|
Well, this one
floors me completely. Bill and Norma Lee were two of my best
friends. They both were my neighbors on Liberty Street and
courted each other there. Bill's Mom and family lived two doors
down from Norma Lee. They married and had such a good marriage
and had Wendell and Randall. I remember Wendell the most because
I left while Randall was very young. I have a good pic of
Wendell as a tot in my keepsakes somewhere.
All this stuff
about him being a Sunday School teacher and Scout Master was unknown
to me. I knew he and Norma had become Christians after I last
seen them. I came home to Hazard to pay my respects to Bill and
Norma and she was so heartbroken I didn't get to talk to her much.
She married again and as I recall lost that husband also. I
think she still lives in the area. I have lost all contact with
her and some others. I enjoyed the archives pics and
stories on Bill and Carson. I have revisited those old pics time
and again. You have some "dandies" on your archives.
You honored
a good person, Shane, and "thanks for the memories".
Idalee Hansel, Spartanburg, SC
Guess he was a teacher. I'll think about that. Could be a lot of people. A lot of people went to First Creek High
School. I figure he was in the armed services during World War 11.
I need more clues. Carlene Shackelford, Hazard, KY
The clue reveals that this Air Force veteran has at least one baby
boy. anonymous
It must be around Christmas time in 1944 as the baby has a Santa
rattler in his hand. Need another illustration. Love the
illustrations. One thing that could be a clue, the insigne on his
sleeve. I will have to get my magnifier to see what it is.
Could it be Elmer Roll? Idalee Hansel, Spartanburg, SC
Frank Madaris Sr. Everett Hall, Franklin, IN
Victor Tedesco, Bill Douglas, or Alonzo Nichols that I can think of as
possible names!! Lyndon Combs, Hazard, KY
Han Napier? Asicit
|
Congratulations
to Jeff Strong of Hazard, the first person to identify Bill Pelley
as Mystery Person #63, Pelley was born in Letcher County in 1928. His family moved to
Perry County when he was a baby. He was raised at the Blue
Diamond Coal Camp and First Creek. He went to school at
First Creek High School which later became a part M.C. Napier High
School after consolidation.
He moved to Hazard in 1944 after his father died. Bill worked in
and around Hazard for several years before serving in the Air
Force. He eventually decided to become a barber and attended
Barber College in 1950. He worked with Carson Cornett at the bus
station on Main Street in Hazard where he was located for over 30
years. He became the sole owner of Bill's Barber Shop, also
working with Phillip Wright and J.B. Singleton. Pelley was a
Sunday School teacher at New Hope Baptist Church and served as a scout
master for many years. "My ambition is to work with children
through the rest of the time I have remaining," Bill said during a
WSGS interview in 1981. Bill married Norma Lee Gilbert and they
had two sons - Randall and Wendell Pelley. Randall is a well known
musician, playing drums in countless bands over the years and he
performed at the first Black Gold Festival in Hazard in 1977.
That's where the Little Drummer Boy clue came into play. "I
met a lot of people and everyone in general has been wonderful to me and
my family and for this I'm certainly grateful," Pelley told WSGS.
