By Dr. Curtis Varnell
As a child, I watched him struggle pushing his sales cart up and down the streets of my home town. Suffering from multiple scleroses or similar malady, his legs and back were twisted and turned and walking had to be a painful and difficult task. That never kept him from working. He would push his cart to the Logan County courthouse during the day, selling soda and concessions to patrons entering the court. Finishing those tasks, he would walk up and down the streets of Paris, “Ballgames, Morgan Field at 7 O’clock; Boys Club games on the little league fields,’ he would proclaim at every intersection. Every evening he would push that heavy cart across town and set up to sell concessions. Always a smile on his face and a positive attitude, just talking with him made you feel better. Gerald Baskins and his work attitude was an inspiration to several generations of children. Gerald was never provided a level ballfield in life but always strived to work and make his world a better place to live.
Looking through old photos as well as listening to people I shared coffee shop talk with, I realized every community has these exceptional individuals that stood out for the contributions they made to their communities. Bentley Allen of Paris was a life-long teacher in several county schools. Having no sons of his own, nevertheless he saw the needs for young boys and men to have male role models and to be able to participate in character building sports. As a result, he organized the local Boys Club. At its inception, Paris was the smallest town in the nation to have its own club and it was only through his hard work and ability to get people to volunteer free labor that it was able to function.
In talking with a colleague, I discovered Chester Gray of Booneville was a similar individual. Mr. Gray taught math but he also taught life. One of my favorite stories involved a student that was a constant problem in class. Rather than yelling or screaming or resorting to the paddle, Mr. Gray served the young man up a good measure of attention. “Johnnie (hypothetical name), you need to turn around. You know I love you but pay attention. Johnnie, you know I always love you but you need to stop pestering your neighbor.” Always prefacing his instructions with my buddy or I love you, he guided his students to do better. He later served in several positions including counselor and then, upon retirement, serves as a volunteer for all kinds of school and church.
Recently, in visiting the museum at Ozark, I meet Henry Cagle. Retired, he spends hours working and preserving the history of Ozark. An exceptional man, he really promotes the city of Ozark.
I love Magazine Mountain and three local men worked countless hours for us to have the new lodge and state park. After the lodge burned, the mountain-top was returning to ruin when Lloyd George of Danville, Frank Willems of Subiaco, and editor Garvin Green of Magazine stepped in and tirelessly worked to get the new lodge built. It took years for that dream to be fulfilled but without their foresight and work, we could not enjoy our beautiful state park.
The list goes on and on and we are blessed by these individuals. Some are living, some passed on but they were and are pillars of the community. As my dad would say, “those people are just a cut above the rest.”
