The following excerpt was taken from: "The Advertisor Gleam" Guntersville, AL
November 20, 1979
1st modern log house is on Word home site
Photo #1 caption: Mr. and Mrs. John B. Anderson's pre-cut log house was built on the site of the home where her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Word raised one of the biggest and best known families.
Photo #2 caption: Across the Guntersville-Scottsboro road from the Andersons' house is the home of her mother Mrs. Budge Word.
John B. and LaRue Anderson built their home as a sort of memorial to her father, the late W.B. (Budge) Word.
It's a pre-cut log house, believed to have been the first around here. They built it in 1975. Since then, homes of this kind have become increasingly popular.
The Andersons' house is at Preston between Guntersville and Scottsboro. They built it on the site of the home where her grandparents raised 15 children who became on of the best known families in this area. The old home was there until the new one was built.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson bought the logs for their house in Colorado and had a man from South Alabama come here and do the log part of the construction. It has 3 bedrooms and will have 5 when they finish the lower floor. They live there with their sons Blaine and Darryl. Mr. Anderson works at Redstone and Mrs. Anderson is protective service worker with Pensions and Security at Scottsboro.
The Budge Word home is across the road from theirs. Mrs. Word lives there. Her husband died in 1970. He had been a county commissioner 8 years, and it was during his administration that the first roads were blacktopped on Gunters Mountain. He was also a State Highway Department guard, commodities supervisor and State Highway Department supervisor. Mrs. Word is a retired craft instructor, sales manager, and lunchroom worker at the DAR School.
Their son Doyle Bradford Word, an industrial engineer at Cleveland, Tennessee, plans to return here with his wife and build a home where his great-grandfather's home was, on the same farm as his grandfather's and father's home, and now his sister's. His son is named Wesley Bradford Word, the same as Budge and Budge's grandfather.
Mr. Word's parents were John P. and Willie Benson Word. They had 17 children, and 15 of them grew to adulthood. The father died in 1946, the mother in 1956.
11 of the brothers and sisters are living. Two died in infancy, then one in 1953, then three in the '70s.
Here are the brothers who grew up:
Wesley Bradford (Budge) Word, county commissioner and state highway supervisor, died 1970.
Fred William Word, antique dealer at Athens, died 1976.
Dee Donald Word, insurance agent, mayor of Scottsboro and state senator representing Marshall and Jackson Counties, died 1974.
John Presley Word Jr., partner in Word & Boggus Construction Co. of Guntersville.
James Rex Word, manager of Word Lumber Co. at Ft. Payne.
Wallace Clayton Word, manager of Word Lumber Co. at Manchester, Tennessee.
Morton Nelson Word, manager of Word Lumber Co. at Rainsville.
Hugh Clay (Hoot) Word of Guntersville, with the Army Missile Command at Redstone.
These are the sisters who grew up:
Pluma Mae Word worked with the Planters Peanut Co., died 1953
Olive Bishop's husband Ernest was formerly fire chief at Scottsboro. He was killed in a wreck.
Anna Dell Word is a saleslady in Scottsboro.
Grace Boggus's husband Wayne was a Scottsboro policeman when killed on duty.
Florence (Sis-A) Boggus's husband Jake is a partner in Word & Boggus Construction Co. of Guntersville. Wayne Boggus was his cousin.
Jaunita Petty's husband A. L. Petty is an engineer with the Space Center.
Willie Jean's husband Jay is a retired DeKalb County district attorney.
