THE FREMONT COUNTY HERALD
September 30, 1926
MOTORED 3500 MILES IN FORD WITHOUT A MISHAP. P.
W. Rucker and Wife of Sidney Visit His birthplace in Kentucky And
Attend Rucker Reunion
Returning last Friday evening from a trip which lasted almost two
weeks, Mr. and Mrs. Pryor Rucker of the Palace Cafe in Sidney
gave the writer in an interview Tuesday some interesting facts
concerning their journey over the eastern half of the United
States and back to Sidney, a trip which led them across Tennessee
and into Kentucky, covering some 3500 miles. The trip was made to
attend the Rucker reunion in Nashville, Tennessee, and Mr. and
Mrs. Rucker drove 102 miles on the morning of the day scheduled
for the reunion, September 17th. From the states of
Oklahoma,Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Iowa, and others, came 139
members of this Irish family, all bearing the name of Rucker, the
geneology of which goes far back into the history of Ireland. It
seems that Mr. Rucker of Sidney formed the missing link in the
chain of descendants which the family was trying to connect. So
it was with great joy and welcome that Mr. and Mrs. Rucker were
received upon their arrival. As they drove up to the address of
the place given them in a letter before a palatial old colonial
mansion in Nashville, reflecting in every corner of its aged
architecture refinement and luxury, the owner of the home came
down the long flight of steps and welcomed the Ruckers in, to
partake of the reunion spirit which pervaded the beautiful
setting, to enjoy that charming southern hospitality so famous of
the southern folks. Mr. and Mrs. Rucker soon were being
introduced as the people from Iowa and for whom the party had
been waiting. The feast of the gala affair was one of splendor,
luxury and taste, but purely delightful, because of the
predominating hospitality of a people who can mix refinement with
society and create a harmony in the two unequaled anywhere for
its comfort and enjoyment of the people participating. The
Ruckers spent many days visiting with the relatives, new to them
in many cases, due to their absence from them over a span of
years, yet they felt they had known them intimately for years.
Mr. Rucker visited his birthplace, De Foe, Kentucky, called by
the people down there "Sweet Home". He left DeFoe at
the age of three years, and of course did not remember much of
its earlier appearance, however he was remembered by several of
the real old townspeople. They visited the old swimmin' hole,
wherein Abraham Lincoln had dived and mud-crawled before he
became the great man of destiny. The swimming hole was only three
miles from Mr. Rucker's first home. Also the cabin where Lincoln
was supposed to have been born is close to Mr. Rucker's old home.
The trails over which Jesse James once rode, and by which he
eluded the law, are a part of that historic and interesting
country. A permanent organization was effected to keep a record
of the residence and activities of the widely scattered family.
Mr. Rucker was elected one of the directors, the board of
directors being an integral part of the organization. Mr. and
Mrs. Rucker made the trip in their Ford, crossing the Mississippi
at St. Louis and continuing east to their destination. They
traversed the entire distance, going and coming, without any
engine trouble or a puncture. Mr. Rucker said that he feared many
times the tires would blow out, as they were traveling over the
old pike roads in Kentucky and Tennessee. Large rocks of the road
bed jutted up at all angles and made traveling over them at any
speed a hazard. It must have been a feeling of vague wonderment
to think that they were once the country's best roads, and the
arteries of communication beteeen states. How the stage coaches
in the earlier days lumbered and bumped along, pulled by six or
eight lathering, panting horses, goaded on, up and down hill by
the driver perched in front and atop the vehicle, never knowing
when a journey was started whether it would see its culmination
in the arrival at the centers of human concentration. And the
toll gates, scattered along the pikes, extracting their daily
revenue for the upkeep of the necessary roads. These and many
other thoughts must have raced through our friends minds as they
sped along in twentieth century style of locomotion and travel.
It was a great trip, and both Mr. and Mrs. Rucker tell of it with
a vividness that capitivates and holds your interest.