1953 – Harold Goes to Corbin, Takes His Hotdog and Runs

1953 – Harold Goes to Corbin, Takes His Hotdog and Runs – 2/13/2012

My first husband, Harold Lee Thomas was born in Gatliff, Kentucky but was raised on the farm that came through his mother’s side of the family. Her name was Rachel Elizabeth Powers Thomas.

I don’t remember much more about when they started living on the farm. What I do remember about the farm is that back in 1941, when I first started going there to visit; the farm was all ready well established and they had two horses that Harold used to plow the farm with.

Those were the same two horses that pulled the wagon to Cumberland Falls when I came down one week end. There were four of us, me, Harold, Harold’s brother Arville, and Arville’s girl friend at the time, Thelma Faulkner, from Martin's Fork. Thelma Faulkner and me were in the same school together; originally we went to Hall High in Harlan County. It was a really nice day when we started out. The weather was a little crisp, but we had quilts that we bundled up in. But as we were coming back home it got so cold that day that it started to snow. But we still enjoyed that trip.

Anyway, Harold and me had come back to the family farm at Rockholds, Kentucky and Harold had gone into Corbin to get a hotdog from a place there. He really liked their hotdogs and always made a point of getting one there when we were in town. With being in the war and having to do without a lot of things; he sometimes indulged himself to things like that. His other soft spot was ice cream; he would stand over a heater in the winter so he could enjoy his ice cream.

So, Harold went in, sat down at the counter and gave the waitress his order. While he was waiting for his hot dog he heard these two guys start to argue. He thought the one fellow was saying the other fellow had been running around with his wife. The argument was getting pretty heated and by the time Harold had gotten his order and paid for it they were slurring each others family and reputations pretty good.

Harold said when one of the fellows pulled out a pistol that he did the thing any smart man would do. He grabbed his hotdog and ran. When he told this story back at the house there was dead silence and then everybody roared. Harold was a pretty shy fellow when it came to making rude comments and everybody took this one the wrong way. He was kidded on up to the time he died about the day he took his hotdog and ran.