Dycusburg Pace Slow, But Wonderful

Back from a recent visit to Dycusburg, I was reflecting about some of the great people who lived down there -- those who were true role models as I grew up. In fact, as I looked down at the swollen Cumberland River, I thought of this great piece that Mary Lou Griffin wrote about Dycusburg in 1969. I definitely miss many of the older, genuinely good folks who made Dycusburg what it was. For more excerpts, visit http://www.dycusburg.com/danecdotes.html.

Dycusburg Pace Slow, But Wonderful
Written by Mary Lou (Ramage) Griffin, March 1969

Dycusburg is the most colorful town one could imagine, I guess it is typical of all small towns, but I can hardly agree. It is a river town and once in a by gone era was a thriving, glamorous town typical of river towns. Once it boasted hotels, tobacco warehouses, saloons and all the colorful people that traveled by paddle wheel boats.

As all river towns had, it gained a rough reputation because of all sorts of people landing here. Now it is a sleepy little village where a river boat coming by is a source of interest. It never fails to fascinate me when a boat as coming by and I always pause to admire it as so many other people in our little town. I find myself being amused because the reputation that still hangs on.

These people in this town are the finest most heart warming that you could find and I know most of them like the back of my hand. I have lived in the city and those who are city dwellers miss a rich experience, when they cannot live in a small town. There are so many people I want to tell you about, maybe you would not find them interesting, but I find them completely fascinating. Dycusburg is infamous for having no law, and by that, of course, I mean no sheriff.

We manage to take care of our own, in this so-called "no man’s land." And never a more law-abiding bunch of citizens would you want to find.

The pace is slow, but that is wonderful, if you just want to sit on a stump and contemplate, watch a jaybird build a nest or just look up at the sky you do not feel ridiculous. I find it a heartwarming thing to walk out in the back yard early in the morning, especially in the summer, and just look at the trees, and listen to the birds, and occasionally a rabbit comes to nibble the clover back there. A person has missed much if he or she cannot enjoy the skyline at sunset. Did you ever take a fishing pole with a cork and just sit on the bank and relax? Try it sometime. The worms are a bit squirmy, but the overall thing is worth it, and if you get a bite–that’s an extra bonus.

The river flows right by, and you can sit on the bank and hear the music from the restaurant, and people talking on the store porch. The town consists of one store, one post office and one restaurant and grocery combined. Excitement is a thing that is craved because of the quiet. Sometimes we have too much on a Saturday night, when some young buck is a little more under the way, the expression, meaning, he has imbibed a little too much and wants to prove he is a man, meaning of course, he is very unsure, so he picks a fight or tries to.

You don’t have to walk in a hurry in Dycusburg, you can amble along at your own pace. To be unusual, you could walk fast, that would create comment because maybe something is wrong or something has happened which needs to be made known.

Somewhere in the vicinity, ambles an older man in high black overalls and rolling a Bull-Durham cigarette. He’s just part of the colorful scenery.

If you need a place to get away from the hustle and bustle I strongly recommend our little town. Come and see for yourself. I like it–you might too.