From the Hills of Kentucky

The stories in this book were written by three aspiring authors, two of the writers are male, and the other one is a beautiful lady. The one thing they all have in common is their Kentucky heritage. All three think it’s very important to pass the stories from Kentucky on to other generations. The two younger writers are from Letcher County. I was born in Breathitt County, raised in Knott County, and married a girl from Magoffin County. My wife and I eloped and married December 31, 1935. We struggled to survive the great depression. Shortly after our daughter was born February 25, 1940, we moved to Middletown, Ohio. Early in 1945 we moved to northern Indiana. We spent a lifetime in Knox, Indiana. My dear wife died November 14, 1986. I moved to Columbus, Indiana November, 1988. Several times we entertained notions to move back to the hills of eastern Kentucky. A famous poet once stated, “You can never go back home.” My cousin, Grover Watkins, would try to cheer me up. “Smith, we don’t have to go back. We never left the hills of eastern Kentucky. We’ll carry memories of the hills and hollows in our heart and soul for the rest of our lives.”