Patriot was a bustling community in the mid to late 1800’s. One piece of evidence for this was the number of practicing physicians.
The first doctor in Posey Township was Dr. William Chamberlain, who set up a practice in 1820. He was later joined by Doctors Tanner and Humphreys. Doctor Campbell established a practice in Patriot in 1840. He lived in Kentucky and traveled across the river going back and across the river in his boat. Doctors Brooks and Jessup also joined him. Dr. Brooks was an Oculist, specializing in treating diseases of the eyes. He later moved his practice to Cleveland where he joined a practice that would later become part of the famed Cleveland Clinic. Dr. R.R. Ruter established a practice in Patriot and was joined by Dr. W.A. Alcott in 1861. Dr. Alcott was a graduate of the Ohio College of Medicine. In 1868, Dr. R.A. Jameson began a practice in Patriot. Dr. Jameson was a native of Rising Sun. Dr. E.M. Cheever had a practice for many years in Quercus Grove.
Another interesting piece of Patriot history was Samuel Jack. Jack came to Posey Township in 1819. He was born in Woodford County, Kentucky. He married Rosanna Hampton in 1815, the granddaughter of General Wade Hampton. Jack had studied for the ministry, and later decided on the profession of farming. He served in the Army, seeing action in the Battle of Meigs in the War of 1812. Jack also served as the second Justice of the Peace in Posey Township, and also served one term in the State General Assembly. Rosanna’s family was part of the powerful Hampton family of South Carolina. When her grandfather, General Wade Hampton died in 1830, he was listed as the wealthiest planter in the United States.
Jachoby McKay said he really enjoyed scrimmaging at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with the Pacer Football team. He said he was “thrown around” by some big guys, but it was a great experience for him. Jachoby also helped his cousins, Darian Bruce and Kelsie Amer move this weekend.
Leonard and Anna Oatman were neighbors of ours on Meades Ridge when I was growing up. Leonard was a farmer and also worked as a carpenter. Anna was a very close friend of my grandmother, Thelma Cook, as well as my mother. Leonard’s mother, “Grommy ‘’ lived down the road and their daughter, Janet Oatman Otter also lived down the road with her family. The Oatmans had a beautiful barn, which still stands on the farm. In the hay loft there was a basketball goal, and it was the scene of many basketball games over the years!
Teens from all around came to Oatman’s barn to play basketball. The hay bales made great bleachers! Leonard and Anna had four children: Eddie, Larry, Janet and Mike. Mike still lives on Meades Ridge, with his wife Sheryl; and their son Chris lives where Paul and Janet used to live, along with his wife Michelle, and children Emily and Leo. Children Kayla, Sean and Matthew have grown up and moved. Chris and Michelle are both Air Force veterans, and have kept the sports tradition going with their large barn that they use for pitching and hitting practice for softball. Janet lives in Ohio County, and Eddie lives in Dearborn County. Larry died a few years ago from injuries he suffered in an accident.
Leah Jones was surprised on her birthday with a birthday cake that was baked by her grandson, Mason Jones. Mason has developed quite a culinary talent, especially baking!
You may notice a lot of excavating going on at the old Duffy property behind the Patriot Jail. Joey Rider owns this property now and has plans to develop a campground there. Joey said that the plans call for 41 camp hook-ups. The Patriot General Store will carry a line of goods that are found at camp stores. More information will come on this later!
Mary Lynn Reese had a birthday this past week. Mary Lynn is a 1965 graduate of Patriot High School and the daughter of the late Sam and Lena Seymour Reese. Mary Lynn and her sister, Dollie Reese Green are neighbors and enjoy many adventures together.
I had a conversation on Sunday with Kay Cook. Kay spent a little more time in Florida helping a friend. She is back at her beautiful home on Front Street.
I went over to Sanders, Kentucky on Monday evening for the visitation at the Baptist Church for Shirley Ogden. Shirley and her family ran the store in Sanders for many years. I have so many fond memories of going to their store when we were there visiting my grandparents and great grandmother. The old nursing home is still there, but other than it, the church, fire department and post office, there are no other businesses now, and many of the houses are going, including the one my grandparents lived in. The floods have devastated that community over the years.
Marlene Jones has been staying with her father, John Adams in Oldham County, Kentucky for a few days. John is continuing to recover from extensive surgery.
I think we are going to name our new calf at my mother’s place on Meades Ridge, “Nuisance”, as she keeps slipping through the fence and into the garden!
The Switzerland County School Corporation is having much success with its summer lunch program. It is at Harris Park every morning. I remember being in the first grade, and I wanted to take my lunch, probably because I had a metal Gunsmoke Lunch Box, complete with a thermos (gosh, do I wish I still had that!). My mother would pack a sandwich, chips and something sweet, along with an apple or banana. I was so thin in the first grade, I think I weighed around 30 pounds! I wouldn’t hardly eat anything, and as soon as I got off the bus, I would run to the outhouse to throw it away, for fear I would get in trouble for not eating! My Grandmother Cook quickly realized what was going on! On one trip to Dr. Fessler, my mother was worried because I was so frail and the doctor gave me a tonic. It tasted so bad, I was soon eager to eat my lunch from the Gunsmoke Lunch Box! Looking back, I wonder if Dr. Fessler knew that the horrible tasting tonic would make me eat my lunch? On my next trip back to him, I told his nurse, Lena Buddenburg, that I didn’t need the tonic anymore!
Many farmers have been busy putting in hay in the last few weeks. The hay crop, at least the early cuttings, have been lighter than usual due to the lack of rain we have had. Hopefully the later cuttings will be better. I recall the days of working for Sterling Flood. Sterling and Aileen had a farm on North Branch, just past Tony Gregory’s place. The house is no longer there. Sterling probably put in as many square bales of hay as any farmer in Posey Township. He was a very hard worker, and when you worked for him, you could count on getting an unbelievable lunch prepared by Aileen! She would drive the tractor while we put up the hay, and when we would come in for lunch, she would have a large dinner prepared! The only problem is, we would eat too much! Afterwards we would be lying under the shade tree, and Sterling would say, “let’s go boys, we won’t get this hay up under the shade tree”. Sterling and Aileen have both been gone for several years. They were great people for sure!
I drove down on the peninsula below Concord Church on Monday. They really got hit by the storm on Friday night. There were several trees down as well as power lines. It was really a fierce wind storm for sure.
The Patriot General Store is continuing to grow and prosper, despite the road closings in the area. They have added a line of hardware in recent days, as well as now carrying fresh produce. The store is a staple in our community for sure!
The first store in the Patriot community was opened by William Williams in 1828. The second store was erected by Peter Rogers and Erastus Moore. They carried a good-sized stock of merchandise. They were located near the Globe Saloon in town. I hope to find more information on the saloon.
We sure miss our neighbor, Bill Huseman, who lived on the old Raymond Stevens farm on North Branch Road for many years. We called Mr. Stevens, “Pop” Stevens. Bill Huseman died in the past couple years. Bill was a very good neighbor. I know he was close friends with the Powers family who lived across the street and also Vera McAlister. Bill had moved to our area from the west side of Cincinnati and he continued commuting to Cincinnati for work. Bill pretty much kept to himself, raised a big garden and would mow along the road with a push mower, all the way up to the intersection of Meades Ridge and North Branch Road! Bill visited my parents often, and was always willing to help someone in need. He was a veteran of the United States Army, and I found out later, had been trained as a sniper. So many people move into our community and become a part of our lives.
I was very happy to hear from Aruzhan today. Aruzhan was in our community for the 2022-2-23 school year as an exchange student. She wanted me to send her some of our Patriot/Posey Columns to use in a presentation that she is doing at the American Corner in Shymkent City, Kazakhstan. So, they are going to be hearing about Patriot in Kazakhstan!
I heard today of the passing of two longtime friends of mine, Richard Adams and Janet Daugherty. Richard was from the Florence area, and a 1954 graduate of Patriot High School. He retired from the United States Air Force. He also served as the Switzerland County Veteran Service Officer for several years. He was a member and Past Master of the Florence Masonic Lodge # 27 and also the Quercus Grove Methodist Church. His wife, Leona died just eight weeks ago.
Janet Daughtery was the wife of Wayne Daugherty of Vevay. Janet worked for the school corporation for many years, as a secretary at the high school and also the central office. She was still working as the secretary at the central office when I became superintendent in 2012. Janet was a very kind person and treated everyone with respect. She and Wayne were 1956 graduates of Aurora High School. She will surely be missed by all who knew her. Switzerland County lost two of our finest citizens today, in Richard and Janet.
I take my dog, Copper, for a walk a few times a day, or rather “he takes me for a walk!” He is obsessed with the riverbank along Front Street. There are several groundhogs that live on the bank and he tries to sneak up on them. So far he has caught several moles, but no groundhogs, but it’s definitely not for a lack of effort!
I have written several times about Ruby and Howard Tomlin (pronounced “Tumlin”, brother and sister who lived on Goose Creek. They were always mysterious characters to me. I was always a little afraid of Ruby. If anyone has stories or memories of them, I would be very interested in hearing them. I would see them when I was with my grandfather, Marshall Cook. He knew just about everyone in the township, well probably everyone! Ruby and Howard would walk to town quite often and it was quite a spectacle to see them! Usually they would be pulling a wagon, with a pack of dogs following them. Kids, unfortunately, would sometimes run after them teasing them. They would stay in town for much of the day, going up and down the streets pulling their wagon.
My mother, Leah Jones, received a call this week from her lifetime friend, Betty Burgess of Rising Sun. Betty’s grandparents, John and Mary Hewitt, were neighbors of my mother on Goose Creek when she was growing up.
Congratulations to Jachoby McKay of Searcy Ridge for earning Grand Champion in the Shooting Sports competition at the 4-H Fair this week. He also reserved Reserve Grand for his collection of shell casings. His sister, Marilee won the Reserve Grand Champion for her drawings and also showed her goat and chickens. Congratulations to Posey Township resident, Taylor Kappes for winning Intermediate Showmanship Champion in Market Goat series. Taylor is the daughter of Patti and Ben Kappes.
Landen, Lainie and Lynleigh McAlister all were successful in the 4-H Beef Show. Lainie won third Overall Senior Showman, Champion Sim-Solution Heifer, Reserve Grand Champion Heifer and Champion Homegrown Heifer. Landen won second Overall Intermediate Showman and Reserve Grand Cow/Calf pair. Lynleigh won second Overall Junior Showman, and Champion Simmental Heifer. Landen, Lainie and Lynleigh are the children of Dan and Kodi McAlister of North Branch Road.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Switzerland County 4-H Fair!
Well, the Town of Patriot was finally able to get their Independence Day celebration in on Saturday, despite the rain and storms. The event culminated with a beautiful fireworks display on the river at dark. Thanks to everyone who helped put this special event on. Hopefully next year, all roads will be open, and the weather will cooperate
Remember that the Patriot Baptist Church will hold its annual Vacation Bible School on July 18th-20th, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. each day. There will be music, crafts, food and a Bible Lesson each day!
Barrie’s Tidbits
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high — “Porgy and Bess”.
The production was first shown in New York City in 1935 at the Alvin Theatre. Starring in that production was Anne Brown, the first African American admitted to the Juilliard School of Music in 1933, and Todd Duncan. Also in the cast was Ruby Elzy, who played Serena, and John W. Bubbles as Sportin Life. I was able to see a production of that Opera in 1972. It was the most colorful and heart wrenching show I had ever seen and still is.
Gun violence in America costs the government over $229 billion every year. That is only the monetary cost. We all know, heartbreakingly, what the other costs are.
A few days ago I posted on Facebook the names of the members of the PHS Class of 1960, that I do not know of their whereabouts, or if they are still alive: Sandra Graham; Larry Koons; Janet Mickel and George Snow. A good friend of Janet’s in high school was Shirley Gould Hite, and Larry’s cousin, I believe, is Ron Mitchell, maybe they know? If anyone has information about the members please let me, Carolyn, or Lynn know, PHSAA Officers. Thank you.
Spoke with Reta Minks Sprecher this week she let me know that her Mother Pearl Rider Minks is doing well.
Nancy Bunger Stivers and Husband John are doing well; and hard at work in their garden in Edinburgh, Indiana.
Marilyn Kinman Devers is doing fine and enjoyed her birthday dinner with sisters, Rinda, Debbie and Konna.
Mike’s Closing
That’s all for this week! Please remember to send me news to use to (812) 290-3088, or mike1405@earthlink.net. You can send news to Barrie at (828) 335-8270, or barrieleewatters@charter.net.
Until next week, in the words of Glen Campbell, remember to “try a little kindness, and shine your light for everyone you meet.”