ABBY AND PRESTON

Preston sat the snares and caught them all by himself at my parent's farm.

My conversation with a couple of concerned business men last week at lunch got me into researching the wreck at Horse Cave that contained Agent Orange. Here are the results of a week of gathering up information which seemed to have disappeared over the years and no one could remember anything about it.
The government kept a tight lid on this event and very little reached the media. The Feds. later denied it happend until someone stepped forward with the photos.
The one picture attached shows Gordon Collins (nephew of Floyd) and his dozer with his two helpers uprighting a RR car with the assistance of a crane.
On a Monday morning in 1966, at 1:05 am, a massive pile-up of 34 freight cars of the L & N Railroad took place at Horse Cave, Ky., when the rear half of
the train derailed. Damages in excess of a quarter of a million dollars were
estimated for the wreckage.
Twenty of the 34 derailed cars were carrying military supplies including
vehicles, steel, and chemicals. The other 14 cars were empty. Among the
military supplies was a partial load of potatoes. Many poor families during
the time of the derailment later took up on the offer of free potatoes
The grinding wreck left twenty loaded cars and fourteen empty ones in
twisted piles of rubble and snapped railroad communication lines. Wrecking
crews from Louisville and Nashville were dispatched to the scene to replace the quarter of a mile of ripped track.
Also aboard was a jet fuel tank which skittered off the tracks and landed on the opposite side of the embankment along side of Hwy 31-W.
The media reported..... “one car contained a chemical harmful to humans and animals...”
By noon on Tuesday, steam operated wreckers were soon at work, up-righting
the spilled cars, many of which appeared to be new.
Gordon Collins, dozer operator, was hired to bury the canisters of chemicals
on the farm of Albert Wilkins.. His son, Mike Collins, assisted him in the
work as did Bill Bishop.
The half life of Agent Orange, is reported to be “8.7 years”.
A few months afterwards, Albert Wilkins first noticed that his dog was
developing tumors, and then died. Larry, Albert's only son, a big healthy boy, died next. Two foremen on the
L & N that worked the wreck, both died of cancer and neither of them smoked or drank. .
Several cavers who spent time in the down stream section past Sunset Dome
in Hidden River Cave developed cancer including Joe Saunders with brain tomors
about age 55, and Jim Quinlin.
Then there is the entire catalog of cancer related deaths from people and
animals at Horse Cave who were exposed either to the wreck, or consumed the
potatoes. Gordon Collins died of cancer; his son Mike died of cancer age 40,
as did the other assistant Bill Bishop. The Church family who lived across the
street, all died of cancer.
Further down stream toward the river, several have died. They buried Jimmy Rountree's son July 30 of this year, after finding he had cancer . He was in his 30;s and spent a lot of playing around the river.
Studies on the effects of Agent Orange on humans, according to who is conducting the study, have varying results. In 1966 Agent Orange wasn't recognized as a terrible poison. the government was using it by the tankloads in 'Nam, so it must have been safe, right?
Preston Forsythe told me that he caved extensively in the down stream section of Hidden River and now has frequent unexplained headaches. I saw Mr. Forsythe last week and he had that 'cancer' color.
Charlie Williams, attorney at Munfordville, took the case for the Wilkins family who lost two members to cancer, and won an undisclosed amount of money.
Norman

I was thinking about Bro. Wm Johnson tonight and this incident came to mind.
About the year 1976, a revival started at Oak Grove during the season that tobacco was being set. I refused to work in the tobacco field while the revival was in progress, and while others were getting their tobacco set, and getting a good start on the weather, as the revival progressed, my tobacco plants were getting almost too large to transplant. I was in danger of losing the entire crop because of a late planting. I remember that Bro. William Johnson, also put aside planting his tobacco until ‘after’ the revival.
When the revival ended, I transplanted my tobacco, but the crop never seemed to grow like it should, and I only had what appeared to be about a 80% crop. The day that we hauled the tobacco to the market, other problems developed. En route to Bowling Green, the top of one basket blew off, and a considerable amount of tobacco was lost along Hwy 101.
Upon arriving at the tobacco barn, I discovered the top of the basket was missing, and hands of tobacco were scattered about the truck bed, while others were completely lost along the road.. The warehouse workers gathered up what they could and placed onto the basket which was quickly weighed.
The numbers, pounds, etc., I have now forgotten, but whatever the poundage was., I believe it was about 920 lbs quota, when the tobacco was weighed it came out to the exact number of pounds.
The man operating the scales, was in disbelief and made the men take the tobacco off the scales, and then re-weigh the entire crop again.
The second weighing, produced the same weight....920 lbs. Now the man was dumbfounded, and told me that he had never seen that happen before in his life.....exact and to the pound ! I was also mesmerized, because I had lost tobacco along the road, and yet I had my exact quota..... not a pound over or under.
The next time I saw Bro. William Johnson, I told him what had happened and he told me that he also had met his quota, and sold his tobacco for a good price. We laughed about that for years.
There is nothing that God won’t do for those who put him ‘first’. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet; but it tendeth to poverty. (Prov 11:24)

The privations, toils, and exposures incident to many of our old preachers are worth remembering. Though years have elapsed since the following incident took place, and nearly all that generation has passed from earth, yet many members are now living who trace their religious impressions to Bro. William Johnson’s labors.
In the month of February 1951 or 52, a deep snow fell in Edmonson County and the following day, the temperature plummeted to 19 below zero. A revival had started at Mt Zion and Bro. Johnson felt to attend the meeting. He had a wife and several children to support, but he forgot the business of life to heed the call of the Lord.
Bro William caught a ride to Pleasant Union Church but the road leading down the Mt Zion Ridge was impassable. He started walking and with the wind blowing from the north-west, his right side was exposed to the full force of the bitter cold. Consequently, he suffered minor frost bit on that side of his face.
He stayed with us during the revival. I was about 4 years old but remember him as a pleasant man who won my child-like admiration. With his fervent piety, he made an impression upon me and the church that two generations have not erased.
The meeting house soon ran out of fuel for the stove, and farmers living nearest to the church began sawing up their barn poles, for fire wood. The meeting lasted for nearly two weeks and many sinners were awakened and converted.
Bro. William once told me that at the close of the revival, the church met in the altar and he felt to walk across the building and shake hands with my dad. He said that when he did, the moment he took hands with dad, the power of God came down in a most remarkable manner and the church was filled with the glory of the Lord. It was in that revival that Johnny Webb and one of his sisters was saved. Johnny, a few years later, died in a car wreck, as did his youngest sister, Lola Mae.
“The memory of the just is blessed;” (Prov 10:7)