ROY G. EVERSOLE

September 20, 1906 - July 14, 1997

This page is dedicated to my father. I want to create a living memorial to the greatest man I have ever known. He was an educator, a banker, an athlete, a christian who not only taught the world about Jesus but tried to walk in his footsteps, an inspiration to all who knew him, the best father and grandfather, and a leader in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. His life was filled with adversity but he stood tall and never gave up.

My father was born in Yerkes, Kentucky to Mac C. Eversole and Mahala Grigsby Eversole. His great grandfather was named Irvin Eversole and was a traveling preacher. It was reported in the Cincinnati Courier that he preached a wonderful sermon on his 100th birthday. His grandfather was Jimmy Eversole who lived in Typo, Ky. Mac was farming when my father was born but went on to be Jailer and High Sheriff in Perry County. After his term was finished. He started a general store in Typo, Ky. Daddy had 4 brothers and 3 sisters. His brothers were named Chester, Joe, John, and Taylor. He also had two half-brothers. Their names were Earl Gordon, Jr. and Hugh Gordon. His sisters were named Lydia, Mary, and Amy. They all preceded him in death.

Daddy was christened Roy Eversole but later changed his name to Roy Grigsby Eversole after he started receiving bills for a set of silverware purchased in Cincinnati, Ohio. Daddy had never been to Cincinnati and certainly didn't have the money to pay for something he did not own. The problem was another Roy Eversole had moved to Ohio to work and had been buying things and charging it to Roy Eversole. When the collectors couldn't find the perpetrator, they started a search of Kentucky and sent the bills to my father. After he changed his name to Roy G. Eversole, he got no more bills.

Mahala and Mac divorced and Mac moved to West Liberty. Mahala took my father to visit Mac on his seventh birthday. He had since married and was proprietor of a general store. He asked his new wife to cook some dinner for my father and his mother. His new wife was very jealous of Mahala and when Mac entered their home, she shot him. He staggered down the steps and collapsed on my father. He died from the wound leaving Mahala unable to support his children.

Only four of the children were still at home but Mahala was forced to send Roy, Taylor, Amy, and Joe to the Masonic Home in Louisville. Life was hard and food was scarce. Amy worked in the kitchen cleaning the tables from the teachers. She would stuff food in the pockets of her dress and hand it out the window to her younger siblings.

Picture of children being sent to the Masonic Home

Mahala found work at a hotel in Hazard and in the next 4 or 5 years met, and married, a fine gentleman who was a railroad engineer named Mr. Earl C. Gordon. Joe and Taylor ran away from the Masonic Home and returned home. Amy graduated from the 8th grade and the Masons had no high school at that time so Amy had to return home. Mahala would not leave Roy in the home so he was brought back to the Gordon home on Combs Street. Roy entered the fifth grade at the Broadway School. He finished fifth and sixth grade in one year each but completed the seventh and eighth grade in one year and three years of high school in that building. In the fall of 1924, he entered the newly constructed Hazard High School on Baker Avenue. He was in the first graduating class which totaled 25 students and was honored as Valedictorian. He played varsity basketball for five years. He was on the first Hazard High School team to play in the Kentucky State Basketball Tournament. They rode the train to Lexington in a pullman car, slept there on a side rail, then walked to the physical education building to play London. They lost and went home the same night.

Mr. Gordon eventually left the railroad to become the chief engineer of the old Hazard Ice Plant. My father held his first job at the age of 13. His job was called "pulling ice". A new ice plant was constructed in two years and my father was a full-fledged engineer at age 16. He could run the entire ice plant and started up the 250 horsepower boilers. There were 3 engineers, one for each shift. Daddy worked the second shift and slept in a small building outside the ice plant. His brother, Taylor, delivered the 500 lb. blocks of ice to Combs and Daddy usually went in the mornings to help him. When he was awakened one morning, he went to put his shirt on but someone had stolen it so he looked around on the other beds for a shirt to wear. The only thing he could find was a woman's blouse so he put it on and left with his brother. His brother had a great laugh at Daddy's expense and stopped at a store and purchased a new man's shirt for Daddy. Another good story, Daddy told of his ice plant days was about the day he left very early one morning driving a truck with a five hundred pound block of ice on the back covered up with a tarp. Some mean boys had placed nails and tacks in the road and blew all four tires. It was not like it is now, where you can call a service station and get someone to help you. You had no spare tires, just some sticky patches which couldn't possibly help when you had 4 or 5 nails in every single tire. You had no refrigerated truck, just that tarp between the ice and the sun. Daddy said, "I'm not a violent man but if I had had a gun and could have found those boys, I'd have shot them!" After telling the story, there would always be a deep chuckle because time changes things which are not funny to an amusing story.

Daddy had so many stories to tell and I regret that I never had a camcorder. I have chosen to write a few of the many stories of his childhood. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Daddy was an enterprising young man at the age of ten. He had a small johnboat which he would carry railroad men back and forth across the river when it was high. He would charge each man 5 cents over and 5 cents to get back. There was a motive for this hard work. He saved enough money to purchase baseball equipment. I don’t mean a bat and glove, I mean the entire equipment to outfit the whole team. He was so proud of his catcher’s mask and chest pad. The teams had names like the Snake Doctors and the North End Gang. His team members would come and tell him about a game they were going to play. He always asked who was going to pitch. If they said "Joe", he remembered some task his mother had for him to do. Joe was the best pitcher in town but the little boy had all the equipment. Without his baseball equipment, there would be no ballgame. He always pitched until it looked like they might lose. He turned it over to Joe at that point for the win.

After returning home from the Masonic Home, the children were expected to do chores. One of the things that was Roy's responsibility was to gather coal for their grates. He would walk along the railroad tracks and pick up the coal which had fallen from the coal cars. Sometimes, he would look up and see a rather large piece dangling over the edge. He knew it would eventually fall off so he would help it a little bit by pitching rocks in it’s direction. He also was great at getting water from the well. He really was too good at this job. His mother would beg him to quit filling everything in the kitchen with water. She couldn’t cook because he had filled every pot and pan.

Daddy went to the University of Kentucky in Lexington with only $300 which he had worked all summer to save. He made $125 a month and managed to save enough to pursue his college degree. He was on the freshman basketball team for the U.K. Wildcats for one year but had to give it up because he had no money and it was impossible to work, study, practice and play basketball. He worked 28 hours per week setting pins at a bowling alley. He was paid $.25 an hour for a grand total of $7 per week. This was what his room in a boarding house (with one meal furnished) cost each week. It was a very hard time for him and he often was hungry. He was always teary-eyed and had to pause when he talked of his mom mailing his clean clothes and finding one dollar wrapped inside the clothes. He planned to be an engineer but realized after that he could not attend classes from 8 to 5 which was required and still work a job.. He changed to the A.B. degree and continued his scholastic endeavors. He was a hard worker and was recognized for his abilities.

Delta Tau Delta was one of the more expensive fraternities on the U.K. campus. Several of the members became acquainted with Daddy and sponsored him into the fraternity. In return for him serving as treasurer, they gave him a room. Daddy still worked very hard waiting and clearing tables at an exclusive restaurant called the "Tea Cup Inn" in Lexington. There was no pay but he got to eat if there was anything left after all the customers were gone. He learned to eat all kinds of vegetables but seldom was there any meat left. Up until his senior year, he had all intentions of becoming an attorney but having borrowed almost $1,500 (equal to about $8,000 now) to get this far, he knew it would be impossible to complete the three more years necessary. He had completed all his first year law classes the first semester except for one but switched to education, loaded on 19 hours of education classes and graduated with an A.B. degree in 1929.

After graduation, Daddy was hired as Asst. Principal and Coach of the Combs High School and served as such for three years.. There he met the love of his life, Hazel Irene Robinson. She was one of his stars for the Combs Girls Basketball team. He often talked of her famous one-handed shot. That was if he could keep her in the game long enough to shoot it. Mother had the bad habit of arguing over calls against her with the referees. She was thrown out of the game more than once for this. They fell in love and were married on July 11, 1932. Daddy took a job in the Jackson City system. He was hired as principal of the Jackson High School. My sister, Reta, was born on July 22, 1933 at Combs, Kentucky in the home of Daddy's sister, Mary. She was a registered nurse and assisted Dr. Gilbert, the company doctor in the delivery. One of his best loved stories was the diaper pin story. Daddy went to school in the summers and on weekends working on his master's degree. He wasn't home much between working and going to school. One saturday morning, he was asleep in the bed and Mother was up with Reta. She was changing her diaper and as usual, stuck the diaper pin in the cover, guess who was under the cover???? Ouuuuuuuch!

In 1934, Daddy was hired by the Hazard City system and also received his M.A. from the University of Kentucky. He was employed by the Hazard Board of Education from 1934 to 1946 in various positions including attendance officer, teacher, basketball coach, and elementary principal. His daughter, Amy Colleen, was born on October 11, 1939. During World War II, he was asked to be principal of Hazard High School plus to coach both junior varsity and varsity basketball. In 1946, he was hired as Superintendent of the Hazard City Schools and remained in that position until 1972 when he retired. On July 28, 1949, his daughter, Mary Carole, was born. She was the first child born in a hospital and was delivered by Dr. R.C. Collins. Daddy and Mother were married for 65 years. Their dedication to each other was endless and there was never a happier home. Although their last anniversary was spent apart, their love was undying. Although my father is gone, my mother is still waiting for him to come home. Alzheimer's Disease has robbed her of all memory of his death and she constantly watches for him to return. She talks to everyone about how much she misses him and wishes he would hurry and come get her. Maybe it is better this way! We had wonderful parties for the 50th and 60th anniversary. The 50th was celebrated with family and friends. The 60th was a family affair.

During his tenure as Superintendent, Roy had many accomplishments. The Walkertown-Lothair Elementary School and the Roy G. Eversole Elementary School were built. He also served as a pioneer in vocational education. Daddy was honored with a wonderful retirement dinner in the cafeteria of the school which was named after him. The whole community turned out for the event.

My father's life revolved around three things: God, family, and work. Through the years, he enjoyed family vacations, marriages, graduations, sports, gardening, and holidays. He always had time to discuss the future, the past, or just to read a book to his grandchildren. He loved change and seemed to be very happy about his picture being out in cyberspace on my webpage. He felt if you could grow and change, you would always be able to survive.

Daddy only stayed in retirement for a few months. He had fixed everything that could be fixed at the house and was driving Mother crazy. One day, he went down to Peoples Bank to talk to L.D. Gorman about some important matter. When he got through discussing the matter, L.D. asked him what he was doing these days. Daddy replied, "Climbing the walls!". L.D. asked him to come to work on the following Monday and he continued to work there for 15 years. His desk was placed in front of Mr. Gorman's and he was assistant to the president. L.D. Gorman lost control of Peoples Bank in 1982 through a stock buyout and he later purchased Citizens Bank and Trust in Hazard. Daddy retired from Peoples in 1987 and started to work at Citizens the next week. He continued to work there until June 27, 1997. William D. Gorman, Mayor of Hazard, and his brother, L.D. Gorman, both spoke at my father's funeral. Their words of admiration and respect for this wonderful man voiced the sentiment of the entire community.

Roy G. Eversole served eight years as a member of the Board of Control of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and was a member of the White House Conference on Education. He was a Director of the Kentucky Association of School Administration, was a member of the Executive Committee of the Advisory Council on Public Education in Kentucky, Past President of UKREA, a member of the Adivsory Board of Educational Television, Past President of Kentucky ASCD, and was appointed by Governor Bert T. Combs in 1963 as a member of the Kentucky Manpower and Training Advisory Committee.

In 1963, Daddy was the recipient of the Hazard Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year" award. He is a 56 year member and past president of the Hazard Lions Club and was one of the organizers of the Perry County Development Association, under whose sponsorship the Memorial Gymnasium in Hazard was erected. The Boy Scouts and other civic organizations have been the recipient of his generous time and ability. For many years, he rendered distinguished service to the Red Cross. He served as Roll Call Chairman for several years, as Local Chairman on numerous occasions, as a member of the Advisory Committee for Rehabilitation during the 1957 flood, and, after this flood, was appointed a member of the Disaster Loan Advisory Committee of the Small Business Administration. In 1964, Governor Combs appointed him as a member of the Advisory Council of the American Red Cross for the Southern Area of the United States. He continued to serve on the regional level with Red Cross.

Daddy taught Sunday School for 50 years or more at the First Baptist Church of Hazard, Bible Class at the High-Rise in downtown Hazard for years on Sunday afternoon, was Deacon Emeritus at First Baptist Church, and taught a bible class for years on Sunday morning on the original Hazard Television Station.

In September 1991, Daddy was the Grand Marshal for the annual Black Gold Festival Parade. Family and friends were there to applaud his arrival. At the Black Gold Festival in 1996, Daddy was honored as the oldest living educator in Perry County. He got a special treat when the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" for his 90th birthday. Mayor Bill Gorman told the story of how he would never have made it through school if it had not been for Mr. Roy G. Eversole keeping him in line during his grade school years. Afterwards, the whole family came together for a birthday celebration and he blew out all 9 candles. That was worth a great big smile from Daddy.

On May 2, 1997, the Perry County and Hazard Lions celebrated their 75th year of organization. My father was honored with the Lions Club International Melvin Fellow Award that night. It is a very fitting award since it is for an educational scholarship. This is a very prestigious award and it had never been awarded to any Lions Club members from Perry County except those who had gone on to serve in national and international positions. My father accepted it humbly, as usual.

When he was in the hospital, I tried to explain to him how much he had meant to the many lives that he had touched in his lifetime. He exclaimed, "I'm just an ordinary man, I'm not special." Oh, but he was the most special person that I will ever know. Everyone loved and respected him and I know God broke the mold when he created my father. The church honored him with a special memorial on their church bulletin the week of his death. Click here to read the cover of the bulletin. A memorial fund has been set up to honor Roy G. Eversole. It will offer a scholarship to a student who would otherwise not be able to attend a college or vocational school. To make a donation, mail it to First Baptist Church of Hazard, Main Street, Hazard, KY 41701

His son-in-law, Thomas G. Shuck, spoke at the funeral and shared his thoughts of what Roy G. Eversole meant to his family, his friends, and the community. On a personal note, he remembered him most for his words when he was welcomed into the family. Daddy referred to him as "Son".

Ron Sholar, Minister of Music of the First Baptist Church, presented the eulogy at the funeral. His final words were:

We are reminded of Roy by the following excerpt from James Still's poem, "Heritage".

I shall not leave these prisoning hills

Though they topple their barren heads to level earth

And the forests slide uprooted out of the sky.

I cannot leave. I cannot go away. I cannot go.

Being of these hills, I cannot pass beyond.




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