This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the February 14, 2013 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            There was some measurable snowfall on my lawn this morning and it took me back to the times in my childhood when we would have a “tracking” snow; this meant a snowfall in which one could see and recognize animal tracks of all kinds.

            To us children it meant it was time to hurry and get all the cows fed and milked, get in the firewood, drinking water, etc. before we got out our dogs, our twenty-two rifles and a coffee sack; then we’d take across the hill toward Uncle Frank Conley’s home on the Horse Pen Branch of Falcon.

            The area where we were raised was an oil field and the road had several drains made of six to eight inch metal casing pipes.  This is where our small dog “Boots” and the coffee sacks came into use.  We could keep Boots tied or held under our arm until we saw rabbit tracks entering one of the drain pipes.  We would put the sack over the lower end of the drain pipe then turn Boots loose in the upper end to chase that rabbit out of the hole.  This activity meant we would have meat on the table for the next meal or two.

            Some hunters in our area used a small animal called a ferret but this one had to be handled with care.  If not handled just right it might bite off a finger or two!

            Once we boys were hunting across from the Jim Joseph farm and our dogs “holed” a rabbit in a rock cliff.  Boots got hung between some rocks back under the rock cliff and couldn’t get out and we couldn’t help her. We went back every day for a week and were about to give up but I wanted one last effort to try to save her.  I kept the other dogs tied and quiet until we got close then I hissed them into barking.  Well, little Boots came out of there!  My older brother Ralph grabbed Boots and held her under his coat as he feared she might go blind in the sudden daylight. He also gave her a little meat and a biscuit on the way back home.  Boots lived a couple more years and even mothered another gang of puppies.  She was one of my favorite dogs.

            Hunting has changed a great deal from my childhood.  I have lived to see deer become a menace to the automobile.  Fox hunters are changing to coyote chasing and there are reports of mountain lions and wild hogs showing up in our woods.

            We no longer see hillside corn fields and there are very few garden patches due to the wild animals that feed on these crops.

            In going through some of the material that we are compiling for our special 2010 Sesquicentennial book, I saw a section about present-day churches.  Kay Bentley turned in good collection of pictures of our various churches.  We had other contributions of church histories from several people, among them is the Prater Memorial Methodist Church by Jeff Arnett, Bethel Bible Church by William Grover Arnett and Jean O. Arnett; Big Lick Church of God by Bonnie Holbrook and shared with us by Bernice Dotson Moore, Salyersville Church of Christ by Barbara Reed Patrick, Tip Top Church by Charlotte Watkins Gillum, Salyersville First Baptist Church by Vera Connelley Stamper, Faith Freewill Church by Carlotta Howard, Cow Creek Church of God by Arbadella Reed, Litteral Fork Church by Pat Caudill and Joe E. Carroll, Lakefront Church of God by Larry Patrick and family, Salyersville Trinity Full Gospel Church by Darrell Howard and there are others.

            It brought back to my mind my mother Mollie Helton Preston and her coming in to tell the family about a new neighbor who had come to Burton Fork, he was a preacher, Rev. L. F. Caudill.  When Mom walked over to visit him, he told her that it seemed they had hauled him over to Burton Fork to die; he was ailing and very weak.  But he recuperated and was a great influence on our community as he was able to help bring into being several Missionary Baptist churches in our county as well as the Magoffin Baptist Institute. 

            I visited him quite often and remember him as somewhat feeble but with a strong, loud voice.  He had a long white beard and would quote Bible verses about the workers, some of whom came early and some came late, but all got the same wages, etc. As he talked and quoted he would work.  I especially remember him trimming his two grape arbors around his home.  I would pick up the twigs he cut off and stick them out in a swampy place.  They would take root and live.

            Rev. L. F. Caudill instigated building churches at Salyersville, Ivyton and Mash Fork. When they lacked enough money to buy land on which to build the Institute, Rev. Caudill offered to sell his farm to get the required amount and this caused others to donate enough money to make the deal.  This Institute assured the opportunity for a great number of our county youth to get an education beyond the grade school. 

            I feel honored to have known Rev. Caudill.  He had a strong impact on my life.