Killed in World War I while serving as an infantryman in the United States Army was Hugh Fulks; buried in either Newby or Pinegar Cemetary. Hugh was either a cousin or nephew of my father, Rummage Ira Fulks. Frank DePriest, owner of a general store near Star Lime Works, Kentucky mentioned that Hugh, as a small child, had the habit of falling asleep, snuggled atop a cracker barrel.

Term "second fiddlers" most certainly does not apply to a lack of affection and respect for the Pinegars. Members of that Pinegar family are part of Fulks heritage resulting from a maritial union between Sara Elizabeth Depriest(1857-1924) and Benjamin Franklin Pinegar.(-------) One of Benjamin and Sara's children<Carie Atlantic Gerthie Dell) married a young man named Mattie Mandard Fulks(Rummage Fulks' father).Mattie Mandard Fulks was one of Henry Andrew Jackson Fulks II's boys.

Rummage Ira Fulks was especially fond of his grandmother "Betty" Depriest Pinegar and the other Pinegars. During our visits to Kentucky, Uncle Dyer, Uncles Lalus, his mother, and Carie Atlantic Gerthie Dell Pinegar Fulks were atop the visitation list.

Childhood experiences lend credibility to the concept that several of the close Fulks kin were extremely independent. For them, company seemed to amount to having extra mouths to feed: killing a chicken and mashing potatoes or whatever. The Pinegars were more hospitable. "Good to see you again, Rum!" the Fulks' would say. "How long are you going to stay this time?" That was often the message this writer received as a child and teenager.

Sister Martha Dorcas Fulks Hallman relayed to me that the Pinegars attending Old Ironton School of 1900 were acquainted with Henry Andrew Jackson Fulks II, his wife, and children. It is known that the children of Mattie Mandard Fulks and Carie Atlantic Gerthie Dell Pinegar Fulks attended a school known as Old Hubbard. Another child of Mattie and Carie was Wilmus Avel Fulks, and she attended school at Ferguson Springs from ages twelve to sixteen. What school she attended earlier is unknown.

My greatgrandmother, Sara Elizabeth Depriest, was one of two children born to Simpson Depriest and Persilla Terry. Born in the state of Tennessee, Persilla Leonard Terry and Simpson Depriest were married in the 1855 time threshold. It is suspected that Persilla and her family had moved from Tennessee to the vicinity of Birmingham and Ironton, Kentucky in order for the father to work in the iron or lime industry. Perhaps they had inherited property. No one knows for certain. Any conclusions drawn in support of this hypothesis will be corrected when and if found to be in error.

Lalus Martin Pinegar was the youngest child and a son of Sara Elizabeth Depriest Pinegar. Uncle Lalus was born after Benjamin Franklin Pinegar deceased. It is thought that Benjamin Pinegar deceased during 1887.

Uncle Lalus Martin Pinegar at Old Ironton School in 1900. He's the blond; just to right of center. In his future, he'll serve in WWI.

A WWI veteran and in the U.S. Army engineers, my uncle Lalus Martin Pinegar was a longtime resident of Grand Rivers, Kentucky; serving one term as its mayor. Nicknamed "Little Britches," my greatuncle was married to a schoolteacher: Allie Jennings Pinegar.

Among Uncle Lalus's remnants of the World War were his gas mask,a captured wristwatch, and a gold ring taken from a German soldier: a battlefield casualty. Of all our uncles, Uncle Lalus was, no doubt, our favorite. Being of small stature, blond haired, and blue eyed, Uncle Lalus possessed an excellent verbal facility, a bright intellect, and a natural wit and curiosity. All the Pinegars I met shared those traits. Uncle Lalus did suffer serious mental injury from his experiences during that war, but he remained a very decent person. Few emerge from participation in war unscarred.

My uncle Lalus made it a point to emphasize during discussions of World War I that he felt that the Germans were fine people and were among the brightest and most inventive in the world. "They just get caught-up in that kind of thing. They are called into the military, and they have to go." Uncle said.

Somewhere in the Fulks Family Photos Archives, I've spotted a (1918) photo of Uncle Lalus Pinegar as he stood on a muddy, road in France during the First World War. A desecrated forest suggests of a fierce artillery barrage. Treetops are missing, and within that photo, debris are scattered as far as one can see.

Said Uncle Lalus in regard to the war: "It was the darkest of nights, and I volunteered as a private to the duty of riding in sidecart of a motorcycle. A man from New York City was the cyclist, and I was the passenger. Our mission was to deliver a "top secret" written message to General Pershing at his headquarters; made necessary for reason that the enemy had severed our lines of communication with headquarters.

That trip through German line was really scary. It was necessary that we ride top-speed through German lines, and Germans were firing at us the entire time. There were shells, small arms, and machine guns. I could hear shots whizzing over our heads and feel their wind and heat. We did make it. Gaining entry into General Sherman's tent by saluting, giving the password, passing, the message was to direct artillery fire into the Argonne Forest, send in the infantry and re-inforcements, and bring in the armor.

The tide of battle and course of the war were changed. The enemy began to surrender in large numbers, and fortunately, the motorcycle operator and I made it to the General's headquarters and back to our lines without being killed. I never saw that man from New York again. He may not have survived that war."

Until his health began to deteriorate in his fifties, Uncle Lalus was happy to accompany my dad and me when fishing for hybrid-striped bass on Kentucky Lake and on trips between the rivers. It was not long until Uncle Lalus's respiratory problems due to smoking, inhaling of coal dust, and his inhaling of small amounts of poisonous gas during the world war that Uncle Lalus was not in condition to drive his automobile or accompany us. Uncle Lalus was upset by the TVA's acquisition of all the land between the rivers. Considering such land acquisition a national trend towards socialism, he was perturbed upon encountering visitors to the area. Uncle Lalus feared the emergence of the nation toward a socialist state.

An interesting co-incidence is associated with my employment in Central Illinois; commencing in August, 1967. Taking-up residence in the small village of Waggoner, this writer was invited to join the American Legion. There at one of their meetings, I was introduced to a Mr. Pope, a World War I veteran and the Father of the school district's secretary. Mrs. Wilma Pope Matthews was employed as secretary for Panhandle Unit School District # 2, Raymond, Illinois.

In 1968 while visiting my parents in Kentucky, I was reading through a roster of soldiers serving with Uncle Lalus Martin Pinegar during WW I and learned that Mr. Pope, the secretary's father, had served in the same company as my great-uncle, Lalus Martin Pinegar. Mr. Pope, a humble and courteous man, I learned through conversation that many American citizens living through those times shared the same values and behaviors. That was a strange coincidence. A man from Waggoner,Illinois and one from Grand Rivers,Kentucky had known each other back in 1918.

Having a reputation in Livingston and Lyon County of being an outstanding public school and piano teacher, my aunt Allie Jennings Pinegar gained much of her experience in one room schools; ending her career as principal of the elementary school at Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Highly respected as an educator, I had the privilege of working with some of her students in the highschool in Livingston County. Many had mastered the skills needed to do well in their studies.

Place photos of Uncle Lalus in France,WWI; Aunt Allie Jennings Pinnegar; Old Ironton School(1900)

Uncle Lalus was born April 18,1890 and deceased April 18, 1961 due to pancreatic cancer. His wife, Allie Jennings Pinegar, deceased April 18, 1965. Records from the Randolph Pinegar files indicate that Allie had been previously married to Monie Higgins who deceased during the teen part of the twentieth century. Sister Dorcas reported to me that Uncle Lalus helped to pay his wife's expenses through the Teacher's College at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Having met Allie's father and mother, James and his wife, I found them to be very cordial and humble people. In my possession is a pictorial history of World War II that was the property of Allie's father, James Jennings. What was Aunt Allie's mother's name is unknown to me. We addressed her as simply "Mrs. Jennings." Mrs. Jennings was among the very faithful to biblical teachings.

The following photo images are available in spaces indicated on Rummage and Ella.com: photo of Old Ironton School-1900>Route 2, Golden Pond, Kentucky Shown on back row and right is Nay Dyer Pinegar.

This researcher is currently faced with a difficult task. The ages of those Pinegars within that photo do not make sense. Carie and Josie Pinegar are shown as little girls, and their younger brother, Lalus Martin Pinegar, is depicted as someone approximately thirteen years old.???????