The Red Flannel Rag

When he grew too old to work anymore, he walked away and left his shaving bridge set

under a tree until time and the weather returned it to the earth. That hollow is known to

this day as Shaving Bridge Hollow and anybody who was born in Hopkins Gap, young

and old, knows exactly where the hollow is located.

Ground Squirrel Bridge Hollow acquired its name because a large tree fell across

the creek and was used as a bridge to cross from one side to the other by a family of

ground squirrels. To this day, those hollows still carry those names long after their

namesakes have rotted and disappeared from sight.

Cold Spring Hollow was named for a very cold spring that ran full of water all the

time. It was well known as the place where a man could produce a week’s amount of

moonshine in half the time because the water in the “cooling tub” stayed cold twice as

long. Mom told me that women in Hopkins Gap liked to wash their clothes in this water

because it was “soft,” meaning there were fewer minerals.

There were three locations named Big Hog Pen Ridge, Little Hog Pen Ridge, and

Hog Pen Run. These areas served as community hog pens where families would let their

hogs run wild to eat chestnuts and acorns in order to fatten them up for the fall

butchering. Each family marked their hogs in some way that was recognized by the

whole community so there was no question about who owned the hogs when it was time

for th e fall roundup. Uncle Shirley told me, “The Morrises always notched each hog’s

ear in a certain place. Everybody knew and respected each family’s mark.”

Many babies were stillborn in Hopkins Gap. They were left unnamed and

immediately buried. The midwife or the father buried the babies near the homes where

they were born. There are several locations where folks still report hearing the late night

crying of babies. One location has carried the name “Cry Baby Lane.” It was told to me

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