| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Local history: High number of character sets Adair Co., KY apart at the Haig Bros. Circus at the AdairCo. Fairgrounds A Story Told by Ol' Joe Barbee Joe L. Barbee says that a higher number of characters is what sets thiscounty above all other places on earth. One of the characters who put Adair County on that high plateau waswas known as "Soldier" Jones. Coming of age, Joe says, Soldier Jones was his hero, though his idolwasn't promoted as such in Barbee circles. Quite the opposite. Infact, all his family members used to warn him, after his own youthfulescapades, Joe says., "You'd better watch it," They'd tell him. "Youkeep on, you're going to turn out just like Soldier Jones. Straightenup," they'd warn. Or he, Joe, might amount to nothing. But he got to noticing that the fellow his family always talked aboutat get togethers was Soldier Jones. It didn't seem like such a badthing to turn out that way, and he spent at least a little timethinking in that direction. When the shooting happened, the circus was in town As titled above, and to get back on track, this story is about thetime when Soldier Jones shot Judge Philetus Dunbar in the ass at theAdair County Fairgrounds. Haig Brothers Circus was in town, Ol' Joe says, and Soldier and somefellows sneaked into the fairgrounds and hid under the bleachers,planning to spread out later through the crowd and see the show forfree. Soldier and his friends were passing the time telling stories,drinking a little whisky, and playing with an Owl Head pistol. WhileSoldier had the gun, it accidentally went off, grazing Judge Dunbar,who was seated above in the bleachers, on his buttock. The police arrested all the boys and took them to jail, where theyspent the night. The next morning, Ol' Joe says, they were all hauled into thecourtroom to appear before the Judge, the same one who been woundedthe night before. They were all hung over, some nearly having the "DDT's." They weredishevelled, all in all a pretty scroungy looking lot after sleepingin their street clothes on a jail bunk all night.. The judge tried to maintain dignity, even though to wound to thebuttocks made his sitting skittish. One by one he looked at the miscreants and told them each how sorrythey were, what a great chance they had all had in life, how they haddisgraced their prominent families. He asked them each what they hadto say for themselves. They all stood there ashamed before the bar of justice, with Soldierfeeling lowest. When his turn came and the Judge got to Soldier, hesaid, "Now, Mr. Jones, what do you have to say foryourself?" Great tears were streaming down a contrite Soldier Jones face when heanswered. "Judge," he said, "it seems like anymore you can't have anyfun at all around here without somebody getting shot in theass." John Steinbeck wrote some pretty good stories. You just have towonder, though, how good he might have been if he'd lived in AdairCounty, and known fellows like Soldier Jones. And you wonder too, howmany Pulitzer prizes and Academy Awards Ol' Joe would have won if he'dturned into a writer, instead of turning out the way he has. -EW This story was posted on 2008-05-30 07:45:06
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. (AD) - Many Reunion organizing efforts are also advertised in our REUNIONS category in our CM Classifeds. These are posted at a very low cost. See RATES & TERMS More articles from topic Local History:
Larry Smith, boy radio announcer: The Corner Drug phase Genealogy: Ancestor fought with command of Robert E. Lee Feedback to Wants to hear from Burton-Bryant kin Feedback: Memories of Uncle Pete, Aunt Jane's store Feedback: Youngest Grandchild recalls Mr. McQueary at his store Feedback: Thanks to Jason Harmon for Pete McQueary picture Vignette from Christine, KY: Pete McQueary History note: Jesse James shot 126 years, 2 days ago Just About the Smartest Dog of All Times: Old Raymond Good news: Let us prepare the fatted country ham! View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
