Author Dale Payne wanted to preserve history and get it down in writing so it wouldn’t be forgotten.
“I started out with my own family… I wrote down everything that I could think of concerning my ancestors, especially the area where I was from, which is down in Kanawha County — ’cause I didn’t want it to be like they lived and gone and no one even knows who they were,” Payne said.
From there the author ventured into writing about frontier history, the French and Indian War, American Revolution and he always looked for firsthand accounts.
“‘Cause to me if you read a firsthand account of what happened then it was just like sitting down and talking to that person; who’s seen it, lived it,” said Payne. “When you hear about their adventures with everything from Indian warfare to everyday cabin life and how they survived.”
He says he learned a whole lot looking back like this. It required extensive research, trips to the library and microfilm. He hopes readers get a better understanding of what their ancestors experienced.
“And what life was like and mainly how fortunate they are to live by today’s standards,” Payne said.
The author has penned more than 15 books and donated many to the Oak Hill Library if you want to step back in time with him.
“I still love history and I’m in there every day just about working on something,” said Payne.
