Late Christmas - Roger Bouldin tells his story

"Dad!" my 10 year old runs into my room yesterday morning with a small book sized package in hand. "There's a package for you." Mail at my house is a chaotic mess. It doesn't come to the house. It is dropped off a quarter mile away cause the mail carrier doesn't want to drive down everyone's driveway. So when it gets picked up, its likely by one of my kids. If I'm lucky, it gets placed on the desk near the door where it is supposed to go. Usually I'm not lucky. I've had my water shut off over half a dozen times because the bill gets misplaced. No it can't be paid online, and if the payment is a week late, the company is quick to shut you off. It is my smallest bill and the fee to turn it back on is more than a months worth of service. I've taken to driving by the water office on my way to work once a month just to be safe.

Back to my 10 year old's package delivery. I know it wasn't delivered yesterday. I don't think the mail is delivered on Sunday now. So who knows how long it has been sitting around. I ordered this particular package six weeks ago, but the post mark confirms it was sent only a week earlier.

I friend with similar research interests (albeit professional ones) thought I might be interested in a CD put together by the First Methodist Church in Lewis County Tennessee. One of their members, Roger Bouldin, was the President of the Lewis County Historical Society. For those who don't recall. Lewis County was where the Cane Creek Massacre took place. When I first started looking into the Cane Creek Massacre, Mr. Bouldin and I exchanged letters. He never considered himself an expert on the subject, but loved to talk with whomever would come by. Sadly a few months after we met by mail, Roger Bouldin passed away in 2009 at the age of 92.  I never got the chance to meet him in person.

About six months before he died, he gave a 40 minute interview in which he recorded many of his experiences. From dental school, to World War II service, to his fascination with history, specifically Lewis County history. He spent about 10 minutes talking about the Cane Creek Massacre and his visit to Church Archives in Salt Lake City to learn more. He was pleased with how well he was treated in Salt Lake and how the Mormon Church didn't try to slant the events of the shooting beyond the facts.

Though I never got the chance to speak with Mr. Bouldin in person, I am grateful I could hear his voice and listen to his story.