Dr. Jesse Beck of Woodville, KY

A scrap of Western Kentucky history

Tonight at work, an elderly gentleman told me about an old book he owns. It's an antique paperback -- I think he said it has 60 pages -- and it's deteriorating. He wants his son, a chiropractor, to scan it and preserve it digitally.

The book describes the life and medical practice of Dr. Jesse Beck, a physician of the Civil War era in Woodville, KY. It was written by Beck's grandson.

My customer told me a little about the doctor as described in the book. Dr. Beck was a holistic physician; he believed that the health of body, mind, and spirit are interdependent.

Dr. Beck was also an herbalist who concocted many of his own medicines. Every year, he traveled to a distant city herbal market and bought back herbs from all over the world. One of his most popular and effective remedies was an herbal emetic; patients took the medicine and vomited out any poisons threatening their health.

After I got home tonight, I looked for information about Dr. Jesse Beck on the internet. I found him mentioned twice in History and Families, McCracken County, Kentucky, 1824-1989. The book's section on Woodville history says that Dr. Beck came to Woodville, KY, in 1852 from Todd County, KY.

The McCracken County history book mentions Dr. Beck again in the life history of Walter Elmo Jenkins. (Jenkins's wife, Alma, was Dr. Beck's niece.) Dr. Beck is described as a "botanic doctor" who was living near Woodville in December,1852, in a cabin with a split log floor and a few basic pieces of furniture.

For lack of a better image and more information, I'll imagine Dr. Beck as "The Country Doctor", in the old print that we, the people of the United States, keep at the Library of Congress.

Jefferson Davis and the Mennonites

Seen in Fairview, KY

Old Highway 68, west of Fairview, KY

Jefferson Davis Monument in background

Horse-drawn vehicles are a common sight in Fairview, KY. The area around this rural village has been heavily settled by Mennonites. Two Mennonite churches and several Mennonite schools (that I know of) are located within a five mile radius -- evidence of the large population.

Mennonite commerce at Fairview

The Fairview Produce Auction (a Mennonite cooperative) brings heavy Mennonite and Amish traffic to Fairview in spring, summer, and fall. Most of the produce growers are Mennonite and Amish farm families. Many of the farmers come to the auction in horse-drawn wagons loaded with boxes of tomatoes, bags of sweet corn, and heaps of melons. Others pull a trailer behind a tractor or hire a pickup truck.

Across from the auction grounds, a Mennonite lady has opened a discount grocery. She sells dented cans and out-of-date goods, but she also has a small selection of bulk goods -- several types of flour, common spices, yeast, etc. In the back of the store, she has a little deli counter. I'm not sure if she has more Deutsch customers or English; the two worlds overlap at the Pennysaver Market.

On the northern edge of Fairview, at the intersection of Britmart Road and Highway 68, an enterprising Mennonite family has opened a nursery. It's popular with folks from neighboring towns because it's on a major highway. They enjoy driving out in the country and visiting a Mennonite nursery without fear of getting lost.

Jefferson Davis Monument at Fairview

And then there's Fairview's other big attraction -- the Jefferson Davis Monument, a 351-foot concrete obelisk that commemorates the birthplace of the President of the Confederate States of America. It was a project of the Daughters of the Confederacy. Construction began in 1917, and the monument was finally completed in 1924.

Jefferson Davis was born in Fairview in 1808, in a log cabin near the present site of the monument. The actual site of the cabin has been occupied by the Bethel Baptist Church for many years. In fact, Jefferson Davis visited the church in 1886 and presented it with a solid silver communion salver and chalice. 

The Jefferson Davis State Historic Site occupies about 19 acres in the middle of Fairview. Visitors can ride the elevator to the top of the monument, see an interpretive video and exhibits, and visit the gift shop. The park has beautiful mature shade trees, two large picnic shelters and a nice playground. It's a popular site for family reunions on summer weekends.

On the first weekend of June each year, the birthday of Jefferson Davis is celebrated with Civil War reenactments at the monument. The participants (and a significant number of observers) wear garb of the mid-19th century, especially hoop skirts and Civil War military uniforms. Southern belles can enter the Miss Confederacy contest.

Jefferson Davis Days is a curious event in a curious little town, and the tourists who stumble upon it and also encounter the Mennonites must think Fairview a very curious place indeed.

Related posts:
The Glory of Fairview, KY
Jefferson Davis Monument, Fairview, KY
Seen at Fairview, KY
Pennysaver Market at Fairview, KY
Mennonites and Amish in Christian County, KY

Cat Nap

Simple pleasures

Casper lives by the cat rule, "If you like it, take a nap on it." As you can see, he likes my housecoat.

Mennonite Farm

Somewhere in time

Christian County, Kentucky, has many Mennonite and Amish farmers. In our part of the county, many of our neighbors are Mennonites. This farm (photo above) belongs to one of our Mennonite neighbors.

The yellow strip just past the tree in the center of the photo is a long row of daffodils, blooming beside the vegetable garden. In the summer, red cannas bloom at the garden's edge.

The Mennonite farmers around here are fond of concrete stave silos like the ones in the photo. These silos aren't used much by other farmers, nowadays. The Mennonites will often buy an old silo that's been sitting empty for years, tear it down, rebuild it, and put it back into use. It's a good deal for everyone involved.

The home in the photo is typical of dozens of recently-built Mennonite homes in this area. Most are large, plain, 2-story structures with attic space for storage. The wide front porch (not visible in this photo) is a good place for drying laundry on a rainy day. The main door usually opens to a big kitchen, in true farmhouse style.

I think this photo could pass for a scene from half a century ago, except for a few details -- the machinery in front of the barn and the style of the electric fence posts might be too recent. But just put those minor items out of your mind, and click here to see the same image in black and white as it might have been captured in an earlier time.

13 Things Men Have Written About Women

Thursday Thirteen

Keely picked up a little book of quotations for me at a thrift shop. Its title is Women: Pro and Con, and it was published in 1958 by the Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon. No editor is listed.

The foreword suggests that the book presents a balanced view of women because the few quotations that praise women are much more heartfelt than the multitude of sarcastic quotations about women. Well, maybe. At any rate, here are thirteen interesting quotes.

 1. "Never any good came out of female domination. God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoiled all."
-- Martin Luther (1483-1546)

 2. "In the East, women religiously conceal that they have faces; in the West, that they have legs. In both cases they make it evident that they have but little brains."
-- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

 3. "Women have great talent, but no genius, for they always remain subjective."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

 4."Women are nothing but machines for producing children."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

 5. "Woman's advice has little value, but he who won't take it is a fool."
-- Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)

 6. "Nature has given women so much power that the law has wisely given her very little."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

 7. "If you wish women to love you, be original; I know a man who wore fur boots summer and winter, and women fell in love with him."
-- Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)

 8. "When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues."
-- Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)

 9. "Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool."
-- Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

10. "Being a woman is a terribly difficult trade, since it consists principally of dealings with men."
-- Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

11. "Women, cats and birds are the creatures that waste the most time on their toilets."
--Charles Nodier (1780-1844)

12. "To be beautiful is enough! If a woman can do that well who shall demand more from her? You don't want a rose to sing."
-- William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

13. "A man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner than when his wife talks Greek."
-- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)