Individual Details
James David Tate
(May 10, 1926 - October 2, 2006)
My name is James David Tate and I was born May 10, 1926. I was the ninth child and fifth son of Maude Poer and Ovaton Augustus Tate. I was born in a log house that belonged to my dad's uncle, Jim Rayburn, whom had died just before I was born. The James part of my name was after Uncle Jim and David was chosen by my mother from the Bible. My mother was "the rock" on which my family was built. The Bible says, "build your house on a solid rock and it will not fall." My mother, Maude Poer Tate was that rock. Our home was located below Red House and above Boonesboro in Madison County, Kentucky. It was fifty yards from highway #227, one hundred yards from Otter Creek and about three hundred yards from the tracks of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The log house consisted of four large rooms, two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. In the center of the four rooms was a large stone chimney with a fireplace on each side but we usually used only one fireplace. A lean-to was on the back of the house and served as our kitchen and d ining room. I slept in one of the rooms upstairs and many times in the winter, I have awakened to find snow on my quilts. I could lie in my bed and look at the stars through the holes in the roof. My mother placed buckets around the house to catch the rain coming through the roof.
"I remember when I was four years old and I was in the kitchen with my mother, father and sister, Ann. My mother was getting breakfast and my dad was trying to help. Ann was kneeling down by the table putting my shoes on me. My dad grabbed a pan out of the oven that he thought was holding biscuits; however, the pan actually had hot grease in it where mother was rendering meat skins. The hot grease spilled on dad's hand and he dropped the pan. The hot grease spilled down my right shoulder, my right arm, my right side and my right knee.
"I remember the death of my fourteen year old sister, Edna, and my mother's sadness and how she cried at the grave site at the Embry Cemetery at Red House in Madison County, Kentucky. My whole family, with the exception of Gordon and mother, had contacted typhoid fever from our well. Gordon was married and was not living at home at the time. Dad had drilled the well in the backyard and didn't realize that the bottom of our well was on the same level as the creek. The branch in the hollow ran down beside the house where the well had been drilled. Our toilet or outhouse was on the bank of the hollow. When we had the branch would overflow its banks and 'clean out' or 'flush' our toilet. This is how we got the typhoid germ from the overflow of the creek that seeped into our well. The Health Department then treated and sealed the well to keep the water in the well safe to drink. I was more fortunate than my brothers and sisters, as I was the youngest in the family, and mom and dad had settled in one place. My family had moved at least ten or eleven times throughout Madison County. My older brothers said that they moved so much that when they would go to the chicken house, "the chickens would lay down and cross their feet, getting ready for the move."
"There were three main influences in my life. The first influence was the woods on the hillside behind the house and the hollow and branch that ran beside our house. The second influence was Otter Creek that ran in front of our house. The third influence was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks that were across the creek from our house. The hill and woods behind our house started at Stony Run road and was solid woods for over a mile. It was made up of oak, ash, walnut, hickory and maple trees. These woods provided us with fuel for our meals fuel for heat in the winter. This is where I squirrel hunted, trapped possum, polecat, and an occasional Minks or weasel. I would skin, stretch and sell their pelts at Kennedy Produce and use the money to buy my school clothes. One day I decided to take sap from one of the maple trees to make maple syrup. I drilled a hole in the tree, inserted a hollow cane and left it set up for about a week. I got about a gallon of sap and talked mother into cooking the sap down. We ended up with less than a pint of maple syrup. I decided that was too much trouble and I never tried that again.
"The second greatest influence was Otter Creek that ran in front of our house. It is my understanding that Otter Creek ran under Zaring's Mill on Main Street in Richmond, Kentucky and emptied into the Kentucky River where Daniel Boone founded the site of Fort Boonesboro. I have no idea how Otter Creek got its name. I never knew anyone that ever saw nor did I ever see an 'otter' in Otter Creek. The creek provided us with water for washing clothes and taking baths. It provided us with fish, turtles and frogs to eat. It supplied us with the best small bass fish of any creek in the country. The creek was made up of holes and riffles. Some of the holes were eight feet deep. Today, you can't find a hole three feet deep. Each hole in the creek had a name given by different fishermen over the years. Starting at the Stony Run area was the Ledge Hole, the Round Hole or the Swimming Hole in front of our house, the Bridge Hole at the railroad bridge and the Long Hole that ran almost to Shearer Station. Even though my family got typhoid fever from this creek, it was a recreational place for all the family. We would swim in the water then dive from the bridge abutment at the Bridge Hole where I broke my collarbone. I never let my dad know about my collarbone and I suffered quite awhile and the knot is still on my collarbone. In the heat of the summer, when we finished picking blackberries, mother would give me a bar of lye soap and send me to the Swimming Hole to get rid of the chiggers.
"The third greatest influence was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. At that time the railroad had two tracks. One track was for the trains going south and the other track was for the trains going north. The southbound train came from Covington, Kentucky and was always empty. It wou ld go to Corbin, Kentucky where there was a round house and the train was loaded with coal. The southbound train turned around and headed back north to Covington. The northbound trains carried all kinds of coal, large block, small block and slack coal. Sometimes the coal would fall off as the trains passed and occasionally we would walk the tracks and pick up the fallen coal to mix with our firewood for the cooking stove. Occasionally, a train going north would stop and some of us have been known to lighten their load by throwing off a few blocks of coal (without mother's knowledge).
"Mother had two brothers that lived in Covington and worked for the railroad. Uncle Sherman Poer was a brakeman and uncle Charlie Poer was an engineer. Each one would make a run to Corbin by our house at least once a week. Uncle Charlie would blow the whistle of the train to let us know th at he was passing by and it was a way to say hello. When uncle Charlie passed by our house at night and blew the whistle, Mother would grab a coal-oil lamp and head to the front porch. She would wave the lamp back and forth to signal hello to uncle Charlie. We used railroad ties that had been discarded from the railroad track for posts. We got lead from torpedoes (which were placed on the rails of the railroad to warn an oncoming train that another train was stopped on the track.) The lead was about two inches long and one-half of an inch wide and we used these for sinkers on our fishing line.
"The L & N also furnished employment for our community. I knew most of the men that worked on the section gang that kept the tracks in good condition. My sister's husband, Tom Hackworth, worked on the section gang and later became a brakeman. The trains also served as a good timepiece. Everyone did not own a watch, but we knew that a passenger train went south about six o'clock in the morning, this could wake you up just like an alarm clock. A passenger train went south at eleven thirty in the morning, this was about lunch time. A passenger train went north at about twelve thirty in the afternoon, this meant lunch hour was over. A passenger train went north at six in the evening, this meant time to go home. There was a sidetrack near Shearer Station where the L & N would leave empty rail cars to be picked up as needed. The wheels of all the railroad cars were oiled by oil soaked cotton strings. These oil soaked strings were placed in metal boxes over the axle of the train. We would remove some of these oil soaked cotton strings from different railroad cars. We had a wire basket with a handle and we would put the oil soaked strings in the wire basket. We used the basket filled with string to burn as our light to gig for fish in Otter Creek.
"From the last of March to the middle of April, fish would come up from the river into Otter Creek to spawn. They were mostly rough fish but every year we waited for them. They tasted as good as any fish that I have ever eaten if you could avoid the bones. If you got a bone stuck in your throat, just take a big bite of corn bread and it will go on down.
"Our closest and best neighbors were an Afro American family by the name of Shearer. We called Mrs. Shearer, "Aunt Lizzie" and her husband, "Uncle Jack." They had two boys, Chenault and Jimmy. Uncle Jack and Aunt Lizzie were quite elderly as I was growing up but I knew Aunt Lizzie was the mid-wife of our area. I knew that she either delivered or helped deliver some of my older sisters and brothers if the doctor did not make it in time. Aunt Lizzie was a great lady and everyone respected her. There was a story told about Aunt Lizzie and according to the story, Aunt Lizzie was going to the hen house to gather eggs, and as she passed the woodpile she saw their old hound dog lying asleep. When she got to the hen house there were no eggs, only egg shells. The hound dog had sucked the eggs. On the way back to the house, she picked up the chopping axe from the woodpile and as she took care of the old hound dog, she said, "sleep on." Chenault was a great friend and neighbor as was Jimmy but Jimmy was older and lived farther down the road near my brother, Dillard, close to Shearer Station. Another close neighbor was Melvin and Clara Warner that owned a farm near Shearer Station. My very first job was setting and chopping tobacco and working in hay for Melvin Warner. I started at fifty cents a day and moved up to one dollar and fifty cents a day. Another close neighbor was John and Fairy Christopher. They owned a farm across the creek from us and when the grass at our place was about gone, Mr. Christopher, would let our cow graze on his farm. I worked for Mr. Christopher several times but one time I worked for him seven days f or a Winchester 22 rifle, which I still have in my possession. I doubt if a truck could haul the squirrels that I have killed with that rifle.
"By my early teens, all my brothers and sisters had married and started their own families. Mother and I would walk to visit them in their different locations around Madison County, Kentucky. We would leave home on a Friday afternoon; walk about one-fourth of a mile below Shearer Station; up Bell Jones hollow; up a hill to Tom and Ann's (my older sister) place on the David William's farm near Comb's Ferry road. After spending some time with them; we would go across the road (#388 at t he time) onto Bill House's farm and down a hollow to Charlie and June's place (another sister). They were tenant farmers for Bill House at the time. We would spend the night with them and the next morning we would head out again. We went down a beautiful valley about one-fourth of a mile, then up a hill onto Callaway Creek to see Paul and Lucy (my brother). They were tenant farmers on Starlin McKinney's farm. We would spend Saturday night with them. After dinner, we would start back toward home. On the way back home, we would stop and spend some time with Charlie and June and Tom and Ann. We would be back home around suppertime on Sunday night. It was on those trips that mother told me about the different trees, flowers, weeds, birds and animals. Mother was an expert on nature and all of God's creation.
"I attended three different schools. I couldn't attend (what should have been) my first year of school because of typhoid fever. I attended Boggs School House for my first five years of school. The school was located on top of a hill that went into Happy Hollow. Me and my sister, Deanie, walked about three miles to school. We walked up the hollow; across the Donaldson farm to the Happy Hollow road; and about another mile down the road to the Boggs School House. I had finished the fifth grade just before the Boggs School House was closed. I went to Red House School for my sixth, seventh and eighth grades. I got to ride the school bus to school. I played on the basketball team. In my freshman, sophomore and junior years, I attended Central High School. Then I joined the U.S. Navy.
"On December 7, 1941, mother and I were at Dillard (my brother) and Rhoda 's place on the Jim L. Hisle's farm located on the Happy Hollow road. We were listening to Dillard's battery operated radio when we heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. As we were walking back home, mother made the statement that this was a bad war with Germany and Japan and it could last long enough to involve me and, sure enough, it did. I was fifteen years old at the time. It was a little over two years later that I joined the United States Navy. I was sworn in at Louisville, Kentucky and sent to Sampson, New York for boot camp. After boot camp, I went to Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania for radio training. After radio training, I was assigned to the destroyer, DD878, The Vesale, for a shakedown cruise to Quantanimo, Cuba. We went through the Panama Canal and to Pearl Harbor where we were assigned to escort an aircraft carrier, The Boxer. We were in maneuvers from Saipan, Guam, Midway, Iwo Jima and later in the battle zone at Okinawa. We never were involved in actual combat but remained in the area until the atom bomb was used at Nagasaki and Hiroshima that ended the war in August of 1945. I remained with my ship in and around Japan, as the occupation force, for six months. I was sent home with my discharge about the first of May in 1946.
"After the war, a friend of mine, Boyd Dalton, and I went to Mr. James B. Moore at Central High School to take a G.E.D. exam for our high school diploma. Mr. Moore explained to us that we had a year of eligibility and could play sports if we attended school in our senior year. Mr. Moore was both principal and coach at Central. I played three different sports. I was a sub (when a freshman) on the first football team at Central High School. I played for a few minutes in the first football game that I had ever seen. Football was discontinued after the first year because of the expense. Several years later, Central started another football program and the School honored the old timers with a jacket that had the school's name and our old numbers on the jacket. The jacked is still in my possession. I played on one of the best basketball teams that ever played at Central H igh School. We only lost one game and it was the one that really counted. We lost to Madison High School in the District tournament, the game that would have taken Central to the State tournament in Louisville. Madison High made it to the semi-finals at the State tournament that year.
"Boyd Dalton and myself were offered a partial scholarship at Cumberland College, so we went to Cumberland College and were assigned rooms. On our return trip home, I blew a rod in my car motor and that ended my college career. After graduating high school, I worked at several different jobs; Richmond Greenhouse, surveying tobacco, Main Street Service Station, Community Service Station and Westinghouse. I worked for Westinghouse for twenty-five years; five as a maintenance man and twenty as a supervisor.
"I met my future wife, Virginia Azbell, during my senior year at Central High School. My marriage to Virginia must have been the right move because as of this date, January 28, 2006, we have been together for fifty-seven years. When I was young, I had three goals that I wanted to accomplish in my life. One goal was to marry a lady like my mother. Virginia filled that goal. My second goal was to have children. My third goal was to own a farm that I could make a good living by farming. I am thankful to say that with God's help and the help of my family, we met all three goals. During our life together, we have owned seven farms. Our first place was two and one-half acres with a house at Skilletsville near Red House. The second place was thirty-five acres near Union City. The third place was one hundred and five acres at Jordan Hill. The fourth place was four hundred and eight acres (in partnership with Bill Howard) near Red River on College Hill road. The fifth place was one hundred and five acres on Phelps road. The sixth place was forty three acres on Concord road. The seventh place was fifty acres on Todd Lane. Then one hundred and seventy four acres on Hunter Lane where we presently live on part of the original farm.
"Our first child, Colleen, was conceived in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1950. I had been recalled to the Navy and spent about seventeen months in and around Korea. I was on a repair salvage ship, The Grasp. We went from Iuchon, Korea to Wansan, Korea. We were out for about ten or twelve months before we returned to Honolulu for dry dock. I was unable to get leave at Pearl Harbor but Virginia had saved enough money to make the trip to Honolulu. We had a wonderful time for three months and that is how our family got started in Hawaii. I was transferred to San Diego, California where I received my discharge and Virginia had flown out to California to meet me. We visited with Aunt Flo and Uncle Syd for a while then headed back home to Kentucky. Naturally, I wanted my first child to be a boy; however, after Colleen arrived I wouldn't have traded her for a dozen boys. After high school, Colleen became a beautician, then married Eddy Akel and has three wonderful ch ildren; Jason, Jennifer and Josh.
"Our second child was Syd, the brain of the family (that comes from Virginia). Syd was given the highest honor for a boy in his senior class, Mr. Trail. He married Donna Rhodus and they have two wonderful children, Monica and Jeremy. Both Syd and Donna are graduates of Eastern Kentucky University.
"Our third and last child is Dwayne, the athlete of the family. Dwayne played baseball and basketball at Madison Central High School. He received the 110 Percent Award and the highest award in basketball The Curtis Marshall Award. He played basketball and was member of the golf team while attending Berea College. After graduating from Berea College, he was employed by the state of North Carolina at an Agriculture Research Station located near Asheville where he is at present.
"We have two grandchildren that are married; Jason married Krista and Monica married Scott Bidwell. I thank God for the many blessings in my life and especially for my mother, who showed us by example the way that we should live. Virginia and I are serving the Lord. We attend the Red House United Methodist Church where we have been members since 1950. I give thanks to God for a wonderful wife, children and grandchildren and the very best of all, he has let us keep them. I am seventy nine years of age and I pray that I might be worthy of God's love for me." (My Memories, by James David Tate, January 31, 2006.)
"James David Tate 5-10-1926 - 10-2-2006 James David Tate, 80, of Madison County, died Monday evening, October 2, 2006, at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 10, 1926, in Madison County, Kentucky, the son of the late Ova and Maude Poer Tate. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict, Mr. Tate was a retired Westinghouse employee and farmer, and was a member of the Red House United Methodist Church for over 50 years. Mr. Tate is survived by his devoted wife of 58 years, Virginia Azbill Tate; two sons, David Sydney Tate (Donna) of Madisonville, Kentucky, and Paul Dwayne Tate (fiancee, Rebecca Wait and her daughter Nancy), of Asheville, North Carolina; one daughter, Colleen Akel (Eddy), of Jacksonville, Florida; one brother, Robert Tate, of Richmond; one sister, June Bucher, of Richmond; five grandchildren, Jason (Krista) Akel, Monica (Scott) Bidwell, Jennifer Akel, Josh Akel and Jeremy Tate; two expected great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 A.M. Friday, October 6, 2006, at the Combs, Parsons & Collins Funeral Home, W. Main St., Richmond, with Rev. Sam Knox, Rev. Donald Tate and Rev. Arthur Ray officiating. Burial will follow in Madison County Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be 5 until 9 P.M. Thursday at the Combs, Parsons & Collins Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be Mr. Tate's grandsons, and Kenneth Tate, Mitchell Tate, Lloyd Bucher, Darrell Tate, Bobby Russell and Scott Bidwell. Honorary pallbearers will be the men of the Red House United Methodist Church. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to: Hospice Care Plus, 208 Kidd Drive, Berea, Kentucky 40405, or the Red House United Methodist Church, 2400 Red House Road, Richmond, Kentucky 40475." (Richmond Daily Register Obit.)
"Remembering the life lessons of Mr. Tate Last Friday, Richmond lay to rest one of her favorite sons, Mr. David Tate. Mr. Tate was known and loved by many people here in Richmond. He will be remembered by his friends and family for the many wonderful things he did for everyone. I had the honor of being coached by Mr. Tate while playing in the Richmond Senior League Baseball program from 1957 through 1975. Mr. Tate not only taught the boys on the team about baseball, but also how to respect the game of baseball, and to respect others. He and his head coach, the late Mr. Harvey Brown Park were not only great coaches but also examples of good men for the young men in our league. Although Mr. Tate had a son on the team, he treated each boy on the team as if he was his own. He played each player fairly and encouraged us all to do our best. I have coached my boys' summer teams and have always been grounded by the reminder of how Mr. Tate and Mr. Park coached baseball and taught life lessons. Mr. Tate loved to see a home run hit, and would always come up to me after one was hit so I could say, "Coach tattered that ball." He would grin that infectious grin of his and say, "That's right Chief, he tattered it." I found out quickly if Mr. Tate called you, "George" or "Chief" you were okay, and guess what? Everyone was okay with Mr. Tate. I have such great respect for these two men that even in my adult years when I would meet them out, I could only call them by their sir names. With that, in all do respect, I wish to say, "Thanks Chief" for taking the time to be a part of some of my favorite memories." (Richmond Daily Register, October 8, -2006, Letter to the Editor By Bill Grise.)
"I remember when I was four years old and I was in the kitchen with my mother, father and sister, Ann. My mother was getting breakfast and my dad was trying to help. Ann was kneeling down by the table putting my shoes on me. My dad grabbed a pan out of the oven that he thought was holding biscuits; however, the pan actually had hot grease in it where mother was rendering meat skins. The hot grease spilled on dad's hand and he dropped the pan. The hot grease spilled down my right shoulder, my right arm, my right side and my right knee.
"I remember the death of my fourteen year old sister, Edna, and my mother's sadness and how she cried at the grave site at the Embry Cemetery at Red House in Madison County, Kentucky. My whole family, with the exception of Gordon and mother, had contacted typhoid fever from our well. Gordon was married and was not living at home at the time. Dad had drilled the well in the backyard and didn't realize that the bottom of our well was on the same level as the creek. The branch in the hollow ran down beside the house where the well had been drilled. Our toilet or outhouse was on the bank of the hollow. When we had the branch would overflow its banks and 'clean out' or 'flush' our toilet. This is how we got the typhoid germ from the overflow of the creek that seeped into our well. The Health Department then treated and sealed the well to keep the water in the well safe to drink. I was more fortunate than my brothers and sisters, as I was the youngest in the family, and mom and dad had settled in one place. My family had moved at least ten or eleven times throughout Madison County. My older brothers said that they moved so much that when they would go to the chicken house, "the chickens would lay down and cross their feet, getting ready for the move."
"There were three main influences in my life. The first influence was the woods on the hillside behind the house and the hollow and branch that ran beside our house. The second influence was Otter Creek that ran in front of our house. The third influence was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks that were across the creek from our house. The hill and woods behind our house started at Stony Run road and was solid woods for over a mile. It was made up of oak, ash, walnut, hickory and maple trees. These woods provided us with fuel for our meals fuel for heat in the winter. This is where I squirrel hunted, trapped possum, polecat, and an occasional Minks or weasel. I would skin, stretch and sell their pelts at Kennedy Produce and use the money to buy my school clothes. One day I decided to take sap from one of the maple trees to make maple syrup. I drilled a hole in the tree, inserted a hollow cane and left it set up for about a week. I got about a gallon of sap and talked mother into cooking the sap down. We ended up with less than a pint of maple syrup. I decided that was too much trouble and I never tried that again.
"The second greatest influence was Otter Creek that ran in front of our house. It is my understanding that Otter Creek ran under Zaring's Mill on Main Street in Richmond, Kentucky and emptied into the Kentucky River where Daniel Boone founded the site of Fort Boonesboro. I have no idea how Otter Creek got its name. I never knew anyone that ever saw nor did I ever see an 'otter' in Otter Creek. The creek provided us with water for washing clothes and taking baths. It provided us with fish, turtles and frogs to eat. It supplied us with the best small bass fish of any creek in the country. The creek was made up of holes and riffles. Some of the holes were eight feet deep. Today, you can't find a hole three feet deep. Each hole in the creek had a name given by different fishermen over the years. Starting at the Stony Run area was the Ledge Hole, the Round Hole or the Swimming Hole in front of our house, the Bridge Hole at the railroad bridge and the Long Hole that ran almost to Shearer Station. Even though my family got typhoid fever from this creek, it was a recreational place for all the family. We would swim in the water then dive from the bridge abutment at the Bridge Hole where I broke my collarbone. I never let my dad know about my collarbone and I suffered quite awhile and the knot is still on my collarbone. In the heat of the summer, when we finished picking blackberries, mother would give me a bar of lye soap and send me to the Swimming Hole to get rid of the chiggers.
"The third greatest influence was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. At that time the railroad had two tracks. One track was for the trains going south and the other track was for the trains going north. The southbound train came from Covington, Kentucky and was always empty. It wou ld go to Corbin, Kentucky where there was a round house and the train was loaded with coal. The southbound train turned around and headed back north to Covington. The northbound trains carried all kinds of coal, large block, small block and slack coal. Sometimes the coal would fall off as the trains passed and occasionally we would walk the tracks and pick up the fallen coal to mix with our firewood for the cooking stove. Occasionally, a train going north would stop and some of us have been known to lighten their load by throwing off a few blocks of coal (without mother's knowledge).
"Mother had two brothers that lived in Covington and worked for the railroad. Uncle Sherman Poer was a brakeman and uncle Charlie Poer was an engineer. Each one would make a run to Corbin by our house at least once a week. Uncle Charlie would blow the whistle of the train to let us know th at he was passing by and it was a way to say hello. When uncle Charlie passed by our house at night and blew the whistle, Mother would grab a coal-oil lamp and head to the front porch. She would wave the lamp back and forth to signal hello to uncle Charlie. We used railroad ties that had been discarded from the railroad track for posts. We got lead from torpedoes (which were placed on the rails of the railroad to warn an oncoming train that another train was stopped on the track.) The lead was about two inches long and one-half of an inch wide and we used these for sinkers on our fishing line.
"The L & N also furnished employment for our community. I knew most of the men that worked on the section gang that kept the tracks in good condition. My sister's husband, Tom Hackworth, worked on the section gang and later became a brakeman. The trains also served as a good timepiece. Everyone did not own a watch, but we knew that a passenger train went south about six o'clock in the morning, this could wake you up just like an alarm clock. A passenger train went south at eleven thirty in the morning, this was about lunch time. A passenger train went north at about twelve thirty in the afternoon, this meant lunch hour was over. A passenger train went north at six in the evening, this meant time to go home. There was a sidetrack near Shearer Station where the L & N would leave empty rail cars to be picked up as needed. The wheels of all the railroad cars were oiled by oil soaked cotton strings. These oil soaked strings were placed in metal boxes over the axle of the train. We would remove some of these oil soaked cotton strings from different railroad cars. We had a wire basket with a handle and we would put the oil soaked strings in the wire basket. We used the basket filled with string to burn as our light to gig for fish in Otter Creek.
"From the last of March to the middle of April, fish would come up from the river into Otter Creek to spawn. They were mostly rough fish but every year we waited for them. They tasted as good as any fish that I have ever eaten if you could avoid the bones. If you got a bone stuck in your throat, just take a big bite of corn bread and it will go on down.
"Our closest and best neighbors were an Afro American family by the name of Shearer. We called Mrs. Shearer, "Aunt Lizzie" and her husband, "Uncle Jack." They had two boys, Chenault and Jimmy. Uncle Jack and Aunt Lizzie were quite elderly as I was growing up but I knew Aunt Lizzie was the mid-wife of our area. I knew that she either delivered or helped deliver some of my older sisters and brothers if the doctor did not make it in time. Aunt Lizzie was a great lady and everyone respected her. There was a story told about Aunt Lizzie and according to the story, Aunt Lizzie was going to the hen house to gather eggs, and as she passed the woodpile she saw their old hound dog lying asleep. When she got to the hen house there were no eggs, only egg shells. The hound dog had sucked the eggs. On the way back to the house, she picked up the chopping axe from the woodpile and as she took care of the old hound dog, she said, "sleep on." Chenault was a great friend and neighbor as was Jimmy but Jimmy was older and lived farther down the road near my brother, Dillard, close to Shearer Station. Another close neighbor was Melvin and Clara Warner that owned a farm near Shearer Station. My very first job was setting and chopping tobacco and working in hay for Melvin Warner. I started at fifty cents a day and moved up to one dollar and fifty cents a day. Another close neighbor was John and Fairy Christopher. They owned a farm across the creek from us and when the grass at our place was about gone, Mr. Christopher, would let our cow graze on his farm. I worked for Mr. Christopher several times but one time I worked for him seven days f or a Winchester 22 rifle, which I still have in my possession. I doubt if a truck could haul the squirrels that I have killed with that rifle.
"By my early teens, all my brothers and sisters had married and started their own families. Mother and I would walk to visit them in their different locations around Madison County, Kentucky. We would leave home on a Friday afternoon; walk about one-fourth of a mile below Shearer Station; up Bell Jones hollow; up a hill to Tom and Ann's (my older sister) place on the David William's farm near Comb's Ferry road. After spending some time with them; we would go across the road (#388 at t he time) onto Bill House's farm and down a hollow to Charlie and June's place (another sister). They were tenant farmers for Bill House at the time. We would spend the night with them and the next morning we would head out again. We went down a beautiful valley about one-fourth of a mile, then up a hill onto Callaway Creek to see Paul and Lucy (my brother). They were tenant farmers on Starlin McKinney's farm. We would spend Saturday night with them. After dinner, we would start back toward home. On the way back home, we would stop and spend some time with Charlie and June and Tom and Ann. We would be back home around suppertime on Sunday night. It was on those trips that mother told me about the different trees, flowers, weeds, birds and animals. Mother was an expert on nature and all of God's creation.
"I attended three different schools. I couldn't attend (what should have been) my first year of school because of typhoid fever. I attended Boggs School House for my first five years of school. The school was located on top of a hill that went into Happy Hollow. Me and my sister, Deanie, walked about three miles to school. We walked up the hollow; across the Donaldson farm to the Happy Hollow road; and about another mile down the road to the Boggs School House. I had finished the fifth grade just before the Boggs School House was closed. I went to Red House School for my sixth, seventh and eighth grades. I got to ride the school bus to school. I played on the basketball team. In my freshman, sophomore and junior years, I attended Central High School. Then I joined the U.S. Navy.
"On December 7, 1941, mother and I were at Dillard (my brother) and Rhoda 's place on the Jim L. Hisle's farm located on the Happy Hollow road. We were listening to Dillard's battery operated radio when we heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. As we were walking back home, mother made the statement that this was a bad war with Germany and Japan and it could last long enough to involve me and, sure enough, it did. I was fifteen years old at the time. It was a little over two years later that I joined the United States Navy. I was sworn in at Louisville, Kentucky and sent to Sampson, New York for boot camp. After boot camp, I went to Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania for radio training. After radio training, I was assigned to the destroyer, DD878, The Vesale, for a shakedown cruise to Quantanimo, Cuba. We went through the Panama Canal and to Pearl Harbor where we were assigned to escort an aircraft carrier, The Boxer. We were in maneuvers from Saipan, Guam, Midway, Iwo Jima and later in the battle zone at Okinawa. We never were involved in actual combat but remained in the area until the atom bomb was used at Nagasaki and Hiroshima that ended the war in August of 1945. I remained with my ship in and around Japan, as the occupation force, for six months. I was sent home with my discharge about the first of May in 1946.
"After the war, a friend of mine, Boyd Dalton, and I went to Mr. James B. Moore at Central High School to take a G.E.D. exam for our high school diploma. Mr. Moore explained to us that we had a year of eligibility and could play sports if we attended school in our senior year. Mr. Moore was both principal and coach at Central. I played three different sports. I was a sub (when a freshman) on the first football team at Central High School. I played for a few minutes in the first football game that I had ever seen. Football was discontinued after the first year because of the expense. Several years later, Central started another football program and the School honored the old timers with a jacket that had the school's name and our old numbers on the jacket. The jacked is still in my possession. I played on one of the best basketball teams that ever played at Central H igh School. We only lost one game and it was the one that really counted. We lost to Madison High School in the District tournament, the game that would have taken Central to the State tournament in Louisville. Madison High made it to the semi-finals at the State tournament that year.
"Boyd Dalton and myself were offered a partial scholarship at Cumberland College, so we went to Cumberland College and were assigned rooms. On our return trip home, I blew a rod in my car motor and that ended my college career. After graduating high school, I worked at several different jobs; Richmond Greenhouse, surveying tobacco, Main Street Service Station, Community Service Station and Westinghouse. I worked for Westinghouse for twenty-five years; five as a maintenance man and twenty as a supervisor.
"I met my future wife, Virginia Azbell, during my senior year at Central High School. My marriage to Virginia must have been the right move because as of this date, January 28, 2006, we have been together for fifty-seven years. When I was young, I had three goals that I wanted to accomplish in my life. One goal was to marry a lady like my mother. Virginia filled that goal. My second goal was to have children. My third goal was to own a farm that I could make a good living by farming. I am thankful to say that with God's help and the help of my family, we met all three goals. During our life together, we have owned seven farms. Our first place was two and one-half acres with a house at Skilletsville near Red House. The second place was thirty-five acres near Union City. The third place was one hundred and five acres at Jordan Hill. The fourth place was four hundred and eight acres (in partnership with Bill Howard) near Red River on College Hill road. The fifth place was one hundred and five acres on Phelps road. The sixth place was forty three acres on Concord road. The seventh place was fifty acres on Todd Lane. Then one hundred and seventy four acres on Hunter Lane where we presently live on part of the original farm.
"Our first child, Colleen, was conceived in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1950. I had been recalled to the Navy and spent about seventeen months in and around Korea. I was on a repair salvage ship, The Grasp. We went from Iuchon, Korea to Wansan, Korea. We were out for about ten or twelve months before we returned to Honolulu for dry dock. I was unable to get leave at Pearl Harbor but Virginia had saved enough money to make the trip to Honolulu. We had a wonderful time for three months and that is how our family got started in Hawaii. I was transferred to San Diego, California where I received my discharge and Virginia had flown out to California to meet me. We visited with Aunt Flo and Uncle Syd for a while then headed back home to Kentucky. Naturally, I wanted my first child to be a boy; however, after Colleen arrived I wouldn't have traded her for a dozen boys. After high school, Colleen became a beautician, then married Eddy Akel and has three wonderful ch ildren; Jason, Jennifer and Josh.
"Our second child was Syd, the brain of the family (that comes from Virginia). Syd was given the highest honor for a boy in his senior class, Mr. Trail. He married Donna Rhodus and they have two wonderful children, Monica and Jeremy. Both Syd and Donna are graduates of Eastern Kentucky University.
"Our third and last child is Dwayne, the athlete of the family. Dwayne played baseball and basketball at Madison Central High School. He received the 110 Percent Award and the highest award in basketball The Curtis Marshall Award. He played basketball and was member of the golf team while attending Berea College. After graduating from Berea College, he was employed by the state of North Carolina at an Agriculture Research Station located near Asheville where he is at present.
"We have two grandchildren that are married; Jason married Krista and Monica married Scott Bidwell. I thank God for the many blessings in my life and especially for my mother, who showed us by example the way that we should live. Virginia and I are serving the Lord. We attend the Red House United Methodist Church where we have been members since 1950. I give thanks to God for a wonderful wife, children and grandchildren and the very best of all, he has let us keep them. I am seventy nine years of age and I pray that I might be worthy of God's love for me." (My Memories, by James David Tate, January 31, 2006.)
"James David Tate 5-10-1926 - 10-2-2006 James David Tate, 80, of Madison County, died Monday evening, October 2, 2006, at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 10, 1926, in Madison County, Kentucky, the son of the late Ova and Maude Poer Tate. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict, Mr. Tate was a retired Westinghouse employee and farmer, and was a member of the Red House United Methodist Church for over 50 years. Mr. Tate is survived by his devoted wife of 58 years, Virginia Azbill Tate; two sons, David Sydney Tate (Donna) of Madisonville, Kentucky, and Paul Dwayne Tate (fiancee, Rebecca Wait and her daughter Nancy), of Asheville, North Carolina; one daughter, Colleen Akel (Eddy), of Jacksonville, Florida; one brother, Robert Tate, of Richmond; one sister, June Bucher, of Richmond; five grandchildren, Jason (Krista) Akel, Monica (Scott) Bidwell, Jennifer Akel, Josh Akel and Jeremy Tate; two expected great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 A.M. Friday, October 6, 2006, at the Combs, Parsons & Collins Funeral Home, W. Main St., Richmond, with Rev. Sam Knox, Rev. Donald Tate and Rev. Arthur Ray officiating. Burial will follow in Madison County Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be 5 until 9 P.M. Thursday at the Combs, Parsons & Collins Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be Mr. Tate's grandsons, and Kenneth Tate, Mitchell Tate, Lloyd Bucher, Darrell Tate, Bobby Russell and Scott Bidwell. Honorary pallbearers will be the men of the Red House United Methodist Church. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to: Hospice Care Plus, 208 Kidd Drive, Berea, Kentucky 40405, or the Red House United Methodist Church, 2400 Red House Road, Richmond, Kentucky 40475." (Richmond Daily Register Obit.)
"Remembering the life lessons of Mr. Tate Last Friday, Richmond lay to rest one of her favorite sons, Mr. David Tate. Mr. Tate was known and loved by many people here in Richmond. He will be remembered by his friends and family for the many wonderful things he did for everyone. I had the honor of being coached by Mr. Tate while playing in the Richmond Senior League Baseball program from 1957 through 1975. Mr. Tate not only taught the boys on the team about baseball, but also how to respect the game of baseball, and to respect others. He and his head coach, the late Mr. Harvey Brown Park were not only great coaches but also examples of good men for the young men in our league. Although Mr. Tate had a son on the team, he treated each boy on the team as if he was his own. He played each player fairly and encouraged us all to do our best. I have coached my boys' summer teams and have always been grounded by the reminder of how Mr. Tate and Mr. Park coached baseball and taught life lessons. Mr. Tate loved to see a home run hit, and would always come up to me after one was hit so I could say, "Coach tattered that ball." He would grin that infectious grin of his and say, "That's right Chief, he tattered it." I found out quickly if Mr. Tate called you, "George" or "Chief" you were okay, and guess what? Everyone was okay with Mr. Tate. I have such great respect for these two men that even in my adult years when I would meet them out, I could only call them by their sir names. With that, in all do respect, I wish to say, "Thanks Chief" for taking the time to be a part of some of my favorite memories." (Richmond Daily Register, October 8, -2006, Letter to the Editor By Bill Grise.)
Events
| Birth | May 10, 1926 | Madison County, Kentucky | |||
| Death | October 2, 2006 | Madison County, Kentucky | |||
| Burial | October 6, 2006 | Memorial Gardens, Madison County, Kentucky | |||
| Marriage | Virginia Azbell |
Families
| Spouse | Virginia Azbell ( - ) |
| Child | Colleen Tate ( - ) |
| Child | David Sydney "Syd" Tate ( - ) |
| Child | Paul Dwayne Tate ( - ) |
| Father | Ovaton Augustus Tate (1883 - 1978) |
| Mother | Maude Poer (1889 - 1964) |
| Sibling | Gordon Mae Tate (1909 - 1987) |
| Sibling | Dillard Caswell Tate (1910 - 2002) |
| Sibling | Paul Keith Tate (1912 - 1986) |
| Sibling | Anna Margaret Tate (1914 - 1986) |
| Sibling | Florence June Tate (1916 - 2007) |
| Sibling | Edna Earl Tate (1918 - 1932) |
| Sibling | Robert Allen Tate (1920 - ) |
| Sibling | Mary Dean Tate (1924 - 1994) |