By Sherri Hicks
This picture is of our late grandparents, Polly Combs Hicks and Ezra Hicks. This is a photo that is on their headstone. This Hicks cemetery is located on top of the mountain called Laurel Fork Road or Sylvester’s Branch. It is just off highway 80 at the 6 six-mile marker in Knott County.
If you saw the picture of William Hicks in the paper, he is our oldest veteran in Knott County and possibly the Hickses’ oldest cousin. He is very alert and he is always wanting more information on the Hicks family. He told me the stories of the only two times he had ever broken the law with “speeding” or going over the speed limit. He can recall stories of the past and the present.
I got to meet two of his sons named William Hicks Jr. and Charles. Both of them live right around Car- lisle and Franklin, Ohio, and are familiar with that area. That is where most of my mother’s people have lived for years. I can see the “Hicks” in Bill Jr’s looks.
I was telling them, in return, the story of how we Hickses are actually blood -born “Oney” generations from the late 1870’s. In the year of 2000 I traced that information and was fortunate to get it into a book that was just about to be printed on geneology. This book was in the Salyersville or Magoffin County Historical Society.
William Hicks, the son of Virgie Hicks, wants to at- tend the Hicks reunion that goes on in Floyd County in August. He will be turning 94 and wants to celebrate his birthday with newfound kin at that reunion. Whoever out there is getting that information together, please send him an invitation to P.O. Box 337, Hindman, Ky. 41822. You can also send him copies of the Hicks generations from Ohio and Floyd County. He can still correspond through the mail. You can also write me at P.O. Box 77, Rome City, Ind. 46784 and I can relay the information.
Today, the cell phone towers are not working and there is a cell phone problem. We are all so used to picking up the phone and calling or texting that the towers are causing a problem with communication. Can you imagine if the electricity should go out and you cannot use your computer either? What kind of chaos would that cause? How dependent do we become on the “electronics” of our lives, if you do use them? We are so used to convenience. As I said before, we will soon be required to have one, so go ahead and get started learning all you can!