Fact Book

Here is my column and a list of towns/communites will be at the end.

We live on a little sliver of land on a gigantic planet. We live on a planet in a solar system in a galaxy and a universe that makes our little sliver of land like a single grain of sand on a beach a million miles long.

Datgumit, we might only cling to a wee bit of land, but it is our land. We should be proud and we should celebrate Todd County.
And only those who have the soul of tomorrow, who live in today and possess the knowledge of Todd County’s past can help us.

We need your assistance in a most Herculean task.

—

Did that seem a little melodramatic?

Good. That’s what I was going for …

Not to be too dramatic, but we are gearing up for something that hasn’t been done in several years in Todd County — we are looking to put together a (mostly) fact book.

And as our mascot, Uncle (Toby) Standard might say, “We need you, the reader, to help us.”

As we started planning for a book about all things Todd County we ran into a most daunting task. How are we going to write a comprehensive (or heck, any) history about such places as Crafts Store, Darnell, Anderson, Everett and Wilhelmina?

For that matter how do we best tell the story of places like Tyewhoppety, Pea Ridge and Bradshaw?

We know what the history books, like Former Historian Marion Williams’ excellent look at Todd County, tell us, but what about the tales and folklore that have been passed down from the people who have lived in the area for generations?

The answer finally came to me like indigestion after an extra-large burrito with a heap of guacamole: Why don’t we let the people tell us what we might not discover in two lifetimes.

We took our list from a map which ran nearly a decade ago in a community book spearheaded by former Standard Publisher Evelyn Boone. The map is perhaps the most accurate overview of the communities in Todd County.

That still doesn’t mean we didn’t miss a place or two so feel free to drop us a line if we missed a place.
What we need from you, dear reader, is your story. We don’t need a novel, but something short, unique and about some of the places on our list.

Also in the (mostly) fact book there will be basic information about Todd County. There will be demographic information, a look at industry, infrastructure, government, agriculture and other basics of life here in the book as well.

Those are solid facts we can handle, the (mostly) part is going to be the “stories” you have that can’t be proven but are no less important to the project.

The fact book will be printed and mailed out in the first part of June to every postal customer in Todd County.

We will also make available extra copies to the county, cities, tourism and the industrial foundation.

Mostly, though, we want to share Todd County with you and with those who might move into our community. We want to give them a sense of place.

That’s why we encourage your participation. If you are uncomfortable with writing something about a place in Todd County then stop by the office and we’ll interview you.

Maybe you don’t know the history of where you live or grew up but would like to tell what it was like to live/grow up in places like Stringtown Road or Claymour?

We need the info, you have it and we feel if we can pull this off our (mostly) fact book might be something special.
So give us a call, drop a letter, drop in the office or slap your words in an E-mail and let’s get going.

Also, if anyone, and I do mean anyone has any old pictures that you think might be of interest, please feel free to drop by with them.

It is time for us to tell our story.

Here is the list:

Allegre and Pilot Rock Allensville Claymour
Clifty and Tyewhoppety Daysville Elkton
Sharon Grove Kirkmansville Trenton
Fairview and Britmart Guthrie and Tiny Town

Here is a rundown of the small places, some which no longer exist:
Crafts Store Ashbury Whippoorwill
Mt. Tabor Mt. Vernon Tabernacle
Antioch Mt. Sharon Tress Shop
Cedar Grove Everett Hermon
Liberty Bethel Anderson
Pea Ridge Wilhelmina Bradshaw
Tress Shop Pinchem Hadensville
Hammacksville Darnell


Posted By Ryan