Serving Rockcastle County Since 1887Thursday, September 1, 2011Second Section

Information taken fromthe May 4, 2011 issue of

the Metropolis PlantMichael Longworth,

Reporter

Krystal Kelley, of Mt.Vernon, recalls that whenshe was grow-ing up, she al-ways won-dered why shedid not looklike her par-ents or any-one in herfamily. Shesaid hermother hadblack hair anddark eyes,while she wasb l o n d eheaded andblue-eyed.

She saidone day sheasked hermother whyshe did notlook like her.At the pointshe ques-tioned hermother, she was about 6 or7 years old. Her mother ex-plained to her that she wasadopted and went into de-tail about what it entailed.

According to Kelley, sheunderstood what it meantbut really did not fully graspthe situation until she grewolder. And, she said that it

was something she thoughtabout often. At one pointwhen she was 15, she suf-fered from Hodgkins lym-phoma and underwent che-motherapy and radiation.She said she wondered thenabout her medical history

and really did not knowwhat to tell her doctors.

Finding out who was herbiological parent was some-thing that Kelley finally de-cided to take action on. Shewent to the Fayette CountyCourthouse where the infor-mation for her adoption wasprocessed. At that point, she

requested to open adoptionrecords and signed a paperto complete the request.

Following that action, ajudge sent her a letter stat-ing that they could not findinformation about her adop-tion. So she turned to the

Cabinet for Families to in-vestigate further.

According to Kelley, shereceived information thatcontained the name, age,birth date, past address andsocial security number ofher birth parent. But, sincethe birth parent was acrossthe state lines, it would be

up to Kelley to investigateher on her own. And that isexactly what she did. Shesaid it took her eight monthsto do it.

Teressa Stewart, of Me-tropolis, Illinois, may havegiven up her child at birth,

but 33 yearslater, thatc h i l de v e t u a l l ycame backinto her lifeand this pastMother’s Dayshe experi-enced the giftof havingachild.

It was1977 andStewart saidshe was 18years old andpregnant. Sherecalls at thattime, it wasvery taboo foran unmarriedteenager tobecome preg-nant, saying“It was

frowned upon.” She saysthough, when she told herparents, Shirley and the lateJan Stewart, they did not getmad. “They were disap-pointed,” she said, but em-phasized that they were verysupportive.

After careful thought re-garding the situation,

Daughter, mother reunite after 33 years apartStewart said it was her andfamily’s decision that shewould give up the child foradoption.

Stewart said she did notwant to know what the sexof the baby was and as soonas it was born, she recallshearing the child cry oncebefore being swooped awayfrom her, leaving what shedescribes as a hole in herheart.

She said the only stipu-lation she and her family re-quired was that they babywas to go to a good Chris-tian home. After she gavebirth, she said she and herfamily never spoke again ofthe baby. But, “It was some-thing I thought about everyday of my life,” Stewartsaid.

“All babies are a giftfrom God” she said. Andshe explained that becauseshe gave up that chance tobe a mother, later in life sheavoided being around in-fants, and baby showers andalso made the choice not tohave any more children.

Kelley and her husbandNeil took Teressa Stewart’sname, entered it onPeopleFinder and was ableto track her to MetropolisInn, which they found outStewart and her parentsowned.

Stewart’s child remaineda mystery to her until Feb-ruary, when she was gettingready to head out of townfor the weekend and re-ceived a call from a formeremployee, Meri Baker, atthe Metropolis Inn, askingif it was possible that shehad a daughter. Stewartsimply told Baker, that yes,it was possible.

After being contacted bythe former employee,

Stewart asked her to call herdaughter back and explainto her that she was headingout of town but would callher back on the followingMonday.

Kelley said when sheheard that, a part of herwondered if she would call.But, Baker assured her ifTeressa said she would call,she would.

“I didn’t know exactlywhat I was going to say,”said Kelley. But then sheheard Stewart’s voice andthen began talking,sheasked her, “Is this okay?”

Stewart answered with,“I’m all for it.” Stewart saidthat she was nervous abouttalking to Kelley at first, butafte they started talking,“There was an immediateconnection.”

After that initial phonecall, Stewart and Kelley ar-ranged a first meeting.Kelley went to Metropolisto meet with her birthmonther and said that shehas finally found out whoshe looks like.

Stewart said that on thesecond visit to Metropolis,she organized a meet andgreet party with about 80 ofher close friends and fam-ily. Stewart said Krystal andher husband Neil, really en-joyed the get together andmeeting everyone. “It wasa huge success.”

“It has been a greatthing,” said Kelley, whosaid meeting her birth par-ent has lifted all of hat worryand wondering that she hashad for many years. “We areso much alike,” she says.

By reuniting with thechild she had given up,Stewart also learned that

Krystal’s adoptive parentsJames and Roberta McClure

Krystal at age 3 monthswhen she was adopted

Teressa Stewart and her daughter Krystal McClure Kelley

Blast from the Past!!!This week's photograph is of the Nicely General Store that was located in Livingston. It stood across from the schoolbuilding by the old bridge. If you have a photo for Blast from the Past, contact David Owens at 606-256-9870 orscoopowens24@yahoo.com.

On August 20th ZoeBarnette, one ofRoundstone’s 5th graders,could be found at the Ken-tucky State Fair in Louis-ville enjoying the music,rides, and the atmosphere.However, she was alsogiven an invitation topresent her award winning4-H speech titled “KeepKentucky’s ChildrenHealthy” at the state fair.She received this honorfrom the 4-H Public Speak-ing State competition heldback in July of this year.

Zoe did not have topresent her speech again at

Zoe Burdette presentsspeech at State Fair

Zoe Burdette

the fair, but she chose to doit for fun and for more prac-tice. She said, “It was a littleharder this time because Ihad to hold the microphoneand my note cards in onehand because before the mi-crophone was on a stand.”This didn’t deter her fromdoing an outstanding job.

Zoealso enjoyed her timeat the State Fair by ridingsome of the rides and watch-ing other 4-H competitions.She is proud of her brother,Thomas, for receiving ablue ribbon in the 4-H landjudging competition. Zoe isalready looking forward to

another year of being in-volved in 4-H and can’t wait

for this upcoming year’scompetition.

ACROSS1. Palm starch5. Anvil-shaped ear

bone10. KY author Alice

Hegan14. Biblical shepherd15. Words to a bride

and groom16. River to the Caspian17. State of mind18. Old voting machine

part19. Went under20. Louisville Slugger

creator23. First-stringers24. They send junk

e-mail28. Fourth Street Live!,

Hamburg Pavilion,Ashland TownCenter, etc.

32. Kentuckian, helpedPittsburgh win 1925World Series

33. Eastern newt36. U.S. Hwy 150

begins in this KYtown

39. Ostrichlike birds,once native to NewZealand

41. Make a racket42. The life of Riley43. Honorary titles

issued by KY'sgovernor

46. Morning moisture47. Varnish resin48. 1/100 of a ruble50. Crux53. Don't just stand

there

57. "Doctor" ofbluegrass music

61. Cincinnati nine64. Honshu port city65. Ball field covering66. A puzzle hint67. Kind of panel68. Germany's von

Bismarck69. "Thanks ___!"70. Play too broadly71. Capone nemesis

DOWN1. Brazilian dance2. Here or there3. Crystal-lined stone

common in KY4. LaGrange is the

county seat5. "___ have to do"6. Coward of note7. Mammoth or Onyx8. PC operators9. Surface mine10. South Dakota

mountain withLincoln's likeness

11. 401(k) alternative12. Film container13. Large KY mammal21. Prayer leader22. Showed up25. Single-cell

microorganism26. Jagged, as a

leaf's edge27. Take up again29. Ring site30. Quiet time 31. Junk food, often33. Person with a

mike34. Hoodwinks35. Harry Caudill told

them from a "countrylaw office"37. Crosby, Stills and

Nash, e.g.38. Kentuckian Alben

Barkley's nickname40. KY city, natives

include Sen. JohnSherman Cooperand Gov. Edwin Morrow

44. Blues singerSimone

45. "Buona ___" (Italiangreeting)

49. A KY county in theOhio River's "northbend"

51. Within a walk52. Prototype of the

Kentucky Derby54. Winged55. Popular mints56. Proofers' catches58. Floyd Co. area, or

light ring59. Three-handed card

game60. Container weight61. Color TV pioneer62. Building annex63. The Everly

Brothers, e.g.

SOLUTION TO KY502

(Cont. to B3)