When
The LoJo
requested readers to write Thanksgiving memories from the past, two of the submissions came from Andy Mac Rector and James Henry Duncan. They share
much in common, both having graduated from Russellville High School in the late fifties, the sons of dads who were good citizens/businessmen (Mack
Rector and Henry Duncan) and mothers who were well-known educators (Fannie Duncan and Clennie Sue Rector). Each of these writers has been highly
successful in his chosen field as an adult.
The Thanksgiving Snow
By Andy Rector
I don’t remember the exact year, but it was probably 1950 ± a couple of years. So, I was about 10 at that time.
Thanksgiving started with the traditional, ecumenical, community church service that was followed by the annual football rivalry between Russellville
and Bowling Green. That year, the game was played in B.G. As I recall the snow started during the game, and there was quite an accumulation by the time
we got back to R’ville.
Our family probably had a Thanksgiving feast at my grandparents’ house on Third Street, but those memories were obliterated by my enthusiasm for
getting to Ninth Street for some sledding. When I finally got there, I was all alone. The snow was very powdery and not well suited for sleds with
steel runners. Undaunted, I tried the traditional locations and even went to the hill in the
southeast corner of Rhea Stadium. (That was the hill that coaches Harold Hunter and B. H. Weaver later introduced for football conditioning. I can
still hear them yelling, “Dig, Dig”, as we ran that course.)
I also considered a straight shot down the hill just east of the bleachers, but the four-foot concrete retaining wall provided a drop that I wasn’t
ready to risk alone.
None of my chosen locations worked well, and I returned to my grandparents’ home practically frozen. I still remember the sting generated by the warm
bath water that was prescribed for my thawing process.
Memories of that snowy Thanksgiving reminded me of the more successful sledding experiences that I enjoyed as a youngster.
The popular place was “Stadium Hill” and Summer Street was often roped off for sledding. On a good day, you could start at Ninth Street and slide all
the way to Seventh Street. There were claims of making it to Sixth, Fifth, and even Fourth streets, but I never had such luck or witnessed such feats.
A more exciting sledding location was the west side of the Banfields’ yard, the property later owned by Dr. L. E. Johnson - immediately east of Rhea
Stadium. According to my historian friend Mary Lucy Franklin, Mrs. Johnson called that property “Mockingbird Hill”, but subsequent owners have reverted
to “Oak Hill”, the name that was used by the original owners, the Briggs family.
There were two parallel starting points. The one immediately east of the stadium provided a very steep drop from Ninth Street but ran straight into
some trees. Several feet further east was a second starting point that was a bit less exhilarating but provided a straight shot to the bottom of the
hill.
To avoid a collision with the trees, the sledder taking the steep course had to merge with sledders going down the straight course to the east, and
there were occasional collisions with both the trees and other sledders. I seem to recall having some bloody fingers from one of those collisions.
Today, it’s hard to imagine the Banfields and Johnsons tolerating sledding on their private property, but those were the days before parents sued
people for accidents caused by their overly exuberant kids.
I offer a belated “Thank You!” to the Banfield and Johnson families for permitting some fun sledding experiences and great memories of growing up in
Logan County.
Thanksgiving in the mountains
By Henry Duncan
When I married Nancy, whose home was in Floyd County, deep in Eastern Kentucky mountains, we would spend the Thanksgiving holiday in the mountains with
the Hall family and then Christmas in Logan County with the Duncan family.
Mother Hall would prepare two turkeys and a ham to accommodate the children and grandchildren. After Thanksgiving meal we would then exchange Christmas
presents as we would not plan to be back together for Christmas. In the evening they would bring out the marble slab to use in making pulled creamed
candy using an old family recipe.
In later years following the grandparents’ deaths and the selling of the home place, the Hall family continued the tradition of meeting together every
Thanksgiving even though families have expanded and moved to distant parts of the country. We now meet at Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County,
occupying four cabins and a couple of lodge rooms. Brothers and sisters and their families travel from Columbus, Ohio, London, Ohio, St Paul, Va.,
Orlando Fla, Paintsville, Covington and Versailles to be together.
The bountiful Thanksgiving buffet meal is now enjoyed at the state park’s dining room. The park furnishes a great variety of good food and there are no
dishes to wash. In the afternoon we travel to the nearby reclaimed strip-mines in Martin County to view the herds of elk. It is exciting to watch the
youngsters eyes light up as they observe a 25-50 elk herd including the big bull elks grazing on reclaimed strip mine land. During the evenings we have
snacks in the cabin and a bond fire for roasting hot-dogs and S'mores.
On Fridays we have breakfast together before traveling back to our homes with another year of visiting, tall tales and reminiscing behind us.