The hills where I call home

I was born and raised in the hills of southern Ohio, namely Ironton, which was named for its rich iron ore deposits. I'm proud to call myself a "hillbilly". To some people that name conjures up images of ignorant rednecks with missing teeth gathered 'round a moonshine still and shootin' their guns into the sky and I suppose there is some truth to that. My family has lived on the homestead that my great-grandfather Schaffer built in 1883 since that time. And in the era of Prohibition, my grandfather Charles Hart built and ran a moonshine still in the holler behind the barn and made good corn whiskey to sell to the local residents....that is until the "revenuers" found him out and busted it up. He was a scoundrel, my Grandpa Hart. But the majority of the people there are honest, God-fearing citizens who would give you the shirt off their backs if they knew you were in need. They value home and family and giving folks a fair shake in life. For the most part, they are educated and knowledgeable, and they love to have a good time.

Down there we call hollows "hollers" and children are "young-uns". Some people still say "worsh" for wash, but they don't worsh their clothes in the "crick" or the creek either.  There are colorful names for some of those hollers. There's Possum and Painter and Sawmill Hollers. Some of the names for roads would "peel your ears"...Hell's Creek and Pig's Trough (although some call it something worse...just replace that g and the apostrophe with an s). There are interesting names for the ridges that run along the tops of hills...Greasy Ridge and Tick Ridge. The villages in the surrounding area have names that suggest the founders might have been interested in foreign travel...Rome (where the Rome Beauty apple was developed), Arabia, Waterloo. One of the places where I called home for a few years was Aid, which was originally called Marion, but there was already a Marion, so they had to change it. Aid? Really? And, of course, some smart-aleck kid would always write "Kool" above it on the signs (usually my friend Sue Ann's brother Billy).

This Memorial Day marked the 142nd annual Ironton, Ohio, Memorial Day Parade, the nation's longest, continuously running Memorial Day parade. It began in 1868, only three years after the Civil War ended and the same year that the last day in May was set aside to honor veterans from that war. Of course, Memorial Day now honors all veterans from all the wars in which the United States has played a part. I can remember attending the parade when Ironton's last remaining World War I hero, Colonel William Lambert, marched in it.

(Ironton High School's Marching Band)

The parade is a very big deal in my hometown. It's a matter of civic pride and patriotism, and although the town now has a population of around 10,000 people, on Memorial Day the parade draws in an estimated 30,000 people from all over the state of Ohio and the surrounding tri-state area, which includes Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY. People start lining the parade route with lawn chairs at 6:00 a.m. that morning, even though the parade doesn't begin until 10:00. You are very fortunate if you happen to have a relative who lives on the parade route. Those lucky people who live there often find relatives who they didn't even know they had!

It's candy heaven for kids. Every volunteer fire department, city fire department, every police department throws candy from their vehicles. There are high school bands, cheerleaders, majorettes, prom queens, pageant winners, 4-H Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, horse clubs, dance schools, local dignitaries and county and city officials.

(My nephew Rick and his daughter, Madison. Taken by Melissa Koster Campbell.)

Long time participants are the Ashland, KY, El Hasa Shriners. You know about the Shriners, don't you? They dress up in fezes and Alladin and Pharaoh costumes and do funny dances with swords. They drive jalopies and beat-up hillbilly cars and wear hillbilly costumes with blacked-out teeth and funny hats and carry fake guns. They like to make fun of themselves, but they do a lot of serious business in fundraising for Shriner's Hospitals for Children which provide totally free care for children with orthopedic problems and severe burns. Two of my nephews, Rick and James Stamper, are members of this worthy organization and participate in the parade in the Hillbilly Kool Bus.

(My nephew James and his son Nicklaus. Taken by Melissa Koster Campbell.)

We didn't attend the parade this year even though we were home visiting my in-laws. We were pulling an open trailer and had our dog, Lucy, with us and didn't fancy trying to find a parking place and a shady spot for Lucy. We also weren't too keen on the idea of a three-hour long parade and another hour getting out of town on our way back home to Marysville. So, some of the pictures were borrowed from my almost-niece Missy and from a local newspaper, The Herald-Dispatch. But we did attend a few years ago. This picture collage is from ones taken in 1986.

Top left, Jaye's baseball team with his cousin Rick in the front right of the photo.

Top right, Jaye's Boy Scout troop with whom he chose to march. He's the one with his hand raised.

Bottom left, David's cousin Judy and her family with their team of draft horses.

Bottom right, Aimee and me.

Here's a video from YouTube, for your viewing pleasure.