Beech Tree News Network

Last week, my daughters and I drove to Lexington for an awards dinner. My late husband and his nephew, Ryan Craig, were both receiving an Al Smith Award. These awards recognize public service through community journalism by current or former Kentuckians. My late husband Larry Craig, former owner of the Green River Republican of Morgantown, and Ryan Craig, owner of the Todd County Standard of Elkton, were honored for their work in community journalism.

My daughters and I traveled together to the awards dinner. Anytime adult sisters are confined to a car for two hours or more at one time, conversation occurs. Also, siblings don’t necessarily follow any conversation guidelines – there’s a lot of abbreviated sentences and innuendoes used. We drove about four hours, and I learned a lot.

T he awards dinner was nice. The food was good, and the company was enjoyable as well. But more importantly, when a loved one is honored in some way, the recognition is an important occasion. We all appreciated this recognition of and for Larry. We watched video footage of him that brought back good memories. We listened to others tell stories about Larry. And we all enjoyed the remembering.

 In addition to some family members, many of the individuals on the program and at our table were Larry’s friends: Al Smith, David Hawpe, Al Cross, Kentucky Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, Larry Forgy, and Henry and Jim Duncan. Most shared a story or two about Larry – which we loved! I suppose when you’ve lost a loved one, memories are hoarded away.

 In David Hawpe’s comments about Larry, he said: “He left a lasting impression on all of us who knew him. He certainly left the silhouette of his influence on me….” Even though my late husband has been gone for nearly seven years, his impact lives on. And that makes me happy.