Here is my last (I think) edition to the Thee story in pictures. If you recall, the three most mentioned places in the
letters to Thee were Robards, Petersburg, and Sebree. It took me years to get here, but I finally made it.I hope you enjoy touring Thee's old stomping grounds with me.
Debbie
 |
Fall Festival As we went along Hwy. 56, I got so excited coming up on Robards, our first stop! Stop is the operable word here because this sweet little town had a fire truck blocking the main highway through town with an open invitation to a fall festival/fundraiser! We were thrilled to get out and walk around and have a chance to chat with a few nice folks. |
 |
Robards Post Office We were fortunate to meet a nice lady in her 80's who had worked at the Robards post office for years. She took down my e-mail address, but I have yet to hear from her. Perhaps some day, I hope! |
|
Per this line from Cap Spencer, I wondered if Dr. Jim Davidson was an officer of the election in Robards or "The Burg" (Petersburg). Whichever it is, the spirit of yesterday certainly spoke to me in all of these places! Remember that Dr. Jim was Thee's Uncle! My last wife was Jim Ligon's daughter was raised there near Robards, Rich Ligon an old uncle used to live up around the Burg was no account except to kill booze, he got to rearing around there once at an election, drunk of course and your uncle Dr. Jim just reached out at the window and pulled Ligon on the inside of the room and gave him a genteel threshing, Dr. Jim was an Officer of the Election. Letter Two |
 |
Even though the festival had drawn to an end and the band had quit playing here in Robards, we were fortunate that they hadn't taken down their wonderful mural used as a backdrop until I'd had a chance to snap a photo. See the sign above the young man: Robards - "The Sanctified Town", which comes from Henderson native Lucy Furman's stories about Robards. |
 |
Old grocery store as depicted in the mural |
| Old grocery store as it stands today |
 |
If you recall, Cap Spencer mentioned the railroad in Letter Number Two: I believe Rube Walker is dead and Bob is blind, I eat dinner with him at Robards last July, Robards is a little town 5 mi north of Sebree on the Rail Road, Sebree is formerly Sulpher Springs and is about the best town in Webster County, that railroad was completed through to Nashville in 1869, Robards sprung up just north of what you knew as the Old Walk Eakins place. Letter Number Two |
 |
Here's a close-up of the old Grocery and Restaurant. Do you reckon this is where Cap Spencer had dinner with his friend in Robards? Sad to see the places had all closed… |
 |
And the tobacco fields grow in this beautiful area! This photo was taken between Robards heading south to Petersburg. |
 |
The Petersburg area may have been larger and more active in the past, but was so peaceful now. When you look out over the corn fields and over the surrounding hills, you have to recall that there was the drumbeat of war in this area. So much went on here, as Cap Spencer says again and again: Bill Thompkins married Walk Eakins widow. Big Jo Quinn gouged one of Tompkins eyes entirely out in a fight at Petersburg just before or in the first of the war, Robards is a public road crossing of the Rail Road three fourths of a mile north of the Eakin-Tompkins place, Big Jo Quinn has been dead several years, but old Uncle Jack his father is living 97 or 98 past I think. - Letter Two |
I have a history of the Partisan Rangers its called written by "Adam Johnson" and I was reading in it yesterday right on and on up to Sunday morning. The morning we all left Petersbug in the evening under Captain Garr, but Johnson's eyes were shot out at Grubbs Cross Roads in Caldwell County on that Sun. morning but Garr nor none of the company knew anything of it till Monday morning. We stayed at George Parkers Sun. night. Clayte McCarty hitched his gray pony in the fence corner rolled right over in the corn field and we never saw McCarty afterwards but you confiscated the gray pony and that furnished Lum Wise a horse instead of having to ride behind in the service as he had done from Petersburg to Parkers Sunday evening. That's no history but are facts as we knew them to occur. We were there wasn't we? Now you can see something about my memory even though you had forgotten those occurrences in 49 years, this will dig them up again, doesn't it. Letter One
|
 |
On to Sebree Sebree is a lovely old town just east of Petersburg on Hwy 56. The area became more progressive after the war, as this bank was established in 1890. |
 |
I don't know if the photo does this old bank justice. It was so lovely looking through this window. |
Sunset coming upon Sebree. As we watched a train coming right through the end of downtown, I recalled one more line from Cap Spencer to Thee:Lum Wise is living but the train run over him at or near Sebree and cut one ear. How was that for a close shave? Letter Two
I am impressed when reaching back to the past - In this little area of Kentucky, there were no trains, no cars - nothing but horses and buggies for folks to go back and forth to these towns or "Burgs". Kentucky was still in its infancy and the first real census came along in 1850 where Thee showed up in Daviess County. Names of towns changed, some towns sprung up and others disappeared, but the history and memories live on for us to enjoy over a century later.
I will insert one more paragraph from S. W. "Cap" Spencer, signing off to Thee for the last time, some forty-nine years after he had last seen Thee. The line about the "bottom rail" takes on more meaning as it is used in the closing of Ken Burns' Civil War series so it must have been a line used in the day:
From Letter Number ThreeThanks for the memories, Thee!
Such is life, the bottom rail gets on the top some times. Well if I don't stop we won't have anything to talk about sure enough when I get there if I ever do, but we can just talk the same old talk over and over again I guess, can't we? Excuse my mistakes
Your old friend
as ever
S. W. Spencer
Your Great Granddaughter
Debbie Mecca