In a message dated 12/16/1999 10:34:35 PM Pacific Standard Time, annapplegate@maysvilleky.net writes: << This list is not limited to just names & dates. It is also for learning more about the history and landmarks of Johnson County. It is for sharing stories about our Johnson County ancestors. >>Thanks Ann, we needed that. I have always treasured this story that was passed on to me by an aunt who is now in her mid-eighties. Do any of you have this type of information that you can share with us? "Katy Estep was born in 1861 in Redbush, Johnson County, Kentucky. She married William Wallace McKenzie and helped rear their nine children to adulthood. She was responsible for the cleaning and the washing. The washing was done by hand with lye soap she made herself. She canned the food they ate from the garden they cared for. She would rise long before dawn to cook enough food to feed her family for the day. She would bake bread, fry chicken, slice ham, etc. Everything had to be on the table and ready to eat by dawn. When dawn came she went to the fields with her husband and children. It was custom to only cook once a day, place everything on the table and when it was time to eat it only had to be warmed a little and the family could return to the fields much faster that way. This custom is still carried on in some homes even though modern conveniences are installed in most of the homes. After her husband's death, she and the children continued running the farm. She died in 1935, at the age of 79 and was buried alongside her husband in the "McKenzie Cemetery", Patty Flats. The most vivid memory of my grandmother Estep was a trip made to see her in 1929. She had had a telephone installed. One with a crank on the side. She would crank and crank on that thing but could never get it to work. She would get so disgusted she would end up stepping out on the porch and yelling for who ever she wanted. The hills would echo and with help from neighbors the word was passed on to the person she wanted to speak with." Sharon in CA