Todd County Standard - Kentucky Press Association

ALLEGRE
ALL AGREE IT IS A SWELL PLACE
BY MEGAN SISCO
TODD COUNTY STANDARD
There’s a town situated in
northern Todd County that
takes its name from an
agreement long settled. An
agreement to all agree on a
name. And “All-Agree”
stuck.
The residents of this
small burg still agree on one
thing. “I Love Allegre! The
happiest place on Earth!”
The people of Allegre are
happy in their small community.
They work together to
make things happen, such
as the fundraiser for the
Allegre Fire Department. By
coming together as a community,
they manage to
accomplish more than many
larger towns could.
The secret? The people
of Allegre love one another
sincerely. When deaths
occur, the small community
bands together. When a
baby is born, the town celebrates.
When local legends,
like the great Donnie
McGegee pass on, the community
mourns and places a
plaque in memory of him
because that’s what a hometown
does.
The small community,
located between Elkton and
Kirkmansville, has a draw to
it that simply can’t be
explained. Jessica Gant, a
former local, regrets her
move away from the place
that she grew up: “I’m moving
back. There’s no place
like Allegre. It’s home.”
A major part of this home
is the little small-town shop
that serves it. Welcome to
Above: Pam’s Quick Stop is the Allegre gathering place.
Below: A tobacco barn is another familiar sight around Allegre.
Pam’s Quick Stop. The
small grocery lies in the
heart of the town. Your onestop
shop for all the little
things you forgot while
shopping in the larger
towns. Bread, milk, an irresistible
mouthwatering BBQ
ham sandwich, and an ever
important substance known
as gas.
Of course there’s also the
pull to stay a while in the
classically decorated shop
with Coca-Cola bottles and
red checkered tableclothes,
just to hear the local men
gossip, I mean share stories,
about what’s going on in
their lives.
J.C. Monroe, the owner
of Pam’s, has heard so many
tales in his lifetime that he
seems to know everything to
do with anything involving
Allegre. “People talk in
here. Mostly because people
here listen.”
Indeed, Allegre citizens
listen to one another, they
keep up with one another.
The joys of this hometown
include the gossip that
comes along with knowing
the family history to everyone
on your street.
Maybe that explains the
mysterious draw that the
locals have for Allegre. They
were born there.
There is something about
Allegre that once there, the
place implants itself in your
heart. Nestled in the heart of
phenomenal countryside,
this old-fashioned town has
survived because the people
who live there love it far too
much to let it drift into oblivion.
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