GRACIE’S STORY

There was nothing like wilderness living in Kentucky.

Outhouse + cow + momma = frazzled momma

Log raft + boy + river = danger

Mountain Man + snow + slay = bad choice

Bad Indians + momma + girl = kidnapping

Momma + grandma + squirrel = biscuits & gravy

Rain + boy + momma = loblolly

Momma + gun + green eyes = chicken & dumplings

Gracie’s family left Virginia for homesteading in Kentucky. They were naïve

city slickers, but God sent angels to help them. The land had to be cleared

and a log cabin built. Through their strong faith in God and a lot of prayer

they staked out their homestead and helped to build a community. The

angels worked overtime keeping Bobby Joe out of trouble but sometimes they

just watched and laughed. The Mountain Men were the “bestest” angels God

sent them. Gracie was a feisty little girl almost six when they came. She was an

observer and wrote their experiences in her diary when she was nine. The places are

real. The last names are people living in the community and the charter members

of the church. The fi rst names are my children and grandchildren. The events are

fi ctional except for the building of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church which is still

there today.