This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the April 4, 2013 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

            April has arrived!  Surely spring weather can’t be far behind!  We have had unusual weather here in Magoffin County with spring-like temperatures during the winter months then reverting to weather that is reminiscent of winter when the calendar says “Spring”!

            The month of April always brings back memories of the beginnings of the Magoffin County Historical Society for, you see, it was in April of 1978 that we first gathered as an organization.  At that first meeting we only had intentions of meeting as a “club” of persons interested in their own family history.  I had become acquainted with Connie Arnett Wireman about a year earlier when she was trying to get people interested in recording all the cemeteries in our county for the Kentucky Historical Society Cemetery Preservation project.  She had read in a state newspaper of their efforts and had written to them volunteering to copy the family cemeteries in her area.  Sometime later, she was contacted by the state chairperson of that project asking if she would consent to be in charge of the Magoffin County cemetery copying efforts. 

Connie had a full-time job and two young children at the time but felt that the project was a worthy one so she set out to look for other volunteers who might be able to help.  She asked at the Magoffin County Courthouse if they knew of people who might help and they sent her over to the Magoffin County Library where my sister-in-law Nadine Preston worked.  Nadine told Connie that I was interested in family history and she would relay the message to me. 

Connie tells me now that she didn’t hear back from me for about six months at which time I telephoned her one Saturday afternoon asking her what I should do with the 65 or 70 cemetery records I had copied!  In the meantime Connie, along with her husband Austin, children Kim and Bill, parents Arvel and Mae, sisters Nina, Carolyn and Madge had also visited and copied a great many cemeteries in her area of the county.  We next enlisted the aid of Stanley Gardner who served as our person to receive and copy cemetery information on the forms provided by the state historical society.

Stanley and I visited with Connie and saw that she had collected quite a number of books of eastern Kentucky genealogy.  We each had some material of our own so we decided to begin meeting at a central location once a month and share our resources.  Our local library served as a meeting place for several groups in the county so we inquired about a possible time to meet there.  The only available time was Sunday afternoon so we chose 3 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month.  Now, 36 years later, the only changes we have made in that arrangement is to set the meeting time at 2 p.m. instead and in the July of  2001 we moved into the vacant building that was the former Salyersville Post Office and now have meetings in our genealogy library here at 191 South Church Street.

Our small group in 1978 had no idea that we would survive all these years and be able to amass the amount of area genealogy and history that is currently available.  We just gradually grew and as one project would be finished another two or three would be started.  Of course, we are pleased with all we have been able to do but also recognize many areas of work that we have neglected, one being getting young people more involved in the actual work of our organization.  We are at a point now that our small group of volunteer workers has dwindled to only a few and we have been beset with some of life’s problems that has curtailed and/or slowed many of our activities. 

Our zeal has not diminished and we are thankful for those who continue to come in and help and who volunteer to contribute material and pictures for our printed works.  We are now beginning our 35^th year of printing a quarterly Journal, good solid plans are being put into place for our 35^th year of sponsoring a Magoffin County Founders Days celebration honoring our area early settlers and we hope to see several new publications printed in the not too distant future.

When we meet this April 21^st at 2 p.m. here at our library it will mark the beginning of the 36^th year for the Magoffin County Historical Society.  We are well pleased with the response of the public to our plans of honoring the Rudd family for this year’s Founders Days activities and invite you to come out and help us with the planning and the work that needs to be done.  Remember that Founders Days honor a specific family name each year but our goal is to make it a Magoffin County Homecoming for all those who care about the future our county and those who like to visit the homeland of their ancestors.  Make plans now to come to Salyersville sometime during the year of 2013 and particularly during the week of August 27^th through September 2^nd.