This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the October 6, 2011 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

          The ghosts and goblins will soon be lurking round and about!  We’ve borrowed a shock of fodder from my neighbor’s garden, namely A. B. Conley.  I’ve also raided Tootsie Bailey’s and Leola Cole’s gardens for squash, gourds, cushaws and, for good measure some other odd pumpkins that were a new vegetable for me that is said to taste sort of like sweet potatoes when cooked.  We have the Pioneer Village looking pretty good with these “borrowed” decorations but I’m still expecting Sarge Rowe to bring in a 300 pound pumpkin to top it all off!!

          The girls, Dorothy, Connie along with Lori Sizemore, have finally gotten the Journal ready and in the mail and they are planning to get the Fall Journal out as soon as possible.  As we have said before, we have had some cantankerous machines as well as other problems to deal with and it has slowed us down to a great degree. 

          Randall Risner and his gang are meeting weekly to keep the projected Civil War Park plans moving.  In addition Berta Kay Salyer and her group is planning to turn the old John T. Arnett School building into an area fire department, park and playground.  It seems everything is progressing along nicely.  These new developments will mean a lot to our county and we are hopeful that the projects keep moving ahead. Folks, there are many things you can get involved in to keep Ole Magoffin moving forward.

          The Civil War encampment at the Gardner Farm will be history by the time you read this.  We hope the weather will cooperate.  October is a beautiful time of the year but unseasonably cool weather is predicted. 

          We need an active Civil War reenactment group here in Magoffin.  If you attended the Middle Creek reenactment this year or saw the group in the various area parades we know you enjoyed their participation.  We need such a group here in Magoffin. We feel sure we will have a Civil War Park soon so we need interested citizens to get involved in this.

          Back during Founders Days we mentioned a surprise visit from Seldon and Eva Holliday of North Carolina who brought us another load of goodies to display.  We want to tell you a little more about some of these wonderful items they have shared with us.  Among them was a Civil War doctor’s field operating table!  If this metal table could talk, a book could be written as it was also used after the war by about five generations of doctors going from father to son, etc.  We now have it displayed in our Civil War log home along with a description that Seldon very kindly shared with us.  It tells how he was going through Piedmont, NC heading south.  He was en route to a personal contents auction that included Civil War relics.  He was a little early to the auction and it allowed him a chance to tour the large home of Dr. Coveington that had been unoccupied for several years.  One of the items was the Civil War operating table referred to above.  A little later he heard from a family member who told him the table was not supposed to be sold but that she had neglected to tell the auctioneer.  Seldon told her that since it was a family heirloom he would bring it back to her.  Plans were made for the family to come and collect it but a hurricane intervened and prevented this from happening.  Some time later the lady called back to say Seldon could keep the table as the present young Dr. Coveington had another in his collection that was not nearly as old but that he was satisfied with keeping it so Seldon could keep the table and enjoy it.  Seldon has had the table since 1982 but decided to donate it to the Magoffin County Pioneer Village this Labor Day so we are now the proud new owners.  It is an extremely interesting new piece to add to our early furnishings and we are proud to have it.  We thank Seldon and Eva for their continued interest in seeing that Magoffin County Pioneer Village has new items for their collections for the visitors who come our way.

          Incidentally this coming Sunday afternoon we will finish up the 2011 Magoffin County Days events as we dedicate memorial markers for John Joseph and his wife Usley Salyer Joseph.  Also being dedicated is a marker for their daughter Nancy Joseph and her husband Elijah Conley.  The ceremony will be at the Carpenter Hill Cemetery near the new South Magoffin Elementary School at 2 p.m., October 9^th.   This is the event that had to be cancelled due to rain during our 33^rd Founders Days.