Another Adair County attraction

Rev. Douglas Moseley is back home from a three week tour of the west. "I've been fortunate all my life to be in professions which require a lot of travel. I've always loved seeing the country," he says, "and I've been fortunate enough to have been in all 50 states." This travel has led him to an ambitious collection of rocks, which now includes significant stones from 38 of the 50 states. To complete the collection he lacks representation from the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Virginia, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Oregon.

Rev. Moseley will accept assistance in the project. When the collection is complete he plans to make a giant concrete outline of the USA and embed the native stone of each state in its outline. Then he will invite classes of little school kids to visit the concrete map and walk on it, and touch the rocks and play.

He will enjoy it from the window of his home, where he is in the process of writing three books.

Long-awaited Adair history nearing completion

There are more Adair County literary works in progress. Adair County Historian Mike Watson's long awaited Adair County history is nearing completion and may be in print as early as the spring of 1997. The book will likely be over 500 pages, the author says, and will cover the county's history through the early 1930's. A second volume would chronicle more modern times.

Those who remember Mr. Watson's columns in local newspapers know the high quality of his work.

Also, an eagerly anticipated sequel to the first pictorial history of Adair County is now underway, Randy Flowers says.

And it may be less than one year until Dianne Watkins' biography of Janice Holt Giles is published. (Story elsewhere)

Adair County's national candidate for Vice President

The story of Adair Countian Melvin Traylor's candidacy for President of the United States is well known. Mr. Traylor, who got to Chicago from Breeding by way of Hillsboro, Texas, was the favorite son nominee of the Illinois delegation to the 1932 Democratic Convention. That convention chose Franklin Roosevelt as its standard bearer.

Not so well known is that an Adair Countian was actually nominated bu a party for Vice-President of the United States.

In an article by the late historian N.M. Berley in the book, "The Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church, 1927-1977," Ms. Berley cites an article in the Presbyterian Banner which referred to the famous people who had attended Big Creek Union Sabbath School noting, "From this school in the backwoods there have gone three ministers of the gospel, one Missionary of the American Sunday School Union, one Lt. Governor of Kentucky, one candidate for Vice-President of the United States, fifty-six teachers in public and private schools, three members of the Kentucky Legislature, ten practicing physicians, ten merchants, seven lawyers, and one judge." The Lt. Governor of Kentucky was James Hindman, who is buried in the Columbia Cemetery.

Mrs. Flowers says that the VP nominee was E.L. Dohoney, who moved from the Gradyville area to Paris, Texas. Fellow historian Watson says he believes that the election was in 1876, the year of the disputed Hayes-Tilden race, which the House of Representatives decided in favor of the Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes. Mr. Dohoney, it is thought, was the vice-presidential nominee of the Texas Prohibition Party that year. The Prohibition Parties were active after the Late Unpleasantness, but they cumulatively weren't much force. Each state Party nominated candidates for national offices. None of the nominees ever got many votes. The largest showing was under 1,000.

Adair Countians in leadership

We do get respect.

There are too many great Adair Countians in too many fields to ever try to name them all at one time. But quick perusal of Adair Countians in major state and regional government leadership roles shows the following:

-Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Walter Baker, grew up on Hudson Street in Columbia.

-Director of the Kentucky Center for Rural Development, Hilda Legg, is from Knifley.

-Director of the 10-county Lake Cumberland Area Development District Bill Parson lives in Columbia.

-Director of the Lake Cumberland Health Department is David Upchurch , Columbia, who succeeded Pat Bell, also of Columbia.

-The Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives is Walter D. "Jody" Richards-Joe D.Richards to Adair Countians-of Garlin.

-Another Garlinian, Doug Sapp, is Kentucky Commissioner of Corrections, and a key advisor to Governor Paul Patton.

-William L. Willis-Billy Logan Willis to the Jamestown Street Boys-is chief counsel to the Kentucky Public Service Commission. He is actually the second Adair Countian to hold the post, once occupied by Glenda Rainwater Beard of Knifley.

And I've probably left somebody out.

There is the further possibility that two more Adair Countians may be in the Legislature after the November

E.L. Dohoney, 1884 drawing. Courtesy Randy Flowers

election. Vernie McGaha, an Ella native, is running for the State Senate to represent Adair, Russell, Casey and Pulaski Counties. Garlin native Michael Lee Stephens is the candidate for State Representative from Adair and Taylor Counties.

Who would have thought the known civilized world-Kentucky-might one day be ruled by a Pikeville-Garlin Axis?

Those beautiful red flowers are New Guinea Impatiens

A lot of folks have commented on the beauty of the flower boxes on the Square. Many have asked about the brilliant red flowers with the deep green foliage next to the First Natonal Bank. The green thumb behind that planting belongs to Larry Walker, CEO of the bank. According to Mr. Walker's mother, Maxine Walker, the flowers are called New Guinea Impatiens. They bloom throughout the warm season, from the last frost to the first, she says, and require very little care beyond watering. "They do prefer shade," Mrs. Walker says, "but beyond that they are very little trouble. They can be purchased at most of the garden centers around here," she says, "and they are not too expensive.

They come in several colors, too, she said. But for me, if we should make the New Guinea Impatiens the Columbian National Flower, I hope we make it the red ones like Mr. Walker's. I guess it is a genetic thing, but I like red. My Dad used to tell me that I could have any color bike I wanted, so long as it was red. "Red is the prettiest color there is," he judged.

Mrs. Walker said she thinks we all should tell Dr. Ben Arnold how much we appreciated what he has done for Columbia. "I told Dr. Arnold," she says, "that he's doing just what Bill would have wanted to do if he had had the money." Mrs. Walker's late husband, Bill, was a man who lived for his family and Columbia.

Mr. Montgomery likes the whole downtown

One of my favorite people couldn't be happier with Columbia's downtown. Each time Ryan Montgomery, of Oak Grove Road comes to town, he visits the fountain. Then the 2 1/2-year-old tells his mother, "Let's go up in the big courthouse." And his mother has to climb the stairs of the ancient building. No matter how often they come to town, the fountain and the big courthouse are a part of the ritual. The last time I saw him, he had fallen victim to a major peril of life in Adair County, his mother said, and Ryan chimed in, "A posquito bit me."

Ah, those pesky posquitoes! Don't we all hate them!

Ryan's parents (fulltime) are Dr. and Mrs. Steve Montgomery.

SCIENTIFIC ADAIR COUNTIAN

Take it from a man who knows, it's the "North" bank

Growing North Columbia, across the Highway 55 bridge which marks end of Campbellsville Street and the beginning of Campbellsville Road, is "The North Bank" of Russell Creek.

That declaration comes from no less an authority than Joe Lynn Barbee-oilman, builder, outdoor advertising magnate, raconteur extraordinaire, Lord of Gobbler's Knob, hydrologist, bridge builder and conqueror of Bull Run Creek, great eater as well as the Duncan Hines of today, and well-traveled fellow.

Some would think that the bank would be left or right depending on whether the geographer is facing upstream or down stream. But Mr. Barbee says that the question of whether or not the left or right bank is determined by the stream's flow is irrelevant. Right-left is a sinister, foreign concept, thought up in France, he believes, and really should not even be applied to the Seine.

Weighing the question of which bank North Columbia is on with all the solemnity of the late varmintologist Dr. Billy Neat classifying a new species of monster or Joe Moore pondering the anatomy of Dolly Parton, Mr. Barbee says that the New Orleans criteria should rule here, and that the bank should have a directional modifier. "It depends on the general flow of the stream," he says. "The Mississippi generally flows North-to-South and its banks are the East Bank and the West Bank." Mr. Barbee says that this can be confusing. "When you are looking due east from St.Louis Square, the other side of the river is the West Bank. The Mississippi is flowing North there," he adds.

While Russell Creek flows generally Southeast-to-Northwest, it is flowing mostly west at the Campbellsville Street/Road Bridge.

New maps should denote this information. "I have just one problem to work through," Mr. Barbee says,. "Using these designations,, the sun sort of sets in the North over here."

A trivial matter for those using scientific method to explain, one would think.

Barbee notes that in the Big Easy, the West Bank is where all the crime is committed. As to the Columbias, he does not accuse the South Bank in Old Columbia of being more crime prone, but he does note that his side is very peaceable.