|
My dad grew up in SE Kentucky, just outside of Paintsville in Leander. It's basically houses scattered throughout the foothills in a little area called Asa Creek. My grandpa, as well as my aunt/uncle lived on Frozen Branch Rd. Jenny Wiley State Park isn't too awful far away, and though I don't know the exact location of "Jenny's Creek"; I was always told it was nearby to Asa Creek. So who knows. Maybe one day I'll find out for sure. lol! But below are pics I took in January 1994 on my way back down to Liberty University, on our stop off at Grandpa's house. It was quite froze over as you can tell. Grandpa's house is no longer there, as after his death in December 2001, family members down there had it burnt to the ground to move my aunt's new home there (she did live further up the hollow). I do miss it now and again, as it holds special memories for me. I'm sure my father misses it a LOT more since it was his childhood home. But we enjoyed our trips down there a couple times a year. (except for the outhouse...but we did okay. lol!) My twin and I used to get into trouble for chasing the chickens around the yard when I was younger and for petting those 'nasty dogs' that my grandmother hated. lol! My sis and I also shot croquet balls all over that yard to pass the time, along with swinging on that front porch swing and banging it up against the wall and getting yelled at. lol! We also had our annual family reunion in that front yard...having a massive cookout, a baseball game and lots of laughs with extended family members I only saw at Memorial Day weekend. There are also memories of sprawling out on that front porch to color in coloring books and walking up the road to peruse the sides of the foothill for wild strawberries for grandma's cobbler. Grandpa also used to wake my twin and I in the wee early morning hours while it was still dark, when we were in mid-elementary grades, to go out and help to shuck corn for the pigs and chickens. We used to snicker with Grandpa at our sneaking with him since grandma didn't approve of us girls going out there to do that with him. lol! But it was such fun. She finally caught all of us and just shook her head, knowing that he'd just keep taking us out with him...which he did. These are all memories that I miss, but will always have them with me.
Grandpa's house with a pile of firewood on the front porch for the wood stove in his front room. His horse used to roam freely on the hill to the left in the pic. I never knew how it could keep its balance so well up there. lol! My dad would make jokes by saying it had two legs that were shorter, just to see our reaction. Luckily, we caught on to his twisted humor. lol!! The first pic below is that of the outhouse just across the road (in front of the house) from Grandpas. Yes, this was the ONLY bathroom. It was 'okay' in warmer weather...if ya didn't mind the occasional big brown hairy spider watchin' ya. But in the colder months, oh this was not the way to go. You went as quickly as humanly possible and prayed nothing froze to ya! lol!!! The outhouse still stands. I guess they didn't feel the need to burn down the ol' crapper for some reason. lol!! Below that, is a pic of Grandpa's coal shed that stood in the front yard. It too is no longer there. I remember during our many baseball games having balls get caught in the planks or slip through and go into that shed. We'd always have to send an adult in after it, do to possible snakes (copperheads are common in that area).
UPDATE: For all those wondering, Jenny's Creek is named after Jenny Wiley. Though I never knew who she was or what her story was about, when I was a child; I sure did hear her referenced a lot by family members when down there in KY. She was a brave pioneer woman and mother who faced some terrible atrocities against her family/children. Here is an adaptation of her story: http://www.wtv-zone.com/califPamela/jennywileystory.html I just did some online dinkin' around for stuff on Asa Creek and Jenny's Creek. I found a geneology of the Blair family (the last name of my aunt/uncle who lived up the road from Grandpa. My dad's sister, Janice Arms, married Gail Blair...25 years her senior...listed in the geneology I found. Pretty cool to find this stuff!) According to this geneology (which is rather detailed in how far back it goes, especially for most of them being born at home...including my father and his siblings), Asa Creek and Jenny's Creek are possibly connected somewhere. It even mentions Frozen Branch of Jenny's Creek. My grandfather lived on Frozen Branch Rd. of Asa Creek...so just wondering a bit. Hmmm.....I think it's more likely they are just extremely close to one another. Here is the link to the geneology: http://www.geocities.com/rebel1944us/FAMILY_TREE.html I also found a link for Jenny's Creek...a possible or actual location. It matches the locations in the story though, as each of the locations can be found at this very link: http://www.placenames.com/us/21115/ . But here it is. According to this map, Jenny's Creek is just NE of Asa Creek but not too awful far away. http://www.placenames.com/us/p495218/
|
Comments
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Anonymous