Greetings all and a continuous wish for health and prosperity to you and yours.
Hope this Internet Web Page finds your day going well and that tomorrow will be even
better. Have some "Inside" time as the weather outside is not that great. It is even
trying to snow with a snowflake or two being spotted. Now, this gives me some "Keyboard"
time. Will get the old fingers moving and in tune with the old brain and try to type
out something that makes sense. Just hope that it will be worth reading and that there
will be a few that will stay tuned until the end. Hope to give each reader a chance
to go back in time to a more tranquil and peaceful time, namely the late thirties.
I have not researched any of this material and all of it is just what I recall being
told. Will get a few names and dates incorrect and feel free to come on back at me
to inform me of such. I will probably leave out some pertinent parts and maybe even
a name of two. Have tolerance with me here and correct me if you so desire.
Please remember that pictures that were taken back in the thirties, for the most part,
were not the best of quality. Also, be advised that any picture that I will use will
have to be scanned and converted to a digital image, thus some quality will be lost
in this process.
It does not look like much, does it? The picture, above, is an old photograph, taken
almost seventy years ago. It was copied and then the copy was copied and then I changed
it to a digital image. Let me see if I can make some sense of it. The black "Glob" in
the middle is the old Rockport Ferry. You can even see some water below the ferry. On
the left is the "Right Bank" of the Green River at Rockport, and where US Hwy. 62 met
the ferry. You can pick out a man tying off the ferry so that the cars can be offloaded.
Well, where is the River? In the background and on the right is the river. It is frozen
over. Ice is continually being broken, for a path, so that the ferry can still run.
Picture appears to have been taken from the Railroad Bridge. Ah, now the situation
may look a little better. More pictures to follow with an explanation at I see it.
Maybe it's true that life begins at
fifty.
But everything else starts to
wear out, fall out, or spread out.
Would you look at this? Notice the two black lines in the center of the picture.
That is tire marks from automobile tires that have left the ferry and heading into
Rockport and maybe on to Beaver Dam and Louisville. Notice the I C Railroad Bridge
on the left. The photographer is probably on the Muhlenberg County side of the river,
either on the bank or on the river ice with the camera pointed toward Rockport. Look
to the left and toward the front of the ferry. It looks like a black Ford and maybe a
1937 model. Yes, of all colors, it appears to be black. Picture was taken in 1939.
To the right and upriver is the Green River that is frozen over and I am thinking to a
depth of some seventeen inches or more.
More pictures to follow. I am thinking that most all of the pictures in this web page
were taken in 1939. I have made note of those that I think were taken in 1940. Again,
trying to take a picture, even now days, of a subject with a white background is a
difficult manner. The "White" tends to fool the camera lens and the results, for an
amateur photographer, are not the best of quality. My hat is off the person/persons
that took these pictures.......
~jrd........~
Again, this picture would be difficult to make out unless you had some prior experience.
Now, with your experience, I am sure that you see a ferry just to the right of center.
The object just upriver from the ferry may be a "Spare" ferry. I am just guessing,
but it was not unheard of for the "Ferry Operator" to have a spare. The machinery, in
those days, was not very reliable and required lots of maintenance. I am thinking that
it is in the process of offloading his cargo to the Muhlenberg County side of the Green
River. Again, notice the black lines in the snow where traffic, and maybe with the help
of the ferryman, have a path through the snow. Now, how would you like to drive a 1936
Ford up that hill. Picture was probably taken from the railroad bridge and view is
looking at the "Old Ferry Road" on the Muhlenberg side of the river.
Coming if for a landing!
With the old ferry loaded, it appears to be coming in for a landing and for off loading.
I would not venture to try to name the two men on the front of the ferry. Try if
you like! The person on the right could possibly be a woman and maybe the driver
of one of the automobiles. There seems to be a third man behind the man on the left.
He may be the ferry operator. At one time Chester Williams owned and operated the
ferry. My grandfather worked on the ferry during the winter of 1939-40 and one of the
men may be him. One may be Chester Williams. Others also worked for the ferry.
I am going to make a wild guess and I am mostly confident that the woman is Gladys
Boyd and that the man on her right is Sam Durham. Again, I would not be surprised if
the cameraman was not Homer Boyd, Gladys' husband.
It appears that Green River is completely
frozen over at this point and the ferry does not have a path to operate. The "Trail"
seems to be open on the Rockport side for automobile traffic. Where is the ferry. I
would venture to say that the ferry is on the Muhlenberg County side and maybe has
paused for a "Picture Taking" session. Suspect that a path still exists for the ferry
operation. It may just be hid due to the position of the camera operator. Would you
care to try an place a name on the person standing on the river ice. I have no idea.
This picture is from the George Boyd collection and it is a picture of his mother
and of the ferry operator, William Oscar Hendricks. Gladys Everly Boyd and William
appear to be on the Ohio County side of the river with the person taking the picture
looking toward the Muhlenberg County side. The ferry is in the background to the
right and looks like it is tied up on the Muhlenberg County side.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs
should relax and get used to the idea.
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Fred and Ruth Heflin.
Good picture of Fred and Ruth. This picture was identified as taken in 1940. Thanks
to the photographer and he/she remains unknown. Any additional information on this
web page would be appreciated.
Another picture from the Boyd collection and he has identified this person as Don
Carl Everly. Don appears to be a teenager and he has ridden his bike out on the
ice. Notice that "Kick Stand" on his bicycle. It is connected to the rear axle
and in the operational position or parallel to the ice in this case. If he wanted
to park his bike, he would just give the "Kick Stand" a push with his foot and the
bike could be supported in the upright position. You don't see those on our modern
bikes. The bike riders of today would just dismount and turn the bicycle loose allowing
to fall to the ground. I wish that they would bring back kick stands.
Thanks for looking.
See you.......
jrd
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