By: Dedra Brandenburg

The Three Forks Historical Center held a spring fundraiser on Friday, March 29th and it was a beehive of excitement and activity. I was a little nervous when Josh Smith told me on Friday morning that they had thawed out 100 lbs of fish for the evening fish fry. This was more fish than they use for the annual Old Engine and Tractor Show in August. Volunteers gathered at the museum around 2pm to arrange tables and get organized in order to start cooking.

The display of desserts was a jaw dropping site. I had not seen so much dessert in one place in all my life and I belong to the local Beattyville Baptist Church who have pot luck meals once a month... we Baptist love our sweats! It was getting close to the event time and people kept bringing in desserts for the table, then the desserts overflowed the table, then some of the desserts went into the silent auction because they didn't fit on the table. All the deserts were donated by locals in the community and you have those signature items that everyone knows who baked it and they watch for them. For example, you can always spot the peanut butter divinity pin wills by Geneva Duncil or delicious cakes by Michael Johnson. Everyone always looks for fudge candy by Sheri Lanham or chocolate dipped strawberries by Linda Smith.

Counter top space was also hard to come by when the silent auction items kept rolling in. There were soap baskets, Nellie Meadows prints, knives, Yeti tumblers, coffee baskets and more. We even had a pair of roller skates, donated by Tom Jones. They were men's size 10 and a very nice brand. Tom had told Bob Smith that he owned the roller skates long enough to fall on his rump a few times and decided to give them up. Thank you to everyone who donated items and for everyone who bid on items.

There was a steady flow of people all evening who came to the fish fry. At one point there was a line out the door and visitors had to wait for a fresh batch of fish and hush puppies to cook. No one seemed to mind waiting as there was a lot to look at in the museum and people easily stuck up conversations in line. There were defiantly more people who came through the line than there were seats at the table. Families would take their dinner to go or find a picnic table outside. I estimate there were 180-200 visitors to go through the line and support the museum by buying fish dinners.

The guest who found seats in the Veteran's wing of the museum were entertained by bluegrass and gospel bluegrass music by the Hilltop Pickers. I play upright bass in the band and looking out at everyone, could tell people were really enjoying the evening. Reva Crabtree, Barbara Begley, Georgie Pearl Gabbard, Dale Haney, Bonnie Dunahoo, Shirley Reese, and others sang along to almost every song the band played. Songs that we played included "Fox on the Run", "Rabbit in a Log", "Holding up the Ladder", "Seven Sundays in a Row", and "In the Pines". One lady asked us for a group photo and permission to record us because she wanted to send it to her family in Texas.

Below are a few photos from the evening. There are not many photos because my phone died early on and others were so busy cooking, serving, or playing music that they didn't get the opportunity to snap a lot of photos. With community contributions, the silent auction, and dinner sales the museum raised around $3,000 in funds which will be used to pay the bills and keep the museum doors open. The museum board appreciates everyone who came out to the event and for every donation that is generously given by the community. Be sure to keep an eye out for future museum events and news throughout the year.

The Three Forks Historical Center will be hosting a spring fundraiser on Friday night, March 29th, 2019. It is sure to be a fun time for family and friends so please mark your calendars and plan to come out and support the museum. The event will begin at 5:00pm with a tasty fish fry dinner! For $8.00 a plate you can have a wonderful fish diner complete with coleslaw, hush puppies, baked beans, homemade dessert and a drink. There will also be a silent auction going on so be sure to check out all the items on display and place your bid. The museum board asked The Hilltop Pickers to come and play at the event. They play bluegrass and gospel bluegrass music so come and enjoy some old time tunes. If you would like to donate an item to the silent auction please contact Bob and Linda Smith at (606) 464-2888. All proceeds from the fish fry and auction will go to the Three Forks Historical Center fund.

All the members of this local group attend Beattyville Baptist Church. They share a love of bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music. The band often plays at local events such as the Woolly Worm Festival and the Natural Bridge Artisan Festival. They were recently a part of the 2018 Fall Sharathon for Mountain Gospel Radio. Once a month they play music for the residents at the Lee County Care and Rehab Center in Beattyville. The group is comprised Michael Johnson, Larry and Kim Oliver, Joe and Debbie Piercy, Randall Brandenburg, and Dedra Brandenburg. Also members of the band include their sheet music librarian Anita Brandenburg and "bus driver" Rose Roberts. The Hilltop Pickers have a love for the community and for the Lord.

Kentucky Entertainment Television (KET) visited Beattyville in 2018 and filmed a Veterans Day tribute for their program. The video was published on November 8th and was shown on KET stations. Bob Smith, president of the Three Forks Historical Center talks about the Veterans wing in the museum and the Veterans Memorial Wall located in Beattyville, KY. Follow this link to War Memorial names located on the monuments for those killed in active duty, provided by Kentucky Genealogy Trails​.

The Lee County Senior Citizens eat lunch every day at their building across the road from the museum on HWY 11 in Beattyville at 11:30am. This is a county wide lunch free for all resident senior citizens of Lee County funded through the Kentucky River Area Development District. On Fridays every week the center does potluck, so we invited them to come to the museum for a change in the regular schedule. Normally pot luck days do not bring too big of a crowd, but they were all excited to come to the museum. Around 25 people, including the Mayor of Beattyville, Scott Jackson and the Lee County Judge Executive Chuck Caudill, attending the meal. Many were looking at the artifacts and telling stories as the object would trigger certain memories. The food selection was fantastic as someone had donated a ham the ladies who work for the Lee County Senior Citizen Center cooked it early this morning. There was also fried chicken, coal slaw, pimento cheese sandwiches, potato salad, chips and dip. The desserts were fantastic also as there was grape salad, cinnamon apple bunt cake, angel food cake, chocolate cake, brownies and more! After a warm welcoming word from Robert Smith of the Museum and from the tourism Director Dedra Brandenburg, the blessing was given and everyone dived in. Everyone agreed that this was something they wanted to do more often so in the future we are hoping for pot luck day at the museum at least once a month. Several individuals were interested in also helping volunteer hours at the Tourism Center Caboose to assist the tourism director on projects. Others were also interested in being interviewed for the Lee County Oral History/Storytelling projects. Follow the Lee County Senior Citizens on Facebook!