"Historic Places at the Crossroads"

7th Annual Preservation Week 2005 Photo-Essay Competition

Second Place: Shilo Adams, Letcher High School

Title: The World runs through Isom: An account of a lost postal empire.

In the small town of Isom, Kentucky, right in the same area as the Halcomb's Dairy Bar and the antique store ran by a local veteran, lies a shabby white shack, complete with a small porch, chipped paint job and lack of any cohesively steady structure whatsoever. It fades into the scene of one of the older neighborhoods of the town; its historical significance is something that must be the last thing on an average passerby's mind, to say the least.

One thing that the locals of the area fail to realize (or, at least, fail to comment upon to the younger generations without prodding) is that this is the first post office in Isom history, erected for as long as anyone I know can remember. Becoming the mecca of the fledgling town quite quickly, it kept the entire area, a hideaway in eastern Letcher county, connected to what was going on in the world around them; it also served as a socialization place for citizens, as I've been told. Visitors were often impressed by the way it looked and was kept after by the lone postmaster, exquisitely humble paint job and all. Its design is also very unique, unusual for the time, as well as now. It bewildered people to the point of enchantment, which increased interest in the small town. There's not as much now, the building deteriorating as we speak.

The reasons I would like to see this wonderful establishment restored and metaphorically releasing it back into the public's consciousness are many. I'd like people to see that they can live amidst some amazingly informative history and not know about it (potentially causing them to become more interested in their own residence); I'd like for my children and beyond to have something to look back on with their elders and reminisce about the town's past; I'd like for people to see that our area is indeed worthy of recognition, that we're not only fields, cows and churches.

For the building itself, I have ideas on how to re-use and restore its greatness. Our slow paced environment needs a bookstore, so the small, quaint space of the former post office would give that rustic, old time feel that works so well. We complain that our students aren't as interested in reading, but there's not one library or literary establishment to speak of. Secondly, since it is in one of the most productive areas of Isom, it could sell city-based merchandise bearing the Isom logo or various items from the surrounding stores, becoming a gift shop of sorts. Finally, it could become a nice coffeeshop, a place for the youth to convene in a positive manner. Regardless of my ideas, something needs to be made of this once-great land so that the next generations will enjoy their surroundings beyond their immediate youth.

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.