KYGenWeb: Floyd County

Sept. 24, 1964

Eastern Kentucky will get its chance to see and hear U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, Democratic nominee for vice president, Saturday afternoon, when he will speak at the Prestonsburg High School gymnasium. There will be no deer hunting this year in the Dewey Lake area. The 28th annual Safety Day, sponsored by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Mining Institute, was held at Pikeville, September 19. First place in the mine rescue division went to Inland Steel Company's Wheelwright mine team. Floyd County received a check, Monday, in the amount of $116,250 from the City of Prestonsburg in payment for the old courthouse property which is to be converted into a parking lot as an urban renewal project. Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Allen, a daughter, Anna Michelle, Sept. 10, at Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington; to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hall, of Buckingham, a daughter, Linda, September 14, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Allen, of Drift, a son, Kelly Greg, September 5, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dye, of East McDowell, a son, Alvin, September 9, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital. There died: Herndon Sherman, 74, Weeksbury, Sunday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Mrs. Loudema Hall Isaac, 77, of Wheelwright, Friday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Cora Johnson Edwards, 56, Wednesday, at her home at Wheelwright.

September 3, 1964

The Floyd County Planning and Development Association was organized August 20, in a meeting held at the office of Clifford B. Latta, as a successor to the Floyd County Planning Committee. An 82-year-old Floyd County man who had been missing 96 hours, and had apparently gone without food during that time, was found near a Right Beaver Creek mountaintop, Monday morning, not only alive, but in what was described as "fair condition". Prestonsburg businessmen envision that the municipally sponsored bus line from Prestonsburg to various points in the county will be in business by October 1. The U.S. Corps of Engineers, at the request of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, will start releasing water from Dewey Lake, Nov. 1, in an effort to relieve the over-population of gizzard shad in the impoundment. Prestonsburg defeated the Wheelwright Trojans, 32-12 last week-end, in the Blackcats' opening game of the football season. There died: Ernest Hurd, 24, of Banner, killed Saturday, in an explosion in an Arkansas Creek Coal mine; McKinley Caudill, 62, Monday, at his home at Hi Hat; Mrs. Helen Patton, 76, of Estill, Saturday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Charles A. Eckert, 69, of Wayland, Tuesday, of last week, at the Veterans' Hospital, Lexington; Eugene Maynard, 50, formerly of Stanville, Thursday, of last week in Orlando, Florida; Miss Gracie Boyd, 53, of Banner, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Helen Barrett, 48, Floyd native, August 20, in Baltimore, Maryland.

August 27, 1964

A week from today-Thursday, September 3-the first classes to assemble in Floyd County's first institution of higher learning, the Prestonsburg Community College, will begin. A modern water system and a safe and adequate water supply for the town of Auxier were discussed at a hearing held here, Saturday, before County Judge Henry Stumbo. The largest of Floyd County's new schools, Clark Elementary, opened Monday, with an enrollment of 595. The new six-classroom building at Harold drew approximately 200 pupils. Four of the general education classes under the newly-intitiated adult education program will start Monday, and four others will begin the next day, it is announced by James Salisbury, supervisor in charge. Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Moore, of Price, a daughter, Alicia Kay, August 19, at McDowell; to Mr. and Mrs. Garland Hall, of Bypro, a son, Garland Duane, August 20, at McDowell; to Mr. and Mrs. Ted Younce, of Hi Hat, a daughter, Gwendolyn, August 21, at McDowell. There died: Arch Castle, 76, of Melvin, Saturday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Elder McKinley Moore, 65, Monday, at his home at McDowell; Mrs. Virdie Williams, 68, of Harold, last Thursday, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; T. H. (Scorcher) Hall, 82, last Thursday, at his home at Melvin; Jobie Akers, 59, last Thursday, at his home at East McDowell; William Howell, 69, last Tuesday, at his home at Drift.

August 20, 1964

The Prestonsburg City Council voted, Tuesday night, to purchase from the heirs of the late Hiram Harris, 22 acres of land at the outskirts of West Prestonsburg as a start toward the realization of a community dream of a city park and recreation area. One day's work last week by county, state and federal officers reduced the number of moonshine stills operating in the county by six. As a direct result of lessons learned in Floyd County and seven other areas where the program has been operated on an experimental basis since mid-1961, Congress has decided to expand the food-stamp program. Clifford B. Latta, executive director of the Municipal Housing Commission, said Tuesday, that the work of razing the old Floyd County courthouse may be begun Monday, if the fiscal court grants right of entry. There died: Mrs. Annie C. Collins, 77, Sunday, at her home at Lancer; Wendell Ratliff, 33, Sunday, at his home at Wayland; Ely Lewis, 90, of Prestonsburg, last Thursday, at Lackey; Mrs. Florence (Hebads) Martin, 81, of McDowell, last Wednesday, at the home of a daughter there; Orville Jackson Moore, 50, formerly of Floyd County, August 5, in a slate fall in a Pike County coal mine; Mrs. Lakie Cline, 49, formerly of this county, last Tuesday, in Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Ada N. Crisp, 67, of Water Gap, Tuesday, en route to a hospital; W. B. Pratt, 83, Floyd native, August 7, at West Liberty.

August 6, 1964

The new Prestonsburg Community College building was occupied, Friday, for the first time, by college personnel, as the director, Dr. Henry A. Campbell and assistants moved in. Body of Claude Douglas Rice, 36, of Pikeville, native of Little Paint, was recovered, Sunday, from Dewey Lake, in which he drowned the preceding afternoon. Truck mines which failed to reopen after the expiration of the miners' vacation period returned to work last week, but a one-day strike at David marred the coal mining picture temporarily. An adult education program with twice-a-week classes is planned under joint sponsorship of the Floyd County Board of Education and the State Department of Education, it was announced, Monday, by James W. Salisbury, program director. The First Presbyterian Church decided by unanimous vote of a congregational meeting, Sunday noon, to sell its Third Avenue church structure and manse to the Roman Catholic Church. The purchase price was $45,000. Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Billy Robinson, of Bull Creek, a daughter, Billie Jean, July 18. There died: Carl D. Riffe, 47, Sunday, at his home, here; Mrs. Laura M. Frazier, 74, of Martin, Friday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; John Henderson Neeley, 78, Monday, at his home at Lackey; Ollie Wallen, 61, of Water Gap, Saturday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mrs. Susie Sexton, 74, of Garrett, Friday, at a Lackey rest home; General Lee Sanders, 58, Saturday, at his home at McDowell; Auxier Ratliff, 88, of Betsy Layne, Monday, July 27, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

June 18, 1964

A confrontation, Tuesday, between Henry Ward, commissioner of highways, and Harry Ranier, of Prestonsburg, member of the Kentucky Economic Development Board, failed to shake the former from his refusal to allow a coal-auguring firm the use of a three-mile stretch of the Jenny Wiley park road...Last week, approximately 675 employees of the Inland Steel Company walked out, Wednesday, and closed the Price Preparation plant, while miners, who had struck, last Tuesday, at the David operation of Princess Elkhorn Division, of Princess Coals Inc., were out but one day...The new Prestonsburg Community College will have as its director, Dr. Henry A. Campbell, Jr., who now is president of Crowder College, Neosho, Missouri...Mrs. Edith F. James, of Prestonsburg, was recently presented the Burl Ives Award at the National Folk Song Festival for her contributions toward the preservation of traditional Appalachian folk music...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Edgel Moore Jr., of Mason, O., a son, Charles Wade, June 13, at Mason...There died: Tom Garfield Moore, 62, of Cliff, Tuesday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Airman First Class Chad Marion Dingus, 23, formerly of Hite, Saturday, by drowning while swimming in a lake near McClellan Air Base, Calif.; James Clark, 52, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, at McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital; Sol Bentley, 75, formerly of Hueysville, Monday, at Crestline, O.; Mrs. Rushia Meadows, 63, formerly of Floyd County, Tuesday, at her home at Louisville; Ernest Mulkey, 71, of Banner, Wednesday, of last week, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin.

April 30, 1964

Three prominent Floyd Countians, Roy Ragan Denney, 50; his wife, Mallie Turner Denney, 50, and Thomas Spencer Combs, were shot to death near Drift, late last Thursday afternoon, by blasts fired from a shotgun, at close range, as an aftermath to a long-standing dispute over a property boundry line...Riley Renolds, 38, of Amba, was shot to death last Sunday afternoon, at his store there...President Lyndon B. Johnson�s person-to-person tour to Martin and Johnson counties, last Friday, led to his immediate action on behalf of eastern Kentucky, and the entire hard-pressed Appalachian region...The American Folk Song Festival developed by Jean Thomas, Kentucky�s Traipsin� Woman, will open the Jenny Wiley State Park�s new amphitheatre on June 14...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Paul B. Wells, of Paintsville, a son, Mark Alan, April 21, at Paintsville...There died: Mrs. Maggie Shepherd, 91, Sunday, at the home of a daughter on the Auxier Road; Mrs. Tacie Hitchcock, 41, formerly of Floyd County, Friday, at Bethel, Ohio; Mrs. Edith H. Mullins, of Wayland, Sunday, at the Paintsville Hospital; A. L. Gearheart, 86, formerly of Floyd County, April 7, in Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Pearlie Newman, 45, Tuesday, at her home at Hi Hat; Mrs. Mary L. Hall, 83, of McDowell, Monday, at the home of a daughter; Mrs. Mayte B. Conn, 70, of Dana, Friday, at Pikeville; Joe Howell, 75, of Harold, Saturday, at Williamson, West Virginia.

March 5, 1964

Plants that will give protection to bare land left after strip mining in forested areas of Eastern Kentucky are being sought by the U.S. Forest Service, it was announced this week...The Prestonsburg Municipal Housing Commission expects to file application with the Housing and Home Finance Administration for an additional 70 to 80 low-rent public housing units here...A total of 9,611 students in 317 eastern Kentucky schools�mostly one-room and isolated units�now enjoy lunches made possible by the Special Assistance Program...The State Department of Health�s community health service program will launch an intensive pilot program of disease detection in Floyd and 17 other eastern Kentucky counties by mid-March...Burl Spurlock, president of The First National Bank here, is one of 16 new directors of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, elected by mail ballot for three-year terms, which begin April 14...Fred and Jim Setser combined for 51 points here, Monday night, to offset a 43-point performance by Bob Tallent, the state�s No. 1 scorer, and give Prestonsburg, a 93-79 victory over Maytown...There died: Reca Baker Harkins, 79, widow of Joseph D. Harkins Sr., prominent Prestonsburg attorney, Monday, at Lexington; Levi Strickland, 103 years old, eastern Kentucky�s oldest resident, Saturday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital, after a brief illness; Mrs. Douglas Hopson May, 47, formerly of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at Lexington; Hargis Hayes, 60, of Hunter, Friday, at McDowell; Lonnie Hall, 65, Thursday, at his home at Honaker; Mrs. Rachel Mullins, 76, of Price, Friday, at McDowell; Andrew J. Carroll, 78, formerly of Amba, Sunday, at Sandusky, Ohio.

February 27, 1964

The Princess Elkhorn Division of Princess Coals Inc., may be nearing the end of its stay at David, because of dwindling coal reserves, but several years are being added to the company�s operation there by installation of new machinery and acquisition of added coal acreage...The American Red Cross, during fiscal year 1963, spent $2,710,978 to aid disaster victims in Kentucky, and $369,000 of that total was spent in Floyd County...Strip mining was described in Frankfort, Tuesday, as murdering the eastern Kentucky mountains and destroying western Kentucky agricultural counties...Paul R. Jordan, native of Wayland, who was a special assistant in public relations in state government during the last administration, this week, was named director of information and education for the Department of Conservation...Latest of a long series of breaks in this county was last Wednesday night�s entrance of the new Garth Vocational School...There died: Mrs. Mary Alice Hall, 66, of Galveston, Sunday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Joe Todd, 66, co-owner of Opal & Joe�s, well-known Ivel restaurant, Wednesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Emma Akers Sizemore, 83, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at home; Mrs. Beatrice Williams, 62, of Wheelwright, Sunday at the Beckley, W.Va. Appalachian Regional Hospital; Ora Hamilton, 63, of Galveston, Sunday, at home; Mrs. Stella Chapman, 71, of Hite, Tuesday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital.

January 16, 1964

The Piedmont Construction Co., Vidalia, Ga., is expected to be awarded the contract on construction of the 40-unit low-rent public housing complex at Martin...State Economic Security Commissioner Earle V. Powell announced in Frankfort, last Thursday, that unemployed fathers and stepfathers, living with families including children under 18 years of age, may apply, beginning this week, for subsistence benefits under a new $1 million program...Top winners in the Floyd County Fish & Game Club�s 1963 fishing contest are Steve Stout, Langley, and Charles Ferguson, Prestonsburg...Marvin Music, of Prestonsburg, was inducted to the office of governor of Kentucky-Tennessee district of Kiwanis International at May Lodge, last Thursday...�Mr. Chips,� a bulldog owned by the Harry Hager family, of Auxier, is credited with saving the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Hager, and their son, when the dog woke Mr. Hager, bringing to his attention, a fire on the first floor of the residence...Born: to Capt. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Verley, a daughter, Eliza Lee, Jan. 6, at Montgomery, Alabama...There died: Walter Ray Preston, 50, of Prestonsburg, victim of carbon monoxide poisoning here, Saturday; Alan Reed, 33, Prestonsburg engineer, Tuesday, at his home here; Mrs. Daisy Withow, 60, of Hueysville, last Thursday, at a Lexington hospital; Mrs. Polly Wallen, 71, of Melvin, Sunday, at McDowell; Mrs. Hettie H. Miller, 84, Monday, at the home of a daughter, on Abbott; Ark Prater, 80, of Pyramid, Sunday, at home; Dock Ward, 77, of Lackey, last Thursday, at McDowell; Mrs. Elsie Bell Bentley Frasure, 71, formerly of McDowell, Dec. 20, at Blackfoot, Idaho; Lee Hopson, 84, of Auxier, Saturday, in Dayton, O.; Mrs. Nan Little, 87, last Wednesday, at home; Willie Mullins, 37, formerly of Bevinsville, last Wednesday, at Marion, Ohio.

October 31, 1963

Governor Bert Combs announced, this week, that a major tourist information center will be built by the state in the Prestonsburg area to serve the mountain region...Republican gubernatorial candidate, Louie B. Nunn, appeared at three points in this county, last Thursday, during a campaign swing through eastern Kentucky...Fifty-eight fires have burned more than 6,500 acres of woodlands in this county since October 8, it was said, Wednesday, by Arthur Leach, service forester...The City of Prestonsburg received a grant of $20,400, this week, from the federal government for restoration of facilities, needed, following the flood last spring...Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill has presided at the last of the criminal court sessions of his term, it was said this week...Leva�s Style Shoppe, established here several years ago by Mrs. Leva Clark, was sold recently to Mrs. Walta Lee Preston, of Paintsville...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Burke, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Jennifer Kay, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Edsel Moore, of Frankfort, a daughter, Darlene, September 29...There died: Clinton Clay Cox, 47, formerly of Garrett, Friday, at Long Beach, Calif.; Garland R. (Rush) Harris, 75, of Prestonsburg, here, Friday; Mrs. Georgia Analee Cline, 41, of Wilbur, Ky., formerly of Floyd County, Thursday, at Louisa; Mrs. Eva E. Boyd, 67, of Emma, Monday, in Michigan; Mrs. Covia Nell Akers, 30, last Wednesday, at home at Banner; Joseph Gibson, 75, of Wayland, Friday, at the McDowell Appalachian Regional Hospital.

October 3, 1963

Except for some policy changes, we simply are continuing the work already begun,� said J. Fred Bingham, administrator of the former McDowell Memorial Hospital, Monday, the first day that hospital, and four others, were operated by Appalachian Regional Hospital Inc...Occupancy of Prestonsburg�s brand-new low-rent public housing units began over the weekend, and by Tuesday, 14 families were at home there...Rubin Robinson, 47-year-old McDowell miner, was killed instantly, last Thursday, in the mines of the Broad Valley Coal Company at Printer...Clarence Martin, 36, brother of the Rev. Robert Martin, well-known Floyd minister, was fatally injured when his auto was wrecked as he drove from work to his home in Cleveland, Ohio, last Friday...The Bank Josephine advertised this week, auto loans at four percent, with up to 36 months to pay...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gibson, of Langley, a son, Michael Dwayne, September 24, at the McDowell Hospital; to Capt. and Mrs. Robert A. Butt, a daughter, August 30, at Dayton, Ohio. Mrs. Butt is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Riffe of Prestonsburg...There died; Mrs. Lucy Robison, 52, of Wheelwright, September 19, at Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

August 8, 1963

A one-story addition to the Prestonsburg General Hospital, now under construction, and installation of a Data Phone, newest of electrocardiograph transmission devices, will cost an estimated $25,000...Five owners of proper lying on the Hoge Newman Branch or near it, in the vicinity of Hi Hat, have filed suit in circuit court here, seeking to recover a total of $23,100 from the Hi Hat Elkhorn Coal Company...Doubt was expressed, Tuesday, that the rifle shot which killed J.E. (Elza) Conley, 65, former Prestonsburg restaurant-owner, at his apartment here, Monday morning, was the result of an accident...Date of The Proud Heritage, the annual Civil War play here, has been changed to Sunday, September 1 at 3 p.m., it was announced by James Salisbury, director...Two small sisters, children of former Floyd Countians, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Shepherd, of Warsaw, Ind., died last Thursday, a few hours following injuries received when the family car was struck by a truck north of Warsaw...There died: Mrs. Cora Fitzpatrick, 78, of East Point, July 25, at the Paintsville Hospital; Willie Wright, 71, formerly of this county, July 21, at Ada, Ohio.

July 25, 1963

Harmony within the Democratic party was the keynote of the district organization meeting headed, Tuesday evening, at May Lodge by Edward T. �Ned� Breathitt and Harry Lee Waterfield, the party�s nominee for governor and lientenant governor respectively...President John F. Kennedy has informed Gov. Bert Combs that he has made available an additional $1,250,000 through the Office of Emergency Planning to meet federal aid claims arising from the disatrous March and April floods in Kentucky...The Lexington Leader, in a signed news-story under a Prestonsburg dateline, last Thursday, alleged that �one of the largest bootlegging operations in Kentucky is flouishing in �dry� Floyd County, home of Gov. Bert Combs, and only token efforts have been made to stamp it out�...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Fred T. May, formerly of Prestonsburg, a son, David Hershel, July 18, at Lexington; to Mr. and Mrs. Gene Dillman, of Columbus, O., a son, July 13. Mrs. Dillman is the former Sandra Sue Patrick...There died: Mrs. Clarcie Terry, 63, of Garner, Sunday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Mrs. George Lyons, 65, of Garrett, last Thursday, at home; Mrs. Julia Belle Mosley, 82, Sunday, at her home at East McDowell; Mrs. Sarah T. Sturgill, 75, of Harold, July 11, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Mrs. Lona Shepherd Prater, 74, Tuesday, at her home at Blue River; John A. Barnott, 76, of Weeksbury, last Wednesday, at Paintsville.

June 13, 1963

The Floyd County Emergency and Rescue Squad, following a search of the lakeside, and a dragging operation in the lake itself, Monday, failed to find Hillard Music, 18, who has been missing since Sunday afternoon, shortly after he jumped from a car driven by Fred McCoy, of Hager Gap...Undersecretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., will head a task force of federal representatives who will confer with Governor Bert Combs, other state officials, and area leaders at May Lodge, Jenny Wiley State Park, in an all-day meeting, next Thursday...American Legion Post 129 will sponsor the Fourth of July celebration in Prestonsburg this year...Wedding vows were exchanged, Saturday, June 8, in the First Methodist Church, Pikeville, by Miss Jeri Mahan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Mahan, and Mr. William Allen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Allen, of Prestonsburg...Dr. and Mrs. J. L. Blackerby, of Lexington, announce the birth, on Sunday, June 9, of their first child, a daughter, Elizabeth Lea. Mrs. Blackerby is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Burchett, of Sugar Loaf...There died: John C. Wells, 59, former principal of three Floyd County schools, Sunday, at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia; Merida Brown, 75, former Prestonsburg Police Chief, Saturday, at the McDowell Hospital; Robert Thurman McCoy, 52, of Romeo, Mich., native of Gulnare, last Thursday; Mrs. Hattie Webb, 74, of Auxier, at her home, Friday; Mrs. Melda W. Bionchi, 33, of Price, June 5, at the home of her mother, Mrs. Mousie Moore; John S. Meade Sr., 67, of Weeksbury, last Wednesday, at the McDowell Hospital; James Saunders, 68, Sunday, at his home at Grethel; Mrs. Lavada Osborne, 85, native of Floyd County, Friday, at an Ashland Hospital; Ned Akers, 69, June 7, at his home at Justell; Mrs. Aline Haywood, 58, Thursday, June 7, at her home at Martin; Adam Watson, 65, of Raven, Wednesday, June 6, at the home of his daughter at Printer; Mrs. Jane Johnson, 63, of Melvin, last Wednesday, en route to a hospital; Mrs. Martha W. Smith, 63, of Gallipolis, O., Friday, in a hospital there; Francis Sturgill Howell, 91, June 1; John Wesley Wallace, 53, of Hamilton, O., last Friday, in a hospital there.

May 30, 1963

Kentucky�s spirited Democratic gubernatorial campaign ended Tuesday in dramatic fashion�in the defeat of veteran A. B. �Happy� Chandler by a comparative newcomer, Edward T. (Ned) Breathitt Jr....In local elections, the race for Circuit Clerk was the most spinetingling, as Frank DeRossett, a newcomer to Floyd politics, edged out David Hereford by only five votes...Adrian Allen Dingus, 24, of Martin, and Clarence A. (Alf) Click, 53, of Langley, were killed and two others were seriously injured shortly after midnight, Saturday, when one automobile struck a bridge at Martin and careened out of control into another...A series of natural causes, dry weather, freeze, frost, then rain, has cut delivery of strawberries to the processing plant here to as low as 100 crates per day for several days, according to the management...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. John G. Heinze, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Lisa Allen, May 22, at the Paintsville Hospital...There died: Mrs. Mollie Woods, 70, last Thursday, at her home at Allen; Mrs. Kitty Swiger, 38, of Printer, last Thursday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Arthur Lee Hall, 40, of Wayland, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Ezra Crisp, 57, of Dana, last Thursday; Eddie B. Newsom, 39, of Weeksbury, May 13, at Louisville.

May 23, 1963

The Kentucky Department of Finance will issue invitations, Friday, to contractors to bid on construction of the Prestonsburg Community College, and will open the bids, June 21...In a period of 11 hours next Tuesday�from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.�the voters of Kentucky will resolve the issues of the current political campaign, by many termed the bitterest in state history...Dynamiting, last Wednesday night, of two coal chutes on Frazier�s Creek, near the scene of a tipple blast on May 6, plus two Perry County explosions and additional thefts of explosives, brought fears of new trouble in the area�s coal field this week...For the first time in its history the Floyd Fiscal Court officially endorsed a candidate for public office at its meeting, Tuesday. By unanimous vote the court adopted resolutions in support of Edward T. �Ned� Breathitt, candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. John R. Dixon, formerly of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Terry Gay, May 3, at Tulsa, Okla.; to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jackson Arnett, of Lexington, a son, Alan Shawn, May 20, at Central Baptist Hospital; to Lt. and Mrs. James Donahoe, of Dover Delaware, a daughter, Natalie Beth, May 17, at Dover Air Force Base; to Mr. and Mrs. William T. Crothers, a son, William Thomas Jr., May 1, at Paintsville; to Mr. and Mrs. Dan Goble Jr., of Prestonsburg, a son, Daniel III, April 29, at Morehead, Ky.; to Dr. and Mrs. Adrian Nunnery Collins, of South Shore, Ky., a daughter, Mary Teresa, May 14, at Portsmouth, Ohio....There died: William Preston Slone, 67, formerly of the Right Beaver section, last week at Ypsilanti, Mich.; Bert Donahan, 72, veteran of World War I, last Thursday, at home at Grethel; John David Barney, 60, of Dema, May 10, at Paintsville; Jasper Mullins, 81, of Estill, last Wednesday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Mallie Fields, 62, of East Point, last Thursday; David Morgan Wright, 71, formerly of Allen, Sunday, at Marshall, Michigan.

May 16, 1963

It�s a hot political campaign in Floyd County, with local races figuring heavily, but the focal point of interest lies in the Breathitt-Chandler fight for the Democratic nomination for Governor...The Mountain Parkway, �a long-time dream of Eastern Kentucky,� became a reality as Gov. Bert Combs and many state and local officials helped dedicate the scenic, new superhighway last Wednesday...The strawberry processing plant, here, will open to receive berries, Friday, it is announced. This is the second year of its operation...Miss Barbara Vanover, 18, Martin High School senior, was crowned queen of the annual county-wide music festival here, Saturday...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Martin L. Webb, of Prestonsburg, a son, Mark Leslie, May 4, at the Paintsville Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Crum of Wapakoneta, Ohio, formerly of this county, a daughter, Peggy Ellen...There died: H. H. �Hi� Fitzpatrick, 82, native of Floyd County, last Thursday, at Greenup; Nelson Hamilton, 74, last Thursday, at his home at Craynor; Quiller Hamilton, 49, Monday, at home at Ligon; Mrs. Lexie Allen, 61, Friday, at her home at Allen; John David varney, 60, of Dema, Friday, at the Paintsville Hospital.

May 9, 1963

One Floyd coal tipple was blasted by a heavy charge of explosives Monday night, and another was partially destroyed by fire...The American Red Cross closed its emergency field office here, last Friday, after having spent a total of $364,411.90, to help Floyd County�s flood disaster victims...Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources biologists learned, during netting operations carried on at Dewey Lake last winter, that the impoundment has �a very good� black bass population...Floyd County is to have its first Homespun Arts Festival, next month...The amphitheatre, now under construction at Jenny Wiley State Park by Akers and Akers, contractors, will be completed in August, it is said...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. McCoy, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Rita Rosemary, April 13; to Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Tackett, a daughter, Kimberly Carol, April 23...There died: Dorias Donald Goble, 17, of Emma, Monday, at Coumbus, O.; Mrs. Carrie Baxter, formerly of Prestonsburg, May 2, in Miami, Fla.; William Thomas Hibbens, 78, of Dock, Friday, at home; Sam Burton, 76, of Auxier, last Wednesday, at Paintsville; Mrs. Winnie Preston Archer, 69, of Prestonsburg, last Thursday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Ollie Wallen, 54, formerly of West Prestonsburg, Saturday, at Ypsilanti, Mich.; Mrs. Grace B. Shirkey, 72, formerly of Floyd County, last Thursday, at Columbus, O.; Mrs. Sarah C. Blevins, 71, Monday, at the home of a daughter; Joaquin (Jack) Selles, 67, of Weeksbury, Sunday.

May 2, 1963

A cave-in of rock from the roof of a small mine of the Hamilton Coal Company, at Price, claimed the lives, Tuesday morning, of 59-year-old Marson Moore, of Orkney, and his son-in-law, Clyde Little, 33, of Wheelwright. The mine, in which they died, was in its first day of operation...Sue Holbrook, 13, eighth grade pupil at the Bonanza School, is the new spelling champion of Floyd County. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hobert Holbrook. Runnerup was 14-year-old Patricia Vance, eighth grade pupil at the Beaver School...Floyd County�s medically indigent clients were aided a total of $107,391, last year, under the public assistance and medical assistance program...The four-lane, 43-mile section of the new Mountain Parkway from near Winchester to Campton will be dedicated May 8...County officials were authorized, Monday, by the Community Facilities Administration, Atlanta, Georgia, to issue a work order to the successful bidder on construction of the Floyd County courthouse...There died: Johnny B. Smith, 65, of Allen, April 23, in Elkhart, Ind.; Ray A. Tate, 66, of Bypro, Sunday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital; William J. Vaughan, 70, Friday, at his home in Prestonsburg; Henry L. Bonar, 65, of Tram, Sunday, at a Martin hospital; Mrs. Tommie Shepherd, 68, of David, Tuesday, en route to a hospital, here; Mrs. Betty P. Shepherd, 75, Tuesday, at her home at Dwale; Kelly J. Day, 86, former mayor of Pikeville, Tuesday, at a Pikeville hospital; Mrs. Grace Reynolds, 85, of Martin, last Thursday, at a Martin hospital; Mrs. Julia Clifton Spradlin, 85, Wednesday, at her home here; Alex Bingham, 64, of the Auxier road, Wednesday, en route to the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Charles Hamilton, 39, of Dayton, O., formerly of Big Mud Creek, April 23, in a Dayton hospital; Bert Tackett, 37, formerly of Beaver, April 22, in Kenosha, Wisc., of injuries received in a fall.

(April 18, 1963

The State Finance Department is proceeding on schedule with plans to construct a Community College building for the University of Kentucky, at Prestonsburg...Before the Saturday midnight deadline had passed, 42 Floyd County men had filed for office at the County Clerk�s office here, as candidates...Nearly 4,000 eastern Kentucky families, participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture�s food stamp program, received more than $225,200 of food stamp coupons during March...Floyd, and two other eastern Kentucky counties, are among the top six in average daily attendance figures, the Department of Education announced this week...The National Labor Relations Board hearing, called to probe into the mine field unrest and activities of mine pickets, began at Pikeville, Monday...Woodland fires became a major threat again this week, and eight fires, whipped by a strong wind, were burning out of control in this county, Wednesday...There died: Sam K. Music, 72, Monday, at his home on Little Paint; Ed Banks, 84, of Water Gap, Sunday, at St. Mary�s Hospital, Huntington; Willie Baldridge, 82, of Auxier, Monday, at his home; Ernest Baldridge, 46, of West Prestonsburg, last Thursday; Ora Lee Amburgy, 47, native of Tram; Friday, at Chicago; David P. Osborne, 91, of Prestonsburg, Sunday; Lee Stewart, 90, of Morehead, formerly of Prestonsburg, April 7; Mollie Conley, 83, formerly of this county, March 28, in Silver Lake, Indiana.

April 11, 1963

The Dana contracting firm of Akers & Akers is the low bidder on construction of Floyd County�s new courthouse, with a bid of $496,848...The work of conveying the Floyd County Water & Gas System to private management, and eventually, to private ownership, is well underway, it was learned this week...The Jenny Wiley Escape Trail had its first hikers, Sunday, when nearly half a hundred Boy Scouts of Troop No. 27, Prestonsburg, broke the way for what is hoped will be a flood of hikers in the years to come...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Byron Nunnery, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Leigh Ann, March 28, at Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Mrs. Lula Harris, 83, of Prestonsburg, April 2, at a Louisville hospital; Mrs. Martha Cole Henson, 79, of Hi Hat, Thursday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Joseph McCoy, 59, of Thomas, Sunday, at Ironton, O.; William C. Johnson, 92, of Minnie, Monday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Rebecca Hayes, 72, of Langley, Sunday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Fred N. Caudill, 50, former Floyd miner, Monday, at Warsaw, Ind.; Mrs. Levina Hunter, 63, of Ivel, last week at Pikeville.

March 14, 1963

No paper printed this week, due to disastrous flooding throughout county.

February 29, 1963

Contract on construction of an amphitheatre at Jenny Wiley State Park, for the presentation of a pageant written around the life of the pioneer heroine for whom the park was named, has been awarded to the Dana contracting firm of Akers & Akers...If a food stamp recipient refuses work in the strawberry fields, on the farm, or any kind of employment, his card will be pulled, according to a new ruling issued in November...Despite snow and icy roads, about 60 pesons interested in U. S. 23 as an artery of traffic into the potential vacationland that is eastern Kentucky, attended the Regional Travel Conference sponsored, last Thursday, at May Lodge, Jenny Wiley State Park, by the Kentucky Travel Council...Mickey Goble, 10, a pupil of the Corn Fork school, near Lancer, was reported recovering, this week, from an attack of what is believed to be meningococcic meningitis, the disease which, on February 15, caused the death at Dock, of 12-year-old Marilyn Pitts...Contract for construction of a headquarters building at Harold was awarded, Monday, by the Harold Telephone Company to Akers & Akers, Dana Contractors...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Arnold Dixon, of Lexington, a daughter, Mariann Louise, Feb. 14; to Mr. and Mrs. Gerald DeRossett, a son, Gerald Douglas, Feb. 24 at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Bonita Kay Fannin, 12, of Drift, last Wednesday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Starling Sweeney, 67, Sunday, at home at Prestonsburg; Mrs. Lizzie Hoover, 62, of Garrett, Tuesday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Mary Scutchfield, 75, last Wednesday, at home at Water Gap; Thomas J. Combs, 24, of Orkney, last Tuesday, at Louisville; Mrs. Lora Freeman, 83, of Auxier, last Monday, at St. Joseph Hospital, Louisville; Mrs. Lizzie Blanton, 76, of Allen, last Tuesday, in Marion, O.; Ethel Johnson, 18, of Weeksbury, Saturday, at McDowell Memorial.

February 21, 1963

The 22-man commission, established last week by Governor Combs, to study and help solve the problems facing Kentucky�s coal industry, includes two Floyd Countians and two others who are former residents of this county...Snowfall, again, Tuesday morning, cost the county school system another day of teaching time, and County Superintendent Charles Clark said, later in the day, that the schools may be open for classes Saturday of this week...The Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources has awarded to May�s Garage, at Allen, the contract for supplying 200 car-body shells to be placed in Dewey Lake as cover for fish...�I think we�re going to have a pretty strong flu epidemic in this county in a couple of weeks,� Dr. Russell L. Hall, of the Floyd County Health Department, said Wednesday, in a discussion of the spread of Asian flu into this section of the state...Of the five Prestonsburg men who planned to do a 50-mile Kennedy hike, last Saturday, two didn�t start, three did, but of the latter, one dropped out after eight miles, and the other two pushed their legs to the limit. The two best out of five were Estill Lee Carter and Carlos Branham. They were �shooting� for 50, but had to be satisfied with 34 miles...Phil Coleman sparked Wayland in the fourth quarter at Wayland, Saturday night, to register a 75-66 victory over Maytown...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Rice, of East Point, a daughter, Susan Darnelle, February 10; to Mr. and Mrs. C. J. McNally, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Charla Dene, February 10, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Luther Hensley Jr., 15, of Melvin, Saturday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Ruby Scarborough, 55, of Weeksbury, Sunday, at home; Ike M. Conley, 52, Floyd County native, Feb. 2 at Alger, O.; Mrs. Judy Tackett, 70, Saturday, at her home at East McDowell; Ollie Crum, 61, of Ivel, Monday, at the home of a sister.

February 7, 1963

State Labor Commissioner Carl Cabe said, Tuesday, �very good progress has been made in talks aimed at a settlement of labor troubles in the eastern Kentucky coalfields...46-year-old Earl Campbell, of Hippo, was found dead, and two others unconscious in a room of the Mountain View Motel at tragedy-ridden Knotley Hollow, near Lancer, Monday afternoon...The number of persons receiving the Type III oral polio vaccine at clinics held over the county last Sunday afternoon was slightly above 5,000, Dr. Russell L. Hall, county health doctor, said Wednesday...The Hubbard C. Francis Scholarship Award, established this week by the Francis Stores of Prestonsburg, is the first such grant to be made available annually to deserving students at the Prestonsburg Community College...There died: Mrs. Virginia Needham Stephens, 65, Prestonsburg teacher, Monday at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Henry B. Clay, 64, of Emma, Saturday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Miss Virginia Ann Allen, 20, of Prestonsburg, last Wednesday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mrs. Melvina Thornsbury, 77, of Pyramid, Saturday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Wayne Martin, 56, Monday, at his home at McDowell; Mrs. Linda Greer, 47, formerly of Floyd county, January 4, at Kenton, O.; Mrs. Siller Lucas, 23, last Wednesday, at her home at Estill; Mrs. Rebecca Newsom, 77, Saturday, at her home at Beaver.

January 31, 1963)

Mine field violence remains unabated in this county, it is evident, this week, when a tipple was demolished, at McDowell, by an explosion and a picket�s car was fired into at Drift...Dr. Russell, Floyd County health officer, made a final appeal this week for oral polio vaccine immunization...Efforts of persons interested in promoting the strawberry program in this county are being intensified, in order to insure enough acreage to justify continued operation of the strawberry processing plant, installed here last year...In an appearance over WSAZ-TV, Huntington, W. Va., Monday night, Gov. Bert T. Combs stated in strong terms, his commitment to the community college program, and to the major highway system now under construction...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Karl Oppenheimer, of Louisville, a son, Stephen Brian, Jan. 25, at Louisville; to Mr. and Mrs. Burl Ray Click, of Hazard, a son, Christopher Graham, Jan. 8, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Hiram Osborne, 84, Friday, in a fire which destroyed his home at Hunter; Larry D. Mitchell, 17, of Gethel, Friday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville, five days after being injured in an auto collision near Blair Town, Pike County; Roy C. Turner, 45, former Floyd County teacher, Monday, at Columbus, O.; Willie D. Webb, 67, of Martin, last Wednesday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Walk Spears, 62, last Wednesday, at his home at Tram; Andy Newsom, 49, last Thursday, at his home at Teaberry; Mrs. Goldie Stratton Collinsworth, 71, of Pikeville, Jan. 20, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville.

January 17, 1963

The Community Facilities Administration has approved a grant of $298,700 to Floyd County as part of the cost of construction of a new courthouse, Congressman Carl D. Perkins announced, last Thursday...State ABC and federal agents, last Wednesday, ended a week�s round of steady moonshine raiding which, in all, netted nine stills, seven prisoners and several hundred gallons of whiskey and mash...A water system to serve the Betsy Layne-Harold-Stanville community is envisioned, with the organization of a water district under state law and federal aid, under the Accelerated Works Program...The United Mine Worker�s welfare and retirement fund intends to close four of its Eastern Kentucky hospitals, but it does not propose to give the closed hospital structures away...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Daniels, of Covington, Ky., twin sons, January 1, at a Cincinnati, O. hospital...There died: Allen Bruce Webb, 52, formerly of Allen, Sunday, in a train-car collision at Taylor, Michigan; Linzie Moore, 53, of Orkney, Friday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Leonard Moore, 84, of Langley, Monday at the home of a brother; Raymond Cooley, 52, veteran Dwale schoolteacher, last Thursday, at Huntington, W. Va.; Melvin Frasure, 67, of Amba, Saturday, at McDowell Memorial; Mrs. Effie Baldridge, 54, of East Point, Monday, at Danville, Ky.; Benjamin Moles, 88, of Justell, Jan. 3, at home.

January 10, 1963)

Three Big Sandy towns, Prestonsburg, Paintsville and Louisa, were complaining this week to the Kentucky Water Pollution Control Commission, because coal wastes are contaminating the river...The new Mud Creek elementary structure is to be ready for occupancy this month, it was said...Type III oral vaccine for the prevention of polio will be given, Sunday afternoon, February 3, in a series of area clinics...The annual �Old� Christmas party, sponsored by persons interested in the traditional folk hymns and customs of the past, and directed by Edith F. James, was held Jan. 5, at The Garfield Place here...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. James B. Goble, of Emma, a daughter, Rhondetta, Dec. 22, at the Paintsville hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Ray White, of May�s Branch, a daughter, Barbara Lynn, Jan. 3, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Wilson Stepp, 65, of Bonanza, Sunday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mrs. Ella A. Sammons, 84, of West Prestonsburg, Tuesday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Cassie Hall, 62, of Galveston, Sunday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Robie Harmon, 58, formerly of Floyd County, New Year�s Day at Columbus, O.; Frank Spurlock, 54, Friday, at his home at Printer; Edward P. Merritt, 75, of Emma, last Thursday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Lydia Hall, 83, of Garrett, last Thursday, at Garrett.

(December 20, 1962

Various churches, service organizations and veterans clubs, each with its separate methods, are planning help to underprivileged families, especially children, for the Christmas season...The state average per capita income was $1,573 in 1960 but Floyd, a heavy producer of coal and with a high incidence of unemployment, clung to the rank of 50 in the 120 counties with an average per capita income of $1,207. Martin county was at the bottom with a per capita income figure of only $361...On information supplied by his 17-year-old daughter, warrants accusing a Ligon man with possessing and selling moonshine whiskey were issued from the County Judge�s office Tuesday morning...A moonshine still, four gallons of whiskey and three barrels of mash were destroyed on the head of Toler Creek by deputy sheriffs Wednesday, but an unidentified man, presumably the owner of the outfit, escaped arrest... Approximately 300 persons were arrested Saturday night at a gamecock fight near Paintsville...Five 300 persons were arrested Saturday night at a gamecock fight near Paintsville...Five mining firms asked for a permanent injunction Wednesday against 21 United Mine Workers locals in Floyd county...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Vernon Dingus, of South Point, O., formerly of Little Paint, a daughter, Pamela Laverne, Dec. 6 at Huntington, West Virginia...There died: Ike Conn, 79, Friday, at home at Dana; Kinner Crum, 71, of Martin, last Tuesday; Tom Morris, 81, formerly of Wheelwright, Tuesday, at St. Mary�s O.; William (Bill) Patton, 56, of Weeksbury, Monday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Homer Prater, 49, last Thursday, of a heart attack which he suffered that day while at work at Inland Gas Company�s Hillsdale Compressor Station on Middle Creek; Alexander Shepherd, 49, of Garrett, Friday, at home; Mrs. Pearlie Salyers, 74, of Hippo, Monday, at home; Walter Williamson, 63, of Drift, Sunday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; E. V. Hamilton, 72, Regular Baptist minister and a former postmaster at Teaberry, Tuesday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital.

December 13, 1962

Pending negotiations scheduled at Pikeville Friday, picketing was called off Sunday in Floyd and other Eastern Kentucky mining counties...A two-inch snowfall, icy roads and near-zero temperatures slowed Floyd County to a walk this week and brought a pre-Christmas vacation from school to 12,000 youngsters...The New York and Chicago offices of the Columbia Broadcasting System have been swamped with telephone calls offering food, money and clothing to unemployed miners of Eastern Kentucky, Governor Bert Combs was advised Wednesday...The home of Charles Litteral was destroyed by fire at Auxier, Tuesday. midnight...There died: William A. Burchett, 72, of Cliff, Sunday, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Mrs. Loucretia Baldridge, 80, last Wednesday, at the home of a son, Nelson Baldridge, on Little Paint; Mrs. Judy Lewis Jarvis, 80, of Emma, last Wednesday; George Katses, 67, of Bypro, last Monday at home; Mrs. Mary Vanover Bates, 87, Sunday, Dec. 2, at her home at Melvin.

November 15, 1962)

It was said here, Wednesday, that the Prestonsburg arm of the Mountain Parkway, from Prestonsburg to the junction with the David road, is approximately 95 percent complete...Bids for a grade, drain and concrete surfacing project on the Paintsville-Auxier-Prestonsburg road in Floyd and Johnson counties will be received by the Highway Department on November 30...Kentucky Power Company�s $37-million Big Sandy Plant, near Louisa, was dedicated last Thursday...The Kentucky Coroners� Association, at a recent meeting in Lexington, named James Carter, Floyd County Coroner, as a regional vice-president...On the whole, the Floyd County coal mining scene was quiet this week, with scattered mines operating without interference, and with the only open disputes being those represented by court action...Bodies of two Floyd Countians were found early last Thursday morning, in a parked car at Lorain, O. The deaths of Bobby Gene Hamilton, 18, formerly of Grethel, and Russell Branham, 20, of Amba, resulted from asphyxiation by carbon monoxide...The body of a Floyd County woman, an escapee from the Eastern State Hospital, Lexington, was found, Tuesday morning, near the Southern Railway tracks, two miles south of Sadieville, Scott County...There died: J. W. Peters, 66, of Martin, Tuesday, at a Martin hospital; Hiram Wills, 67, Monday, at his home at Water Gap; Richard Gayheart, 88, Monday, at his home at Orkney; Mrs. Missouri Frances Fraley, 90, Sunday, at her home at Sandy Hook; Sgt. Charles W. Dale, 26, of Tram, in an auto accident in Germany, November 2.

November 1, 1962

Not even the incentive of a school election has created enough steam in the current political campaign to assure a heavy vote in this county at next Tuesday�s election, it was pointed out, here, this week...Quiet rested on the disturbed small-mine coal industry in Floyd County, Wednesday, with scattered operations working, and others preparing to return to production...Approximately 25 percent of the population of Floyd County received the Sabin oral vaccine for the prevention of polio at seven clinics held simultaneously, Sunday afternoon, in widely separated areas of the county...Destruction of two moonshine still locations and equipment, and the arrest of two men, last Wednesday, was made on Clear Creek by ABC Agent Claude Flanery and Deputy Sheriffs Joe Wheeler Lewis and Curt Hall...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. James E. Goble, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Erma Lana, Oct. 25, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Pfc. Ermal Kidd, 25, of Honaker, October 20, at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, from injuries received in August in Vietnam; Fred Hall, 77, of Galveston, Monday, at home; Francis Marion Bentley, 15, of Estill, Tueday at Beaver Valley Hospital; Tom Patton, 82, Sunday, at home at McDowell; Mrs. Betty Manns, 46, of Martin, Friday, at Louisville; Albert Roberts, 76, of Drift, last Wednesday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Isaac Redmond Ward, 73, of West Prestonsburg, Monday, at the Paintsville Hospital; David D. Brady, 74, of Wayland, Saturday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital.

October 25, 1962

In an atmosphere of deep tension, one truck mine and one tipple serving truck mines, resumed operation Tuesday morning, breaking the solid shutdown in effect in this county since picketing of such workings began...Receivership for some of the functions of the city government of Martin was asked in a suit filed in circuit court here, Tuesday, by holders of bonds issued to finance the city�s share of urban renewal expenses...An estimated 5,000 Big Sandians last Saturday, heard Ex-President Harry S. Truman, in typical give-�em-hell-Harry style, blister Republicans and call on the voters to elect Democrats Wilson W. Wyatt to the Senate and Carl Perkins to the House of Representatives. The former president spoke at Pikeville...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Perry, a son, Johnny Ray, October 14, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: George Campbell, 69, of the Town Branch section, last Thursday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Eden F. Gable, 71, of West Prestonsburg, Friday, at Lexington; Mrs. Gladys K. Justice, 59, of Endicott, Friday, at home; Mrs. Mytle Williams, 62, of Dana, last Thursday, at Pikeville; and Mrs. Sallie Scutchfield, 64, of Water Gap, Tuesday, at home.

October 18, 1962

The United Mine Workers Welfare and Retirement Fund is negotiating to transfer the McDowell Memorial Hospital and three other hospitals of the Miners Memorial Hospital Association to interested groups who would operate the four as community institutions... Implementation of the Public Works Bill with the appropriation of $400 million by Congress, last Saturday, had apparently made certain the construction of a sewer plant and a sewage treatment plant here...Former President Harry S. Truman will speak at Pikeville, Saturday...A gathering of alumni and friends of Alice Lloyd College, Sunday afternoon, heard Congressman Carl D. Perkins, best-known alumnus of the school, and Governor Bert T. Combs, pay tribute to the life and work of the late Alice Lloyd, founder of the famed Knott County school...Motion for a temporary restraining order against 140 Floyd men who allegedly have been engaged in picketing coal operations in the county was filed, Friday, by 181 operators of small coal companies...Mrs. Grayce Lou Mirzaian is here visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Riffe, before leaving for Iran, to join her husband...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Corley, October 4, in Louisville, a daughter, Betty Lynn. Mrs. Conley is the former Jessica Smiley...There died: Mrs. Patsy Burchett Preston, 31, Friday, in Paintsville; James B. Samons, 99, last Wednesday, at the home of his son, Quinn Samons, in Martin; Mrs. May Cooley, 51, of Water Gap, Sunday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mrs. Lettie Patton, 78, of McDowell, Saturday, at the McDowell Hospital; John J. Shepherd, 44, of Cincinnati, O., Sunday, at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hoot Shepherd, at Dwale; Liney Boyd Jr., 84, formerly of Banner, Friday, in Flatwoods; Mrs. Gilda K. Ingole, 48, sister of James R. Camicia, of Prestonsburg, Sunday, in Welch, W. Va.

October 4, 1962

Seven persons, six of whom were Floyd County residents, were killed, and a child was critically injured, shortly before midnight, Friday, in one of the worst highway crashes recorded in Kentucky. One Floyd family�Jacob Shepherd, 27; his wife, Bonnie, 27, and their two sons, Darrell, 5, and Douglas, 4, all of the Middle Creek road were killed, as well as Darb Shepherd, 53, of David, and his wife, Virgie, 52, in the crash which occurred near Richmond...Mine picketing, court litigation, and appeals for additional state police in eastern Kentucky coal field, feature the news this week, as miners continued their demands that operators delinquent in royalty payments, and paying less than United Mine Workers contract wages, cease operations...Preliminary plans for the Prestonsburg Junior College were being completed this week by Architects George Lee Shannon, of Prestonsburg, and Jack Hatcher, of Pikeville...There died: B. H. (Hodley) Ousley, 84, Monday, at his home at Risner; Mrs. Ella Hall, 59, Sunday, at home at Teaberry; Frank Hopkins, 77, of Kingston, O., native of Myrtle, Sept. 23, at Chillicothe, O.; Francis (Bud) Elliott, 87, Sunday, at home at McDowell; Mrs. Margaret Payne, 65, of Martin, Sunday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; George William Moore, 40, of Melvin, recently, en route to a hospital here; Sgt. Charles Vance, 36, former East McDowell man, Sept. 23, near Munich, Germany; Raymond Morgan Goble, 36, formerly of Prestonsburg, last Thursday, at Lexington; Edwin R. (Jack) Price, 73, manager of coal properties for Inland Steel Company at Wheelwright, from 1930 till 1954, last Thursday, at his home at Frederick, Maryland.

(September 20, 1962

The liquor situation in Floyd County, and means of combating bootlegging, constituted the major portion of the final report filed by the grand jury with Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill upon its adjournment...Police Judge Watt Hale said, this week, that not all the intoxicants sold and drunk in Prestonsburg come from bootleggers. �At least half the drunks tried in Prestonsburg police court,� said Judge Hale, �have been drunk on skin bracer.�...Work was being continued into the night hours this week, as the new lodge and other accommodations at Jenny Wiley State Park were being readied for dedication, Saturday afternoon...Voiding of the welfare cards of the U.M.W.A. members employed by coal operators who are delinquent in paying the contract royalty of 40 cents per ton, touched off mass picketing in this county, Thursday of last week...Saturday, September 22, will be more than a time for the dedication of the new lodge and other facilities at Jenny Wiley State Park�it has also been designated Bert Combs Day, in honor of the man who made the lodge and the million-dollar improvements at the park possible. There died; Henry L. Hale, 23, formerly of Blue River, in an auto accident, Saturday morning, in South Whitley, Ind.; Donald Barnette, 39, of Evanston, last Thursday, in a mine accident there; Mrs. Dorsie Howell, 58, at her home at Price, last Tuesday.

September 6, 1962

Organized bootlegging in Floyd County, reminiscent of Chicago�s days of gangsterism., was described by Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill to the grand jury, Tuesday morning, as that body prepared to begin an investigation of crime...One of the largest and most modern moonshine stills ever found in this county was destroyed, Thursday of last week, at Minnie. The 500-gallon still had gas and water line connections for its operation...Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd died in the small hours of Tuesday morning in her bedroom, only a few feet removed from her �office� where she had planned and worked through the years for the education of mountain youth at the Caney Creek Community Center and Caney Junior College at Pippa Passes...Ollie James Bailey, 20, of Hippo, died shortly after the car which he was driving collided, Saturday, with another on KY 80, between Garrett and Bosco...There died: Mrs. Ruby Williams Robinson, 57, of Lima, O., formerly of Wayland, Saturday, at Toledo, O.; James Thomas Snipes, 79, Tuesday, at his home at Bosco; Mrs. Gertrude Bogan, 70, of Weeksbury, last Tuesday, at Martin; Mrs. Osa F. Ligon, 77, Friday at her home her.

August 16, 1962

What was once a hillside, dotted with sub-standard frame houses, at Martin, is being converted into a parking area and city beautification development through the community�s cooperation with the Urban Renewal Administration...Two temporary elementary classrooms will be opened, Monday, and several changes in the pupil transportation schedule have been found necessary as a result of the recent collapse of the Knotley Hollow bridge and the state of disrepair of the Town Branch bridge here...One of the most popular new features of Jenny Wiley State Park is the shelter house erected in the Stratton Branch recreation area, and it is possible that two others will be built to meet the demand for such structures there...Floyd County�s population, which has been skidding consistently since the 1950 Census, is down to 38,900 persons as of July 1 this year, according to a recent study...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Kedrick Blevins, of Maytown, a son, Christopher O�Neal, July 28, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hewlett, of Maytown, a son, Mark Linus, Aug. 8, at Pikeville Memorial Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Scottie Layne, of Banner, a son, Richard Eugene, Aug. 9, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; to Mr. and Mrs. John A. Gorrell, a daughter, Susan Renee, Aug. 9, at the Paintsville Hospital...There died: Charles E. Shepherd, 39, of Martin, Friday, in the mines of the Stephens Elkhorn Coal Company; Mrs. Mary R. Reffett, 54, of Hueysville, last Wednesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Tom Bell, 78, of Allen, Tuesday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Melvin Kidd, 69, of Harold, Sunday, at Pikeville Memorial Hospital; Malcolm Hager, 75, of East Point, Friday, at Ashland; Farley Akers, 76, Tuesday, at his home at Dana.

August 9, 1962

Beginning with this school year, Floyd County elementary schoolchildren who are physically unable to attend school will receive teaching service at their homes or at hospitals, it was announced this week by Charles F. Clark, superintendent...Lowest of the bids on sanitary sewers and a sewage treatment plant and pumping stations for Prestonsburg are approximately $270,000 higher than the entire project cost estimated by Howard K. Bell, Consulting Engineers, Lexington...The Proud Heritage, a historical drama scheduled for its second annual presentation here, August 19, is unique in regional outdoor plays, for it depicts history as it occurred, and on the very spot the events transpired...Squirrel hunters were turned loose in the eastern Kentucky hills, Tuesday morning, 19 days ahead of schedule, by Governor Bert T. Combs in the hope that one of them might find the plane which has been missing somewhere in the region, since July 29...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Todd, a daughter, August 8, at Methodist Hospital, Louisville...There died: Milburn Caudill, 59, of Melvin, July 28, at home; Mrs. Susie W. Hubbard, 75, of Water Gap, Monday, at the Paintsville Hospital.

August 2, 1962

The University of Kentucky has completed its study for architectural design of the Prestonsburg Community College, and from that study it envisions a potential of 350 full-time students the first year of college operation, plus 150 adult part-time students...Construction of a brand new, modern village as an addition to Prestonsburg, was ready to begin this week, as the Prestonsburg Municipal Housing Commission received from the Housing & Home Finance Agency of the Public Housing Administration, authority to award a contract on the construction of 40 low-rent public housing units here...Dr. James D. Adams, of Prestonsburg, has been appointed by President Kennedy to serve as medical advisor of Selective Service Local Board No. 166 here, it was announced this week...Mack Daniel has resigned as manager of Crown Bowling Lanes. Hansel Cooley has been employed to succeed him...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Martin Collins, formerly of Floyd County, a daughter, Kathy Gail, July 19, at Ann Arbor, Michigan...There died: Mrs. Sadie Smith Goble, formerly of Prestonsburg, July 22, at St. Petersburg, Fla.; Floyd Daniels, 62, native of this county, last Thursday, when a tractor which he was operating on his farm at Pemberton, New Jersey, overturned; Gracie Conley, 38, formerly of this county, July 19, at Lima, Ohio.

July 26, 1962

Bids on Prestonsburg�s huge undertaking to provide the community with sanitary sewers, and a sewage disposal system, will be received until August 8, and opened at the Municipal building at 10 a.m., that day...Dedication of the new lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park, has been moved ahead to September 22, Commissioner Edward V. Fox of the state Department of Parks announced this week...A truck driven by Harry LaViers Jr., son of the president of the Southeast Coal Company, ran through a group of pickets at a company mine, July 24, and injured three, State Police said...Prestonsburg City Police, acting under an order of Police Judge Watt Hale, wielded a mattock, Monday, last week, at West Prestonsburg, on 24 cases of beer, confiscated in a local raid, Sunday night...Friends, here of Governor Bert T. Combs have, within the last week, caused four 8x16-ft., all-metal signs to be erected which point out Prestonsburg as the home of the governor...There died: Rev. Pem L. Hunt, 72, well-known Stanville minister, Sunday, near his home; Mrs. Susie R. Crisp, 74, Monday, at her home at Dwale; Buster Hicks, 52, last Thursday, at his home at Garrett; Dusty Hall Johnson, 48, native of Buckingham, last Thursday, at Ashtabula, O.; Mrs. Merle Fraley, 51, of Wayland, Sunday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Miriam C. Hobson, 79, of Coal Run, July 15, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Sol Robinson, 68, of McDowell, last Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Rhoda Ellen Ratliff, 92, Saturday, at his home at Lackey.

July 19, 1962

A bridge spanning the Big Sandy River at Knotley Hollow, three miles south of here, partially collapsed, Monday, spilling onto its top an auto, and crushing to death, three of its four passengers. The dead: Mrs. Clora Goble Stephenson, 62, her son-in-law, Phenious Van Horn, 33, and his wife, Mrs. Naomi Stephenson Van Horn, all of Lancer. Injured, but expected to recover, was Debra, six-year-old daughter of the Van Horns...Six Floyd Countians and two from Magoffin, all charged with moonshining, will be given trial in U.S. district court at Pikeville, October 8, it was said...The Kentucky Railroad Commission, last week, postponed until September, a decision on the petition filed by the C.&O. Railway Company to be permitted to discontinue its last two passenger trains serving the Big Sandy Valley...The adult education program, organized in this county two years ago on a pilot basis, is being discontinued by the state, Superintendent Charles F. Clark has been notified...There died: Mrs. Sallie S. Arnett, 50, of David, Sunday, at Lexington; Rev. Garland Smiley, 42, of Betsy Layne, Sunday, at Huntington, W.Va.; Grant Parsons, 63, of Allen, last Thursday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital.

June 28, 1962

Governor Bert T. Combs will be here, Saturday, to hear the case for and against food stamps, before deciding if the pilot food stamp program is to be continued in Floyd County...Prestonsburg will be the first of the county-seat towns along the Big Sandy to end its contribution to river pollution, it became certain, last Thursday, as the City Council voted unanimously to accept the $710,000 loan offer of the Community Facilities Service, Housing & Home Finance Agency, to finance a sewer system here...The strawberry processing plant, established here for the current season, grossed $35,000 for Floyd and Johnson county farmers, it was said this week by Robert Jones, county agent...Prestonsburg, Martin and McDowell will feature beauty contests, string music, greasy poles, sack races and ball games, as the towns celebrate the upcoming July 4th holiday...Four new voting precincts were created, Monday, by County Judge Henry Stumbo by dividing existing precincts...At D.&D. Food Market here, a 10-lb. bag of sugar is selling for 98 cents, T-Bone steak is 98 cents a pound, and sliced bacon is going for three pounds for a dollar...There died: Mrs. Elizabeth H. Hall, 83, of Hippo, Monday, at home; Mrs. Babe Clark, 54, of Amba, Monday, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Marion Taylor Allen, 81, Sunday, at his home at Printer.

(June 21, 1962

The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company jousted here, Wednesday, with Big Sandy newspaper publishers, public officials and citizens, who protested to the Kentucky Railroad Commission against the company�s elimination of its last two passenger trains which run between Ashland and Elkhorn City...A contract was awarded on one Floyd road job this week, and bids were received a few days earlier on three others...The State Department of Health, as a first step to require compliance with the newly-enacted compulsory immunization law, will require a certificate showing a child has had immunization for several diseases before it can be admitted to school...Roughly, almost half of the water consumers of Prestonsburg�s 1,140, pay the minimum $2.25 monthly bill and so will pay an average monthly bill of $3.83, if the proposed sewer system and sewage disposal plant are built...Floyd County public assistance recipients received $80,136 in aid last month...The Floyd Federal Building & Loan Association opened to business Monday morning, in its new Lake Drive building...Miss Charlene Davis, junior, at the University of Kentucky, appeared as Miss Floyd County to compete last week for the title of Miss Kentucky. She is the daughter of Mrs. Georgia Salisbury Davis, of Martin...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Darwin Hunt, former Floyd county teachers, a daughter, Pamela Sue, June 6, at the Chillicothe Hospital...There died: William Henry Daniel, 90, a great-grandson of the famed eastern Kentucky Indian captive, Jenny Wiley, Tuesday, in Ashland; Mrs. Mary S. Friend, 71, at her home at Hunter, Sunday; Henry Arnett, 54, of David, Monday, at the Paintsville Hospital; Ellis Conley, 51, of Wayland, Saturday, in Ashland; Mrs. Emma C. Prince, 51, formerly of Estill, in Chicago, Ill., Thursday; Robert S. Walker, 62, former general manager of Mallory Stores, Sunday, in Logan, W. Va.; Mrs. Mary Davis Wittman, 43, formerly of Garrett, in a Youngstown, O. hospital, Friday.

June 14, 1962

The four-lane bridge, spanning the Big Sandy at Prestonsburg, should be completed in 60 days...Prestonsburg maintains its seventh-class fire ratings and is looking forward to earning a sixth-class rating...State Highway Commissioner Ward stated this week that he prefers that U.S. 23 pass through Prestonsburg, and follow its present route to Pikeville...Operation of motor scooters by anyone under the age of 16, banned here, after two wrecks within the week...Planning for the Prestonsburg Community College has been authorized by the State Finance Com-missioner...There died: Russell Powers, 53, of Lackey; James Conn, 83, of Dana; Ava C. Martin, 76, of Martin; Emma Salmons, 84, of Allen; Joe Bradley, 65, of Langley; Milton Kash Reed, 85, of Estill; Margaret Prater, 72, West Prestonsburg; John P. Davis, 59, formerly of Auxier, in Detroit; Jacob Fouts, 65, of Melvin.

June 7, 1962

Architects will begin drafting plans for the Prestonsburg Community College next month, and a contract for construction of the building to house classes and other functions of the institution is expected to be let by January 1...Unless state help is forthcoming, the million-dollar-a-year food stamp program which was piloted in Floyd County during the past 12 months will end June 30, County Judge Henry Stumbo and County Attorney Barkley J. Sturgill, indicated this week...Except for coal mines, Floyd County has a serious dearth of satisfactory fallout shelters for sizable groups of people, George Lee Shannon, Prestonsburg architect-engineer who has been engaged in a study of shelter possibilities, said this week...Bill Hamilton, who is known as �Pa� by the children, who were his passengers, is retiring after 15 years of continuous school bus driving on the Toler Creek to Betsy Layne route...Lake Lanes offered a $5,000 reward to the first bowler to record a perfect 300 game second in summer league play...You could buy you a pair of pedal pushers at Cox�s this week for 88 cents, or a picnic ham at the Warrix IGA for 29 cents a pound...There died: M. T. (Taylor) Stumbo, 69, veteran peace officer and former Floyd County Sheriff, Monday, at his home on Middle Creek; Mrs. Dixie Lee Caldwell, 64, of Betsy Layne, Friday, at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital, from injuries received in an auto accident, May 20; Robert Ramey, 45, of Hueysville, Tuesday, at West Garrett, when hit by a locomotive hauling a string of loaded coal cars; Lawrence Bryant, 72, of Hi Hat, Saturday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Lilly Tackett, 56, Sunday, at her home at Craynor; Mrs. Mintie M. Hatfield, 80, of West Prestonsburg, last Thursday, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Orbie Hamilton, 53, of Stanville, Saturday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin.

May 31,1962

Floyd County�s quietest election saw fewer than 3,000 citizens casting their ballots, Tuesday, but the small vote did not prevent clear-cut majorities from being recorded for Wilson W. Wyatt and Carl D. Perkins, Democratic candidates, respectively, for U.S. Senator and Representative in Congress...Congressman Carl D. Perkins wired Prestonsburg radio stations, Monday, that the Community Facilities Administration of the Home Finance Agency had announced its approval of a $170,000 loan to the City of Prestonsburg for improvement of sewage facilities...Radio station WDOC will begin FM broadcasting, August 8, Gorman Collins, manager, said Wednesday...Emma Wells May, of Prestonsburg, and W. J. Reynolds Jr., of Allen, were honored here, Saturday evening, with membership in the Floyd County Hall of Fame...Donald and Don Pelphrey, operators of the D. & D. Food Market at the corner of Lake Drive and Friend Street, have acquired the building in which they were doing business, from Alex H. Spradlin, and remodeled it at a cost of $12,000...There died: Mrs. Teally McKenzie, 69, May 21, at her home at East Point; Mrs. Lula B. Nelson, 57, Friday, at her home at Blue River; Sam Ray Skeans, 55, of Martin, Sunday; Mrs. Elizabeth Hatcher, 82, Floyd County native, May 19, at Cincinnati, O.; Joseph Bodor, 77, of Martin, Saturday at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Hugh Bays, 70, of Garrett, last Tuesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Mrs. Fanny Carol Kidd, 99, last Thursday, at the home of a son at Amba; Mrs. Della Hale Shepherd, 74, of David, Sunday at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Susie Salisbury Ray, 61, of Owsley, May 12, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville.

May 3, 1962

Those who pledged funds toward purchase of a site for the Prestonsburg Community College, were asked to honor them immediately, as both Gov. Bert T. Combs and Uk President Frank G. Dickey announced they were ready to make the institution a reality; a random sample of local opinion indicated most predicted it would become the area�s greatest asset, greatly raising the educational level of the area...Truck mine operator Parris Martin, 62, was killed and Edsel Osborne, 24, suffered a broken leg, when a huge slab of rock dropped from the roof of the K-12 mine of the Danny Coal Co. on Stumbo Hollow at Drift...A meeting was set at Natural Bridge to discuss progress of the Eastern Kentucky turnpike, paving of which is soon to begin, between Winchester and Campton...The Floyd County Music Festival will be staged here, Saturday, for the 13th time since the annual event was interrupted by World War II; it will be the 28th festival held since its beginning...There died: Millard Allen, 72, of Lackey, a deacon of the Stone Coal Regular Baptist Church, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Earl Allen Stumbo, 71, well-known Prestonsburg man; Mrs. Magie Snavely Watkins, 50, of East Point, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Cicero R. Taylor, 48, of Wayland; Andy Crisp, 74, of Town Branch; Mrs. Mary M. Kidd, of Grethel; Mrs. Anna Dingus Williamson, 75, of Betsy Layne; Mrs. Nora Belle Case, 78, of Harold.

April 19, 1962

Lowest of the two bids, offered Tuesday, by contractors on the low-rent housing project here was $520,000, submitted by the G. H. Hunter Company, of Betsy Layne...The First Presbyterian Church voted unanimously, Sunday, to purchase a parcel of land on the new Auxier road, just north of Prestonsburg, as the site of its proposed new church structure...Circuit Court Clerk Henry Stephens, dean of the Floyd County bar, was elected president of the Floyd County Bar Association at the association�s annual election of officers last Thursday. He succeeds Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill as head of that body...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Wallace, of Huntsville, Alabama, a daughter, Pamela Jane, April 4, at Huntsville...There died: Atlas Compton, last Tuesday, at his home at Cliff; Mrs. Ola Carr, 50, April 16, at Cabell-Huntington Hospital; Ernest Woods, 61, of Lackey, April 12, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Mary Kidd, 61, of Grethel, Tuesday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville. 

April 5, 1962

�Retribution for unsanitary practices too long endured,� was the promise made this week by Dr. Russell L. Hall of the Floyd County Health Department, who said, persons found violating sanitation procedures will be given notice, and if corrections are not made within a specified time, legal action will be taken to bring offenders before a court of law.�...Planning for May cleanup campaign in Prestonsburg continued this week, with three meetings held and others scheduled...The Prestonsburg and Maytown FFA chapters participated in the Eastern District FFA Day, held Saturday, at Morehead State College...Seven pupils and the bus driver, who survived a plunge over an embankment near Endicott, Thursday evening, were given first aid treatment at Prestonsburg General Hospital...Eight Floyd County high school students will be included in the All-Festival Chorus, and 34 from Floyd County in the massed band, in the 1962 Pikeville Music Festival contest, to be held, April 11-14, at Pikeville College...The Methodist Youth Choir of Wheelwright, will appear on the Jackie Oblinger Show on WCSH-TV, Friday, April 6...There died: Dr. M.V. Wicker, 76, of Wayland, last Thursday at his winter home in Wabasso, Florida; Curtis Hunt, 43, Floyd County native, at Veterans Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday; Mrs. Clara H. May, 83, of Auxier, last Tuesday at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Monroe Lathan, 72, of Melvin, on March 23, at the McDowell Hospital.

March 29, 1969

Contributions to the Community Fire Department at Allen, have now passed the $5,000 mark, and are expected to reach $6,000 Friday...Its flood disaster work in this county completed, the Red Cross announced, this week, that it has spent $13,400 on 95 cases...Production of coal in the field represented by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Operators Association has continued to rise through March 17...Planning and work led by the Prestonsburg Community Development Council won, for Prestonsburg, the $200 first-place award in the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce community development contest for District 7...Former County Attorney Robert Wellman, left Saturday, to assume his duties as attorney-adviser general in the regional office of the Small Business Administration, Cleveland, Ohio...Vester J. Fraley retired, Saturday, as custodian at the postoffice here after 30 years� service...Don Wallen, Wheelwright High School coach, was named Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches of the Eastern Kentucky Mountain Conference, Saturday...There died: Mrs. Helen Sturgill, 93, of Langley, last Thursday; Elmon Taylor, 56, of Amba, last Wednesday, at a Pikeville hospital; Mrs. Ada Pigman Hale, 63, Floyd County native, Friday, in Pontiac, Mich.; Mark Haden Boyd, 59, at his home at Dana, Tuesday; Mrs. Cora Lumpkins, 78, of Martin, Sunday, at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Edith Napier; Mrs. Julia A. Ward, of Paintsville, Monday at the Paintsville Hospital; Mrs. Emma Weddington Blair, 81, formerly of Prestonsburg, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville, March 22.

March 22, 1962

U.S. Ambassador James W. Wine will be the principal speaker at two ceremonies to be sponsored here, Saturday, by Lonesome Pine Council, Boy Scouts of America...J.B. Clarke, disaster chairman of Floyd Chapter, American Red Cross, said this week that 94 families, in all, have registered for assistance as a result of the recent flood...The Turnpike Authority of Kentucky sold $29 million worth of revenue bonds, Wednesday, to build a 33-mile extension of the Eastern Kentucky Turnpike, from Campton to Salyersville...The Water Pollution Control Commission, Tuesday, ordered its counsel to take legal action against 10 coal firms the commission says are violating Kentucky pollution laws...The Prestonsburg Junior Woman�s Club this week announced that it will present �The Follies of �62,� April 12 and 13, at the Strand Theatre here...The McDowell Boosters Club this week announced another in its series of events being staged to raise money toward construction of a modern gymnasium to serve the school there...Bill Damron, former Floyd basketball coach and now head coach at Valley High, Lucasville, O., has been voted the Southern Ohio Conference �Coach of the Year�...The proposed postal rate increases now before Congress will not, �Serve the best interests of the Post Office, its users or the country,� editors of The Reader�s Digest will declare in their April issue. The article is entitled �Second-Class Mail Rates Can Ruin First-Class Magazines�...There died: Charlie N. Brookens, 83, employee of the Beaver Valley Hospital and a survivor of the Johnstown Flood in 1889, Tuesday at the hospital; Malcolm W. Collins, Sr., 76, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday, in Paintsville; James A. Hunter, 77, of Amba, last Thursday, at a Lexington hospital; Mrs. Ginia J. Hall, 65, at her home at Topmost, Tuesday, March 13; Robert Crum, 65, of Cliff, at the C & O Hospital in Huntington, Saturday; Mrs. Letitia Pearl Leonard, 78, of West Prestonsburg, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital, Sunday; I. N. (Newt) Stephens, 86, of Martin, last Wednesday at the home of his son, William Stephens, Prestonsburg; Roscoe Conklin Hayes Jr., 37, native of Martin, March 4, in a Dallas, Texas, hospital.

March 15, 1962

The Prestonsburg City Council, faced with a big fiscal problem, met with the taxpayers in a town hall meeting, Monday evening, to present a budget of $107,628, approximately $40,000 greater than the revenue last year...The Small Business Administration office temporarily set up here, Monday morning, closed at noon Wednesday...Services which otherwise would cost many thousands of dollars were rendered without charge to 31 children at the pediatric clinic held Tuesday, at the Floyd County Health Department...The district community development contest has been won by Prestonsburg, and the city is one now being considered for state honors...Contractors� bids on the construction here of 40 low-rent pubic housing units will not be opened March 20, as originally scheduled, it was said here this week by Joe Hobson, executive director of the Municipal Housing Commission. The bids will be oepned April 3...Announcement was made this week that the Spurlin Insurance Agency, here, has been purchased by C.R. Hatton...J.B. Clark, disaster chairman of the Floyd County Chapter, American Red Cross, announced that, as of Monday, 73 families have applied for Red Cross assistance because of the recent flood...Born: A daughter, Kathleen, on February 28, to Mr. and Mrs. Rondall Hall Leslie, of Louisville...There died: Jake Walters Jr., 39, of Drift, Sunday, near his home; Mrs. Angeline Bates, 96, of Kite, at her home, last Wednesday; Steve Pieratt, 90, retired Mt. Sterling banker, farmer, and former legislator, last Tuesday, in Mt. Sterling; William T. Hatcher, 76, of Lackey, former Floyd County tax commissioner, last Wednesday at a Huntington, W.Va., hospital; Mrs. Lily May Gibson, 46, formerly of Estll, Friday, in Rochester, Mich.; Alto Bradley, 38, of Auburn, Ind., formerly of Martin, February 26, in an Auburn hospital. 

March 8, 1962

One of eastern Kentucky�s prime assets�Jenny Wiley State Park, here�is currently undergoing a face-lifting which includes a new 36-room hilltop lodge, now about one-third complete...The new Garrett postoffice building will be dedicated, Saturday at 2 p.m., it was announced this week by Bessie Draughn, postmaster...The Rev. Ira McMillen Jr., has asked the congregation of the Irene Cole Memorial Baptist Church to accept his resignation as pastor, effective April 12...Gov. Bert T. Combs signed House Bill 234, Tuesday, establishing a system of state-supported community colleges with a two-year curriculum...State Highway Commissioner Henry Ward notified County Attorney Barkley J. Sturgill a few days ago, that he had approved the expenditure of $45,000 for repair of the bridge across the river here, connecting Prestonsburg with Town Branch and the Bull Creek section...The administrator of the Small Business Administration has announced that nine Kentucky counties have been declared disaster areas due to last week�s floods. These counties are Floyd, Whitley, Knox, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin, Rowan, Bath and Morgan...The Wheelwright High School Trojans won their third consecutive 58th district tournament, Saturday night...Born: a daughter, Janice Marie, on February 28 to Mr. and Mrs. Gene Honeycutt, of Elkhorn City; a daughter, Elissa Lynn, on March 1, to Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Ellis, of Prestonsburg; a daughter, Julie Victoria, on March 5, to Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Osborne, of Prestonsburg...There died: Cecil Jacobs, 29, of Estill, Monday evening in a mining accident at the Maytown Mining Company at Eastern; Mrs. Ara M. Oney, 82, of Handshoe, Sunday, at the home of a son, Reece Oney, at Garrett; A. L. Fugate, 65, of Wayland, Feb. 26, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Lee Johnson, 73, of Melvin, Thursday, at the home of a sister, Mrs. Dolly Johnson, at Melvin; Mrs. Eliza P. Miller, 64, of West Prestonsburg, Monday, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Woodrow Bayes, in Prestonsburg; Dan Hunter, 83, Friday, at his home in Garrett; Troy Reed, 59, of Hueysville; last Thursday, at a Martin hospital; Mrs. Betty Johnson, 23, of Shelbiana, formerly of Betsy Layne, Feb. 26, in a Pikeville hospital; Mrs. Arminta G. Messer, 74, of Garrett, Feb. 26, at the home of her son, Truman Messer, at Martin; Mrs. Lula Banks, 78, of Water Gap, last Thursday, at a Prestonsburg hospital.

March 1, 1962

The closing days of February, historically a tragic month for Floyd County and the Big Sandy valley, saw floodwaters drive an estimated 500 families from their homes in this county...The fiscal court, at a special meeting, Friday, tied with a 2-2 vote on a motion made by Magistrate Bryant Derossett to discharge all county employees. County Judge Henry Stumbo voted in the negative to untie the deadlock. Derossett charged that the road employees were hauling �red dog� cinders and distributing these on private roads and driveways...An average of 41.75 of Floyd entrants drop out of school before graduation, according to studies compiled by Earl Martin, director of pupils personnel of the Floyd County School System...Coal production, in the field represented by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Operators Association, is now up 21 percent above the corresponding period last year, it was noted by the most recent report of the mining group...There died: Ed Sutton, 71, Monday, at his home at Langley; John Bascom Bayes, 52, of Auxier, Thursday, en route to Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mrs. Cora Sherman, 69, of Auxier, Saturday, at Springfield, O.; Mrs. Victoria P. Hall, 89, of Bonanza, Sunday, at the home of a son there.

February 22, 1962

Monday will be moving day for the offices of the county superintendent to the new administrative offices in the newly remodeled high school building on Arnold Avenue...The Prestonsburg Kiwanis Club was joined, last Thursday evening, by Edward T. (Ned) Breathitt, of the Kentucky Public Service Commission, in its rejoicing over the almost-unanimous acclaim given the junior college legislation by the House of Representatives...W.R. Callihan, of Prestonsburg, has been named chairman of the 1962 American Red Cross fund drive in Floyd County, it was announced this week by Miss Ella Noel White, executive secretary of the Floyd Red Cross Chapter...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Osborn, of Allen, a son, John David, Thursday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin...There died: Arthur Clarence Carter, 73, former mayor of Prestonsburg, in an auto mishap last Wednesday near Hager Gap; Isadore Horn, 70, of Lackey, Monday, at his home; Mrs. Letha Scalf Compton, 84, last Tuesday, at her home at Hite; Thomas F. Marshall, 85, of Manton, Friday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Richard Frasure, 65, Tuesday, at Martin; Walter Ray Booth, 62, of Martin, Saturday, at Detroit, Mich.; Mrs. Vicie Frasure, 83, of Langley, last Thursday, at King�s Daughters� Hospital, Ashland; Mrs. Lillie Rose Hughes, 74, of Drift, Monday, at the Beaver Valley hospital; Green R. Allen, 81, of Prestonsburg, Tuesday at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Floyd Jones, 74 of Printer, last Thursday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; Mrs. Orlena Stanley, 76, of Hueysville, Friday, at Homeplace Hospital, Ary, Ky.; Mrs. Thelma Hager, 61, of Cliff, last Wednesday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital.

February 15, 1962

The junior college bill, which would provide for a two-year community college here and in three other areas, was approved in the state House of Representatives, Wednesday, by a vote of 86 to 3...Work on Prestonsburg�s half-million-dollar low-rent public housing project will be started this spring, it became virtually certain this week...Arthur C. Carter, former mayor of Prestonsburg, was fatally injured, Wednesday afternoon, when his auto left the lake road, between Hager Gap and Dewey Dam, and plunged approximately 250 feet down the mountainside...Floyd County lost 2,435 children of school age in the 1950-60 decade, and this represented a loss of 15.6 percent of the population between the ages of six and 17 years...There died: Okie Campbell, 28, of Mousie, Jan. 30, at Hazelwood Sanitarium, Louisville; Mrs. Lelia F. Hancock, 71, of Printer, Tuesday, at her home; Hiram Hicks, 84, of Garrett, Sunday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin. 

February 8, 1962

The Floyd County Board of Education at its regular meeting here Saturday evening voted to build four additional classrooms to the Prestonsburg High School...Installations described by officials as amounting to sewage treatment plants have been made at two consolidated schools in the county and a third is in the planning stage, it was said this week...The dog market, established recently at Pikeville to the concern of many dog-owners whose pets have been missing, is booming...John D. Tackett, 44, Drift miner, was claimed Monday by a motor accident in a mine at Hunter...There died; Mrs. Lucy Cooley, 82, of Hi Hat, Sunday at her home; Mrs. Parris Moore, 82, of East McDowell, Friday at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Mrs. Mary Likens, 67, of Hunter, Monday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital; Mrs. Stella DeRossett, 40, Monday, at her home at Martin; Mrs. Annie Blackburn, 73, of Drift, Sunday, at the Paintsville hospital.

February 1, 1962

The fight for a junior college to serve this area drew a step nearer a showdown and possible success last week as a bill to create a system of two-year community colleges in Kentucky was introduced in the General Assembly, and as the drive for $100,000 toward purchase of a college site here neared its goal...Increased strawberry production is expected in eastern Kentucky counties this summer in connection with establishment of a strawberry-processing plant here...A meeting was held Friday at Allen to organize a volunteer fire department to serve Allen, New Allen, Dwale and the surrounding area...The community improvement program at Martin, and progress made on community projects undertaken there, were reviewed at a meeting of the Martin Citizens Participation Committee, held January 22, at Martin High School...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Karl Oppenheimer, a son, Charles David; to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Harris, a son, Donald Franklin, last week in Lexington...There died: Okie Blankenship, 47, of Ligon, Saturday, at his home; Mrs. Julia Frisby, 87, of Prestonsburg, last Wednesday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Green Elliott, 71, of Printer, last Thursday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin; Laranzo V. Thornton, 61, of Wheelwright, last Monday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Esquire Slone, 70, Friday, at his home at Wayland; John King, 78, of Stanville, last Wednesday, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville.

January 25, 1962

Custom Car Carpet Company Inc., began operation this week in the former York Furniture Company Warehouse Sale building here...Charles Clark, of Floyd County, was the only county school superintendent in the United States to appear by invitation on the panel discussion following President Kennedy�s address at the National Conference on Milk and Nutrition in Washington, D.C., Tuesday...Reviewing the financial condition of the City of Prestonsburg in a talk to the Community Development Council here, Wednesday, Mayor George P. Archer said, �There�s the news, and its all bad, but there�s nothing so bad it can�t be straightened out�...IGA advertised ground beef at $.49 a pound, sirloin steak at $.89, and round steak at $.69...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Cloyd Johnson, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Lisa Renee, January 21, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Leach, of Prestonsburg, a son, Glen Carter, January 6...There died: Ed Evans, 56, of Grethel, last Wednesday at Pikeville Memorial Hospital; Mrs. Mary Goines, 62, formerly of Drift, last Wednesday at Willard, O.; Russell Adkins, 42, formerly of Allen, last Wednesday, at his home at Marshall, Mich.; Bernice G. Rice, 70, Friday, at his home at Estill; Mrs. Thelma Reedy Spivey, 34, formerly of Left Beaver, last Thursday at Ann Arbor, Michigan; Andrew J. Goble, 65, formerly of Justell, January 14, at Cincinnati; Mrs. Minery Spears, 42, of Banner, last Wednesday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville.

January 18, 1962

A definite move toward a new courthouse and jail for Floyd County was made, Friday, by the Floyd Fiscal Court...The largest rural school pilot lunch program in the United States was initiated in this county, Tuesday, with the serving of hot lunches to the pupils of the Spruce Pine school at Honaker, and the Frasure school near Grethel...An Allen building in which Pauline Akers conducted a beauty shop and dress shop was completely destroyed by fire, Tuesday morning...Pledges made to the Big Sandy College Development Corporation for the purchase of a site here for a two-year college to serve Floyd and other counties of the area, stands at a figure somewhere between $75,000 and $80,000...There died: Mrs. Lovatie Herald, 87, Monday, at her home on Cow Creek; Floyd Conn, 73, of Justell, Friday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, from burns received the same day at his home; Jones Moore, 60, Sunday, at his home at Langley; Grover C. Moore, 69, of East McDowell, Saturday, at home; Mrs. Ellen D. Lafferty, 54, formerly of Water Gap, last Monday, at her home at Lake Worth, Florida; Lorenzo D. Freeman, 63, of Cliff, Monday, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Bill Sherman, 89, last Thursday, at his home at Emma.

January 11, 1962

A large gathering of supporters of the move toward the establishing of a junior college to serve Floyd and surrounding counties heard at noon Wednesday the encouraging news that approximately half the $100,000 sought toward purchase of a site has already been contributed or pledged...A blast which last Friday night damaged a crane being used in the construction near here of the Middle Creek sector of the highway from Central Kentucky brought from the Mattingly Bridge Company, contractors on the road an offer of a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those connected with the act...Postmaster General J. Edward Day announced last week that the Post Office Department is seeking competitive bids to build and lease the new post office at Martin...The Area Redevelopment Program, what it offers, its shortcomings and what new legislation will mean to it�these topics were discussed in detail at an area development conference held last Thursday evening at the Paintsville Country Club...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Isbell, of Lexington, a daughter, Nancy Ann, Dec. 20; to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Prater, of Prestonsburg, a son, Barry Frederick, December 16...There died: Frank May, 67, former postmaster at Langley, Dec. 30 in Orange City, Fla.; William Prater, 78, of Weeksbury, Christmas Day at the McDowell Memoral hospital; Mrs. Nola B. Stephens, 70, at her home at Water Gap, Saturday; Herbert V. Mosley, 65, of Garrett, in an auto accident Sunday at Deane; Mrs. Polly F. Perkins, 42, of Wheelwright, at the McDowell hospital, December 24.

December 21, 1961

At Wednesday�s meeting of the Community Development Council, plans were announced to launch a fund-raising drive for the purchase of a junior college site here, and to fight a legislative battle for the college next month...Three newly-elected county officials took the oath of office this week and qualified to enter upon their official duties, January 1. They are Henry C. Hale, of Blue River, sworn in Monday as in-coming sheriff by County Judge Henry Stumbo, and Lawrence Hale, jailer-elect, sworn in an hour or so later by the same official. Representative C. Ollie Robinson, who will become County Court Clerk, January 1, took the oath, Tuesday afternoon....Trouble allegedly initiated by jobseekers at sites of bridge and culvert work barely started here, and on the Prestonsburg section of the Eastern Kentucky highway resulted this week in court action...Fifty-one registrants were called by Local Draft Board 166 here for preinduction examinations December 11...Three Boy Scouts were invested with the Eagle Scout rank, November 27. They are Carl Chaffins Jr., James Goble and Larry Spradlin...A 13-year-old Ivel Boy, Willie Ray Howell, and John Ed Carroll, 20, of Tram, were electrocuted Saturday afternoon while attempting to erect a television antenna on the roof of a home at Ivel...Jimmie Thompson, native of Wayland, has been named senior administrative assistant to Kentucky Commissioner of Economic Security Earl V. Powell, it was announced recently...The wedding of Miss Sarah Elizabeth Burchett and Mr. Robert Allen will be solemnized at the Irene Cole Memorial Baptist Church here, on December 26...There died: Janetta Smallwood, 88, Monday, at her home at Bevinsville; Ellen Brown, 84, of Garrett, Monday, at the home of a daughter, Mrs. J.A. Stumbo, of Martin; Lon Workman, 79, Monday, at his home at Allen; William Dingus, 82, of Hite, last Wednesday; Ida Hall, 76, last Tuesday at her home at Topmost; James M. Clark, 77, last Tuesday at his home at Honaker; Polly Gearheart, 78, last Thursday, at her home at Hueysville; Martha Hamilton, 86, Monday, at the home of a son, Ben Parsons, at Allen; William Sammons, 67, of Wheelwright, at a Lexington hospital, last Tuesday; Brucon Thacker, 48, Friday, at his home at Langley. 

December 14, 1961

A balanced budget, an equitable and effective tax program, and a modern sewerage system�these are the main aims of the city administration which will take office here January 2. Mayor-Elect George P. Archer told the Community Development Council at its weekly luncheon meeting Wednesday...More than $444,401 worth of food stamp coupons have been issued to more than 7,374 persons in Floyd County since the pilot program of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture began six months ago, it was announced this week... �This Red Cross chapter has been in existence more than 30 years, and in all that time it has never had a grant from the National Red Cross, but it appears now that if we are to keep operating we will have to ask for one,� Miss Ella Noel White, executive secretary of Floyd Red Cross Chapter, said last week...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Bert Dixon, of Louisville, a son, Bert Thomas II, Tuesday, November 21, at Louisville...There died: Benjamin Franklin Little, 84, of Price, Monday at McDowell Memorial Hospital; William Vance Porter, 57, formerly of Dwale, last Thursday, at Wayne, Michigan; Elizabeth Boyd, 74, of Banner, Tuesday, at her home; Edward S. Ratliff, 34, of Ivel, Friday, at the Paintsville Clinic; Zona B. Patton, 74, of the Bayes Branch section, Friday, at Lexington; John Ratliff, 57, formerly of Wayland, at Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday of last week; Mrs. Atchie J. Bolden, 39, of Tram, Monday, of last week, in Washington, D.C.; Ellen Brown, 84, of Garrett, Monday at the home of a daughter; Thelma Wells, 47, of Auxier, Nov. 29, at Miners� Memorial Hospital, Pikeville; Elbert S. Martin, 86, of Wayland, Wednesday, at Methodist Hospital, Pikeville.

December 7, 1961

Scores of east Kentucky mine operators beat a path to Orville Adkins� Goose Creek mine Friday to see the Mighty Miner, a new coal cutting machine. According to its promoters, the machine can undercut a 12-foot room in 55 minutes...The Eastern Kentucky�s alcolholism information office, third to be established in the state�s current program to combat alcoholism, began operation here...Clive Akers became that first of the county officials elected at the November polls to take office when he was sworn in Monday as tax commissioner...The Floyd County PTA Council at its meeting this evening, at Drift, will make major policy decisions on a number of issues, including a 35-cent tax levy, enforcement of compulsory attendance laws, the need of a junior college at Prestonsburg, and an area vocational school...There died: Thelma Wells, 47, of Auxier, after a long illness; John Crum, 21, formerly of this county, in an auto accident in Ohio; Versie Damron Case, 38, of Honaker; Webbs Mann, 73, retired miner, of Martin; Rev. Joe M. Smith, of Tram, Freewill Baptist minister for 40 years.

November 30, 1961

Floyd County rural school children, heretofore without lunchroom facilities, will receive hot lunches with milk, beginning Jan. 2, it was announced this week by Charles F. Clark, county superintendent...During the five and a half months of the pilot food stamp program operation in this county, a total of $400,613 in food stamps, has been added to the local economy, Carl R. Horn, supervisor of the stamp program here, said last week...This state is encouraging counties to make regular rechecks of federal surplus-food recipients, and the operaiton has produced mild to drastic cuts...The need for public support of the Floyd County Tuberculosis Association through purchase of Christmas Seals is particularly urgent this year, it was pointed out this week, after thousands of Seals had been mailed to prosective buyers and users...At the Warrix IGA here this week, coffee was listed for $.49 for a pound can, chuck roast was $.39 a pound, and smoked picnics per pround were $.29...Born: to Airman 1st Class and Mrs. Jack Snavely, of Roosevelt, Oklahoma, a daughter, Pamela Mae, Nov. 7; to Mr. and Mrs. Pete Howard; a son, John Timothy, Nov. 27, at Prestonsburg General Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Wayne Harris, a son, Rudy Wayne, Jr., Nov. 27, at Prestonsburg General Hospital...There died: Tommy Moore, 73, of Minnie, last Wednesday at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Emma Osborne, 57, formerly of this county, Monday, at Titusville, Florida.

November 21, 1961

Further planning for the construction at Jenny Wiley State Park of an amphitheatre was done here, Tuesday, as architects and planners conferred with Paul Green, dramatist, who will write an outdoor drama of the capture and escape of the frontier heroine, Jenny Wiley, to be presented at the amphitheatre...The Prestonsburg Kiwanis Club named Harris S. Howard, Prestonsburg attorney, president for the coming year. Chalmer H. Frazier was named first vice president; Edward P. Hill, second vice-president, and James Adams, treasurer...Delegates to the Eastern Kentucky Education Association at a meeting at Ashland last week, elected Woodrow Allen, principal of Prestonsburg High School, as vice-president...Floyd County�s public assistance recipients received more than $81,400 in aid last month from the Kentucky Department of Economics Security, it was announced this week...Pete Grigsby�s McDowell Daredevils have copped five successive games thus far, their latest, a win over Betsy Layne, 69-64, in an overtime...The Martin Purple Flash will meet the Wayland Wasps in their 1961 homecoming game, Saturday night...There died: Orpha Blanton, 91, last Thursday, at Harold; Nellie Marie Urey, 41, of Cleveland, O., formerly of Garrett, November 12, in Cleveland; William (Dutch) Bailey, 89, of Jackson, formerly of Hueysville, last Tuesday at Dwarf in Perry county; John S. Allen, 27, formerly of Lackey, Friday, in Middletown, Ohio; Agnes Faye Mynhier, 52, of Martin, Friday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital; Jenny Miller, 86, of Dock, Monday.

November 16, 1961

The federal government has agreed to share the cost of building the freeways extending eastward from the Eastern Kentucky Turnpike. This includes the road from Prestonsburg to Salyersville...Miners from this section and adjoining states will meet at Adkins� Goose Creek mine at Eastern to view a newly designed one-man coal-cutting machine to be demonstrated December 1-3...Floyd County�s 4-H Club state champion poultry juding team, whose members will compete in the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago, Ill., are members of the Maytown 4-H Club. They are Randolph Hicks, Ossie Spencer, Burgess Lowe, and Freer Martin...Ninety-five patients from Floyd, Johnson, Martin, Magoffin, Pike and Knott counties were examined by doctors of the Crippled Children�s Commission at the clinic held recently at the Floyd County Health Department...The first-known Kentucky case of rabies in a bat was reported last month...A hymn poll has determined that �The Old Rugged Cross� is Floyd County�s favorite hymn, as it is the nation�s. �How Great Thou Art� was second, and �Amazing Grace� was third...Liquid coal slurry, burned directly in a furnace like oil or gas, may well be the electric power industry�s fuel of the future, officials of four companies said...Enrolled at Union College are 11 Floyd County students. They are Carolyn Sue Akers and Charles Akers, both of Dwale, Patricia Ann Bailey, of Wheelwright, Arnita Clark, of Prestonsburg, Aaron Ricie DeRossett, of Dwale; Rodney William Keenon, of Prestonsburg; Joe David Martin, of Allen, Canton Livingston Napier, of Martin, Carolyn J. Osborne, of Martin, Kathryn E. Roberts and John David Wallen, both of Prestonsburg...There died: Elzie Y. Ford, 70, November 3, at home at Meta; Claude V. Pennington, 61, last Tuesday, at Garrett; Early E. Bentley, 36, last Wednesday, at Banner; Hester Tiller Ritchie, 29, formerly of Lackey; last Wednesday at Webster, W. Va.; Jeff Thornsbury, 39, of McDowell, last Wednesday, in a roof fall at the Jones Brothers Coal Company.

November 9, 1961

The campaign for votes reached the long trail�s end Tuesday, and early that night the voting machine results showed a whomping victory for the entire Democratic ticket in heavily Democratic Floyd County...Voters in two Floyd towns wrote in names of four candidates for municipal office often enough, Tuesday, to elect them...City Attorney Joe Hobson said this week that the I. Richmond estate will make available to the people of Prestonsburg the old Colonial mine here as a community fallout shelter...Location of the proposed postal center at Martin will be on Main Street, south of the new First Guaranty Bank building, it was announced last week by Congressman Carl D. Perkins...The former Adams & George Hardware here recently came under new management of Lloyd Crum, of Allen...There died: William M. Greenwade, 82, former Cliff postmaster, last Thursday, at his home at Cliff; William Thomas Cartmell, 78, of Emma, last Thursday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Elizabeth Hayes, 70, of Martin, Monday, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; Della Akers, 34, formerly of Dana, Friday, at her home in Vermillion, O.; Maggie Howell, 62, of Hueysville, Monday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin.

November 2, 1961

The Governor�s Commission on Public Higher Education in its report Friday, to Gov. Combs, recommended the establishing of at least three new regional colleges in the state�and to Prestonsburg was given No. 1 priority for such an institution...Governor Bert T. Combs and a staff of 19 �set up shop�� in the Department of Economic Security building here last Thursday, as part of a program of �taking state government to the people.� The governor said $7 million will be spent on the Floyd County section of the Campton-to Prestonsburg highway...An affirmative vote, Nov. 7 on the proposed species library tax will be worth $113,000 to Floyd County, according to information released by the Library Extension Division in Frankfort; the proposed tax is drawing the united effort of schools and others interested in keeping the library and bookmobiles in the county...There died: M. C. Johnson, 65, native of this county, in Huntington, WV, on October 13; Harry W. Hatcher, 77, at Ashland, Oct. 21; Hatler Newman, 46, of Hi Hat; John Hall, 68, at his home at Van Lear, October 16; Maude Alice Daniels, 68, of Garrett, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital; Joe R. Allen, 66, formerly of Martin, at Little Rock, Ark.; Susie Ritchie, 63, of Wayland, at Beaver Valley Hospital.

October 26, 1961

The Department of Highways, last Friday, asked bids on three miles of the Eastern Kentucky Turnpike (later to be known as the Mountain Parkway) from Prestonsburg to the junction with the David road. At the same time it was announced that bids will be asked later on a four-lane bridge here...John W. Graham, William H. Howell and Ranel Roberts were recently honored by the United Fuel Gas Co. and the Atlantic Seaboard Corp. for 45 years service...Captain Robie Hackworth, formerly of Middle Creek, an Air Force Pilot, will be an instructor of future astronauts at Cape Canaveral, Fla., it was announced last week...There died: Okie Isaacs, 25, of Teaberry, Thursday, at a Pikeville hospital of injuries suffered two days earlier in a mine at Blue Moon; May Clifton, 41, Tuesday, near her home; Maurice L. Vaughn, 40, formerly of Maytown and Martin;,Friday, at Oak Ridge, Tenn.; A. B. Osborne, 83, of Martin, last Tuesday, at Garth, at the home of a son; Lacey Lowe, 81, formerly of Endicott, Saturday, near Hager Hill; Joe R. Allen, 66, formerly of Martin, at Veterans Hospital, Little Rock, Ark., Monday; Nan Martin, 94, at Drift, Saturday; Clara Coburn, 37, of Water Gap, last Wednesday, at a Paintsville Hospital; Celia Henson, 57, of Ligon, Saturday, at the McDowell Hospital; James Bud Crum, 50, of Arkansas Creek, Sunday, en route to a Martin hospital; Henry Newsome, formerly of McDowell, October 11, in New York City. 

October 19, 1961

Governor Bert Combs� office announced this week that he and his staff will make Prestonsburg the seat of state government next week in a continuance of his program of taking state government to the people...A limited poll made by The Times this week showed almost unanimous support here of the plan to build fallout shelters. One such shelter has already been completed...Caney Junior College at Pippa Passes has had a �partial� walkout of students this week after three teachers resigned...Ground was broken, Saturday, for a new elementary school at Grethel...John W. Elliott, native of Beaver, this county, died at the age of 103, last Wednesday, at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Annie Stumbo, of Whitesburg. A former teacher and merchant in this county; he was perhaps the oldest eastern Kentuckian. One of his outstanding recollections was that of having seen President Lincoln...Others who died: Lawrence Newsome, 70, Friday, at his home at Melvin; Minnie M. Friend, 78, of Prestonsburg, Friday, at a hospital here; Dora B. Cole, 79, Sunday, at Drift; Charles F. Stapleton, 79, of Harold, Tuesday, last week, at a Pikeville hospital; Thomas Lowe, Sr., 78, Friday, at Pikeville, burial at Manton.

October 12, 1961

Teams representing two Floyd County coal companies won high honors, last week, in the �World Series of Safety,� the National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Contest held at Charleston, West Virginia. The Inland Steel Company team from Wheelwright captained by Harrison Sparks, won first place in mine rescue, and third place in first-aid was won by Turner Elkhorn Mining Company�s team, Drift, led by Edward F. Robinson...Representatives of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union and officials of the United Fuel Gas Company and other companies of the Charleston Group of the Columbia Gas System, last Friday, reached an agreement on terms of a new two-year contract...The Floyd Federal Savings and Loan Association expects to award a contract within the next few days on construction of a building on Lake Drive here...Virgil Warrix has announced plans to open an IGA store in Prestonsburg around November 1...The City of Prestonsburg is now in the process of applying to the Housing and Home Finance Administration for a loan of $841,000 to finance sewer and sewage disposal facilities here...Wesley Leon Hall, of Martin, has had patented his disposable, collapsible field cook stove...A body found beneath a rock ledge on Rock Fork Creek, Saturday afternoon, was identified as that of Paul Edward Layne, 35, who had been missing from his residence on Arkansas Creek, near Martin, since last November 21...There died: Henry Marvin Best, 19, of Wheelwright, at Irvington, Saturday, victim of an auto accident; Fanny G. Stanley, 54, of Prestonsburg, Monday, at her home; Raymond F. Mynhier, 44, of Martin, Thursday, at Veterans� Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia; Marion Martin, 68, of Drift, last Thursday at a Martin hospital; Willard Nelson, 48, of Dwale, Monday, at a Martin hospital; Wilford Slone, 30, formerly of Wayland, Monday, in Schenectady, New York, Army Depot; Dennie Ward, 49, formerly of Martin, at a Columbus, City, Indiana, clinic, last Monday; Walter Carr Price, 52, formerly of Prestonsburg, last Friday in a Johnson City, Tennessee, hospital; Edith Campbell, 49, died at her home at Martin, Saturday; William E. Salisbury, 75, of Flatwoods, native of this county, died Friday at Pikeville Methodist Hospital; Charles B. Weddington, 72, of Prestonsburg, died Saturday at a Lexington hospital; Bennie Ward, 72, of Meally, Sunday, at the Paintsville Hospital.

October 5, 1961

Four miles of the Middle Creek section of the Eastern Kentucky highway, and the projected bridge where it enters Prestonsburg, will be advertised for construction later this month, and the bids will be opened November 21, Governor Bert Combs and Highway Commissioner Henry Ward told the chief executive�s fellow townsmen here, Tuesday...Floyd food retailers lost $25,000 or more in business last month, because of the failure to participate in the Food Stamp program of 200 families who had �signed up� to receive stamps, and an additional 300 persons on public assistance who are automatically eligible to such aid...Floyd County has been selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for aid in a school lunch program in schools heretofore unreached, it was announced recently...Kentucky coal mine production for 1960 was 67,067,740 tons, of which more than one-half was produced in the Eastern coal field...There died: E. B. (Eb) Daniels, 68, of Auxier, last Tuesday, at home; Madge Hitchcock, 65, formerly of Garrett, Monday, at Ashland; William (Doke) Paige, 84, of Teaberry, Sunday, at the home of a son; Josephine Akers, 75, of Printer, Friday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; Myrtle Allen, 32, Tuesday, at her home at Allen; Bill Hall, 65, of Garrett, Monday, at the Paintsville Hospital; W. J. Dotson, 72, of Cliff, last Wednesday, at Pikevlle; Ann Scalf, 79, of Endicott, Sunday, at Sandusky, Ohio.

September 28, 1961

Small mine production in this county was back to around 80 percent of normal production, it was estimated this week, after the filing Friday by five truck-mine operators or firms of a petition for restraining order against 44 defendants... �Nuclear blasts many miles from Kentucky towns and cities could bring disaster if the wind direction is toward us,� James L. Knight, Louisville chairman of the newly created civic defense committee, Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, said this week...Seventy cases of Budweiser beer confiscated two months ago in this county were returned to the ownership of an Elkhorn City man, Monday morning, on authority of court order and an Attorney General�s opinion...The state 4-H poultry judging championship was won at the Kentucky State Fair recently by the Floyd County team composed of four members of the Maytown 4-H Club...There died: Bill Claude Spears, 36, of Lancer, following a truck wreck on the Auxier Road, last Thursday; Angie B. Gearheart, 79, at her home here, last Wednesday; Susie B. Baldridge, 51, of Goodloe, last Thursday at her home.

September 14, 1961

Two breaks at the county jail here within three days last weekend, saw seven prisoners make successful dashes for freedom. Three of the fugitives have been either recaptured or have surrendered...James T. Newman, of Paintsville, director of Johnson County Civil Defense, stressed to the Prestonsburg Kiwanis Club Thursday evening of last week, the urgency of fallout shelter construction to meet the exigencies of nuclear warfare...Fourteen Floyd Countians have been directed by the county�s two Selective Service boards to report for induction to the armed forces this month, and 30 others have been called for pre-induction tests at Ashland...All three defendants given trial Tuesday on charges made by a special grand jury in its probe of the May primary election won acquittal at the hands of Floyd Circuit Court juries...Governor Bert T. Combs lashed out at his critics in a speech at Hazard last week when he defended the Eastern Kentucky toll road and his stand in the Newport gambling probe...Three died: Revis Jon Hall, 28, and his four-year-old nephew, Reginald D. Hall, son and grandson, respectively of Mr. and Mrs. Revis V. Hall, formerly of Eastern, in separate tragedies in Indiana, recently; Robert J. Glenn, 35, former Red Cross representative here, August 27, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; M.M. Moore, former Martin and Pikeville lumber dealer, Saturday, in Lexington; Chester A. (Mann) Preston, 75, former Martin businessman, Friday, in Cincinnati, Ohio; Rennie Conley Rose, 68, of West Prestonsburg, Wednesday, of last week in a hospital here; Dickie Hall, 28, Hindman contractor, Tuesday, in an accident near Hindman; Fred Woods, 49, Saturday, at his home at East Point; Landon Setser, 57, last Wednesday, in a Gallipolis, Ohio, hospital.

September 7, 1961

Mary Clare Cahill, of Drift, is one of 30 young Americans who have been accepted for Peace Corps duty in Pakistan...Henry P. Scalf was named, Wednesday, by the city council here to fill the vacancy created in the office of police judge by the death of Judge R. W. Feiler, Judge Feiler, 78, died last Saturday...The Castle Jewelry Store here was looted of approximately $500 worth of watches and other items before daybreak, Tuesday...L.B. Jessie, of Weeksbury, was elected Monday, the new president of the Beaver Valley Kiwanis Club...Henry Hughes, of Prestonsburg, was runnerup to Doug Miller, of Paintsville, in the championship flight of the Paintsville Golf Tournament last week...W.R. Callihan, of Prestonsburg, was sworn in recently by Gov. Bert Combs as a member of the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors...Married: Miss Ella Faye Phillips, of Allen, and Marvin E. Music Jr., of Prestonsburg, Aug. 6, at the Allen Methodist Church; Miss Nancy Burke and Ronald Cooley, of Prestonsburg, Sept. 2, at the Community Methodist Church here. Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Daniel Jr., Aug. 31, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, a son, Lloyd, III...There died: Jemima Barney, 82, of Ashland, widow of John Barney, formerly of this county, last Friday; Tom Whitaker, 71, of Van Lear, native of this county, Aug. 28, at a Paintsville hospital; Amerida G. DeCoursey, 47, formerly of Wayland, Aug. 23, following a heart attack at his home near Covington.

August 31, 1961

School allotments for the 1961-1962 school year announced last week by State Superintendent of Public Instruction show that Floyd County will receive $181,018 more this year than last, or a record total of $2,330,809...Governor Bert Combs headed a plane-borne group on an inspection tour of Kentucky parks, last Friday, including a visit to Jenny Wiley State Park, and the site under preparation for the park lodge...The State Department of Highways, this week, advertised for bids on five Floyd road projects, including one extending from Bosco up Salt Lick Creek a distance of 1.35 miles...There died: the Rev. Joseph E. Durham, 72, of David, former pastor of the David Community Church, and for 50 years a minister in West Virginia and Kentucky; Erma Lee Bowens, 17, of Sitka, by drowning in Dewey Lake; Benjamin Matthew Lewis, 62, of Water Gap, at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Mint Prater Hopkins, 73, of Kingston, Ohio, formerly of Abbott Creek; and Elizabeth Clark Etzig, 65, of Pikeville, formerly of this county.

 (August 24, 1961

The first Floyd County suit filed under the strip mining law was entered in circuit court here, Wednesday, by the Commonwealth and its agencies, the Department of Conservation and the Division of Strip Mining and Reclamation, against a Pike County coal company...Absenteeism is costing the Floyd County school system an indeterminate but huge amount of money, according to Earle P. Martin, director of pupil personnel...Kentucky is on the right track, and the Big Sandy section, as it plans and works with the state Area Program Office, stands to get its full share of assistance from the national redevelopment act...The Prestonsburg High School building, only a few years after it was built, is nearing the point where it will be wholly inadequate to serve pupil needs. This was pointed up this week when more than 100 students entered to make a record-breaking enrollment of 787...On stage this Thursday and Friday, at the Strand Theatre, was Dr. Brundell�s �Shock Show,� advertised as a �horrific show of girls, ghouls and monsters...There died: Paris Brown, 71, of Lancer, Friday, at home; John B. Clay, 60, of Allen, Saturday, at home; Albert Isaac, 28-year-old Hall miner in the Johnson Mines at Beaver, Tuesday; Bruce Hall, 65, Friday, at his home at Galveston; Everett Arnold Boleyn, 61, of Garrett, Saturday, at Lexington; Escom Lee Daniel, 44, formerly of McDowell, August 16, in Chillicothe, Ohio.

August 17, 1961

Ground was broken for the Jenny Wiley State Park lodge, Friday afternoon...The contract is being awarded to Akers & Akers on its low bid of $775,640...The Floyd County Democratic Executive Committee, last Sunday afternoon, named Edward Caudill, son of the late Magistrate Johnny D. Caudill, as the Democratic nominee for Magistrate in District No. 3 of this county...The B.F. Casual Store will hold its official opening this week-end on Court Street...The poll being taken by this newspaper, in conjunction with The Christian Herald, shows that �The Old Rugged Cross� is a heavy favorite among readers of The Times...Hade Durbin Jr., former Irvine high school and Eastern Kentucky State College football star, is the new head football coach at Prestonsburg High School...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gene Ferguson Sr., a son, Robert Gene Jr., Friday, at the Paintsville Hospital...There died: James H. Barney, 91, Sunday, at his home at Garrett; William F. Anderson, 75, Friday, at his home at Allen; Martha Harris, 67, of Topmost, last Wednesday, at Our Lady of the Way Hospital, Martin; Fanny Inmon, 81, last Tuesday, at her home at Garrett; Green (Babe) Stumbo, 76, of McDowell, last Wednesday; John Keathley, 53, of East McDowell, last Tuesday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital; George Lee Woods, 53, of Allen, Friday, at Beaver Valley Hospital.

August 10, 1961

Low bid of $826,000 on construction of a 36-room lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park was offered by Akers & Akers, Dana Contractors. A dynamite blast shortly after Sunday midnight caused $300 damage to the Standard Oil bulk plant at Allen...The death Monday at a Paintsville hospital of Magistrate Johnny D. Caudill, 61, of McDowell, places on the Democratic Executive Committee the responsibility of naming a Democratic nominee for the Magisterial District 3 office...Miss Jo Pack, of Paintsville, has installed equipment here for the manufacturer of souvenirs...There died: Della Frazier Crisp, 73, Wednesday, at her home at Martin; Alex Welko, 68, formerly of Wheelwright, July 28, at a Pikeville hospital.

August 3, 1961

A warrant, charging a resident of the Auxier road section with willful murder was issued Tuesday afternoon by Judge Henry Stumbo after Deputy Sheriff Wesley Sanford Fannin, 38, had died at a Huntington, W. Va., hospital of bullet wounds...Floyd County wants its part of the highway from the Bluegrass to the Mountains, and wants it at the earliest possible moment, Department of Highway officials conducting a public hearing on the proposed route were told here Tuesday morning...Woodrow Fitzpatrick, of West Prestonsburg, was employed Monday by the Floyd Fiscal Court as supervisor of the county road program, to succeed Glenn C. Burchett, who resigned...Dr. James D. Adams, a native of Martin, is practicing where he always planned to be�back in Floyd County. He has opened his office in the Town Center building here...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Walker Prater of Maytown, a daughter, Tamayra Ann, July 23, at the McDowell Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Ed Ousley, of Hatfield, Ky.; a daughter, Tanda Kaye, June 29, at the McDowell Memorial Hospital...There died: Virgie Johnson Pruitt, 75, Friday, at her home at West Prestonsburg; George H. Kelly, 64, of Hi Hat, last Wednesday, at McDowell Memorial; Dottie Setser Lafferty, 38, of Cliff, Monday, at the Methodist Hospital, Pikeville; William L. Click, 69, Floyd County native, July 19, in Shelbyville, Ill.; Chester Wells, 39, of Auxier, Tuesday, while working in the mines of the Princess Elkhorn Coal Company at David; Marion Martin, 92, of Minnie, last Wednesday, at his home.

July 27, 1961

The meeting of the Floyd County Board of Education, held Saturday, attained greater harmony between the divided members than has ever been exhibited at any other meeting...Deputy Sheriff Wesley Fannin was shot four times by a revolver, Wednesday morning, on the Town Branch bridge here while attempting to serve a warrant...Adult education in this county, initiated last year, is being reemphasized again by the Floyd County Board of Education under the direction of Walter Frasure, assistant county superintendent of schools...The Civil War drama, �The Proud Heritage,� scheduled for presentation at The Garfield Place here Sunday afternoon, at 3 p.m., will be attended by many distinguished guests, it was noted this week by a spokesman for the Floyd County Historical Society...A public meeting will be held at the municipal building here, Wednesday evening, to discuss the Prestonsburg subdivision regulations compiled by the City Planning Commission...There died: Ruby Jean Thornsberry, 13, of Kite, Sunday, at McDowell Memorial Hospital, of an accidental gunshot wound; Druce Johnson, 95, of Wayland, Saturday, at the home of a daughter at Wayland; Catherine Stephens, 75, of Hueysville, Sunday, at her home; Edith Kendrick Morris, 38, formerly of Wayland, Saturday, at Athens, Pennsylvania.

July 20, 1961

The Floyd County Citizens Educational Council, in a meeting Tuesday of last week, endorsed a resolution advocating an increase in taxation to implement the facilities survey report recently submitted to the Board of Education by the Division of Properties and Grounds of the Department of Education, Frankfort...Residents of the Melvin section report a plague of millipedes�only they do not call them that�which is probably the most annoying of its kind to be experienced in the county...Clear of indebtedness for the first time in more than 25 years, the Floyd Fiscal Court last week considered and gave approval to a plan to take on a new bonded debt in order to pay off an old floating indebtedness...A former Floyd Countian, D.H. Leslie, is one of three scientists who developed and tested the characteristics of the new niobium-zirconium wire for Atomics International under a research contract with the Atomic Energy Commission...Lonesome Pine Council�s Boy Scout finance drive will be headed again this year by George Evans Jr., of Wayland... Thomasine Baldridge, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgille Baldridge, of Langley was married, July 6, to Glenn C. Patrick, son of Mrs. Virgie Patrick and the late William Patrick of Martin...Morton Hunt, Betsy Layne High School honor student, won the coveted Citizenship Medal this year...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Julian Scalf, July 16, at an Eureka Springs, Arkansas, hospital, their second child, a son...There died: Jerry Arthur Hager, 57, owner of the Hager Engineering Company and former Prestonsburg City Councilman, Tuesday night, at his home here; Billy J. Martin, 73, last Tuesday, at his home at Allen; Amelia Shuford, 74, last Tuesday, at her home at Wheelwright; Shelba (Butch) Wallen, 81, last Thursday, at his home at Dwale; Dorothy Pinnell, 40, of Tampa, Fla., native of this county, last Thursday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital; Lawrence Hall, 61, of Topmost, last Tuesday, at a Martin hospital.

July 13, 1961

A. E. Hayes, president of the Hayes Metal Products Inc., Hi Hat, announced this week that his company has been awarded a contract to design, fabricate and erect what is believed to be the world�s largest outdoor movie screen for the Southland 68 Drive-In Lexington...The fiscal court will be in session three days this week, and two of those days will be devoted to a study of the �old debt� situation, and to plans to retire that debt...A group of Kentucky business and professional leaders, including B. F. Reed, Drift coal operator, flew to Berlin last Friday for a two-day tour of the city...Dr. Russell L. Hall, of the Floyd County Health Department, this week warned residents against the danger of waiting on the new oral vaccine before receiving immunization against polio...Paintsville youth, Kenneth Kestner, was drowned Tuesday afternoon and his two companions, his brother, Robert, 12, and Tommy Murray, 15, owe their lives to Mrs. Sidney Garland, who pulled them from the water ater hearing their cries for help...Buford Crager, son of Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Crager, of Cliff, was graduated from Morehead State College recently...Donald H. Baldridge, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kermit Baldridge, Prestonsburg, will serve as reporter of the Student Council at Morehead State College for 1961-62...There died: Hattie Hicks, 60, of Wayland, Monday, at the McDowell Hospital; Lannie Keen Manns, 78, of Topmost, Saturday, at a Hazard hospital; Robert Potter, 81, of West Prestonsburg, Sunday at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Lowey G. Frazier, 59, Price postmaster last Thursday, at his home; David Lee Johnson, 4, of Weeksbury, at the McDowell Hospital.

June 29, 1961

Three Floyd county leaders have been invited to become members of the new Kentucky Development Council. They are B. F. Reed, of the Turner Elkhorn Mining Company, Drift; H. O. Zimmerman, manager of coal properties, Inland Steel Corp., Wheelwright, and Ed Music, Prestonsburg automobile dealer...The 1961 annual meeting and farm show of the Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative will be held Friday, July 14, at the Prestonsburg High School...Work begun on the bridge across the Big Sandy river at Auxier by the Mattingly Bridge Company came to a halt Tuesday, allegedly because of interference from a group of 22 persons...The U.S. Department of Labor advertised for clerk-stenographers at salaries ranging from $3,760 to $4,040 per year...There died: Ellis V. Moore, 59, last Thursday at his home in Willard, O.; Seymore Gray, 73, Tuesday at his home here; Benny Bentley, 21, of Garrett, June 5 in a Virginia hospital.

June 22, 1961

Five new buildings, consolidations to reduce the number of schools, both large and small, and an overall improvement program which may require a vote on the question of a special tax�these were among sweeping recommendations made in a report last week to the Floyd Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education by a survey team from the State Department of Education...Answers, counter-claims and counter-contests to contest actions filed against them were made last week by Dan Goble and Henry C. Hale, holders of certificates of Democratic nomination for the offices of Jailer and Sheriff, respectively...Contract for construction of the lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park is tentatively scheduled to be awarded on July 27, Edward V. Fox, commissioner of the Department of Parks, announced in Frankfort, Monday...One man was jailed here, Sunday, and another is sought on a warrant sworn out by Martin Chief of Police A. J. Reed, in connection with the dynamite blast which early last Friday morning, partially destroyed the Amvets Club at Martin and damaged several nearby buildings...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Berman Martin, formerly of Allen, a son, June 15 in Cincinnati, Ohio...There died: Mrs. Artie Harmon Ward, 63, formerly of this county, Friday, at Ashland; Mrs. Callie Slone, of Warsaw, Ind., formerly of Prestonsburg, June 12, at Silver Lake, Ind.; Mrs. Lula Poe, 58, of Brainard, June 3; Mrs. Dora Burton Ramey, 80, of Prestonsburg, last Thursday, here; Earl Riffe, 54, formerly of this county, Sunday, in Dayton, O.; Mrs. Susan B. Harris, 78, of Emma, Saturday, at Martin.

June 15, 1961

Contract on construction of the lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park is scheduled to be let July 20, Marvin Music, secretary of the Kentucky Parks Board, said here this week...The Tuesday night break into the office of Circuit Clerk Henry Stephens had no connection with absentee ballot records stored in the office vault, was the theory expressed Wednesday morning...The special grand jury investigating the May 23 primary election and events leading up to it, produced four indictments naming five men in a report Wednesday morning to Judge Edward P. Hill...The Rev. Orrin M. Simmerman was returned for the second year to the pastorate of the First Methodist Church...Calvin P. Herrick, of the Kentucky West Virginia Gas Company, was recently elected president of the Prestonsburg Junior Chamber of Commerce...The Dewey Lake Game Refuge will be opened to quail hunting this season for the first time...The Betsy Layne High School valedictorian was Patricia Hinchman, of Tram, and the salutatorian was Joetta Stratton, granddaughter of Floyd Conn, of Justell...Co-valedictorians of Martin High School are Betty Jean Slone, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Has Slone, and Daryl Gayl Luxmore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Luxmore. Virginia Sue McDavid, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles McDavid, is salutatorian...There died: Webster Harvey, 45, of New London, O., formerly of this county, Saturday in New London; Geneva Page, 82, last Thursday at her home at Bevinsville; W. T. Bradley Sr., 79, at his home in Catlettsburg; Bruce Colvin, 66, June 1 at the Paintsville Hospital; Lacy Burchett, 74, of Salineville, O., formerly of Buffalo Creek, June 7; Charles E. Jennings, 55, of Drift, Friday at the McDowell Hospital.

June 8, 1961

First of two contest actions expected as an outgrowth of the recent primary election was filed around noon Wednesday by Scott Collins, attorney for Lawrence Hale. A second, in which David B. Leslie would contest the nomination of Henry C. Hale for Sheriff, is expected to be filed before the Wednesday midnight deadline...Needs of the Big Sandy Valley and plans to cure the ills of the area will be studied here next Wednesday by valley and state leaders in a 1961 Program 60 Area Development Workshop at the high school cafeteria...The Floyd County Board of Education at its meeting here Saturday reaffirmed its intention to purchase the proposed 19.5 acres of land upon which it plans to build a consolidated school on Middle Creek...The special grand jury convened Monday morning by Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill to delve into rumors of extensive election law violations at the May 23 primary was in its third day of work Wednesday...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Glenn DeBoard, of David, a son, Thomas Wayne, Wednesday, at the Paintsville Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Herbert, of Denver, Colo., a daughter, Elizabeth Irene...There died: Richard (Dickie) Layne, 17, of Dema, Sunday, following injuries sustained in a swimming accident; Mrs. Gallie Ousley, 81, of Dock, Saturday at her home; Tilman Mullins, 49, formerly of the Left Beaver section, Saturday, at Huntington, West Virginia.

June 1, 1961

The food stamp program gets underway in Floyd County today (Thursday), with 75 needy families expected to receive their first food stamp coupons...A.H. Mandt, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals in Lexington, and former head of the Stephens Elkhorn Fuel Company at Manton, has developed an underground oxygen breathing apparatus which could revolutionize mine rescue work...Gov. Bert Combs spoke before a record crowd to the 1961 graduating class of Prestonsburg High School, Tuesday night...Graduating classes in the county numbered 13 at Auxier, 72 at Betsy Layne, 39 at Garrett, 69 at McDowell, 62 at Martin, 43 at Maytown, 111 at Prestonsburg, 48 at Wayland and 90 at Wheelwright...Dr. J. Woodford Howard Jr., native of Prestonsburg and assistant professor in government and law at Lafayette College at Eaton, Pennsylvania, is one of five liberal arts professors in the United States to be awarded a fellowship in law and political science at Harvard University Law School...There died: Charles Edward Stumbo, 32, of McDowell, at his home; Augustus Hobson, 80, in a fire at his Coal Run home; James Stanley, 73, of Bonanza, at Paintsville Hospital; Sadie Porter Price, 77, of West Prestonsburg, at her home; Nathaniel Bolen, 79, formerly of Garrett, at his home in Jackson, Ohio; Hazel Sammons, 56, at her home in Martin; Elbert S. Pratt, 76, at his home in Garrett.

May 25, 1961

Absentee ballots will determine the outcome in three Democratic races in Tuesday�s primary. In the County Attorney�s race, Barkley Sturgill holds a 145-vote lead over Robert S. Wellman; incumbent Lawrence Hale has an 82-vote margin over Dan Goble for Democratic nomination for jailer; in the sheriff�s race, David B. Leslie led Henry C. Hale by only 23 votes...Inauguration of Floyd County�s pilot food stamp program will begin June 1...Gov. Bert Combs and Lt. Gov. Wilson Wyatt will appear as Commencement speakers at Prestonsburg and Wheelwright high schools, respectively...Arnita Clark, Shirley Ann Harmon and Stephen Lee Best, Prestonsburg high school seniors have won college scholarships awarded by Princess Coals Inc...There died: Jerry Music, 21, of Hager Hill, in an auto wreck at the Ball Alley curve; Olive Porter, 53, of Allen, of a heart attack, at home; Minnie Horn, 40, of West Prestonsburg; Phenolpha (Penny) Hicks, 40, formerly of Big Mud Creek, in Ohio; and Susie Wright Hicks, 57, former Floyd woman, May 15 at her home at Willard, Ohio, a victim of paralysis.

May 18, 1961

A primary election that has grown hotter with the weather was drawing toward its close this week and heading into next Tuesday�s decision at the polls...Four valley fire departments fought a raging blaze at Allen, Monday evening of last week, in a three-hour struggle to save an apartment house and the nearby Allen Lumber Company yard...Woodrow Allen, Prestonsburg high school principal, was named Saturday, to succeed Paul Luxmore, of Wheelwright, as president of the Floyd County Teachers Association...June 5, when a special grand jury will be convened here by Circuit Judge Hill, will also mark the opening of the June civil term of circuit court...Mr. and Mrs. J. Clifford Todd, of Louisville, who returned recently from a honeymoon in Nassau, spent the weekend here with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Curt Homes...Coal production in the field represented by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Operators Association is now approximately 18 percent under last year...Born: A daughter, Karen Lee, on May 10 at the Prestonsburg General Hospital to Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lee Howard...There died: John W. Moore, 76, former U.S. Marshal, Monday at his home in Pikeville; Charles Mullins, 40, of Pikeville, last Sunday; Will Marsillett, 64, last Wednesday at his home in West Prestonsburg; Mrs. Laura H. Little, 79, last Thursday at Dana.

May 11, 1961

A heartening upturn in the local economy is seen in the announcement by the Princess Elkhorn Coal Company that 86 of the 162 employees laid off, March 11, at its Mines 1 and 2, at David, returned to work, Monday...To make way for construction planned by the Kentucky State Highway Department, United Fuel Gas Company plans to relocate its pipeline crossing at Dewey Lake...Certification of Floyd Countians eligible to assistance under the pilot food stamp program to be initiated in this, and six other counties of the United States next month, proceeded smoothly here this week...Brenda Patton, 16-year-old Prestonsburg High School junior, was named May Day Queen, Saturday, at the annual festival here...A series of raids staged or initiated by state police, Monday morning, resulted in the arrest of three Floyd County women and two men...Lake Bowling Lanes, under construction at South Prestonsburg since early February, will open Friday morning while the Crown Bowling Lanes on North Lake Drive here has set Saturday morning for official opening...Thieves raided Davidson Memorial Gardens at Ivel again this week to take two azaleas in full bloom...Airman Third Class Robert C. Herald was recently assigned to the 301st Field Maintenance Squadron at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio...Kentucky�s giant floral clock, the only design of its kind in the world, was dedicated Thursday in Frankfort...Born: To Mr. and Mrs. John H. Keenon Jr., of Silver Spring, Md., on April 25, a son, John Harold Keenon III...There died: William Edward Crisp, 17, formerly of Prestonsburg and Allen, Sunday, in a truck accident in Newtonville, Ohio; Joe Osborne, 62, of Ligon, Tuesday, at a Martin hospital; Edward Goble, 50, of Dwale, Saturday; Mrs. Nola C. Goble, 73, of Auxier, at her home Wednesday; Lee Sweeney, 75, of Dwale, Saturday at a Martin hospital; Grover Layne, 74, formerly Prestonsburg City Councilman, last Thursday; Lee Martin, 85, of Wayland, Sunday, in a Martin hospital.

May 4, 1961

Certification of Floyd Countians now benefiting from the surplus commodities program, and those who are state public assistance recipients, began at 9 a.m., today (Thursday), in preparation for the inauguration, June 1, of the pilot food stamp plan in this county...A recent outbreak of rabies in the Clear Creek-Hi Hat area has resulted in a quarantine on all dogs, and in three emergency anti-rabies clinics been held there...Marvin Music, Prestonsburg business and civic leader, was one of three men to receive this year, the coveted Silver Beaver Awards of the Lonesome Pine Council, Boy Scouts of America, at the Council�s annual Appreciation Dinner, April 21...The voters of Floyd County will be asked at the November election, to approve a tax of 5� per $100 property evaluation for support of the county library work includes operation of the county library, its two bookmobles and related activities...Mrs. Roy Souleyrette, of Wheelwright, was named recently to conduct the drive for cancer funds in Floyd County...More than 200 people honored Dr. M. V. Wicker, at a dinner held at Wayland, April 25...Jay Darwin Bond Jr. Prestonsburg native who will be graduated from the University of Richmond (Va.) in June with Phi Beta Kappa honors, has been awarded a $3,000 scholarship to the Law School of Duke University...There died: Guy Horn, 73, former Floyd County Jailer, last Wednesday at a Prestonsburg hospital; Henry L. Collins, 76, at his home here Sunday; Sam Franklin, 51, of Wayland, Monday, at the home of a brother-in-law; Dee Adkins, 69, Wednesday at his home at Galveston; Raymond V. Emerick, 62, of Louisville, formerly of Prestonsburg, Tuesday in Louisville; Ellis Shepherd, 47, of Hueysville, Friday in a Martin hospital; Ed Carr, of Grant, NM, formerly of Allen, Tuesday in Albuquerque, NM...Ted Reasor, 58, of Melvin, Friday at the Pikeville Methodist Hospital.

April 27, 1961

Two men, Worth and Frank Music, who still have confidence in the coal business in this area, expect to complete, this week, the construction of a new coal preparation plant at West Prestonsburg. It will cost an estimated $15,000. They expect to mine and ship 300 to 400 tons daily...Arvid Dotson of the US Department of Agriculture at Atlanta, said this week he expects needy families in the county will begin buying food with the food stamp coupons in early June. The food stamps will add an estimated $2,000,000 a year to the economy of the county...Highway construction work, begun this week between Auxier and Paintsville, included the closing and partial dismantling of the 40-year-old suspension bridge across the river at Auxier...The Prestonsburg-Paintsville airport was one of 15 such new projects in Kentucky which the FFA this week said should be completed within the next five years...The first Kentucky Veterans� bonus checks issued for Floyd County were delivered Wednesday afternoon to two Gold Star Mothers...There died: Mrs. Aileen Spears, 25, of McDowell at the McDowell Memorial Hospital; J.R. Hayes, 80, of Mousie, following an illness of seven months; Green Moore, 60, former Left Beaver resident, on a construction job at Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. Laura Caudill, 83, of East McDowell at home; Mrs. Verdie N. Platkus, 51, at McDowell Hospital; Robert Stratton, 70, of Betsy Layne at home; Mrs. Laura Caudill, 83, of East McDowell, at home; Mrs. Audrey Young, 58, of Allen, at a Lexington nursing home; A.D. Warrix, 79, of Water Gap at home.

April 20, 1961

First work on bridges and on the highway itself, from Auxier to Van Lear, was begun this week, only to be suspended abruptly by threatening actions of Johnson County men demanding employment on the projects...The survey team of the Department of Education, Frankfort, which arrived here Monday, completed its look at building needs in the county school system, Wednesday...A start was made Saturday on cleanup work scheduled in Prestonsburg and other Floyd County communities...The fifth annual convention of Kentucky State P.E.O. Sisterhood, was held at the Brown Hotel, Louisville, April 13 and 14, with the state president, Mrs. W. A. Rose, of Prestonsburg, presiding...Ellsworth Collins, of Wheelwright, whose trumpet performance won for him the district music contest, sponsored by the Seventh District, Kentucky Federation of Woman�s Clubs, will be one of nine finalists competing for state honors in Louisville...Mr. and Mrs.V. B. Howland, of Maloneton, Ky., announce the marriage of their daughter, Jayne Frances, of Prestonsburg, and John K. Pitts, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hobert Pitts, of Blue River...There died: Mrs. Emmaline Chaffins, 88, of Rock Fork, near Garrett, last Thursday, in Hamilton, O.; Harry S. Williams, 68, of Wheelwright, Tuesday, en route to hospital; Mrs. Sarah Elkins Ward, 90, of Cow Creek, Monday, at her home; Thomas James May, 66, of Prestonsburg, last Wednesday, at a Lexington hospital.

April 13, 1961

Floyd County�s candidates, 145 of them�125 Democrats and 20 Republicans�drew, Monday afternoon, for position on the ballot...Coal production in the field represented by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Operators Association has skidded 470,300 tons under the tonnage mined at this time last year...Mayor Edward B. Leslie this week proclaimed April 15-May 15, Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up month in Prestonsburg...The grand jury of the Floyd Circuit Court in six days of work which began April 3, was not confronted by any homicide cases�and for the first time, not a liquor indictment was returned...Contract for construction of a bridge across Buffalo Creek was awarded Friday by the Floyd Fiscal Court to Liney L. Boyd on his low bid of $2,427.95...Joe Hobson, executive director of the Prestonsburg Housing Commission, announced that week that purchase of a site for the low-rent housing development here awaits only approval of the option by the Federal Government...The Federal Bureau of Investigation and state officers this week were seeking to identify the owner of an automobile which was recovered late Monday night from Dewey Lake by the Floyd County Emergency & Rescue Squad...Mis Elizabeth Francis Homes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Curt Homes, of Prestonsburg, and Mr. J. Clifford Todd, of Louisville, son of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Todd, of Glendale, were married Saturday morning, March 25, at Duncan Memorial Chapel, Louisville...Charles Akers, Dwale, has been selected as a member of the Union College track team...Sunday, April 16, will mark the beginning of the countywide observance of National Library Week, county chairman, Mrs. Goldia P. Short, librarian at Betsy Layne High School, announced this week...There died: Raymond Henson, 40, of Ligon, a short time after he was removed from the river in Gate City, Va., early Sunday morning; Mrs. Mary Prater, 80, Saturday at Pyramid; Mrs. Callie B. Beatty, 84, Sunday at Garrett; George W. Harris, 87, formerly of Prestonsburg, Saturday at his home in Ashland; Mrs. Dorothy Childers, 56, Friday at her home at Mousie; Edward Kelly Brown, 75, Monday at his home at Garrett; Polly S. Perry, 60, of Amba, in a Lexington hospital, March 30.

April 6, 1961

Floyd County is organizing for a countywide cleanup campaign this month, it was announced this week... �Blame the courts, blame the officers for juvenile crime, but I think the real blame lies with the parents,� Circuit Judge Edward P. Hill told the grand jury in his instruction to that body, Monday...A coalition ticket formed, it was said, to avoid a partisan November election fight locally, filed for Prestonsburg city offices Wednesday...Fifteen indictments naming 19 persons as defendants had been reported by the grand jury Wednesday morning...The Maytown Woman�s Club presented its seventh annual fashion show at the school lunchroom there Saturday evening to a capacity crowd...There died: John M. Castle, 71, former Floyd constable and policeman, last Wednesday at Hueysville; Melvin Lafferty, 73, of Bull Creek, Monday at the home of a daughter at Water Gap; James Elmo Osborne, 51, Wednesday, March 22 at Ashland.

March 30, 1961

Congressman Carl D. Perkins last week urged support for his bill to authorize a Youth Conservation Agency to provide employment and training for young people...Floyd County landowners, after several years effort, have finally gone �over the top� on forest tree seedling planting with 1,025,000 ordered...The Prestonsburg Ministerial Association each year sponsors three community-wide services, at Thanksgiving, and during Holy Week. This week the Good Friday service will be held at the Irene Cole Memorial Baptist Church, at 1 p.m. The Easter Sunrise Service will be conducted at 6:30 a.m., Sunday, at the Stratton Branch area on Dewey Lake...The Attorney General�s office said Monday, in an opinion given Charles Clark, superintendent of Floyd schools, that the Floyd County Board of Education exceeded its authority in hiring two shorthand reporters and a director of pupil personnel...Promotion of W. Arnold Maggard, formerly of Maytown, from the post of assistant director to director of the Veterans Division of the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, was announced this week...Army Recruit Johnny Greathouse, son of Mr. and Mrs. Archie Greathouse of Wayland, recently completed a lineman�s course at Fort Gordon, Georgia...There died: Mrs. Sallie G. Horn, 66, of East Point, at a Prestonsburg hospital, Sunday; Mrs. Ruth Greer, 39, formerly of Bonanza, in Phoenix, Ariz., Monday; Willie George Salmons, 61, formerly of Allen, in Detroit, last Tuesday; William Riley Collins, 88, formerly of Big Mud Creek, Sunday at Robinson Creek; Clifford Tackett, 44, of McDowell, Friday, in Ohio; Mrs. Lourana Johnson, 82, of Weeksbury, at a McDowell hospital, Tuesday; Mrs. Dorothy M. Craft, 36, formerly of Prestonsburg, in Carey, O., March 16.

March 23, 1961

U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives from Washington and Atlanta, met here last Thursday morning with Floyd officials to do preliminary planning for the food stamp program which will be introduced in Floyd, one of seven pilot counties designated in the United States to try out the relief system...The first sales meeting of the Black Star Coal Corporation since its purchase early this year by George E. Evans Jr., Estill coal operator, was held at the Wise Restaurant here, Monday and Tuesday...Of the 165 cases docketed for trial at the April term of the Floyd circuit court, 56 accuse defendants of child desertion, and in 32 others the charge is either breaking and entering or grand larceny...From the Extension Service fashion notes��What�s the fashion picture in shoes: Pointed toes are still the most popular style�...An enrollment of 252 in weekend classes, including 73 from Floyd County, was announced today by Pikeville College...There died: Tommy Jones, Bevinsville, native, in an auto accident in Lexington, Saturday...Ira Fouts, 42, at his home at Melvin, Tuesday; John P. Clifton, 56, Saturday at his home at Ivel; Mrs. Ella S. Layne, 69, formerly of Justell, in Clermont, Fla., Sunday; John D. Clark, 79, Floyd County native, Friday at his home in Maysville; Edgar Green Elkins, 60, Monday of a heart attack near his home at East Point; Mrs. Mildred S. Parker, 31, Friday, at her home in Wheelwright.

March 16, 1961

Commissioner of Highways Henry Ward told Kentucky Congressmen this week that Floyd County has 236.9 miles of highways under the Federal Aid System but 151.7 of these miles do not measure up to the standard set for such roads...Princess Elkhorn Coal Co. at David has reacted to poor market conditions by cutting off 162 employees...The comptroller of the currency last Thursday approved the First National Bank plan for a branch bank at the �Twin Bridges,� just outside Martin...The slump in the coal market has cut the average mine work week to two days in Floyd County, it was announced by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Ass�n...The Wheelwright Trojans last week defeated the Paintsville Tigers in the regional tournament here, and are in the state tourney at Lexington this week..There died: the Rev. William Fraley, 82, at Drift Friday, while funeral rites were being conducted at Cliff for his brother, Benjamin, 74; Willis Hobson, brother of Prestonsburg attorney Joe Hobson, Friday, in Birmingham, Ala.; Mrs. Ella S. Layne, 68, former postmistress at Justell, Sunday at her home in Clermont, Fla.; Mirphy Jarrell, 59, of Dona, Tuesday at Prestonsburg General Hospital; Grover C. (Dock) Patton, 76, Saturday at his home near Manton; William E. Stinnette, 50, federal mine inspector and former Martin resident, March 6 at Lackey, West Virginia.

March 9, 1961

Floyd County has been selected as one of eight pilot counties in the United States to test the effectiveness of President Kennedy�s food stamp plan in the administering of food-relief to the needy, it was announced Tuesday by Governor Combs and Commissioner of Agriculture Beauchamp...Charles Wilson Baker, 42, foreman at the Price No. 2 mine of the Inland Steel Company, was instantly killed last Thursday by a slatefall...Daniel Boone Arnett, well-known Abbott Creek man, died last Thursday afternoon in an automobile wreck which saw his auto plunge into the Big Sandy river within 200 yards of the scene of the 1958 school bus tragedy...The wreck also occurred on the third anniversary of the raising of the school bus from the river...The State Department of Highways last week asked bids on construction of an additional 5.42 miles of the Prestonsburg-Auxier-Paintsville highway and on the building of a bridge across the Big Sandy near Hager Hill...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Garland Godsey, of Louisville, a daughter, Nancy Carol, February 15...There died: James Melvin Flanery, 72, of Allen, last Wednesday at his home at West Prestonsburg; Franklin W. Moore, 50, of Prestonsburg, Sunday at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; Gorman Turner, 58, of Plymouth, O., formerly of this county, Friday, at Mansfield, O.; Mrs. Virginia Alice Biolotta, 60, of Prestonsburg, last Wednesday at Williamson; Allen Ratliff, 74, Sunday at his home at Langley

March 2, 1961

The breakthrough from the Blue Grass to the Mountains became reality Saturday as Gov. Bert Combs broke ground near Winchester, to mark the official beginning of the Eastern Kentucky toll road to Campton...Gov. Bert Combs and Highway Commissioner Henry Ward at a meeting with a delegation from here promised, February 27, they would have appraisers here within 10 days to do preliminary right-of-way work on the Big Sandy arm of the Mountain Parkway...Prestonsburg is most anxious to cooperate on improvement projects on which federal assistance is available, Mayor Edward B. Leslie wrote to the regional administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, last week...Floyd County�s Del Stumbo, halfback sensation for Ohio Wesleyan, was the leading ground-gainer among all halfbacks in the 14-college Ohio Conference last season...The body of a Pike County man, Randall May, 27, was recovered from the Big Sandy River near Paintsville, last Sunday, by the Floyd County Emergency & Rescue Squad. A car, May was riding in plunged into the river at Millard, Pike County, last March...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goodman, of Lexington, their first child, a son, Robert Irvin Jr., on February 23...There died: James Ray Frasure, 25, victim of an accidental gunshot wound at his home on Wilson Creek near Langley, last Wednesday; Mrs. Rosy Coburn, 75, of Garrett, at a Martin hospital, Saturday; Mrs. Martha C. Sawyers, 62, of Hueysville, in Kendallville, Ind., last Thursday; Homer Wicker, 60, of Eastern, last Thursday at a Martin hospital; Allie Branham, 47, at his home at Dock last Wednesday; Mrs. Grace A. Webb, 81, of Allen, last Thursday.

February 23, 1961

Fire early Monday morning caused an estimated damage of $45,000 at West Prestonsburg as three residences and the U.S. postoffice there were either destroyed or ruined...There is a possibility that Floyd may be the first Kentucky county where the Kennedy administration�s food-stamp plan is to be put to work, County Judge Henry Stumbo said this week...Approximately 100 persons, most of them landowners, met at the courthouse here Thursday evening of last week to make final commitments on the strawberry acreage necessary to procure a processing plant in Prestonsburg...�It�s an exciting outlook for the Big Sandy,� John Whisman, Kentucky�s lone member of President Kennedy�s Task Force, said here last Friday night when he spoke to a group of Paintsville and Prestonsburg businessmen on federal programs to aid depressed areas...The First Guaranty Bank, of Martin, will hold open house Saturday afternoon at its new building, Glenn C. Spradlin, president, announced...The City Council vacancy created here by the resignation of Councilman Joe W. Jarrell was filled Monday by the naming of his mother, Mrs. Fanny Jarrell, to the post...S/Sgt. Robert L. Prater, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hager Prater, of Garrett, has received gold and silver badges for excellence in competitive pistol firing in 1960 as a member of an Air Force team...Gov. Bert Combs has extended the registration deadline for coal trucks in Floyd, Johnson, and Wayne counties until midnight, May 31, because of �distressed, economic conditions�...The annual 58th district (Floyd County) high school basketball tournament will open to Prestonsburg fieldhouse next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., with Betsy Layne scheduled to play Wayland in the lone game of the evening...There died: Charles Hall, 24, his wife, Willadean, 23, and their son, James Warren, 4, all of Morrow, O., last week when a semi-trailer jack-knifed and struck their car near Foster, O.; Mrs. Georgia Barnes, 88, widow of the Rev. R. A. Barnes, former pastor of the Irene Cole Memorial Baptist Church here, Sunday in Florence, Alabama; Mrs. Fanny Keathley, 91, of Hite, last Wednesday at a Martin hospital; Tapley Tackett, 78, at his home at Teaberry last Thursday; Mrs. Laura Spencer, 60, February 7 in Covington; Sam Carger, 78, of Wayland, Tuesday at a McDowell Hospital; Charles L. Quillen, 52, of Wheelwright, Friday; Pete Golden, 83, a native of Martin County, Friday in Phoenix, Arizona; Mrs. Dorothy Cole, 42, Hunter, last week in a Lexington hospital.

February 16, 1961

Fire departments of Prestonsburg and Martin fought a blaze Tuesday afternoon which destroyed three homes and an empty store building at Bosco, and which, for a time, threatened a major section of the Right Beaver Creek town... �The primary objective of any aid program for the depressed areas must be to help people to help themselves,� David L. Francis, Mayor of Huntington and head of Princess Elkhorn Coal Company, told the KY-O-VA Traffic Club, Huntington, last Monday...Action of U.S. District Judge Mac Swinford at Lexington, Monday, may result in a rate decrease on water and gas consumers of the Floyd County Water and Gas System, it was said this week...Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Allen of Pyramid, a daughter, Sherri Rene, Feb. 12 at the Paintsville Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Crider, a daughter, Katrinka Lynn, Feb. 2 at the Prestonsburg General Hospital; to Mr. and Mrs. Matison Hale of Allen, a daughter, Valerie, Tuesday, at the Beaver Valley Hospital, Martin...There died: Epp Laferty, 70, Eastern Kentucky�s oldest peace officer in point of service at his home here Wednesday; Mrs. Minnie Hackworth Woods, 67, of Bonanza, Tuesday, at Paintsville; George Blankenship, 53, of Teaberry, Monday at the McDowell Memorial Hospital.

February 9, 1961

The Floyd Fiscal Court Monday adopted resolutions asking Gov. Bert Combs to extend til Monday, May 31, the expiration date of the registration of coal trucks operating in this county, pointing out that because of �distressed economic conditions� it will be impossible for many coal truck drivers to license their vehicles and pay the required fees...First time offenders of the local option law fare better in Floyd County than the law allows, according to an opinion given Saturday by Assistant Attorney General William F. Simpson...A hearing has been set for Thursday morning as a continuance of the investigation into the Sunday night dynamiting of the powderhouse of the Lick Fork Coal Company on Middle Creek...There died: Mrs. Kizzie M. Collins, 62, in Ohio; Frankie Robinson, 30, formerly of Floyd County; Ermon Damron, 48, of Ivel; General Gayheart, 15, of Ligon; Mrs. Caroline McPeek, 83, of Pound Va.; George B. Salisbury, 67, of Langley; Sam J. Hall, 64, of Hall; Rev. Mahlon Burke, 85, of Jonancy; Green Mullins, 72, of Noble.

February 2, 1961

Gov. Bert Combs announced this week that the state will advertise for bids for construction of a 35-room lodge at Jenny Wiley State Park, Dewey Lake, by March 15... The eastern Kentucky toll road from which two feeder highways will delve deep into the Mountains, linking this section with the Blue Grass, moved nearer reality this week as $38,000,000 in bonds were reported ready to go on the market Wednesday... Construction will begin within the next few days here on a building which will house the largest bowling center east of Lexington, it was announced Tuesday... Production of coal in the field represented by the Big Sandy-Elkhorn Coal Operators Association skidded, as expected, the first week in January, due chiefly to New Year�s holiday, but it had not fully recovered by the week ending January 21... Born: to Mr. and Mrs. James R. Camicia, of Prestonsburg, a daughter, Margaret Ann, January 27 here; to Dr. and Mrs. Norman White, of Prestonsburg, a son, Norman II, January 21... There died: Mark Tackett, 70, of Virgie, formerly of Weeksbury, Jan. 22 at Pikeville; Jerry Tackett, 69, of McDowell, Saturday at Pikeville; B. W. (Brack) Bentley, 85, Sunday at his home at Garrett; Hannah E. Meade, 72, last Wednesday at her home at Banner; Cynthia Sexton, 76, of Banner, Sunday; Rhodia McGuire, 42, formerly of West Prestonsburg, Friday in Findlay, Ohio; Opal Jean Smith, 14, of Brainard, last Wednesday at Louisville.

January 26, 1961

Cooperation is the keynote as Floyd Countians begin combining their efforts to win the location in the county of a two-year college... A double share of surplus foods to the needy was one of the first directives made by President Kennedy following his inauguration, and later new Labor Secretary Goldberg announced he favors some quick federal aid to the unemployed who now exceed 5,500,000... The Federal Housing Administration last week authorized financing of as many as five units of low-cost private housing at Martin to help rehouse families displaced by the urban renewal project which is ready to be started there... The Floyd County Education Council Advisory Committee at its first official meeting Tuesday evening voted to confer with the board of education and key school administrative personnel on problems facing the school heads... The Winston Ford Company of Prestonsburg is low bidder on grade drain and bituminous surface of 2.86 miles of the Dewey Lake road from Goble Branch to Stratton Branch, the State Highway Department announced last week. Its bid was $220,368.30... There died: William Winston Ford, 50, prominent Prestonsburg contractor, Tuesday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; William Guy Biggers, 60, of Prestonsburg, former State Representative from the 96th district, last Thursday here; Billy Howell, 29, of Bonanza, Jan. 18 here; Queen Shepherd Arnett, 90, Tuesday at West Prestonsburg; Willard Hamilton, 78, Saturday at his home at Harold; Martha Ellen Kidd, 80, of Harold, last Thursday; Goldie I. Hall, 34, formerly of Martin, Sunday at Danville, Virginia.

January 19, 1961

Bids on the remaining 2.86 miles of road needed to provide a scenic highway skirting Dewey Lake all the way from the dam to the Jenny Wiley State Park boat dock will be opened Friday by the Department of Highways...Articles of incorporation have been prepared for the Kentucky Mountain Crafts and Folk-Song Center which plans initial operation here this year, it was announced this week...The total number of visitors at Dewey reservoir last year rose to 380,690�154,720 more than all who visited the lake and park the preceding year...With the Jan. 24 midnight deadline only six days away, �Operation Bootstrap,� the local effort to raise $30,500 in order to qualify for County Board of Education assistance in the construction of an athletic field and stadium at Prestonsburg High School is only $4,725 short of its goal...There died: Lincoln Tibbs, 21, of Endicott, Jan. 7; Donnie Edward Hicks, 26, formerly of Langley, Jan. 10 in an auto accident at St. Mary�s O.; William A. Malone, 62, Sunday at his home at Allen; Mrs. Lizzie Little Johnson, 73, Jan. 3 at the home of a son at Wheelwright; William B. Tackett, 84, of Craynor, Saturday; Robert Ramey, 84, Saturday at his home at Garrett; Birchfield Johnson, 56, Sunday at his home at Weeksbury; Moses Mitchell, 67, of Melvin, last Wednesday

January 12, 1961

The Floyd County Fiscal Court Monday renewed its expression of opposition to the proposed increase of gas rates in Allen, Dwale and possibly other communities served by the Floyd County Gas and Water Company... Ten additional members of the Floyd County Educational Council Advisory committee were elected at the January 3 meeting of the organization at the Allen grade school, it was announced this week by Raymond A. Bradbury, treasurer of the group... Two firms have paid stream pollution fines in this county recently and another is under investigation for the same charge, noted conservation officer Don Meade. There died: Donnie E. Hicks, 26, of Langley; Bessie Pennington, 66, of Melvin; Michael Zemo, 77, of Prestonsburg; Nancy Scott Whitt, 77, of Garrett; and Barbara Ward, 66, of Banner.