Introduction

By Jim Phillips

© 2000/2001. All Rights Reserved.

You know, Wallins Creek was a great place to grow up. I was not born in Wallins. For that I am regretful. It would have been my personal choice to have been born and raised in Kentucky. But just as we don't choose our parents, we also don't choose the place of our birth. I came to live in Kentucky at age 3. My earliest recollections are of Kentucky. So I do consider myself a native Kentuckian, even if I am not by birth. Kentucky is in my blood.

There were so many things to do in Wallins. Most involved outside activities, as there wasn't a lot to do indoors. It wasn't like today where kids watch, perhaps too much TV or spend too much time playing video games. There was a whole lot of hard work to keep a boy busy when parents could corral him. It was also risky business to be a boy growing up in Wallins with so many ways to get hurt.

While I have been quite busy for many years working and raising a family, I have not thought a lot about the early years of my life. Now that I have the time, I have been thinking a lot about my boyhood years in Wallins ... memories have flooded my mind, even making it hard to sleep as they came in rapid succession. I have been privileged to experience a rich and full early life in small town America with a lot of bigger than life characters. This is a small town American-story experienced by many others. I plan to do my part in keeping these memories alive by writing about my recollections.

I am sharing these stories with the hope that others may be prompted to share their memories with loved ones. We need to pass on this rich heritage we have been blessed with. There are so many stories to tell and pass on for future generations. Unfortunately some of the details have become blurred. I wish that I had taken notes of conversations with friends and family about significant events. It would have helped to start this endeavor much earlier when recollections were more vivid, but alas, that is water under the bridge. So if I miss something, leave someone out or just get the facts a little wrong, please forgive me.

It has been a joy and a labor of love for me to re-live some of my memories. I hope it sparks some of your own.