Oscar Alexander Morgan was born March 18, 1896, the fourth child of Robert Lee and Orlena Combs Morgan.  He was born and grew up in Emmalena, Kentucky, where he lived most of his life.  He graduated from the Hindman Settlement School in 1917, then he was off to France to serve his country in the United States Army in WW I. After the war was over, he attended Centre College, Berea Normal School and Morehead, now Morehead State University.

On July 2, 1921, he married Nannie Jones, daughter of John A. and Sarah Craft Jones.  To their marriage were born two children, Wilma Gayhart and Circuit Nudge John Robert Morgan. After his marriage, Oscar began his teaching career at St. Nicholas, a school no longer in existence, located near Sassafras, Kentucky.
Mrs. Morgan also, taught at St. Nicholas, but had taught at Irvine, Kentucky, after her graduation from Berea Normal School.

From St. Nicholas, they went to teach at Carr Creek School.  Oscar  taught industrial arts and other subjects in the high school.  It was at Carr Creek that he became a skilled furniture maker.  Many pieces of his furniture still exist today and are treasured by his family.

In addition to his teaching duties, he was a basketball coach.  He soon earned the title of the "silent coach."  During his time as coach, he coached the famed 1928 Carr Creek team whose story is retold every year at tournament time.  According to an article in the Courier-Journal, Sanders Petry, a Hazard business man, said he is credited with originating the man-to-man full court press which is so much a    
part of basketball today.

The Morgan's taught at Carr Creek for 13 years and returned to Emmalena where they lived and taught on Montgomery Creek and Clear creek. Later they left teaching to operate the family general store.

His mother, Orlena Combs Morgan, was postmaster of the Emmalena post Office which was named for her when it was established in 1894. When she became unable to do the post office, Oscar became postmaster, a position which he held until 1952 when failing health forced him to retire. At that time his daughter, Wilma M. Gayhart became the third generation of the family to be Emmalena's postmaster.

Oscar was a staunch Christian. While still in high school, he was saved at the Hindman Baptist Church.  He was a man who truly lived the Golden rule "Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You."  He was a Christian leader who helped to organize the Emmalena Bible church where he served as a deacon until his death.

He was a quiet, gentle man of great integrity, who taught his children that a man's word was his bond, not to be broken. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather.  He was especially proud of his two children and his seven grandchildren.                      

On August 4, 1968, Oscar died at the age of 72 and was buried in the Combs-Morgan Cemetery at  Emmalena, the fifth generation of his   mother's family to be buried there. Because of the many lives he touched, Oscar Morgan made the world a better place in which to live.

Corbett Mullins
May 17, 2003