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Kentucky by Heart: Visit to Pendleton County Historical Society brings back childhood memories


By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune Columnist

I enjoyed attending the Pendleton County Historical and Genealogical Society’s 25th Anniversary Open House, in Northern Kentucky, recently. The location sits atop a small rise alongside U.S. Highway #27, several miles north of the town of Falmouth.

The event was far more than a passing interest for me while taking in the festivities on that warm September day.

The Fryer House (Photo provided)

Way back in 1811, Walter Fryer set his mind to building a house not far from what later became the small town of Butler. He hired Abraham Vastine to construct it, and he used limestone, common to Kentucky, from nearby. Completed in 1813, the building stands proudly today, according to Wikipedia, as “a two-story three-bay stone and parlor plan house, with one-story frame additions on the east and north.” The home received listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

“The Fryer House,” as it came to be called, is particularly special to me, along with the Fryer genealogy. My mother, Alma Faye Fryer Flairty, grew up with her twin sister, Alta Mae Fryer Johnston, along with two brothers in the house. Alta Mae and her husband, Howard, later lived in the house with their three children, along with my grandmother, Lilly, and grandfather, Edward Percy Fryer.

I vividly remember that as a child, I spent a lot of time in that unique stone house. My brother and I, along with our cousins, liked to climb the steep stairs to the second level and play in the walk-in attic above Grandma’s upstairs bedroom. Outside in the side yard, we often played around the chicken house where the “Banty” (short for “Bantam”) roosters lived, and we played tag in the front yard and used a big maple tree as home base. If was understood that we children should not wander off and get close to the busy highway several hundred feet away. There was enough fun around the house, so that wasn’t even a temptation.

As far as the illustrious heritage of the place, I recall the adults occasionally talking about that aspect, and even vaguely remember an article in The Falmouth Outlook likely published back in the late sixties. But for me, the big ol’ brown stone house was mostly just “Grandma Fryer’s place” (Grandpa Fryer died when I was very young).

Seated Howard Johnston and Alta Mae Fryer Johnston, with Billy Johnston standing (Photo provided)

So on this special day of celebration at Open House, it was a bit of a family reunion at a building exhibiting plenty of information about the whole of Pendleton County. Cousins Billy Johnston and Connie Mann, childhood playmates, were there. Teresa Johnston, Billy’s wife, was there, too, and played a major part in preparing displays and other assorted duties. And let’s not forget that Connie’s middle school grandchild, Sophie, attended, along with cousin John Fryer and Aunt Mae and Uncle Howard.

I’m quite sure that Mom, deceased five years ago, would have loved to have been present. Suffice it to say that Aunt Mae filled in admirably for her.

Eric Nagle, now of Texas, came back to Butler to speak about his idea to start the Society some 25 years ago while “driving with a friend on Highway 22 west of Falmouth on the way to Williamstown.” The founder also presented Mildred Belew a plaque for 25 years of Society service. Nagle was in joyful tears about the organization’s well-respected standing today. Additionally, a proclamation of tribute by State Representative Mark Hart was read.

Pendleton County Judge Executive David Fields presented a special gift of a $500 check from the Fiscal Court in support of the organization; volunteers were recognized for their long hours of service. There were many local senior citizens there, many who sat under a canopy shielding themselves from the bright sun and heat, seeming to enjoy chit-chat and catching up with old friendships.

A wide-ranging assortment of exhibits on both levels of The Fryer House made for an impressive self-guided tour. A large green marquis arrow sign saying “Falmouth” invoked an immediate retro feel, not ancient but a cultural aspect of my youth. A picture of twelve family members posing in front of The Fryer House in the early 1900s, vintage black and white film, had an iconic shine all over it. The old Butler High School framed picture appeared almost majestic, though I doubt if the school ever had more than a few hundred students, but that’s an assumption. The school later was consolidated into the county’s one public high school existing today, but the image waxes proudly nostalgic for those connected.

“We also house old school records of over 72 schools that once existed,” noted Teresa. “The well-known E.E. Barton papers are stored here also. They help researchers across the United States.”

An exhibit in the Pendleton County Historical and Genealogical Society (Photo provided)

Billy Johnston guided me through a photo album of the process involved in a cleanup and researching of the graveyard where Walter Fryer and others in the Fryer lineage are buried. The plot could be easily seen from where we were standing at The Fryer House. Billy gave me an inside look at something in our family of which I was not aware, and I appreciate him for all his passion and energy for projects such as these.

In the room which served as the kitchen while in my childhood, a framed Falmouth Outlook article told about how the agricultural economy of Pendleton County progressed in the early 1900s with the introduction of sweet clover into the area. A table with free literature, along with copies of books about the county’s history, gave an open, inviting look, especially with the kind and helpful Bob Pettit sitting behind the display.

The items mentioned are just a small sampling of what The Pendleton County Historical and Genealogical Society, housed in The Fryer Museum, has to offer. If you have a tie to this county, be sure to make arrangements to come and take the tour. If you don’t have a direct tie, still take the tour. There’s something invigorating about salt-of-the-earth people coming together to celebrate their common bounds of community and place.

I talked to my obviously pleased Aunt Mae while at Open House, and her typical optimism was intact, as usual. “I am so thankful… really proud the Society took it (The Fryer House) over,” she said. “It will always be home…a lot of memories there.”

I’m with you, Aunt Mae.

If you are interested in a tour of the Society housed in The Fryer House, visit the web site pchistory.wixsite.com or the Facebook page of the same name.

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steve-flairty

Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” was released in 2015. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)


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