When this series of columns began way back in December of last year, my intention was to do one entry a month all the way through 2024. We ended up making it most of the way through this year, but this will serve to wrap up what I hope has been an interesting and educational journey.
Over the past several months we have gone through the archives of the old Whitley Republican to revisit some of the biggest headlines related to Eugene Siler, Sr. and his many accomplishments. This week, we take a look at one more, from January 19, 1984.
That week, over 40 years ago, Cumberland College paid tribute to one of its most accomplished former students – Mr. Eugene Siler, Sr.
An excerpt from a speech by Dr. James Taylor, president of Cumberland College, read, “Mr. Siler attended not only college at Cumberland but also the elementary grades and the high school when the college had all three levels.”
“He was a member of the Cumberland College basketball team which defeated the University of Kentucky’s Wildcats, the only Cumberland team to beat the University’s varsity team.”
“Mr. Siler was graduated from Cumberland in 1920 after which he attended Law School at Columbia University and the University of Kentucky, from which he was graduated.”
“Mr. Siler served in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted man during World War I and in the U.S. Army as a captain during World War II.”
“A practicing attorney for fifty years before his retirement in 1983, Mr. Siler was elected and served as a judge of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, and he as elected and served as a member of the United States Congress for ten years.”
Dr. Taylor would go on to highlight Siler’s many other accomplishments in business, law, politics, in his church, as a family man, and as a civic leader before presenting him with a special plaque honoring his many contributions to the future University of the Cumberlands.
Siler continued to write his “Heads of Tales” columns for some time after this special ceremony and before his death in 1987.
As has been mentioned many times in this series, a collection of those columns is available at the Whitley County Historical and Genealogical Society. To learn more about how to check them out for yourself, give them a call at (606) 549-7089.
I have personally found it very rewarding to learn about the life and accomplishments of Eugene Siler, Sr., but for all that I have read and heard, there is still much, much more that I don’t know. It’s difficult to imagine one man meaning so much to so many different people in such a variety of ways, but truly, Eugene Siler was not your average man.
Thank you for coming along on this multi-part retrospective. I hope that many of you out there have enjoyed it, and maybe you will even feel inspired to do some research of your own on one of Whitley County’s most famous and celebrated sons.
A very special thanks to Clara Sue Hall and family for following along with this series. Your support is very much appreciated.
