(Due to its length, this interesting tale has been divided into 6 parts. A link to the next part of the series is displayed at the bottom of each installment.)

On May 29, 1870, at a country post office in West Virginia named Looneyville, in honor of the family at who's house the post office was kept, was born the subject of this account. This post office was ten miles out of Spencer, the County Seat of Roane County. My parents were of the old Virginia Aristocratic Stock. Joseph Thompson Kelly, my father, was the son of Peter C. and Mary Woodside Kelley and was the owner of many slaves. Mary Catharine (Creigh) Kelly was the daughter of John and Delilah (McLung) Creigh. They were also the owners of many slaves. it is my opinion that both were brought up without being thrown on their own responsibility and without being taught how to make a living when thrown on their own responsibilities. It seems to me, looking back on the life at home, that the greatest asset possessed by my parents was that my mother was a lady in every respect and to this day she is spoken of as such by those who knew her intimately. Possessing a good character and a good name were to her the high points in anyone's life. My father was of the same school as my mother so far as prizing was, as polished a gentlemen as was my mother a lady. Father was the sole of honor and a very jolly agreeable man. They both always gave me good advice and instructed me to always be truthful and honorable in the discharge of my duties.

By David Hedges, PUBLISHER

A Roane County native who became the most decorated woman in U.S. military history has passed away at a nursing facility in Kentucky.

Col. Ruby Bradley was 94.

As has been said before, a teacher had to chastise a pupil just as a parent would in case he did not obey when he was told to. Most of the larger pupils chewed tobacco and I said nothing about it until one day I saw them chewing in the school hours. I asked them not to chew tobacco in school hours but they could chew outside on the playgrounds. After recess one afternoon, a young man seventeen years old sat chewing tobacco and spitting through a hole in the floor at his feet. This boy's name was Sam Justice, a relative of Louis King a giant of a man and the best educated of any of the board of trustees. He was also a very dangerous man as he had shot one of his neighbors recently and just barely missed killing him. This neighbor was also a dangerous man as he had killed another man and he was not afraid of anyone. This boy was, as I have said, chewing and spitting and when I said to him "Sam, throw your tobacco away until you get out and then chew." He paid no attention to me and chewed and spat right along, paying no attention to what I said. I sent out and got two or three switches and wore them out on him but he never did throw the tobacco out of his mouth. I dismissed that evening and went to my boarding place. The next morning I took my dinner pail and started for school. It was a foggy morning and as I neared the school building, I saw the young man whom I had thrashed and his older and larger brother coming to meet me. The older brother, walking with a green cane of good size for a club, and I was about to pass and I spoke saying good morning, whereupon, without saying a word, he brought the stick overhanded aiming to strike my hand. I was too quick for him, letting go of my dinner pail, I ran in under the stick and it only struck me a light blow on the shoulder. I grabbed the man (Bob Justice) and forced him down the rough bank of the road into a fence corner and, grabbing a rail with each hand, held him in the corner and asked him just what he meant by acting that way. His answer was a question. "What did you whip my brother for yesterday?" I said "Bob, if you will be quiet, I will tell you and I believe you will agree that he should have had a whipping." Instead of saying he would listen, he demanded in a very rough manner if I would ever do it again. My answer was "yes, if he needed it" and I threw him from me and we had it fist and scull up into the road and I secured his walking stick and we were striking at one another until I got a stroke in at the base of his neck and almost floored him. He said, "I want to quit now and do not want you to strike me again." I stepped back and picked up the cane and said "I ought to kill you, you damned son of a bitch eater and I will do so if you even make a pass at me." He did not and went off down the road with his brother.

There is one other incident I wish to relate that occurred in the first term I taught there and that is the incident of Vilda (Savilda) Moore, a grown woman and as strong as the ordinary man. The teacher who taught the school the year before had trouble with her and she shook her fist under his nose and cursed him roundly and he could do nothing about it. When I went there to teach I, of course, heard of it but I never thought she would come to my school. On the first day of school some big young woman came into the school room with a bucket of water for the children to drink and after she left I asked who that woman was and they said "that is Vilda Moore and she is going to start to school tomorrow". I did not faint but I felt like it. Sure enough, she came to school next day and I had steeled myself against for fear of her as best I could and had determined not to let her know that I feared her. She was nearly half again as large as I was and had powerful muscles. I started in with her just as I would a child and treated her very kindly and she seemed to be susceptible to kindness. About the second day she came to school and about four o'clock in the afternoon, just as I was nearly ready to dismiss for the day, the whole school was disturbed by the screaming of a woman and this Vilda began to cry. I asked her what was the matter and she replied between sobs that Pa was whipping Ma and we could hear her screams plainly as they lived just out of sight of the schoolhouse. I sympathized with her. She finally got up and left the room which was strictly forbidden by me. I found her out at the side of the house crying and I said "Vilda, you must return to the school room" and she obeyed me. I talked very kindly to her.

My cousin was an adventist preacher but he was as jolly as anyone could be and many is the good laugh he and I had. On the way back, it came noon and dinner time and we were going to pass a country store that was owned and run by a friend of Hershberger. He said to me that we would stop there for dinner. said it would be alright with me except that if he is running a store, he is likely to be very busy and maybe his wife also. He replied that it would be alright he knew. So we rode into the store and met Mr. Thompson McGraw, the owner, and he immediately sent us over to the house for dinner. When we went in, there was a very long table set and it was full of guests who were the store customers. I felt that it was an imposition on the folks and mentioned it to Hershberger and said maybe we should go further on. He said it was alright so we stayed and when I wanted to pay for my dinner, it raised quite a stir and the man almost became indignant at the idea. I asked him if those were all customers of the store and he said all that were eating were. I remarked that it seemed to me they would eat up all the profit. He replied that any customer at the store was welcome at the table and all his friends also. I said no more.