Did you know that celebrity family Naomi, Wynona and Ashlee Judd were once guests of our own Margaret Allen? This article was found by Mary-Hannah Klontz in the January 2003 GuidePosts magazine. Enjoy!

Excerpted from "In Perfect Harmony" by Naomi Judd p. 20

"The following evening the girls and I were driving through Berea (KY) when we saw an elderly woman slip and fall. We stopped to check on her. She'd twisted her ankle badly, and the aspiring nurse in me insisted we take her to the emergency room. We got to talking, and I confided my difficulty in finding a home.

The next day I found a note in my mailbox at nursing school from Margaret Allen, a friend of the woman we'd stopped to help. Mrs. Allen had a house she wanted to show me. Her directions took us to the tiny town of Morrill. We turned off Big Hill Road and at the crest of a knoll stood a two-story house with a big front porch and apple trees dotting the yard. An elderly lady stepped out and introduced herself as Margaret Allen. 'Welcome to Chanticleer,' she said. 'Your new home.'

I was speechless. 'It's completely furnished, linens, dishes, silverware, everything...' she said. 'Come I'll show you.' Inside, the house was even lovelier, like something out of a fairy tale, filled with antiques. 'Mrs. Allen, we couldn't possibly afford to rent this place!' I gasped. 'Could you afford one hundred dollars a month?' she asked. 'I don't need the money, just the right people to have it.'
We moved into Chanticleer in June, and it was there on that big front porch we discovered something that would change our lives. Someone had given me an old guitar, and just for fun I brought it out. Wynonna took to the guitar like a bee to honeysuckle, returning to it again and again."

This was in 1975 and 4 years later, the Judds were in Nashville and hit it big! I was coming to Windswept at that time, and vaguely remember Margaret mentioning that she had tenants in Chanticleer. What a neat story and how wonderful to know that Margaret had a big part in helping the Judds. Did anyone already know this story? Did anyone ever meet the Judds while they were living in Chanticleer? Do you think we should invite Naomi to workshop!!!??