The Pillar of the Mountain
an orphan transformed

"In November, 1935, Claude Hammond was an orphan living in the streets of Williamson, West Virginia. In the space of 40 years, he became one of Kentucky's most powerful men, influential in sports, politics and education -- with distinguished, educated and honored children."

Something incredible happened.

We were a family of secrets, headed by a patriarch Claude E. Hammond Sr. A man of immense determination and talent, he was the unquestioned authority and force in our extended family. But there were things one didn't speak of and questions one never asked in his presence. My father was chief secret-keeper and, at the same time, the key to everyone's success.

As a college student studying Appalachian culture, I researched my own family for course material. Toting an old cassette tape recorder, I would drive deep into the forests and hills of rural Eastern Kentucky. Weeks of interviewing elderly and reclusive relatives followed - relatives telling me the secrets that my father wouldn't. An amazing story began to be revealed. 

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