By Buddy Hazell

I was saved January 4, 1970 and I was amazed at the changes that God made in my thoughts, attitude, habits and language. Before January 4th, I could not even say “Good morning,” without a string of four letter words describing you and your family. This story is about just one of the changes God made in my life.

About four months after I was saved, a neighbor, Bob Thornton, who lived half a mile from us (this distance is critical to the story), wanted me to build a barn for him. After we sat down and discussed just what he wanted, we agreed

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By Buddy Hazell

The date was July 4, 1943. I was staying with Dave and Nettie Scott for the summer. Rockdale was having a big Fourth of July celebration with a parade, barbecue, games for the kids and horse races. This was also a day when horse traders would be in town to buy, sell and trade horses and mules.

Dave’s old cow-horse had gotten so old, that he could no longer do his job, so Dave had to replace him. I put Dave’s saddle and bridle in the pick-up and Dave, Nettie and I headed to town. Dave parked by the train depot and he and I walked over to the stock pens to see what was there. Horse traders and other people were just beginning to get there, so we walked back to the truck to get Nettie and walked over to the fairgrounds.

The parade was getting ready, the high school band was getting in place and there

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By Buddy Hazell

The town of Hull, Texas is about 11 miles south of Batson. FM 70 runs through Raywood, to Daisetta, and Hull to Batson, then turns east to Saratoga. Going to Hull for us living in Batson, was like going from Malakoff to Dallas. Hull was, “the big city.” The main street through Hull was concrete, and there were no board sidewalks, they were also concrete, with curbs! Hull also had a railroad and train station.

My Uncle Harold owned the drug store in Hull and when we went there we could get a free double-dip ice cream cone

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By Buddy Hazell

Do we remember the ‘Outhouse’, with its Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog; or the Monkey Ward catalog? Then, there was the ‘Slop Jar,’ for ladies and girls of the house; and there was ‘Hesitating’ off the ‘Gallery’ for the men and boys.

We had just one pair of shoes and wore them only when going to town or church. We had two pair of overalls, one for everyday use and one for going to town and church. Mother made our shirts and underwear from chicken feed sacks, and bed sheets from flour sacks. We wore socks until they had been sewed up so many times that there was more thread than sock.

Hats were not baseball caps, but made of straw with a wide brim to keep the sun

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I begin this with my great, great, great-grandfather, Elisha Hazell. Elisha was born in Culpepper County, Virginia in 1764. He and a cousin, Ignatius Hazell, joined the St. Mary’s County Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War. After the war, Elisha and Ignatius decided to move to Kentucky. They loaded their belongings and families; both of them had children, Elisha a son, John N. Hazell and Ignatius a daughter, Mary Hazell.

They followed the Shenandoah Valley south, skirting the southern part of West Virginia and entering into Kentucky. Coming to Green County in south central Kentucky, the decided to settle there.

In the spring of 1826, John N. Hazell died. He did not live to see his first son

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By Buddy Hazell

Every now and then, someone will ask me if I was raised in Malakoff. I always respond by saying, “No, we came here in 1973. We have left Malakoff several times, but for some reason, God keeps bringing us back.” Some of my dates may be a little off, but what’s a year or two among friends? Here is my story:

I had been preaching for about two years, when I received a phone call asking if I would come to Malakoff and preach in view of a call. My first thought was, “God hasn’t called me to be a Foreign Missionary.” I thought Malakoff was in Russia. I quickly

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By Buddy Hazell

Thirteen years old and I am locked in this old jail. It is hot and dark in here and I am wondering if anyone is going to come and let me out.
Now let me explain:

Rockdale, Texas was founded in 1873, and in 1875 they had a need for a jail. The town’s marshal, Peter Ledbetter, happened to walk into the bank one afternoon and interrupt a robbery. Three men were robbing the bank. One of the men turned and shot Marshal Ledbetter in the shoulder and the marshal returned fire, killing

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By Buddy Hazell

Shortly after the American Revolutionary War, five men and their families settled in the “Valley of East Tennessee.” There were: Hugh Watson and his son Patrick Watson, John Long, William Porter and William Wallace. Patrick Watson

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By Buddy Hazell

When was the last time you saw some kids in a bar-ditch or an old pond crawfishing? Has the age of electronics taken all the fun and joy of growing up from our kids? Our kids today don’t know the excitement of luring a big old Red Pincher out of his hole. Kids today have to have expensive toys, elementary school kids all have iPods, cell phones and computers; they have never had the sense of pride

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By Buddy Hazell

Uncle Emory was not really my uncle; he was my Dad’s first cousin. If you have read my book, and read my salvation experience, Uncle Emory was the elderly man who knelt behind me and prayed this word-for-word prayer, “Speak to Him Jesus,” “Speak to Him Jesus”, over and over.

I call him “Uncle,” because when I was a kid, we were taught not to call our elders by

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