This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the August 21, 2008 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            I heard Katydids chirping last night, according to an old saying, this means there are only six weeks until frost.  It was so chilly this morning I put on a long-sleeve shirt.  And it’s only a week or so until Founders Days here in Magoffin County, only a few days by the time you read this.  We’ve made lots of preparations for this event but there are always loose ends that crop up.  We are very pleased with the participation and help of many individuals and organizations this year.  You will see most of their names on our program of events.  We thank all of you!

            One big advantage we will have this year is the new bridge from the park and it now has sidewalks with wheelchair ramps leading to our grounds and around to the public library. This project will be complete in a few more days and it makes the area look nicer and provides a needed service.

            I have been keeping most of the area under the bridge mowed.  It looks nice except for the old tires in the river under the bridge. This portion of the Licking River has been cleaned out several times but somehow the tires keep appearing.

            Death has claimed another one of “our” contributing members.  M. F. Rice passed away Monday and aside from his many contributions to his community in other walks of life, he has been a staunch supporter of the Magoffin County Historical Society since our beginning.

            M. F. was the grandson of Wiley Rice, a genealogist of renown of early Magoffin in its infancy.  This interest and knowledge was passed down to his son Scott Rice who also took on the role of being the town’s genealogist and historian.  M. F. Rice, Scott’s son, inherited from his father and grandfather this knowledge and interest in history, so naturally M. F. became the standard bearer in this field and he was one of the cornerstones of our historical society.

            M. F. and I would meet almost daily until this year on the street or at the post office.  I had questions nearly every time we met and he responded with much needed information in answering queries.  Yes, M. F. Rice will be greatly missed in the community.

            Kenny and Shirley Fields of 159 Old Squaw Trail, Mooresville, NC 28117 came into our town “on a memory trip”.  Kenny is researching the Evanston area of neighboring Breathitt County in preparation of printing a book on the coal operation of Evanston in it’s heyday.

            Kenny lived there for several years and went to school in the coal camp school. He related they came to Salyersville for haircuts, etc. and that he was a member of a baseball team that came to Salyersville to play our team.  He related, “When I came in sight of Salyersville, I thought it was a most beautiful place!”

            Kenny had visited Evanston and had talked to residents who still live there. I’m sure he would welcome hearing from anyone who has information on Evanston in the coal mining days.  His website is kennywaynefields.com.

            We received an old “Victrola” with a bunch of records from the household of the late Velma Patton Hackworth home on Burning Fork, donated by her son Ned.  We have it sitting beside the older model that plays the cylinder type records so now we have two types of “talking machines” as they were called in yesteryear.

            My memory goes back to when our family had the older type and I think it was given to our neighbor Burnie Conley when we got the later type. We always had a lot of visitors to come to our home to listen to these “talking machines”.

            Keith Hobson of Leipsic, OH wrote for information on the Meredith Poe family.  He was very appreciative of the info he received from Bernice Moore and Kenneth Poe.  He is hopeful that the gravesite of Meredith Poe can be definitely determined and marked with a Civil War government marker before it is lost to time. 

            H. G. Whitaker of Chattanooga, TN was here to visit the historical society.  We always enjoy seeing him.  We thank him for his thoughtfulness toward the historical society.  He always brightens our day!

            There is still time for you to participate with monetary help in purchasing the memorial marker for George Fletcher that will be dedicated on Saturday, August 30^th at 4:30 p.m. on Gun Creek near the entrance of the tunnel.  You may come in to our library or write to us or contact Morris Fletcher.  Marvin Fletcher of Gun Creek is the latest contributor to that fund.

             We hope many of you will be visiting Magoffin County in the next few days.  Please sign our guest book during Founders Days, we will enjoy looking back to see who was here during the Fletcher Founder’s Days.  Look for Kay and Dallas Bentley on Saturday as they take care of our sign-in book then.  You may also sign in inside our library if you are here other days.