BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — At Thursday’s Kiwanis Club luncheon at Masterpiece Kitchen & Café in Inez, guest speaker John “AJ” Haney dropped two significant announcements. One focused on new opportunities for local farmers and the other on Heritage Day, an event set to kick off this Saturday.
Haney, a retired educator and longtime Martin County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, reminded attendees that the local conservation office is on the third floor of the Collier Center, open three days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Vicky Evans is the secretary there and will help with anything that comes up,” he assured the crowd.
Haney delivered big news for local farmers.
“We expect to get approval this week from the state agricultural department and will be administering a program for the UK Extension office agricultural program,” Haney revealed. “We will be distributing up to $90,000 to local farmers to purchase livestock, to purchase trees, to purchase all kinds of things on a matching basis.”
By later that day, Haney’s prediction was on point: the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board announced that Martin County had secured $95,072 through the County Agriculture Investment Program.
“Once we receive the money, we’ll be advertising with Roger [Smith in the newspaper] what you can spend the money on and what kind of match,” Haney told Kiwanis members. “The match varies anywhere from 25% to 75%. There’s 10 pages of things it will pay for.”
Heritage Day: A walk down memory lane
Haney then turned the conversation to something closer to his heart—Martin County Heritage Day, which marks its 18th year. Set against the backdrop of the scenic junction of King Fisher Trail and God’s Promise Trail, the celebration promises to honor local history and culture.
“We’ve been up there for a long time,” Haney reminisced, explaining how it all started when he and other locals like Nita Collier and Tom Dials realized the community needed a walking trail. “We’ve spent from 18 years ago to the present working on this particular trail in one way or another, just about every year. We had some great adventures while we were doing that,” he added, with volunteers like Joe Collier, Lonnie Smith and Mike Kirk helping along the way. Others stopped by to assist and even to donate money on the spot.
King Fisher Trail, featuring 180 wooden steps up the hillside behind the Collier Center, is not for the faint of heart, but Haney assured, “If you just go out to the steps and turn back, it’s not too bad.”
His favorite spot is the waterfall near the steps, especially after a rain.
In his retelling of the trail’s creation, Haney fondly remembered David Phillips, a volunteer who worked on the project. “He’d get there early and walk the trail twice before we even started,” Haney said, his voice filled with admiration. “He’d come singing hymns. It was just wonderful.”
One of the more iconic features of the trail is a cross near its beginning, constructed from two telephone poles. Haney recounted a day when he, Smith and Kirk struggled to raise the 30-foot cross despite multiple attempts.
“Lonnie said, ‘Gentlemen, we’re going about this all wrong,’” Haney shared. After a prayer, the cross went in the hole and turned just the way they wanted.
The trail has seen numerous upgrades over the years, such as reconstruction of the wooden steps, thanks to grants and volunteers.
King Fisher and God’s Promise Trail together form a one-mile loop and include exercise stations, scenic views, native flora, a prayer altar and more. At the top of the hill, the junction of the two trails, sits a log cabin originally built on Davis Branch by Shude Small. The cabin, which suffered some damage over time, was partially reconstructed.
“We were able to salvage most of it,” Haney explained. “It was a two-story cabin and we built it back as one-story.” It is filled with antiques.
Next to the cabin stands a one-room schoolhouse, which incorporates parts of the old Trace Fork School. Inside, plaques commemorate all of Martin County’s one-room schools—a nod to the past that resonates deeply with Haney, whose family has ties by way of teaching in some of those schools.
Heritage Day was born out of a desire to celebrate the trail and has evolved into an annual homage to Appalachian culture. Pat Marcum, a retired teacher, will be on hand to bring the old Trace Fork School back to life.
Attendees will get hands-on history lessons that include butter churning, stories of pioneer life, and demonstrations of antique tools.
Outside, local cooks will whip up a feast: 25 pounds of pinto beans in a cast-iron kettle, fried potatoes and Dutch oven cornbread.
“We usually have people bring in a dessert or two,” Haney said, noting that all the food is free.
To top it off, the McGinnis Family will entertain the crowd with a little front porch pickin’.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Haney said. “We do it rain or shine. If the weather is nice we’ll have a good crowd; if it’s not, it won’t be too big. But it’s free. … We would love to see you there.”
For those planning to attend, the Martin County Rescue Squad will offer free shuttle service from the Collier Center parking lot starting at 10 a.m.