Reunion of the Aged is Well Attended

One of the most interesting article I’ve ever found was a report of the “Reunion of the Aged” in Warren County, Kentucky.  The article named all those attending 75 years and older, including address.  Enjoy the story.

J. Mark Lowe

Reunion of Aged Is Well Attended

The Park City Daily News, Bowling Green KY

Sunday, May  1936

Pages 1 and 12

Moses R. Hancock, 92-year-old Civil War veteran residing on Eighth street, was registered as the oldest man attending the second annual Warren County Old Mens’ Reunion held Saturday in the Court House yard.

Jim Corbin Honored

James A. Corbin, 91 years old, the only other known Civil War veteran residing in Warren county, was the second oldest man present.  He resides at 629 E. Eighth street. Both were members of the Union forces.

George Vincent, 608 Hope street and E.W. Oliphant, Route 2, City, also were registered as 91 years old but a few months younger than Mr. Corbin.  No persons were registered in the 87, 89 and 90 year old age groups, and only one person each was listed in the 83 and 88 year old groups.

The program, under the general supervision of Jesse Russell, Cemetery road resident, opened at 10 o’clock with registration of those present.

Photo:  1925 Bowling Green Kentucky Police Department.  [Courtesy: Kentucky Library]  My Great Uncle Getty Lowe [Back row, 3rd from Left] was a Police Officer for years.  He shared many stories about special events and Chief James A. Corbin, who was mentioned in this article. 

Blind Man Speaks

A welcoming address by Mayor B. S. Rutherford was followed by a talk by John Stagner on the subject, “Accomplishments of the Blind.”  Mr. Stagner was one of the several blind persons of all ages attending the reunion as guests of the old men.  Badly crippled persons also were guests of the old men.

Old songs were rendered by V.P. Cassaday, and old favorite fiddle tunes were rendered by Lem Howell and two accompanists during the closing session of the reunion Saturday afternoon.  John Beck of Smiths Grove and R. K. Glover Route 3, Alvaton, also spoke briefly during the program.

Miss Matt Jackson, centenarian residing on Fairview avenue, was scheduled to attend the program as special guest of honor, but she was unable to attend because of ill health.  W.R. Pearson, county resident whose 93 years made him the oldest man attending the reunion last year, also was absent from the exercises this year.

Approximately 150 city and county residents 75 years old or over attending the program are listed in age groups as follows:

Seventy-five years old - W.L Moore, 308 Main street; G.W. Stamps, Rural Route, City; E.L. Morris, General Delivery, City; K.B. Neely, 435 College street; J.A. Whallin, Anna; Robert Richey, Route 4, City; Jack Evans, Route 3, City; A.G. Cornwell, 122 Portage Railroad; S.A. Witt, Route 5, City; Sam J. Shield, Route 3, City; W.N. Owens, Route 3, City; John McHugh, 818 Center street; Robert Beck, 1354 High street; J.R. Stuart, 628 Eighth street; Charlie Salmon, City; Thompson Smither, Route 1, Rockfield; Ben Forsting, 122 Eighth street; David Stewart, Route 1, Alvaton; J.W. Goodrum, 1123 State street and Jim Howell, City.

Seventy-six years old --- Jesse Russell, Route 2; W.W. Lewis, 1044 Chestnut, J.H. Willoughby, Alvaton, R.A. Davis, Smiths Grove; Joe Owens, Route 5; E.N. Vernon, 1330 Clay; E.W. Edwards, Route 1; W.T. Andrews, 1319 Kenton; A.J. Justice, Alvaton; J.W. Barber, Richardsville; T.J. Willoughby, Route 2; Tom Hendricks, Sunnyside; Aaron Miller, Rockfield; J.R. Ellis, 1112 Chestnut; John D. Phelps, Route 4; Alex Smith, 1040 Chestnut; M.W. Neely, Alvaton; W.A. Lewis Route 6; Barton Pennington, Smiths Grove, Pat Murphy, 712 Scott street and Sam E. Miller, Richardsville.

Seventy-seven years old --- J.A. Smith, Oakland; W.E. Garrett, 504 First; J.W. Lowe, 218 College; S.W. Kerley, 517 Seventy; H.L. Tibbs, Rockfield; J. E. Blankenship, 508 Park; E.J. Miller, Route 5; J.L. Doty, 344 West Tenth; S. S. Hunt, Route 1; John Ferry, 303 Tenth; M.H. Heffington, Park street, C.D. Johnson, Alvaton; M.K. Wand, 1271 Kentucky; J.H. Ingram, Drake; J.W. Hiff, Route 6, and C.A. Thomas, Oakland.

Seventy-eight years old --- H.S. Hunt, Oakland; T.F. Miller, Richardsville; H.E. Ombenhour, Route 1,; J.C. Sawyer, 401 College; R.W. Meredith, Riverside; J.H. Kington, Alvaton; D.K. Puckett, 825 Broadway; M.E. Yates, Alvaton; W.A. Flora, Sunnyside; Calvin Snell, Route 5,; A.H. Simmons, Route5; L.N. Bumpus, Route5; J.N. Osborne, Route 2; G. H. Wilson, Route 2, W.W. Elrod, Route 4; W.E. Massey, 1123 State; Lige Upton, Richardsville; and B.A. Harmon, Alvaton.

Seventy-nine years old --- Bill Lane, Rotue 2; George W. Glenn, Riverside; R.M. Cornwell, Route 5; W.S. Downey, Route 3; T.W. Thornton, Oakland; Jesse Snyder, Route1; T.A. Robinson, Alvaton; W.W. Stinston, 1257 Magnolia; W. Harlow, Sunnyside; F.J. Miller 1143 State; J.W. Crabb, Bristow; W.B. Hill, 1268 State;  G.W. Woodward, 11621 Clay; Sam Pennington, Oakland; F.M. Burnett, Oakland; and W.A. Padget, 225 Portage railroad.

Eighty years old --- A.W. Brown, Route 2; J.E. Wells, Route 3; W.M. Gresham, Smiths Grove; J.C. Carlock, Boyce; George T. Kelly, Woodburn; J.E. Mercer, 1349 Chestnut; H.B. Hill, Route 3; W.N. Wingfield, Route 1; J.K. Motley, 151 Broadway; W.F. Ennis, Route 5; J.O. Howard, 1027 Payne; and W.T. Crow, 808 Eleventh.

Eighty-one years old --- Pink Cameron, City; J.C. Johnson, 558 State; P.E. Eadens, Route 5; Robert K. Glover, Alvaton; G.W. Butler, Route3; N.P. Lawrence, Route 5; J.D. Wright, Route 3; W.M. Miller, Route 5; Will Rector, City; W.B. Bunch, Route 2; L.C. J. Motley, Smiths Grove; R.G. Miller, Route 5; Virgil Garvin, Route 6; J.O. Beck, Smiths Grove.

Eighty-two years old --- R.D. Goad, route3; J.E. Meadows, Smiths Grove; A. Roemer, 111 West  Fourteenth; J.C. Stone, 614 Fairview; Joe D. Smith, 1123 College; D.W. Howell, 728 State; and J. Tom Williams, Woodburn.

Eighty-three years old --- John Dean, Route 5.

Eighty-four years old --- G.W. Shanks, 1148 Adams; F.J. Kelley, Bristow; W.O. Holland, 325 West Tenth; F.M Howell, route3; and T. J. Hendricks, Smiths Grove.

Eighty-five years old --- C.J. White, Benton; E.R. Beck, Bristow; W.C. Brandon, Route 3; and J.L. Hickman, Route 2.

Eighty-six years old --- A.B. Johns, Smiths Grove; W.D. Ballard, 141 West Fourteenth; John R. Miller, Route1, and G.W. Keller, 1362 Clay.

Eighty-eight years old --- V.M. Cox, 1318 Fourteenth.

Lunch was served at noon in the Court House yard under the supervision of Ennis Harris and a corps of assistants.

One hundred loaves of bread for the meal were contributed by the Grocers Baking Company, which is constructing a local bakery at Fourteenth and Adams streets, and other foodstuff was contributed by local merchants.  The Phillips Transfer Company and the Cole Transfer Company transported tables and chairs to and from the Court House yard.

What's the Most Important Task in Genealogy?

Photo of the old railroad depot in Rocky Hill Station, Kentucky.

I recently attended the funeral of a wonderful lady who was aged 99 years and the next day attended a funeral of a high school classmate who was aged 54. One of the lessons I learned from attending these two memorial services was the need to prioritize life.
My calendar is always full of tasks with articles, books, and lectures. What happened to those times when I filled my calendar with driving visits to relatives. Those times when I learned that my Great Aunt Grace loved collecting Avon bottles. [She shared a bottle with me.] I also learned about her family history and wonderful stories of growing up in the Bee Springs community in Kentucky. Or the visits with my Great Aunt Jen where I learned about my Great Grandmother Clara or my Aunt Jen's in-laws.
This past weekend my sister and brother-in-law trekked into Beckton, Kentucky to visit our oldest nephew, Brett, and his wife, Becky. They have recently moved to Kentucky from Texas. After checking out their new home located on the banks of Barren River, they told me about a small family cemetery located across the road. In a moment, we went cemetery hunting. We found a typical burial ground surround by an iron fence. Filled with briers and tall grass, we were able to read a few stones and identify the family. More about this on another day.
After this exciting cemetery visit, we headed to Mammoth Cave National Park for lunch. Brett also loves history and takes every opportunity to pull stories out of me. Our Martin family held many, many reunions in the Old Hotel at Mammoth Cave. [Edmonson County, KY]
They have recently completed a wonderful new Visitors Center at the Cave, which adds even more opportunities for visitors to gain an understanding of this historic place and the people who lived and visited here. If you get a chance to visit, be sure to try the Peach Cobbler with Chaney's Dairy Barn ice cream. Once we had this great lunch including conversation, we walked around on the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful (pre-Spring) day.
As we drove back to Park City from the Cave, my nephew asked me about Rocky Hill [Station] just up the road. I told him that my Dad, his Granddad, was born. The explanation included information about Granny and Papa Martin's farm, and that although the house was now bricked, it was the house where Dad was born. We drove by the house and up the road past where Aunt Jen lived, and where her in-laws lived next door. I also told him that Dad's cousin owns the farm now and lives about 2 miles up the road.
We turn at the crossroad and went through the town of Rocky Hill [Edmonson Co. KY - There is a Rocky Hill in Barren County, too.] We stopped so I could take a picture of the old depot. My nephew is the manager of the natural gas system in the area, so he showed us their work area there.
As we talked, I remembered coming to this town cemetery for a burial. My nephew suggested we drive up this other crossroad by the railroad and see if the cemetery was near. I spotted the Rocky Hill Cemetery with a large sign on our right. We slowly drove through this well-kept cemetery until we began to recognize names. I hopped out of the truck with my nephew right behind me. I walked toward a family surname, and there was the grave of my Great Aunt Jen and Uncle Hubert. More stories followed as we returned to the truck and headed back to the house.
What's the Most Important Task in Genealogy? Sharing the stories and spending time with family. As we share the discoveries we've made in our family history, the people and places in that story come alive for those new 'hearers.'
Keeping the Story Alive is the goal of every family historian. Time to get back to those deadlines.