Published: November 16, 2009 12:14 am      

Sellers book rich with Carter history

OLIVE HILL — Details about daily life in Carter County during the early 1900s are abundant in a new book by Barbara Sellers chronicling the life of her grandfather, aviation pioneer Matthew B. Sellers.

Sellers said years of research about her grandfather’s accomplishments, including invention of retractable landing gear, included reviewing thousands of pages of notes from the aviator’s 18 diaries archived at the Smithsonian Institution.

“There were a lot of notes of a personal nature, including the number of people who got sick from spoiled food because they didn’t have refrigeration back then,” Sellers said.

Her new book, “A Moment in Time,” includes more than 100 photos from Sellers’ collection, along with many notes and images contributed by people who lived near the family’s Blakemore Estate in Olive Hill, or worked with Sellers.

The author, who lives in Libertyville, Ill., is gearing up for a local book-signing tour and plans to contribute copies of her work to the Grayson and Olive Hill libraries, the Boyd County Public Library as well as local schools. While the book is of obvious interest to anyone who appreciates aviation history, Sellers said the 552-page biographical work includes memories and images relevant to many others, especially those who live in the area where Sellers built his aircraft and wind tunnel.

“There are so many people who are interested in Matthew. He is a big part of Carter County’s history,” she commented, noting the book also includes a short chapter about the Wright Brothers, and the lingering question about who was the first to person to fly in a powered plane.

Barbara Sellers and her brother, John, will arrive in the area to celebrate Thanksgiving and host five book signings along with the debut of John’s oil painting of the Blakemore Estate. Sellers said her brother’s painting is yet to be seen outside his studio.

“In fact, it is still drying,” she said Wednesday.

The book signings will also provide the public an opportunity to purchase a recently completed DVD documentary about Matthew Sellers produced by Tony Collier of Carter County. Larry Carroll will also have his “Blakemore” watercolor image available during the book signing events.

The first book signing for “A Moment in Time” will be from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 27 at the old Hitchins High School, sponsored by the Hitchins Preservation Society, followed by another session from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Olive Hill Depot, sponsored by the Olive Hill Historical Society.

The author and associated artists will be at the Olive Hill Library from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 28, and again that day at the Grayson Library from 1 to 4 p.m.

The local book-signing tour continues Nov. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Larry Carroll’s Flashback Framing Gallery on Railroad Street in Olive Hill.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.