Crayneville School Closes for Year

Crayneville School Closes, from The Crittenden Press, March 2, 1905.

The Crayneville School closed Friday afternoon with a very interesting entertainment under the management of the teacher, Miss Rosa Schwab. The program was as follows:

• Salute to the Flag - By the School
• Recitation, The Rifleman - Carrie Crider
• Take Keer of Yerself - Ellis Ordway
• Grant and Lee - Dennis Carlton
• Recitation, Ain't Goin' to Cry No More - Audie Ordway
• Recitation, The Fire Kink - Lucy Bradford
• Faith and Work - Ethel McCaslin
• School Ma'ams Courtin' - Ida Ordway
• The Little Brother - Hester Rushing
• The Cheerful Farmer - Claud Tabor
• Dialogue, Aunt Pious - Ruby Cook

Early Crayneville

Crayneville, KY 1891-1892

The ad at the right and the following community items are some of the earliest items I have found on Crayneville. The ad was published in the Sept. 24, 1891 Crittenden Press, and the following community items were May 19, 1892.

Crayneville Community Items.

• P.H. Woods and Deboe & Dorroh are our merchants. We have only one church and school house combined.
• We have ten dwelling houses, all occupied.
• Deboe & Dorroh will pay 11 cents per dozen for eggs this week.
• Judge Rushing has departed for parts unknown.
• Deboe & Dorroh are selling Fredonia straight grade flour at 65 cents per sack.
• Jesse McCaslin had a log rolling Saturday.
• Rev. J. F. Price preached to a large crowd here Sunday evening. We have a good Sunday School here; it meets every Sunday at 3 o'clock.
• Miss Ada Deboe is visiting Miss Linnie Crayne this week.
• Miss Ida Adams gave her friend's a birthday party Saturday night.
  

Crayne Students 1932-1933

Crayne Students in 1932-1933.

This photo belonged to my Mom, Evah Lee Brantley Travis.

1st row: Left to Right Bottom step.

Allie Bradford Jr., Wilbur Woodall, Gladys Beard, James Robert Dorroh, Bobby Butler, Ophelia Brown, Louise Jones, Thelma Louise Elkins, Hilda Mae Woodall, Ruby Hunt.

2nd row: Clifton Tabor, Dorothy Glenn Dorroh, Jewell Tabor, Ruth Jane Bigham, Imogene Jones, Ada Nell Bradford, Helen Perryman, Anita Houston, Ronella Stevens, Henry Ewell Baird.

3rd row: James Woodall, Doyle Brown, Evah Lee Brantley, Verble Louis Cruce, Mildred Paris (Teacher), Hilda Baird, Lilly Mae Tabor, J. T. Brown, Oliver Hunt.

The second Crayne School

The second Crayne School building was built in 1925. It was erected on KY Highway 91 next to the present day Unity General Baptist Church.

It was frame and consisted of two rooms, one larger than the other, and they were called the "big" room, for the upper grades, 6th-8th, and the "little" room for the lower grades.

This school became so crowded that a building down the highway owned by James Dorroh was used for a short time. The 6th-8th grades attended there.

A short time later a small concrete block building was built next to the two room school building for these pupils. (This small concrete building was where I went my first three years of school. The rest of my grade school years were spent in the frame building picture above.)

Crayne school was closed in 1960 and pupils were transported to Marion or Frances. Mrs. Annabelle Alexander was the teacher in the upper grades when the school closed.

Both of these school houses are gone now, due to the tornado damage on January 3, 2000.

Crayne Post Office History

Crayne Post Office

The photo at right is the original Crayne Post Office. It is located today on display at the Crayne post office building.

In 1886 James Lee Cruce became the first postmaster of Crayne. The post office was located at his farm about half a mile south of Crayne. In 1890, Richard Dorroh was named Postmaster, followed by Hugh Glenn in 1900-1902, James F. Canada in 1904, and Newton Bishop in 1907.

James Franklin Dorroh, William Robert Dorroh and Eugene Dorroh each served as Postmaster of Crayne. At the time the Dorroh's served as Postmaster, the office was located in the Hugh Glenn Store. This store later became the Dorroh General Store and the post office remained in this building until 1953.

In 1953, Seth Ferguson became Postmaster. Mr. Ferguson moved the post office to his general store. He retired as Postmaster of Crayne in 1982. Mrs. Velma Ferguson and Mrs. Jackie Dorroh served as Assistant Postmaster during this time.

In 1982, George Tucker of Mayfield became Postmaster in charge until his retirement.

In Feb 1983, Rose Ann Bebout was appointed Postmaster and remains the Crayne Postmaster today. Some of the postmaster relief people under Rose Ann were Wanda Mott, Jackie Dorroh and Linda Highfil Padget. Today Kim Asbridge serves as Postmaster relief under Rose Ann Bebout.

In 1992 the post office was remodeled and a twenty-four hour lobby was post office boxes for rent became available to customers. The original post office window and box service area is now a lobby display for everyone to remember where we came from. The display will remain a part of the Crayne Post Office history.

Hopefully the Crayne Post Office will remain a vital part of the daily life of its community for many years to come. It is all that is left of a once lively and busy community.

Easter at Crayne

This picture of a group of relatives and friends was made one Easter Sunday at the Crayne Presbyterian Church. It was in the early 1950's, about 1953-54.

Back row left to right: Belle and Leffell Boswell, Velda (Ordway) Johnson, holding her young son, and her husband Doug Johnson, Velma (Ordway) and Seth Ferguson, and Evah Lee Brantley Travis.

Front row: Sheryl and Sandra Ferguson, Brenda Travis, and Gary Hill.

We were dressed in our Easter finery, even to the little hats that we had on, and our Easter baskets.

Some Crayne News Items During this time. Crayne News Reporter - Margaret Howard.

• Those on the sick list are: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Holloman, Mrs. Julie Belt, Mrs. Sarah Cruce, Mr. Rob Dorroh.
• Miss Bernice Sutton is now employed at the Marion Cafe.
• Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Campbell and Darell, were the Sunday guests of Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Ordway and Ronnie.
• Mr. Donald Hodge, of Texas, is visiting Mrs. Sarah Cruce and other relatives in this community.
• Mr. Jerry Brown, of Murray State College, spent the week end with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown.
• Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Jones were the Sunday dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Jones and Tommy.
• The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Goldie Rushing, of Detroit, formerly of Crayne, passed away yesterday at Detroit.

Crayneville's First School

Crayneville's First School. This picture was made in 1915.

The first school was built sometime in the late 1800's and it was located of McCaslin land. That land was across the road from the United Presbyterian Church on Crayne Cemetery Road and the home of the Seth Ferguson's for many years.