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This story of the naming of Bullpush Hollow was inspired by something“Momma Roxie” Cooper Gillespie said.

 

Tom (Roxie’s Grandson): “Tell ‘em about how Bullpush Hollow got its name.”

 

Well Tom, I don’t know, but I thought that uh Ruth named that, but…uh, she used to write Bullpush on her letters and I never did know of a place named Bullpush.  We just nicknamed it that.  That was just up Cannelton Hollow. One branch and uh Dad kept his cattle up there. And in the mountain, he had a gate, from one mountain to the other–a fence and then a great big gate.  

 

And I bet you that I can go up in there right now and see my initials and my friend’s initials cut on them trees…Well, we used to go up in there and cut our initials on every tree we come to.

 

Maybe you could have found her initials on the trees in the 1970s when she said this.  Since we didn’t know exactly which trees to look for when visiting in 2022, it’s possible that one or two might still be standing with the initials RAC today.

 

“Dad kept masculine*.  People took their cows there to breed ‘em. We had a big barn dad kept his cattle in. And I ain’t…Why, law I can remember…”

 

Well, reason I’m for the union and the miners, well, I can remember when I never saw my dad in the daylight only on Sunday.  He went to work at dark and come in at dark. That’s how long, many hours they had to work.” 

 

…Mary (Tom’s wife): Who did all the farming?

 

Roxie: We never had no farm.

 

Mary: Well, you had the animals and all that.

 

Roxie: Oh, my dad took care of that when he come home from work.  

 

Mary:  Well, he worked long hours in the mine didn’t he?

 

Roxie: Well, mother milked.  But, uh he always had food out for the cows in the barn and all. But we never raised no big garden. Mom had a garden, but we never had a big farm to work or things like that.  In the back up in the hill we had our hog pen, our chicken pen, and our barn for the cows.  He always had uh, maybe two cows and this masculine. Course in the summer time they were up this hollow.  But aw, when he come in, he just went out and took care of his things.  Him was a hard worker.  (Interview 1976)

 

*”masculine” was a term used to denote a male breeding animal that was of high quality and looked the part.  Today we might use phrases like “proven bull” and “conforms to breed standard” along with supporting “expected progeny difference data” to describe a high quality bull in more detail.

On maps through 1910, the US Geological Service labeled the west fork of Smithers Creek and surrounding hollow as Buffalo Fork. The 1928 survey changed the listing to Bullpush Fork. Sometime in the intervening decades Bullpush Hollow moved from a family appellation, to colloquial, to supplanting the official place name.

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