Daniel Webster is often quoted as saying, “Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.”
This sentiment is also felt by Gloria Hoskins, 61, of Brittains Creek.
“Honoring our fallen soldiers on this Memorial Day is something my husband, Clarence, and I will always do,” said Hoskins. “My husband served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era and I have a nephew, Robert Morales, who has served four tours of duty in Iraq and is currently stationed with the U.S. Army in Washington state.”
Hoskins said no one in America should ever forget the soldiers who made it possible for every person to live free.
“That is why on this Memorial Day I say to every man or woman, who has served our country, whether they are with us now or passed on, ‘thank you,’” said Hoskins.
Originally from Detroit, Mich., Hoskins met her husband after they both became widowers. She said her husband, a Harlan County native, was working and getting ready to retire from the GM Tech Center when he proposed to her and asked her to move to Harlan County with him.
“We moved to Brittains Creek in 2005,” said Hoskins. “It’s so peaceful and quiet here. The people are so friendly. Being from the city you tend to be standoffish because you have to be. Here in Harlan, people talk to you in the grocery store — everywhere you go you see people you know — and I like that.”
Working a total of 18 years in the human resources field while in Michigan, Hoskins is now disabled.
“The first winter was hard here in Harlan, having lived in the city all my life, but I found the Harlan County Extension Service and quickly found there were all kinds of things for me to do,” said Hoskins.
A member of the Harlan County Homemakers’ Scrapmakers Club, she has participated in their Cooking for Fun Club, basket weaving classes and the Harlan County Homemakers’ Book Club.
“All the ladies have been so nice and I have learned so many different things,” said Hoskins. “I’d encourage anyone looking for ways to fill their time to join some of the many clubs offered through the extension office.”
Hoskins and her husband, Clarence, have four children, nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Reach Nola Sizemore at 606-573-4510, ext. 115, nsizemore@civitasmedia.com











