Plant, which was purchased in 1946. The coke, which comes from low-ash, low-sulfur coal is used in the smelting process of iron and further treated to make steel.

With its foundation in steel, it’s no wonder that Freeburn stands strong.

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It even has a strong foundation in education. During the times of the coal camps, a young teacher, Betty Tanner, was hired to be principal of Freeburn Elementary, which held grades from first through eighth.

Tanner was not a native to Freeburn and says that when she came to Freeburn, “The faculty accepted me and they respected me.” She began working at the elementary school in 1943.

She recalled the teachers bringing the school piano to the play ground and teaching the children how to square dance.

“It was an experience, but I loved every moment of it” she replied when asked what her thoughts were of teaching Freeburn students.

Her philosophy was as strong as the steel the coal company helped make. Her goal was to “teach the child to live comfortably in a changing world” and she still believes in that same principle today.

Things have changed since then, and Freeburn has now changed from being a coal camp to a local community nestled in the mountains on route 194 and is continuously moving on.

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Pikeville ★

PIKE COUNTY

Pikeville College changing the face of Pikeville — again

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer It was a “leap of faith,” nearly 13 years ago which resulted in the establishment of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine.

In May, the college announced a move which will continue to change the face of downtown Pikeville, and further the planned growth for both Pikeville College and the medical school.

Terry Dotson, chairman of Pikeville College’s board of trustees, said during a press conference that the board voted unanimously to put the school’s efforts toward the construction of a $25 million, nine-story building which will house and allow for expansion of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine.

“It will allow us to increase the medical school class by 50 students,” Dotson said. “It will also have a huge domino effect on the rest of campus.”

Dotson said the new building will allow the college to make room for about 200 more undergraduate students, as well.

The building, which will include 65,000 feet of usable space, will be constructed on the hillside, where the Marvin Student Center is currently located, opposite the school’s iconic “99 Steps” from the Record Memorial Building.

Architect Chris Chrisman, also a member of the college’s board of trustees, said the building will represent an advancement for the school.

“This will be state-of-the-art in every way we can make it,” he said.

The first floor of the building, which will be fronted by Hambley Boulevard, will be used for cold storage and a loading dock. From there up, the facility’s focus is mainly on the medical school.

The second, third and fourth floors will be utilized for lecture rooms, as well as new teaching and research laboratories, which Chrisman said the college hopes will draw educators interested in the research arm of medical education.

Chrisman said the fifth floor is planned to be a new cafeteria, to be used for the whole school, which will seat 270, as well as offer a space for a 64-person private dining area.

The sixth floor will be used for a clinical skills training and evaluation area, which Chrisman said will allow the medical school to expand its community clinic, and the seventh floor will be used for faculty offices.

The eighth floor will be dedicated to the medical school’s gross anatomy program, and the ninth floor will be dedicated to Osteopathic Policies and Procedures teaching space.

While college officials said Tuesday their plans are to expand the class size of the medical school, currently 75 per class, to 125, Chrisman said further expansion will be possible.

“All of the facilities are set up to serve at least 140 students per class,” Chrisman said.

Dr. Boyd Buser, dean of the medical school, said the building represents a possibility for the college to provide a greater service to the community.

“Kentucky is already facing a critical physician shortage, which is expected to worsen in coming years,” he said. “This new facility will expand our ability to help meet the need of the medically underserved areas of rural Kentucky and Appalachia.

“We have kept the promise we made when the school as founded,” Buser continued. “And we are committed to doing even more in the 12 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

An artist’s rendering shows the new Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine set to be built along Hambley Boulevard in Pikeville. future.”

Dotson agreed that the success of the medical school can be measured.

“Today, we have 107 practicing physicians within 90 miles of Pikeville,” he said, much of which was a result of the medical school, which graduated its tenth class this past weekend.

Approximately $20 million of the expected $25 million price tag for the new building will be funded by a 40-year loan the college will be obtaining through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, while the rest will have to be taken in through fundraising.

Pikeville College President Paul Patton said the school has already raised a total of $1.6 million for the new building, through recent fundraising. According to Patton, contributors have been giving to what was originally a planned renovation project in Spilman Hall.

The School of Osteopathic Medicine is currently housed in the Armington Science Building on campus, and Patton said that space will now be opened up for the undergraduate school.

Patton also committed that the construction will not result in a tuition hike, beyond that required by the school’s normal needs, and he has no worries that the new medical school slots will be filled.

“We admitted 75 students this year ... and we had 2,500 applications,” he said. “We’re confident that we can find enough high-quality students to populate this school at a very affordable tuition.”

Patton said, though, the new building is much less of a challenge than establishing the school in the first place.

“That was a lot bigger gamble than this is,” he said. “To me, this is not a gamble. This is a proven operation that will retire this debt.”

Chrisman said groundbreaking is expected to occur by September and the building must be completed by May, 2012.

The project is just one of several undertaken in recent years which have changed the landscape of downtown Pikeville. A new judicial center is set to begin construction once demolition is completed on the buildings in the facility’s expected footprint.

The violence escalated to the point that the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia called in the National Guard as more raids were staged by the McCoys into Hatfield territory.

West Virginia Gov. E. Willis Wilson, accused Kentucky of violating the extradition process by kidnapping the Hatfields and appealed the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In May of 1889, the Court ruled against West Virginia and the Hatfields stood trial in Kentucky. All eight were found guilty of murder and one was publicly hanged for the death of Alifair McCoy, the daughter of Randel McCoy killed in the raid on his home. The other seven were sentenced to life in prison, and the feud was finally over.

The first reunion was held in 2000 and has continued each year since. Sonya Hatfield Hall headed up the event.

During the first festival, visitors witnessed a tug-of-war battle between the Hatfields and the McCoys that stretched across the Tug River, a hillbilly wedding, pig roast and much, much more.

One of the biggest draws is the Marathon which attracts runners from other states and countries. In past years they came from Iceland, England, Germany, Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Ireland.

For those running the full marathon it's 26.2 miles that takes them along the route where many of the historical events transpired. It's 13.1 miles for those choosing to only run the first half that ends in historical downtown Matewan.

Kids can also enjoy a mini marathon where each participant wins a medal and receives a T-shirt and running booklet.

All-day events are scheduled during the two-day affair, and crafters are there displaying their wares. Live entertainment is also a part of the festival with local talent being showcased.

The economical benefits are astronomical.

AP Photos Top: The Hatfield clan poses in April 1897 at a logging camp in southern West Virginia.

Above: Jimmy McCoy, 91, left and Willis Hatfield, 88, the two oldest living members of the Hatfield and McCoy clans, attend ceremonies, in Hardy May 1, 1976, which formally ended the legendary feud between the two families.

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★

Tug Valley PIKE COUNTY

Bitter blood turns to tourism boom

Hatfields settled on the West Virginia side. Both Randel and Devil Anse were prosperous farmIt's a rich history that draws ers. the interest of people all Legend has it that the bitter feelacross the United States and ings began in 1878 when Randolph beyond.

McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of The rivalry between the stealing one of his hogs. Such an Hatfields and McCoys is offense was taken very seriously as described as one of the most hogs were an extremely valuable notorious family feuds in hispart of the farming economy. tory. It began sometime Tempers flared, and soon the two around 1863 and continued faced off in court. for years.

But some say bad feelings develThe feud claimed the lives oped during the American Civil of 12 men and resulted in War, while others say competition other family members going AP Photo in the timber market sparked the to prison. hostilities.

This an undated file photo of William Anderson "Devil Anse" Now it's a thing of the past Whatever the cause, the eruption Hatfield. and the bad feelings that once came after three of Randel’s sons, existed between the two clans is gone. To celebrate that fact, a reunion Bud, Tolbert and Pharmer fatally wounded Ellison Hatfield after he festival is held each year that draws hundreds of people. insulted Tolbert on election day in 1882. Devil Anse retaliated by exeThe festival has gained national attention. cuting the three without a trial.

At first, the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Festival was promoted as a For the next several years, violence ebbed and flowed. peacemaking event for the descendants of Randolph "Randel" McCoy In 1887, a lawyer named Perry Cline, a distant cousin of Randolph and William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield.

McCoy, used his influence to have the murder indictments reissued They are known as the original "feuders" responsible for starting the against the Hatfields and to start the extradition process to bring them blood shed. to Kentucky for trial.

The reunion has since evolved into an occasion for good-natured comSome became frustrated with the slowness of the legal system, and a petition between the two families. raid was organized during which several Hatfield supporters were capThe Hatfields and McCoys were prominent families who lived along tured and brought back to Kentucky. the Kentucky-West Virginia border, on opposite sides of the Tug River.

The Hatfields were incensed and they attempted to eliminate Randel Both families were part of the first pioneers to settle in the Tug Valley McCoy on January 1, 1888, which tragically resulted in the death of area. The McCoys lived on the Kentucky side of the river, while the two more of his children and the burning of his home.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer

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★

Johns Creek PIKE COUNTY

Despite remote location, Mountain Pub Links a ‘worthwhile’ community effort

Scenic Mountain Pub Links golf course is nestled between the mountains in Johns Creek.

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer In the early 1990s, then-Pike Judge-Executive Paul Patton saw a need in his county for a public golf course.

“I felt like Pike County was probably the biggest county in the United States that didn’t have a golf course,” he said.

But, he was confronted with a serious problem — a lack of usable land for the project. With Pike County’s mountainous terrain and high land costs, the project seemed difficult, until he found a site at Lower Johns Creek the county could lease to build the first nine holes.

Patton was not the only one, though, who had doubts about the site.

Engineer Jack Sykes, who currently serves as the president of the Pike County Golf Course Board, said Patton took him to the site which would eventually become Mountain Pub Links.

And, Sykes said, he was immediately confronted with two concerns; the site was in the flood plain and it was a relatively remote area of the county.

But, according to Sykes, there wasn’t much of an option.

“It was what was there,” he said.

So, construction began as Patton moved into the Kentucky lieutenant governor’s office.

And just like the final nine holes, constructed several years later, the first 46 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

nine holes of Mountain Pub Links was constructed, “on the cheap,” Sykes said, for less than $300,000.

According to Sykes, the course was built using a special crew of county workers, while a crew from Mountain Water District did the irrigation work, and coal companies and construction industry leaders contributed equipment and time to helping make the facility a reality.

“It was very much a community effort,” he said.

The result, according to Patton, has been a great boost for the economy, though the course has since received competition in the form of courses constructed in nearby counties on mountaintop removal sites.

Patton said he taught his grandchildren to play on the course, and that Mountain Pub Links has allowed many people to participate in the sport.

“It’s the only opportunity for an awful lot of people in Pike County to play golf,” he said. “I think it got a lot of people started in golf that wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”

Sykes said while it’s still a drive to get to the course, it has been a great benefit to the community.

“It has matured into a very nice course,” Sykes said. “It’s one of the top courses in Eastern Kentucky.”

And, one of Sykes’ main concerns has turned into a sort of blessing.

While he said flooding does tend to damage the course occasionally, the resultant mud has caused the course’s greenery to grow perfectly.

“It’s got better grass on the greens than many other courses,” he said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 15

Elkhorn City ★

PIKE COUNTY

Elkhorn natives keep building

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer ELKHORN CITY — Situated along the Russell Fork River and just minutes from the Breaks Interstate Park and its “Grand Canyon of the South,” much of the talk out of Elkhorn City is of potential and the possibilities that exist there.

However, a drive through the city can be discouraging for those looking for growth, as the city, and especially particular areas, are filled with buildings which once housed the businesses that fed the thriving small town, now empty and covered in dust and vines.

But, at least one corner of Elkhorn City is seeing some growth.

In 2008, the Artists Collaborative Theatre organization completed its home, located at the corner of Main Street and Patty Loveless Boulevard, featuring a theater that has since hosted more than a dozen productions.

This year, it was joined with the construction of a new home for a local business — Elkhorn Drug.

While the facilities housed in the buildings are different and intended for different purposes, they share a common thread — they were both started by Elkhorn City natives, who could have taken their education and skills anywhere, but decided to return home.

For Stephanie Richards, the director of the theater and organization, the decision to return home was guided by a strong arm.

The Elkhorn City High School graduate grew up with a connection to acting and theater but no way to express it until she was guided by some of her teachers.

“We didn’t have any model or example of what theater was,” Richards said.

Like many, Richards went to the University of Kentucky for her undergraduate degree, which led to a 10-year stint as a teacher at an inner-city school in Orlando, Fla. In Florida, she said, she had the support of the school’s administration, but the program had to be self-supporting and not be a cause for trouble.

The effects, she said, were immediate and great.

“I saw the difference that it made in the kids,” she said. “It was a wide range of experience the kids came from. It didn’t have a cultural or economic boundary.

After leaving the school, Richards went to the Chicago School for the Performing Arts, where she received a master’s degree in directing, then to the University of Iowa, where she got a master’s degree in fine arts.

After the final degree, Richards moved back to Chicago, where she began living the life she felt she had been led to live.

But, that wasn’t to last for long.

“It was almost like a direct phone call from God,” she said of the final decision-making incident that set her life’s course.

Richards was on stage in Chicago, at a time when she had an agent and was getting commercial work and other jobs.

But, she said, her mind started wandering during the performance.

“It was like God just called me up and said, ‘You’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, you should be back home,’” she said. “I thought God was obviously confused, because it didn’t make any sense in the world.”

Despite questions of how she would apply her skills and education 16 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Workers build a set at the ACT Theatre in Elkhorn City back in Elkhorn City, she packed up and moved home within two weeks.

Richards said her parents saw the decline of Elkhorn City and helped her to set up back home.

“They saw before I did the work I was doing in Orlando and how that could help our city back here,” she said. “They probably have a longer experience of seeing where the town used to be when it flourished and watching it disintegrate.”

But, she said, she never imagined that her journey home would lead to where it was.

A search for a home for the Artists Collaborative Theater led Richards to the location at the corner of Main Street and Patty Loveless Boulevard, where the owners of the building worked with her to replace their empty commercial building.

“They, as landowners, did something that no other landowner is Elkhorn City is doing right now, which is turning loose of land at a reasonable cost,” she said.

The theater opened in 2008 and Richards said it has been successful beyond what she could have ever imagined.

“Every show has paid for itself in ticket sales,” Richards said. “That doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.

“There’s no reason in the world this is working,” she said, laughing.

Her newest next-door neighbor, Elkhorn Drug, and its owners are no stranger to Richards or Elkhorn City.

Rob Lester opened Elkhorn Drug originally after remodeling an abanPike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 45

Robinson Creek ★

PIKE COUNTY

HELP, Inc. gets some needed help

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer ROBINSON CREEK — Helping Ease Life’s Poverty’s Charity Thrift Store was alive with activity recently.

Outside, volunteers worked to construct ramps which will be added to residences in Pike County. Inside, middle-school-aged children worked to unload a tractor-trailer full of donated items which will be sold at the store.

And, according to HELP Director Charles “Monk” Sanders, the help was expected to keep coming throughout the summer, thanks to the cooperation of an organization called Experience Mission.

Sanders said it would be difficult to put a price tag on the work the volunteers from across the country will be doing over the next few weeks, including free home repairs and home visits to people served by the organization.

“It’s invaluable,” Sanders said. “It means so much.”

According to Sanders, the Experience Mission organization will be sending a different group of volunteers each week to work in Pike County.

The leaders of the Experience Mission project this summer both said they feel they are doing God’s work in this area.

Michelle Busse, of Michigan, said the organization does not bring its volunteers in with specific jobs in mind, and they often find themselves learning new skills as they try to meet the needs of the organizations with which they are working.

“We’re here to help do whatever needs to be done,” she said.

And, she said, that fits in with the Christian mission of Experience Mission.

“This is our way of being the hands and feet of Christ,” she said.

Stephanie Stribling, of Dallas, Texas, with Experience Mission said that she began doing mission work and had gone overseas to work, but her family kept pointing out the problems faced by many people here.

She believes God has called her to do mission work in this area, especially in light of the economic difficulties many in the United States are facing right now.

“We’re doing all we can to survive as Americans,” she said.

And, she said, there has been an unexpected side effect of her decision to begin working here.

“I have fallen in love with this area,” she said, adding the people here are a big reason for that.

Sanders said that he hoped by the time the last group left, the organization will have two dozen ramps to be installed at the residences of needy people in Pike County.

A young volunteer helps unload a tractor-trailer full of donated items at the Charity Thrift Store at Robinson Creek. The items will be sold through the thrift store and the profits used to help fund the charity organization Helping Ease Life’s Poverty.

News-Express photo by Russ Cassady

44 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

News-Express photo by Russ Cassady

Volunteers from Charleston, S.C. work on a handicappedaccess ramp at the Charity Thrift Store at Robinson Creek.

The ramp is one of several Helping Ease Life’s Poverty hopes to begin distributing in the fall.

doned building just down Main Street from the site of the Artists Collaborative Theater.

But, his journey to his career did not begin in Elkhorn City.

After graduating from Elkhorn City High School in 1991, he did his undergraduate work at Southwest Community College in Virginia and Morehead State University, before getting his doctorate degree in pharmacy from Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. With a limited number of schools in the nation offering doctorate degrees in pharmacy, Lester found himself with an open door on the field.

He began working for the insurance company Kaiser Permanente as a clinical pharmacist, but felt the call to return to Elkhorn City.

“I missed home,” he said.

But, he said, the home he remembered had changed.

“When I went to high school, Elkhorn City was the greatest place you’ve ever seen in your life,” he said. “When I was 16, we didn’t go to Pikeville to cruise, we went to Elkhorn to cruise.

“It was just a good environment,” he continued. “It was a place where you could let your kid ride a bicycle down the street and not worry about them getting hurt.”

In just over 10 years, the city had changed in negative ways, he said.

“In just 10 years, I saw such a decline in businesses leaving, getting boarded up,” he said. “To me, it was just a no-brainer to come to Elkhorn.”

He returned and began working for Rite Aid in Elkhorn City and began settling his soon-to-be growing family.

On Dec. 16, 2003, he opened Elkhorn Drug, independently, after remodeling an abandoned building on Main Street to house the business.

Opening the store in Elkhorn City did not represent a totally financial decision for Lester, but he said it was the right one.

“I could have went to an area that had a greater population than Elkhorn, and filled more prescriptions than I do now,” he said. “I’ll never fill the amount of prescriptions people fill in Pikeville.”

Lester said he didn’t realize that the city couldn’t support three pharmacies, until the city’s Rite Aid pharmacy closed down.

Since then, he has branched out into other businesses, including real estate development in the city with James Justice, a dentist in the city, and his wife, with ventures like the Gold Ring Diner.

“We’re not doing real estate to make money,” he said, citing the former Apple Blossom Floral building.

Lester and his business associates remodeled the building and turned unused overhead space into two two-bedroom apartments. Additionally, he said, they took an unused side building and turned it into a beauty shop, reopened an abandoned apartment and opened up a laundromat underneath.

And, he said, he has seen a ripple effect.

“Every time that I do something in this town to improve it, or James and I do something like the Apple Blossom, you’ll always see someone else will start taking pride in the community and you’ll see the outside of buildings looking nicer,” he said. “That’s what it’s going to take; a couple of people to get together and really show that this town is worth making a trip for. Elkhorn City is just an uncut diamond.”

Richards shares Lester’s sentiments about Elkhorn City’s possibilities.

The Artists Collaborative Theatre is a nonprofit, volunteer community theater, with nobody getting paid from the theater’s performances.

Richards is paid by the University of Kentucky through the Cooperative Extension Office.

But she has seen what it has meant to the community, with people coming from across the county to see the performances and children who attend classes there benefiting from the skills and newfound confidence.

And, she doesn’t doubt that returning was the right thing to do and would encourage any young person who has moved away to return.

“Coming back home is not your last choice,” she said. “Moving back home is a perfectly wonderful choice.

“I could have a career with the university system anywhere in the

Local actors perform in The Hurting Part, a play written by renowned Appalachian writer Silas House.

Stephanie Richards, director of Artists Collaborative Theatre taught at an inner-city school in Orlando, attended the Chicago School for The Performing Arts and the University of Iowa before returning home to Elkhorn City.

nation,” Richards continued. “I could be working as a director and actor without having any of the worries about running a theater. There are many choices out there, but coming home was the right choice and starting this was the right choice.”

Both Richards and Lester said it will take effort, especially on the part of property owners, to help Elkhorn City recover.

“If people would fix their buildings up and put them up for rent, they would rent them,” he said.

Richards said just keeping the ACT running takes 45,000 volunteer hours per season.

And that community spirit, she said, is what Elkhorn City needs to express, as that was what made it successful in the past, with those in her parents’ generation.

“It didn’t matter what camp you were in, or whatever, you came together as the football boosters, or like George Anderson, who built the little league baseball field, or Rodney Ruth, who mows, or Bill Ramey,” she said. “And they don’t get credit for that, but it’s because it’s the right thing to do.”

Situated in close proximity to the Breaks, with great fishing and great people, Lester said the city’s possibilities are limitless.

“This could be the greatest place,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect place.”

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 17

ABOVE: Historic photos, old portraits and newspaper clippings adorn the wall at the Goody Food City. The items are part of the collection of antiquities and memorabilia of Jack Blackburn, who was been with the company for 54 years.

RIGHT: Jack Blackburn details the history of some of the items in his extensive collection of antiques.

Photos by Audrey Carter-Lee

18 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 43

★

Goody PIKE COUNTY

Preserving the past Local collector, Jack Blackburn, seeks museum location for collection.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer GOODY — He developed a love for collecting one-of-a kind items at a young age. Now, Jack Blackburn has an extensive collection and wants to see a firstclass museum built in Pike County to showcase his and other antiques for future generations. Many of the items represent a previous era in human society and show a degree of craftsmanship and attention to detail.

At this time, the Goody location of the Food City grocery store houses his prized possessions.

Blackburn, who has been with the company for 54 years, said his collection attracts people from all across the county.

“The company is awfully good to let me keep my possessions here at the store,” he said. “This is the only location that has it, and it draws a lot of traffic.”

Once people find out about the artifacts being displayed, Blackburn said they come into the store to see what’s there.

Jack Blackburn displays some of the many items he has collected over the Some of the items are donated and othyears. Some of his collection is displayed at the Food City in Goody. ers are things he’s gathered.

The mixture includes Hatfield and Blackburn also has the official paper signed in 1932 by former West McCoy memorabilia, coal mining artifacts, Norfolk Southern items, old Virginia Gov. H.G. Kump naming O.E. Hogan as the mayor of cash registers and many things that were made before bar codes were Williamson, W.Va. added.

“At the time there were two factions operating in Mingo County and “I have a bird cage that was used during early mining years,” he said. neither side could agree, so the governor made the choice,” he said. “It’s “At that time, the miners would place a canary inside the cage and if it the only time it ever happened. Hogan served from July 1, 1933 to June was alive the next morning they knew it was safe to work that day, but 30, 1934.” if it was dead they knew they had problems with gas building up inside In addition, Blackburn has the Civil War discharge papers that once the mine.” belonged to his great-grandfather’s brother, Barnabus Blackburn.

The bird cage was given to him by his dying cousin, he said.

A piece of red dog is also prominently displayed, Red dog was used “He wanted me to have it, so he sent it to me by his two sisters from years ago to fill road beds, driveways and pot holes. It has been Lexington,” Blackburn said. replaced by asphalt, concrete and gravel.

The collection also includes hundreds of old photographs, many of He’s tried to interest the Pike County powers-that-be in constructing a which Blackburn knows the history behind. museum, Blackburn said, but they have shown no regard for the idea.

A photo shot in 1909 shows a South Williamson swinging bridge.

“I want the history of this area to be remembered,” Blackburn said. “I Another is of Charles Ernest, now 92, of Hardy, standing alongside would like to donate my collection to leave as my legacy.”

Johnny Weismuller, who portrayed Tarzan. The two men were in A piece of property located next to the new Belfry High School would Hollywood selling war bonds. make the perfect location for a museum, he said.

42 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 19

Stone

★

PIKE COUNTY

Stone Heritage preserving history

Three large brick buildings at Stone housed offices for Eastern Coal and served as the community hub.

Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer STONE — Most of the coal mines have shut down and businesses closed, but at one time, Stone was a thriving, bustling, self-contained community.

During that period, the area had its own theater, grocery store, post office, doctor’s office, school and much, much more.

Now, a group operating as Stone Heritage Inc. is working to keep the rich history alive, as well as restore a couple of the buildings to their former glory.

According to the story that’s been told and retold, the area began to thrive in 1924 after Henry Ford traveled to Eastern Kentucky and acquired his own coal company.

Ford, a name that is synonymous with the auto industry, already owned a shipping company, radio station, lumber company and other lucrative enterprises, but he also wanted to purchase a coal company.

Once it became operational, Ford’s employees and their families had the best facilities money could buy and everything they could want or need just outside their front doors.

They even had their own baseball team.

A complex consisting of three large brick buildings that housed offices for the mining operation served as the hub of activity for the communi20 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

ty.

These buildings, known as the Red Robin Complex, and others in the community would remain standing long after Fordson, Eastern Coal and other operations had vacated the area.

Today, two of those buildings house a barbershop, flower and gift shops, a photography studio, museum and community meeting place, although they had been allowed at one time to fall into disrepair.

To tour the museum is like taking a step back in time.

Efforts are also ongoing to refurbish the old theater that still contains pictures of movie stars from bygone eras.

At this time, there are no plans to renovate the third building.

In 1936, Ford relinquished control of the company after coming under pressure from union organizers. Throughout the 20th century, the company changed hands several times, and the production of coal in Stone eventually ceased.

In 1999, former Pike County Judge Executive Karen Gibson found a deed to the Red Robin buildings in her office.

Knowing the history behind the complex, Gibson wanted to find a way to preserve the structures.

During a community gathering, Gibson spoke with some of the people who live in Stone about accepting and restoring the buildings.

They accepted the challenge, and that’s how Stone Heritage Inc. came to be formed.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 41

★

Phelps PIKE COUNTY

Hornet’s a clearinghouse in Phelps

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer PHELPS — The Hornet’s Restaurant has been a staple in the Phelps community for decades, although the location and owners have changed through the years.

The first proprietor, Virgie Casey, built the existing structure in the early 1970s after her customer base outgrew the curb service drive-in she originally opened.

Casey purchased the property which is located about a mile from the first restaurant, built the business, moved, and changed the name from Virgie’s Drive Inn to the Hornet’s Nest, which is associated with the mascot of Phelps High School.

Ruby Mitchell, a 20-year employee who has worked under many of the owners, said after Virgie married Harrison Dean, she kept the restaurant for about two years before selling it to Faye McCoy. McCoy is responsible for changing the name of the eatery, dropping the Nest, and just calling it the Hornet’s Restaurant.

Mitchell said McCoy operated the business for approximately 10 years before selling to Roger Hopson.

“Mr. Hopson kept the business for 7-8 years before selling it to Vernon Collins,” Mitchell said. “Mr. Collins has owned it since 1990, and I have worked for him since he took over and hardly missed a day.”

A former coal miner with 23 years of experience, 14 as a supervisor, Collins is carrying on a family tradition.

When he acquired the business, Collins’ father Dan came to Phelps from Michigan and joined him in the endeavor. The elder Collins taught him how to make subs, pizzas and his specialty, Krazy bread. His sister owned two restaurants in Tennessee, one of which is still serving customers, Collins said.

“My dad owned two restaurants in Michigan,” he said. “Today, we are still using his recipes, and I will put our subs, pizzas and Krazy bread up against any others in the business.”

Chrisitie Norman gave the menu rave reviews, saying there are no other bread sticks in the state of Kentucky that compare to the ones served at Hornets Restaurant.

“The food here is the best,” Norman said.

Customers who kept coming agreed. Most commented on the Krazy Bread, many saying they could eat it every day.

In the past, Collins said they opened up at 5 a.m., to accommodate mines in the area and gas company employees.

“At one time, Chisholm Coal provided the majority of my business,” he said. “Now that many of the coal mines have shut down, we open at 8 a.m., and close some time between 10 p.m. and midnight.”

A 1970 graduate of Matewan High School, Collins likens operating a restaurant to mining coal.

“To get a cut of coal, you have to prepare, the same goes for serving customers,” he said. “Everything we sell is home cooked.”

Owning a restaurant has changed his life, he said.

“Your life is never the same once you open up a restaurant,” Collins said. “You stay tied up, and it takes over your life.”

Still, he said business has been good despite the downturn the econo-

40 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Though completion of the restoration will take many years, the group is consistently working toward that goal.

Stone Heritage President Larry Ooten said they are working toward renovating the theater and received some seating for the structure when the Weddington Theatre was torn down.

“We still need a projector and screen,” Ooten said. “We’re also getting ready to expand the museum, one side of which is completed and the other side is under renovation.”

There is a new Norfolk Southern train display in the lobby, he said.

Secretary Peggy King said they consistently receive new material for the museum.

The latest donations include genealogy books for the Porter, Maynard, Chapman, Sturgill and Vance families, Pike County censuses from 18501900, Pike County marriage books from 1822-1865 and Pike County death records from 1849-1909.

To raise money for restoration, each year, the group sponsors events such as a haunted house, festival of trees at Christmas, tours of homes in the area and several reunions.

Another project that has garnered a lot of interest is the restoration of the Ford mansion that is now owned by Bill and Darlene Ball, who are also members of the Stone Heritage group.

Although it took years to complete, the house is now restored to its former glory and is the site of the annual Easter Egg hunt and Pond Creek Reunion.

The Ball family has also continued the old tradition of decorating and lighting the huge fir tree that sits on their lawn, which symbolizes Christmastime in the Pond Creek area.

Ooten said impromptu tours are conducted for anyone who wants to visit the complex. Just call (606) 353-1718 to set up an appointment, or drop by the gift shop, Behind the Pickett Fence, for more information.

Saturdays are good days for touring, Ooten said as the restored museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

No matter who owned or operated the business, Hornet’s Restaurant has been a staple in the Phelps community for decades.

my has taken.

“The economy has not brought many changes to the business,” he said, “In winter sometimes we slow down if the weather and roads are bad, but in summer people are running in and out.”

His customer base includes people from surrounding communities, some from Pikeville, Hurley, Va., church folks, mine inspectors and state and county employees.

“We also have customers coming from Williamson, Matewan, and Red Jacket, W.Va., as well as Belfry, Virgie, Kimper, and Johns Creek,” he said.

The good food and service keep them coming back, Collins said.

“I don’t have to tell my employees what to do because they know their job,” he said. “The vision is to keep the customers coming back.”

With a menu where everything is home cooked and made fresh daily, Collins hopes to keep serving food for years to come.

“We offer something for everyone,” he said. “Whether it’s omelets for breakfast, appetizers, salads, lighter fare or desserts, there is something for everyone’s taste.”

Recently, the restaurant hosted a safety gathering where 48 people showed up to enjoy T-bone, New York strip and rib eye steak and strawberry burritos with ice cream for dessert.

Collins said as long as they can keep things rolling, he’ll keep carrying on the family tradition.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 21

The Robinette family of Canada have a host of fainting the goats. The unique creatures stiffen up and fall over when startled, earning them their name.

According to Robinette, people mostly buy their goats as pets, but they also make good meat.

Right now there is a waiting list for the Robinette’s goats.

“I’ve never taken any to the meat market,” Robinette said, and she would like to keep it that way.

Robinette’s husband Woody didn’t have a whole lot to say, but it is obvious that he loves the goats as much as Carletta does. He is retired, so he spends most days in the yard playing with and taking care of the

22 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

goats.

While he was running around with the goats in the yard, he even tried to scare a couple of them. He wanted to show what they do when they faint.

Most of them just ran away. Carletta laughed and said, “They’re used to us now.”

Robinette thinks that everyone ought to have a couple of goats around.

“If you like animals, you will love goats,” she said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 39

★

Canada PIKE COUNTY

Life on the goat farm

By Amanda Goff Staff Writer

time with them and train them, they are very tame.

They also will not eat after each other.

Robinette said if one goat has eaten part of something, another goat won’t touch it. They have a really good sense of smell and can tell when another goat has touched something.

Goats mostly like to eat fruit, hay, grass and goat feed.

Fainting goats don’t have top front teeth or any side teeth, so they can’t hurt you if they bite.

They chew their food with their bottom teeth and the hard palate in the roof of their mouth.

They won’t eat everything, but goats will eat the plants in your

Carletta Robinette says that people like to call her and her husband Woody “the goat people,” and they couldn’t have been given a more accurate name. They have stickers of upside-down goats on their cars, their barn and everything else.

Yes, upside-down.

The Robinettes have their goat stickers turned upside-down because they raise a rare breed of goat called Myotonic of which there are only Fainting goats have provided Carletta Robinette 10,000 registered internationally. and her family an economic boon and a unique These goats, when frightened or excitconversation starter. ed, “faint.” Robinette said that they don’t really faint but are more or less paralyzed from the neck down for a few seconds. yard.

Fainting goats are so rare because shepherds used to put one in a herd “You can have flowers and you can have goats, but it’s hard to have of sheep, so when the herd got attacked, the goat would faint and the both flowers and goats,” Robinette said. sheep could get away while the wolves ate the goat. Now that fainting Goats make good mothers too. They stay right with their kids and take goats are so rare, they’ve become more valuable than sheep. care of them. But if the mother does need to go do something on their The Robinettes accidentally began raising fainting goats in 2004 when own, Robinette says that the mothers will leave their kids in a safe hidtheir youngest son put several of them in their dog lot. Robinette said ing spot and they will stay there until the mother comes back. that she didn’t even know what they were at first.

The mothers know which kids are theirs by their scent.

Now she does everything for the goats, even veterinary care.

“You can pick a kid up and the mother won’t even look at it because To take care of their goats, they have three different trays. One for she knows where it is by its smell,” Robinette said. birthing, one for worming and one for hoof trimming. Robinette is a Fainting goats are pretty particular about how they do things. nurse, so she said she just bought some veterinary books and taught herFor example, when the goats come off the Robinette’s hill for dinner, self for the most part. She says she will do anything except a c-section, they walk in a row. for that they take the goats to a veterinarian.

The “herd queen,” as Robinette likes to call her, is named Dollar. She Most people think that goats are untamed and will eat anything, but was one of the first goats that the Robinettes got, and she leads the herd both are misconceptions. off the hill. The rest of the goats follow in descending order of hierarThe Robinette’s goats are very tame. chy.

“They’re very calm, and that’s what I like about them,” Robinette said.

Goats also have specific things they like to do.

“There are none of these here that I wouldn’t trust my grandchildren One goat named Sasha likes to sit on a plastic play slide that is in the with.” goat pen. Robinette said that she often gets stuck at the top and has to Robinette said that you can raise goats to be mean, but if you spend lift her off of it.

38 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 23

★

Lykins Creek PIKE COUNTY

The new animal shelter is a dream come true

By Amanda Goff Staff Writer

who donated money toward building the new shelter.

Board member and chair of The Pike County Animal Shelter has the building committee David been dreaming of this for over a Stratton said that it includes decade. significant gifts and donations It finally has a new building. to the dog banks around town.

In 1983, the Humane Society built They are also very thankful their first shelter. Even from the for two staff members, Rick beginning, they knew it was too small, and Kristen Handshoe, who but it was a start. have made moving the animals Since then, they have spent the past to the new location a success.

11 years raising money and looking “This is an example of govfor the best location for a new animal ernment, volunteers and public shelter. support coming together to In 2009, they were successful in buybuild something needed for the ing property on Lykins Creek from the community,” Stratton said. heirs of Hazel Allen, who sold the He went on to explain that property at a discount. the government was instrumenThe new building is a dream come tal in getting the grant, voluntrue. It is a 7,000-square-foot all teers do the work and the pubindoor facility with 39 regular kennels, lic funded it. All components, Photo by Amanda Goff eight puppy runs, treatment, surgery, even though they have very difThe new Pike County Animal Shelter not only holds visitation and two birthing rooms, more cats and dogs, it also makes finding a new friend ferent roles, are vitally imporwhich cost just under one million dol- like the one above easier. tant to the success of the shelter. lars total. It can hold approximately Not only has the Pike County 100 dogs and 100 cats.

Animal Shelter met the needs of our area, it has reached others too. In When you actually get to experience the new shelter, you will find that the past 10 years, people from dozens of states have adopted animals as it’s worlds apart from the old one. The old one seemed stuffy, cramped a result of the Humane Society’s efforts according to Stratton. and just too small. Now, they have a beautiful building complete with Since the shelter is completed, Stratton said that the Humane Society stone columns and a window in the lobby that views a cat play area. It’s will now be focusing its attention on spaying and neutering programs spacious and can comfortably hold many more animals than the old and adoption and rescue. facility.

Because the animal shelter takes in from 4,000 to 5,000 animals a This new building and property were gifted to Pike County. year, Stratton emphasized the ever-present need to spay and neuter your There are many members, both past and present who have been instrupets. mental in the success of building the new facility according to Stratton.

“The key to a successful shelter and good animal control lies within They are: Mary Wells, Robert Pinson, John Davis, Alex and Jean Gaska, the responsibility of all pet owners to spay and neuter their animals,” Bonita Rose, Peggy Justice, Phillip and Janie Sykes, Beverly Newman, Stratton said. “Until we two-legged creatures take the responsibility of Drew Justice, Tinker Page, Dwayne and Lisa Scalf and Donna Stratton. caring for our four-legged friends, we’ll always have overpopulation The humane society is also extremely grateful to all the individuals which leads to abuse and neglect.”

24 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 37

★

South Williamson PIKE COUNTY

Hatfield-McCoy Marathon Grows Bigger and Better

The new Pike County animal shelter can house 100 cats and 100 dogs, includes 39 kennels, eight puppy runs and a cat play room.

Over the past 11 years the Hatfield-McCoy Marathon has grown to include hundreds of runners from nearly every state and several countries.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Runners from across the United States and as far away as Japan flock each year to the Annual Hatfield-McCoy Marathon.

Over the past 11 years, participants have also traveled from Iceland, England, Germany and Ireland.

Tug Valley Roadrunners Club President David Hatfield said to date he received approximately 400 entries representing 39 states, including Alaska and Hawaii and six from Canada.

“We’ve registered about the same number of racers that we did this time last year,” Hatfield said before the 2010 installment of the race.

“More than 400 have participated in the past two years.”

Hatfield said the marathon started as an idea for the first HatfieldMcCoy Reunion Festival in 2000 and continues to grow.

“At the time we had just started the Tug Valley runner’s club which is still active,” he said. “Sonya Hatfield Hall, who headed up the event the first year, put an ad in the newspaper asking for suggestions for the festival, and someone mentioned a marathon.”

The race continues to gain in popularity among distance runners, as well as locals who run either the half or full 26.2-mile marathon.

This year’s race will get underway on June 12, at 7 a.m., in front of Food City at Goody.

‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield will start the race with a shotgun blast, and from

there the runners will travel south on U.S. 119 to Toler, turn left on Rt. 199 at Velocity Market and run past Southside Elementary to the bridge going toward Hardy.

Volunteers will man water stops and first-aid stations along the route.

STAT Ambulance personnel will follow the last runner to both finish lines.

The Blackberry Mountain leg of the route is described as a little more challenging, but the runners will see actual sites of the famous HatfieldMcCoy feud along the way. They include the Randolph McCoy home place, the graveyard where Tolber, Bud and Pharmer McCoy are buried, Rev. Anderson Hatfield’s home place, and the site of the “Hog Trial” held in 1878.

At the halfway finish line runners will end up in historical downtown Matewan, W.Va., and those who plan to continue will then travel north back into Kentucky. From there they make a right onto River Road and follow it to the Tug Valley Country Club. The course then follows Rt. 292 until Aflex, and runners then turn right onto US 119 for less than a mile. They then cross the Tug River back into West Virginia heading for the finish line in front of the Coal House in downtown Williamson, W.Va. at the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce.

There they are met by members of the feuding Hatfield and McCoy families, ‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield and Randall McCoy. David Hatfield said although many of the runners are great marathoners, most of those who participate just enjoy the race.

Photos by Amanda Goff

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 25 36 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

“All of these signs reflect back to me of good times; when you could get a soft drink for a nickel,” he said. “You didn’t get to have one very often back then, so you appreciated it a lot more.”

Tackett’s collection began when he found an antique foot-washing pan at his church. Curious of its origin and age, he began researching similar pans and developed a desire to collect other artifacts from the past.

He began to collect small pieces of nostalgia, but one particular artifact stuck with him; hidden in the back of his mind from his childhood.

“I do remember that big red sign,” he said.

The sign was a Coca-Cola advertisement which was displayed at his father’s store. He said the memory of that particular sign is what truly got his collection started; a collection which has expanded beyond signs and now includes antique cola coolers, refrigerators, fountains and even a scoreboard.

Now, those artifacts are nailed to the walls of his home, hung from the porch, placed next to doorways or placed neatly around a rebuilt replica of his childhood home, which sits next-door to his own home.

Tackett chuckled when he said passersby have stopped at his home and welcomed themselves through the front door on several occasions, thinking his home was a small mom-and-pop store.

Tackett said he doesn’t mind the occasional mistake by a passerby and said one of the best parts about his obscure collection is meeting new people.

“You meet some of the best people with this stuff,” he said. “Some come in here thinking it’s a store and some just want to come in and look.”

Tackett said he has been surprised by the interest young people have given his collection and he hopes many more will take up the hobby.

“A lot of these young people are getting into it because they’re interested in where they come from,” he said.

On rare occasions, Tackett sells a piece of his collection.

He said a young man recently expressed an interest in a baseball scoreboard with chalkboard panels and a Royal Crown Cola herald across the top. Tackett said the item is worth hundreds of dollars to collectors, such as himself, but the eager young man’s enthusiasm for the item was worth much more, and he parted with the scoreboard for $150.

Tackett said he has lost money on several pieces of his collection, but the joy of owning the item, or even passing it along to a younger generation, makes the transaction square.

“If you see something you like, it’s not the money; it’s the enjoyment of getting it,” he said. “Sometimes, I lose money on it, but it’s not about the money.”

Tackett — who is supported in his love of soft drink nostalgia by his wife, Mary, and daughter, Grace — also uses the hobby as a form of therapy and relaxation. His trips to other states in search of artifacts provide the thrill of the hunt and the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when he finds an interesting piece of “pop” culture.

His collection takes him back and reminds him of his late parents and that long-gone store and, he said, his love for his hobby will continue to endure and grow.

“I always tell people, if you find something you like, don’t walk away from it because you’ll regret it,” he said. “This is a wonderful hobby to have.”

26 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Top: A replica of James Tackett’s childhood home sits in his yard, decorated with soft drink advertisements.

Above: James Tackett’s collection includes vintage coolers, a soda fountain and a baseball scoreboard, among other unique items at his home.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 35

Dorton PIKE COUNTY ★

Soft drink heralds take Dorton preacher back to simpler time

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer There’s nothing quite like a cold Coca-Cola, Pepsi or Dr. Pepper on a hot summer day.

The pop of the top sings to the ears, and the fizz of the carbon tickles the nose before the cool, refreshing syrupy sweetness sends a chill across the body and the mind. All is, for a moment, right with the world.

The memories associated with soft drinks have prompted millions of dollars in merchandise sales, as these iconic brands have become synonymous with the free spirit of the summer and the urge to get back those feelings of days gone by.

34 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Even the mere mention of the name or the spotting of a herald for a soft drink company takes folks, like James Tackett, back in time.

An avid antique collector, Tackett’s home — alongside U.S. 23 at Dorton — is adorned with dozens of signs displaying the names of Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, Nehi and other manufacturers. He said the signs take him back to his childhood, when his father owned a store which displayed the heralds.

James Tackett has amassed an impressive collection of vintage soft drink memorabilia, including this refurbished Coke machine at his home.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 27

★

McVeigh PIKE COUNTY

Reclaming beauty

The stunningly beautiful pond at Grants Branch Park sits at the head of what was once a slurry impoundment.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer MCVEIGH — It's been described as one of the most beautiful recreational sites in Pike County.

In fact, it has been named one of the 10 most beautiful parks in the state of Kentucky.

Grants Branch is a man-made lake that was built on a former slurry impoundment and waste area that was prematurely abandoned leaving the impoundment incomplete.

Reclamation efforts involved an area of 165.5 total acres which included 21 acres of surface water and 6.194 feet of shoreline.

Utilizing this reclaimed mine area, the project owners and Summit Engineering, Inc. created a park and a small fishing lake in McVeigh.

In 2001, a large cabin was built to host weddings, anniversary parties, birthday celebrations, gospel sings and other social gatherings, but it took a while before water, a sidewalk and other amenities were added.

A playground area was also erected and a handicap accessible fishing pier ramp built. The handicapped fishing pier makes fishing easy and great fun for kids, the elderly and those in wheelchairs.

District Six Magistrate Chris Harris said for those who have never been to Grants Branch Park, it is truly a beautiful place.

Harris said many Pike Countians have enjoyed the fishing, picnicking, beauty and tranquility of the park for years.

"We are blessed to have this facility," Harris said. "The population that comes here has tripled in the last few years."

28 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating upgrades to the park, Sandy Runyon, executive director of the Big Sandy Area Development Center, said Grants Branch is a facility locals will enjoy, but as tourism increases people from other areas will travel here to enjoy the park.

During the celebration, Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said when he visited Lexington and opened up the Kentucky Parks Magazine, he saw Grants Branch featured and it made him very proud of how money is being spent in Pike County.

"It has been said the Pike County Fiscal Court wasted coal severance tax money, but this is no waste," Rutherford said. "The people deserve good parks."

Pike County Attorney H. Keith Hall said he looked forward to bringing his children to the park to enjoy everything it had to offer.

The park is operated by the Pike County Fiscal Court and open from March 1 through Nov. 30, Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.

It also includes a 2 1/2 mile walking trail that winds around the lake.

The caretakers mobile home, which is located at the entrance of the Park, has been replaced with a small cabin that matches the bigger cabin. The lake is stocked with bass, bluegill and three varieties of trout and fishing tournaments are held each year.

Park benches have been installed and two shelters (upper and lower) are available for reservation by the public.

In addition, the cabin is available for use by calling 606-353-8325. A $50 deposit is required to reserve it, however, the deposit is returned if the cabin is not damaged and is cleaned up after the event.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 33

Caney Creek PIKE COUNTY ★

Georgia volunteers jump-start Caney church construction

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer

Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church has had to deal with a problem over the years that many churches would love to have — too many people wanting to come to church.

But a group of volunteers from Georgia made week-long trip to Eastern Kentucky in June, and Caney Creek church is closer to having a new home, thanks to them.

Caney Creek pastor John Vance said the church’s annual Easter production draws hundreds of people to each performance; but due to seating limitations, about 100 people have to be turned away at each performance.

So over the last two years, the church has been working on plans for a new church building to replace the existing one, which was built in 1950 and has been renovated several times.

“We’ve added on and expanded, but we just don’t have anywhere else to go,” Vance said.

The church developed a plan for what they wanted in a new building, but plans to make it happen never came to fruition. The members of Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church were at a loss for ideas on how to begin the building project.

That recently changed, however.

Vance said after Caney Creek church member Dr. Adam Akers spoke with acquaintances, who are members at an Island Creek church, regarding work done by a group of volunteers from Georgia called Higher Call Builders, Akers took the information to Vance, who started making phone calls to the group.

Higher Call Builders is a group of volunteers from several churches in Georgia. The group travels each summer to assist in the construction of new churches.

The volunteers with Higher Call Builders are no strangers to Pike County. The group visited the area in 2009 to assist with the construction of a church at Island Creek and with that visit, they developed a reputation for getting things done.

And it is that reputation that prompted Vance to contact Higher Call Builders and ask for their help.

“They said they didn’t have a church to build and were praying for one,” Vance said. “I said, ‘Will you let me be the answer to your prayers?’”

Conversations between Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church and Higher Call Builders took place for about two months, Vance said, while the church communicated what they wanted in a new church building and a plan for the construction was developed.

It wasn’t long before dozens of people poured into Pike County once again to help construct another house of God. Construction on the new Caney Creek church began just after the first of June at Booker Fork, with 65 volunteers making the trip to Kentucky at their own expense to assist in the build.

Royce Hendry, the pastor of Sand Hill Baptist Church, in Georgia, and a six-year volunteer with Higher Call Builders, said being able to help another church is a thrilling experience for him and it keeps him coming back to pitch in.

“It gives a sense of accomplishment in helping someone and helping a

32 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

The new Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church began taking shape, thanks to church members and a group of volunteers from several churches in Georgia. church in need,” he said.

Hendry said the group helps construct one church per year and with each church that is constructed, the group of volunteers with Higher Call Builders grows.

“Each church that Higher Call helps gets picked up into the group,” he said. “When it’s time to get together, we’ll mobilize and go to work.”

During their visit to Pike County, which ended Thursday when the last crew departed for home, the group worked on the foundation of the church and erected several 20-feet tall sections of wall for the church building.

Volunteers began work shortly after the day’s first light and worked late into the evening, using electric and hand tools, as well as large pieces of lifting equipment to put the walls into place.

Volunteers, such as Patty Johnson and her husband, were eager to get to work on the project. Johnson said medical problems threatened to keep her from making the trip, but a chance to serve the Lord motivated her to persevere.

“I had back surgery in April,” she said. “But I was coming anyway.”

The group departed Pike County after having accomplished the framing of most of the church’s walls. The most important accomplishment of their work, however, is the spark of energy which they have left behind.

“This Higher Call Builders have been the catalyst for getting us to do the work we’ve done,” Vance said.

He said the project is the most significant change brought about to his church in his 25 years of ministry and 42 years of membership, and it couldn’t have been done without the help of Higher Call Builders.

Vance estimates that the new church building will be complete in about a year, and monthly contributions from residents of Lexington and Louisville, who were impressed by the church’s Easter production, will keep the momentum of the project going.

Vance said the best part of the project is easy for him to pick out.

“Knowing that we’ll never have to turn anyone away is the most exciting thing,” he said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 29

★

Harold PIKE COUNTY

Aviation campers soar into the blue

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer As the nose of the Piper Archer lifted and the craft gained altitude, the nervous young pilot behind the wheel of the four-seat plane looked like an old pro.

Low-lying gray clouds passed by the windscreen of the plane and the Appalachian landscape stretched as far as the eye could see. Zack West forgot all about the fears he had experienced just moments before while taxiing along the runway. He was flying. He was calm. And he was right at home in the pilot’s seat.

His passenger, however, was not quite as calm.

“I don’t trust him with my life in his hands,” Trenton Workman, Zack’s cousin, said from the back seat of the plane.

But after safely touching down at Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport, both Zack and Trenton, who had just flow a plane for the first time, walked a little taller, basking in their accomplishment.

The two were among about three-dozen young people from Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia took part in Aviation Camp. The two-day

30 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

camp, conducted by the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, began Monday at the Pikeville-Pike County Airport’s Hatcher Field, where dozens of teens and pre-teens got to spread their wings and log actual flight time behind the wheel of small single-engine planes.

The camp was the first in Pikeville since 2008.

Danielle Justice, of Ivel, and Katilyn Coleman, of Pikeville, both 17, were on hand as volunteers at the camp Monday. Justice had previously attended the camp once, while Coleman has five years of Aviation Camp experience.

Both Coleman and Justice said the camp left a lasting impression on them and has even guided the career choice of one of the girls. After attending the camp, Coleman said, she decided to pursue a career in commercial aviation.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do before I came to the camp, but I fell in love with flying,” she said.

Pilots Kirk Wells and Rodney Smith were among the pilots who donated their time and aircraft to the camp. Eager prospective pilots were afforded the opportunity to take the controls of a single-engine airplane, where they controlled the take-off, flight and landing of the plane on a short

trip from Hatcher Field to Big Sandy Airport in Prestonsburg.

“These kids love the camp,” Wells said. “It’s a great opportunity for them.”

Coleman and Justice said they see themselves in the current crop of campers and can remember their eagerness to get up in the air. That eagerness quickly turned to nerves, the two said.

“The kids, they’re all bouncy and happy when they walk out to the plane, but then they start to freak out a little bit when they get in the plane,” Justice said. “That’s pretty much the way it was with us.”

Any nervous feelings at the camp were set aside, though, with the arrival of a Kentucky National Guard UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter.

Campers eagerly watched as the warbird landed at Hatcher Field and taxied forward. After the flight crew shared lunch with the campers, the prospective pilots were give the opportunity to explore the Blackhawk and take a turn in the pilot’s seat.

No rides were given in the chopper, but its pilot, Major Mark Brozak, said he was impressed with the campers and their interest in his aircraft.

“This group was great,” Brozak said. “They had a lot of great questions and were really excited. The kids always love the Blackhawk.”

Brozak’s flight crew, Chief Warrant Officer Vince Benfatti and Spc. Brent Brunell, laughed as they talked about some of the questions they receive when displaying a Blackhawk.

“The first thing the kids always ask is, ‘Have you killed anybody?’”

Benfatti said.

Aviation Camp director Ed Murphy said the purpose of the camp is a severalfold initiative, but education and motivation are the keys.

Murphy said an emphasis of the camp is to encourage young people to take their studies seriously and to try their best in school. He said the camp illustrates to the campers that in order to succeed as an aviator, or in any field, people must study and take it seriously.

“In order to be an aviator, you have to be at least a decent student and you have to take what you’re doing seriously,” Murphy said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to show these kids that you have to study and work hard to do things, such as become a pilot.”

The camp also encourages young people to step out of their comfort zone and try new things, he said.

“The purpose of the camp is to really provide an enrichment experience for young people,” Murphy said. “We’re using aviation as a motivational experience.”

And according to Justice and Coleman, the camp is meeting that goal.

Both Justice and Coleman said the camp has instilled a sense of adventure in them that would have otherwise likely not been there.

“It’s encouraged me to test my limits more than usual,” Justice said.

“It was really the first time I ever got out of my safety zone.”

The camp in Pikeville was one of several camps the Aviation Museum will conduct across the state. The camps are held in June and July of each year, and was not held in Pikeville in 2009 due to low enrollment.

Campers pay tuition to attend the camp, but Murphy said through scholarships and sponsors — such as one in South Carolina who sponsors four campers, including two which he specifies must be from Pike County — no child has been turned away from the Pikeville camp.

For more information on the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, or Aviation Camp, visit www.aviationky.org.

Facing page: Trenton Workman, of Pikeville, takes flight in a small plane during Aviation Camp, held at the Pikeville airport.

Top: Campers take the controls of a Kentucky National Guard UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter during Aviation Camp. Though no flights were given in the helicopter, campers were allowed to explore the war bird while it was displayed at the airport.

Above: Members of the flight crew for the Blackhawk helicopter enjoyed lunch with the campers.

Photos by Chris Anderson

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 31

★

Harold PIKE COUNTY

Aviation campers soar into the blue

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer As the nose of the Piper Archer lifted and the craft gained altitude, the nervous young pilot behind the wheel of the four-seat plane looked like an old pro.

Low-lying gray clouds passed by the windscreen of the plane and the Appalachian landscape stretched as far as the eye could see. Zack West forgot all about the fears he had experienced just moments before while taxiing along the runway. He was flying. He was calm. And he was right at home in the pilot’s seat.

His passenger, however, was not quite as calm.

“I don’t trust him with my life in his hands,” Trenton Workman, Zack’s cousin, said from the back seat of the plane.

But after safely touching down at Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport, both Zack and Trenton, who had just flow a plane for the first time, walked a little taller, basking in their accomplishment.

The two were among about three-dozen young people from Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia took part in Aviation Camp. The two-day

30 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

camp, conducted by the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, began Monday at the Pikeville-Pike County Airport’s Hatcher Field, where dozens of teens and pre-teens got to spread their wings and log actual flight time behind the wheel of small single-engine planes.

The camp was the first in Pikeville since 2008.

Danielle Justice, of Ivel, and Katilyn Coleman, of Pikeville, both 17, were on hand as volunteers at the camp Monday. Justice had previously attended the camp once, while Coleman has five years of Aviation Camp experience.

Both Coleman and Justice said the camp left a lasting impression on them and has even guided the career choice of one of the girls. After attending the camp, Coleman said, she decided to pursue a career in commercial aviation.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do before I came to the camp, but I fell in love with flying,” she said.

Pilots Kirk Wells and Rodney Smith were among the pilots who donated their time and aircraft to the camp. Eager prospective pilots were afforded the opportunity to take the controls of a single-engine airplane, where they controlled the take-off, flight and landing of the plane on a short

trip from Hatcher Field to Big Sandy Airport in Prestonsburg.

“These kids love the camp,” Wells said. “It’s a great opportunity for them.”

Coleman and Justice said they see themselves in the current crop of campers and can remember their eagerness to get up in the air. That eagerness quickly turned to nerves, the two said.

“The kids, they’re all bouncy and happy when they walk out to the plane, but then they start to freak out a little bit when they get in the plane,” Justice said. “That’s pretty much the way it was with us.”

Any nervous feelings at the camp were set aside, though, with the arrival of a Kentucky National Guard UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter.

Campers eagerly watched as the warbird landed at Hatcher Field and taxied forward. After the flight crew shared lunch with the campers, the prospective pilots were give the opportunity to explore the Blackhawk and take a turn in the pilot’s seat.

No rides were given in the chopper, but its pilot, Major Mark Brozak, said he was impressed with the campers and their interest in his aircraft.

“This group was great,” Brozak said. “They had a lot of great questions and were really excited. The kids always love the Blackhawk.”

Brozak’s flight crew, Chief Warrant Officer Vince Benfatti and Spc. Brent Brunell, laughed as they talked about some of the questions they receive when displaying a Blackhawk.

“The first thing the kids always ask is, ‘Have you killed anybody?’”

Benfatti said.

Aviation Camp director Ed Murphy said the purpose of the camp is a severalfold initiative, but education and motivation are the keys.

Murphy said an emphasis of the camp is to encourage young people to take their studies seriously and to try their best in school. He said the camp illustrates to the campers that in order to succeed as an aviator, or in any field, people must study and take it seriously.

“In order to be an aviator, you have to be at least a decent student and you have to take what you’re doing seriously,” Murphy said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to show these kids that you have to study and work hard to do things, such as become a pilot.”

The camp also encourages young people to step out of their comfort zone and try new things, he said.

“The purpose of the camp is to really provide an enrichment experience for young people,” Murphy said. “We’re using aviation as a motivational experience.”

And according to Justice and Coleman, the camp is meeting that goal.

Both Justice and Coleman said the camp has instilled a sense of adventure in them that would have otherwise likely not been there.

“It’s encouraged me to test my limits more than usual,” Justice said.

“It was really the first time I ever got out of my safety zone.”

The camp in Pikeville was one of several camps the Aviation Museum will conduct across the state. The camps are held in June and July of each year, and was not held in Pikeville in 2009 due to low enrollment.

Campers pay tuition to attend the camp, but Murphy said through scholarships and sponsors — such as one in South Carolina who sponsors four campers, including two which he specifies must be from Pike County — no child has been turned away from the Pikeville camp.

For more information on the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, or Aviation Camp, visit www.aviationky.org.

Facing page: Trenton Workman, of Pikeville, takes flight in a small plane during Aviation Camp, held at the Pikeville airport.

Top: Campers take the controls of a Kentucky National Guard UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter during Aviation Camp. Though no flights were given in the helicopter, campers were allowed to explore the war bird while it was displayed at the airport.

Above: Members of the flight crew for the Blackhawk helicopter enjoyed lunch with the campers.

Photos by Chris Anderson

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 31

Caney Creek PIKE COUNTY ★

Georgia volunteers jump-start Caney church construction

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer

Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church has had to deal with a problem over the years that many churches would love to have — too many people wanting to come to church.

But a group of volunteers from Georgia made week-long trip to Eastern Kentucky in June, and Caney Creek church is closer to having a new home, thanks to them.

Caney Creek pastor John Vance said the church’s annual Easter production draws hundreds of people to each performance; but due to seating limitations, about 100 people have to be turned away at each performance.

So over the last two years, the church has been working on plans for a new church building to replace the existing one, which was built in 1950 and has been renovated several times.

“We’ve added on and expanded, but we just don’t have anywhere else to go,” Vance said.

The church developed a plan for what they wanted in a new building, but plans to make it happen never came to fruition. The members of Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church were at a loss for ideas on how to begin the building project.

That recently changed, however.

Vance said after Caney Creek church member Dr. Adam Akers spoke with acquaintances, who are members at an Island Creek church, regarding work done by a group of volunteers from Georgia called Higher Call Builders, Akers took the information to Vance, who started making phone calls to the group.

Higher Call Builders is a group of volunteers from several churches in Georgia. The group travels each summer to assist in the construction of new churches.

The volunteers with Higher Call Builders are no strangers to Pike County. The group visited the area in 2009 to assist with the construction of a church at Island Creek and with that visit, they developed a reputation for getting things done.

And it is that reputation that prompted Vance to contact Higher Call Builders and ask for their help.

“They said they didn’t have a church to build and were praying for one,” Vance said. “I said, ‘Will you let me be the answer to your prayers?’”

Conversations between Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church and Higher Call Builders took place for about two months, Vance said, while the church communicated what they wanted in a new church building and a plan for the construction was developed.

It wasn’t long before dozens of people poured into Pike County once again to help construct another house of God. Construction on the new Caney Creek church began just after the first of June at Booker Fork, with 65 volunteers making the trip to Kentucky at their own expense to assist in the build.

Royce Hendry, the pastor of Sand Hill Baptist Church, in Georgia, and a six-year volunteer with Higher Call Builders, said being able to help another church is a thrilling experience for him and it keeps him coming back to pitch in.

“It gives a sense of accomplishment in helping someone and helping a

32 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

The new Caney Creek Freewill Baptist Church began taking shape, thanks to church members and a group of volunteers from several churches in Georgia. church in need,” he said.

Hendry said the group helps construct one church per year and with each church that is constructed, the group of volunteers with Higher Call Builders grows.

“Each church that Higher Call helps gets picked up into the group,” he said. “When it’s time to get together, we’ll mobilize and go to work.”

During their visit to Pike County, which ended Thursday when the last crew departed for home, the group worked on the foundation of the church and erected several 20-feet tall sections of wall for the church building.

Volunteers began work shortly after the day’s first light and worked late into the evening, using electric and hand tools, as well as large pieces of lifting equipment to put the walls into place.

Volunteers, such as Patty Johnson and her husband, were eager to get to work on the project. Johnson said medical problems threatened to keep her from making the trip, but a chance to serve the Lord motivated her to persevere.

“I had back surgery in April,” she said. “But I was coming anyway.”

The group departed Pike County after having accomplished the framing of most of the church’s walls. The most important accomplishment of their work, however, is the spark of energy which they have left behind.

“This Higher Call Builders have been the catalyst for getting us to do the work we’ve done,” Vance said.

He said the project is the most significant change brought about to his church in his 25 years of ministry and 42 years of membership, and it couldn’t have been done without the help of Higher Call Builders.

Vance estimates that the new church building will be complete in about a year, and monthly contributions from residents of Lexington and Louisville, who were impressed by the church’s Easter production, will keep the momentum of the project going.

Vance said the best part of the project is easy for him to pick out.

“Knowing that we’ll never have to turn anyone away is the most exciting thing,” he said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 29

★

McVeigh PIKE COUNTY

Reclaming beauty

The stunningly beautiful pond at Grants Branch Park sits at the head of what was once a slurry impoundment.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer MCVEIGH — It's been described as one of the most beautiful recreational sites in Pike County.

In fact, it has been named one of the 10 most beautiful parks in the state of Kentucky.

Grants Branch is a man-made lake that was built on a former slurry impoundment and waste area that was prematurely abandoned leaving the impoundment incomplete.

Reclamation efforts involved an area of 165.5 total acres which included 21 acres of surface water and 6.194 feet of shoreline.

Utilizing this reclaimed mine area, the project owners and Summit Engineering, Inc. created a park and a small fishing lake in McVeigh.

In 2001, a large cabin was built to host weddings, anniversary parties, birthday celebrations, gospel sings and other social gatherings, but it took a while before water, a sidewalk and other amenities were added.

A playground area was also erected and a handicap accessible fishing pier ramp built. The handicapped fishing pier makes fishing easy and great fun for kids, the elderly and those in wheelchairs.

District Six Magistrate Chris Harris said for those who have never been to Grants Branch Park, it is truly a beautiful place.

Harris said many Pike Countians have enjoyed the fishing, picnicking, beauty and tranquility of the park for years.

"We are blessed to have this facility," Harris said. "The population that comes here has tripled in the last few years."

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At a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating upgrades to the park, Sandy Runyon, executive director of the Big Sandy Area Development Center, said Grants Branch is a facility locals will enjoy, but as tourism increases people from other areas will travel here to enjoy the park.

During the celebration, Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said when he visited Lexington and opened up the Kentucky Parks Magazine, he saw Grants Branch featured and it made him very proud of how money is being spent in Pike County.

"It has been said the Pike County Fiscal Court wasted coal severance tax money, but this is no waste," Rutherford said. "The people deserve good parks."

Pike County Attorney H. Keith Hall said he looked forward to bringing his children to the park to enjoy everything it had to offer.

The park is operated by the Pike County Fiscal Court and open from March 1 through Nov. 30, Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.

It also includes a 2 1/2 mile walking trail that winds around the lake.

The caretakers mobile home, which is located at the entrance of the Park, has been replaced with a small cabin that matches the bigger cabin. The lake is stocked with bass, bluegill and three varieties of trout and fishing tournaments are held each year.

Park benches have been installed and two shelters (upper and lower) are available for reservation by the public.

In addition, the cabin is available for use by calling 606-353-8325. A $50 deposit is required to reserve it, however, the deposit is returned if the cabin is not damaged and is cleaned up after the event.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 33

Dorton PIKE COUNTY ★

Soft drink heralds take Dorton preacher back to simpler time

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer There’s nothing quite like a cold Coca-Cola, Pepsi or Dr. Pepper on a hot summer day.

The pop of the top sings to the ears, and the fizz of the carbon tickles the nose before the cool, refreshing syrupy sweetness sends a chill across the body and the mind. All is, for a moment, right with the world.

The memories associated with soft drinks have prompted millions of dollars in merchandise sales, as these iconic brands have become synonymous with the free spirit of the summer and the urge to get back those feelings of days gone by.

34 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Even the mere mention of the name or the spotting of a herald for a soft drink company takes folks, like James Tackett, back in time.

An avid antique collector, Tackett’s home — alongside U.S. 23 at Dorton — is adorned with dozens of signs displaying the names of Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, Nehi and other manufacturers. He said the signs take him back to his childhood, when his father owned a store which displayed the heralds.

James Tackett has amassed an impressive collection of vintage soft drink memorabilia, including this refurbished Coke machine at his home.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 27

“All of these signs reflect back to me of good times; when you could get a soft drink for a nickel,” he said. “You didn’t get to have one very often back then, so you appreciated it a lot more.”

Tackett’s collection began when he found an antique foot-washing pan at his church. Curious of its origin and age, he began researching similar pans and developed a desire to collect other artifacts from the past.

He began to collect small pieces of nostalgia, but one particular artifact stuck with him; hidden in the back of his mind from his childhood.

“I do remember that big red sign,” he said.

The sign was a Coca-Cola advertisement which was displayed at his father’s store. He said the memory of that particular sign is what truly got his collection started; a collection which has expanded beyond signs and now includes antique cola coolers, refrigerators, fountains and even a scoreboard.

Now, those artifacts are nailed to the walls of his home, hung from the porch, placed next to doorways or placed neatly around a rebuilt replica of his childhood home, which sits next-door to his own home.

Tackett chuckled when he said passersby have stopped at his home and welcomed themselves through the front door on several occasions, thinking his home was a small mom-and-pop store.

Tackett said he doesn’t mind the occasional mistake by a passerby and said one of the best parts about his obscure collection is meeting new people.

“You meet some of the best people with this stuff,” he said. “Some come in here thinking it’s a store and some just want to come in and look.”

Tackett said he has been surprised by the interest young people have given his collection and he hopes many more will take up the hobby.

“A lot of these young people are getting into it because they’re interested in where they come from,” he said.

On rare occasions, Tackett sells a piece of his collection.

He said a young man recently expressed an interest in a baseball scoreboard with chalkboard panels and a Royal Crown Cola herald across the top. Tackett said the item is worth hundreds of dollars to collectors, such as himself, but the eager young man’s enthusiasm for the item was worth much more, and he parted with the scoreboard for $150.

Tackett said he has lost money on several pieces of his collection, but the joy of owning the item, or even passing it along to a younger generation, makes the transaction square.

“If you see something you like, it’s not the money; it’s the enjoyment of getting it,” he said. “Sometimes, I lose money on it, but it’s not about the money.”

Tackett — who is supported in his love of soft drink nostalgia by his wife, Mary, and daughter, Grace — also uses the hobby as a form of therapy and relaxation. His trips to other states in search of artifacts provide the thrill of the hunt and the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when he finds an interesting piece of “pop” culture.

His collection takes him back and reminds him of his late parents and that long-gone store and, he said, his love for his hobby will continue to endure and grow.

“I always tell people, if you find something you like, don’t walk away from it because you’ll regret it,” he said. “This is a wonderful hobby to have.”

26 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Top: A replica of James Tackett’s childhood home sits in his yard, decorated with soft drink advertisements.

Above: James Tackett’s collection includes vintage coolers, a soda fountain and a baseball scoreboard, among other unique items at his home.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 35

★

South Williamson PIKE COUNTY

Hatfield-McCoy Marathon Grows Bigger and Better

The new Pike County animal shelter can house 100 cats and 100 dogs, includes 39 kennels, eight puppy runs and a cat play room.

Over the past 11 years the Hatfield-McCoy Marathon has grown to include hundreds of runners from nearly every state and several countries.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Runners from across the United States and as far away as Japan flock each year to the Annual Hatfield-McCoy Marathon.

Over the past 11 years, participants have also traveled from Iceland, England, Germany and Ireland.

Tug Valley Roadrunners Club President David Hatfield said to date he received approximately 400 entries representing 39 states, including Alaska and Hawaii and six from Canada.

“We’ve registered about the same number of racers that we did this time last year,” Hatfield said before the 2010 installment of the race.

“More than 400 have participated in the past two years.”

Hatfield said the marathon started as an idea for the first HatfieldMcCoy Reunion Festival in 2000 and continues to grow.

“At the time we had just started the Tug Valley runner’s club which is still active,” he said. “Sonya Hatfield Hall, who headed up the event the first year, put an ad in the newspaper asking for suggestions for the festival, and someone mentioned a marathon.”

The race continues to gain in popularity among distance runners, as well as locals who run either the half or full 26.2-mile marathon.

This year’s race will get underway on June 12, at 7 a.m., in front of Food City at Goody.

‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield will start the race with a shotgun blast, and from

there the runners will travel south on U.S. 119 to Toler, turn left on Rt. 199 at Velocity Market and run past Southside Elementary to the bridge going toward Hardy.

Volunteers will man water stops and first-aid stations along the route.

STAT Ambulance personnel will follow the last runner to both finish lines.

The Blackberry Mountain leg of the route is described as a little more challenging, but the runners will see actual sites of the famous HatfieldMcCoy feud along the way. They include the Randolph McCoy home place, the graveyard where Tolber, Bud and Pharmer McCoy are buried, Rev. Anderson Hatfield’s home place, and the site of the “Hog Trial” held in 1878.

At the halfway finish line runners will end up in historical downtown Matewan, W.Va., and those who plan to continue will then travel north back into Kentucky. From there they make a right onto River Road and follow it to the Tug Valley Country Club. The course then follows Rt. 292 until Aflex, and runners then turn right onto US 119 for less than a mile. They then cross the Tug River back into West Virginia heading for the finish line in front of the Coal House in downtown Williamson, W.Va. at the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce.

There they are met by members of the feuding Hatfield and McCoy families, ‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield and Randall McCoy. David Hatfield said although many of the runners are great marathoners, most of those who participate just enjoy the race.

Photos by Amanda Goff

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 25 36 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

★

Lykins Creek PIKE COUNTY

The new animal shelter is a dream come true

By Amanda Goff Staff Writer

who donated money toward building the new shelter.

Board member and chair of The Pike County Animal Shelter has the building committee David been dreaming of this for over a Stratton said that it includes decade. significant gifts and donations It finally has a new building. to the dog banks around town.

In 1983, the Humane Society built They are also very thankful their first shelter. Even from the for two staff members, Rick beginning, they knew it was too small, and Kristen Handshoe, who but it was a start. have made moving the animals Since then, they have spent the past to the new location a success.

11 years raising money and looking “This is an example of govfor the best location for a new animal ernment, volunteers and public shelter. support coming together to In 2009, they were successful in buybuild something needed for the ing property on Lykins Creek from the community,” Stratton said. heirs of Hazel Allen, who sold the He went on to explain that property at a discount. the government was instrumenThe new building is a dream come tal in getting the grant, voluntrue. It is a 7,000-square-foot all teers do the work and the pubindoor facility with 39 regular kennels, lic funded it. All components, Photo by Amanda Goff eight puppy runs, treatment, surgery, even though they have very difThe new Pike County Animal Shelter not only holds visitation and two birthing rooms, more cats and dogs, it also makes finding a new friend ferent roles, are vitally imporwhich cost just under one million dol- like the one above easier. tant to the success of the shelter. lars total. It can hold approximately Not only has the Pike County 100 dogs and 100 cats.

Animal Shelter met the needs of our area, it has reached others too. In When you actually get to experience the new shelter, you will find that the past 10 years, people from dozens of states have adopted animals as it’s worlds apart from the old one. The old one seemed stuffy, cramped a result of the Humane Society’s efforts according to Stratton. and just too small. Now, they have a beautiful building complete with Since the shelter is completed, Stratton said that the Humane Society stone columns and a window in the lobby that views a cat play area. It’s will now be focusing its attention on spaying and neutering programs spacious and can comfortably hold many more animals than the old and adoption and rescue. facility.

Because the animal shelter takes in from 4,000 to 5,000 animals a This new building and property were gifted to Pike County. year, Stratton emphasized the ever-present need to spay and neuter your There are many members, both past and present who have been instrupets. mental in the success of building the new facility according to Stratton.

“The key to a successful shelter and good animal control lies within They are: Mary Wells, Robert Pinson, John Davis, Alex and Jean Gaska, the responsibility of all pet owners to spay and neuter their animals,” Bonita Rose, Peggy Justice, Phillip and Janie Sykes, Beverly Newman, Stratton said. “Until we two-legged creatures take the responsibility of Drew Justice, Tinker Page, Dwayne and Lisa Scalf and Donna Stratton. caring for our four-legged friends, we’ll always have overpopulation The humane society is also extremely grateful to all the individuals which leads to abuse and neglect.”

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Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 37

★

Canada PIKE COUNTY

Life on the goat farm

By Amanda Goff Staff Writer

time with them and train them, they are very tame.

They also will not eat after each other.

Robinette said if one goat has eaten part of something, another goat won’t touch it. They have a really good sense of smell and can tell when another goat has touched something.

Goats mostly like to eat fruit, hay, grass and goat feed.

Fainting goats don’t have top front teeth or any side teeth, so they can’t hurt you if they bite.

They chew their food with their bottom teeth and the hard palate in the roof of their mouth.

They won’t eat everything, but goats will eat the plants in your

Carletta Robinette says that people like to call her and her husband Woody “the goat people,” and they couldn’t have been given a more accurate name. They have stickers of upside-down goats on their cars, their barn and everything else.

Yes, upside-down.

The Robinettes have their goat stickers turned upside-down because they raise a rare breed of goat called Myotonic of which there are only Fainting goats have provided Carletta Robinette 10,000 registered internationally. and her family an economic boon and a unique These goats, when frightened or excitconversation starter. ed, “faint.” Robinette said that they don’t really faint but are more or less paralyzed from the neck down for a few seconds. yard.

Fainting goats are so rare because shepherds used to put one in a herd “You can have flowers and you can have goats, but it’s hard to have of sheep, so when the herd got attacked, the goat would faint and the both flowers and goats,” Robinette said. sheep could get away while the wolves ate the goat. Now that fainting Goats make good mothers too. They stay right with their kids and take goats are so rare, they’ve become more valuable than sheep. care of them. But if the mother does need to go do something on their The Robinettes accidentally began raising fainting goats in 2004 when own, Robinette says that the mothers will leave their kids in a safe hidtheir youngest son put several of them in their dog lot. Robinette said ing spot and they will stay there until the mother comes back. that she didn’t even know what they were at first.

The mothers know which kids are theirs by their scent.

Now she does everything for the goats, even veterinary care.

“You can pick a kid up and the mother won’t even look at it because To take care of their goats, they have three different trays. One for she knows where it is by its smell,” Robinette said. birthing, one for worming and one for hoof trimming. Robinette is a Fainting goats are pretty particular about how they do things. nurse, so she said she just bought some veterinary books and taught herFor example, when the goats come off the Robinette’s hill for dinner, self for the most part. She says she will do anything except a c-section, they walk in a row. for that they take the goats to a veterinarian.

The “herd queen,” as Robinette likes to call her, is named Dollar. She Most people think that goats are untamed and will eat anything, but was one of the first goats that the Robinettes got, and she leads the herd both are misconceptions. off the hill. The rest of the goats follow in descending order of hierarThe Robinette’s goats are very tame. chy.

“They’re very calm, and that’s what I like about them,” Robinette said.

Goats also have specific things they like to do.

“There are none of these here that I wouldn’t trust my grandchildren One goat named Sasha likes to sit on a plastic play slide that is in the with.” goat pen. Robinette said that she often gets stuck at the top and has to Robinette said that you can raise goats to be mean, but if you spend lift her off of it.

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Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 23

The Robinette family of Canada have a host of fainting the goats. The unique creatures stiffen up and fall over when startled, earning them their name.

According to Robinette, people mostly buy their goats as pets, but they also make good meat.

Right now there is a waiting list for the Robinette’s goats.

“I’ve never taken any to the meat market,” Robinette said, and she would like to keep it that way.

Robinette’s husband Woody didn’t have a whole lot to say, but it is obvious that he loves the goats as much as Carletta does. He is retired, so he spends most days in the yard playing with and taking care of the

22 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

goats.

While he was running around with the goats in the yard, he even tried to scare a couple of them. He wanted to show what they do when they faint.

Most of them just ran away. Carletta laughed and said, “They’re used to us now.”

Robinette thinks that everyone ought to have a couple of goats around.

“If you like animals, you will love goats,” she said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 39

★

Phelps PIKE COUNTY

Hornet’s a clearinghouse in Phelps

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer PHELPS — The Hornet’s Restaurant has been a staple in the Phelps community for decades, although the location and owners have changed through the years.

The first proprietor, Virgie Casey, built the existing structure in the early 1970s after her customer base outgrew the curb service drive-in she originally opened.

Casey purchased the property which is located about a mile from the first restaurant, built the business, moved, and changed the name from Virgie’s Drive Inn to the Hornet’s Nest, which is associated with the mascot of Phelps High School.

Ruby Mitchell, a 20-year employee who has worked under many of the owners, said after Virgie married Harrison Dean, she kept the restaurant for about two years before selling it to Faye McCoy. McCoy is responsible for changing the name of the eatery, dropping the Nest, and just calling it the Hornet’s Restaurant.

Mitchell said McCoy operated the business for approximately 10 years before selling to Roger Hopson.

“Mr. Hopson kept the business for 7-8 years before selling it to Vernon Collins,” Mitchell said. “Mr. Collins has owned it since 1990, and I have worked for him since he took over and hardly missed a day.”

A former coal miner with 23 years of experience, 14 as a supervisor, Collins is carrying on a family tradition.

When he acquired the business, Collins’ father Dan came to Phelps from Michigan and joined him in the endeavor. The elder Collins taught him how to make subs, pizzas and his specialty, Krazy bread. His sister owned two restaurants in Tennessee, one of which is still serving customers, Collins said.

“My dad owned two restaurants in Michigan,” he said. “Today, we are still using his recipes, and I will put our subs, pizzas and Krazy bread up against any others in the business.”

Chrisitie Norman gave the menu rave reviews, saying there are no other bread sticks in the state of Kentucky that compare to the ones served at Hornets Restaurant.

“The food here is the best,” Norman said.

Customers who kept coming agreed. Most commented on the Krazy Bread, many saying they could eat it every day.

In the past, Collins said they opened up at 5 a.m., to accommodate mines in the area and gas company employees.

“At one time, Chisholm Coal provided the majority of my business,” he said. “Now that many of the coal mines have shut down, we open at 8 a.m., and close some time between 10 p.m. and midnight.”

A 1970 graduate of Matewan High School, Collins likens operating a restaurant to mining coal.

“To get a cut of coal, you have to prepare, the same goes for serving customers,” he said. “Everything we sell is home cooked.”

Owning a restaurant has changed his life, he said.

“Your life is never the same once you open up a restaurant,” Collins said. “You stay tied up, and it takes over your life.”

Still, he said business has been good despite the downturn the econo-

40 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Though completion of the restoration will take many years, the group is consistently working toward that goal.

Stone Heritage President Larry Ooten said they are working toward renovating the theater and received some seating for the structure when the Weddington Theatre was torn down.

“We still need a projector and screen,” Ooten said. “We’re also getting ready to expand the museum, one side of which is completed and the other side is under renovation.”

There is a new Norfolk Southern train display in the lobby, he said.

Secretary Peggy King said they consistently receive new material for the museum.

The latest donations include genealogy books for the Porter, Maynard, Chapman, Sturgill and Vance families, Pike County censuses from 18501900, Pike County marriage books from 1822-1865 and Pike County death records from 1849-1909.

To raise money for restoration, each year, the group sponsors events such as a haunted house, festival of trees at Christmas, tours of homes in the area and several reunions.

Another project that has garnered a lot of interest is the restoration of the Ford mansion that is now owned by Bill and Darlene Ball, who are also members of the Stone Heritage group.

Although it took years to complete, the house is now restored to its former glory and is the site of the annual Easter Egg hunt and Pond Creek Reunion.

The Ball family has also continued the old tradition of decorating and lighting the huge fir tree that sits on their lawn, which symbolizes Christmastime in the Pond Creek area.

Ooten said impromptu tours are conducted for anyone who wants to visit the complex. Just call (606) 353-1718 to set up an appointment, or drop by the gift shop, Behind the Pickett Fence, for more information.

Saturdays are good days for touring, Ooten said as the restored museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

No matter who owned or operated the business, Hornet’s Restaurant has been a staple in the Phelps community for decades.

my has taken.

“The economy has not brought many changes to the business,” he said, “In winter sometimes we slow down if the weather and roads are bad, but in summer people are running in and out.”

His customer base includes people from surrounding communities, some from Pikeville, Hurley, Va., church folks, mine inspectors and state and county employees.

“We also have customers coming from Williamson, Matewan, and Red Jacket, W.Va., as well as Belfry, Virgie, Kimper, and Johns Creek,” he said.

The good food and service keep them coming back, Collins said.

“I don’t have to tell my employees what to do because they know their job,” he said. “The vision is to keep the customers coming back.”

With a menu where everything is home cooked and made fresh daily, Collins hopes to keep serving food for years to come.

“We offer something for everyone,” he said. “Whether it’s omelets for breakfast, appetizers, salads, lighter fare or desserts, there is something for everyone’s taste.”

Recently, the restaurant hosted a safety gathering where 48 people showed up to enjoy T-bone, New York strip and rib eye steak and strawberry burritos with ice cream for dessert.

Collins said as long as they can keep things rolling, he’ll keep carrying on the family tradition.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 21

Stone

★

PIKE COUNTY

Stone Heritage preserving history

Three large brick buildings at Stone housed offices for Eastern Coal and served as the community hub.

Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer STONE — Most of the coal mines have shut down and businesses closed, but at one time, Stone was a thriving, bustling, self-contained community.

During that period, the area had its own theater, grocery store, post office, doctor’s office, school and much, much more.

Now, a group operating as Stone Heritage Inc. is working to keep the rich history alive, as well as restore a couple of the buildings to their former glory.

According to the story that’s been told and retold, the area began to thrive in 1924 after Henry Ford traveled to Eastern Kentucky and acquired his own coal company.

Ford, a name that is synonymous with the auto industry, already owned a shipping company, radio station, lumber company and other lucrative enterprises, but he also wanted to purchase a coal company.

Once it became operational, Ford’s employees and their families had the best facilities money could buy and everything they could want or need just outside their front doors.

They even had their own baseball team.

A complex consisting of three large brick buildings that housed offices for the mining operation served as the hub of activity for the communi20 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

ty.

These buildings, known as the Red Robin Complex, and others in the community would remain standing long after Fordson, Eastern Coal and other operations had vacated the area.

Today, two of those buildings house a barbershop, flower and gift shops, a photography studio, museum and community meeting place, although they had been allowed at one time to fall into disrepair.

To tour the museum is like taking a step back in time.

Efforts are also ongoing to refurbish the old theater that still contains pictures of movie stars from bygone eras.

At this time, there are no plans to renovate the third building.

In 1936, Ford relinquished control of the company after coming under pressure from union organizers. Throughout the 20th century, the company changed hands several times, and the production of coal in Stone eventually ceased.

In 1999, former Pike County Judge Executive Karen Gibson found a deed to the Red Robin buildings in her office.

Knowing the history behind the complex, Gibson wanted to find a way to preserve the structures.

During a community gathering, Gibson spoke with some of the people who live in Stone about accepting and restoring the buildings.

They accepted the challenge, and that’s how Stone Heritage Inc. came to be formed.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 41

★

Goody PIKE COUNTY

Preserving the past Local collector, Jack Blackburn, seeks museum location for collection.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer GOODY — He developed a love for collecting one-of-a kind items at a young age. Now, Jack Blackburn has an extensive collection and wants to see a firstclass museum built in Pike County to showcase his and other antiques for future generations. Many of the items represent a previous era in human society and show a degree of craftsmanship and attention to detail.

At this time, the Goody location of the Food City grocery store houses his prized possessions.

Blackburn, who has been with the company for 54 years, said his collection attracts people from all across the county.

“The company is awfully good to let me keep my possessions here at the store,” he said. “This is the only location that has it, and it draws a lot of traffic.”

Once people find out about the artifacts being displayed, Blackburn said they come into the store to see what’s there.

Jack Blackburn displays some of the many items he has collected over the Some of the items are donated and othyears. Some of his collection is displayed at the Food City in Goody. ers are things he’s gathered.

The mixture includes Hatfield and Blackburn also has the official paper signed in 1932 by former West McCoy memorabilia, coal mining artifacts, Norfolk Southern items, old Virginia Gov. H.G. Kump naming O.E. Hogan as the mayor of cash registers and many things that were made before bar codes were Williamson, W.Va. added.

“At the time there were two factions operating in Mingo County and “I have a bird cage that was used during early mining years,” he said. neither side could agree, so the governor made the choice,” he said. “It’s “At that time, the miners would place a canary inside the cage and if it the only time it ever happened. Hogan served from July 1, 1933 to June was alive the next morning they knew it was safe to work that day, but 30, 1934.” if it was dead they knew they had problems with gas building up inside In addition, Blackburn has the Civil War discharge papers that once the mine.” belonged to his great-grandfather’s brother, Barnabus Blackburn.

The bird cage was given to him by his dying cousin, he said.

A piece of red dog is also prominently displayed, Red dog was used “He wanted me to have it, so he sent it to me by his two sisters from years ago to fill road beds, driveways and pot holes. It has been Lexington,” Blackburn said. replaced by asphalt, concrete and gravel.

The collection also includes hundreds of old photographs, many of He’s tried to interest the Pike County powers-that-be in constructing a which Blackburn knows the history behind. museum, Blackburn said, but they have shown no regard for the idea.

A photo shot in 1909 shows a South Williamson swinging bridge.

“I want the history of this area to be remembered,” Blackburn said. “I Another is of Charles Ernest, now 92, of Hardy, standing alongside would like to donate my collection to leave as my legacy.”

Johnny Weismuller, who portrayed Tarzan. The two men were in A piece of property located next to the new Belfry High School would Hollywood selling war bonds. make the perfect location for a museum, he said.

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Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 19

ABOVE: Historic photos, old portraits and newspaper clippings adorn the wall at the Goody Food City. The items are part of the collection of antiquities and memorabilia of Jack Blackburn, who was been with the company for 54 years.

RIGHT: Jack Blackburn details the history of some of the items in his extensive collection of antiques.

Photos by Audrey Carter-Lee

18 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 43

Robinson Creek ★

PIKE COUNTY

HELP, Inc. gets some needed help

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer ROBINSON CREEK — Helping Ease Life’s Poverty’s Charity Thrift Store was alive with activity recently.

Outside, volunteers worked to construct ramps which will be added to residences in Pike County. Inside, middle-school-aged children worked to unload a tractor-trailer full of donated items which will be sold at the store.

And, according to HELP Director Charles “Monk” Sanders, the help was expected to keep coming throughout the summer, thanks to the cooperation of an organization called Experience Mission.

Sanders said it would be difficult to put a price tag on the work the volunteers from across the country will be doing over the next few weeks, including free home repairs and home visits to people served by the organization.

“It’s invaluable,” Sanders said. “It means so much.”

According to Sanders, the Experience Mission organization will be sending a different group of volunteers each week to work in Pike County.

The leaders of the Experience Mission project this summer both said they feel they are doing God’s work in this area.

Michelle Busse, of Michigan, said the organization does not bring its volunteers in with specific jobs in mind, and they often find themselves learning new skills as they try to meet the needs of the organizations with which they are working.

“We’re here to help do whatever needs to be done,” she said.

And, she said, that fits in with the Christian mission of Experience Mission.

“This is our way of being the hands and feet of Christ,” she said.

Stephanie Stribling, of Dallas, Texas, with Experience Mission said that she began doing mission work and had gone overseas to work, but her family kept pointing out the problems faced by many people here.

She believes God has called her to do mission work in this area, especially in light of the economic difficulties many in the United States are facing right now.

“We’re doing all we can to survive as Americans,” she said.

And, she said, there has been an unexpected side effect of her decision to begin working here.

“I have fallen in love with this area,” she said, adding the people here are a big reason for that.

Sanders said that he hoped by the time the last group left, the organization will have two dozen ramps to be installed at the residences of needy people in Pike County.

A young volunteer helps unload a tractor-trailer full of donated items at the Charity Thrift Store at Robinson Creek. The items will be sold through the thrift store and the profits used to help fund the charity organization Helping Ease Life’s Poverty.

News-Express photo by Russ Cassady

44 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

News-Express photo by Russ Cassady

Volunteers from Charleston, S.C. work on a handicappedaccess ramp at the Charity Thrift Store at Robinson Creek.

The ramp is one of several Helping Ease Life’s Poverty hopes to begin distributing in the fall.

doned building just down Main Street from the site of the Artists Collaborative Theater.

But, his journey to his career did not begin in Elkhorn City.

After graduating from Elkhorn City High School in 1991, he did his undergraduate work at Southwest Community College in Virginia and Morehead State University, before getting his doctorate degree in pharmacy from Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. With a limited number of schools in the nation offering doctorate degrees in pharmacy, Lester found himself with an open door on the field.

He began working for the insurance company Kaiser Permanente as a clinical pharmacist, but felt the call to return to Elkhorn City.

“I missed home,” he said.

But, he said, the home he remembered had changed.

“When I went to high school, Elkhorn City was the greatest place you’ve ever seen in your life,” he said. “When I was 16, we didn’t go to Pikeville to cruise, we went to Elkhorn to cruise.

“It was just a good environment,” he continued. “It was a place where you could let your kid ride a bicycle down the street and not worry about them getting hurt.”

In just over 10 years, the city had changed in negative ways, he said.

“In just 10 years, I saw such a decline in businesses leaving, getting boarded up,” he said. “To me, it was just a no-brainer to come to Elkhorn.”

He returned and began working for Rite Aid in Elkhorn City and began settling his soon-to-be growing family.

On Dec. 16, 2003, he opened Elkhorn Drug, independently, after remodeling an abandoned building on Main Street to house the business.

Opening the store in Elkhorn City did not represent a totally financial decision for Lester, but he said it was the right one.

“I could have went to an area that had a greater population than Elkhorn, and filled more prescriptions than I do now,” he said. “I’ll never fill the amount of prescriptions people fill in Pikeville.”

Lester said he didn’t realize that the city couldn’t support three pharmacies, until the city’s Rite Aid pharmacy closed down.

Since then, he has branched out into other businesses, including real estate development in the city with James Justice, a dentist in the city, and his wife, with ventures like the Gold Ring Diner.

“We’re not doing real estate to make money,” he said, citing the former Apple Blossom Floral building.

Lester and his business associates remodeled the building and turned unused overhead space into two two-bedroom apartments. Additionally, he said, they took an unused side building and turned it into a beauty shop, reopened an abandoned apartment and opened up a laundromat underneath.

And, he said, he has seen a ripple effect.

“Every time that I do something in this town to improve it, or James and I do something like the Apple Blossom, you’ll always see someone else will start taking pride in the community and you’ll see the outside of buildings looking nicer,” he said. “That’s what it’s going to take; a couple of people to get together and really show that this town is worth making a trip for. Elkhorn City is just an uncut diamond.”

Richards shares Lester’s sentiments about Elkhorn City’s possibilities.

The Artists Collaborative Theatre is a nonprofit, volunteer community theater, with nobody getting paid from the theater’s performances.

Richards is paid by the University of Kentucky through the Cooperative Extension Office.

But she has seen what it has meant to the community, with people coming from across the county to see the performances and children who attend classes there benefiting from the skills and newfound confidence.

And, she doesn’t doubt that returning was the right thing to do and would encourage any young person who has moved away to return.

“Coming back home is not your last choice,” she said. “Moving back home is a perfectly wonderful choice.

“I could have a career with the university system anywhere in the

Local actors perform in The Hurting Part, a play written by renowned Appalachian writer Silas House.

Stephanie Richards, director of Artists Collaborative Theatre taught at an inner-city school in Orlando, attended the Chicago School for The Performing Arts and the University of Iowa before returning home to Elkhorn City.

nation,” Richards continued. “I could be working as a director and actor without having any of the worries about running a theater. There are many choices out there, but coming home was the right choice and starting this was the right choice.”

Both Richards and Lester said it will take effort, especially on the part of property owners, to help Elkhorn City recover.

“If people would fix their buildings up and put them up for rent, they would rent them,” he said.

Richards said just keeping the ACT running takes 45,000 volunteer hours per season.

And that community spirit, she said, is what Elkhorn City needs to express, as that was what made it successful in the past, with those in her parents’ generation.

“It didn’t matter what camp you were in, or whatever, you came together as the football boosters, or like George Anderson, who built the little league baseball field, or Rodney Ruth, who mows, or Bill Ramey,” she said. “And they don’t get credit for that, but it’s because it’s the right thing to do.”

Situated in close proximity to the Breaks, with great fishing and great people, Lester said the city’s possibilities are limitless.

“This could be the greatest place,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect place.”

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 17

Elkhorn City ★

PIKE COUNTY

Elkhorn natives keep building

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer ELKHORN CITY — Situated along the Russell Fork River and just minutes from the Breaks Interstate Park and its “Grand Canyon of the South,” much of the talk out of Elkhorn City is of potential and the possibilities that exist there.

However, a drive through the city can be discouraging for those looking for growth, as the city, and especially particular areas, are filled with buildings which once housed the businesses that fed the thriving small town, now empty and covered in dust and vines.

But, at least one corner of Elkhorn City is seeing some growth.

In 2008, the Artists Collaborative Theatre organization completed its home, located at the corner of Main Street and Patty Loveless Boulevard, featuring a theater that has since hosted more than a dozen productions.

This year, it was joined with the construction of a new home for a local business — Elkhorn Drug.

While the facilities housed in the buildings are different and intended for different purposes, they share a common thread — they were both started by Elkhorn City natives, who could have taken their education and skills anywhere, but decided to return home.

For Stephanie Richards, the director of the theater and organization, the decision to return home was guided by a strong arm.

The Elkhorn City High School graduate grew up with a connection to acting and theater but no way to express it until she was guided by some of her teachers.

“We didn’t have any model or example of what theater was,” Richards said.

Like many, Richards went to the University of Kentucky for her undergraduate degree, which led to a 10-year stint as a teacher at an inner-city school in Orlando, Fla. In Florida, she said, she had the support of the school’s administration, but the program had to be self-supporting and not be a cause for trouble.

The effects, she said, were immediate and great.

“I saw the difference that it made in the kids,” she said. “It was a wide range of experience the kids came from. It didn’t have a cultural or economic boundary.

After leaving the school, Richards went to the Chicago School for the Performing Arts, where she received a master’s degree in directing, then to the University of Iowa, where she got a master’s degree in fine arts.

After the final degree, Richards moved back to Chicago, where she began living the life she felt she had been led to live.

But, that wasn’t to last for long.

“It was almost like a direct phone call from God,” she said of the final decision-making incident that set her life’s course.

Richards was on stage in Chicago, at a time when she had an agent and was getting commercial work and other jobs.

But, she said, her mind started wandering during the performance.

“It was like God just called me up and said, ‘You’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, you should be back home,’” she said. “I thought God was obviously confused, because it didn’t make any sense in the world.”

Despite questions of how she would apply her skills and education 16 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Workers build a set at the ACT Theatre in Elkhorn City back in Elkhorn City, she packed up and moved home within two weeks.

Richards said her parents saw the decline of Elkhorn City and helped her to set up back home.

“They saw before I did the work I was doing in Orlando and how that could help our city back here,” she said. “They probably have a longer experience of seeing where the town used to be when it flourished and watching it disintegrate.”

But, she said, she never imagined that her journey home would lead to where it was.

A search for a home for the Artists Collaborative Theater led Richards to the location at the corner of Main Street and Patty Loveless Boulevard, where the owners of the building worked with her to replace their empty commercial building.

“They, as landowners, did something that no other landowner is Elkhorn City is doing right now, which is turning loose of land at a reasonable cost,” she said.

The theater opened in 2008 and Richards said it has been successful beyond what she could have ever imagined.

“Every show has paid for itself in ticket sales,” Richards said. “That doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.

“There’s no reason in the world this is working,” she said, laughing.

Her newest next-door neighbor, Elkhorn Drug, and its owners are no stranger to Richards or Elkhorn City.

Rob Lester opened Elkhorn Drug originally after remodeling an abanPike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 45

★

Johns Creek PIKE COUNTY

Despite remote location, Mountain Pub Links a ‘worthwhile’ community effort

Scenic Mountain Pub Links golf course is nestled between the mountains in Johns Creek.

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer In the early 1990s, then-Pike Judge-Executive Paul Patton saw a need in his county for a public golf course.

“I felt like Pike County was probably the biggest county in the United States that didn’t have a golf course,” he said.

But, he was confronted with a serious problem — a lack of usable land for the project. With Pike County’s mountainous terrain and high land costs, the project seemed difficult, until he found a site at Lower Johns Creek the county could lease to build the first nine holes.

Patton was not the only one, though, who had doubts about the site.

Engineer Jack Sykes, who currently serves as the president of the Pike County Golf Course Board, said Patton took him to the site which would eventually become Mountain Pub Links.

And, Sykes said, he was immediately confronted with two concerns; the site was in the flood plain and it was a relatively remote area of the county.

But, according to Sykes, there wasn’t much of an option.

“It was what was there,” he said.

So, construction began as Patton moved into the Kentucky lieutenant governor’s office.

And just like the final nine holes, constructed several years later, the first 46 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

nine holes of Mountain Pub Links was constructed, “on the cheap,” Sykes said, for less than $300,000.

According to Sykes, the course was built using a special crew of county workers, while a crew from Mountain Water District did the irrigation work, and coal companies and construction industry leaders contributed equipment and time to helping make the facility a reality.

“It was very much a community effort,” he said.

The result, according to Patton, has been a great boost for the economy, though the course has since received competition in the form of courses constructed in nearby counties on mountaintop removal sites.

Patton said he taught his grandchildren to play on the course, and that Mountain Pub Links has allowed many people to participate in the sport.

“It’s the only opportunity for an awful lot of people in Pike County to play golf,” he said. “I think it got a lot of people started in golf that wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”

Sykes said while it’s still a drive to get to the course, it has been a great benefit to the community.

“It has matured into a very nice course,” Sykes said. “It’s one of the top courses in Eastern Kentucky.”

And, one of Sykes’ main concerns has turned into a sort of blessing.

While he said flooding does tend to damage the course occasionally, the resultant mud has caused the course’s greenery to grow perfectly.

“It’s got better grass on the greens than many other courses,” he said.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 15

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Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 47

★

Tug Valley PIKE COUNTY

Bitter blood turns to tourism boom

Hatfields settled on the West Virginia side. Both Randel and Devil Anse were prosperous farmIt's a rich history that draws ers. the interest of people all Legend has it that the bitter feelacross the United States and ings began in 1878 when Randolph beyond.

McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of The rivalry between the stealing one of his hogs. Such an Hatfields and McCoys is offense was taken very seriously as described as one of the most hogs were an extremely valuable notorious family feuds in hispart of the farming economy. tory. It began sometime Tempers flared, and soon the two around 1863 and continued faced off in court. for years.

But some say bad feelings develThe feud claimed the lives oped during the American Civil of 12 men and resulted in War, while others say competition other family members going AP Photo in the timber market sparked the to prison. hostilities.

This an undated file photo of William Anderson "Devil Anse" Now it's a thing of the past Whatever the cause, the eruption Hatfield. and the bad feelings that once came after three of Randel’s sons, existed between the two clans is gone. To celebrate that fact, a reunion Bud, Tolbert and Pharmer fatally wounded Ellison Hatfield after he festival is held each year that draws hundreds of people. insulted Tolbert on election day in 1882. Devil Anse retaliated by exeThe festival has gained national attention. cuting the three without a trial.

At first, the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Festival was promoted as a For the next several years, violence ebbed and flowed. peacemaking event for the descendants of Randolph "Randel" McCoy In 1887, a lawyer named Perry Cline, a distant cousin of Randolph and William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield.

McCoy, used his influence to have the murder indictments reissued They are known as the original "feuders" responsible for starting the against the Hatfields and to start the extradition process to bring them blood shed. to Kentucky for trial.

The reunion has since evolved into an occasion for good-natured comSome became frustrated with the slowness of the legal system, and a petition between the two families. raid was organized during which several Hatfield supporters were capThe Hatfields and McCoys were prominent families who lived along tured and brought back to Kentucky. the Kentucky-West Virginia border, on opposite sides of the Tug River.

The Hatfields were incensed and they attempted to eliminate Randel Both families were part of the first pioneers to settle in the Tug Valley McCoy on January 1, 1888, which tragically resulted in the death of area. The McCoys lived on the Kentucky side of the river, while the two more of his children and the burning of his home.

By Audrey Carter-Lee Staff Writer

48 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 13

Pikeville ★

PIKE COUNTY

Pikeville College changing the face of Pikeville — again

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer It was a “leap of faith,” nearly 13 years ago which resulted in the establishment of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine.

In May, the college announced a move which will continue to change the face of downtown Pikeville, and further the planned growth for both Pikeville College and the medical school.

Terry Dotson, chairman of Pikeville College’s board of trustees, said during a press conference that the board voted unanimously to put the school’s efforts toward the construction of a $25 million, nine-story building which will house and allow for expansion of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine.

“It will allow us to increase the medical school class by 50 students,” Dotson said. “It will also have a huge domino effect on the rest of campus.”

Dotson said the new building will allow the college to make room for about 200 more undergraduate students, as well.

The building, which will include 65,000 feet of usable space, will be constructed on the hillside, where the Marvin Student Center is currently located, opposite the school’s iconic “99 Steps” from the Record Memorial Building.

Architect Chris Chrisman, also a member of the college’s board of trustees, said the building will represent an advancement for the school.

“This will be state-of-the-art in every way we can make it,” he said.

The first floor of the building, which will be fronted by Hambley Boulevard, will be used for cold storage and a loading dock. From there up, the facility’s focus is mainly on the medical school.

The second, third and fourth floors will be utilized for lecture rooms, as well as new teaching and research laboratories, which Chrisman said the college hopes will draw educators interested in the research arm of medical education.

Chrisman said the fifth floor is planned to be a new cafeteria, to be used for the whole school, which will seat 270, as well as offer a space for a 64-person private dining area.

The sixth floor will be used for a clinical skills training and evaluation area, which Chrisman said will allow the medical school to expand its community clinic, and the seventh floor will be used for faculty offices.

The eighth floor will be dedicated to the medical school’s gross anatomy program, and the ninth floor will be dedicated to Osteopathic Policies and Procedures teaching space.

While college officials said Tuesday their plans are to expand the class size of the medical school, currently 75 per class, to 125, Chrisman said further expansion will be possible.

“All of the facilities are set up to serve at least 140 students per class,” Chrisman said.

Dr. Boyd Buser, dean of the medical school, said the building represents a possibility for the college to provide a greater service to the community.

“Kentucky is already facing a critical physician shortage, which is expected to worsen in coming years,” he said. “This new facility will expand our ability to help meet the need of the medically underserved areas of rural Kentucky and Appalachia.

“We have kept the promise we made when the school as founded,” Buser continued. “And we are committed to doing even more in the 12 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

An artist’s rendering shows the new Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine set to be built along Hambley Boulevard in Pikeville. future.”

Dotson agreed that the success of the medical school can be measured.

“Today, we have 107 practicing physicians within 90 miles of Pikeville,” he said, much of which was a result of the medical school, which graduated its tenth class this past weekend.

Approximately $20 million of the expected $25 million price tag for the new building will be funded by a 40-year loan the college will be obtaining through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, while the rest will have to be taken in through fundraising.

Pikeville College President Paul Patton said the school has already raised a total of $1.6 million for the new building, through recent fundraising. According to Patton, contributors have been giving to what was originally a planned renovation project in Spilman Hall.

The School of Osteopathic Medicine is currently housed in the Armington Science Building on campus, and Patton said that space will now be opened up for the undergraduate school.

Patton also committed that the construction will not result in a tuition hike, beyond that required by the school’s normal needs, and he has no worries that the new medical school slots will be filled.

“We admitted 75 students this year ... and we had 2,500 applications,” he said. “We’re confident that we can find enough high-quality students to populate this school at a very affordable tuition.”

Patton said, though, the new building is much less of a challenge than establishing the school in the first place.

“That was a lot bigger gamble than this is,” he said. “To me, this is not a gamble. This is a proven operation that will retire this debt.”

Chrisman said groundbreaking is expected to occur by September and the building must be completed by May, 2012.

The project is just one of several undertaken in recent years which have changed the landscape of downtown Pikeville. A new judicial center is set to begin construction once demolition is completed on the buildings in the facility’s expected footprint.

The violence escalated to the point that the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia called in the National Guard as more raids were staged by the McCoys into Hatfield territory.

West Virginia Gov. E. Willis Wilson, accused Kentucky of violating the extradition process by kidnapping the Hatfields and appealed the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In May of 1889, the Court ruled against West Virginia and the Hatfields stood trial in Kentucky. All eight were found guilty of murder and one was publicly hanged for the death of Alifair McCoy, the daughter of Randel McCoy killed in the raid on his home. The other seven were sentenced to life in prison, and the feud was finally over.

The first reunion was held in 2000 and has continued each year since. Sonya Hatfield Hall headed up the event.

During the first festival, visitors witnessed a tug-of-war battle between the Hatfields and the McCoys that stretched across the Tug River, a hillbilly wedding, pig roast and much, much more.

One of the biggest draws is the Marathon which attracts runners from other states and countries. In past years they came from Iceland, England, Germany, Japan, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Ireland.

For those running the full marathon it's 26.2 miles that takes them along the route where many of the historical events transpired. It's 13.1 miles for those choosing to only run the first half that ends in historical downtown Matewan.

Kids can also enjoy a mini marathon where each participant wins a medal and receives a T-shirt and running booklet.

All-day events are scheduled during the two-day affair, and crafters are there displaying their wares. Live entertainment is also a part of the festival with local talent being showcased.

The economical benefits are astronomical.

AP Photos Top: The Hatfield clan poses in April 1897 at a logging camp in southern West Virginia.

Above: Jimmy McCoy, 91, left and Willis Hatfield, 88, the two oldest living members of the Hatfield and McCoy clans, attend ceremonies, in Hardy May 1, 1976, which formally ended the legendary feud between the two families.

Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010 | 49

Freeburn

★

PIKE COUNTY

Freeburn: Coal, steel and education

The railroad running through Freeburn is a constant reminder of the community’s role in Pike County history. The community was named for the free burning Emperor Coal Company.

Kassie Williams For the News-Express Eastern Kentucky produces coal, but coal also produced a part of Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern Coal Company was established in 1916 and was later changed to Emperor Coal Company. Between the years of 1934 and 1958, Emperor Coal Company was located in what is now Freeburn, Ky. Freeburn derived its name from the free-burning aspect of the coke and coal company.

The company, owned by the Wheeling Steel Corporation, was sold to Portsmouth Steel Corporation with the intention of producing semi-finished steel for the Steubenville South Plant, which was purchased in 1946. The coke, which comes from low-ash, low-sulfur coal is used in the smelting process of iron and further treated to make steel.

With its foundation in steel, it’s no wonder that Freeburn stands strong.

50 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

It even has a strong foundation in education. During the times of the coal camps, a young teacher, Betty Tanner, was hired to be principal of Freeburn Elementary, which held grades from first through eighth.

Tanner was not a native to Freeburn and says that when she came to Freeburn, “The faculty accepted me and they respected me.” She began working at the elementary school in 1943.

She recalled the teachers bringing the school piano to the play ground and teaching the children how to square dance.

“It was an experience, but I loved every moment of it” she replied when asked what her thoughts were of teaching Freeburn students.

Her philosophy was as strong as the steel the coal company helped make. Her goal was to “teach the child to live comfortably in a changing world” and she still believes in that same principle today.

Things have changed since then, and Freeburn has now changed from being a coal camp to a local community nestled in the mountains on route 194 and is continuously moving on.

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Elkhorn City ★

PIKE COUNTY

Working hard to barely get by: EC RR Museum volunteers work a labor of love

By Chris Anderson Staff Writer

background.

“After you get on the railroad, it gets under your skin,” Owens, Nestled away in a quiet corner a second-generation railroader, of Elkhorn City, just off of Main said. “It’s a part of you.”

Street, lies a modest collection Owens’ fascination with the of relics from days gone by. railroad was born from the servRelics from the days when coal ice given to the Clinchfield was truly king. And from the Railroad by his father, who was days when the Chessie Cat hired on with the Chesapeake prowled across the Appalachian and Ohio Railway in 1918 landscape, while the Clinchfield before going to work for the burrowed under it.

Clinchfield in 1923.

And in charge of the collection, The fascination continued a group of dedicated individuals throughout Owens’ own career with nothing to gain but the satwith the Clinchfield, which lastisfaction of preserving a small ed from 1944 until his retirepart of a by-gone era in ment in 1985. Even through the American railroading.

A control stand from a scrapped diesel locomotive is in the industry’s most drastic change The Elkhorn City Railroad process of being reassembled as an exhibit at the museum. — from coal-fired steam Museum was formed in the early engines to more clean-burning, 1990s, when Clinchfield Railroad retiree Edward “Chick” Spradlin and but less romantic, diesel engines — Owens never lost his awe for the a group of three other former railroaders — Albert “Birdie” Stafford, Ed rails.

Stone and Jerry Slone — collected railroad artifacts and photographs “I worked during the steam days and saw the change from steam to and opened the museum in the former office of a coal company, accorddiesel,” Owens said. “I was fascinated by it. I still am fascinated by the ing to the museum’s official website. railroad.”

The museum was well-suited for the town, which has a rich railroad Owens’ continued fascination with the railroad remains the reason he history, having been the connection between the Chesapeake and Ohio devotes so much of his time to the museum and the preservation of the Railway; which entered the city from the north, and the Clinchfield memories of Elkhorn City railroading in the twentieth century. His Railroad; which entered from the south. efforts to keep the museum open are now shared by several other volThe two railroads were very interesting companies during their exisunteers — Morris Wallace, Rodney Ruth, Jim Lee and David Cantrell. tence. The Chesapeake and Ohio was a powerful coal hauling railroad, Cantrell, an engineer for CSX Transportation — the succeeding railwhose endeared mascot, Chessie Cat, became a staple of popular culture road of the Chesapeake and Ohio and Clinchfield — and general from the 1930s to the 1980s. The Clinchfield Railroad was a smaller, handyman for the museum, said he grew up along the tracks of the but no less vital rail network, spanning from Elkhorn City to Clinchfield and always knew he’d end up on the railroad.

Spartanburg, S.C. The Clinchfield route had numerous tunnels and “We practically raised him,” Owens said of Cantrell. bridges as it crossed through some of the most rugged of the Owens said the museum has touched the lives of people not only Appalachian landscape. There were 55 tunnels on the route, 21 within from Eastern Kentucky, but from other continents as well. He tells stothe first 35 miles. ries of an English pilot and flight attendant, both train enthusiasts, Spradlin, along with his three partners in the museum,worked for one who visited the museum while in the United States. He also tells the of the two railroads. story of a German woman, whose father he had befriended, during After Spradlin’s death in 1999, after years of service to the museum, the World War II. She and Owens figuring out the connection when the task of keeping the museum open was left to “Birdie” Stafford. Stafford woman visited the museum in the 1990s. worked to keep the museum open three days a week until he left “The museum is important,” he said. “It should be kept open.”

Elkhorn City for Florida, in order to be near his daughter, following his But keeping it open is becoming more and more difficult, he said. wife’s death, the website said.

A sign on the door of the museum gives visitors several phone numWhen the first group of lead volunteers at the museum moved on, bers to call if they come upon the museum and it is closed. Owens another group, including Roy Owens, rose to take the reins. said a volunteer is always willing to come out and open up the museFor Owens, like his predecessors, the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum um for visitors, but it’s nearly impossible to keep it open on a regular and its collection of artifacts are important parts of his heritage and schedule.

52 | Pike County Magazine / Summer 2010

Work continued this spring on Phase V of the Pike County landfill, as officials broke ground on a nearby project, which will mitigate the gases produced by the garbage which has been buried at the landfill over 17 years.

The Pike County Heritage Hall was also a collaborative effort among many entities.

The hall is in the large main hallway in the Pike County Courthouse and is dedicated to displaying the rich history of Pike County. Pictures, music and artifacts are on display in 10 large, secured display cases. The Heritage Hall is a collaborative effort among the Pike County Fiscal Court, Pike County Library District, Big Sandy Heritage Center museum, Shelby Valley Historical Society and private donors. The mirrorback cabinets display items along with a certificate depicting owner of the item and its significance to Pike County’s history. A 32-inch flat screen television displays scrolling old pictures accompanied by music.

The Landfill Gas (Methane) Recovery Project remains under construction, but was still worthy of an award.

Shaw Enterprises, of Baton Rouge, La., was awarded the bid for the methane project and Summit Engineering negotiated the price with Shaw.

“We have the potential to generate carbon credits with this project,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “We also have the potential to generate electricity that can be sold back to the grid.”

Jack Sykes, of Summit Engineering, said he personally researched Shaw and determined they are one of the companies on the forefront in regard to this type of project.

Pike County Solid Waste Deputy Commissioner Mike Lyons notified

the court that the Environmental Protection Agency has set forth guidelines that will require this type of project in the near future.

“We will not mobilize construction, we just need to award the bid to Shaw so we can negotiate deductions with them,” Lyons said. “We need to convince the EPA that we have a plan in place that complies with regulations.”

The three award-winning programs this year and five in 2009 make eight in the past two years for Pike County.

The Achievement Award Program is a program that recognizes counties for improving the management of and services provided by county government. Since the program’s inception, the Achievement Award Program has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided finer customer service and helped to develop a better-trained work force.

This year’s winners represent 30 states and 111 counties.

“In the past few years we saw more applications than in previous years, counties once again demonstrated their resilience and their ability to work harder in tough times,” said Jacqueline Byers, NACo’s Director of Research. “Many of these programs were amazing, as well as smart, efficient and cost-effective.”

For more information on the NACo Achievement Awards, visit, www.naco.org.

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PIKE COUNTY

Pike County wins four national awards

photos by Chris Anderson

Roy Owens, left, and David Cantrell stand among the various photographs and pieces of railroad memorabilia at the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum.

Still, the museum’s staff stays the course and welcomes guests into the collection of railroadiana, which will eventually include a complete control stand of a locomotive, which Cantrell is constructing out of salvaged parts.

And Owens said the volunteers are committed to keeping the museum

accessible.

“As long as people want to come in here, we’ll come and let them in,” he said.

For more information of the Elkhorn City Railroad Museum, visit www.elkhorncityrrm.tripod.com.

Pike County officials break ground on a methane recovery project at the landfill.

The project was one of three with earned the county natinoal recognition.

Special to the News-Express Pike County was once again recognized by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for implementing innovative county government programs to better serve area residents. Winners of three 2010 Achievement Awards, the programs will be recognized July 18 during NACo’s Annual Conference and Exposition at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev. This year marks the second year in a row Pike County programs have been recognized by NACo, and is also the second year in a row as the only county in Kentucky to win any NACo awards.

“These awards are a direct result of the hard work and innovation of our county government,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “The three programs that won this year and the five last year show that Pike County is the most progressive county in eastern Kentucky.”

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This year, the following county programs received awards: • Pike County Nuisance Ordinance • Pike County Heritage Hall • Landfill Gas (Methane) Recovery Project The Nuisance Ordinance, also known as the blighted housing ordinance, has been very successful. Its numbers are as follows: 12 torn down by county; 50 torn down by owner and 35 being processed. It is a collaborative effort between the fiscal court and the solid waste department.

“Many structures in Pike County are very old. They have withstood disasters, neglect and abuse,” Pike County Deputy Solid Waste Commissioner Mike Lyons said. “As a result, many structures become not only eyesores, but safety and fire hazards. The ordinance is intended to spruce up communities and make areas safer. With a lack of flat land in a mountainous county, many structures are built along road and waterways. After becoming dilapidated, they become dangerous in many different ways.

Thank you for reading the Appalachian News-Express!

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★

Pikeville PIKE COUNTY

Jones: Radio personality, philanthropist and friend to Eastern Kentucky leaves lasting legacy

The City of Pikeville A Commission of Progress The City of Pikeville offers many high quality services and is a full service city.

Under the leadership of Mayor Frankie Justice, the expertise of the Pikeville City Commission and the innovation of the City Manager, Donovan Blackburn we welcome the opportunity to serve the citizens of Pikeville.

By Russ Cassady Staff Writer For decades, Randy Jones’s signature gravelly-deep voice has become ubiquitous throughout Pike County, from the radio to even announcements over Pikeville Medical Center’s public address system.

However, on June 20, that voice was silenced when Jones, 59, died of what is believed to have been a heart attack at his Pikeville residence, taking away a family man, one of Pike County’s most beloved radio personalities, a philanthropist, and according to many, a friend to Eastern Kentucky.

Jones, 59, first began his career in radio when still in high school.

Walter May hired Jones at East Kentucky Broadcasting in the 1960s.

May said he was impressed with Jones from the beginning, especially considering his mode of transportation to the station to apply.

“He walked from his house at the foot of Julius Avenue all the way to the station,” May said.

Keith Casebolt, president and general manager of East Kentucky Broadcasting, said that, while Jones left the radio business a few times, he always returned, and spent the last 12 years making a strong connection to the community through his morning show on country station WDHR. Both May and Casebolt said Jones was dedicated to using his job to help his community.

May said that anytime there was a flood or other disaster, Jones was dedicated to getting information out to help people.

“He was the first one to come in on his own time, and he was the last to leave,” May said.

His distinctive voice made him recognizable to people in the community, even if they didn’t recognize him by sight.

“A lot of people didn’t know what he looked like,” Casebolt said.

But Casebolt said people instantly recognized him when he opened his mouth and spoke.

Jones’ humor also came through on the radio, an example of which was provided by Pikeville City Manager Donovan Blackburn.

Blackburn said Jones was a great help to the city, in getting messages and announcements out to his listeners. However, that connection to his listeners also got Blackburn in trouble on April Fool’s Day one year, when Jones’ sense of humor was not immediately shared by many in the community.

Blackburn said that, as an April Fool’s joke, Jones enlisted him to come on the radio and be interviewed about “plans” to make Hillbilly Days a paid event, for $10 per carload.

“We got an overwhelming amount of calls that day,” Blackburn said.

“It got me into a lot of hot water.”

But Jones’ radio personality was only part of his connection to the community.

Jones used both his position with the radio station and his free time to support several charities, including the El Hasa Shrine Temple, Hillbilly Days and several local organizations and events, including Kentucky Blood Center.

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Front Row: Commissioner Gene Davis, Mayor Frankie Justice, Commissioner Dallas Layne Back Row: Commissioner Barry Chaney, City Manager Donovan Blackburn, Commissioner Jimmy Carter

We invite you to enjoy Pikeville!!

Longtime radio broadcaster Randy Jones left behind a legacy as one of the community’s most beloved personalities and philanthropist.

But, in recent years, Jones had focused a lot of effort into the Hillbilly Christmas in July organization, a group with a sole mission of providing funding and other support to the Shriners Hospital in Lexington.

Along with Jimmy Kinney, Jones founded the organization, as the men’s love of both riding motorcycles and helping the children at the hospital led them to try to fill a gap left when a local organization found itself unable to do a traditional toy run to the hospital in the summer.

Now, the organization has grown into a year-round support system for the hospital, providing money throughout the year, and the traditional toy run each July.

Kinney said his and Jones’ dedication to the Hillbilly Christmas in July affected their ability to ride together as friends, as most motorcycle trips have become efforts to promote the Christmas in July.

“We haven’t rode in five years,” Kinney said, adding they agreed to ride after this year’s Hillbilly Christmas in July event, which will now be dedicated to Jones’ memory.

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Welcome to The City of Pikeville Most newcomers and visitors are amazed at the range of services, facilities and amenities available in our community. We are thankful to live in a city where progress is changing the future of our town and realize Pikeville/Pike County continues to grow despite the challenges in today’s economy. We pride ourselves on maintaining a pleasant, comfortable and visually stimulating place to live, work, play and visit. In order to accommodate Pikeville/Pike County’s growth, community leaders are creating a future vision for the area. The City of Pikeville and Pike County Government are working together on several projects which will bring new The Garfield Community Center developments to Pikeville and our service area. Our goal is to aggressively seek developments which will create more jobs, new businesses, affordable housing and offer a better quality of life.

We are very thankful to the people of Pikeville, Pike County and Eastern Kentucky who continue to contribute to Pikeville’s thriving economy and have chosen Pikeville as their full service city. A new state-of-the-art emergency 911 system directly provides the City of Pikeville residents with police, fire, and ambulance/EMS services. The Pikeville Fire Department provides fire suppression and emergency medical response from three different locations within the city. Pikeville Fire Department is proud to provide residents with an average four to five minute response time which contributes to the benefit of a low 4 ISO rating resulting in lower homeowners insurance rates.

To meet the needs of a growing city, Pikeville is constantly updating our city’s infrastructure, utilities and city services. Our recreational offerings are outstanding. The city has 3 beautiful parks: Bob Amos Park, Pikeville Mini-Park and Pikeville City Park. Located in the Pikeville City Park is the newly remodeled Garfield Community Center, a perfect gathering location for any special occasion or event. As a thriving business community, Pikeville boast amenities that no other Eastern Kentucky city can offer, such as the Hampton Inn, conveniently located within walking distance of the East Kentucky Exposition Center, Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine and the city park.

We are proud of the many successes of our businesses and of the partnerships we have developed with them. We are also proud of the efforts that have been made toward preserving our history even as we look to the future and the attraction of businesses that will make Pikeville/Pike County a viable location in a growing marketplace.

Randy Jones, right, poses for a photo at a Hillbilly Christmas in July event with Jimmy Kinney, with whom Jones worked to found the Hillbilly Christmas in July organization, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Lexington since its inception.

And, Kinney said, Jones was like a brother to him.

“When we rode, he was right there on my right-hand side,” Kinney said.

Another branch of the Hillbilly Christmas in July on which Jones was working was the establishment of a handicapped-accessible playground for the children of the community.

Kinney said that effort will continue without Jones.

“Now we’ve got to make it work even harder,” Kinney said.

Blackburn, who is also a member of the Hillbilly Christmas in July board, said it was Jones’ love of children which motivated him to work so hard for the Shriners Hospital.

“His passion was evident in his enthusiasm,” Blackburn said. “He tried to make a difference in these kids’ lives.”

And, Blackburn said, that enthusiasm was infections.

“It made us want to come back and do it year after year,” Blackburn said.

Casebolt said he doesn’t believe that Jones ever expected anything in return for his charity work.

“I don’t know that Randy ever really asked for any kind of help for himself,” Casebolt said. “He really wanted to help. He saw the good in people. He saw the good in what charity work could do.”

And, while Casebolt said the community has lost an ambassador and a consummate promoter for Eastern Kentucky, those close to him have lost more.

“The main thing is, we’ve all just lost a friend,” Casebolt said.

Because of Jones’ love of motorcycles and his connection with the community of riders, motorycyles escorted his funeral procession from the funeral home to the gravesite at Annie E. Young Cemetery.

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Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards

The Pike County Chamber of Commerce Awards were held in July. The gala event included entertainment by magician Terry Edwards and his assistants, pictured at right with Shad Walters, business of the year owners Shannon and Kendall Wright (at top), an award to Paulette Jones, wife of Randy Jones and a check presentation for $72,000 from Hillbilly Days, among much more.

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PIKE COmagazine UNTY

SUMMER 2010

Contents 8 12 16 20 24 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54

Pike County wins four national awards Pikeville College changing the face of Pikeville Elkhorn natives keep building Stone Heritage preserving history New animal shelter is a dream come true Reclaiming beauty Aviation campers soar into the blue Georgia volunteers jump-start Caney church Soft drink heralds take Dorton preacher back to simpler time Hatfield-McCoy Marathon growing Life on the goat farm Hornet’s a clearinghouse in Phelps Preserving the past HELP, Inc. gets some needed help Mountain Pub Links worthwhile community effort Bitter blood turns to tourism boon Freeburn: Coal, steel and education EC RR Museum volunteers work a labor of love Jones: Radio personality leaves lasting legacy

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A photo of the doughboy statue in front of the Pike County Courthouse honors Pike Countians who died while defending the country during foreign wars. Their courage and commitment to something greater than themselves represents the scenes of community which makes our region so strong.

PIKE COUNTY magazine Summer 2010 Publisher: Jeff Vanderbeck Editor Jerry Boggs Section Design: Special Publications Manager Tracie Vanderbeck

Letter from the Editor

Advertising Director: Mike Davis Advertising Design: Andrew Littleton Jamie Beckett Sales Representatives: Lynn Massey Melissa Keller Tony Thacker Krista Duty Aimee Thacker

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A Special Supplement to the Appalachian News-Express 201 Caroline Avenue, Pikeville, Kentucky 606-437-4054

But what makes Pike County special extends beyond those who have statues built in their honor, or have bridges and roadways named for them.

What makes Pike County such a wonderfully diverse place to live is the unique people and places which dot the landscape.

Travel the roadways of our great county and you’ll discover home-grown historians, historic feuders, budding pilots helpful hearts and fainting goats.

In these page we have attempted to sample some of the millions of stories which intertwine to weave the fabric of our community. Each area, each building and each person has a story. These are some of those stories. Enjoy Pike County!

Jerry Boggs Editor

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