Ep 63 - Dr. Ken Holloway: The Barker Of Bulldog Nation

You’ve heard a loud gym before, but you haven’t heard Sikeston until you’ve heard The Barker. Ken Holloway is one of the most familiar faces in Bulldog Nation, and his bark has become a rallying point that players and fans recognize instantly as support. We sit down with Ken to learn how a pastor from St Louis ends up in southeast Missouri, finds his place in the community, and turns a simple idea into a tradition that helps define the game-day atmosphere. 

Ken walks us through the real story, from being invited to preach at West End Baptist Church to meeting Maxine and building a life that makes Sikeston home. He also shares why small town community feels different than big city life, how neighborly accountability shapes kids, and why having one high school can create a rare kind of school pride and togetherness. If you love high school basketball, small town culture, and the way sports can bring people together across every difference, this conversation hits deep. 

We also talk faith and purpose, including the moments that shaped Ken’s calling, plus his years working at Ford and the unexpected way that job became ministry too. The big takeaway is simple and challenging: community doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built by committed people who keep showing up. Subscribe, share with a Bulldog fan, and leave a review so more people can find The Doghouse.

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Transcript

Welcome To Bulldog Nation

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Alright, Bulldog Nation, it's time to get in the doghouse. This is where Sykes and Pride lives, where we tell the stories that make this town special. From the legends of the past to the faces shaping our future. Whether it's basketball, community, or just that good old Bulldog grit, we've got you covered. You're listening to The Dog House, the voice of Psyched. What is up, Bulldog Nation? Episode 63 of The Dog House is now underway. Thank you for listening. This is season two also and episode 21. Yeah. Yep. And you are Micah Harris. I'm Matt Tanner. We are the host of The Dog House. We appreciate you checking in with us again this week. And we have an unbelievable guest lined up.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Oh, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

So we actually, yeah, we it's a little bit flip-flop. We we recorded his first, and now we're doing our our paying bills, as we say. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

And talk a little bulldog.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

And talk some bulldog uh sports. And so but just uh stick with us here just a little bit. We will get to our guest. He is he's terrific. What an unbelievable human being.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

A blessing.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

He is an absolute blessing to all of us. He sure is. Mr. Mr. Ken Holloway, the barker, we're so glad to have him on. Tell his story, and I think you're really going to enjoy it. He's and yes, we did capture the bark. So yes, just stay tuned. Stay tuned with it.

Sponsors And Community Shoutouts

SPEAKER_01 1:36

We will now it's time for our mention our terrific hosts, our terrific hosts. Our sponsors. Our terrific partners, Mercy Phoenix and Jody Cheney, uh Tucker Cheney, and the rest of the crew. They have some ads on Facebook that we have seen. We've both shared them. The doghouse shared them. They are looking for and they have some links to it, don't they?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Like on that post. If you look at the doghouse or mine or Matt's page, we've shared it, and it's got a link to to get in contact with right.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Correct. Click on that and it'll get you right in touch with them, and they can probably put you to work, I would say, fairly quickly.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

It looked like it said $40 an hour, $500 stipend for living, living. Right. It says it on the post.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

We're not and and so I would say I'm sure that's like certain jobs, but I mean Yes, right.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

I would say if you're something that's up your alley, I would say get in touch with them because they are they are the premier healthcare staffing organization and they can put you right to work.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

And I think it's like 60-day contracts is what it said. Yeah, could be extended beyond that too.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Right, right. They are they've got 'em all over the place. So if you're looking for steady work, they are your folks. Also, shout out to Greengrass guys, D. Bizzle, David Bizzle. I went to the junior high game, baseball game. Aaron and I did. We went to Tuesday and I mean yesterday. Yesterday, yeah, this is Wednesday. They absolutely, by the way, smoked East Prairie 16 to nothing. Tyler Morgan hit a home run, a double, and a single, and as a thank you very much, through a no-hitter.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Really?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Complete game no hitter. Sure did. And that was five innings at or whatever it was. So the the dogs put it on the Eagles, and as I told somebody today, they might be the largest junior high team. I mean, we've got kids 6'3, 6'4, 6'2.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

We were talking about that the other day at the baseball game. I mean, like, it was compared to Perryville.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

But uh, but this is junior high. These are seventh and eighth graders. I mean, these we got some big kids coming. I said all that to say this. I was standing there and yeah. And I went actually I was standing with Coach Brian James and Coach who Tyler is his, as he says, nephew. And uh Coach Hollifield, we were just standing there, and I meant, man, look at this grass. And then it was on the softball field behind us, and I said, Coach, do you think that was D? And he said, I'm sure he had a hand in it. Well, I texted D while we were standing there, and he said, What do you think about that? And I was like, Man, it looks terrific. I have never seen that junior bay brew field look as good as that is.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

I have to go by and see it.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

It I I mean it's worth the drive. And then the softball field, I say behind it, just right beside it, look unbelievable. It just looked fantastic. So if you get a chance, tell D, thanks for doing that. It it looks great and it is noticed. They can do the same for your yard as well. Give them a shout, and they can work it, make it look like like carpet.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Yours are looking good.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Thank you. It the it needs some rain. We haven't turned on our irrigation yet, but hopefully we'll get a little God's rain this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

It's better for it anyway.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Exactly. I totally agree. And it will uh continue to be green. Shout out to uh Luke for our for our audio or for our visual visual stuff on our TV, which we had a little problem with, but that's okay. We'll figure that out. We'll have to get a probably have to get a new computer. That that one's it's a Mac, but it's uh it's got some, as I say, it's long in the tooth. It's got some age on it, so we'll have to redo that. Shout out to Luke for that. Shout out to Aaron. Thank you for giving us time to do this. And she's off preparing for Easter. She's practicing her piano for Easter Sunday. So, and if you I guess we might as well say it, if you don't have a church home, I would say Sunday is a terrific time for you to go to church. It's uh celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. So I would say it's time to go to church.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

I think so too.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Yep. Shout out to Justin, our general counsel and general nuisance.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

General pain in the neck. I would say I haven't seen him. He must be really busy or something, man. I saw well I know he's here yesterday, but I I didn't see him.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

No, yeah, yeah, it was yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Yesterday. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And well, he blew into town and blew right out. But they'll be hopefully here. They'll be here Saturday, I think. Right, right. They said he was coming back Saturday. So general nuisance. I came up with that one off the top of my head. That's pretty quick. Like Maddie Grinch. Yeah, exactly. Shout out to uh Tucker Cheney, his help with our video editing has been very, very important and allowed us to do me to do several things with that. And uh very appreciative and get these things on YouTube. Shout out to uh Derek James, Brian James again for their their sports knowledge and their history and their the stats and sort of the the lore of Southeast Missouri sports. We appreciate all that. And finally, last but not least, Tyler Anderson, Twisted Arrow Woodworking for our doghouse sign on the wall. If you need some woodworking done, Tyler is your guy. Again, like excuse me, don't forget to like, share, follow the doghouse on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. And you can catch our podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Our Heart Radio, and a whole host of other podcast mediums. And you can also listen to it on our website at thedoghouse.buzzsprout.com. There is an embedded player on there that you can listen to all of the ones that we've got loaded on there. And this is episode 63. We've started so on our pot, excuse me, on our website, it's from episode 15 to episode 63. There's a link on our Facebook page to an Apple podcast that's got all of them from the very first when Richard and I were doing it the first 14. So we've got all of those on there. I finally apple just uh it's just Apple. And so it beats the tall drum. It does, and I've asked for help. And but anyway, it's you can now access all of them. But if you can if you want 15, episode 15 through the current one, you can get it on our website again. The doghouse.busbuzzsprout.com. And you can again if you need to reach out to us, doghouse.syston at gmail.com, send us comments, lit new guest, anything, anything like that. And if you're interested, or maybe if you're interested in partnering with us, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Send us an email, message, carrier pigeon, text, phone call, whatever. We'll be catch us down, yell at us. Right. We'll be we'd love to talk to you about that.

Spring Sports Updates And Scoreboard Talk

SPEAKER_01 8:56

And as we talked about a while ago, the baseball team, varsity team is off to a five and one start.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

I want to start supposedly like the best record since 2011.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

I think that's what you said the other day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Off to a great start. Micah and I were there Monday. It was Monday.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

We've been to two games, actually. We went and watched them play Charleston. Charleston. And then we watched them play Perryville.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

It was cool that day, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah. Charleston. Charleston was a little cool. Monday was it was breezy, but it was not cold. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

No.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

But it was a it was a good game. Supposedly, I mean, Blaine Sadler pitched a shutout. He did. Complete game shutout. I think it's one of Coach Pratt's first as a as a head coach. Yes. Somebody said that. I don't know if that's probably.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

And I saw Blair, that was like the first complete game since like 2018 or something like that. That's cool. I mean Yeah. That's eight years ago.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Sophomore blame pitched great.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Didn't wasn't a good mixture of sophomores, seniors.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah. A few juniors. Wasn't in a lot of trouble and scattered a few hits and I think before you got there in the first inning, that bases got loaded.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

But but he got out of it.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

He that's right. He got he's he worked out of it. But after that, I don't recall a ton of base runners being there.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

He had to pitch a pretty good game because I mean like sophomore count. I mean, I don't I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

I think it was ninety-five is what weren't you stand well you can you could I think as a s I think it's like in the 80s for well that's what that's what we thought, but I saw Coach Will Pratt at the junior high game, and he's we were we just started talking about that and he's I thought he said 95.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Either way, he was it was at like 60 something pitches or 70 or what it maybe even less than that. So he wasn't close, but he was under the pitch limit. And what we're talking about, Misha sets a number a certain number of pitches. You can only throw this number of pitches. I think if you're like if underclassmen lower than than upperclassmen, right. But I think let's say, let's just for whatever, let's say the number's eighty, and if you're I think you can finish that hitter, like if you hit number eighty and it's the second pitch of the at bat, I think you can finish that hitter, and then you have to come out. Correct. And then if you max out You gotta sit four days. I was gonna say, I think you have to sit four days, and if you Under so many one to twenty, you don't have to sit, and if it's you know twenty-one to whatever, it's one day or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

They've Which is not a bad word.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

No, they've got it spelled out. Use it used to be innings back when I played, you know, you could pitch so many innings per week or so many innings per so many days, but now it's an actual pitch count. So it that puts a little bit of work on the one of the coaches to track the pitches, and I'm sure each team tracks pitches for for the pitchers uh for the opposing team, just so if they're really good, you're like, hey, it's time for him to get out, kind of thing. So I'm sure they both sides keep it and and it keeps each other honest, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Was it six to nothing or was it seven to I can't remember six or seven?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Uh thought it was seven. Seven, it might be seven, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

And that I mean, pretty good game.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And that was against Perryville. And the dogs are supposed to play next. I'm pulling this up.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Saturday against Eastbury at Eastbury. I think it's a double hitter, but weather-wise, so like maybe by the time this podcast is out, they should be playing.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Right. I mean, I'm not sure. And I want to pull up the Misha. Right, that's what I was looking at.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

I think they play New Madrid maybe next week.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

They play New Madrid at home on Monday, that's correct. And then on April. Oh, Varsity, okay. Here we go. Varsity plays on Monday at home against New Madrid. Junior High plays at Malden on Monday as well. Then they go to Popper Bluff varsity does on Tuesday. I was going to mention the girls' soccer because they have started off well. Let me look at their because I know well they're one and two, and I one of the games, Kennedy scored like seven goals or something like that. Kennedy Sims, yeah. I I read that somewhere. I mean, goodness gracious. That's pretty good. I'd say wow. But shout out to our Spring Sports. I d I I don't have the finished golf and track.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

I mean, right.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Right, right. I don't have any of anything to report. I know it's out there. I don't I don't have any standings. I do know I can mention this, our loyal and longtime listener, Mr. Jack McGill, shot an 84 in that daggum hurricane on Monday. I'm telling you, I I play golf. 84 and that wind. That was a great round. I mean, I that that win will add five to seven shots at least. I mean, that number eight, which is a par five, was dead into the wind, and it's five hundred and fifty yards, probably played seven hundred yards into the wind. It's as a brute of a hole in into that win.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

And so I know he I talked to him a few times, like I guess up at Parquetos, he was talking about. He's like, he's really getting into it and loving, yep, loving golf.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

His his dad told me shot in 84, and his grandpa told me shot in 84. They were very well. So Sam was playing baseball, and Andy and uh Rick both told me they watched Jack. When he got done, they got over here to the baseball game. So they had started a little bit earlier. I think they got there in the first inning or second or something like that. So they didn't really miss anything. So they were they were there to watch. So shout out to our again, our baseball team 5-1, junior highs 1-0. Baseball's looking up, just like the rest of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

I'm telling you, from baseball, all of it's coming up.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

All of it is on the rise.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Yep. I mean soccer. Yep. You got football. Yep. In the fall.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

And tennis. I don't know how we've done yet with tennis. I haven't seen any, I haven't seen anything. Nope. Nope. Haven't seen anything yet.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

No, that's girls' tennis.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

No boys' tennis. Boys' tennis. Boys' tennis. Girls playing a fall. Yeah. That's right. Girls is in the fall. That's correct. Well, listen, we will we will get out of the way right now and just stick with us through this break. We'll be right back for our guest, and you will not want to

Meet Dr. Ken Holloway The Barker

SPEAKER_01 15:47

miss this. Hey, thanks for sticking with us past the break, and we're going to move on to our VIP today, our terrific guest. He is in the house, and we are well, Micah, we're just blessed to have him because he's he is a blessing. As we told him before, he is a blessing to our community and to the kids that he's involved with at the school or that that he that he supports along with the rest of us.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Very familiar face when you if you go to any kind of sporting event mainly.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

He's absolutely he's gonna be there. In the community. Right, right. And so we are we are so fortunate to have him and uh thankful for his time. And without further ado, I'm going to read his intro. Our guest this week is one of the most recognizable voices and biggest supporters in Bulldog Nation, Ken Holloway, better known as The Barker to many. Ken originally came from to Sykston from St. Louis, but somewhere along the way, this community became home and he has been all in ever since. A retired pastor and retired Ford Motor Company employee, Ken brings a perspective built on faith, hard work, and a deep love for people. Around Sykston, he's become known for his energy, his loyalty, and the way he shows up for his town and his teams. He may not be native to Sykston, but there's no question he's one of Bulldog Nation's own. We're excited to have Ken Holloway, the Barker, on the Dog House. Welcome to the Dog House.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

Well, thank you. Yes, sir. It's good to be here.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

We are so happy you're here. I know we've we've talked about this for a while, and we just hey as my dad said, he goes, I can't believe I'm this busy not working. I can't. And so you're retired and you're as busy as anybody. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:28

It it keeps us busy with the grandchildren. Yes. And then with the community involved. There's always something to do. Right. People think that when you retire, that's it. You don't do anything. I have a full schedule.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

And I best mi I bet Miss Maxine keeps you on your toes. Oh, she does. I know. I can tell. I can see the way you guys interact. I know what's going on there. Well, that's great. And so we we've already got a little bit. We we talked about a lot, or say not a lot, we talked about a few things off the air, but we want to kind of come back to that. And one of the things we talked about was you're a St. Louis guy. You're you're a

From St Louis To Sikeston

SPEAKER_01 18:10

big city guy. Yeah. There's nothing wrong with that, but you're in rural southeast Missouri now. Yeah. So tell us how you got here from from St. Louis. From St.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

Louis to Sykeston. Yeah. I got invited down to preach at the West End Baptist Church. Okay. And I got here. Well, the first time I came, it had snowed on the highway. Well, it was clear. And when I got into town, you could tell that it had snowed because they had cleared the streets. Well, when I got to the church, it was packed because that was the only church that was open across the tracks. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so when I got there. So everybody went to church there that day. Everybody went to church that Sunday. Okay. And they they kept asking, where's the preacher from St. Louis? Where is he? Well, if service starts at 11, I'm not going to preach at 11. Right. So I get there and everybody's like, wow, he's here. So we preached. Well, when I first came in, they said, That's a little boy. I'll never forget that. But you were single then, right? So you were not married? No. Okay. Not then. Okay. And so what had happened is after we got done with the service, they said, Oh, that's a man. And it was funny from that point on. Well, we came for that particular service. Okay. And they invited me again because of the snow. They said we want you to come back. Okay. Well, my schedule didn't permit because I was at the time I was a national evangelist. Okay. I was traveling quite a bit. So when I did get an opening, I contacted them and I said, Well, listen, I can be there this Sunday. Okay. And I think that Sunday that was in April, so this was probably September or October.

unknown 20:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:12

That's how busy I was. Oh, sure.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:14

And so we came back and they were like, oh, we've got to have you.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

I said, Well, we'll have to see. So when you say have you, you mean like be the pastor.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

Be the pastor.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

So they didn't have a pastor.

SPEAKER_03 20:28

They didn't have a pastor at that time. Okay. Okay. And so we came and pastored. Okay. I think we were there a little over a year, okay. Maybe twelve, thirteen months. Okay. And I told them, you know, my schedule it won't permit it at this time. And so I left. That was in 89. Okay. Ten years later, they contact me again. They kept your number, Hamlet. They kept my number. That's that's crazy. Insane. So ten years later, we're talking 1999. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

They called me to come back and To just preach or To just preach. And then they said, Well, can you pastor us? Can you at least keep us together? If you're not gonna pastor, can you keep us together until we get a pastor? Okay. So an interim basically, if that's an interim. Okay. And so I stayed for a minute and finally they got somebody. Okay. And it was it was remarkable.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Yeah. So is that what kept you here then? And no. Oh, so there's more to the story then. Oh, yes, there's more to the story. Okay. I went to a funeral.

Meeting Maxine And Making A Home

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Oh yeah. I heard this part. In Charleston. Now we the rest of the story.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

So now we know. And so I see this lady in this olive green dress that had black checks in it.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

For for those that don't know, that's Miss Maxine. It's coming up.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

And she had this green jumper. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, who is that? That's what guys do. Yeah. And I met her, and here's the funny part. I asked her for a telephone number, and she told me no.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

She did. She did. Hang on, wait a minute. She did, man.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

Miss Maxine? She told me no. No.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Miss Maxine has never been mean to anybody. She wasn't mean. She just told me no.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

She just said no. She was just assertive. She was assertive. And so what I said, I said, God, I don't have time for games. Okay. So I called her. Any hold on. How did you tell the story? Oh, I'm sorry. I called her. I called her. She said, hello. I said, hello. She said, who is this? I said, who does it sound like? She said, how did you get my number? I said, I'm Pastor Holloway. I can get anybody's number.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

And so the rest is history. So you you obviously just threw your charm and wit on her, and that was the end of the story.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

I had to work for her. But but the comical thing is that she said, she said, You a preacher. I said, look closely. I'm a man.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Yeah, that's right. Even more. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_03 23:48

And so That's great.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

So was that in like 2000 or something?

SPEAKER_03 23:53

That was in. That was probably in Yeah, probably 2000. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Well it was meant to be. It was, obviously. The Lord put you to, you said you were at a you weren't passed from the funeral, you were at a funeral. Yeah. They put you there.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

Yeah. And he did say upstairs that that's the reason he's incident.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

That's right. That's the reason I'm here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

It happens up. It happens to the best of us. Yeah. And so and in November of this year, it'll be 25 years. And it doesn't seem like it's been that long, man. Right. It really doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Congratulations. Thank you. You well, you know how we feel about Miss Maxine. We think she is She's a Jewel. Of course she is. One of a kind. Yes. I was going to say Peach. Jewel. Jewel's even better. We think she's something else.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

So the question I gotta have is who coordinates the outfits? You or her?

SPEAKER_03 24:46

That's the question everybody wants to know. It's it's it's crazy because I'll ask her, what color are we wearing? And then I'll look around and it's already laid out. Okay. Once in a while I get to, she said, Well, what color do you want to wear? I said, What's today? You know, uh like today. I mean, this was already laid out, so I put it on.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

I said, That's what I'm supposed to wear. Right. Well, you when you guys you came to see me, was that the summer? When did you come? You and Miss Maxine came by. You just came by, just wanted to say hello. We hadn't seen each other before basketball season, right? Was that the summer? When was that? It was can't even recall. But were y'all, I think y'all both wearing your must have been football season because you're wearing your dolphins stuff. Right. It was getting we we were getting ready to go that week. That's what it was. That's exactly Indianapolis. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

So you're a Dolphins fan.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

My nephew got drafted by the Miami Dolphins. His nephew played for they played for Michigan. Yeah, Kenneth Grant. Kenneth, I was gonna say Robert. Kenneth Grant. He was a starting offensive lineman or defensive? Defensive linemen. Defensive lineman for Michigan when they won the national title.

SPEAKER_03 25:54

Oh yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And they both had on their coordinating Miami Dolphins. And I'm like, where what is going on? They're like, we're going to Indianapolis. I went, I should have known.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

You know, Charleston's got ties to the Dolphins. There's a Charlie Babb. Charlie Babb played for the no-name defense in 1971. Oh, really? Yeah, he played, I think,

Dolphins Pride And Family Ties

SPEAKER_00 26:15

free safety. Like kind of is what he played. So he's from Charleston and plays for played on the no-name defense, the undefeated Dolphins.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Oh, wow. That's great. And so I know you're obviously very proud of him. Oh, yes. That's uh that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

I want the I've always wanted the Dolphins to win. I really have.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

I mean, like talking about Don Shula going way back in the day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

I'm talking about re like in I mean like even back to Dan Marino when he was there. I was like, just win a championship. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

They haven't they hadn't won one yet, have they? No. No. Well, they got a good they got a good one there with him. Is it was this was he a rookie? That was his first year this year, correct? Okay. Yes. Okay. And he's he doing good? He's doing good. I guess they're they're probably getting ready to do their mini camps and all that stuff and coming up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

Well, right now they're focused on the draft. So well, I guess that's true because that's that.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

That should be soon. I was gonna say it's coming up in the next couple of years. I think it's the last week in the April. Yeah. So was there So you met Miss Maxine, y'all got married in 01. So if you're gonna if it's 25 years this year. When was there a time kind of through that? What when did it really feel like home? I mean, I know you you built a home with Miss Maxine, but is there when do is there something you're like, man, this is home now to me. Well, when we got married. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

This is as large as she wanted to be.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

The city wise city wide, so this was home. And she is a a Matthews girl, right?

SPEAKER_03 27:49

Matthews girl, yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

So she went to high school probably in Matthews. At Matthews High School.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

And then when it became New Madrid County Central, I think it was right at her senior year or something. Okay. And but she went to trade down there or something. Okay. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

She graduated from around 82, I think, when when I was trying to remember because 70s, early 80s. Yeah. Well, I know they had like a they had a state run in like 81, 82, somewhere around that basketball, I think.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Well, there was a New Madrid and then there was Matthews, and then it became New Madrid County Central because there was a Howardville for a long time, I think, too. Right? There were several schools that can that merged or consolidated and became New Madrid County Central. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Back in late 80s, early 80s, late 70s. Yeah. So I I don't recall the exact time, but you can go down there and look at the pictures because they I think they've got every graduating class on the wall up there.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah, back kind of behind the gym, back toward their cafeteria in the high school. They've got all those pictures up there. Okay. So there's a bunch of them in there. What so so you came here? When did you become start like going to games and stuff like that? In 2006, Michael Porter was playing ball. He was a freshman that year.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

That's right. And I I got to go to a game. Okay. Just randomly or randomly. Because they were planning. I'm like. Because see, in the city, they played on Saturdays. Oh. And so, you know, on a Saturday morning, you couldn't get in the gym because all the schools were crowded. And especially if Sumner played Vashan or O'Fallon

Why The Bark Started

SPEAKER_03 29:41

and Sumner or Soul Dan and Sumner. You know, they were rivals on a Saturday. And I'm like, during the week? I think this was like on a Tuesday night. Probably. Because games are typically Tuesday and Friday. And I thought, wow. And then they had a game, I think, that Friday. And I was like, really? So I got a chance to come. Well, when Ford closed up, I retired. So that was 2006. Okay. So you were living here and driving to St.

SPEAKER_01 30:14

Louis to work?

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Yes. That's why I that's why I appreciate my wife so much. Right. Because my brother had a house in St. Louis. He said he was not going to rent it out to anybody because people wouldn't take care of it. Right. He said, but you, I know you'll take care of it. Right. So I would I would go to work. I'd come home every day up there. And then Saturday morning when I got off, I would get two glazed donuts and a Mountain Dew, and I'd get on the road and come home.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

Well, that must be all you eat, because you sure don't look like you ate donuts and don't a Mountain Dew. Oh, I I I love to eat. Right. I know how to eat. Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 30:51

All you have to do is feed me.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

As as Coach Hollyfield says, one of his he's got a lot of sayings. He said, You should eat to live, not live to eat. He says, Yeah. That's exactly yourself, basically. And that's all you need. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

I got that mixed up.

SPEAKER_01 31:08

Right. He's talking from two thin guys from from him and Coach Hollyfield, two thin guys stand over telling people how to eat, right? So that be that became the the moment when you said I'm gonna I'm gonna go all in on the board. Support the team and 'cause we were we were good that well we made it to State We did we sure did. We sure did. It was a lot similar to to this season.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Exactly. And and and the thing of it is that I had to I had to figure out a way how I could enjoy the game and save my voice. To preach. Exactly. See, basketball is something I enjoy. Preaching is something that I'm commissioned to do. That's right. You're called to do that. And I wasn't gonna get in trouble with the Lord on a Sunday morning. I'm up there saying, and they said, We can't hear you. So I've always been a bulldog. I was a Sumner Bulldog.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Oh, I didn't realize they were the Bulldogs. Look at that.

SPEAKER_03 32:14

And so then the Sykeson Bulldogs, and they go, He's not a Bulldog. I've always been a Bulldog. I love that. And so what happened is I think we scored. And I barked. Did you do that at Sumner? No. It just It just this was something that I could do and save my voice. Everybody's yelling and you hear them, they can't talk. Oh yeah. And I started barking. And after that, that particular game, I would come and I would bark at the games. Every time they would score, I would bark. Right. And people didn't know who who it was. This is my one of my favorites. And so I'm in the stands and I bark, and people are turning around, and I turn around, everybody's turning around looking up.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

You're like a ventriloquist. You were throwing them off, weren't you? Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

And for years, no one knew who the barker was.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

I know. I I'm one of them. I am one of them. And I I can't recall how we figured it out. We're like, who is that? Right. Because I before I was doing the games on TV, I would sit basically right behind you, but toward the top. Because Erin told me, she says, as much as you yell, you need to be away from the floor so they don't throw you out. And so she won't even sit with me. She sits on the other side with her girlfriends. Uh-huh. So we would be sitting up there and we're like, who the hell is barking? Yeah. And we're, and of course, in a crowd of 2,000 people, it's just hard to pinpoint that. And I don't recall how you don't like use your hands or nothing.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

Like you just bark.

SPEAKER_03 34:24

I just bark.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

I bark.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

It was so funny. Now, barking, Michael Porter's mother was sitting in front of me. And I was barking, and she put her hands up around her mouth, and people thought it was her, and we laughed.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

We laughed. So you even threw more people off your scent by doing that. It was crazy. Oh my God. And they're thinking, Kathy, how do you get your voice that deep? Yelling at those kids. Well, I was gonna say, she yelling at all them porter boys. She probably does have to raise her voice sometimes, but she's not a she's not a She's not a very loud loud person.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

No. She's not.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

She's not at all. She is. She's a very nice lady. Well that that's that's great to me. So when you So when you do that, that it just that just came to you, obviously, like you said, for saving your voice.

SPEAKER_03 35:21

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

So I gotta know what was Miss Maxine's reaction to it. She looked at me. Did you startle her as much as everybody else?

SPEAKER_03 35:30

And then she would go, woof, woof, woof, and then I would bark because that was egging me on. And you know how dogs do. Oh, yeah. One goes and they start going back and forth. And it was so funny. But she supported me, and she said, Wow. And then people started barking. Barking. Mm-hmm. And I would and they they would keep barking and I would bark. And it it was we had fun.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

Right. Exactly. We had fun. You became you and that was part of the experience, too. And tell if you don't mind, tell the story, or not the story, but just what some of the kids say after they go to school and come back. I love that. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 36:10

I love this. You know, because barking and and and they're out there playing, and they it's something about hearing the dog, and this is what they told me, and I and I didn't realize the impact that we had on them. Yeah. And they said, sometimes when we hear you barking, it encourages us to do better. And I was like, really? And I'll give you an example of what happened. They were playing in the St. Dominic tournament. Okay. And they were losing, and it was like the third quarter. And I'm like, what are they doing? And so I started barking, and they took off and they won that game. Yeah. Yeah. So that when the kids go off to school, they'll come by the house or they'll see us out no matter where we are. And they say, we really appreciate you barking because now we're off to school and we don't get that.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 37:03

And I thought, wow.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Yeah. That's the impact that that you can have on a on a on a on a young kid's life. Just the not just, I shouldn't say just, but the support and being there and being in their corner for them and supporting them and cheering for them.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Oh yeah. Fred even talked about that on the podcast with us. Oh yeah. Fred Thatch. He was like, you can't match the atmosphere of you know the field house.

SPEAKER_03 37:33

Oh God. I tell you, it's an experience. And if you've never been in the field house, you have to come during the SEMO conference. Yes. It is unbelievable. I remember when Dickie Nutt was at SIMO. At SEMO, he came in, he was looking around. He said, Is this a high school game? I think we were playing Charleston. Oh. No, it was crazy. Exactly. And you you have to get early. And we tell people, they say, Well, why do you go early? Because I want to get a seat.

SPEAKER_01 38:05

That's right. I want to there's a spot I want to sit. Right.

Faith Stories That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_03 38:08

And it's an event too, man. Exactly. I'm telling you. And and we come out and we support. That's right. And it's always been. I remember going to Formington, we were playing, and this couple, they were trying to find out who the Barker was. They were walking all around. They were not watching the game. They're walking all around the arena trying to find out who the Barker was. And somebody said, See that couple right there that's dressed alike. He is the Barker. And so they came over and they met me and they go, Oh, it's such an honor to meet you. You are a legend.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

That's exactly right. Thank you. I didn't know what to say. That's exactly right. You are it is it is a blessing for those kids to have your support and our all of our support, frankly. And that's I can't, that's just so vital to what we do and what and what Greg's helped build here, basically, right? Yeah, I I love that. So tell us tell us about your time in the ministry. I don't even know this part. I'm just gonna throw this out there. I bet you do you were you called as a little kid? Did you felt like at a certain age you were called and said you're gonna be a I got the call at age 14.

SPEAKER_03 39:21

Okay. I and very common story that I and I told God I can't preach. I did. I'm like, Yeah for real? Me?

SPEAKER_01 39:30

Mm-hmm. You know. But did you finally you obvious did you? You obviously surrendered at some point.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

I did at age 17. Okay. But that three year span, a lot of things happened in the three years. At age fifteen, I heard a bullet whiz by my ear. And if I would have turned my head, I would have been dead. At 16, I got my eyeball cut. June the fourth, nineteen sixty-nine. June the second, nineteen sixty-nine, and God put it back together June the fourth, nineteen sixty-nine, on a Sunday. When I woke up Monday morning and I could see Yes, it's I could see clearly. Tuesday, I was supposed to go back to the doctor. They s they flew in this specialist from Chicago, Illinois, and my medical records are at Washington University Medical Center at Barnes Hospital. And they said, We don't understand this. On Friday, your eyeball was cut. I could see three people. Look, I could I could see you three times. What? Twice out of this eye and once out of this eye. What? And so when they saw it, they said, We've s we what happened? And I said, God put my eye back together. Okay, but I still didn't preach.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

I was playing basketball. We're gonna start calling you Noah. I was playing basketball.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

On a Saturday morning in Marshall Schoolyard. Okay. And that particular day, everything I shot went in. And this guy said, if you hit another one, I'll blow you in the middle of next week. And that's being mildly. Yeah. And so he was checking me, and I just went straight up and the ball went in. He came out of his pants with a 38 and put it to my heart and went click and it didn't go off. And I told God, here I come for real. You were stopped messing around. You hear me? I I promise you. That was it. Yeah. But sometimes and I tell people, I said, When the call of God is on your life, He'll create situations to make you come to Him.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

Oh, sure He will. You know. Oh my gosh. He you sound like your stories sound like that deal where you know the there's a flood coming and they come by in a truck, and then they come by in a boat and a helicopter, and like, Lord, you didn't help me. He goes, Well, I sent a boat, a truck, and a helicopter. Exactly. It's kind of one of those stories, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:04

But you know, did that? Yeah, I did. I I told God, I'm sorry, and I cried, man. Because I could have been out of here. Sure. And I'm thinking, because I go back to when the bullet, that's how close I was to death. A bullet, he let me hear it whiz by my ear. Yeah. It's got to be. See, that's why I know that God is real. I'm not talking about the book God. Right. You know, I'm talking about I know that God is real. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Oh my gosh. I've never heard those stories. Yeah. Holy cow. Yeah. So it's a little different growing up in the city. It is. And and I mean, I grew up in real game times where I used to see people get killed every week. It's not normal, but it becomes normal. And that's bad when that's the norm. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

You become almost immune to it. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Callous, whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:59

And it's just oh my gosh. And that's why I'm I'm thankful today that you know he chose me to stand before his people and tell the truth. Yep. Yeah. You know. That's right. And people still, well, no, this is real. This is real. And you have to get a personal relationship with him to understand that. I was talking to one guy and he goes, I don't believe there's I don't believe in God. I said, okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

He believes in you.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

That's it. I said, okay. I said, so let me ask you this question. Since you don't believe that God is who I said he is, hold your breath until I get done talking. He said, I can't do that. I said, I know you can.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

That's exactly that's exactly right. I heard I heard uh something the other day, and I'm gonna butcher this, but basically it said I'm not the the what we have, everything is set to order so perfectly. I mean the way the earth is tilted just at the right angle, if we go too far, we burn up. If we go too far the other way, everything's frozen.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

We go any less, we spin off, we go any faster, we spin off.

SPEAKER_01 44:16

Right. And that happened just because? No way. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 44:23

No way. So the scripture tells us that he gives us new mercies every day. Yes, sir. So I said to him, I said, the mercy that you had for Saturday expired at midnight. He goes, huh? I said, because he gave you a new one on Sunday. Yes, that's correct. And that expired at midnight. That's great. And now today is Wednesday, so the mercy that I have for Tuesday expired.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

I love that.

SPEAKER_03 44:47

And I have a new one. And I get to enjoy this until midnight. Then I get a new one on Thursday.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

I love it. That's great. That's great. I've never heard it put like that. Have you, Micah?

SPEAKER_00 44:58

Not quite. Not quite.

SPEAKER_01 45:00

Well, he he's got away with words.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

He does. There's always for sure. And mercy, man. That's that's something that many people don't really understand, though. Right. I mean, it's because we think we have to earn it.

SPEAKER_03 45:11

But you can't earn mercy. No, you can't. It's because he loves us so much. He does it.

SPEAKER_00 45:16

You know, the closest thing on earth that we have to that is a child. You know, when you have a child, you love them unconditionally. There may be a lot of things they don't like about them. But I mean, you love them. There's not many things that kids can do that will make their parents stop loving them.

SPEAKER_03 45:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

Yeah. You know, and that's the closest thing on earth that I can think of. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

And and they'll they'll do whatever they can for the child. And that's how God is. No matter what we're going through, He knows how much we can handle. And He's not gonna let us go over the limit because He's there to support us.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

He provides a way. He does. Yeah. Every time. Scripture tells us that. That he will provide a way.

SPEAKER_01 46:03

So how long did you work for Ford? What so did that was that the one was that in Hazelwood? Was there one out toward Fenton? That was Christ. Oh, okay, that's right. That's right, that's right. And so you started with Ford in the 70s, 80s?

SPEAKER_03 46:20

No. Oh it's it's crazy because when I tell you this, you'd be like, really? I started at Ford at age forty one. Okay. I turned forty-two. I started on the sixth, I turned forty-two on the eleventh. Okay. Ford announced that they were closing up in mid-decade. Okay. Okay, so this was like 2000. Okay. They closed up in 2006 because mid-decade is 2005, so they gave us another whole year to get your affairs in order. How many jobs really do that? They don't. It's usually out the door. Exactly. So what happened was simply this. They said, because I had 11 years in. Okay. So they said people that are fifty-five, with 10 years or more, they had a package for them. Okay. I was 53. I was thinking you were just a little short there. So then they came back the next day

Ford Retirement And Ministry On The Line

SPEAKER_03 47:30

because so many people from 50 to 54 had 10, 11, 15, 20 years in, and but we were too young to retire. So what they said was if you're 50 with 10 years or more in, we're going to retire you. Wow. So I retired at 53. I went there at 42. Oh, and he blessed me to retire at 53.

SPEAKER_01 47:55

Oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 47:56

Because that's what he does. Of course he does. Because I'm like, are you sure I'm supposed to be here at 42? I wasn't, you know, really looking for a job. And so the Lord opened that door. Now I understand what my mission was to be at Ford. Yeah. Yeah. Because no bo no one knew I was a preacher. Because I was there and I was working on the line, and that was by choice. Yeah. Yeah. You put in your 10 hours and you go home. Right. Well, what happened is a young man had bought a brand new vet and he had an accident and the car rolled over. Oh man. Well, at his service, the people from the job went. They gave us that day off. Okay. And we all went. Well, I knew the pastor. And he says, Dr. Holloway, will you speak on behalf of the ministers? I go. Yes. And that's when they found out I was a preacher. And one guy says, Man, he said, that's why I enjoy working on. He said, because in your area it was always peaceful. Uh-huh. He said, I go work in other people. And he said, and there was confusion. But every time I worked in your area, it was always peaceful. So he said, I want to work over by you. That was crazy. Well, that's great. And so from that point on, you know, people would come over for prayer. Sure. And, you know, encourage them. And it was, I was like, okay, God, so this is what I'm supposed to do. This is why I'm here.

SPEAKER_00 49:33

Right. Well, I mean, like, even the transition of closing down these people's livelihoods.

SPEAKER_03 49:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:39

I'm sure it gave you opportunities to.

SPEAKER_03 49:41

It did. And I shared too with them because people said, Oh, well, we've always heard that Ford is going to close down. Okay. Who said it? Bill Ford. What's the name on the building? Ford. He's giving you time to get your affairs in order.

SPEAKER_01 49:59

Not just. Usually they'll tell you mid-decade and close next year. Exactly. That's the opposite of what a lot of people do. Yeah. Well, that is, that's a blessing. Yes, sir. So I I we try to ask this a lot. I'm from here, Micah's from Charleston, which is well, whatever. Fairly close. It's close enough. He's from this area. What do you think, being from, as we say, the big city and coming down here, and obviously you're integrated into our town. You're one of us now, as as we would say, what do you think makes Sykston different or unique or special? Now I know your bride's here. Obviously, that that has a lot to do with it, I understand. But out outside of your beautiful wife, what what else would you say?

SPEAKER_03 50:47

I think being involved in the community, because in Sykston, they are community-oriented. Yes. In the big city, it's about individualism. That's what happens in the big city. You get you get lost in transition. Okay. And and everybody's, it's like survival. You're in survival mode. Well, here in Sykston, because it's community involvement, they're not gonna let you f fail.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

I've never heard it put like that. I I we've asked, I don't know that we've had a perspective on here, Micah. Like his. I'm trying to think from from a big city, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00 51:31

We've had other people from Shannon and all the and Coach Coach May and all them come on here.

SPEAKER_01 51:39

I've never heard it described like that from how the how the big city is different than that. But that makes sense. That you're you may have when you were little, but did you know your neighbors? I mean, like

What Makes Sikeston Different

SPEAKER_01 51:53

here, we feel like we know, you know. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

I grew up in a neighborhood. I could tell you everybody lived on the block. Okay. Okay. Can they do that now though? No. And you know why? Because people don't know each other. All they know is someone lives next door to me. Or they drive a truck or they drive a car or they've got three children. Okay, boys or girls. I don't know, they just got three kids. I see them in the van. Where when we grew up, if I did something at your house, your mother and your daddy whooped my behind. And if I passed your house and your mama saw tears in my eyes, she added to it. That's how I grew up. That same here. And and everybody in the neighborhood knew everybody, and you just couldn't do anything because I was brought up like this. Grown people don't lie. So if your mother said I did it, I did it. If I said I didn't, oh, you calling me so-and-so a lie, until you're really gonna get it. So that's why I got along with the older people. I learned early, fellas.

SPEAKER_01 53:07

I'm telling you. I'm telling you, I I don't blame you, but that's how it was here, too. It's kind of the thing. Oh, you got trouble at school? Well, guess what? You're gonna get it at home, too. Exactly. That's the way that's now.

SPEAKER_03 53:19

And and since you brought up school, yeah, I'll tell this. You know, yes, foop me at school, just don't give me a note to carry home. You can foot me all day. If I brought a note home, first thing my daddy, see, and he told me this. He asked me, What was my name? And I told him. He said, You didn't get that name from me. Sir, I got that from my father. And he got that from his father. So look how many people you are representing when you go out here. If you get in trouble, you these this is your lineage. This these are the people that you're representing. Wow. And you're acting and you're acting a fool. I'm looking back now to see if there's anything left.

SPEAKER_00 54:07

But anyway, there may not be. That's about like me. I just never wanted my name to be on the front page of the paper. Oh my god. I didn't want my mom to find out anything. I'm with you.

SPEAKER_01 54:17

But you know what? Before cell phones, I could do something, and my mama would know before I got home. Oh man. And we didn't have, we had no cell phones and have nothing. And I'm like, I was just standing with her out here in the street. You're like, she didn't yell, she didn't beat me to the house. No. And my mom knew. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 54:36

Isn't that amazing? The intuition that they had.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

That was a lot of it.

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

Yep. And they knew when you did something. And and and that mama committee, too, because they started calling mamas. Oh, yeah. I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_03 54:51

You cannot do. I remember this friend of mine, you know, he lived across the street from me. His grandmother came to school unannounced. And he was acting up. She pulled his pants down and wore him out and pointed to me and said, How is he acting? Oh my yes. Oh yes. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 55:21

That was the old school. Oh, I'm telling you. And how old was he then?

SPEAKER_03 55:25

He was he was nine.

SPEAKER_01 55:26

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_03 55:27

Yeah. They did. I mean, enough to embarrass him. They did not play. Right. And you're acting a clown in class? You're here to learn not to act silly. And how was he acting? I'm like, she better tell the truth today. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 55:44

You said grown folks don't lie. Right.

SPEAKER_00 55:47

Don't hesitate. Right.

SPEAKER_01 55:49

Don't stop. Don't do that. Don't give them no reason. Oh my gosh. So we this is another question that we talk about or another thing that we talk about. Why do you think our school pride and our town pride is is so widespread or so run so deep here? Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_03 56:13

There's one high school. Yep. And because there's one high school, you can put all of your efforts together. I love that. When I was in the big city, there were 11 public high schools, not counting the private schools or Catholic schools. And it was widespread. But here there's a cohesiveness that brings us together, be it football, wrestling, tennis, baseball. I went to the soccer game. PJ Foreman was playing soccer. And I saw the number of soccer people out there. I'm like, so it's just not basketball. It's just not football. These people are committed. And I was impressed. Of course, when they scored, I barked.

SPEAKER_00 57:02

Of course you did. You had to. You gotta think about Sykeston's kind of unique, even within Southeast Missouri. Most of its school is made up of people in Sykston. Like we don't have like Charleston, you got Wyatt, Anniston, all these other little towns.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

Sykston is made up of Sykston. That's a good point, too. I haven't really even thought about that. Even New Madrid has kids, Howardville, Lilburn, Matthews,

One School Pride And Real Cohesion

SPEAKER_01 57:33

kind of the other small towns around that.

SPEAKER_03 57:34

That's a that's good.

SPEAKER_01 57:36

That's a great point. I never even considered that. But that the the one eleven in what a 10-mile range or 20 mile deal there, I guess. No, no, in St. Louis. You said 11. How how close were that?

SPEAKER_03 57:53

That was just in the inner city. In the inner city. I see. Okay. Okay. Yeah. I'm a baby boomer. Yep. There were there were a lot of kids. Yep. Yep. In my freshman year, there were eleven hundred freshmen.

SPEAKER_00 58:09

So you're talking 4,000 kids in a s in a school.

SPEAKER_03 58:12

In your high school? Yes. In my freshman year, there were 1,100 kids. Now, when I graduated in 1971, we had 385 graduates. People died, people moved. Oh my God. A lot of things happened. Yeah. And that's what I try to encourage children. Stay focused on your goal. Your goal is to get your high school diploma. That's right. A lot happens from kindergarten to high school. A lot happens from middle school to high school. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 58:47

Mm-hmm. A lot happens from freshman year to senior year. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 58:51

It does.

SPEAKER_01 58:52

Wow. Gosh, I you the diet thing, when you said that, that kind of hit me different. Yeah. And people move away. You know, they, they, they, they leave the state. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:06

Yeah.

unknown 59:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:07

Oh my gosh. City's kind of fluent a lot. You know, I mean, like people move in, move out. Exactly. You know, and then you probably, you know, dropping out wasn't that. Yeah, dropout rate. I didn't think about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:19

I mean, it's I mean, when you look at 1,100 to 385. That's crazy. It is.

SPEAKER_01 59:26

That's a third of it or a fourth of it, basically, or what?

SPEAKER_03 59:29

And when you when you tell people they go, what?

SPEAKER_00 59:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:32

Yeah. That's a short.

SPEAKER_00 59:34

I mean, like you were probably in air when like Vietnam. I mean, like. So you probably had people that end up. Going there. Oh, yeah. I mean, like I thought my dad proved.

SPEAKER_01 59:45

Well, you were in the service. I was in the service. When when was that? And thank you for your service, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 59:51

I went I I spent nine years in the reserves. Okay. Okay. That's great. I I put my time in because I couldn't go active because of the ministry. But I put my time in into the reserves.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:07

You spent nine years? Nine years. In was that in St. Louis at one of the. St. Louis. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay. At the reserve center. Army.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:15

Like the Army. Yes, Army. Okay. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Yep. Yeah. Well, last year when Kelly, Knight, Marks, signed you up for I I didn't even I guess I because I saw I mean it's at our bank. I don't I guess I didn't see your name on there. And you showed up and I went. What the heck? Yeah. And that was, well, that was a blessing for me, of course. But that's great. Yeah. That's great. And we hope you come back this year.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:45

Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:47

Okay. Sound like we got a winner. I'll tell Kelly in the morning. Make sure he's on the list. Yeah. But that's great. So what do you what do you enjoy the most about supporting and and and and bringing your energy to the to the to the games, to the kids?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:07

It's a family. It I I promise you, this is a family. Now I'm going to talk about you and what you did to me. Oh no, what I am. We went to Hillsborough. What did I do? We went to Hillsborough. We got there at 920. And he says to me, You're late.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:34

Normally you beat me there.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:36

Yeah. Because that's what we do. We get there and we relax and we talk. Yep. I mean, because this is family. I agree with you. And it only lasts for a couple of months. And then it's over. And we don't get to see each other until the next basketball season.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:53

You know, I it's funny you mention that. Because after even we had an unbelievable season, right? We were 29 and 3, second in state, like we talked about. And I felt myself that Sunday afterwards when we got home just kind of feeling blue almost. And I'm thinking, why am I sad? And I thought about it for a while, and I thought, why am I why would I be sad? I mean, we had an unbelievable season. We did. But it's the relationships that we build

Basketball Season As A Family

SPEAKER_01 1:02:32

during that.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:34

Not to go all biblical on that, but you think about God created man in our image, meaning the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's a community. Of course. That's the way that we're designed. Yes. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:46

And I I I just thought, why? Because I was thinking, well, I I may not see you guys for a while. Or I may not see Andon, who I do the games with, or I may not see, may not see Coach for a while, or may not see whoever for a while. And I I've thought about the family thing because Aaron and I talk about this, and they're like, well, your son already graduated. I know, but there are kids. Right, exactly. Now they don't belong to me. Right. But I mean, as far as they're not my blood, but they're my family. Those kids are. It's funny because people would ask us, no, we see you all at the games all the time.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:29

Who do you have out there? Right. I said. You know what? All of them are our kids.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:38

Yeah, that's right. That's right. I don't even know if the kids realize the blessing that they are to us. Oh, right. Yes. I don't I don't know that they do.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:48

You know when they do, it's when they graduate and then they come back. Yeah. Because for them to stop by my house or see me out in the yard and they'll tell us how much they appreciated our support, you're like, wow. We do it because we enjoy it and we love it, but we didn't realize the impact that we had on their lives.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:09

We really didn't. That's right. Well, but even again, the impact they've had on our lives, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:14

Yes, yes. They've given us Hey, the Daisy probably gets you out of bed. You know what I mean? Oh, sure. Got a game to do that. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:22

When we up at Park Hills when we were up there. Yeah. I mean, the game was at one. Was it one? We rode out of town at like 8 30, like some crazy, like some nuts.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:32

We rode in at like, I think we got there at like 10 50, and there was already people in the building. Yeah. I think y'all came in about the same time we did. We did.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:39

We did. And and here's the thing that impressed me. They were open. Oh, that's exactly right. They were open and they let us in. That was a first. I think they got the memo from Formington.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:52

Like these crazy people are gonna be hours early. Sykeson gonna be there?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

Yeah. Yep. Open up early. You better go ahead and do that. And because I remember one year when Formington did not let us in. Well, I keep telling people, we spend money. We're gonna eat. Yep. We're gonna buy concessions. We're gonna do it. So Formington didn't let us in. You remember that? And they ordered pizza?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:18

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:18

Yes. And after that, they said, oh, Sice is coming. It's it's it's funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:24

That was very nice. As a matter of fact, we after the game, we told we told the a couple of folks that were like, hey, we appreciate you guys opening that up and letting us in. Because there were people there even before we were. Exactly. And we were parked. We went to the wrong parking lot, didn't we? We were all sitting there. There was about five or six cars sitting there, and we're like, Mike, if you can't get it, it's all right. Okay. The this computer, we may have to throw this one out and start over again. No, no, no, no. No, it's all we can we're still going. We're still that it's I was just talking about that. It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. And we'll get it.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:00

And I said something to the people too. I told them, We we really appreciate you all allowing us to come in. Yeah. And the lady said, Yeah, because we don't get up this early.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:12

And you know, one thing that I I I went back and I've I've seen pictures. After we beat Viani, we look like it looked like a family on the floor. Hugging. Yeah. It didn't matter. That's what we did. I know. Yeah. And that's what we've talked about that so much on here recently for I don't know why, but it just comes up. It didn't matter where you went to church. Exactly. It didn't matter who you voted for. Who you voted for. It didn't matter what you believe. It didn't matter where you lived. We at that point we were a family. We were all. I think that's what Jesus and I think that's what how He wants us. Yeah. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. All that stuff is silly.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:05

It is. And and people get hung up on things that they can't explain.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:09

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't. Don't like you. Why? Right. I don't know. I just don't, right? You voted for the wrong person. But what's that got to do with anything? I know. I know. We've all felt trapped to it at times before, right? Yeah. And it's wrong. It's just wrong. It is. It's wrong. And people get out here and they trip.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:29

That's right. Why are you tripping? If you're tripping, you can't walk straight anyway.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:34

Yeah. It boils back down to one thing. We all become selfish.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:38

That's it. That's true. And once you relinquish your selfishness, then you can love it.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:43

That's what Christianity is about.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:44

Exactly. That's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:47

Yep. Yep. A couple other things. What do you what do you want the kids to see in you whi while you're supporting them? What do you what do you obviously you're it is your support, but what do you hope they see through you?

SPEAKER_03 1:08:06

I hope that they see that when lose a draw, we're gonna support you.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:12

We t when Aaron left before about the time we came down here to record and she she we we were talking about that. Yeah, I mentioned that. What she told you. Yeah. If you remember when after they after the championship game at got second place at at state, there was she said 300. There may have been 500 people. Yeah. There were a lot of us. Still standing around waiting for the kids to show them that we still supported them, we cared for them. Exactly. Unbelievable season. Of course, Aaron said, I didn't see you or Miss Maxine. But when the door opened, she said, I knew where he was then. He started barking. She said, I knew exactly where he was. And that's that that support and the fact that I hope what they see with me, and I I've told my son is that you want to be proud of where you're from, right? And I I think it's it's important for us to. I think you even said it last week. We're proud when we walk into Mizzou Arena or Park Hills where we were when we beat Viani. We all had our Sykston stuff on, right? I mean, we walked with our shoulders back, right? Not too good for anybody, right? But we were proud to walk

What Ken Wants Kids To Feel

SPEAKER_01 1:09:35

in there and like, hey, this is who we are. We are our Sykston. We are. That's right. Man, I love that. That is so good. I that's such a big deal for for us. And I I hope I hope the kids see it, but you're right. I think it's after they graduate when they really go, man, that really they really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:00

Because right now, all they know is, hey, the fans are gonna be there. Yeah. Yeah. And and we show up. Now, you know what really impressed me? The farm system that Sykston has. I agree. Seventh grade, eighth grade. And I'm thinking, man, when I saw that, I'm like, wow. Mm-hmm. The city doesn't have that. They don't. They do not. No, they do not. Really? They have AAU. They do not have the system where seventh grade, eighth grade, you have you have multiple high schools. So how can you have a form system? That's true.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:41

And you don't even have grade schools that feed the high school, do you? I mean, like they can kind of they don't have an assignment, like they go to this school, they go to this school in high school.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:49

They don't anymore. When I was coming up, I went to Turner Middle. Okay. Sumner High School is right across the street. Okay. So that's where then you went to high school then. Exactly. Okay. But it's not like that. It's not like that now. You might go to whatever the middle school is, and you have choices. Here's a high school there, there's one there, and there's one over there. Where we were homegrown. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You know, the elementary school I went to was John Marshall. Okay. And that was like five blocks from my house. The the middle school was like three blocks from my house, and the high school was three blocks. Because the middle school was like here and the high school was across the street.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:34

But I do know. I know like now, I think grade school, you don't necessarily go. I mean, I'm sure there are schools that feed certain schools just by location.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:43

But usually not. They're bust. You can live in the city and you get bust to the county.

unknown 1:11:49

Really?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:50

That started in the 80s, didn't it?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:51

Yeah. That started in the 80s. Started in the 80s. Or late 70s. I I was out.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:58

I remember talking about bussing kids when I was younger.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:01

Well, that just messes up all the community.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:04

You have no community with that. Exactly. And that's why when I say the cohesiveness of Sykes, I mean that. Uh-huh. Because there is a togetherness and then there is a link. Yeah. You know, the middle school transitions to the high school. Yeah. Yeah. Ah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:25

I I didn't realize that that they didn't do that any longer in the city.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:31

Not as often. It was not.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:34

Even well, even like the Catholic schools, they don't have like St. Dominic's a high school.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:41

I don't think hopefully I'm not speaking out to but I don't think they have a junior high. So they could go to grade school in I don't know, I guess Clayton, and then drive out to O'Fallon for high school.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:55

Well even like Catholic school. Or wherever. You think about a Catholic school here, it is kind of, I mean, if you go like if you're going to go to Catholic school, you may go to St. Henry's or St. Dennis, you know, like St. Or St. Francis here. St. Francis. And then you feed up to to to Notre Dame. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:11

Yeah. And maybe they have that, maybe they have something similar to that in the city. I I don't know. That's why I said maybe I'm speaking out of school, but I know as far as I know, St. Dominic is just a high school ninth through twelfth.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:24

Because it's like I know people that went to Catholic high school that did not go to Catholic elementary school. Catholic elementary. Right. That's right. They they went to a secular school, and then the parents said, you know what? I'm tired of the city. I'm tired of the public schools, and we're gonna enroll you in the Catholic school.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:44

Sure, sure. Yeah, I I I totally understand.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:46

I don't think like like St. Mary's doesn't have like I don't think they have a feeder school.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:51

They don't. Oh, St. Mary's. It's yeah in St. Louis, they're we did you go there when was that? Two years ago. Two years ago. St. Mary's South. Yeah, yeah, South Side. Right there on Grand. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:03

In the heart of South St. Louis.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:05

Yep. Yep. We went there. Well, they came here this year. Okay. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:11

They went there the year before.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:13

We went there and we played that we played freshman, JV, and varsity. And that's what they did here this year. I remember that. That's right. That's right. That was probably, of course, I give him a hard time about this. He was with his grandson. And but we were like, where were you? You're not here. Oh,

Lightning Round And Favorite Memories

SPEAKER_01 1:14:30

we're supporting our grandson. I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:33

This is this is wild since you brought that up. Yeah. A friend of my wife's lives in I want to say Nashville. It's either Nashville or Texas. Her sister called her and said, listen, have you heard from the Holloways? We haven't seen them this season. Uh-huh. See if they're all right. Or give me the number so I can call them. I promise you.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:02

Oh, I'm you you it is noticed when you aren't there. That's for sure. That's for sure. Okay. News flash. We told you all last year. I know you did. So you're still missed. You're still missed. I know. You told us that, and you said, now our grandson's gonna be a freshman. I said, Well, it sounds like he needs to be a bulldog so you can do all of it at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:25

Is he in St. Louis? He's in St. Louis, and he goes to Hazelwood Central.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:29

Yeah. Yeah, and Miss Maxine, she showed me a bunch of pictures. I'm like, Yeah. That'll look like red and black, Miss Maxine, is all I can tell. No, I obviously you're gonna support your grandson. I understand. And you'll be you'll be at the games when you can. Yeah. I know you burn up the highway. You know it. That's part of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:48

Getting up there and getting back here.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:50

That's right. That's right. Got just a few more questions for you. And I we sort of asked this one a little bit earlier. When you're years from now, even won't you still be here? But I mean, if you aren't able to attend games and things like that, what what do you want folks to know about you or to or to have what do you want them to think of you when they think of like Ken Holloway?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:19

That I was committed. And just because I'm not homegrown does not mean I am not part of Sykes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:36

Yeah. I think there I think we're a lot of things are coming. A lot of good things are coming. A lot of good things. I mean, and and I I believe that people are gonna want to come here. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:46

Yep. Yep. That's it. I'm with you, Micah. I'm with you. I think there are a lot of good things.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:51

And we need to we need to remember that as a community.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:54

Like, and not trying to say that I'm I mean, like, I'm a I'm a way outsider. I'm from Charleston. I mean, like they they literally didn't like me.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:02

Well, what do you say about Sykeston? What'd you say when we were upstairs? You said they hate us.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:07

Yeah, they do. I mean, people, you you think I'm kidding. Oh, you you're from Sykston. I am.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:16

Why you got your nose curled up?

SPEAKER_03 1:17:18

Yeah. And they they look at us having the sorry. That's the wife. She knows she's not so. But it's just because of our family-like attitude and atmosphere. I think they're jealous. They are because they don't have it. Yep. Yep. And they don't know how to get it. And so when I told them how to get it, they for real, oh yeah. That's how you do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:51

And they they didn't want to put in that work, didn't they? Exactly. It's work. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:56

Well, it's I mean, I don't it's I don't say natural is not the word, but I think it's genuine. Oh, it's and it's hard to get that.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:06

I mean, like, it happened to happen genuinely.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:09

The way that Sykston is.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:11

And it don't just happen like you can't turn on a switch and it happens.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:21

They just they just do it. It's it's automatic because it's in them. Okay. If if it's not in you, it can't come out of you. Right. That's right. That's right. That's right. Okay. Yep. And so you can see the love that people have for the program. Now, we get we get a new group every year. Yep. Yep. Because seniors are graduating, so parents that have never attended. Yep. Are coming this year be why? Their child is graduating. Uh-huh. Yeah, but and we're glad to have you. Uh-huh. No, but we we've been here for three years. Right, right. Right. But yeah, we do. We get a new group every year.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:02

I mean, you well, I mean, like just that whole process. I mean, you not only get basketball players, you get cheerleaders, you get oh, I didn't think about that. You get managers, you get you know, like your family that brings in peep new people. Exactly. And I I I feel like I feel like Syson does a very good job at at welcoming change. So you need to get that.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:24

We can pause it. Okay. Yeah, we'll pause it. Yeah. And we're back. Yes. Hey, when the boss calls, you gotta take it. You got to. I understand. Yeah. I understand. She called once, then she called back, and we're like, eh, you ain't gonna put that on me saying Matt wouldn't stop it.

Final Bark And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_01 1:19:41

I've been there, I know better than that. Yeah. Well, that's that's thank you for that perspective. And and that's uh I think that's a great thing. Last few questions. We call this a lightning round. Okay, they're gonna be one after the other. Okay. What's your favorite thing about Sykston? The camaraderie. Love it. I'm one of mine too. I love it. What's your favorite bulldog memory?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:10

2011. We were standing outside waiting to get in. When we left Sitz, and it was warm. It was cold and they were cheering to st to keep warm. And the players heard us from the outside to the inside, and it riled them up.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:35

Yep. Yep. We were just and we won the championship. That's what I'm saying. Let's go. You're right. I remember that specifically. What what do you what do you like more? A packed gym or a packed football stadium?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:51

Packed gym. And the reason being it's enclosed. Now, don't get me wrong. I I enjoy the football feel and outdoors in the fresh air. Yeah. But when the when you're in the gym, it's different.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:06

I agree. Aaron just calls it conditioned air, as she said. It's it's it's or it's it's what she what how does she say that? A controlled atmosphere.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:17

It's it's not too hot, not too cold. My wife will only watch football between the end of September and mid-October.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:27

Really is. I mean, Sykston, you have to be a part of it to appreciate it. Right. They welcomed me, even without saying you're welcome. I mean, they just they just allow me to come in and bark and carry on, and nobody tried to stop me. I'm like, yes, this is the right place. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:49

Yeah. That's exactly right. What is what's uh what's uh the biggest the biggest lesson that life has taught you?

SPEAKER_03 1:22:01

To be patient and to pay attention. If you are patient, you're watchful. But when you get in a hurry, you'll miss something. Okay. I'll give you an example. You ever been in a hurry to go to work?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:25

Okay. It's something you forgot. Oh, for sure. I forgot my wallet or I just did it this morning. Exactly. But if you're patient, that means you've planned. So here's here's here's something that might help you. If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:46

Yep. You are correct. Yep. I do that frequently. That is uh one of my I don't know how I forgot my phone.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:55

I had to turn around and go back and get it. It happens.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:59

It happens.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:00

It does. I think I put it in a different spot than I normally do when I got it up.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:05

What what still what still fires you up today to get get you moving?

SPEAKER_03 1:23:11

To get motivated. Just the fact that my eyes open. Yep. That's motivation enough for me. Yep. And I guess because I'm a preacher, you know, because if God thought enough to open my eyes, there is something else he wants me to get done. That's a great question.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:31

And I'm motivated. Yep. Yep. I love that. I love that. And I'm got two more questions. Okay. What does Sykston mean to you now? This is home. That's what I'm talking about. I'm a bulldog. That's what I'm talking about. You've always been a bulldog, come to find out, right? Yeah. I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:50

Or were they red bulldogs or maroon and white?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:55

Okay. Okay.

unknown 1:23:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:57

And the last thing for us, give me three people that you would suggest that we bring on the show. Mary White Ross. I know, Miss Mary. What a what a lovely lady. Faison Fobs. Like one of my own. But yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:22

Yep, you're right. Have you had Julian Beard yet?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:26

I did, actually. Okay. But I yep. Let's see. And we could we we need to bring him back because he's got some updated stuff. I know he's got girls now, basketball that he's coaching. Okay. He and Chris Appleton. You remember Chris played a couple years back? Because well, so after the state championship game, all of us were standing around. I was talking to Julian, and he had both of his boys there.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:57

And I said, Y'all may not even know what's going on. And they're like, what do you mean? And I said, they just laid the foundation for you.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:06

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:07

Because Jaden will be a freshman next year, and Julian Jr. will be an eighth grader. Yeah. And I said, This just laid this for you, BJ, Jerry, and all the kids coming back next year. I said, they just laid this now for you all. Yeah. Now you have to take that and propel it forward. That's it. Yep. And and Julian, well, he's like, I'm ready. Let's go. Let's go. You know how he is. Let's go. Let's go. What a great guy. I think very highly of Julian. Oh, yeah. He is, he's terrific. And he's a he's a big supporter of ours too, of what we do here. So thank you for those.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:46

He's like one of our hottest fans.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:49

Yes. He he yes, exactly. He he likes all of our stuff. He comments on our stuff. He's we we we think very highly of Julian. Okay. Well, right, Ken, thank you. It we can't get off the you have to do. I was fixing to say we gotta get it. You gotta hear it one time before we get off here. All right. Here we go. I'm Matt Tanner. We say go dogs to finish it. Go Dogs. That's gonna do it for this episode of the Doghouse. Thanks for hanging with us and showing love to Sykes, where small town pride runs deep and Bulldog Grit never quits. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this with anyone who bleeds red and black. From the heart of the 573, this has been the doghouse. Always have a home.