Before 1985, very few if anyone in Trigg County had ever heard of Terry Anderson, the chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press.
On March 16, 1985, while in Lebanon, he had taken a break to play tennis with a former AP photographer when he was kidnapped. He was held hostage for nearly seven years and was one of America’s longest-held hostages.
Anderson died on Sunday at his New York home. He was 76.
Trigg Countians became familiar with Anderson and that of other Americans held hostage when his sister, Peggy Say, and her husband David moved to a home on Lake Barkley in 1987.
While Anderson was chained to furniture in a basement in Beirut, Say took up the cause for his release. She summoned support from world leaders such as President Ronald Reagan, Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, and the Pope.
Say settled in Trigg County and attended Cadiz Baptist Church, where a candle remained lit at the altar until Anderson was released on December 4, 1991.
Another sister, Judy, moved to Trigg County along with her husband and her two children to be close to Say. It was the church that served as the backdrop for a news conference that saw Walker answer questions the day Anderson was released after more than 2,400 days in captivity.
Faded yellow ribbons were all over Cadiz and Trigg County during Anderson’s captivity, and the community was excited to learn the news of his release. There was some talk that Anderson would visit his sisters in Cadiz once he returned to the United States.
While Batavia, New York – Anderson’s hometown – and Lorain, Ohio – Anderson’s home before his abduction – held welcome home parades, it’s not known whether Anderson ever visited Trigg County.
The Says lived in Trigg County for four years. She called Cadiz a refuge in her quest to free her brother and called Trigg County ‘supportive.’
She and David moved to Cookeville, Tennessee in 1992. In a Redbook magazine article Say wrote that same year, she said she and her brother rarely saw each other and spoke infrequently.
Peggy lived in Cookeville until she died in 2015.
According to the Associated Press, Anderson gave public speeches upon his return to the U.S. in 1991, taught journalism at several universities, and ran a blues bar while struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
