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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... 
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JIM: The Wit & Wisdom of Adair County's Melvin L. White By JIM Adair County native Melvin White's long, loquacious, and and always entertaining letters, replete with pointed comments and wry observations greatly tempered with humor and self-effacement, frequently graced the pages of the Adair County News during the opening decades of the 20th century. Often as not, his barbed wit could have held it own with that of Adair County's most famous grandson of the shire. A missive he penned in his long-since adopted home of Larimore, No. Caro. on November 9, 1915 was published in the next week's edition of the paper. It contained several gems of the first water, among them the following examples: On the topic of enemies, friends, and forgiveness (or the lack thereof): "[A]ll the sophistry of moralists can not cause me to forgive an impenitent enemy. I could fight a man in sudden heat and make friends; but a deliberate and premeditated injury, the laws of neither God nor man can make me paliat [sic; palate?] or condone, the difference between me and some other people is that they claim to forgive and I don't." On the topic of being beholden (or not): Mention of his old chum Philip Voils led to Melvin to the recollection of an anecdote involving Philip's father, the then well-known and still well-remembered herbalist (or yerbalist, as those of his era called the profession), Dr. William Voils. It seems that the good Dr. wanted to buy three pigs of Oscar Pile, a prominent citizen of the community. After the pigs were caught and tied, Dr. Voils asked the price. Mr. Pile, knowing the doctor cobbled on the side, replied, "I'll not be hard on you. Just take the pigs along and I'll let you pay for them in shoe-making and mending. I like to encourage an enterprising man." Upon hearing that, Dr. Voils, employing his favorite by-word, heatedly replied, "Well rot take it, untie 'em. I'll pay you fur the pigs an' you pay me fur my work. Rot take it, I own no man, an' never intend to." On his failure to visit an old teacher during a recent trip to Kentucky, and a comment about himself: "It was with sincere regret that I failed to see Miss Sallie Stewart, one of my best teachers. She doubtless regards me as a poor exponent of her skill, but so far I have managed to escape the penitentiary and the poor house, which is some cause for celebration." On the futility of writing for the humorless (complete with a sly, whistling-past-the-graveyard-in-the-dark literary reference): "A joke never appeals to a man who regards a face long enough to wear a bridle as an evidence of exalted piety. Such people regard humor as a piece of sad news; and irony, metaphor, hyperbole and allegory strike them as relentless facts...For this class no writer can afford to waste his sweetness on the desert air." This story was posted on 2015-11-12 11:11:49
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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:
A brief sketch about Seth Wade, Jr. Mike Watson: Dunnville, KY was a village of bells in 1898 Tex Ritter survived perils at Swan Theatre, in Edmonton, KY Carl Howell, premier postcard collector at Hiestand House Sun 8 Nov 2015 McFarland Canterberry: portrayal Mon 26 Oct 2015, Silent City Frank Dickerson: Gordon Cabbell was school teacher at Pellyton Interested in talking with re-enactor playing Mr. Lewis Triplett Silent City is TODAY. If rain, the event will be at the library JIM: 100 years ago, mid October 1915 9th Annual Silent City Cemetery Tour Mon 26 Oct 2015 View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
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 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
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