By: Stan Jordan
This picture was taken in the late 1930’s. The photographer stood about under the traffic looking to the northeast, where now stands the marathon drive–thru. The little building at the right of the gas station was Abie Gaisford’s first restaurant, called the Kewpie Shop.
Right behind that little building you can see the gable of another house which was torn down to make room for the grocery store. That was in the mid 1950’s at this time some people named Jump lived there.
That station said Johnson Gasoline ans was operated by Art Rogers and Harry W. Carr. It was remodeled and in the late 1940s’ Bob and Dale Johnson owned that corner for years.
Over the years there was a total of three houses torn down and one was moved to make room for that grocery store and parking lot.
The Lobo Tank Busters
By: Stan Jordan
This is December 29, 1944. The city of Bastogne, Belgium was surrounded by the Germans for a few days, but Patton’s Armored Division came in from the south and the fact that the fog lifted and the C47s dropped tons of badly needed supplies and the fighter bomber had a chance to fly, things are looking a lot better now for the allies.
We four P-51 are equipped with rockets and some of the planes of the R.A.F. are also armed with rockets. That rocket will stop a Tiger Tank and even a King Tiger Tank, Germany’s best tank.
We took off this morning with a full load of everything and headed straight for Bastogne, Belgium. After we were over Bastogne we turned to the northwest and followed a string of German to a Belgium town of Sauy, on the Meuse River. There was a pretty good highway and it crossed the Meuse River at this town of Sauy.
The American idea was to “stop the German tanks east of the Meuse, no German was to cross the bridge, don’t blow the bridge, but don’t let the tanks cross it either!”
I could look down and see some tanks and the side of the highway and some more almost into that small town on the Meuse.
Maybe some of these parked vehicles had run out of gasoline, but then maybe not.
We went up and got some altitude and I came right down on that first King Tiger Tank and put a rocket into the grating over the engine area. There was a good fireball and black smoke and by then I had gone by and back up to about 1000 feet altitude.
I swung around in a big circle and came back to that first tank. He was burning good but one of the other pilots blew off one of the tanks tread off and the tank was disabled and the crew were getting out and down in the ditch by the road.
The first tank was demolished, the other pilots got the second one. We used up other rockets and then we left that area. The first four tanks were out of the war. There was a couple of supply trucks in the line and we set them on fire also
For all purposes that highway was blocked now and no tanks on this highway would get to the river.
We are going back to the air base and get resupplied and are coming right back here to the Meuse River, no one is to cross that river.
See Ya!
Cabin 21 at Valley Forge
By: Stan Jordan
It was quite a morning. Monday April 1st, 1781. All 16 boys of Cabin 21 were being sent to Yorktown, VA, get there as fast as you can.
They a had a pair of mules that pulled a wagon that carried all of their kitchen equipment, all the boys’ duffle bags and any extra gear they had and sacks of oats for the mules and driven by the cooks.
Sgt. Baker figures that walking 3 miles per hour and resting 10 minutes each hour is a good pace. By marching 6 hours each day would be 15 miles each day , five days a week, we could make that 280 miles in about a month. There is no set time to get to Yorktown.
At the end of the first day along about 5:00 p.m. they came upon a big barn and a farm house. Sgt. Baker asked the folks if the troops could sleep in the barn and the farmer agreed, but no smoking allowed in the barn.
Along about four in the morning it started to rain, so the boys just stayed in the barn all day and the next night and then got off to an early start the following morning. The boys and the mules both needed the rest.
All along the trip, the boys would find a barn to sleep in or a big shed. There were a few nights that were very nice to sleep in their little pup tents. Sometimes, just out under the stars.
They arrived in Yorktown in the first weekend of May. They were all tired, but they all said it wasn’t that bad of a trip, just hiking each day.
They were put to work with shovels and picks and mules pulling slip scrapers making tunnels, para-pits and a headquarter called The Fort of Yorktown.
Yorktown is a peninsula between the York and James Rivers. The French Navy had blocked up all the sea lanes and the English were out of food, powder and all types of supplies.
Cornwallis is the English Commanding General, he surrendered October 19, 1781, but he did not attend the surrendering ceremony. He said he was too sick. He turned over 7087 soldiers and officer, 900 seamen, 144 cannon, 15 galleys, a frigate and 30 transport ships.
This ended the fighting with the British and American Revolutionist. the peace negotiations were in Paris and it was signed in September of 1783. The 16 boys of Cabin 21at Valley Forge, had long since gone home.
See ya!
Roland’s Pig
By: Stan Jordan
A few weeks ago I told you about Roland’s cow that the legs on the right side were considerably shorter than the ones on the left because she would graze on the Kentucky Hilllside. Well, he also told me about a special red pig that they had when he was younger.
Roland was born in 1936 in Hayden, Kentucky in Leslie County. Now that is in the same area as Dry Hill, Cut shin, Wait a minute, Why not and Hell for Certain.
As I understand there was a traveling preacher that came to the area and held services on Wednesday nights and one on Sunday morning. When he went back home to his own parish, he just shook his head and told his people, “That place was Hell for Certain over there.”
Now in Roland’s family were six kids, a cow named Bessie and a red pig named Red. Now this pig had the same handicap as the cow because he lived on the side of the hill and both of his front legs were shorter than the hind legs, so when Red would root his snout would go deep into the ground, rather than across the ground and all he would get was worms and tree roots, he didn’t grow very quickly on this type of diet. Red didn’t grow very fast and over the years the kids babied him and he became on of the family.
The word got out that this small pig was a lot older than he looked, and maybe he wasn’t being treated right.
So the people from the “Be Kind To Animals Association” came to see if the little pig was being mistreated.
When the ladies arrived Red wasn sitting upright in the rocking chair on the front porch in the shade. He had a small glass of corn squeezingz in one hand and a cigar in the other and had on a pair of dark cheaters.
The do-gooders were astounded! The ladies said, “Why aren’t you in a zoo? That pig is treated better than a lot of husbands.
As the ladies left the porch, Red made a couple of “oinks” and grunts. One of the children said in pig talk that meant, “Don’t call me, I will call you”
See Ya!
