This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the September 10, 2009 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

The Salyersville Independent  is a weekly newspaper published and edited by Michael David Prater, P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Telephone (606) 349-2915.  Yearly subscription rates are $24.00 in Kentucky and $30.00 per year out of state.

            The curtain raised on the thirty-first annual Magoffin County Founders Day celebration with a record breaking crowd attending the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening.  We began with Bob Whittaker tolling the old courthouse bell 31 times in honor of our 31^st year.  Jamie Slone, pastor of the Prater Memorial Methodist church gave the invocation and our local Boy Scout troop under the direction of Ralph Mullins and Haskell Sizemore raised the flag and led us in the Pledge.  A wonderful rendition of the National Anthem was sung by Nicole Culbertson (daughter of John and Jennifer Culbertson) who was there to be a part of the Muzzleloaders and was recruited to sing at the last minute.  We appreciate her helping so much! A twenty-one gun salute by the Magoffin County Muzzleloaders followed by the Prater Memorial Methodist Choir singing a medley of songs.  J. C. Minix and his wife Nila along with Crystal Collins sang wonderful songs for the celebration followed by Green Mann singing his original song “I’m Going Back”.  Next the Mann/Manns inscription on the Founders Days marker in the Pioneer Village was unveiled by Herley Mann and Ben Gardner with Jackie Howard reading the inscribed words to the gathered crowd.  And then there was a “bunch” of picture taking and a few wet eyes…we witnessed a great deal of camaraderie among the Manns Clan and all our visitors.

            The baby pageant followed with a record breaking crowd attending.  The temperatures had cooled down and everyone had a very enjoyable time.  Looks as though Magoffin County will have to expand its borders from the amount of babies enrolled in the Baby Pageant!  This year brought on another “first”.  A mother came in to enter her baby in the pageant and was informed she had missed the sign-up deadline. She answered, “But I hadn’t given birth until after the deadline!”  We have high hopes for the future of all our babies, children and young people!

            We will continue next week with more about our 2009 Founders Days activities.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately getting some older furnishings in the Wireman log home. Bill “Dodd” May came to my rescue bringing in some of his collection, we didn’t know what one item was then Randall Risner told us it was a pasta machine made in Italy!  Bill also brought in two fruit presses and a giant wine press.  I brought in some items from my cabin and my daughter brought in some bedding.  Albert Wireman brought in a family heirloom bed. 

            We had enough Vanderpools on our grounds last weekend that we could have called it the Second Vanderpool Founders Day!  They had come from their annual reunion in Paintsville, KY and dropped in to visit our Pioneer Village. I opened up all the log homes for their visit. One young man was blind and would feel the items as I explained what they were and how they were used. This was a first for me as a tour guide and very poignant.

            Even amidst our Founders Day activities we are still working on queries and family history questions. C. M. Lovell ([email protected]) writes their 2^nd great grandfather was Wilson Risner who married Caroline Johnson and they would like to know some info about them.

            Wilson Risner was born in 1839 and died in 1923. He was a Private in Co. I, 14^th KY Inf. serving from 10 Mar 1862 to 2 Apr 1865, the son of James Risner who was born in 1809 in Harlan Col KY and Margaret “Peggy” Adams.  Peggy was a daughter of William Adams b. 1770 in NC and married in 1795 to Francis Meacham b. 1775.  James was a son of Michael Risner and Sarah Howard.  Wilson married first in 1867 to Amanda Hamilton b. 1852 d. 1870, daughter of David Hamilton.  He married 2^nd on 15 Dec 1870 to Caroline Johnson who was born 1 Mar 1853 and died 2 Jun 1926, a daughter of John Johnson and Louraney -?-.  This, plus other info can be found in our volume 4 of our Civil War publication, “Legends in Blue and Gray”.

            Wilson Risner was buried on Limestone Branch of Rockhouse Fork of Burning Fork. I assisted in setting a Civil War marker at his grave last fall which is located just off the highway.  In fact, he had brothers, Dial, Elias, Francis M., George, Meredith and Michael in the Civil War.  All of them except Elias have military markers and we hope to get his set in a couple of weeks.

            I came in early Wednesday morning following the first day of our celebration. When I turned on the radio I heard Nolan “Country Cousin” Hall announcing the death of Katie Prater Dolan who was one of our most faithful boosters of Magoffin County Founders Days, especially the parade.  She was always on hand to give her colorful descriptions of all the participants, sometimes unprintable (smile), especially when her cousin Wendell Hoskins would come riding…or, I should say, “standing” in the saddle on his horse.  She would give him a tongue lashing for his unusual antics and trick riding.  Katie lived in the 1920s, what I mean is she liked to keep the “flapper” days of the twenties vivid in everyone’s memories.  As one writer expressed his viewpoint, “If Founders Days had a Queen; surely it would have been Katie, hands down.”  Our cap is off to Katie, who has left us a motto – live your life to the fullest every day!