When we had the reunion over here several years ago we were not able to
visit the location I call Sally's House.  At that time the old house was
just about to fall down, and access to it was too difficult. 

My interest in the sight stems from the fact my paternal g-grandparents
lived there and raised a house full of kids.  My g-grandmother was
Turley Fogleman who was the granddaughter of John and Elizabeth Shaddy.
Turley's husband was Martin Coble who was the son of Sally Shaddy and
John Coble (Johann Gobel?}.
Turley and Martin were first cousins and were married Dec. 22, 1827.

It has always been my belief Sally's House was the property of old John
Shaddy, and after the reunion I spent almost $300.00 having the records
traced.
(Jack helped me).  I found nothing.  The researcher ran into trouble
connecting the lineage, so all efforts stopped.  I still believe it was
originally Shaddy property.

I THINK I sent all of you an early picture of the old house in its
decaying years.

Several years ago the property was sold in an estate sale, and ownership
left the descendants of the Coble family.  The new owner is restoring
the old structure and adding more with modern materials.
Yesterday I paid a visit to the site and shot a few pics.  The
transformation is remarkable.  The new owner is doing most of the work
himself, and his workmanship is professional.  He is taking special care
to preserve the original logs and other building parts in order to
maintain the integrity of the structure.  He is, however, using new
lumber to  construct the additional wing.

Tomorrow I will send all of you five shots of the house and its new
construction by snail mail.  The logs you see are the originals, and I
believe they must date from the late 1700's or early 1800's.  they are
in excellent condition.  New chinking has been used consisting of a
cement base.

Note the two interior shots.  The stone fireplace is not original.  It
does, however complement the structure and promises a cozy spot to relax
before with a crackling fire and a good book.  To the left of the
fireplace one's sense of authenticity is insulted by the presence of a
modern type of stairs supported by an iron post.  I was told this was
done to save space instead of reconstructing the old wooden stairs to
the loft.  Another oddity is the small iron stove seen to the right of
the fireplace with its stove pipe connecting to the stone fireplace.
Note the big iron skillet hanging on the wall next to the stove pipe.
The present owner spends the night here
quite often as he goes forward with his work.

Louie, if all this were original, I would suppose many a "bait" of good
corn grits had been cooked thereon!!!

Others who were with me when I inspected Sally's House stood back while
I walked around and picked my shots.  I,
in turn, succumbed to reaching back in the past to speculate on long
gone events.  The old house sits on a promontory giving it a beautiful
view of pasture land bordered by oaks, maples, with a hackberry here and
there.  Who were these people who lived out their lives here?  Were
their dreams and aspirations the same as ours?  Hardships they knew
first hand, and they dealt with sickness and death in a way we will
never know.  Theirs was a time of turmoil and change as a new nation
went through the throes of fighting for freedom, carving out
of the wilderness a place to make their lives, and almost loosing what
they had gained by having to deal with a civil war that could have
destroyed their new nation.

By the same token, I seem to see a happy time when one faced the day
without the frenzy of meeting deadlines, rushing to and fro and becoming
soccer moms!  You know, when that front porch is finally restored, I
could picture myself hunched down in my favorite porch rocker, old Blue
my coon dog on one side, my jug of sippin' cider on the other, and me
looking down the meadow at those two deer grazing at the woods edge.

My grandmother used to say:  "Young men dream of tomorrow and its
promises. Old men just sit and live in the past"

I think the old gal was on to something after all!

Y'all take care----

Ed