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More Jamestown Street stories: Remembering Daddy's bravery MEMORIES OF JAMESTOWN HILL: Remembering how Daddy saved Annette and Fay, and Fay's life again at Green River. And the scary trip over Jamestown Hill, three-on-a-bike. Growing up the children of E.P. and Audrey Waggener and in the larger family which was the Jamestown Hill neighborhood in the mid-1900s. Photo, E.P. Waggener delivering mail on Rural Route 1, Columbia, KY, accompanies story By Jean Waggener Cravens It happened on Jamestown Street. When we lived at the foot of Jamestown Hill, Daddy saved Fay's and Annette's lives. It happened this way: Maybe some of you remember those steep wooden steps at the house which stood on the lot next to the ice cream store. It was our home in the 1930's. Later, it was the residence of Tom and Mary Catherine Brown and their daughter Judy. And after that, for a time it was the home of the Hartsell Hodges family. Anyway, the steps were steep and long enough that we could slide down them on cardboard boxes. This day the family had returned from visiting Knifley where we had visited Momma's people, the Chelfs. Daddy drove up into the yard and stopped at a point even with the porch. Mother and Daddy, Arthur, and I were standing on the porch. Annette and Fay were playing with paper dolls on the floor between the front and back seats of the car. As we stood there, the car starting rolling down the hill, gaining momentum as it went! The picture is burned in my mind of my daddy sailing through the air with his wide strides taking him over those steps in one flying leap, landing, and running after that car. The car gained ground ahead of Daddy as he tried to run beside it and open the door. He caught it, but not until the car had rolled across Jamestown Street. He brought the car to a stop about six inches from Mr. Johnson's garage door, which was across Jamestown Street from our house. In the car, Fay and Annette were still playing with their dolls, oblivious to the everything that had happened! Daddy saved Fay's life again Daddy saved Fay's life again. We were going "swimming"wading for Fay and me, neither of us could swim. We didn't get to go often. We always thought it was because the boys got to go swimming sans clothes or swim wear. This day was different. We could go! Barbara Jean Barger could swim well and she was going to take Fay across Green River to a big rock. She put Fay on her shoulders and off they went. Something went wrong and Fay slipped off. Daddy jumped in after her still wearing his seersucker suit with his watch and chain across his cheststill wearing his shoes. He swam out to Fay and brought her back. The watch he had on was the one that was passed on to the first Waggener male each generation. It was saved. Arthur had it for a while, but after his death, his widow sent it to Ed. I hope he gives it to his son, Pen, one day. We lived dangerously on Jamestown Street There must have been special angels looking over all of us who grew up on Jamestown Street. It was a happy neighborhood; we had fun, and the whole street was one big family. But we were a daring lot. If any of my great grandchildren were do the things we did, and I knew about it, I think it would cause a stroke on the spot. Everyone who lived on Jamestown Hill walked, ran, hopped, or skipped down Jamestown Hill. We rode tricycles, wagons, skates and even home made scooters made from scrap lumber and the parts from old roller skates taken apart. It was actually steeper then; the gradient must have become gentler when the highway department first widened the street. Some even rode bicycles over the hillbut I wonder how many others rode over the hill, on a bicycle, with three aboard? In 1940, Momma and Daddy bought the Strong Hill place on top of the Hilljust a little toward town from where the road to Russell Springs cuts off to the east. It was one house away from the city limit of that time. Arthur Lee was two years older than me and Helen Fay, two years younger. The three of us rode over Jamestown Hill. One time! This happened maybe 65 years ago. Arthur bribed Fay and me to help him deliver his newspapers by promising to give us a ride on his bicycle over the hill. Fay sat on the handle bars with her feet in the basket and I sat on the cross bar, with Arthur Lee in charge. Down the hill we went, starting at Miss Susan Miller's house (Jamestown and Miller Avenue now) to the bottom of the Town Hill and coasted up a little way, just past Ralph Willis' Pressing Shop, till we stopped. We must have gotten up to 40 or 50 miles an hour and I don't believe there would have been any way Arthur could have stopped the bike. None of us ever mentioned this, nor did we tell anyone else. But believe me when I say one time was enough! Fay and I had kept our eyes tightly closed so we can't remember if we met any traffic, or not. We survived growing up on Jamestown Hill, and riding down it. Fay and I both have reached our three score and ten, though Arthur Lee, Momma and Daddy's first born, died in 1972 while at Lackland Air Force Base. He and Momma had a special bond. They wrote to each other almost every day. When he was dying, though Momma had never been west of Bowling Green to my knowledge, she flew to San Antonio to be him. She stayed to the last. Arthur's was for my family one of too many deaths out of season, and Momma rarely failed to mention him in any conversation she had from the time of his death until the day she, herself, died in 1984. See also: Martha Barnes Martin's Memories of Jamestown Hill This story was posted on 2005-11-05 14:59:31
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More articles from topic Local History:
Can anyone help us establish a Kentucky link to Wilson J. Barbee Green River begins as a little spring just two counties to the east Plaques, Markers -Plaque at Greensburg hospital honors Adair Countian Search of magazine site finds more Tabernacle lore James-Younger book author Paul Saeli wants more Columbia information Frank Nell's memories of old Columbia: from Interview with Naomi Green Flying bottles provided dangerous Saturday night entertainment at SW LETTER from Cyrus: Observations on the Class of 1948 Columbia High School Class of 1948 a close-knit group CYRUS: Adair County history repeats in the two World Wars View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
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