By Charlotte Hicks Caudill
Next week Hindman High Class of 1971: The 8th and final installation in the series of my Hindman High graduating class will appear in next week’s column.
Laurel Fork – an enchanted place: I was invited to three family reunions and the Carr Creek Fish and Game Club fish fry so it was hard to decide, but on Saturday morning, May 24, I felt my heart leading me to Route 80 where Ted and I turned on Route 2029 and traveled down beautiful Laurel Fork Road where descendants of my Uncle George Hicks’ daughter Exie’s family were gathered near her homeplace.
It was a very rare moment captured in time as I met long lost cousins and found myself in the company of special people, and a bobtail kitten, a mountain cur dog, and our newly elected constable, Jessie Smith (and his wife Carolyn), who live nearby. I will always treasure the memories I made as the warm and loving family made my husband and me feel welcomed as we enjoyed shucky beans, green onions, fresh garden peas, crispy cornbread, beans cooked on new potatoes and a variety of delicious desserts.
Their hospitality was genuine and the atmosphere was filled with laughter and joy as everyone relaxed under the tall shade trees near two tents covering long picnic tables filled with food. The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky and the hills and trees seemed greener than anywhere else.
Exie had twelve children, Frankie (who married Will Handshoe), Raymond Robinson, Ronald Conley, Yvonne Myrtle Robinson, Gay Nell Handshoe, Ann Howard, Helen Donnaker, Hazel Brown, Steve Vanderpool, Clyde, Carlos and Betty. Years after Will died, Frankie married Arvel Hall.
Frankie married Will Handshoe. Their daughter Tina is married to Roger Bolen and she was at the reunion. They are big time horse people and have beautiful horses and a nice looking saddle mule. He is pastor of the Quicksand Pentecostal Church, which is in the former Upper Quicksand School building. Her brother Leroy and his wife Carolyn Fields Handshoe were there. Frankie and Will’s other children are Ed, Dennis and the late Claude Handshoe.
Helen was there with her family from Kendallville, Ind., Jennifer, Julie, Jim, Jase and Joseph.
Also there were Kevin and Goldie Mae Handshoe and their daughter Alexis live on Spurlock in Floyd County.
Others present included Andrew and Mary Conley Ousley (and daughter Taylor Tolson) and Verna Conley of Hueysville. Mary and Verna are Ronald’s daughters. Hazel was there with her children Joe and Junior Brown.
Gay Nell is married to Buford Handshoe. Their son is Buford Lynn Handshoe. Their daughter Barb and her husband Homer Terry and their son Will Tyler Terry live near the field where the reunion is held.
The oldest person present was Effie Hughes, daughter of Charlie Vanderpool and Exie’s stepdaughter. She is 91 years old and lives on Stephens Branch in Martin.
Please forgive me if I have muddled names or omitted any. It was a wonderful day for Ted and me.
The dog is the photo is not a mountain cur. That’s some kind of lap dog. Will Terry’s mountain cur reminded me of a chocolate lab, but stronger and sturdier. This is a description of mountain curs from the Original Mountain Cur Breeders Association website, “Mountain curs are the pioneer dogs of the Southern Mountains. It has been said that without mountain curs the Southern Mountains could not have been settled by the pioneers. Mountain curs were a necessity for the frontier family. They guarded the family against wild animals and other dangers and caught, treed and holed animals for the family food. When pioneers moved to a new home, baskets were slung across the back of pack animals and the puppies rode or family members carried the valuable puppies.”
Hernando DeSoto and other Spanish explorers brought Mountain Curs from Spain. The descendants of those dogs were adopted by settlers when they moved into the south and the Mississippi Valley. About half of them are born bob-tailed.
That’s the mouse’s tale.
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