Southern Crittenden County News: May 22, 2008

(Editor's Note: Look for this new news item in each week's issue of The Crittenden Press.)

Welcome to the first edition of Southern Crittenden News, co-authored by Michelle Henderson and Matthew T. Patton. Our intended coverage area will include Seven Springs, Caldwell Springs, Frances and Dycusburg (in other words, all of Southern Crittenden County). If you have news to share, e-mail michrehend@yahoo.com or matthewtpatton@yahoo.com or call Michelle at 988-2758. We both hope you enjoy reading this new column.

Vacation Bible School will be held at Seven Springs June 23-27. Following morning services at Seven Springs (79 in attendance) on May 18, a potluck fellowship dinner was enjoyed by all in attendance.Visitation to the Salem Springlake Nursing Home is every second and fourth Friday of each month at 10 a.m. The church bus leaves at 9:30 from Seven Springs. For a ride, call 965-3897.

We were thrilled to see June Shewcraft of near Frances admiring the many blooms on the big white snowball bush in her front yard, pictured in the last issue of the newspaper. We have many fond memories of June and her late husband Glenn as longtime, upstanding members of Seven Springs Missionary Baptist Church.

We are glad to have Rudy and Chase Matthews back from Washington, D.C. They had been up there since February while Chase was undergoing therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Josh, Star and Jacob Mahns; Jenny Patton and Aliyah Frutiger; and Rick Holsapple and Jamie Wood enjoyed Sunday afternoon fishing at the Patton farm. The "winner" of the afternoon was Josh Mahns who reeled in an 8 lb. bass.

The annual cemetery fundraiser fish fry was held at Dycusburg on Sunday, May 18. A large crowd was in attendance and enjoyed the bountiful spread. The phrase of the day seemed to be: "A lot more people showed up than I expected." This surely was due in part to the beautiful weather. Donations can be mailed to Faye Stinnett, P.O. Box 4, Dycusburg, KY 42037. The perpetual fund ensures the maintenance of the graveyard.

Dycusburg t-shirts will soon be available for the 4th of July. Keep an eye out for more information. The shirts are appropriate for the day, honoring the vets and troops.

Still running on adreneline from the May 3 cleaning at Dycusburg, an impromptu cleanup effort will take place on Saturday, May 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you weren't able to dispose of your unwanted items, this is a great chance to do so before the July 4 Veteran's Memorial Marker dedication at Dycusburg. As last time, a community yard sale will take place at the same time of the cleaning, located at 20 Hilltop Drive. Those interested can set up for free by notifying Michelle Henderson at 988-2758. The yard sale earlier this month was a success, so we encourage you to consider setting up a table or two.

Barbara Ethridge recently visited her nephew Matthew T. Patton for 11 days in Philadelphia.

We were saddened to hear of the death of Olin Rogers on Sunday morning.

The Dycusburg Community Group cookbook is planned for printing prior to Dycusburg Day on Oct. 11. We apologize if you previously submitted recipes, but the group underwent a recent change in leadership. We hope you will resubmit recipes to the group at dycusburg@yahoo.com or mail them to: Dycusburg Community Group, P.O. Box 112, Dycusburg, KY 42037. You will receive a confirmation of receipt as all recipes submitted will be included.

Second Clean-up Day a Huge Success!

The second clean-up day at Dycusburg, held May 24, was another success. Yet another dump truck was filled to the brim. Words cannot express our gratitude to everyone who took time out of their personal schedules to help clean the town. The Dycusburg Community Group has seen marked progress!

Check out this site soon for more photos of the clean-up day.

Obituary: Ruby Mae Richardson, 86

Ruby Mae Shewcraft Richardson

MADISONVILLE -- Ruby Mae Shewcraft Richardson, 86, Madisonville, formerly of Crittenden County, died Friday, April 25, 2008, at Ridgewood Terrace Nursing Home in Madisonville. She was a member of Grace Baptist Church in Madisonville and was a homemaker.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence and Hattie Holder Shewcraft; and her husband, James Richardson, who died in 1989.

Survivors include one son, Pastor Lawrence Richardson of Madisonville; one granddaughter; and two great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Seven Springs Baptist Church in Frances, Ky. Burial will be in Mapleview Cemetery in Marion, Ky.

Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Tomblinson Funeral Home Slaughters-Hanson Chapel and after 1 p.m. Sunday at the church.

Source: The Henderson Gleaner, April 26, 2008

A Second Free Dump Day!

It Went So Well … Let’s Do It Again!

A Second Free Dump Day for Dycusburg!
Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We’ve been granted another opportunity to get unwanted trash hauled off in time for the 4th of July VETERANS’ MEMORIAL MARKER dedication! A free dump truck will be in town to
take away your trash.*

If you need assistance with your cleanup efforts, please call 270-988-3004 or 988-2758. To volunteer to help your neighbors, please call 270-988-3004 or 988-2758.

*(Regular household garbage cannot be included; this pick up is for large items that the garbage truck normally would not pick up)

Recipe Resubmission

The Dycusburg Community Group cookbook, titled "Dycusburg Cooking: Past and Present" is planned for printing prior to Dycusburg Day on Oct. 11. We apologize if you previously submitted recipes, but the group underwent a recent change of hands.

We hope you will resubmit these to the group at dycusburg@yahoo.com or mail them to: Dycusburg Community Group, P.O. Box 112, Dycusburg, KY 42037. You will receive a confirmation of receipt as all recipes submitted will be included.

Dycusburg Boys (July 1963)

Brad Hunt shared this photo of some boys at the front of the Howard Grocery Store in Dycusburg in July 1963. From left: Joe Kinnis, Bobby Rushing, David Matthews, Steve Turley and unknown. Can anyone identify the boy on the far right? (Click photo for larger size). E-mail me at matthewtpatton@yahoo.com if you can.

Obituary: Virgil E. Travis, 65

BENTON, Ky. — Services for Virgil E. Travis, 65, of Benton will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 8, 2008, at Collier Funeral Home. The Revs. Robert Chandler, Richard Dowdy and Steve Seaford will officiate. Burial will be at Marshall County Memory Gardens.

Mr. Travis died Monday, May 5, 2008, at Marshall County Hospital.

He attended Brewers United Methodist Church. Mr. Travis owned Benton Auto Salvage and Wrecker in Marshall County for 22 years.

Surviving are his wife, Paula Beth Creason Travis; two daughters, Tammy Travis of Kuttawa and Amie Belcher and husband, Corey, of Benton; two sons, Chris Travis of Salem, Ind., and Jeff Travis of Benton; one brother, Gordon Travis and wife, Patsy, of Eddyville; three sisters, Shirley McCallister and husband, Carrol, of Princeton; Virginia Lee Jewel, of Dycusburg; and Lucille Bigham of Hobart, Ind.; and three grandchildren, Abigail Belcher, Tyler Belcher and Madison Travis.

He was preceded in death by one sister, Barbara Epperson. His parents were Elvin Travis and Gertie Henry Travis.

Friends may call after 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, 2008, at the funeral home.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Brewers United Methodist Church Building Fund, 7756 Brewers Highway, Benton, KY 42025.

Views of Dycusburg, Part 6: Front Hill (April 2008)

April 2008

Views of Dycusburg, Part 5: Masonic Lodge (March 1964)

Courtesy of Brad Hunt

Views of Dycusburg, Part 4: Looking Over Town (June 1988)

Courtesy of Brad Hunt

Views of Dycusburg, Part 3: Front Hill (February 1967)

Courtesy of Brad Hunt

Views of Dycusburg, Part 2: Front Hill (September 1961)

Courtesy of Brad Hunt

Views of Dycusburg: Front Hill (August 1959)

Courtesy of Brad Hunt

Cemetery Fundraiser Fish Fry Date Announced

A fish fry will be held May 18 at 1 p.m. at the Dycusburg Methodist Church to raise money for the Dycusburg Cemetery's perpetual care fund.

As you can imagine, with increased costs of mowing and decreasing interest rates, there's no better time than now to send your donations for the perpetual care of the cemetery.

Please mail donations to:
Dycusburg Cemetery
c/o Faye Stinnett
202 Stinnett Rd.
Fredonia, KY 42411

Clean Up Day a Huge Success

We received the following report from the Dycusburg Community Group's president, Michelle Henderson:

The clean up day at Dycusburg was a huge success. At the beginning of the day, volunteers from all over the area were in town to help load up the dump truck that was generously donated through the offices of Crittenden County Judge Executive Fred Brown with the assistance of Magistrate Greg West.

The dump truck was completely full by the end of the day after locals brought down their rubbish items. It's the beginning of what the Dycusburg Community Group (DCG) hopes is a twice-yearly effort (look for another clean up day in September in advance of October's Dycusburg Day Festival).

Please stay tuned to this site for upcoming events. The DCG is actively working on many future projects (a summer BBQ, a community cookbook, a souvenir historical keepsake book, a tree and flower-planting day ... to name a few), and we hope you will be involved. (E-mail us at dycusburg@yahoo.com for volunteer opportunities).

Change for the better at Dycusburg is in the air! We strongly feel that today's event was the beginning of some great things in our wonderful Cumberland River village. We extend a heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who volunteered their time, energy and love today. Dycusburg is a small town with a big heart.

Dycusburg Community Group Contact Info

The Dycusburg Community Group has secured a post office box at Dycusburg. The new address is:

Dycusburg Community Group
P.O. Box 112
Dycusburg, KY 42037

We are still in desperate need of donations for our Veteran's Memorial Marker at Dycusburg. If you'd like to make a donation, please send it to the address above. If you have questions, we also have a new e-mail address: dycusburg@yahoo.com. We look forward to hearing from you!