Isn't Google Wonderful?

Isn't Google amazing?



You can find just about anything or anyone on that magic website. I looked up these images primarily to send to my youngest brother, Carl, in Atlanta, but decided to share them with whoever might be interested in seeing old photos.

The first one shows the Adkins clan at the coal camp known as Dehue in Logan County, WV. Judging from the looks of my Dad (back row, far right, kind of in a shadow) I would estimate this photo would have been made somewhere around 1939 - 1941. It shows my Grandfather, Caudle Adkins, Sr. (far left) holding the little girl. One of Dad's brothers (Buck) is next to Papaw and his only sister (Lola) is in front of Uncle Buck. I do not see the youngest son, Sammy, in this photo . Mamaw is in this picture, but since the resolution is poor, it's hard to see her. She is the third from the right in the third row. There are a couple of my Dad's aunts and several of their children in this picture as well.

My Papaw Adkins was a veteran of World War I. He died in 1959 from lung cancer that we believe was caused by injuries to his lungs from the war. He was stationed in France and was gassed by the Germans in the Argonne Forest. He had breathing troubles for the rest of his life. With his war injuries, and the "Black Lung" disease so common to coal miners, I guess it was somewhat of a miracle he lived to be 64 years old.

The second photo is from 1958. It shows my Dad (at right) with another minister, Rev. Roy Vance. Rev. Vance was the pastor of the Dehue Community Church and Dad, who had moved to Huntington, WV in 1952, was a well known evangelist in southwestern West Virginia. The occasion of the photo was the dedication of the Dehue Community Park. I remember being there for that dedication. I was almost 8 years old at the time.

The third picture is interesting, I think. It is the last known photo (that I am aware of) of my great grandmother, Rachel Lucas Adkins. This picture was probably taken around 1940. It shows Rachel standing along the railroad tracks, most likely behind her house at Dehue. She was a native of Lincoln County, WV but made her home with my grandfather and grandmother in later years. They had come to Dehue in the thriving coal fields to find work after the Great Depression. I never saw my great grandmother in person. From old photos circa 1915 she appeared to be a beautiful young woman. Rachel and her husband, Cumberland, had 6 daughters and 4 sons. My grandfather was the oldest.

Time, and 10 children, can certainly take it's toll!

Dad was always very close to his grand mother, Rachel. She made no bones about the fact that he "was her pick" (favorite). In a box of old pictures at Dad's house there is one of the most beautiful Valentine Cards that I have ever seen. It's really an elaborate thing with lace and a large satin heart on it. Dad had sent it to Grandma Adkins when he was in the Navy during World War II. They had plans that when the war was over and he came home, that he would find a place to live and she would come live with him. Sadly, she died before the war ended. She had kept the Valentine card in a box of her treasures and they gave it back to Dad when he came home. He still has it to this day.

Dehue was an interesting place. I wrote about it in a blog post back in August, 2007. The community no longer exists, but if you're interested in such things, there is a website created by Delores Riggs Davis, who was a neighbor and friend of my father's family. Her site has a treasure of information about Dehue and it's families, and Logan County in general. There are many old photos that bring back a flood of memories for me. A number of them show members of Dad's family including his aunts, uncles and cousins in the Adkins, Gostovich, and Kitchen families. If you would like to check it out, just click on the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/4478/era.htm

Thanks, Google, for a trip down memory lane!