The following letter and poem were written by my great-uncle,
Ferrell Bradford Kennedy. He was an Appalachian author of the highest caliber
in my opinion, though he never thought enough of his own work (and there is
a very large body of it) to have it published. He was a wonderful man, and
had the most beautiful handwriting! Anyway, I'm including this in the hope
that whoever reads it will enjoy it as much as I did...
"Jan. 8, 1969
Dear Eddie:
I hope I'm not interrupting a busy schedule, but I keep
thinking of the odd experience I had a few years back, and wondering if
this bit of news would be of interest to you. I had been "ground-hog"
hunting on Kennedy hill, and a sudden summer storm came. I fled for shelter
to your old home, which, at that time, was still in one piece. Well, my
experience was an eery [sic] one, to say the least, and I'm not normally a
superstitious soul. But that day was different. From the time of my entrance
into the house, until my departure at the end of the storm, there seemed
to be unseen eyes watching me. I felt that spirits of the past were
there, and not pleased with the careless and uninvited intrusion of a
mortal. I was not afraid, but I seemed to sense that my presence was
unwelcome, and as there were no visible occupants there to make me feel
either welcome or unwelcome I became restless and inwardly disturbed. I
moved from room to room, upstairs and down, and the "watchers", though
unseen, were always with me. My feeling of their presence and their
watchfulness increased, and I found myself unwilling to touch, move, or
otherwise disturb anything in the house. Earlier I had opened an old
trunk filled with pictures, and this had so disturbed the "watchers"
that their displeasure had communicated itself to me. When the storm
ended, I left the old house with mixed emotions. Relief, sadness for
having been an intruder in the sacred realm of Memory, and a nostalgic
longing for the old days. On the way off the hill, my impressions began
to shape itself into poetry, (?) and the enclosed poem (?) is the result.
I hope it brings back happy memories.
Best regards to you and yours,
Ferrell"