This article, written by Todd Preston, the president of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the September 6, 2007 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper. The Salyersville Independent is a weekly newspaper published and edited every Thursday. For inquires or comments, please write to P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Yearly subscription rates are $22.00 in Kentucky and $26.00 per year out of state.

The kick-off for the 29th annual Magoffin County Founder’s Days is now history!  We started a day earlier again this year and moved the Opening Ceremony to Tuesday rather than Wednesday which may have made some people a little late for the opening events.              We want to thank the Boy Scouts who raised the flag and led us in saying the Pledge to the Flag. They did a marvelous job even though their scout master’s work schedule made him a little bit late.              We enjoyed a patriotic song with guitar accompaniment by none other than our good buddy, Burl Cole.  After this the Magoffin County Muzzleloader’s Club rendered the 21 gun salute, this group has supported us in our activities for many years. The members of the Prater Memorial Methodist Church sang a medley of songs which were much enjoyed by all.  We thank them for being so faithful to come out and sing for us down through the years.  John Carpenter then rang the old courthouse bell 29 times in honor of this year’s celebration.              We didn’t get our Founder’s Day marker in time for the dedication this year as it is to be a specially built design.  James Montgomery came to the rescue and he and I designed and built a temporary marker. Bob Whittaker just happened to have the right size wood pieces in his truck needed to extend the marker.  Connie made banners to depict the writing that will be on the permanent marker and we were well pleased with the results.  We were happy to have Tressie Oney and John Carpenter do the honors of unveiling the marker.  We will try to have another gathering when we get the marker we have ordered.             The Baby Pageant directors were busy all the while decorating our stage for that pageant.  The event lasted about four hours and was much enjoyed by all.  The children are fantastic and their families are to be commended for their ingenuity in designing the old-fashioned costumes. At this writing, the children’s pageants are coming up on Wednesday night and we are looking forward to another very entertaining event.  Still to come are the Miss Teen and Miss Magoffin Pageants on Thursday and Friday.  A full schedule is on tap for Friday, beginning with the Pet Show, School Activities, Middle School Musical, Charlie Sizemore’s show and Cabin Porch Pickin’.  Brooke Jenkins will have her heritage/cultural arts show and culinary arts competition again this year that is akin to the old time fairs we used to have.  Charlie Sizemore is returning home to give a free concert on our stage and we hear a lot of people are looking forward to seeing Charlie; we have even had long distance phone calls inquiring about the time for the show.  It’s great to have one of our own return home and we welcome Charlie and his band!   Saturday has a very full schedule which includes the parade and a talent showcase included in with the Look Alike Contest.  Sunday’s church services in our churchhouse cabin, the Reunion Dinner and the Gospel Sing will round out the week-long activities.             I am taking a little break after sweeping off the walkways. My son-in-law Brian Conley helped with weed-eating and putting up new flags in our yards.  It has taken many Ol’ Man hours to get everything in respectable shape for this event.  Now, although my hearing aids haven’t arrived yet, I’ve not heard anyone offer much help.  I recall when the historical society was involved in a lot of activities.  We even visited other area festivals, entering their parades with specially made floats.  We won several trophies, including one at the Apple Festival.  Now, we older people rarely get across the county line, except for a trip to the doctor or the hospital. (Smile).             Several of our Founder’s Days helpers have started coming in to help, the first of which are Betty and Bob Whittaker of SC. There, Bob, I put Betty’s name first this time for when I came in from toiling in the hot sun, all sweaty and smelly, she stopped binding books to give me a big hug!              Bob and Herley Manns have already got the Malinda Bailey Mullins monument set at Tip Top and then went on to Jackson to pick up the William Manns Confederate marker from Steve Bolin which will be set on Sunday of this week on Hawes Fork of Breathitt County.  They will be setting the Joseph Conley Confederate marker on the Straight Fork of Licking on Monday. Paul A. Bailey, Willie Conley and Joe R. Skeens are going to try to be on hand for that.  Ol’ Todd may not be able to find time to get in on all this but I am hoping to do so.             Dorothy is doing an amazing job, not only keeping me straight, but also meeting, greeting and helping patrons find their ancestors, plus answering the telephones which has been nearly a full-time job.  Sharon Nutt and her twin sister stopped by and helped us on Wednesday, thanks girls!  Then there are the Shepherd girls, namely Alma Holiday and Oma Risner who toiled all Monday evening to clean up the school house.  I fibbed; I blamed poor eyesight for not being able to see the spider webs that had accumulated!  These ladies are visitors also although we still think of them as “home folks”.  Alma and perhaps Oma also will come along on Saturday to stay in the school house cabin and make it available for visitors to see and enjoy.              We are also expecting to see Jack and Wanda Reed come in to help as well as Jodi Wright and her family.  We will be glad to see our old friends. We were sorry to hear that Jim and Garnet Brammer are not able to come this year. They will be missed!             The Pepsi Cola Company and Salyersville Speedway are to be commended for supplying us with street signs for this event.  City Hall, Councilman Ray Nichols and Bubby Carpenter along with their crew got the signs installed.              We have several emails that we will respond to as soon as time permits. We do want to thank Velma Atkinson (vatkinson3 @msn.com) who wrote to us about Tennessee Auxier and Ida Eldridge.  She has Ida’s death record as: Ida Auxier, female, white, widow, house worker, age 85 years and 7 months, born 12 Apr 1867 d. 13 Dec 1952, cause of death: cancer on the left side of face, father Jesse Eldridge, mother Polly Ann Trusty.  Her burial place was the Blue Grass Cemetery in Salyersville, KY. Informant for the record was Candis Crace.  One census record shows Ida as being born in March 1873 in Elliott Co. KY.  We will watch our mailbox waiting to hear from you with any family information or queries, write us at Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 (email: [email protected] ).  Our telephone number is 606-349-1607 or you can come in to visit at 191 South Church Street.