•January 13, 2016•

By Jerry L. Ginther
NP Columnist

If you were raised in Sullivan, you will probably remember some bottomland not far to the west of Kirksville, often referred to as Cornbread Bottom; that is if you were born no later than say, 1970.  That is the year the gates of the new dam were closed and the flooding of the land acquired for the lake began.  If you were born later than that, it’s likely that this bottomland was flooded by Lake Shelbyville before you were old enough to have any memories of the area.  Nevertheless, it is likely that you may have heard your elders speak of this fertile valley along the Kaskaskia River. Personally, my memories center around folks I knew who lived there and the fact that I lived not far from the rim of that bottom for a short time. During my freshman year, I lived on a road that ran west out of Kirksville; I don’t recall that it had a name or a number. However, somewhere about a half mile, maybe a mile, to the west there was a “T” intersection.  At that intersection a road going south originated. If one turned to the south at that intersection and continued to the next intersection, one came upon an old building known as Reedy Schoolhouse.  (More about Reedy later)

Continuing on to the west, the road out of Kirksville would eventually bring you to the east rim of the bottomland. Down in the bottom was a farm owned by the elder Jim Pierce, who was a longtime friend of the family and a place where I spent many weekends and summer days during my grade school years. The Kaskaskia River either bordered or ran through the farm providing a boy of my age plenty of fishing, and the timber covered river banks, and pastureland afforded squirrel hunting and unlimited exploring.

For a short time, I lived at the “T” intersection mentioned above. The school bus picked up my sister and me every morning and turned around at this point on the road. Living near this particular intersection is significant for yet another reason at that time. I mentioned in a preceeding  paragraph that I would elaborate more on the schoolhouse.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.