Preface

My granddaughter Tammy bought me a tape recorder during a time when I was sick. I've never owned a convenience from which I've gotten so much satisfaction. I dedicate my efforts in sharing these historical, hopefully interesting, amusing, sometimes sad, and also spooky facts, to Tammy Lea Ratcliff, the daughter of my son Arnold and his wife Helen Vess Ratcliff, who's also interested in the family's history. If I were younger, I would add some background to these pages and try to publish them. 

When I started to write these facts, I thought of giving fictitious names to many of the people I wrote about, but I decided against it. I've deliberately left out some names, altered a few spellings, and removed a few first names, and with the exception of one incident I've avoided tragedy. Somehow changing the names of the people who lived in my valley would have taken away all of the pleasure and satisfaction I've gotten from writing this.* 

* Editor’s Note: Given that Grandmother did not think these stories would be publicly seen, we have taken the liberty to change family and/or individual names if the story might be negatively perceived by a descendant.