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History: Tragic deaths at Sulphur Well changed everything Kathleen Porter recalled the Sulphur Well family's successful restaurant startup and the tragic deaths that changed everything. The story of the founders of what today continues as the Lighthouse Restaurant, one of Kentucky's all time great dining destinations. Last previous repost on ColumbiaMagazine.com, 2009-02-07 "...Before that night would end father and son had lost their lives, as had seventeen-year-old Ricky Joe Jessee, the first one who attempted to reach the Porter men..." by Geniece Leftwich Marcum, 1995, Senior Quest Magazine #2 Kathleen Porter may not be as much in the spotlight today as she was a few years ago but she is still well remembered in this area as matriarch of Porter's Restaurant in Sulphur Well. Poor health forced her to retire from her business in the mid-seventies. She was all smiles recently as beautiful sunshiny weather allowed her to be out about town for a while. "It's a nice break after being shut up in the house through the winter months," she said. Kathleen cheerfully admits to being 80 years of age but says, "I'm still young at heart." Such a courageous attitude may have helped her overcome the hardships she has faced. There were happier times During our visit, she looked back on her life and remembered the highlights. Happier times included memories of her wedding date January 31, 1933 when she was married to Hershell Welby (Babe) Porter, then the birth of their only child, a son, named Duke Edwards Porter. The opening day of her very own restaurant and the births of their two granddaughters. The Porters made their living operating the family farm in the small community where they lived. Kathleen was very visible in the fields working alongside Babe and their strapping son, Duke. She could handle any chore that farming called for - from operating the tractor, baling hay or working in the tobacco crop throughout the year. Over the ensuing years, the family grew to include Duke's wife, the former Elcylue Beard, and later their daughters, Mary Helen and Jessica Lou. In addition to helping with farm projects, Duke's wife had completed her training as a beautician in 1968. She was now ready to open her own salon in Sulphur Well. In planning a building for this, Kathleen remembered Babe and Duke's comment that, "Mother will want to be there every day too," so they said they would make this new building large enough so she would have a place to sell hamburgers. This was how the restaurant came into being. The businesses opened, Elcylue in her salon on one side and Kathleen selling hamburgers to patrons on the other side. It became a busy place. As Kathleen served hamburgers to the public at noon, she also cooked a separate meal on the side for the Porter men and their workers. Farming gave this crew a real hearty appetite, especially Babe and Duke. So for these men she fixed things like country ham, hot biscuits, red eye gravy and vegetables which she served family style there in the restaurant. After a year, country ham was the specialty of restaurant People coming in to eat saw the men settling down to such mouth-watering fare as this and quickly lost their appetites for hamburgers. They all began clamoring to buy this same kind of food for themselves. So after about a year, Kathleen changed her menu. Country ham dinners were now the specialty of the house. The rest is history. Porter's Restaurant became a huge success with capacity crowds filling the place, especially on weekends. Long lines of hungry people reached out onto the porch at times, waiting without complaint for their turn to eat. The popularity of the restaurant and the family who operated it grew over the next several years. A delightful exercise in gluttony Hoards of satisfied diners continued to return again and again, often bringing groups of friends and relatives with them to experience what a well-stuffed patron once described as, "a delightful exercise in gluttony". Although the women ran the businesses, the men of the family enjoyed nothing more than coming in to the restaurant after their own work day was finished to mingle with the diners. Duke Porter at 38, was an unusual man. Standing well over six feet in height and tipping the scales at 230 pounds, he still seemed perfectly at home behind the counter. It wasn't unusual to find him cheerfully grilling burgers for customers or even waiting tables if he saw that all the waitresses were busy. Babe, on the other hand, was the elan man. He loved making personal stops at each table to get acquainted with new diners, finding out who they were and where they were from. He never tired of entertaining them with a local story or a joke. He also never missed a chance to chat with regulars as well, to catch up on current events and make sure they, too, felt at home. But in the brief span of an hour or so in time, all of this would change. In September of 1973 late on a Sunday afternoon tragedy struck a vicious blow to the Porter family and to the entire neighborhood. The shock which followed hit the rural community with such force that even more than 20 years later most residents can still remember just where they were and what they were doing at the time they heard the news. It began as such a simple thing. A line between the restaurant and a septic tank had become blocked on this busy Sunday afternoon and was causing problems inside the restaurant. As usual it was Duke who took charge of the situation, using a plumbers snake-type wire, he at first attempted to work through the tank's above ground opening to clear the troublesome line. When this failed, he lowered himself into the septic tank to work from the inside as he had done on other occasions. There was nothing to warn him that this time would be any different. But deadly methane and Sulphur gases had formed inside the tank and was thought to have been hovering near its floor. Before Duke could be aware of danger, it was too late Before Duke could have been aware of danger it was too late. He was overcome by the lethal fumes. Babe had stayed beside the tank's opening and no one knows for sure what took place for the two men were alone. But it was assumed that Babe heard or saw something which alerted him that his son was in trouble. Instinctively he went to his aid, only to be met with the same fate. Minutes later Elcylue walked out to the septic tank and when she received no response to her call, she looked inside and saw that both men had collapsed. A frantic call for help went out and was answered swiftly as area ambulances, rescue teams and fire departments rushed to the scene. Scores of friends and neighbors gathered in hopes they might be able to help. The evening became a nightmare which seemed unending as the distraught family waited. Before that night would end father and son had lost their lives, as had seventeen-year-old Ricky Joe Jessee, the first one who attempted to reach the Porter men. Before the enemy here was recognized several others who entered the tank were overcome by fumes also and had to be rushed to the hospital by the waiting ambulances. Among them were David Smith, Jamie Edwards, Maxie Caffee and Junior Jessee. There may have been others as well. Finally after covering his mouth and nose with several thicknesses of cloth, Tommy Scroggy was able to stay in the tank long enough to secure ropes about the men before having to be brought back to the surface himself. The Sulphur Well community was numb Kathleen Porter, her daughter-in-law and her granddaughters were devastated. The Sulphur Well community was numb. Their funerals were attended by hundreds of mourners. Later, commenting on their closeness, Elcylue said, "They were always together in everything they did in life, and it seems only fitting that they are together in death." Following the funerals the restaurant was closed for a time while Kathleen, Elcylue and fifteen year old Mary Helen struggled to get their shattered lives back into some kind of order.Jessica Lou at fifteen months was unable oblivious to the pain they had to handle. When the restaurant was finally reopened Kathleen remembers that crowds came in even greater numbers than before. Restaurant is now in hands of capable Ervin family Heart problems forced her retirement and the restaurant passed out of the Porter hands to Mitchell and Norma Ervin. It is now known as the Lighthouse. We might look to Kathleen to find courage in dark times. Besides the great loss of familiy she suffered, she has fought her way back from a heart attack, a broken hip and then a stroke from which she is still recovering. "I thank God daily that my memory was not affected," she said, able to deal with the physical problems that resulted. She sold her Sulphur Well property and now owns a home in Edmonton where she can be nearer Mary Helen. She manages her home with the help of Nina Thompson of whom she has become very fond. The other members of the Thompson family enjoy frequent visits so Kathaleen says she has adopted them as her extended family. Kathleen says, "I have wonderful neighbors and have everything I need, but I still miss home and sometimes I just have to go back for a while." More on Sulphur Well on ColumbiaMagazine.com:
This story was posted on 2014-05-11 02:39:53
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