Robert Wayne Kahle -- Professional Baseball Player

 

Robert  *Bob” Wayne Kahle was born on November 23, 1915 in Newcastle, Indiana, the son of Edward Joseph Kahle and Clara Scharff Kahle.  His father was a native of Cincinnati and worked for 23 years with the Holthouse Furniture Company.  On February 15, 1941, Bob married Evelyn Beatrice Riley, in the Maywood Catholic Church in Maywood, California.  Evelyn was the daughter of William Roy Riley and Laura Waller Riley.  William Roy was the grandson of Thomas and Peachie Bridges Hixon.  Bob and Evelyn became the parents of three sons, Ronald Howard, James William and Robert Allan, who were all born in Los Angeles, California.

Bob was an outstanding baseball player in high school. After high school, he was given a tryout with the American Association Baseball League. He was sent to the lower minors, where he played for three years before being assigned to the Indianapolis Indians. In 1937, he played well enough to be noticed by the Boston Bees. He spent nine months with the Bees in late 1937 and 1938 but rarely played, not seeing any action his first year, and then being limited to three pinch-hitting appearances and five as a pinch-runner the next season. He was apparently bothered by a sore arm at the time. He was optioned to the Hartford Laurels of the Eastern Baseball League, but he couldn't swing the bat properly and asked to be put on the voluntarily retired list for the remainder of the season in order to regain his health. 

At the end of spring training in 1939, Boston sold Kahle to the Newark Bears, the top farm club of the New York Yankees.   He was in Newark for a month, but failed to make a good enough impression to stick, and this time the Bees sold him to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League for $7,500. There, he was installed as the regular third baseman. He would become a star in the PCL, being named team MVP in 1940. The Philadelphia Athletics team wanted to purchase him after the 1940 season, but the price asked by Hollywood Stars - $ 15,000 - was deemed too steep. In 1941, Kahle had a 29-game hitting streak for the Stars.

In 1942, he left his professional baseball career and enlisted in the US Navy, Bob never saw any action in World War II, but was stationed at various naval bases on the Pacific coast where he played on the local baseball service teams.  In 1946, he returned to the Hollywood Stars, but was soon traded to the Portland Beavers where he was their third baseman for the remainder of 1946. In 1947, he was sent down to the Southern Association League to play for the Little Rock Travelers. He retired from baseball at the end of the season and returned to Hollywood, California where he worked as a set painter in the Burbank Studios for the next 33 years. He did keep a connection with baseball, becoming the founding organizer the Little League in the Westchester section of Los Angeles. 

Bob died on December 16, 1988 at the age of 73 in Los Angeles.  He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.  His wife, Evelyn, died on October 15, 2006 in Los Angeles and was buried beside him.

Tombstone of Robert Wayne Kahle

LINEAGE:  (Robert Wayne Kahle was the husband of Evelyn Beatrice Riley.  Evelyn was the daughter of William Roy and Laura Waller Riley, granddaughter of William Sylvester and Mary Hixon Riley and great-granddaughter of Thomas W. and Peachie Elizabeth Bridges Hixon. Peachie was the first child of Orren Dates and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges.  Orren was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Hilda Agnes Bridges -- Elementary School Teacher

 

Hilda Agnes Bridges was born December 9, 1910 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the eighth of eleven children of John Trice Bridges and Maggie Cunningham Bridges. She attended the one room Maple Grove School through the eighth grade. After she completed the eighth grade, she attended Cadiz High School where she graduated as the salutatorian of the 1930 class.

Hilda became an elementary school teacher and taught in the Trigg County School System for thirty-nine years.  Her first teaching position began in the summer of 1930 in the Lower Donaldson School, a one-room school.  Later she taught in two other one-room schools—Maple Grove School and Upper Donaldson School.  In 1940 she began teaching the third grade at the Cadiz Graded School.  In 1948, she obtained a BS degree from Murray State College (now Murray State University).  Hilda continued to teach in the third grade at the Trigg Elementary School and McUpton School until her retirement in 1971.

“Miss Bridges” was the third grade teacher for many Trigg County students.  She was very artistic and shared that ability with her students. This author’s most vivid memory of “Miss Bridges” was that every day after lunch, she read a chapter from the book, “The Wizard of Oz” thereby introducing this classic story to her students long before it became available for its numerous television and video viewings.

Hilda never married but after her retirement she became a constant baby sitter for her three great-nephews when they were not in school.  She would constantly care for them from cooking their lunch to taking them swimming in the nearby creek.

On April 8, 1986, two years after her death, the Hilda Bridges Scholarship Fund was officially established.  It was the first scholarship to be established under the Trigg County Public School’s Educational Foundation.

Hilda died on February 12, 1984 and twenty four school teachers served as honorary pallbearers at her funeral.  She was buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County near her home place where she had lived all of her life.

Hilda A. Bridges Tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Hilda Agnes Bridges was the daughter of John Trice and Maggie Dora Cunningham Bridges and the granddaughter of Cullen T. and Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William Bridges and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Burnett Finley -- Soil and Water Conservationist

 

Burnett and Myrtle Finley

Burnett Finley was born on December 6, 1890 in Trigg County, Kentucky, the son of William Monroe “Billy” Finley and Alpha Marcus “Alphy” Cunningham Finley.  Burnett grew up in Trigg County and was a lifelong farmer in the county’s Maple Grove Community.

On June 15, 1919, he married Myrtle Mable Cunningham, the daughter of Elmer Elsworth “Ell” Cunningham and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham.  They were the parents of six children, of which two died in childhood with the other four growing up and becoming productive members of the community.

Burnett was always concerned about saving the land and worked with the local office of the USDA Soil Conservation Service in the effort to solve soil and water problems on local farms.  He cooperated in programs aimed at saving and enriching the farmland.

In the early 1960s as Burnett began contemplating his retirement from the farm, he began converting his cropland to pine trees. By 1964 his entire 75 acre farm except the tobacco land was was covered with grass and the pine trees.   A bundle of energy and a true conservationist, Burnett was surprised and proud of the remarkable growth of his pine plantation.  The pines covered the bare gullied hillsides with a carpet of pine needles and growing over 25 feet in the air, the pines showed the proper care and treatment given by Burnett over the earlier years. He also created a small fish pond and some wildlife food cover plantings to ensure some fishing and hunting near his home.  The Soil Conservation Service helped Finley with his soil and water conservations plans. He received cost sharing and other assistance from the service in converting most of the farm from row crops to woodland, grass and wildlife.  Burnett was proud as he entered retirement that his land was well covered and protected and would be able to produce for his grandchildren and future generations.

An interesting article about Burnett Finley and another Trigg County farmer, Hill Wills, was reported in the Lexington Herald Leader on September 24, 1929:   

REMARKABLE COINCIDENCE IN CADIZ — There is a most remarkable sameness in the records of two young farmers of Trigg county They are Burnett Finley near Cadiz and Hill Wills of the County Both left home the same day to enter service during the World War and spent some time overseas They returned on different transports but both were discharged the same day Returning home they were united In marriage on the same day and the first child to bless each home was born the same day Death took the first born at the age of 20 months on the same day and each family now has two children dead and three living.

Burnett Finley died on July 12, 1972 and was buried in the Allen Cemetery in Trigg County, KY.  His wife, Myrtle died on August 14, 1985 and was buried beside him.

Burnett Finley

Tombstone of Burnett and Myrtle Finley

LINEAGE:  (Burnett Finley was the husband of Myrtle Mable Cunningham. Myrtle was the daughter of Elmer Elsworth “Ell” and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham and the granddaughter of Cullen T. and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr. -- Professional Soldier

 

Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr., or G. D. as he was known was born on July 22, 1924 in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was one of six children born to Garland Drew and Annie Lurline Thomas Bridges.

In 1942 when Garland registered for the draft, he was working for the American Elevator and Machine Co. in Louisville, Kentucky, but gave his place of residence as Route 1, in Cadiz.  On January 25, 1944, he was inducted into the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet.  However, he and 300 other cadets’ flight training were eliminated on February 19, 1944. He was then assigned to the Radar Repair School as a private.  He completed the B-29 Radar School training in May 1945.  His early active duty came to a close when he was discharged in May 1946 as a corporal in the Army Air Corps reserves.

Following his discharge, Garland moved to Texas where he met Johnnye Faye Buth, the daughter of John and Neta Word Buth of Lockney, Texas. Garland and Johnnye were married on August 4, 1946, a marriage that lasted 62 years. In September 1946, Garland enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.  He graduated in 1949 with a BS degree in Education and a USAF commission in the reserves.  He went on to earn his masters degree in Education in 1950.  Then the Korean War began and in June 1950, Garland started his air force career.

In September of 1964, Garland and his family were living in Tripoli, Libya where he was serving at Wheelus Air Base.  He was the Director of Personnel when the Arab-Israeli Six Day War occurred.  He was responsible for getting all the military families and other Americans who lived in the Tripoli area safely into Wheelus Air Base.  The base was being threatened by homemade bombs being thrown over the air base fence and Russian fighter planes began appearing in the area.  Garland was then responsible for evacuating over 6,000 individuals, mostly women and children, out of Libya by air.  All this urgent activity took place in less than ten days.

Later in his career, in May of 1972, Garland was assigned to the Air Base in Danang, Vietnam.  Danang was known as “Rocket City” as Russian rockets frequently rained down upon the base.  As Director of Personnel, he served at the air base for ten months.

Lieutenant Colonel Garland Bridges retired from the United States Air Force on June 30, 1975 after serving his country for over 31 years.  His service included serving in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His military decorations included two Meritorious Service Medals and a Bronze Star.

After retirement, Garland and his family moved to Austin, Texas where he began a second career as a life insurance salesman for the following 15 years.  In 2003, Garland and Johnnye moved to a retirement community in Temple, Texas. In 2006, they moved to Odessa, Texas to be closer to their family.

Garland died on August 8, 2008 in Odessa, Texas at the age of 84.  He was buried in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.  His wife Johnnye died on June 24, 2016 in Odessa and was buried alongside him in San Antonio.

Tombstone of Garland D. Bridges, Jr.

LINEAGE:  (Garland Drewry Bridges, Jr. was the son of Garland Drewry and Annie Lurline Thomas Bridges, and the grandson of Drewry and Nannie Gresham Bridges. Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Alene Garland Colson -- The Tragic Colson Family

 

 

Alene Garland was born on July 30, 1918, in Trigg County, Kentucky, the first of nine children of John Doyle Garland and Drucilla Hargrove.  Alene married Frank Colson who was 28 years her senior. Frank had previously been married to Alice Garner who had died in 1936 at the age of 35.

Alene and Frank settled in Golden Pond, Kentucky, in the land between the rivers area of Trigg County. They were the parents of twelve children during their marriage.  Their lives came to an end in 1962 as a result of a tragic “murder-suicide” event.

On the morning of April 17, 1962, Frank Colson, who was 70 years old at the time, went to his neighbor’s house and asked to borrow his shotgun.  Colson told the neighbor that he had heard some wild turkeys near his home and wanted to shoot them.  Colson then returned to his own home and parked his car some 200 yards from the house.  He then walked to the house with the shotgun and went around to the back door of the home. He apparently knocked on the back door and Mrs. Colson came to the door and opened it.  Colson then shot his wife after she opened the door.  His 13 year-old son, Stevie Colson who was evidently standing near his mother ran through the house and out the front door. Colson followed his son into a nearby field and shot at him but did not hit him.  Mrs. Colson, by that time, had made her way through the house and out the front door.  She fell in the yard and died about 15 feet from the front porch.  Colson, after firing at his son, put the barrel gun against his forehead and pulled the trigger.  He was found dead about 20 feet from the back door. Mrs. Colson had been shot in the left side just below her heart and the blast had also severely damaged her left arm.  Three other small children who were at home when the shooting occurred wee in another part to the house and did not see the slayings.

The double slaying was not the only tragedy that the Colson family had faced within the previous 20 months. On September 11, 1960, the Colson’s son, Bobby James Colson, 16, was killed in an automobile accident.  He was a passenger in a car driven by his 22 year old brother that careened off a road about two miles north of Golden Pond, Kentucky and crashed head on into a tree.  The young Colson was pronounced dead on arrival Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz, Kentucky.  His brother survived the crash and was admitted to the hospital with multiple facial lacerations.

Another son, 22 year old Riley Bill Colson died on December 21, 1961 as a result of a drowning in four inches of water just a few yards from his home as a result of a freak accident.  Riley was one of three youths in a 1949 car when a tire went flat while crossing a narrow creek.  The boys remained in the car for some time before Riley started walking down the creek bed toward his home. He fell face forward into the shallow water of the creek and drowned.  Apparently carbon monoxide had been filtering into the car and the youth, dazed by the poison was unable to lift himself from the water.  The body was discovered the next morning by his 9 year old brother who was enroute to school.  The other two boys were still inside the car and were taken to the Trigg County Hospital in serious condition from carbon monoxide poisoning and fortunately survived.

Years later, the Colson’s oldest child, Benjamin Franklin “Frankie” Colson died on August 9, 1985 after he was wounded in a shooting incident near Aurora, Kentucky.  Frankie was the father of two sons.

Tombstone of Alene Colson

LINEAGE:  (Alene Garland Colson was the daughter of John Doyle and Drucilla Hargrove Garland, the granddaughter of James Ouford and Virginia Marquess Hargrove, great-granddaughter of Francis Marion and Mary J. Thomas Marquess and the great-great-granddaughter of Peyton and Sarah L. Ethridge Thomas.  Peyton was the third child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

John Trice Bridges -- Surveyor, and a host of other talents

 

John Trice Bridges was born on February 15, 1874 in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the sixth child of Cullen T.  and Virginia Thomas Bridges.

On July 31, 1898, he married Maggie Dora Cunningham. The Trigg County Historical Clippings, Volume 3 contains the following description of their wedding:

July 1898                       
Will Marry Sunday                       

A marriage license was issued yesterday afternoon to Mr. John T. Bridges and Miss Maggie D. Cunningham, and the wedding will take place next Sunday afternoon at four o clock at the home of the bride’s father, Mr. E. A. Cunningham, in Canton district. Rev. George E. Atwood will perform the ceremony. George Mitchell and Miss Jennie Cunningham, Neely Bridges and Miss Ora Bridges will be the attendants. The bride is a beautiful young lady of nineteen summers. The groom is a clever young farmer and the third son of Mr. C. T. Bridges.

John and Maggie had eleven children, Lillie Jane Bridges, born in 1899; Lucy Lee Bridges, born in 1900; Lola Frances “Fanny” Bridges, born in 1902; Dora Virginia Bridges, born in 1903; John Carl Bridges, born in 1904; Mary Pauline Bridges, born 1908; Queen Alexander Bridges, born in 1909; Hilda Agnes Bridges, born 1910; Beulah Louise Bridges, born in 1913; Clifford Elmo “Pete” Bridges, born in 1917 and Dorothy Allene Bridges, born in 1920.

During his life he worked at many different jobs among them contracting, surveying and farming.  As a carpenter, he built many houses, barns and other buildings in various section of the county.  He was most noted as a surveyor and was responsible for surveying practically all of Trigg County.  Almost all deeds filed for that period included his name. He served in the elected position of “County Surveyor” for Trigg County for many years. While carrying out his jobs as a carpenter and surveyor, he also maintained a farm at his home. In addition, he served one term as a Trigg County magistrate for his home district. Upon his retirement from the surveying business, his son-in-law, Preston Thomas took over his business and became the eminent surveyor of his day.

Among John’s other activities was being a member of the Bridges Family Band, which was made up of family members that lived in the Maple Grove Community,  In addition, he worked with the Bridges Brothers Nursery which supplied the community and the surrounding counties with all varieties of fruit trees, vines, shrubs and roses.  He built one of the first radios that required ear phones for listening.  He built a rural telephone system.  He and his wife Maggie operated the telephone switchboard that connected citizens from Linton, Kentucky to Cadiz, Kentucky. He also served as a foreman of the W. P. A., a project President Roosevelt introduced during the depression to give jobs to many.

In the early 1900’s, John built his own house in the Maple Grove Community, but unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1916.  He then replaced it with a concrete block house.  The blocks were made by hand in a block machine.  The sturdy house still stands today and is occupied by his granddaughter’s family.

John died on July 29, 1944 at the Futrell Clinic in Cadiz, after an illness of about three weeks due to complications from heart trouble.  He was 70 years, 5 months and 14 days old.  He was buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery, the family cemetery in Maple Grove, just down the road from his home.  His wife, Maggie, died on February 11, 1975 and was buried beside him.

The Bridges Family Band of which John Trice was a member

 

Tombstone of John and Maggie Bridges

LINEAGE: (John Trice Bridges was the son of Cullen T. and Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William Bridges and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

James O. "John" Clayton -- Musician and Artist

 

James O, “John” Clayton was born on September 10, 1929 in Caldwell County, Kentucky, the son of the late Robert Leonard Clayton and Frances Pearl Bridges Clayton.  He graduated from Butler High School in Princeton, Kentucky in 1947 and then went on to attend Western State College (now Western Kentucky University) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

He entered the US Army and served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Korean War in 1952 and 1953 where he was awarded the Bronze Star medal.  Following his military service, John attended the University of Kentucky where he graduated in 1954 with degrees in art and music.

On January 28, 1956, John married Sally Jo Patton the daughter of William and Jean Patton from Louisa, Kentucky.  On May 14, 1968, their only child, a son, John Bridges Clayton was born. John and Sally were divorced and he subsequently married Carolyn Steere.

For several years John taught art and music in the Franklin County, Kentucky schools.  He then left the teaching profession and went on to sell insurance and real estate before settling into the textbook publishing business where he worked for 34 years.

Even though John had left the profession of teaching music, his love of music never waned.  He remained actively involved in music up to his death.  He played trombone with the Lexington Symphony Orchestra as well as many musical ensembles. He was director of the Frankfort Community Chorus, Shelby County Bicentennial Chorus, Franklin County High School Acapella Choir, Frankfort Drum and Bugle Corps, Frankfort First Presbyterian Church, Shelbyville First Presbyterian Church and Full Circle Singers. 

In addition to his musical abilities, John was an accomplished painter.  Among his many awards was winning the Purchase Prize at the Kentucky State Fair in 2007 and 2012, the Best in Show for the Louisville Women’s Club exhibit, first place in a Kentucky-Indiana Pastel Society show, first place in a Mammoth Cave Regional Art Show, and second place in the VA’s National Combat Veteran’s competition. As a supporter of community art, John was president of the Kentucky –Indiana Pastel Society, co-founder of the Shelby Artists on Main in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and was one of the founders of Paul Sawyier Galleries in Frankfort, Kentucky.

John was involved in several civic organizations including serving as  President of the Frankfort Jaycees, state vice president, national director and member of Rotary Club in multiple cities, President of the Kentucky Educational Publishers, and a member of Shelby County UK Alumni Club, and two terms on the University of Kentucky National Alumni Board.

James “John” Clayton died on July 16, 2017 in Shelbyville, Kentucky.  He was buried in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Princeton, Kentucky.

Tombstone for James O. Clayton

LINEAGE: (James O, Clayton was the son of Robert Leonard and Frances Pearl Bridges Clayton, the grandson of Cornelius Neal and Emma Jean Sons Bridges, the great-grandson of William Joseph and Sarah Wills Bridges.  William Joseph was the first child of Simco N. and Emeline Martin Bridges.  Simco was the third child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)