Update 3/23-2010

Hello, dear friends, and it's good to talk to you again. I must say you're looking very well, and... wait... what's that on the side of your face? Move to the left a little so I can see you better..... Oh wait... it was a shadow. You had me worried there for a second.

You wanna see a cool picture?

(click to enlarge)

The picture above is none other than our own Betty Taylor Borum at her baptizing. I believe the preacher doing the sacred duty is Preacher Frank Alcorn, the patriarch of most of the Alcorns ever hatched in these parts, and a fine Gospel preacher of days gone by. I actually had the chance to meet Preacher Alcorn as a very young man. He was well up in years by that time. I had friends who were grandsons to Preacher Alcorn, and spent a lot of time down in "Alcorn Holler" as folks around here called the gap in Pine Ridge where the Alcorns nested. As for my dear friend Betty, she was born and mostly raised on Windrock Mountain where her father was a coal miner. Betty  graduated from Oliver Springs High School in the notorious class of 1948, then went on to marry Albert (Buster) Borum, a valiant warrior in WWII who came home from the horrible conflagration in the Pacific to marry and raise a family. As to the location of the baptismal pool, I am thinking it is in the bend of Indian Creek just below the old "Salt Well" site, across from the old homeplace of Austin and Rose Ingram. Look closely, folks: perhaps you can recognize yourself or some other family member or friend. If so, please call or email me and let me know...

We have been scrambling like fire ants on crack lately. So much has been going on, both in my personal life and in the Society. We'll skip my personal life, as the Enquirer has covered that ad infinitum, ad nauseum, et al, and I'm sure you've read all about it. But as for the Historical Society, well, that's another story, as they say.  We still are trying to come to grips with the death of our friend Audrey "Cookie" Murphy. Cookie was such a gem, always doing what she could for the historical society as well as its members. She had only recently retired from ORNL where she had worked for several years. Cookie was  (as most of you are well aware) editor and publisher of "Legacy", the historical society's quarterly newsletter. Under her guidance, Legacy had grown larger and more comprehensive as we had more people submitting choice material from their private collections as well as crafting rich articles about our town and surrounding communities and families. There is no way to replace Cookie. We'll just have to pitch in and see what we can all do to try and "catch the baby before it hits the ground", so to speak. Don't try to visualize that last phrase: it'll only serve to get you all worked up and traumatized.... ;-)

I want to report to you that we have had an influx of pictures lately, and I have literally been a scanning fool in the past few days and weeks. A wealth of pictures showing various members of the Diggs family of days gone by have graciously been donated to us. Those of you who know me are well aware that I am like Fatty Arbuckle in a candy store when we gain stuff like this. Each picture contributes a piece to the ever-more complex and always unfolding tapestry of our roots in this loveliest little town we call home. You have a connection to it also, else you wouldn't be reading this far into the story.

Update 3/17/2010

My heart is heavy as I write to inform you of the passing of our dear friend Audrey "Cookie" White Murphy. Cookie was "one of us" and her death was so unexpected. I got the news shortly after noon on Tuesday, with friends from all across our Historical society calling to pass along the hurtful news.

Below is a link to the Sharp Funeral Home site featuring Cookie's obituary.

http://www.sharpfh.com/view.php?id=518

I had just seen her Monday a week ago at our monthly meeting. I had taken my new camera and at some point during the meeting I decided on a whim to snap a picture as Mr. Harvey spoke to us. Don't know exactly why it hit me to take it, but I did. Tuesday when I heard the news my mind was reeling. My mind raced back to the last time I saw her, which was at the meeting of Monday last. It occurred to me that I had snapped a picture...

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In the foreground is our beloved Mr. Sonny Harvey, chairman of the society, seen as he addressed the meeting.

It was one of those pictures of no significance at the time, but which now seems almost God-ordained.

Cookie is at center of the cropped picture below, right next to another dear friend of mine, Joyce Hepler-Fox. Mrs. Cleopatra Brown is in front center..

(click to enlarge)

Of course, if you knew her you'd need no directions: she was one of a kind. I had wanted to talk to her, and we talk nearly every time we see each other. This particular Monday, however, I had some business to discuss and Cookie got out and gone before I got to talk to her. Alas...

I have had the sense that we needed to take more pictures of our precious group: this bears it out oh-so-clearly..... Cookie, I'm going to miss you sooo much. Goodbye for now, dear friend....

 I hope you didn't take my protracted absence as a sign of disinterest. Fact is, the computer that we maintain this site on crashed and died a horrible death. A lot of noble effort has taken place in the interim which I will report on in the next couple of days.

One more sad note that it is my duty as your humble servant to bring you is news of the passing of our friend and advisor, Pat Roberts McDonald.        Pat was a friend to me and the Historical Society. She had fought cancer for years. Pat was the originator of this website, submitting many pictures, articles, etc., in the early days of the Oliver Springs Historical Society. She was the daughter of the late great historian Snyder Roberts and Pauline Halburnt Roberts. I found her to be on so many occasions the epitome of charm and grace. To come away with the idea that Pat was some kind of shy, retiring milquetoast would  be a serious inaccuracy at least. Pat could be very vocal and opinionated when it mattered, and she was very  often right in her convictions and opinions. Pat is one of the people whose passing is really going to be felt for a long time by those who are friends of the Oliver Springs town and the Historical Society. 

Well, so much has happened since we were last able to update you. The Fall Festival was a resounding success, the Christmas in the City was splendid, the caroling tour culminating with the singing at the noble old Cumberland Presbyterian Church was most heartwarming, the Valentine's Stroll fundraiser was cold but successful.... hmm... what else? 

Oh yes.. the museum project. Much work has been done toward the completion of the demolition phase of the project. Our volunteers have worked tirelessly to rip out the old rotten interior walls, staircase, etc. Much thought was given to trying to salvage what could be practically salvaged, but as there was so much rot and associated water damage, mold/mildew, et al, it was determined to rip it all out and frame anew. Demolition has largely ceased and preparations are underway to secure the prison crews from the Morgan county Regional Corrections Complex. These men come with a wide assortment of skills.... carpenters, masons, laborers, electricians' helpers, and so on. We have decided that these crews are vital to our mission of coming up with a splendid renovation that will serve the needs of the Historical Society and the town without being hopelessly expensive.

More later...

                                                            Robbie