We are happy to report that the first Magoffin County Historical Society Journal of 2017 has been completed and is being mailed out to members. This issue begins the 39^th year of printing, which is quite a feat for our crew of volunteer workers. Now, let’s hope our volunteers don’t come down with "spring fever". (smile)

In this day and time, almost everyone has and uses every kind of electronic gadget that is available on the market. Judy Salyer sent us some very interesting excerpts from a Courier-Journal magazine article that illustrates just how far technology had progressed.

This was something we had not known about previously so we attempted to find out more about the "Listening Center" project. It seems that the University of Kentucky in conjunction with the Kiwanis Clubs of Kentucky began in 1933 to set up radio listening centers in remote sections of Kentucky. The placement of the one in Arthurmabel was the 80^th in the state of Kentucky. The first one had been placed in Owsley County.

The Kiwanis Club solicited donation of old battery radio sets and appropriated money within their clubs to purchase battery sets. These were used in the University project.

The only request the University made of the community in which they placed the radios was that the set should be tuned to WHAS during the time the University programs were being broadcast.

The system of radio listening centers provided publicity for the University of Kentucky and provided educational and recreational opportunities for remote sections of Kentucky. Most were located in places where gatherings of a dozen or more individuals could come together to listen to the radio. Some places considered suitable were settlement schools, general stores, newspaper offices and other community gathering places

Elmer G. Sulzer was the UK public relations director and was responsible for setting up the listening stations. In the article mentioned above, Mr. Sulzer was accompanied by Jim Litteral who installed the ground pipe and helped with stringing aerials. At the time Litteral had recently been discharged from the US Army.

Joe Reister, a reporter for the Courier Journal Roto-Magazine, came along on the trip, taking pictures of the process and writing the captions that appeared with the article.

The public road proved to be impassable for the 1939 Ford 2-door Sedan the group traveled in so they left it where it bogged down in the muddy road and continued on by foot the 3 ½ miles to the Whitaker home. The Whitaker home was about 17 miles from Salyersville.

There may have been radio sets placed in other areas of Magoffin County and/or nearby counties. If anyone has any recollections of these, we would certainly enjoy hearing about them. Please write us at Box 222, Salyersville, KY 41465 or email [email protected]

The Thomas Benton Whitaker family has been recorded in several of our printed genealogy books, most notably the Shepherd and Whitaker genealogies. Thomas Benton was born in 1856, a son of William R. Whitaker and Sophia Spry. He married in 1877 to Cynthia Shepherd, one of the triplet children born to Bryson R. Shepherd and Elizabeth Crager. The other triplets were John "Big John" Shepherd and Wilson Shepherd.

Thomas Benton and Cynthia were the parents of 9 children: (1) John Mainard Whitaker b. 1878 m. Susan Howard, dau of John J. Howard and Sallie Allen; (2) Polly Whitaker b. 1879 m. John C. Howard, son of John J. Howard and Malinda Vanderpool; (3) Betty Whitaker b. 1882 m. Green Bailey, son of George Anderson Bailey and Tobitha Jane Hale; (4) Bill Whitaker b. 1884 m. Polly Ellen Hale, dau of Samuel Hale and Jane Allen (it was Bill and Ellen's daughter Sarah who was pictured in the 1944 article listening to the radio); (5) Canzella Whitaker b. 1886 m. 1^st to Kendall Miller and m. 2^nd to Buck Bailey; (6) Katie Whitaker b. 1889 m. Wilburn Shepherd, son of Wilson Shepherd and Mary Ann Stephens; (7) Sophia Whitaker b. 1891 m. 1^st Charlie Bailey, son of George Anderson Bailey and m. 2^nd to Sam Wells; (8) Alexander "Elec" Whitaker b. 1895 m. Parrot Shepherd, dau of Billy Shepherd and Sarah Jane Casebolt Terry; and (9) Willie "Will" Whitaker b. 1900 m. Mary Ann Shepherd, dau of James "Jim" Shepherd and Polly Watkins.

The postmaster of Arthurmabel at the time the article was written, Burney Arnett, was a son of Samuel and Tera Arnett. His wife Harriet was a daughter of Lewis and Viney Oliver Wireman. They were the parents of Dorothy (died young), Arthur m. Mary Magdaline Wireman, Mabel m. Irv Hopkins, Richard m. Alta Woods, Marie m. J. D. Whitaker, grandson of Benton Whitaker, Sandra m. Emit Shepherd and Ruth m. Clyde Shepherd.