In 1997, I was hired to write the news for The Jackson Times. This tremendous opportunity allowed me to experience a very different side of our community that few ever see. Each week, I filled the pages of The Jackson Times with items we believed were significant and helped document and preserve the happenings of our community for posterity. I took that duty as a community historian very seriously.
The Profiles article from the April 16, 1998 edition of The Jackson Times.
Fire, wrecks, court cases, trials, and other newsworthy items were given life (sometimes more than they deserved) in the pages of The Times as I traveled around the community and sat through meeting after meeting. For me, it was a dream job, but it was tough to raise a family when the paper makes its money twenty-six cents at a time. During my time there, we sold a lot of papers and set new sales records. Despite the success, it was not enough, so I took an opportunity and continued my preservation work at another location.
During my years at the paper (1997-2001), the ability to move about the county freely was a Godsend for me. I did not have to sit at a desk for hours each day. My job allowed me to travel to every corner, meet some interesting neighbors, and see many amazing sites. It was also my honor to write a weekly history article and publish many pictures to continue the paper’s tradition of having an old photo each week. One of the most enjoyable opportunities I experienced was the chance to focus on human interest stories.
Jack Niece and I took “week about” and, for some time, published weekly articles about the people, places, and events in our community that many may have never experienced. Jack wrote about apples, post offices, front porch sessions, and many other topics. From my keyboard, tales of the unexplained, murders, tall tales, and communities made their way to the pages of the paper.
One of the first human interest articles I published appeared in print on April 16, 1998, and featured a short look at the community of Whick. The article, entitled Sawdust & Baseball: Traditions Live on at Whick, was written to be a look at the history of the logging industry in the area and the many generations of great baseball players from the area. When the article finally ran, it had to be shortened to make way for the annual list of delinquent taxpayers. The result was a much smaller article that attempted to highlight the small community on the banks of the North Fork of the Kentucky River. Sadly, the original written copy was most likely trashed. All that remains is the shortened version that made it into print.
Timber, coal, and the railroad were once the largest employers at Whick. Little remains of the large, thriving community except the road sign near the mouth of George’s Branch.
Sawdust & Baseball: Traditions Live on at Whick
The Breathitt County community of Whick is just a dot on the Kentucky road map. The little hamlet is situated fifteen miles from Jackson on Kentucky 1110 West.
There are two little stores and a small, wooden Post Office but the community is home to more than 350 Breathitt Countians. Many of these families have called the banks of the North Fork of the Kentucky River home for more than 200 years.
The original tombstone of one of Whick’s most wellknown residents- Captain Bill Strong.
The Moores, Strongs, the Neaces, and the Kilburns settled near the mouth of George’s Branch in an area that later became Strongville.
In the late 1800s, John Cabell Breckinridge Allen built a store on George’s Branch where he stayed in business for many years. John Allen acquired the name “Whick.” One of John’s primary source of revenue was “corn liquor” which he legally sold in his store. Many of the local men began to use a little jingle: “Going up Whick’s to have a little fun. Better have some money or you won’t to get none.” After some time the name stuck- Whick.
Through the years, the community of Whick acquired a reputation as a wild place, but religion and time have changed all that.
“It is home. I wouldn’t trade Whick for any other community in the county,”
William Herald said as he finished a cold Pepsi at the Moore Store, located is the “stiff curve.” “There is just no place like it.”
From the 1950s, baseball took a center stage in the lives of the young members of the community. For many years the Whick baseball team was widely feared for their strong defense and pitching. Several of the players had opportunities to play at the major league level, but chose to remain close to “home.”
Today the community boasts the finest baseball field in the county. Constructed entirely by private donations, the field hosts summer tournaments and even a revitalized summer league.
In recent years, the community has thrown off its reputation for being a rough place. All is quiet now; with only the occasional sound of a passing train and the whine of one of Whick’s sawmills.
The Jackson Times, April 16, 1998, page B1
By some miracle, I did manage to keep the negatives from my afternoon at Whick. We used several of the images in the article, but many have never been published before.
The sawmill at Dave Strong’s.Logs waiting for the blade.In 1998, a new baseball field was being used for weekend games.The new field included dugouts and stands.William Herald on the porch of the Moore Stroe.The “store in the curve” was a popular place to sit and talk.
Much has changed in the twenty-six years since Sawdust and Baseball was published. The little store at the “bend in the road” is closed. Few can remember the last time a train pulling a load of coal and heading north toward Jackson passed over the Whick trestle nearby.
Views of the Whick Post Office in 1998. The Post Office opened on August 21, 1901, under the leadership of Postmaster John P. Arrowood. Other Postmasters included Mary J. Deaton, Herbert S. Ashcraft, Granville P. Campbell, Jerry M. Deaton, Dave Strong, and Phil Strong. The Whick Post Office closed in 2004.
Gone are the crowds around the old basketball goal at the “Y.” The other store, just a half mile or so up the road, is now shuttered too. The Whick Post Office closed in 2004, and weeds now grow through all three of the old baseball fields. Many people I talked with and enjoyed their stories are also gone. The community spirit that once held small communities like Whick together is now fading, too.
Sadly, time just marches on, and we can do nothing to slow or stop its relentless stomp. All we can do is make the most of our time by loving our families and showing kindness to those we encounter daily.
Bookie on the Trail 
An article about baseball teams in Breathitt County would be interesting to read!
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