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2 - August 16, 2012
Your Hometown Newspaper
OPINIONS
News Outlook
Heaven Is
ALot Like
Kentucky
By Charles Mattox
"ff'homas Jones was one.
of the party at Holder's De-
feat...They saw where the
Indians had made the pris-
oners (Hoy and CalloWay)
run a race, so as to .leave
sign to induce the whites
to follow and threw down
painted sticks to attract at-
tention. John Fleming loos-
ened his hunting shirt and
clothing, and when asked
why he did so replied, after
seeing the pains the Indi-
ans took to court pursuit 'If
we go across Licking River
we shall be badly whipped!"
Francis Jones, son of
Thomas Jones and step
grandson of John Flem-
ing, in an interview now
located in the Draper
Manuscripts, volume 21 S.
The ancient remnants of
the old Warfior's Trail on
the present-day Fleming
County side of the Licking
River at the Upper Blue
Licks were dearly visible
to the handful of Kentucky
frontiersmen who were
following the raiding Na-
tive American warriors
who had taken Jones Hoy
and Jack Callaway captive Joseph Proctor, who had Boone and many of the to Holder. "They might be
from William Hoy's Sta- already crossed the river. 30 salt makers had since leading us into an ambush.
tion two days earlier. Fleming sat down on a log returned. Micajah had We'd best not fide beyond
The ancient trail con- before turning up a bottle not. It had been rumored the painted sticks."
nected the northern tribes of whiskey and drinking that Micajah had "turned Holder consulted fur-
with the southern tribes greedily from it in several full injun" and Micajah ther with Fleming and
and was the route used for large guzzling swallows, was also rumored to have Capt. John Constant be.
trade andtravel across the "It's a trap Captain Hold- been one of several war- fore dividing his force and
land. er," he finally said after riors that had tortured continuing.
Woolly mammoths and replacing the .cork on the Col. Richard Callaway to Half of the men-moved
big-horn bison wore deep bofle and tossing it to his death in March of 1780 directly north on one en-
ruts in the valleys and ne best friend, the wiry when Shawnee warriors emy trail while Captain
across the hills thousands little Irishman named Mi- killed Callaway and Pem- Constant and Cassidy with
of years earlier and vast chad Cassidy who had berton Rollins near Fort others followed the river
herds of buffalo still used just arrived on the frontier BoonesbOro. trail.
the trail system, which after serving on many bat- Fleming's own half Soon the enemy war-
connected the saline and flefronts in the east with brother, George Stock- riors sprang their ambush
freshwater springs of the General George Washing- ton, had been similarly with one of the first shots
region, ton. "If we cross that river abducted from their Penn- striking Fleming in the hip
They say the river ac- weql be riding straight sylvania home in 1754 and and groin and knocking
tually ran red with blood into a trap." Stockton lived for a dozen him from his horse.
on August 12, 1782 when Holder launched into years as a famous Iroquois Cassidy and Constant
those Kentucky frontiers- one of his famous cursing warrior before returning heard the gunfire and
men caught up with about rants at Fleming's caution home and then later corn- raced head long into the
70 Native American war- as he implored the men to ing with Fleming to the fight from the opposite di-
fiors in what is now south- continue onward. Kentucky frontier in 1776. rection. Cassidy rode his
ern Fleming County, near. Fleming bit his tongue. Fleming thus complete- horse through the entire
the confluence of Sapp's He understood how Hold- ly understood Holder's . Native American force to
Branch or Battle Run er felt and why he insisted apprehension and he lis- reach Fleming's side. He
Branch, and the Licking that they continue, tened to Holder's pleads dismounted, killed a war-
River. These Native American for a full two minutes be- fior, and threw Fleming
The cataclysmic events warriors had abducted fore simply mounting his onto his horse sack lash-
of that day, the second meaabers of Holder's ex- horse, galloping across ion. He then rode back
phase in a five phase en- tencled family; Jones Hoy the river and saying loudly through the warriors
emy operation, would and Jack Callaway, Aug. "I can go as far as any man again and back across the
decimate the settlements 10, from Hoy's Station in any fight." Licking River.
of Kentucky, and are still in present-day Madison Thomas Jones and Mi- William Clemmons,
shrouded in much mys- County. The warriors then chael Cassidy squatted John Wilson, William Bu-
tery. rode northward with their near the sand bar in the chanon, John Douglas
But survivors of that two young captives, center of the river examin- and George Johnson were
day have left their descen- Holder's wife was an ing several painted sticks killed during the valiant
dants and historians with older sister to the Cal- the Native American war- charge.
some factual narrative laway and an aunt to Hoy; riors had left behind. They Jim Harper was wound-
of how the day's events and the family continued also saw footprints along ed in the elbow during the
transpired, to lament for another the river and knew the charge, and although the
As the Kentuckians older brother, Micajah two boys had been forced wound was not serious, he
reached Vaughn's Ford at Callaway, who had been to run the gauntlet.Jones died within two days due
the Licking River, Captain captured by Shawnee war- warned the other fron- to complications from the
John Fleming peeled off riors with Daniel Boone tiersmen of the painted infected wound.
his saturated hunting shirt and several salt makers &t sticks. Cassidy never received
as he received an all-clear the Lower Blue Licks in "They want us to follow a scratch, although by
nod from forward scout Jan. 1778. Captain!" he said loudly some estimates over 30
shots were fired at him.
Manuel Kelley retrieved
the body of William Buch-
anon from the battlefield,
but Buchanon was shot
to pieces and no longer
heard the voice of his dear
friend who begged him to
hold on as they rode away.
Clemmons, Wilson, Doug-
las and Johnson, were• left
where they lay.
Cassidy led Fleming's
horse down the dry creek
bed and was pleased to see
Joseph at the fiver. Were
it not for the deadly ac-
curacy of Joseph Proctor,
who covered the retreat
at the Mouth of Battle Run
Branch, more would have
died. Proctor had been
the salvation of an earlier
group of frontiersmen and
his deadly accuracy had
saved the remnants of
Capt. James Estilrs com-
pany during the maniacal
Battle of Little Mountain,
fought in March earlier
that same year, near the
present town of Mt. Ster-
ling.
Few men on the frontier
could hold a candle to Jo-
seph Proctor when it came
to marksmanship
We will join some of
these same men next week
in the confines of this col-
umn if the Good Lord is
willing, dear reader, and
we will examine the third,
fourth and final phase of
that deadly enemy inva-
sion of August 1782. A
month during which the
legendary Daniel Boone
would emphatically state,
left many orphans and
widows."
By Cecil Lawson
,,, ; .............
-One of the themes that
I've pursued in attempts
at editorial writing here
is community and 'the dif-
ficulties associated with
making and holdingone
together.
I think most people who
read this will agree that the
"sense" of community was
something that we had in
Bath County at a lime in
the past, and now, it's not
really there.
It's one of those vague
ideas like "school spirit"
that you notice when it's
not there.
The French have a per-
fect word for it, "elan,"
which means something
like spiritedness or enthu-
siasm. The U. S. Mafies
also have adopted a Chi-
nese word to convey the
same thing, "gung ho"
(which in Chinese means
"work together.')
What all of these ideas
contain is the spirit shared
by a group of people who
have something shared or
something in common.
People who attend the
same school show their
spirit through rooting for
the home team and cel-
ebrating their victories and
feeling the pain of their
losses.
A mih'tary platoon trains
and fights together on the
battlefield, and they have
one another's backs and
never leave one of their
own behind.
Along these same lines, a
strong sense of community
would lead the members of
the community to share in
the history and traditions,
taking part in festivals and
celebrations, maintaining
the community's symbols,
and monuments, and grow-
ing and changing as the
community changes.
Simply put, communities
have members who share
something in common.
Older people in Bath
County can remember the
Depression and how most
country people were not
terribly affected by the na-
tion's economic struggles,
since they lived close to
the soil, did not live extrav-
agant lifestyles, and helped
one another out in hard
times.
People coming of age
ACHIEVING A SENSE: OF
in the 1950s and 1960s
remember it as a kind of
Golden Age, where Ow-
ingsville was the center
of social life, and people
would come to town on a
Saturday night to socialize
not exactly positive.
A number of people, not
a majority, but a good num-
ber, simply have no inter-
esfin being a part of Bath
County as a communi'ty.
Blame it on the econo-
November, while the turn-
out at the courthouse for
Veteran's Day was good,
there was nothing orga-
nized. People came out
expecting the city or the
county or veteran's orga-
nizations to do something,
anything, to honor the
county's and the nation's
veterans' service. There
had been ceremonies in
the past, but not thi year.
What happened?
COMMUNITY
And that's a question I
most every day as I cover
local news arid events -
what has happened to our
sense of community?
And more importantly,
how do we get it back?
and watch the endless pa-
rade of traffic around the
¢Qttrthouse ....
Those of my own gen-
eration who grew up in
the 1970s and 1980s re-
member these decades as
upwardly mobile times,
where everyone looked
forward to sharing in the
nation's prosperity.
While Bath County was
usually overlooked com-
pared to what was going
on in Mt. Sterling or More-
head, it was a prosperous
lime for the county.
It was also a lime when
Bath County's numerous
community festivals and
celebrations were strong
and in full swing - May
Day, Hoss Tradin' Days,
Lions Club Horse Show,
Salt Lick Homecoming, the
county fair, Preston Court
Days - and the high school
had strong sports teams.
Bath County was the site
of numerous new small
businesses, including a
functioning industrial park.
Sometime around the
turn of the century, after
the 1990s but before the
2000s had gotten along too
far, things changed.
Between 1990 and 2000,
the county's population
grew by nearly 1400 peo-
ple, and then by another
500 people by 2010.
As I've noted in this col-
umn before, this influx of
people has had an effect on
the county, in many ways
mjc, stupid. ' " ':
With. Bath .County,_ be-.
coming a bedroom €om.
munity squeezed between
Mt. Sterling and More-
head, with the exit of small
business from the county,'
with the gutting of the
downtown areas of Ow-
ingsville, Salt Lick, Sharps-
burg and Bethel, and with
the downfall of the tobacco
industry, Bath County has
simply become real estate
for the taking.
i've seen many instances
of people, while working
for the Census for two
years in a row and work-
ing as a reporter, who
have simply-moved to the
county and don't want to
be bothered.
I can certainly respect
their right .to be not be
bothered, but it is does not
contribute to any sense of
community spirit; it doesn't
help the community grow.
Bath County is full of
good people, both older
families and newer resi-
dents, who still work at try-
ing to keep the community
spirit alive. For once, the
weather cooperated a cou-
ple of weeks ago When the
City of Owingsville held
a street dance in conjunc-
tion with the U. S. 60 Yard
Sales 00. There was a good
turnout for the dance,
there were a few vendors
on hand, and people had a
good time.
On the other hand, last
tired of -
being the fat one?
It may not be your fault
It may be your"DNA"
For more information -
Go To
myg.enewize.com/
j,mmml or
Call
Saturday, August 18 *
8am 5K Run/Walk Sponsored by Mt. Sterling- Montgomery Co: Parks and Recreation held at Silver
Creek Estates next to Old Silo Golf Course. T-Shirt with enW, while supplies last.
Register at www.msmcparksandrec.com or 859498-8728.
9am- 5pm 10th Annual Gateway Special Olympics Car, Truck, Tractor & Motorcycle Show held on Locust
Street in downtown. Register by calling 859-498-9874. Top 100 plus 27 speciales, raffles, 50150,
free t-shirts to 1st 100 pre-registers. Registration forms at www.mtsteflingtourism.com.
10am.4pm Arts and Crafts Festival at the Cououse Square in downtown. Shop for unique arts and crafts
and enjoy music by Decades of Music. Register to become a Vendor at Gateway Regional Arts
Center, 101 East Main St 859498-6264 or www.gatewayregionalartscenter.com
10am-4pm Inflatables for the kids from Jumping Jimmy'z.
11am Gateway Children's Service Cornhole Tournament held on Civic Center Lawn. 64 maximum
teams, double elimination, standard ACO rules-S20 per team. Registration forms available at
37 N. Maysville or call 859498-9892 or online at www.getewaychildrensservices.org.
Noon-4pm Ale 8 One Small Town America Talent Showcase on the Courthouse Lawn. Enjoy
live entertainment from up to 20 contestants. Winner gets $9)0 cash prize and
meet and greet with Jeff Vice, Nashville writer and producer. Registration forms at
126 W. Main St. and www.mtsterlingtourism.com.
5pm 65th Annual Recreation Bowl at MCHS's Cunningham Field. Kentucky's oldest high school bowl.
5pm Nicholas Co. vs. Lewis Co.
8:30pmMontgomery Co. vs. Rowan Co.
Come experience a taste of the islands with Chef Doug lohasmes's Culinary Delights.
Cattlemen's ksaodatlon Ribeyes, ltambgers and Hot Dogs available for purchase.
Visit - ' "
www.mtsterhngtour|sm.com
for all event registration and more information!