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Practice of determination

by Mike Teegarden
Dr. Pettey writes a prescription while nurse Jeannie Moss waits so she can give the prescription to the patient after she gives them a shot.

Dr. Joe Pettey sees his patients differ­ently He sees them with one eye. Pettey,66, has been practicing medicine in Russell County since 1952.

An accident put an end to his delivering ba­bies and performing surgery in his family practice, but he still keeps busy. 

His right eye was injured when a spring from a gun hit it. “I was reassembling a .45 automatic that I had brought back from Germany, and I let my thumb slip,” he said.

A heart attack in May, 1988, put Pettey out of full-time practice for four months. Since then, he walks two miles every morning and night around his driveway to keep fit. He doesn’t walk on the streets because “the roads are so narrow, people will run you over,” he said. 

Pettey loves being a doctor. He helps people by giving them free drug samples so they won’t have to pay for prescrip­tions. Pettey’s other love is for the hills of Russell County “I’d rather wander the hills than fish or hunt.”

Carl Phelps, 83, and Elizabeth Phelps, 82, stand by a large bureau made out of curly maple. It has been in their house ever since it was built in 1875. Their 400 acre farm has been under any other name. It is the oldest continuation of family ownership of property in the state of Kentucky. No other family has ever owned the property. The bureau was originally hand made in the original homestead log cabin on the same property. When the new house was built in 1875 they moved this by using 12 men and cables before all the walls were finished.
Dr. Joe Pettey, 66, began practicing medicine in 1952. Dr. Joe Pettey writes out a prescription for one of his many long standing patients in Russell Springs, Ky.
Dr. Joe Pettey, 66, began practicing medicine in 1952. Dr. Pettey and his wife Arlene exchange a quick hug before heading off to bed.
The Dough Boy statue greets visitors to the town square of Jamestown, Ky.
Whitney Bledsoe (18 months) i snot happy about having Dr. Pettey examine her. Her mother Chris is trying to calm her down.
Brian McGaha (12) opens wide so Dr. Pettey can take a look at his sore throat.
Dr. Joe Pettey, 66, began practicing medicine in 1952.
Dr. Pettey works on a prescription while his nurse “meanie” Jeannie Moss, named by Pettey because he gives the shots, returns a thermometer to the back room.
Scottie Stephens, 8, warns Dr. Pettey about inflicting pain as his mother Diane looks on with concern. Scottie fell from his bike and hit his head.
Dr. Pettey walks his dog Sandy every night after dinner. They are illuminated here by a street light behind his house.
The Dough Boy statue greets visitors to the town square of Jamestown, Ky.