August 2024 | Kentucky Monthly Magazine

KENTUCKY CHILDREN’S GARDEN

12 The Not-SoSecret Garden One part learning, another part whimsy, the Kentucky Children’s Garden fosters a hands-on appreciation for Mother Earth and all of her creepycrawlies

18 Land of Opportunity A new law clinic will help immigrants fulfill their dreams of freedom and prosperity legally in the Bluegrass State

22 Kickstarting a Community Cave City native Leticia Cline spearheads efforts to revive her hometown

31 Brave Berea With a history of innovation, the Madison County college is poised to face the challenges of higher education in the 21st century 36 Adult Learners Kentucky’s colleges and universities offer opportunities for non-traditional students

Thomas Rhodes enjoys climbing at the Kentucky Children’s Garden

PHOTO

Charlotte , Caroline and Thomas Rhodes at the Kentucky Children’s Garden

Test your knowledge of our beloved Commonwealth. To find out how you fared, see the bottom of Vested Interest.

1. The original Colonel Sanders hosted the first Kentucky State Fair in Lexington in which year?

A. 1792

B. 1816

C. 1908

2. Which Kentucky city is the Batter Capital of the World?

A. Louisville

B. Hopkinsville

3. Morehead-Rowan County is known as what?

A. The Folk Art Capital of the West

B. The Dulcimer Capital of the North

C. Bowling Green

© 2024, VESTED INTEREST PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME TWENTY-SEVEN, ISSUE 6, AUGUST 2024

Stephen M. Vest Publisher + Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

Patricia Ranft Associate Editor

Rebecca Redding Creative Director

Deborah Kohl Kremer Assistant Editor

Ted Sloan Contributing Editor

C. The Muskie Fishing Capital of the South

4. The Bluegrass Music Capital of the World is which Kentucky city?

A. Lexington

B. Versailles

C. Owensboro

5. The Houseboat Capital of the World is which Kentucky city?

A. Jamestown

B. Cadiz

6. Winchester is known as what?

A. Daniel Boone Center

B. The Beer Cheese Capital of the World

C. Somerset

C. The Rifle Birthplace of America

7. What is connected to this question dealing with Mickey Mantle Drive being located in Grayson (Carter County)?

A. Mickey Mantle was the name of a former mayor of Grayson.

B. Mickey Mantle was the grand marshal of a parade through Grayson.

C. Mickey Mantle’s uniform number matched the number of this question.

8. Labor Day Weekend in Louisville is home to which noted festival?

A. WorldFest

B. TaterFest

C. The Star Trek Spectacular

9. The Kentucky Exposition Center ranks among the largest such venues in the United States. How many are larger?

A. None B. 5

C. 10

10. How many toothpicks are on the floor of Pompilio’s Restaurant in the Newport-filmed scene of the movie Rain Man?

A. 256

242

246

Cait A. Smith Copy Editor

SENIOR KENTRIBUTORS

Jackie Hollenkamp Bentley, Jack Brammer, Bill Ellis, Steve Flairty, Gary Garth, Jessie Hendrix-Inman, Mick Jeffries, Kim Kobersmith, Brigitte Prather, Walt Reichert, Tracey Teo, Janine Washle and Gary P. West

BUSINESS AND CIRCULATION

Barbara Kay Vest Business Manager

ADVERTISING

Lindsey Collins Senior Account Executive and Coordinator

Kelley Burchell Account Executive

Laura Ray Account Executive

Teresa Revlett Account Executive For advertising information, call 888.329.0053 or 502.227.0053

KENTUCKY MONTHLY (ISSN 1542-0507) is published 10 times per year (monthly with combined December/ January and June/July issues) for $25 per year by Vested Interest Publications, Inc., 100 Consumer Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601. Periodicals Postage Paid at Frankfort, KY and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KENTUCKY MONTHLY, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602-0559. Vested Interest Publications: Stephen M. Vest, president; Patricia Ranft, vice president; Barbara Kay Vest, secretary/treasurer. Board of directors: James W. Adams Jr., Dr. Gene Burch, Gregory N. Carnes, Barbara and Pete Chiericozzi, Kellee Dicks, Maj. Jack E. Dixon, Bruce and Peggy Dungan, Mary and Michael Embry, Judy M. Harris, Greg and Carrie Hawkins, Jan and John Higginbotham, Frank Martin, Bill Noel, Walter B. Norris, Kasia Pater, Dr. Mary Jo Ratliff, Barry A. Royalty, Randy and Rebecca Sandell, Kendall Carr Shelton and Ted M. Sloan.

Kentucky Monthly invites queries but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material; submissions will not be returned.

KENTUCKYMONTHLY.COM

Readers Write

Losing Connection

In Steve Vest’s column, “Kentucky Continuum” (May issue, page 64), he references a loss of connection fans have experienced with the University of Kentucky basketball program. What for years has claimed a significant part of so many folks’ time, interest, resources and even identity seems to have lost some of its allure. In my case at least, that is a pretty accurate assessment.

Twenty-one thousand fans attending a new coach’s introduction indicates that plenty of passion and interest remain. But there is no question that the landscape has shifted dramatically, not just for UK basketball but in all of college athletics, where words like “connection” and “commitment” are

being redefined or replaced by concerns for “branding,” “income” and “collectives.”

As Vest points out, the connection of players and teams to good old Hometown U. is growing more tenuous everywhere. We are really just one good lawsuit away from removing any academic requirements as a condition for athletic participation. (Why, after all, should a university “employee” be required to go to class?)

Ron O’Brien, Amburgey

Honoring Patriots

In perusing the May edition of Kentucky Monthly, I noticed an interesting article about a traditional Memorial Day ceremony in Henderson (page 32). Although there are many similar celebrations on Memorial Day throughout

Kentucky, none are as unique as the annual Enshrinement Ceremony held each Memorial Day at the Patriots Peace Memorial in Louisville, during which military personnel who have died in the line of duty, but not as a result of hostile combat actions, are remembered through a solemn enshrinement, wherein a glass nameplate is placed within its walls.

To date, 465 patriots from Kentucky and Southern Indiana have been enshrined since 2002. It is believed that the Patriots Peace Memorial may be the only one of its kind in our nation.

Additional information on the origin, mission and purpose of the Patriots Peace Memorial is at PatriotsPeaceMemorial.org.

Ed Armento, Prospect

We Love to Hear from You! Kentucky Monthly welcomes letters from all readers. Email us your comments at editor@kentuckymonthly.com, send a letter through our website at kentuckymonthly.com, or message us on Facebook. Letters may be edited for clarification and brevity.

The Kentucky Gift Guide

Kentucky Monthly’s annual gift guide highlights some of the finest handcrafted gifts and treats our Commonwealth has to offer.

Drink Local

Even when you’re far away, you can take the spirit of your Kentucky home with you. And when you do, we want to see it!

mississippi

Gary and Jeanie Potts of Winchester visited the scenic Southern city of Laurel, Mississippi, which has been featured in HGTV’s Home Town series.

hawaii

This family traveled to Maui to celebrate the graduation of Madisonville resident Dotty Short’s grandson, Aaron Lovell, from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. From left are Austin Lovell, Dotty, Lori Lovell, Aaron and Heath Lovell. The Lovells live in Evansville, Indiana.

canada

Native Kentuckians Donna and Michael Ramage are pictured at Bow Falls on their trip to Banff. Alberta, Canada, a big contrast to their current home of Tallahassee, Florida.

MAG ON THE MOVE

Back to School Means Supporting Kentucky’s Classrooms

Hey teachers! We know how hard you work to support your students. You are their mentor, guide and champion, helping them develop life’s most important skills. And you know better than anyone else how to prepare them for the road ahead. That’s why KET joined PBS, GBH and other public media partners to contribute to PBS LearningMedia, a trusted source for pre-k through 12 classroom resources.

spain +

portugal

Bev Hall, a member of Franklin County High School’s class of 1966, traveled to Spain and Portugal with friend Peggy Strickland, who is originally from Athens, Georgia.

colorado

florida

Sisters Mona Redding, left, and Julie Rogers of Frankfort cheered on the University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball team when they competed in the 2016 SEC Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.

Rick Robertson of Alexandria, Ohio, is pictured on Pike’s Peak at 14,115 feet elevation. The sign behind him is 10-feet tall, which indicates how deep the snow was.

submit your photo

Take a copy of the magazine with you and get snapping! Send your high-resolution photos (usually 1 MB or higher) to editor@kentuckymonthly.com or visit kentuckymonthly.com to submit your photo.

Muhlenberg Grit

John Prine famously sang, “And Daddy, won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County,” but singer-songwriter Benjamin Tod is living it.

Tod was born in Sumner County, Tennessee. “My granddad grew up in Muhlenberg, and I came up here as a child,” he said. “Getting sober eight years ago, I decided this was just far enough from Nashville to be comfortable but accessible.”

Tod and his wife, Ashley Mae, live in Muhlenberg County and play in the Lost Dog Street Band. He is vice president of the Muhlenberg Music Mission, a position he is honored to hold. “It’s a nonprofit dedicated to getting instruments and lessons to underprivileged kids in Muhlenberg,” Tod explained.

with the Lost Dog Street Band. Formed in 2011, the Lost Dog Street Band broke up for a while in 2022 but returned to release the Survived album in April.

The group’s mission statement calls it an organization made up of local business owners and musicians determined to “breathe life back into this county’s rich musical heritage. Great artists such as The Everly Brothers, John Prine, Merle Travis and Lost Dog Street Band all have ties to the county.”

Growing up in Tennessee and living in Kentucky shows in Tod’s music. He plays country music and counts George Jones,Woody Guthrie, Randy Travis and Jim Ringer among his influences. Kentucky musicians also have held sway. “I’m certainly influenced by Bill Monroe and Merle Travis from Kentucky,” he said. Tod has performed solo as well as

Tod said his solo sound and that of the band have evolved. He called the music “dark country, I suppose. I’m not sure at this point. The difference used to be pretty clear, but with the honky-tonk record coming out, as Benjamin Tod, I couldn’t really say.”

Country music is at an interesting point right now. From more commercially successful artists such as Luke Combs to the lyricism of Kentuckian Chris Stapleton to Beyoncé having a No. 1 country hit, what constitutes country can be hard to pin down. Tod doesn’t really care. “People in this industry can call it whatever they want, as far as country is concerned. I just keep my head down and grind,” he said.

Tod and his band recently played at the Grand Ole Opry. It was an iconic moment not lost on Tod. “I loved playing the Opry,” he said. “It was incredibly meaningful being raised right down the road from there and having seen the city become what it is.”

Since the band has been revived, Tod said he’s played around 50 dates this year, and he records an album or two a year. “This is more my hobby now. I’m an everyday Joe most the time,” he said.

“Me and Ben Duvall, who plays drums in the band, own shares in a coffee roaster. We’ll be marketing and distributing this year sometime,” Tod said.

It’s another example of how he’s nestled into life in Muhlenberg County. Tod spent years traveling the country, busking and dealing with addiction. When asked about the large tattoo of the number 11030 on his throat, Tod was enigmatic. “Montana State Prison,” he replied. Internet sources refer to the number as the “Hobo Zip Code.”

The tales of hardship, dealing with addiction, and the darker and difficult aspects of life fuel Tod’s music and give it depth. He plans to continue playing gigs, recording music, “and keeping this train moving.”

Tod appreciates his home in Kentucky. “I like the grit compared to Tennessee,” he said. “People here have a little more gravel in their voice and dirt under their nails. Suits my soul better.”

STARLA GROVES PHOTO

Protein-Packed

Tri-Pepper Cheesy Pasta Salad

1 pound Banza chickpea rotini pasta

2 cups red, yellow and orange bell peppers, diced

¼ cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups vegetable broth

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 large handfuls arugula

8 ounces soft goat cheese

1. Cook pasta until al dente, rinse with cold water, and set aside in a bowl.

2. Sauté peppers in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Stir in crushed garlic and cook until fragrant.

3. Add broth, salt and pepper, and warm through. Stir in arugula until slightly wilted.

4. Pour vegetable mixture over pasta. Add ¾ of goat cheese into mixture and incorporate until melted.

5. Chill pasta salad. Serve topped with remaining goat cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Terri Paige , co-founder with her husband, Dr. Carl Paige , and CEO of Medical Transformation Center in Louisville, knows a thing or two about packing nutritious school lunches for kids. As a mother of eight, she’s assembled her share of meals that appeal to children and are packed with healthy ingredients. She graciously shared with Kentucky Monthly a few of her creations that are sure to be a hit with adults as well as kids.

Quick Chicken Salad

2 pounds Boar’s Head rotisserie chicken lunch meat, ½ inch thick, cut into cubes

1 medium organic shallot, peeled and diced

1 pint organic grape tomatoes, halved

1 box organic fresh basil leaves, chopped

½ pound cubed Manchego cheese

½ cup olive oil

½ cup balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Organic red leaf or Bibb lettuce

1. Mix first five ingredients in a large bowl. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Mix well and serve over lettuce.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ cups almond flour, spooned and leveled

3 tablespoons coconut flour, spooned and leveled

¾ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (make sure it isn’t hot!)

3 tablespoons almond butter (or your favorite nut butter)

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Splash pure vanilla extract

About 1/3 cup vegan dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)

Coarse salt to top, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Be sure to remove any large almond flour lumps.

3. In a small bowl, add melted coconut oil, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla, and mix to combine.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. When mixture is almost combined, add chocolate chips. The batter will be stiff.

Double Chocolate Protein Bites

1/3 cup Arbonne chocolate protein powder

¼ cup almond flour

½ cup gluten-free oats

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

¼ cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Pinch of salt

¼ cup sunflower butter

1 tablespoon honey

Scant ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk

1. In a large bowl, mix together chocolate protein powder, almond flour, oats, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and salt.

2. Stir in sunflower butter and honey.

3. When fully mixed, slowly stir in unsweetened almond milk, using just enough for mixture to form a ball.

4. Roll mixture into balls, chill, and place on a cookie sheet. Makes about 18 balls.

5. Measure 2 tablespoons of dough and shape into a thick, flat circle. These cookies won’t spread, so be sure to shape them how you want them to look when they have been baked. Place cookies on a baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.

6. Remove sheet from freezer and bake for 11 minutes until slightly golden brown. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired.

7. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature.

“In 2020, learning I had cancer was a shock. As I made the decision about where to receive treatment, I was led to the outstanding treatment facility that was here at home — the Lawson Cancer Center at PMC.

I’m so thankful that I did my treatment here. The quality of care I received was second to none. The doctors, the nurses, the support staff — everyone involved — became family. I don’t feel like I could have gotten the same treatment in a larger city or institution.”

CANCER can be defeated.

– Robert Staggs

Outfitted in brightly colored acrylic layers by Lexington’s Tree Sweater Gang, the Wishing Tree allows youngsters to articulate their secret wishes.

Garden The Not-So-Secret

One part learning, another part whimsy, the Kentucky Children’s Garden fosters a hands-on appreciation for Mother Earth and all of her creepy-crawlies

Audrey Wathen scampers between the yarn-covered “wishing tree” and the spot where a group of toddlers gleefully make billowing bubbles in large orange vats. She’s trailed by her younger sister, Eleanor, and her friend, Ransom Corso. A distinctive squish-squish sound follows them as they run, their rubber shoes still soggy from wading in the nearby stream. They make their way to a scuffed plastic pail of fat, slippery tadpoles. Audrey plunges her hands into the bucket, gently holds the developing amphibian, and looks up incredulously when she discovers it will take

two years for it to transform into a bullfrog.

It’s Audrey’s eighth birthday, and, according to her mother, Alison Wathen, the Kentucky Children’s Garden at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky in Lexington topped her list of destinations to celebrate.

Audrey and her friends are like the other 17,000 children who visited the Kentucky Children’s Garden in 2023—preadolescents who come to enjoy the great outdoors through experiential play. The 2-acre garden is situated amid the arboretum and is more than just a play place; it’s a haven of learning, creativity and boundless imagination that showcases the wonder of nature.

TEXT + PHOTOS BY DAN KNAPP

Audrey Wathen of Lexington fearlessly holds maturing tadpoles in her hands during a visit to the Kentucky Children’s Garden. The garden allows children to explore indigenous flora and fauna and consider their own impact on the world.

Ransom Corso of Lexington gathers her skirt and leads a trek through the fabricated stream’s gentle rapids to scope out aquatic life.

“In the modern world, children often have limited exposure to nature, face nutritional challenges and spend excessive time engaged with screens,” explains Hannah E. Wells, program coordinator for the arboretum. “We aim to address these issues by offering a unique environment where children can learn through firsthand experiences while having a great time.”

As Audrey and her friends continue to marvel at the bullfrog lifecycle, a father and his two sons look on. The father grimaces at the sight of the tar-hued tadpole. A staff member breaks his gaze by asking if he would like to touch it. He reluctantly acquiesces, offering up his index finger. “It feels like … like …” the father struggles for a simile. “Like Jell-O!” he exclaims, recoiling and covertly attempting to wipe the digit on his crisply pressed chino shorts.

Wells believes early interactions with unfamiliar species can shape how children view the world and may contribute to a reduced aversion later in life.

“Children are inherently open-minded and learn through the culture they’re raised in as to what’s considered ‘gross’ or ‘icky,’ ” she explains. “Children are often more willing to touch worms, bugs and snakes, while their parents may display apprehension, disgust or even fear. By encouraging children to interact with these creatures and teaching them about their importance in the ecosystem, we’re not only educating them but instilling a sense of respect for them.”

. . .

Scan to find details about programming, admission and hours.

Grants like those from the MacAdam Early Childhood and Literacy Fund have enabled the garden to expand its menagerie of residents that buzz, click or hiss—including millipedes and cockroaches—as well as significantly augment crucial supplies and bolster learning opportunities for guests.

Unlike other educational experiences that often leave children standing behind a velvet rope, the Kentucky Children’s Garden has encouraged guests to leave with soiled hands and damp socks for more than a decade. Visitors are invited to explore all corners of the garden and touch kid-friendly flowers that leave hands momentarily smelling like fresh popcorn or fern-like plants that demonstrate defensive properties of withering at the slightest touch before recovering.

Audrey, Eleanor and Ransom make their way to a table where they create artwork using the rubber molds of various species’ feet while they learn about animal tracks. Steps away, 21-month-old Addison DeMuth attempts to pour the contents of a sun-faded blue-and-green watering can onto a thirsty poblano pepper plant. The toddler grins broadly as she maneuvers the Fisher-Price can over the raised bed and finally gets the water to flow.

On any given day, children can participate in similar horticulture- or nature-themed activities and explore new worlds that celebrate the Commonwealth’s rich biodiversity. Guests may explore a replica of a preagrarian wigwam built onsite by volunteers with native grass grown at the arboretum or visit an authentic

Colonial-era cabin—a structure downsized for kids. Children can hold nature in their hands, whether it is Mary, a Madagascar hissing cockroach, or seeds planted at the beginning of the growing season whose fruit will be shared upon harvest. “Gardening can motivate kids to spend time outdoors and stay active, and the garden provides a haven for them to connect with nature and witness the fascinating cycles of life,” Wells says. “It acts as a catalyst for encouraging children to try fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods, thereby promoting positive attitudes and behaviors toward nutrition.”

The garden is geared toward an audience aged 2-10, but Wells says parents often find themselves learning right along with their kids.

In addition to the permanent installations, during the garden’s operating season—April to early November— engaging education programming supplements visitors’ opportunities to learn about botany, entomology, the

Children like Addison DeMuth of Lexington have an active hand in growing and cultivating the garden’s produce and herbs. The Kentucky Children’s Garden is open for the season until Nov. 2 and features hundreds of varieties of kid-friendly flowers, plants, trees, shrubs and grasses.

origins of food, aqueducts and irrigation, motor skills and numerous other subjects. Recent activities include an avian scavenger hunt, discussions about the importance of plants for bees and pollinators, and how to identify native trees by their leaves. And, of course, there’s the perpetual favorite “Bubbl-ology” science experiments with bubbles.

Wells says the garden allows families to temporarily escape the urban sprawl and foster connections, both with nature and with one another. She recounts a euphoric grandmother who photographed her autistic grandson smiling for the first time while playing atop the in-ground misting system at the garden’s entrance.

“The sheer joyfulness was infectious,” Wells recalls. “I take pride in the fact that we offer a space that profoundly impacts families. It’s a place where children can freely run, get their hands dirty, unleash their creativity, and take risks. The garden is an accessible and secure environment—an ideal space for children with cognitive, social or physical disabilities.”

“Teaching in outdoor spaces, like the Kentucky

Children’s Garden, is a wonderful way to encourage children to communicate with you,” explains Associate Professor Justin D. Lane of the University of Kentucky College of Education, an expert in designing and evaluating individualized cognitive interventions for young children. “There are so many terrific plants, animals and insects for children to learn about in the Kentucky Children’s Garden—parents can point out the sights and sounds of nature. This type of parent input highlights new vocabulary children can learn and use in conversation.”

Lane says that, because learning can happen anywhere, whenever children—especially those with learning disabilities—express interest, parents should capitalize by discussing with them what they see, hear or smell.

The garden’s curriculum meets multiple Kentucky Academic Standards and is designed to be accessible for all children.

“By fostering curiosity at an early age through our games, STEM activities and crafts, we may inspire future scientists, botanists, entomologists or herpetologists, and pave the way for potential career paths in the field of science,” Wells says.

The garden has become a favored spot for field trips for thousands of Fayette County kindergarten, first- and second-grade pupils. It hosts numerous field trips each year, many at no cost to low-income or “Title 1” schools.

“My students love the Children’s Garden,” says Russell Cave Elementary kindergarten teacher Melissa Collins “It’s very engaging to students and is aligned to core content. My students have a great time learning!”

Operated by UK’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and maintained by UK Facilities Management, the Kentucky Children’s Garden and The Arboretum enjoy increasing popularity. Garden attendance increased 11 percent in 2023 and was up 35 percent over pre-pandemic figures. A parking lot with license plates from more than a half-dozen states suggests that the garden’s could shatter attendance records in 2024.

The Kentucky Children’s Garden locks its gates on the 2024 season on Nov. 3. Details about programming, admission and hours are available on The Arboretum’s website, arboretum.ca.uky.edu. Q

Using synthetic impressions of deer, fox, duck and bear feet, among others, budding child artists create original works while they learn clues on how to interpret animal behavior and identify wildlife in an environment.

Land of Opportunity

A new law clinic will help immigrants fulfill their dreams of freedom and prosperity legally in the Bluegrass State

BY JACK BRAMMER

LLeft, Louisville-area Cuban immigrants turn out at the riverfront in 2021 to protest the Cuban government (courtesy of WLKY-TV in Louisville); below, Catholic Charities of Louisville provides instructions for immigrants (courtesy of Catholic Charities of Louisville).

uis David Fuentes swept the floors of a Shelbyville manufacturing plant for $6 an hour—not exactly the best job for a mechanical engineer. But he never felt sorry for himself. He was content, happy, independent.

“I was free. I never looked back,” Fuentes said. “I had tasted freedom as a migrant to the United States. No government was overlooking everything I did. I was in the land of opportunity—no longer in Cuba but in Kentucky.”

Fuentes took advantage of that opportunity and became a professional environmental engineer for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a member of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission, and a prominent businessman as founder of El Kentubano, a free magazine for Cuban migrants in Kentucky, taking its name from “Kentuckian” and “Cubano.” (The June issue of the successful

magazine, replete with a variety of ads, was 108 pages.)

This year, Fuentes the businessman spearheaded an effort approved by the Kentucky General Assembly for the state to spend $1.5 million for a fiveyear law clinic at the University of Louisville. It is to provide critical legal services to the growing immigrant population, teach law students necessary skills to successfully practice law, and develop a pipeline of immigration law attorneys.

The special law clinic is for all immigrants, but its impetus was the burgeoning Cuban population in Jefferson, the state’s most populous county.

A Destination for Immigrants

The New York Times reported this year that at least 30,000 immigrants from Cuba live in Louisville, and many have arrived within the last two years, primarily a direct result of the

COVID-19 pandemic. Other factors prompting immigration include economic difficulties and a lack of human rights protections on the island nation.

Those population gains made Louisville the largest American entry portal for Cubans outside of Florida, said Fuentes.

The American Immigration Council, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that advocates for immigrants, stated that Kentucky has about 184,100 immigrants, with Louisville recording more than one-third of them. They make up approximately 5.4 percent of the state’s labor force. The United States has some 46 million immigrants, making up about 13.7 percent of the nation’s population.

Kentucky Refugee Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to providing resettlement services to refugees, says that 28 Cubans per day have come to Louisville through the ministries and

Catholic Charities of Louisville since 2021. That means more than 30,000 Cubans arrived in the state’s largest city during the last three years. An undetermined number of Cubans, probably in the thousands, have moved from Florida to Kentucky.

From Oct. 1, 2023, to May 20 of this year, 6,495 Cubans resettled in Louisville. That far surpasses the 822 from the Congo, 549 from Haiti and 100 from Syria.

In June, state legislators at a committee meeting in Frankfort asked various Kentucky agencies—from Kentucky State Police to the Department of Education—about the number of undocumented immigrants in the state but found such information hard to find. Due to federal law and court decisions, some state agencies cannot ask for information regarding a person’s immigration status or ethnicity.

Before lawmakers approved the

$1.5 million appropriation to the UofL Law School for a clinic to help immigrants, they asked several questions, trying to ensure the clinic was for immigrants who are in the country legally with proper documentation.

The immigration council said that Kentucky immigrants pay about $2 billion a year in taxes. Most in the work force are younger, on average, than other state citizens. “With this law clinic at UofL to help more immigrants in fulfilling their work requirements, we will see more taxpaying immigrants and probably more U.S. citizens,” Fuentes said.

Two of every five immigrants in Kentucky—including Fuentes—are naturalized U.S. citizens.

Fuentes said he is proud of how his fellow immigrants have adjusted to moving from a completely different system and society. “[The immigrants] never heard of credit cards, insurance,

Left, the citizenship clinic for refugees (courtesy of Kentucky Refugee Ministries); above, buttons welcoming immigrants to Kentucky (courtesy of Catholic Charities of Louisville); opposite page, today, Cuban immigrant Luis David Fuentes works as an environmental engineer with the Commonwealth of Kentucky

business accounts, marketing, tax, 401K, internet and so on,” he said. “Cubans have proven to be a very successful community with a large number of professionals and small business owners.”

State Rep. Nima Kulkarni, an immigration attorney in Louisville, said the clinic is “a very welcome addition” for legal services for immigrants. She said Louisville has a shortage of immigration attorneys, and many migrants don’t know how to contact attorneys or how to pay for them. “This is going to help a lot of different people,” she said.

How the Law Clinic Will Work

“I met with Mr. Fuentes, and he told me of the struggles of immigrants,” said state Sen. Mike Nemes, a Republican from Shepherdsville and deputy secretary of the state Labor Cabinet during the administration of Gov. Matt Bevin. “I

considered what Mr. Fuentes was saying was a win-win situation for the state and for immigrants seeking legal help.

“This law clinic will remove the obstacles to lawful residence for a community with a strong work ethic to contribute to the overall economy in Kentucky.”

Nemes said Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, got on board and helped guide the appropriation through the legislature. “This law clinic is a tangible way to provide a pathway to naturalized citizenship and practical experience for UofL students in a demanding area, immigration law,” Stivers said. “It gets back to growing our state economy with a workforce generator that helps those who are here legally already to provide for their families in a country and state they have longed to be a part of.”

University of Louisville Law School Dean Melanie Jacobs said she heard much community support for the clinic. She went to the legislators to advocate for it.

Jacobs said the clinic will start this fall with three law school students under the supervision of veteran immigration attorney and judge Chris Kozoll. The students will work about eight hours a week, receive law school credit and provide free legal service to migrants primarily dealing with work issues. “I hope we grow to six to eight students a semester,” Jacobs said. “We have a pretty narrow charge on what we can help the migrants with. We will not be handling issues like crimes and divorces.”

Jacobs said she was hopeful that about 60-100 immigrants will be helped each year and that Fuentes and the Catholic Charities of Louisville will help get the word out to migrants about the service.

Of the students accepted for the new clinic this fall, Kozoll said, “They each expressed a desire to work with individuals from other countries.”

The immigrant community in Louisville is quite diverse, said Kozoll. “The state legislature seemed very supportive of helping out, especially with the Cuban community,” he said.

When asked if immigrants from other parts of the state can participate in the clinic, Kozoll said, “I’m not aware of any limitations that would preclude others from other counties from participating, but I think our early focus will be on Jefferson County.”

The Goal

Luis David Fuentes, now 53, left his native Cuba when he was 26. He was living with his parents when he departed. “I loved my homeland, but the government there owns everything,” he said. “It was socialism.”

Leaving Cuba was “like being born again,” he said. “It was very difficult to leave my family and friends in Havana, but I had to leave. I was a mechanical engineer, but the government controlled us. There is only one political party there, the Communist, ruling the country, not giving any room for a different opinion or proposal of change.

“In Cuba, you have to keep a ration book to keep track of all your purchases for the government to review. I wanted out. In Cuba, people connected to the government have goods and privileges. They are less than 1 percent of the population; the rest are struggling and suffering scarcities and needs.”

Fuentes moved to Chile for three years, working as a mechanical engineer to get a visa to go to America.

“Cuba was not going to give me permission to go to America,” he said.

A relative living in the U.S. told him that he should come to “a nice, friendly place called Frankfort, Kentucky.”

He did in 2000, accompanied by his wife, Yamilet, who now is a sign interpreter for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. They have a daughter, Fernanda, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, and a son, Luis, 18, heading to UK in the fall.

Fuentes said he never questioned becoming an immigrant, even when he was sweeping floors in Shelbyville.

“I am so blessed,” he said. “The Kentucky legislature has been so kind in helping other immigrants get a better chance in becoming productive, caring citizens. This clinic will help.

“I now have the freedom to speak out, to disagree, to open a business, to vote, to make dreams come true. That is the goal others have, too. We are extremely grateful to the Commonwealth for welcoming and allowing us to rebuild our homes here. God bless Kentucky!” Q

CLINTON BENNET PHOTO

Kickstarting a Community

Cave City native Leticia Cline spearheads efforts to revive her hometown

BY GARY P. WEST

Downtown Cave City may not have been asleep, but it certainly was dozing. Then, Leticia Cline arrived on the scene. This Barren County town with a population of just under 2,500 is beginning to wake up, especially downtown.

Located 10 miles from Mammoth Cave National Park, Cave City has boasted businesses that capitalized on the thousands of visitors attracted to the area’s caves. While downtown Cave City may have been snoozing, exit 53 off I-65 was wide awake with a proliferation of motels, restaurants and attractions.

Cline is not new to Cave City, even though she was away doing other things for a while. “I was born in the Glasgow hospital but raised in Cave City, and that’s where my passion is,” she said. “I truly love this area. Floyd Collins was my great-great-uncle.”

In 1925, Collins became famous worldwide when he was trapped in a nearby cave and died after 14 days.

The 45-year-old Cline has led a rich life. At 17, she worked at Horse Cave Theatre, where she acted and helped with sets and costumes. The Barren County High School graduate studied at Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, concentrating on psychology and finance. “I figured if I can manage my

money, I can do anything,” she said.

While she was in her mid- to-late 20s, Cline spent much of her time living in Florida and attending film and video school while modeling to make ends meet. She landed a job interviewing television wrestlers. The high-energy Kentuckian also found time to establish a solid relationship with the motorcycle community in the Sunshine State. “Growing up, my dad taught me about motorcycles at his garage,” Cline said. “I rode them at an early age.”

Later, she sold her car and bought a motorcycle on which she logged more than 200,000 miles.

Cline’s dad, David Passmore, died in 2008, a lifealtering event for Leticia. She stayed around Cave City to help her mother, Debbie. Her father’s death had such an impact on her that she no longer wanted anything to do with motorcycles. “I stayed in Cave City for about eight months before moving to New York for a bartending job,” Cline said. “I told the bar’s owner I would turn the slowest nights into his biggest. And I did.”

Using her education and charm, Cline eventually became the marketing director for two Fortune 500 companies, working in marketing for five years while not giving up her bartending gig. “It was all about networking,” she explained.

Over the years, Cline worked with a clothing company, a water jet-pack company, SuperMotocross racing, journalism (“the first time I got paid for writing something”), modeling for a couple of magazines, a movie and a reality television show.

An accident in South Dakota while motorcycling prompted her to return to Kentucky. “A bison charged me and hit my knee,” she said. “I went back to Glasgow for knee surgery and stayed to help my grandmother, who had dementia.”

It was 2018, and Cline wanted something new in her life. “I had lived a lot of lives, and I was tired,” she said.

Cline had built a network with several motorcycle companies, and she was about to put it to a test. “My dad’s shop was just the way he left it a decade before when he died, and we turned it into a free community motorcycle shop,” she said. “We called it Smiley’s Garage. That was his nickname, and it was an immediate success. We built a community with it. Every day, people are there.”

Then Cline decided to take her passion for Cave City to the next level. “My sister [Shannon] and mom told me about some old buildings downtown that could probably be bought,” she said. “We [bought them], and in 70 days, we opened The Dive Bar on Broadway.

“Opening that quick was unheard of. But we had the support from what we created at Smiley’s. We had lots of help, opened in 2019, and made it through COVID.”

Leticia, Shannon and Debbie formed Glass Ceiling Enterprise LLC and under that name purchased the old 1900s Ace Theater building a few steps from The Dive Bar.

Finding investors to put their money into high-profile restoration projects is not always easy, but those three local women stepped up and did it.

“People couldn’t believe three girls were doing all of this,” Cline said.

drawn to the large neon sign that some mistakenly think has been restored. “That’s what we want people to think,” Cline said. “But it’s a new sign that has been built to look like the original. I wish we could have found that one.”

A couple of small shops at the back of Ace Coffee Company and a community stage in the lot next door complement the shop.

Work was soon under way to turn the old picture show into the Ace Coffee Company at 203 Broadway in the heart of downtown.

Restored floors, glass cases, lighting and comfortable chairs and couches make the perfect ambiance for coffees in the morning and wine, craft beers and classic cocktails in the afternoon and evening. Muffins, toast, fruit smoothies, wraps, brats, bagels, quiche and coffees are featured on the menu.

Before walking through the front door, visitors are

Jeff Jobe publishes the Barren County Progress based in Glasgow. He knows a thing or two about downtowns and revitalization, and the restoration and preservation of old buildings. He did it in Glasgow to help bring its downtown back to life. “She’s doing a really good job,” Jobe said of Cline. “She’s got to stay positive. A good eye for renovation is important, and she has it.

“Cave City and Park City [also in Barren County] have growth potential. The growth of a community is from individuals, and that’s what these two towns have.”

One such example is Wigwam Village on U.S. 31 W in Cave City. Four years ago, Keith Stone and Megan Smith purchased the iconic motel. Built in 1937, the structures were in disrepair. With work on Wigwam Village nearing completion, occupancy is near capacity.

Cline with Mike Wolfe; opposite page, Ace Coffee Company

Paul Sullivan operates Paul’s Antiques in downtown Cave City. “We’ve got six antique shops in town, but I’m the only one downtown,” Sullivan said. “We’re starting to see results from those new businesses. We see people coming in with Ace Coffee cups. The longer we can get and keep people downtown, it is good for all of us.”

Maury Peters and his wife, Deborah, visited a friend in Horse Cave a few years ago and realized there were no pizza shops around. “We drove over to Cave City and found a spot downtown,” Maury said. The couple purchased the vacant space and opened a pizzeria three years ago.

“What Leticia has done is fantastic.”

Those into reality television likely have seen the History Channel’s American Pickers starring Mike Wolfe, a frequent visitor to Cave City, as he and Cline have become a couple.

The 55-seat Cave City Pizza sits across from Ace Coffee, and the spillover of customers works for both.

Prior to opening Cave City Pizza, Maury had operated a food truck in New York and then in Florida before deciding he had had enough of the food truck scene. “We love this area, and after we saw what Leticia was doing, it made our decision easier,” he said.

Jennifer McNett, director of the Cave City Tourism and Convention Center, said she is pleased with the growth of downtown. “We provide a grant for one of the big downtown events—Cars and Coffee,” she said. “We hope it benefits both the locals and tourists.”

The event runs from April through October.

Debbie Thorpe wears two hats as president of the Cave City Chamber of Commerce and owner of Raven’s Cross Village of Adventure, a popular tourist attraction. “We love seeing all of the new growth and investments here in Cave City,” she said. “The new and newly revitalized buildings certainly make the area more inviting to tourists as well as those looking to make Cave City their home.”

Greg Davis is a former Cave City tourism director who served in several high-level roles before retirement. He recognizes the contributions that Cline and her family make. “They’ve made quite an investment,” he said.

“When I first moved back here, a production company wanted to do a show based on motorcycles,” Cline said. “That’s where I met Mike. I wanted to do a show, Small Town America, based on building up small towns. COVID interrupted, and we ended up not doing the show.”

Always looking to make a difference, a few years ago Cline ran for office and won a seat on the City Council. She then ran for mayor and lost by 60 votes. . . .

Bowling Green is about 38 miles from Cave City, but BGKY Downtown Development coordinator Telia Butler has watched with admiration what is happening there. “Downtowns all feed off of each other,” Butler said. “I try to have a relationship with all of our area small towns. We copy off of each other, and that’s good.”

Johnny Webb recognizes when something is done right, and he applauds what is going on in Cave City. The Bowling Green resident and successful businessman who headed up the “Beautify 65” project on I-65 from exits 22-30 has received state and national acclaim. “I am thoroughly impressed by what Leticia has done,” he said. “It would fit in New York or Boston. Investments like this will hopefully encourage others to do it. It’s contagious. Others will want to get involved.”

Cline is even placing Cave City on the international map. “I have met with a beverage company from South Africa about moving their operation to Cave City,” Cline said. “It’s all about networking.”

Cline lives in upscale loft-like quarters above Ace Coffee Company. “It works for me,” she said. “You know, I could live anywhere but chose to live in Cave City.” Q

DARE TO DREAM.

Turn your passions, ideas, and inspirations into a fulfilling career. See the endless opportunities within your degree program through professionals in the field and extensive networking opportunities. Through internships, job shadowing, and expert guidance, we equip you with the skills and education needed to thrive.

Equine Preview Day: 9/28/24

REGISTER TODAY

Preview Day: 11/1/24

www.midway.edu/experience

Juniors and seniors in high school from across Kentucky come to Gatton to take courses at Western Kentucky University, conduct research, and study abroad. They thrive in Gatton’s supportive environment designed just for them. With scholarships covering tuition, housing, and meals, Gatton students explore their infinite possibilities.

Explore your infinite possibilities. Applications for the Class of 2027 will open August 1, 2024. Learn more at www.wku.edu/academy.

WEBSITE: wku.edu/academy EMAIL: academy@wku.edu PHONE: 270-745-6565 facebook.com/gattonacademy @gattonacademy

Nursing Preview Day: 11/8/24

Can anyone forget the first time Freddy Farm Bureau welcomed them to the Kentucky State Fair? An 18-foot-tall, denim-clad fair fixture has been posted outside Louisville’s Freedom Hall since 1958. Visitors still are surprised when the big fellow speaks. “Smile,” he might say. Or, “I like your outfit.”

The 120th State Fair will showcase Kentucky’s 120 counties from Aug. 15-25 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.

For $9 per day, visitors can indulge in a variety of experiences at the fair. There will be traditional exhibits of quilts and aquariums, fun fair food, celebrities and travel information. You won’t want to miss exhibits of livestock, woodcarving and miniatures. The Kentucky Expo Center is the place to be for a comprehensive view of our Commonwealth.

While the State Fair’s Expo Center gives visitors a view and taste of the Bluegrass State under one roof, you can experience Kentucky’s rich culture first hand on a road trip. Book a stay at Grand Victorian Inn in Park City, conveniently located near Mammoth Cave National Park, the National Corvette Museum and Barren River Lake; discover forest giants at Clermont’s Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest; explore fascinating (and some flavorful) attractions on Kentucky Capitals Quest, which include the Bluegrass Music Capital of the World, the Beer Cheese Capital of the World, the Batter Capital of the World and eight more intriguing capitals; visit the Germantown Fair at the scenic river town of Maysville; and marvel at the stunning natural landscapes and historic sites in McCreary County.

Stay at Grand Victorian Inn and visit Mammoth Cave National Park, National Corvette Museum, Barren River Lake and many other Attractions.

search for giants

Find Yourself in the Forest. Explore 40 miles of trails. Let the kids run wild in our 17-acre natural playground. Be inspired by art in nature.

Adventure Awaits

An extraordinary journey across Kentucky is yours whenever you’re ready. Each destination reveals the unique and fascinating “claims to fame” that define our state’s heritage. Discover Kentucky’s charm, guided by the Kentucky Capitals Quest, your passport to unveiling the Commonwealth’s treasures. From historic landmarks to local legends, our curated experience promises a blend of excitement, culture, and genuine hospitality.

Explore all 11 stops and dive into each community’s offerings — delicious food, seasonal festivals, and interesting attractions. Discover the rich tapestry of Kentucky as you journey through its diverse and dynamic “capital” cities.

Established in 1854, this annual event is a celebration of community spirit and rural heritage. Enjoy rides, music, and delicious local food. Don't miss the livestock and horse shows, pageants, motorsports and agricultural exhibits that showcase the region's farming excellence. The Germantown Fair is a beloved tradition that brings together families and friends year after year.

McCreary County

Get ready for an unforgettable adventure in McCreary County, where outdoor enthusiasts and history buffs alike will find their perfect getaway.

Nestled in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest , and home to a significant portion of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area , McCreary County offers endless opportunities for exploration and fun.

Whether you're chasing waterfalls, creating family memories, exploring historic sites, or simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest, McCreary County offers something for everyone. With its stunning landscapes, vibrant heritage, and warm hospitality, McCreary County, Kentucky, is your perfect destination.

Brave Berea

With a history of innovation, the Madison County college is poised to face the challenges of higher education in the 21st century

Berea’s 10th president, Dr. Cheryl L. Nixon, has spent her first year in office in countless conversations. She often reminds stakeholders how the college has long answered some of the most vexing issues facing higher education. Those answers began, of course, with Berea’s 19th-century founding, when it welcomed women and men, Black and White students, living and learning together. That was a brave answer for a divided nation.

Almost 170 years later, Nixon said, “It very much looks like colleges and universities today are in crisis, as some institutions are slashing budgets by cutting majors and staffing. In these situations, there is much gloom and doom—higher ed looks dark. I say, however, we need to look at an institution that has answers, that knows how

BY CHAD BERRY

to offer a bright light of life-changing education, of hope, of possibility.”

Berea continues to provide answers to higher ed that other institutions would do well to follow. Nixon is careful not to dismiss the many challenges to post-secondary education today; rather, she seeks to highlight Berea’s innovative model. And she has good examples to share.

Challenges Facing Higher Education Today

Many say that college is neither affordable nor accessible to students with lower household incomes. Berea College stopped charging tuition in 1892 and serves only students of promise eligible for a Pell Grant. The New York Times’ 2023 College Access Index ranked Berea No. 1

Cheryl Nixon: Kinship

and Magic

The 10th president of Berea College, Dr. Cheryl Nixon, has traversed a diverse career path, from being a dishwasher to a college professor, department chair, provost and vice president. Her journey, marked by resilience and adaptability, serves as an inspiration to those who may be finding their own way.

Nixon’s journey was guided by a love for literature that she developed as a child, reading late at night under the covers with a flashlight. This deep-rooted passion for literature, for the magic of entering new worlds through reading, is a connection point to which many can relate.

Nixon’s advisers at Tufts University said she could make a career out of reading by becoming an English professor, a path she had not considered. Not long after, she was at Harvard University, digging out legal records to compare real-world narratives against those presented in 18th-century fiction.

Once Nixon earned her Ph.D. from Harvard, she joined the University of Massachusetts faculty. “I started my career as a teacher, trying to create dynamic classrooms where we could engage in deep conversation,” she said. “That’s where you become a really strong thinker, where you can debate interpretations, listen to other opinions, and change your ideas. You change your thinking—change who you are. That’s the magic of a good classroom.”

Nixon’s leadership skills were put to the test when she joined Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, in 2019. She worked with a team to navigate the uncertain landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, centering the school’s response around the Navajo concept of k’é, which means kinship. Her ability to lead in challenging times is a testament to her leadership skills.

This experience made Nixon a unique fit for Berea, founded in 1855 upon the biblical notion of “the kinship of all people.” The South’s first interracial and coeducational college still leans on this principle, providing debt-free education to students of all social and economic backgrounds.

Nixon, with her expertise in classroom magic and helping people understand their inherent kinship, is eager to work with the campus to write the college’s next chapter.

JASON L. MILLER

in the nation in access. No other school listed in the ranking was close to the percentage of Pelleligible students Berea serves.

“I am most proud that Berea is No. 1 at answering these questions and charting a pathway forward for the students who deserve it most,” Nixon said. “Berea is No. 1 at opening a world of ideas and possibilities to students who might have believed that higher ed was not available to them.”

Critics claim that higher education fails to prepare students for the real world. “Berea alumni know better than anyone how important the Labor Program was to prepare them for work beyond Berea,” Nixon said. “All students can get jobs that can complement their academic major, and all get a stipend to offset housing and meal fees.”

Berea is helping students in internships and career development like never before. This summer, 400 students participated in a paid internship of their own design. Some of them will have a permanent job awaiting them at graduation. Career development support is robust, including advising through discernment, money for professional clothing and test preparation, and at least $500 for every graduate to relocate or use for an apartment’s security deposit. “What other college does that for its students?” Nixon asked.

Criticism that the college does not serve diverse students well has been leveled since Berea’s founding. And yet, both before and after the Day Law (the forced segregation of Berea College from 1904-1954), Berea has served students from a variety of places, races, genders and ethnicities. “While other colleges may say they welcome all,” Nixon said, “Berea means it through a deep sense of belonging. Our retention and graduation rates attest to that.”

A Success Because It Is Brave

Throughout her first year at Berea, Nixon often was asked how a school such as Berea has such an inspirational model. For the answer, she points to Berea’s history—what she referred to as “the bold, courageous founding of Berea”—and she emphasized “that Berea is a success because it is a Brave Berea.”

At its founding, Berea tackled not just the most difficult questions in education but the defining question of America itself. “Imagine the audacity,” Nixon said,

“both the inspirational force and courage of our founder, an abolitionist preacher whose dream was to educate Black and White together, female and male together, all in a spirit of impartial love and a belief that ‘God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.’

“Building on that bold vision of equal access to education, let’s jump ahead to the late 1800s, when we instituted our unique tuition and workprogram models. Yet again, Brave Berea.”

In the 20th century, the college confirmed its commitment to Appalachia, particularly after Berea’s founding mission of interracial education was prohibited by the Kentucky legislature.

“We see ourselves as truly serving our state and region through that powerful force of educational access—and much more,” Nixon said.

In 2020, Berea provided more than $1 million in flood relief to Eastern Kentucky. Berea’s Grow Appalachia program tackles food insecurity and creates healthy food systems, and the college serves as an anchor institution in the new Association for Teaching Black History in Kentucky.

“Again,” she said, “this is Brave Berea.”

Nixon affirms the college’s Great Commitments. “In the 1960s, as civil rights were being fought for, we were, yes again, Brave Berea, forming the commitments to ensure that the College’s guiding principles would lead to a better world for all,” she said. “They really are our North Star. We refer to them every day and challenge ourselves to put these ideals into action. They keep us honest; they keep us true; they keep us brave.”

Lois Mateus, a decades-long friend of Berea College from her Kentucky art-and-craft marketing work with former First Lady Phyllis George Brown, is an enthusiastic fan of Nixon. “I have had the opportunity to spend some time with Cheryl since she arrived in Berea and have observed her eagerness and openness to engage with students, faculty and administrators, alumni, donors and community.

“It was pleasing to see she has lined the walls of her office with crafts made by students. We chatted of weaving’s warp and weft as metaphor for the strength and support of the work ethic instilled at Berea.

Continued on page 35

Nixon with her husband, Tim Monroe, and son Owen.

New Academic Leaders

BY JACKIE HOLLENKAMP BENTLEY

“It’s hard work.” Dr. Cady Short-Thompson used these three simple words to describe her first 10 months as president of Northern Kentucky University. She took the reins in October 2023, becoming the first female president of the Highland Heights campus. But when she did, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

“Every single leader in higher education right now is juggling a whole set of complexities that are greater than [those of] probably any of our predecessors,” ShortThompson said. “I can tell you that higher ed is in incredible flux as it relates to who is coming to school, how they’re coming to school, what degrees they’re seeking, and what sorts of workforce demands we are preparing them for. We have a lot of talent shortage in Northern Kentucky, and so we’re very mindful of making sure that we are preparing our undergraduate and graduate students well for the workforce.”

Facing a huge budget deficit and declining enrollment, Short-Thompson hit the ground running with a sense of optimism.

NKU’s Board of Regents passed a balanced budget in June, the first time since announcing a $24 million deficit in 2022.

Short-Thompson, who began her career at NKU in 1996 as a faculty member, said NKU is now poised to ambitiously grow in how it serves the region. “I think my role as president is to work hard to grow our enrollments and to really beef up this talent pipeline so that we can become the greatest extent of a social and economic engine of the region as possible,” she said. “I’m excited about strengthening the university, making it more vibrant, and making the community feel more welcome on campus in lots of different ways.”

Short-Thompson also sees her role as the institution’s

DR. CADY SHORT-THOMPSON

DR. BROOKE A. FLINDERS

first female president as an example of breaking societal norms and expectations. “I certainly feel the pressures of that expectation, and I realize that we have a different set of cultural weights that come along with being the first to do anything,” she said. “And so, I notice it with young girls I meet, for example … who will come up to me and make a point of saying how cool it is that I’m president. Or I’ll notice that our 60 percent female student population takes note of the facts, [and] many of these individuals will say it’s time to have a woman in the position.”

Short-Thompson calls it an honor.

“I’m just really happy to have the opportunity, and I just feel like I’m in the exact right place at the right time.”

Dr. Brooke A. Flinders became president of Frontier Nursing University on Aug. 1. Flinders, who has extensive experience as an advanced practice nurse, educator and college administrator, mostly recently was a professor of nursing and associate provost for faculty affairs at Miami University in Ohio.

“I am proud and honored to accept the position of president of Frontier Nursing University,” Flinders said in a news release. “My connection to Frontier extends nearly two full decades, and I am so proud to be one of its more than 10,000 graduates. I loved my time as a student and have been thoroughly impressed by the university’s lived mission and how it has been embraced by the faculty, staff, administration and students through their culture of caring. I believe wholeheartedly in Frontier’s mission and am excited to carry it forward.”

Following experience as an acute care registered nurse and a certified nurse-midwife, Flinders received Miami University’s Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Nursing in 2021 and, in recognition of their service during the COVID pandemic, Flinders and her nursing colleagues received the President’s Service Medallion. Flinders was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2021.

“As a proud graduate of Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and Frontier Nursing University, I am eager to build upon the amazingly strong foundation that already exists,” Flinders said.

“Health care provider shortages and the maternal mortality crisis plague our country. Frontier has a long history of finding unique solutions to complex problems, and we will continue to be a leader in identifying and implementing solutions by producing highly prepared nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who have answered the call to serve.”

Continued from page 33

“Education and work experience, connecting vertically for strength and horizontally for collaboration, create the unique tapestry of Cheryl’s Brave Berea.”

Judge B. Wilson II of Versailles has been principal attorney for Berea College for 33 years, the last 23 of which have been spent on campus as general counsel and secretary. “The days of ‘top-down’ policy and decision-making are long gone in the academic community,” Wilson said. “Shared governance and academic freedom demand leaders who can manage conflict and build consensus. Cheryl is a positive thinker. She’s a great listener and assimilator of information and opinions from across Berea’s many constituencies.

“The Berea presidency demands a great deal. Of course, high intelligence, analytical ability and personal integrity are a given. Equally important are large reserves of patience, physical stamina, emotional intelligence and humility in dealing with the competing expectations and interests of multiple stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, townspeople, local, state and federal officeholders and agencies. Cheryl Nixon is the increasingly rare leader who has all these traits.”

Berea can continue to provide solutions to the newest challenges facing society, Nixon stressed. “Berea leads the country in providing access to education and graduating students debt-free,” she explained. “Berea is also known nationally for its innovative teaching—Berea doesn’t just provide access to education, it provides access to exceptional classrooms, where students are encouraged to ask big questions. Our students can tackle the newest issues facing their generation. For example, how do we create new forms of human intelligence in a world of artificial intelligence? How do we create new types of human community and connection when our lives are becoming virtual, dominated by social media?”

Nixon proclaims that Berea has the courage to put new ideas into action today and tomorrow—“connect[ing] innovation to bravery.” That work has been part of her Listening, Learning and Building Community Tour as well as the formulation of a nimble but necessary strategic plan.

“Berea is ready to tackle and lead on the issues facing higher ed,” she said. “In fact, I believe we must lead on these issues—higher ed needs the solutions we have. Berea is ready to take them to the next level, to be inspirational with those solutions, to be brave and courageous with those solutions. Higher ed needs a Brave Berea more than ever. Our students need—and deserve—a Brave Berea more than ever.” Q

Adult Learners

Kentucky’s colleges and universities offer opportunities for non-traditional students

BY JACKIE HOLLENKAMP BENTLEY

Allison Reynolds wanted to overcome her past—not only for herself but for her two small children. She decided to enroll in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System’s Ready to Work program at the Gateway campus in Florence in the summer of 2021. She thrived there.

Reynolds earned an associate degree in massage therapy technology and is now employed at Florence’s St. Elizabeth Hospital. “I wanted a better life for myself and my children,” Reynolds said. “I wanted my children to know that we would be OK, and that I would always do everything I could to provide them with the life they deserve.”

KCTCS’s Ready to Work program, offered at campuses across the Commonwealth, is one of several programs the college system provides to help improve adult education levels and, subsequently, their lives.

More than 17,000 adult learners in the system earned either a certificate or associate’s degree in 2023. “Adults don’t see themselves as students working their way through college,” said Shauna King-Simms, executive director of transitional programs at KCTCS. “They have an adult life. They often have families; they often have mortgages and more often than not have jobs.”

To find out more about KCTCS’ Ready to Work program, go to kctcs.edu/ education-training/initiatives/ready-to-work

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education reports that, by 2031, nearly two-thirds of all Kentucky jobs will require some postsecondary training. As a result, CPE has launched a multi-year initiative with a goal of seeing 60 percent of the population with a postsecondary education by 2030.

While KCTCS educates 60 percent of Kentucky’s adult student population, most of the Commonwealth’s colleges and universities also provide non-traditional learners pathways to success.

Bellarmine University

In the fall of 2023, 70 students enrolled at Bellarmine University were classified as non-traditional, meaning they were 25 years old or older and working toward degrees in integrated studies, nursing, elementary education and exercise science.

Dr. Martha Carlson Mazur, the director of Bellarmine’s community academic outreach, said many of the non-traditional students take advantage of the university’s Degree Completion Program, which works closely with each student. “We really think about who the student is and what’s best for the student and helping them to figure out what that looks like for them,” Mazur said. “We really strive to give students that have that situation where they’re coming in with some transfer credit, but don’t have an undergraduate degree yet, a fairly quick, efficient and streamlined way to get their degree.”

LEARN MORE

bellarmine.edu/degree-completion

Berea College

In 2020, 64 non-traditional students graduated from its Berea College. This past May, that number dropped to 17, mainly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped the college from offering support services.

Berea College boasts a Nontraditional Student Program in which adult learners can take advantage of the Nontraditional Student Center, otherwise known as the The Clubhouse, and Ecovillage. The student center provides a kitchen, games, a greenhouse and study room.

It’s part of Berea’s Ecovillage, a sustainable living complex for nontraditional students that also provides residents with onsite childcare, a community car and gardening, among other amenities.

Campbellsville University

More than 645 adult learners called themselves Tigers for the 2023-2024 academic year. CU spokesperson Alexandria Dalton said most of their majors included education, business, nursing, criminal justice, social work and theology. With a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, the students enjoyed personalized encouragement.

“I can recall several non-traditional students over the years who were asked to be commencement and pinning ceremony speakers from various programs,” Dalton said. “And many cited the outpouring of support, encouragement and prayer from our faculty and staff as major factors in helping them succeed throughout their academic journeys.”

Eastern Kentucky University

Eastern Kentucky University calls itself the “school of opportunity,” and that goes for all students, regardless of where they are in their career journey.

Robyn Moreland, the director of The Center for Student Parents, said more than 800 EKU students have identified on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as having dependents.

Her department also works with mothers receiving aid from the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program, guiding them toward a better future. “It’s just been a wonderful program that kind of wraps around this population of women who are raising children alone, without an education,” Moreland said. “We also know statistically that the educational level that the mother has is generally what the children will acquire as well, so it’s really a two-generation approach.”

EKU’s Student Outreach and Transition Office also supports nontraditional students, including transfer students and those coming back to school to complete their degrees. eku.edu

Kentucky State University

According to a 2022-2023 report from Kentucky State University’s Office of Institutional Research, 8 percent of KSU’s population is 25 years old and older. Cathi Smith, KSU’s director of Work Based Learning and Governmental Relations hopes to raise those numbers. “For one, our ‘stop out’ students are students who have attended the university previously who have intentions on coming back,” Smith said. “If they have a $1,500 or less outstanding bill with KSU, and they have at least a 2.0 grade point average, we will wipe that debt and allow them to come back and be enrolled into classes.”

KSU’s online education also has expanded.

“We have programs that are offered fully online that would be able to help [non-traditional students] with balancing work, school and family life, so that they don’t have to actually come and sit in a class,” Smith said.

KSU offers a tuition discount to all state government employees and corrections and law-enforcement officers.

The university offers a Credit for Life Experience program, where adult learners can be awarded credit for college-level learning gained through life experiences via work, travel, volunteering, military service, hobbies or private studies.

Morehead State University

Whether a student is a working adult needing to advance in a career, a military veteran or even a senior citizen, Jen Timmermann, the director of Morehead State University’s Transfer Services, said her office will support that person every step of the way. “We offer virtual tutoring and advising, disability services, student support services, a health clinic and mental health counseling, Eagle Essentials pantry and Veterans Resource Center,” Timmermann said. “Adult students are balancing so many things. So many of them are caring for aging parents. They’re caring for their own children. They have one to two jobs. They’re trying to manage home life with school life, and it’s a lot. So, we try to really support them, obviously in the classroom like we always have, but really also pay attention to what’s going on for them outside the classroom.”

Most of the non-traditional students graduate with degrees in business, allied health, education or social work. Among the older students at MSU is class of 2023 graduate Joe Wilson of Asher in Leslie County. “If anybody’s 70-plus and wants to get a college degree, I’ll praise them for that,” Wilson said. “I’d encourage them to go ahead and go back to college if they wanted to … Ain’t nothing wrong with getting a good education.”

Murray State University

Murray State University knows many former students didn’t complete their degree and want to come back, but life just got in the way. That’s where Murray’s new Racers Finish program comes in. The program targets former Murray students and offers personalized academic counseling as well as scholarships for eligible candidates.

Many take advantage of Murray’s bachelor of integrated studies degree, which enables adult learners to tailor their academic pathway to a degree while earning credit for life and work experience.

Daniel Lavit, executive director of Murray’s Center for Adult and Regional Education, said about 200 Murray students are seeking a BIS degree, and the university hopes to see that number grow. “The idea of finishing a degree sits more heavily on an adult’s mind because, a lot of times, they want their children to see them finish with a degree,” Lavit said. “When an adult student crosses the stage at graduation, it’s not just proud parents watching. A lot of times, children are in the audience seeing their parents graduate.”

Northern Kentucky University

Northern Kentucky University classifies an adult learner as a student who is 21 or older. In the 2022-2023 academic year, the Highland Heights institution registered more than 3,500 such students. NKU boasts a robust Adult & Transfer Center that provides not only academic support but also advocacy for those adult learners.

“The ATC is proud to have such a great network of collaborators on campus to ensure our adult and transfer learners are getting the support and care needed to be successful graduates of NKU,” said Sara Conwell, ATC’s assistant director. “Our Adult & Transfer Advisory Council, which is comprised of faculty, staff and administrators at NKU, meets monthly to discuss concerns/issues while working together to troubleshoot those issues.”

University of Kentucky University of Louisville

This past 2023-2024 academic year, the University of Kentucky had 1,278 registered students ages 25-64. While UK’s support services are available to all its students, whether they’re studying online or in person, a few programs resonate with nontraditional students, particularly the Non-Traditional Student Organization, said Molly Reynolds, UK’s acting associate vice president for student excellence.

“They have a diverse set of experiences … and when you’re in a residence hall and you’re coming in at 18 to 22, or 23, it’s just different if you’re starting college,” Reynolds said. “[Non-traditional students] created that group to make sure that there would be a space for anyone who’s an independent, non-traditional student to be able to get together to talk about some of the needs they’re seeing in that population.”

Many non-traditional students take advantage of UK’s Integrated Success Coaching initiative that provides a complete one-on-one support system. “We see students across many different categories and life experiences go to coaching,” Reynolds said. “It’s truly goal setting, where you are in your life, that you can work with someone and set those goals, have that accountability and follow up.”

Hannah White, the assistant director of Adult Services at the University of Louisville, said the university’s new Comeback Cards program targets former UofL students with a $4,000 or less balance. “You can almost think of it like a reverse scholarship,” White said. “We will invite them to come back with us and take classes, and at the end of every successful semester, we will reduce their balance.”

UofL also offers a Fresh Start program for its former students who may not have achieved their best grades and dropped out. “It essentially wipes clean what we would call bad grades, to where they basically just start fresh,” White said. “They might not have known what they wanted to do, or they might not have had the support—whether that be financial support or academic support, anything like that—and struggled in school. It helps them not have to carry the weight of what they took a long time ago. They get to just start over.”

White said they work with local businesses to help employees who want to move up or get a promotion but don’t have the necessary education level for their goals. “We can work with employees to get that credential or [to] even move on and get a master’s degree, or different certifications, to either move up or shift careers,” she said.

Western Kentucky University

Roughly 2,800 students enrolled at Western Kentucky in the 2023-2024 academic year were considered nontraditional. Many of them returned to WKU because of a new university push to get former students to go back and finish their degree.

Christopher Jensen, WKU’s assistant vice president for student success, said the university partners with the national Institute for Higher Education Policy to re-engage former students, which so far has resulted in WKU awarding close to 400 degrees to former students in majors such as engineering, technology, health care and business.

Many returning students take advantage of WKU’s bachelor of interdisciplinary studies degree, which Jensen said is “quite popular” with non-traditional students who prefer flexibility in their majors. “Most often, we hear some students say, ‘I just want the quickest path,’ ” he said.

Jensen said they also see people who have moved to the area and want to finish their degree but have attended classes elsewhere. “[We work] to try to get them a degree at WKU, so we just need to make sure they meet residency and have enough credit hours with us for us to be able to award that degree,” he said. “Our Transfer Center and our Adult Learner Services Office work hand in hand trying to assist those students to get re-registered.”

LEARN MORE

wku.edu/adultservices

The original Pineville Hotel at corner of Laurel and Kentucky avenues in Pineville. One of the oldest settlements in Kentucky, Pineville was established as “Cumberland Ford” in 1781 and was located where the Wilderness Road crossed the Cumberland River. When Bell County was established in 1867, Cumberland Ford became the county seat, and its courthouse was completed in 1871. The settlement was renamed Pineville in 1870 and was formally incorporated in 1873. This photo is from 1890.

Kentucky Explorer

Charles Hayes Jr. • Founder

Stephen M. Vest • Publisher

Deborah Kohl Kremer • Editor

Rebecca Redding • Typographist

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Letters to the Editor

In the I Remember column “My Family’s Farm in Bald Knob” in the April issue (page 49), when I read the line: “No one understands how I can grieve a place … I mourn alone,” I teared up. I get it. I know, believe me; I know. P. Marshall, Marion, Ohio

Kentucky

By Hillary M. Tucker, Paris

A polished piece of Floyd County coal Hangs on a silver chain around my neck Holding home beside my heart

In my mind, runs a litany –

The names of her counties

Her rivers

Her towns Her mountains and lakes Her flaws and her furies

Like cool glass marbles, the sound of her rolls off my tongue – Blurring consonants and swallowing vowels

A glimmer of hills and a flicker of ancient tongues in my voice

Love rests deep in my bones, at the core of my being Pulling at my marrow and my mind when I’m away

I wake in the night

Hungry for home

I pine when we are separated, Unable to breathe properly, My feet aching to be planted in her dark soil

She is part of me

I am of her

I will love her while I live, And rest easy in her arms when I die

Bright’s Inn Hoe Cakes

Bright’s Inn was built in 1815 by Capt. John Bright. Located about 1 ½ miles from Stanford in Lincoln County on the Wilderness Road, it was a stagecoach stop where weary travelers could find rest and food. A meal was 25 cents, with free whiskey. Isaac Shelby, George Rogers Clark and Henry Clay were among the frequent guests of the inn.

Each year, Bright took slaves and a six-horse team and wagon to the mountains, where he and Clark owned 5,000 acres, to make salt. While the slaves made salt, Bright hunted deer and bear. Bright’s Inn became famous for its bear meat roasts and corn pone.

The captain annually took the salt from his mines and whiskey made on the farm to New Orleans by flatboat. There, he traded them for sugar, coffee, tea and other goods not available in Kentucky. One time, he brought back a stove, which was considered such a wonder that women came from miles around to see it.

Hoe cakes cooked over hot coals in the fireplace were one of the Bright’s Inn specialties.

2 cups coarse-ground (grist) cornmeal

¾ cup cold water

Milk

Mix meal with water and let stand until water is absorbed. Thin with enough milk for easy handling. Form into 2-inch balls in hand, flatten with fingers to a thickness of about ¼ inch, and bake in a little grease (bacon grease is good) on a hot iron griddle until brown on both sides. Serve with butter or gravy.

Recipe from Mrs. W.M. Bright, Stanford Woman’s Club and great-great-granddaughter of Capt. John Bright.

Excerpt from Kentucky Hospitality: A 200-Year Tradition, published by Kentucky Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1976.

The Devasher School: A one-room

schoolhouse in Allen County

By Susan Orange, interviewing James Stewart, Scottsville

James Stewart was born in Allen County.

The Stewart family were farmers who lived near the Barren River until 1962, when they had to move and the Walnut Creek Boat Dock and Park replaced their homestead. Stewart began attending the Devasher School about 70 years ago, when his family lived near the river. He told me that he had to walk “a mile up a private road that was not in very good condition.”

Stewart remembers that his teacher’s name was Miss Anna Whitney, who taught him the entire seven years he attended the school. “Reading in the school was done by going up front to the little bench, called the recitation bench, where I and the other boys and girls would read aloud from our readers,” Stewart recalled.

“Every morning, Miss Anna would start the day by reading from the Bible and then would have the children recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It seems I have no bad memories of Devasher School.”

Stewart said his favorite subject was arithmetic, but he “enjoyed them all.” The one thing he did not like was lining up with the other students for the district nurse to give them a shot in the arm, presumably a vaccine.

Many of the games played at Devasher were the same as those played at other schools. There was “Red Rover,” where two group of kids lined up on opposite sides facing each other. The children linked arms, and someone called out, “Red Rover, come over,” and then someone said a name out loud, and that person had to try to break through the line on the opposite side. The aim of this game was to have the most people in your line.

Another popular game involved having teams on opposite sides of the schoolhouse. A ball was thrown over the schoolhouse, and the opposing team had to catch it on the fly. If they missed, they had to take the ball around the building and try to tag someone out.

Softball was played almost every day, often cutting through woods and fields (according to Stewart) to another school in order to have those children join in. Usually, that school was the Cedar Springs School, about a mile from Devasher. This occurred only on Fridays, when the day’s activities were a bit more relaxed. Rainy days were spent indoors playing musical chairs, blind man’s bluff and drop the handkerchief. Fridays were not only

spent in softball competitions but in what Stewart called a “ciphering contest.” This was an arithmetic competition among schools. The problems varied according to age and were a real challenge.

A fond memory Stewart related to me was about his dog who came to school with him nearly every year he attended Devasher. “My little dog came with me in all kinds of weather, and if it were cold outside, he would beat his tail on the door of the school, and Miss Anna would let him in, where he would lie by the coal stove all day long.”

School in those days saw ice cream suppers and cake walks. There were box socials, where the girls raised money for the school by selling box lunches they had made. When the lunch sold, the girl ate with the person who had bought it. Miss Anna took her class grape hunting in the autumn through the woods around the school. As winter drew closer, big boys would scavenge for sticks to pile beside the coal stove so that Miss Anna had something to start fires with. Sticks also served another purpose at Devasher. Older boys sometimes got into trouble, and Stewart remembered a time when Miss Anna instructed a boy to go get himself a good switch, which he obediently did, and she artfully used it on him! Stewart recalled “a Thanksgiving program we put on for our parents. It was about the first Thanksgiving with the Native American Indians. Miss Anna let three of the older boys make a bow and arrow and let us shoot those arrows for the stage out the front door. We didn’t hit anyone, though.”

Considering the secular nature of public education today, it is surprising to learn that 70 years ago in Kentucky, school students attended revival services at local churches. In the Allen County area, according to Stewart, the revivals came in early October. He remembers that the entire school walked about 1 ½ miles to the day service of the revival and then walked back again in time for the one fellow who had to catch the school bus home.

When I asked Stewart if the school prepared him well, he responded, “Yes, I do feel like Devasher School helped to prepare me to be an adult. It helped teach me morals and respect for others and how to get along with everyone and to work for what I wanted out of life … I believe those times were the best to grow up in and start a family.”

As Stewart asserted in his conversation with me, “I wouldn’t trade my days in a one-room school for any of the schools today. Devasher School taught me more than the three Rs. I could not have had a better life than the one I had with Ann [his late wife], my boys and our church family worshiping God.”

Send memories to Deborah Kohl Kremer at deb@kentuckymonthly.com or mail to Kentucky

P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602.

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Preserving the Harvest with Canning

By David R. Caudill, Daytona Beach, Florida

When Dad retired from the Army in 1953, we moved back to Kentucky to the Rockhouse Fork of Big Willard in Perry County and settled in at the old homeplace. Dad had spent almost 23 years in the Army, retiring as a master sergeant. His monthly retirement pension was $143.54. Now, that seems like very little for that much service, and, frankly, it was very little then. There were five children plus Mom and Dad trying to eke out a living on that, and the family of seven became a family of nine when the twins were born in February 1954.

At that time, there were no Supplemental Security Income, heat vouchers, food stamps, subsidized housing, health clinics or any other safety nets. We received “commodities” from the government. A family of seven, and later nine, could expect to receive 10-pound bags of cornmeal and flour, 5 pounds of cheese, lots of powdered milk, and, sometimes, two or three cans of pork and gravy. Rarely did we get pinto beans and never anything else. And rarely did we see a piece of meat except in the fall, when we killed a hog or two. Meals consisted of beans and potatoes for dinner, and potatoes and beans for supper.

fit. The jars had to be covered with water at all times, and they tended to float to the top. Mom folded an old quilt and place it on top to kept the beans under water. The beans had to boil for four hours.

It was my job to supply the firewood. An old split rail fence on our property line at the top of the mountain provided a ready source of wood. I don’t know how many trips it took to drag down enough rails to last four hours, but rails weren’t the only thing dragging when I finished.

Mom also canned corn and tomatoes. I don’t know what she did to the corn the first year, but when we opened the first jar, it was pickled. Ughh!! We wouldn’t eat it, but the hogs loved it. The tomatoes turned out well. She cooked them with macaroni or used them in soups. A whole canned tomato with sugar sprinkled on it tastes good, too.

Mom even canned soup bones. When we were lucky enough to buy half a beef, Mom boiled the meat off the ribs, then put the stock, meat and about three bones in half-gallon jars. It didn’t look appetizing, but on those cold winter days, a bowl of hot soup and a big biscuit tasted mighty good!

To offset the commodities and Dad’s small check, we put away as much produce as we could. We tended a large garden (about 1 acre), which yielded beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, turnips, popcorn, peanuts, okra and rutabagas. Our staple crops were beans, tomatoes, corn and potatoes. We stored potatoes in a hole under the house and canned the rest.

Canning time was a big chore. Dad and I picked the beans; Mom and my sisters, Polly and Pearlene, pulled strings and snapped them. We grew Kentucky Wonders. I sometimes helped with the stringing and snapping, but I tried to get out of that as much as possible.

Mom canned in a washtub using half-gallon jars. I believe 18 jars fit in the tub and, if quarts were used, 24 jars

I didn’t mention condiments because we didn’t have them. Dad always said if he could bring a piece of meat home, we should enjoy the taste and not disguise it with condiments. (I really believe he said that because we couldn’t afford them.) We never had store-bought bread or “light bread,” as I called it. He said he had to eat that in the army for 23 years, and he didn’t want to see it again. That was OK with me. We got biscuits three times a day, with an occasional pone of cornbread thrown in.

Times were tough for us, but we made it. It required lots of work and cooperation. Dad later went to carpentry school on the GI Bill, and some of that money was used for the family. That helped considerably.

Canning must have rubbed off on me; I still tend a large garden. I don’t put up Kentucky Wonders as my taste tends toward the white half-runner. I also put up tomatoes, but corn is too much trouble. It’s too easy to buy frozen.

Is That a Snake?

By Dr. Marshall Myers, Richmond

As a 15-year-old, it wasn’t a day I looked forward to. It was the 1950s in rural Meade County, and my father drove me to our farm, about 15 miles from home, with a job in mind. When we arrived, he reached into his pocket and tossed a 50-cent piece to me. He then pointed to the bare tobacco sticks that covered the barn floor, left from stripping tobacco the winter before. He told me to pick up the sticks and burn them in a pile outside. His voice barked out orders to me like I imagined a drill sergeant would.

As he drove away, I looked over at the tobacco sticks laying on the floor. To me, each looked like a dead snake.

I wondered how I could gather those sticks when each one might be a snake.

I considered my options. I could leave the work and the farm and say that I wasn’t going to put my life in danger. Maybe I would appeal then to his sense of humanity? I knew he wouldn’t buy it, and the punishment would far exceed the embarrassment. I had felt his wrath before and knew what it was like.

Another option was to pick up each stick separately and look to see if it was a snake, which would take a long time. Or I could gather all the sticks up into different bunches, as my father suggested, and carry them to the brush pile, set them on fire, and hope against hope that a snake wasn’t in the bunch. The snake and I would quickly get acquainted if it squirted its head out of the bunch I carried.

I decided to check each stick. I began and started to think the presence of snakes in the pile was all in my fruitful imagination.

Then suddenly, there it was!

The Great Depression

By Carol Ingle, Scott County

The Great Depression was not so great in today’s usage of the word great. My mother was born in 1934, during the Great Depression. Thank goodness she lived in the country, where her family never went hungry.

In the cities, there were soup kitchens, but my mother never saw people in lines to get food to eat. She told me about stamps they received—orange stamps, which could be used for anything at the store, and blue stamps for dried beans, cornmeal, etc.

My mother told me about the rationing of gas, sugar and coffee, the most important drink in many homes.

During the Depression, people were encouraged to raise gardens. Even in big cities, if you had any yard space, you were encouraged to plant vegetables. I’ve heard the term Victory Gardens, which began during World War I. These

A fat, long black snake, which seemed to be in a hurry to leave the sticks and me, twisted and turned enough to slither out the bottom of the barn door.

As the snake disappeared into the grass beyond, I looked up at the sky and the old watch I had and decided to start walking to George Higgins’ general store to get my dinner. I reasoned that, by the time I got there, I would be hungry, since it was a good 2 miles. I was reminded that my father had flipped a 50-cent piece my way.

The road was narrow, so I stepped into the ditch as each car passed. It must have taken an hour to get there.

The proprietor of the store had all the makings of a good sandwich: a big slice of lunch meat, freshly sliced bread and thick American cheese, topped off with a generous smear of mustard. I also bought a big bottle of Pepsi.

I was particularly hungry and needed more. I nodded to the glass jar on top of the meat counter with ringed bologna floating in vinegar. The grocer stuck his paws into the jar, pulled out the pickled bologna and cut off about 4 inches of meat. He then wrapped it in white butcher paper and weighed it.

I saw dessert in a small cake called banana flips and completed my grocery store lunch.

Heading back, I looked at the job differently. It didn’t seem as onerous as it once had.

As I worked, I realized that life was more than picking up tobacco sticks and thinking they were snakes. In fact, life was far more than just a slice of pickled bologna, but that was a start for me.

The afternoon turned into a dull repetition of gathering and carrying the sticks to the pile and setting them on fire. Eventually, the barn was free of tobacco sticks and, later, I heard the Jeep rumble over the hill.

gardens also were encouraged by the government during World War II.

People held up two fingers in the shape of a “V” during WWII. There are photos of Winston Churchill using the V sign. Later, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower used the V sign after their presidential wins. All these years I thought it meant peace. I guess hippies just renamed the V sign.

During WWII trucks came by homes to collect any metal that you had. Rubber, paper, and rags were collected. The scrap drives even collected used grease. Silk stockings were recycled. They were needed to make parachutes. Mom said you gave what you could give to help your country to win the war.

A revival for the ages: Cane Ridge

By Mark Mattmiller, Cynthiana

The Cane Ridge revival of Aug. 6, 1801, is one of the most fascinating and momentous events in the early history of Kentucky. Historians would have to do a lot of searching to find a more unusual happening.

In 1796, Barton W. Stone took his congregation west from North Carolina to a log meeting house on a site near what is now Paris. An earlier congregation had built a log meeting house in 1791 on what became known as Cane Ridge. The entire area west of the Allegany Mountains was sparsely populated at that time.

If you like old Kentucky buildings, Cane Ridge Meeting House is a must-see structure. The logs are of spectacular size and restored to perfect condition. It is believed to be the largest single-room log structure in North America. In the 1950s, a superstructure was built around the old church. The setting is of museum quality.

It isn’t the house itself that makes it famous; it is the camp revival that took place there in 1801. It lasted six to seven days.

Stone had heard of a camp meeting that a preacher named James McGready had organized, and in the spring of 1801, Stone traveled 180 miles to Logan County to witness the meeting. He became intrigued with the concept of the revivals and decided to organize one.

Revivals were not new events, but the camp meetings were new to Kentucky. They were small one-day events. Members of single churches went to the church to pray on a day other than Sunday. The participants rarely, if ever, spent the night.

Camp meetings were just what the name implies. The visitors camped out and spent one night. Other ministers were invited, and there could be more than one preaching around the campsite at the same time. Around 1799 or 1800, the first overnight camp meetings took place in Kentucky.

When Stone planned his Cane Ridge camp meeting, he decided to

invite all of the preachers from around the area regardless of their denomination. They brought their congregations with them, and what transpired, with regard to camp meetings, was the granddaddy of them all.

More than 20,000 people showed up for the meeting. All of the roads leading to Cane Ridge were jammed. There were 1,143 vehicles, all horse- or mule-driven. Many attendees came on foot.

There were four or five men preaching at the same time from tree stumps and from the backs of wagons. Food was supplied by the abundance of game and milk cows. The event offered an opportunity to socialize that otherwise was almost impossible. Campfires and candles lit up the night, and the preaching continued day and night.

It is amazing that people heard of the event and attended at a time when there were no telephones, no post office and no radios. Some came from as far away as Ohio. This was at a time when the population of Lexington was less than 2,000.

Finally, the grass, weeds and leaves on the lower tree limbs for the horses to eat were depleted, and the participants had to move farther and farther from the campsite. This happened at the same time that the wildlife, nuts and edible plants were also giving out. On or about Aug. 14, 1801, the participants had no choice but to go home.

The Cane Ridge Meeting House is located on Ky. 537 near Paris. For hours, directions or more information, visit caneridge.org or call 859.987.5350.

The University of Louisville was founded by the city council in 1798.

Mail Pouch Barns

Beginning in the 1890s, Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco was produced by the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company in West Virginia. The brothers started by taking scraps from cigars, mixing them with molasses and other flavors, and making a product that was nicknamed West Virginia Cole Slaw. The idea caught on, and when the brothers looked for an economical way to advertise, they started the Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn program.

A Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn essentially was a functional billboard, with an ad painted on the side of the structure. The idea was to blend the rustic look of the barn with crisp, brightly painted advertising. The iconic hand-painted ad, almost always in black or red with yellow or white capital lettering, read: “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco: Treat Yourself to the Best.”

The ad was easily visible from the roads and pleasing to the eye. A variation of the design sometimes had a vertical blue border on either side of the building.

The barn owners received a modest annual payment (ranging from $1-$2) for allowing their barns to be used as advertisements. But the company also painted the other sides of the barn any color the owner wished. Aside from adding some color, the barn received a fresh coat of paint to help preserve its wood. As a bonus for the farmer, the Mail Pouch barns often were repainted every few years to maintain the sharp colors of the lettering.

In the late 1940s, the company hired painter Harley Warrick of Belmont County, Ohio. Over the next 50 years, Warrick estimated that he had painted ads on 20,000 barns, spending an average of six hours on each. Warrick stated that he always began each barn with the letter “E” in the word “Chew.”

Other painters—such as Mark Turley, Don Shires and Dick Green—contributed to the iconic barn advertisements. Their initials remain preserved on some of the barns, along with the date of the painting. These initials can be found on the blue border surrounding the front side or near the roof.

When President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, it put an end to many ads and billboards. But this act exempted Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns from restrictions on local advertisements near highways and instead recognized them as historic landmarks.

The Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn program ran for about 100 years, ending in 1992 when Warrick retired. The owner at the time, Swisher International Group, suspended the barn advertisements. During their peak in the early 1960s, approximately 20,000 Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns could be found across 22 states.

Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns still can be found today. Do you have a connection to one in Kentucky? Send photos and stories to Deb@KentuckyMonthly.com or Deborah Kohl Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40601.

Some of the barns shown here are no longer standing. Photos used with permission from Dale Travis. To see more barns, visit www.dalejtravis.com.

North of Grayson, Carter County

South of Sardis, Mason County

West of Vanceburg, Lewis County

Smithfield, Henry County

Northeast of Marion, Crittenden County

The Challenges of Our Ancestors

By Harold Brown, Indianapolis, Indiana (originally from Crab Orchard in Lincoln County)

Family tree work reminds me of how much we take for granted. Even our most materially successful ancestors had many fewer comforts, conveniences and technologies than we utilize and enjoy.

What would cause people to uproot their families and take risks trying to find suitable or better living conditions in another country, state or community? Even affluent families were concerned with the uncertainties, risks and opportunity costs of moving elsewhere. Financially stressed families would have had more challenges.

Many experienced conditions so difficult that they decided to leave their known circumstances to move to the uncertainty and potential elsewhere. Hunger, poverty, religious persecution, lack of freedom and warfare were among the things that people wanted to leave behind. Families often were divided temporarily or sometimes permanently. Travel conditions were often crowded, dangerous and uncertain.

What marketable skills did our pioneer ancestors have that could maintain and/or increase the resources needed to meet the family’s needs? How could basic needs be met? Think of the frustration of being unable to provide adequate food, shelter, safety, education and other important needs. Luxuries and relaxing leisure time were rare and probably low on the list of priorities for many families.

Some pioneers were in dangerous situations, such as those who settled in areas where Native Americans fought to protect their own resources. Thieves, thugs and others took murderous actions to steal resources from those in transit or settled.

A basic need of all families was shelter, and satisfactory housing was often limited. Many houses were not insulated and were poorly constructed. Winter conditions in many areas could be especially challenging. Quilts were not just works of art but essentials. Summer conditions without air conditioning, or even electric fans, proved difficult. Sharecropping families had to accept whatever was available or try elsewhere. Frequent moves and trading were typical for families trying to improve their circumstances.

Families were large, but homes were small. Privacy was limited. Family members stricken with communicable diseases would have been practically impossible to isolate or quarantine from the other family members. The pain and suffering of parents and siblings resulting from other family

members’ diseases and illnesses was prevalent. Stillbirths and the loss of babies and children was common, as was maternal mortality. One couple in my family tree had eight children, with three being stillborn or living less than a day, and another living only 33 days. Their oldest daughter bore six children but lived only six hours after giving birth to the sixth.

Decisions on the number of children had huge impacts. Larger families had more people to work, but they also had to provide more food, lodging and other necessities. Many generations had no access to birth control, and couples had little choice in the number of children they wanted and/or could afford.

Women were more involved than men in laundering, cooking, cleaning, sewing and providing childcare. Society dictateed that women accept men as being dominant in decision-making and other aspects of life. Men in farming professions often did more of the hard physical labor, but many women also worked outside the home. Human labor by all capable family members gradually was replaced by improved farm machinery for those who could afford it.

Food, of course, was a basic need. As with other aspects of living, families had to do what they could with what they had. They had to consider food procurement, preservation and preparation throughout each year. On farms and in rural areas, many families raised most of their food. Having vegetables, fruits and meat available throughout the year involved labor-intensive storing, drying, canning, salting and smoking. Technological improvements allowed the evolution of modern agriculture, manufacturing and other enterprises.

Modern medical care is far from perfect but has many advantages over the care available to most of our ancestors. In the not-too-distant past, germs and other disease agents were not understood. Abdominal surgery is relatively recent. Blood-letting was an accepted medical procedure that probably never was beneficial. Many stillbirths and other early childhood deaths were caused by inadequate medical knowledge, equipment and qualified medical professionals. Some who were affluent died from lead poisoning because they could afford expensive lead dishes and food containers.

Transportation for our ancestors was slow or nonexistent, which limited the ability to reach medical help. Many isolated areas had no accessible doctors, hospitals or pharmacies. The causes of several catastrophic diseases were unknown. Modern vaccinations were not available. The plague, cholera, tuberculosis and typhoid

fever were among the diseases that decimated people of all ages. Caretakers were especially at risk. Most of us can only imagine the suffering, pain and helplessness experienced by many, like one of my ancestors who dreaded the arrival of March because so many family deaths occurred in that month.

Educational opportunities and attitudes about them varied greatly over many generations. Only a small percentage of people had the chance to learn to read and write several hundred years ago. The perceived value of formal education differed greatly. Many saw no need to make much effort to go to school. Isolation added to the challenges. Many children gladly accepted their parents’ attitudes regarding the value of schooling. Some made heroic efforts to go to school, while others willingly accepted illiteracy. Homeschooling has increased greatly in recent years. In the past, much homeschooling was done, but it was often limited by the parents being unqualified to provide educational instruction.

people identified and developed entrepreneurial enterprises. The basic freedom to develop private enterprises was a godsend to many. Some became rich and hired others to work for them.

Gradually, communities prospered. Still, much technology was not yet available even for those who could have afforded it. Many innovators identified, developed and marketed improved techniques. Some thrived and others failed.

The impacts on families and individuals ranged from riches to poverty.

Politics and government have been important to our ancestors and to us. Governments at all levels have had successes and failures. Wars utilized massive resources, including thousands of lives, but preserved the freedoms we believe to be important. Those who gave their lives and limbs should forever be remembered and appreciated.

Values and morals have always been important to families. Parents greatly influenced their children’s value system. Children often could be taught to be considerate and caring of others versus hating or discriminating against others perceived as different. Attitudes regarding honesty, consideration, kindness, work, play, freedom and morality have always varied greatly. Cooperation with others was important to some and irrelevant to others. Like now, the emphasis on religion differed.

Skills have always been important. Parents taught their children what they knew and could do. Females traditionally learned child-rearing skills from their mothers, grandmothers and older sisters.

Males and sometimes females learned farming and other outdoor skills by doing them. Subsistence living was typical. Gradually, with the chance to barter or sell products, opportunities materialized. Extra crops became more marketable with improved transportation and finances. Those with marketable skills, such as blacksmithing, could barter and sell their work. Innovative

Genetics and environment determine the characteristics each of us possesses. Our DNA was determined by our direct-line ancestors. Surviving their circumstances until they could have children was essential. Isolation, lack of transportation and limited communication technology limited the gene pool to relatively close neighbors. Most of us can think of various circumstances that allowed or caused specific ancestors to meet and marry their spouses. Any change that would have prevented their meeting and reproducing would have resulted in different offspring.

Love, caring, nurturing and sacrificing were important aspects. Often, one spouse had to meet family needs without the other. Older siblings sometimes helped with all aspects of work and family care. In some cases, older children reared their younger siblings who had lost both parents to diseases, accidents or other tragedies. One can just imagine the worry, frustration and anguish when unable to provide basic family needs. On the other hand, the joys of successful births, family rearing, reaching goals, and material and spiritual success helped our ancestors to survive and thrive.

Nowadays, we take much for granted and find plenty about which to complain. We all exist because our ancestors survived their challenges, disasters and good times. They found spouses, settled somewhere, had children, met the essential needs of their families, made innumerable decisions, survived and often thrived. Their strengths in handling challenges laid the groundwork for the circumstances that we now have.

The private enterprise system, the chance to succeed or fail, the chance to sell improved technologies, and individual and collective freedoms have been immensely important to our predecessors and to us. We should appreciate our ancestors and those who made our lives possible.

Originally known as Eastern Kentucky State Normal School, EKU graduated its first class of 11 teachers in 1909.

A log cabin similar to one Kentucky pioneers would have inhabited.

Traditions

passed down for generations: A Vigil for the Dead

By Roger L. Guffey, Lexington

Friends gather for the wake and funeral of a late member of the group in The Big Chill. One character observes, “Amazing tradition. They throw a great party for you on the one day they know you can’t come.”

The cruel irony of that bon mot softens a harsh truth about our own mortality and the way our death affects the people in our lives. Keeping a vigil for a recently deceased loved one is a touchstone for Appalachian communities and how they come to terms with death.

Recently, scientists have discovered that crows, elephants and killer whales exhibit behaviors that indicate that these animals recognize the reality of death. Crows hold funerals and follow rituals of mourning. Elephants make trips to their graveyards, where they can be seen using their sensitive trunks to fondle and stroke the skull and tusks of elephants they remember. Interestingly, only animals who live in highly organized social groups have shown recognition of death.

The people of the mountains do not walk through the valley of the shadow of death: They live there. Death crouches stealthily, ever ready to pounce on its next victim. Paradoxically, the Grim Reaper that tears communities apart also binds them together in the tradition of prefuneral visitation.

Friends, acquaintances, and family members are expected to attend the vigil if only for a few minutes. Failure to do so tarnishes one’s standing in the community. My favorite aunt was recovering from an old-fashioned gallbladder surgery that incapacitated her so badly that she could not attend the visitation or funeral for her brother, who was killed in a logging accident. She was a devout Baptist, a paragon of Christian virtue, but people whispered snide comments about her absence until she died 16 years later.

My first memory of attending a visitation or a funeral was one held for an elderly relative of my father, Aunt

Rose Crabtree, even though I was only 10 and had never met her. By the time I left home to attend college, I had buried dozens of friends and family members whom I did know. Though I attended many vigils and funerals for friends and relatives, my family was blessed because we never lost any members of our immediate family.

The news of the passing of a community member spread like wildfire, and in less than 24 hours, everyone knew about the death. By lunchtime the next day, community women would have prepared home-cooked meals they delivered to the home of the recently deceased. This practice showed the family they were valued in the community, freed the grievers from having to cook in their emotionally frazzled state, and fed the crowds of wellwishers who visited to pay their respects.

Visitations were held in funeral homes, churches or the family home. The majority of buildings were not airconditioned, and people attending in the warm days of summer used paper fans donated by local funeral homes, churches or other local businesses.

I have attended vigils in rural and urban settings, and although they were respectfully somber, there were some differences. Many male visitors in urban settings wore suits or at least blazers with a tie, and women were dressed to the nines. Male mourners in rural settings seldom wore suits, and women refrained from overdressing, opting for cotton dresses.

Visitations afforded people the opportunity to see friends and relatives they seldom saw and to swap stories, and jokes about the deceased.

A clergyman delivered the eulogy at the funeral and a short reflection on the virtues of the deceased. In rural communities, pastors often used the occasion of a death to exhort people to get right with God before they die.

Hymns and elegiac compositions provided opportunities to use music in the service. Nearly every funeral I have attended has included “Amazing Grace” for mourners to sing in unison. Occasionally, someone was paid to play the mournful dirge on bagpipes.

Brescia University in Owensboro was founded in 1925 as Mount Saint Joseph Junior College for Women.

The entrance to Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery in the early 1900s.

A hearse from the 1920s

The mourners said goodbye one more time by filing by the casket. Then, six pallbearers loaded the casket onto a wheeled transport vehicle and took it to the waiting hearse that would carry the body to the burial site. Vehicles that were part of the funeral entourage turned on their headlights as they drove to the cemetery. A touching custom in rural communities was for cars driving in the opposite direction to pull off the main road until the procession had passed. In Kentucky, interfering with funeral traffic is a Class B misdemeanor. These lines of traffic could be long, depending on the deceased.

Once the casket was delivered to the gravesite, the pastor offered a few last words, and the funeral director passed out roses or other flowers as keepsakes.

Small family cemetery plots are sprinkled liberally over the topographic quadrangle maps of the United States Geological Survey. The rough terrain and poor roadways of the Appalachian region forced many to bury their dead on plots on their property. Many of these graves were marked with crudely inscripted stones that had aged so badly that they were just slabs of limestone and sandstone.

On an excursion to take photographs of lady’s slippers and other spring wildflowers, I happened upon the small Massengale Cemetery in Tuggle Holler (Wayne County), where some relatives of my maternal grandmother were buried. Among the two-dozen tombstones, I found the graves of three little boys who were born and died the same day one year apart: William, Thomas and Silas Denney Undoubtedly, there are scores of other such graveyards long obscured by the inevitable march of time encroaching on the graves.

In older cemeteries, the inscriptions had eroded so badly that they were indecipherable. Poor folks who could

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not afford tombstones marked a grave with only a sandstone or limestone marker. Some of these had poignant misspellings. A family had buried a stillborn baby and erected a small tombstone surmounted by a small lamb. The inscription read, “Our Little Angle.” The parents may never have seen their child take a breath, but he was still their little angel.

In the mid-19th century, funeral directors had perfected a method of including a small black-and-white photograph on the tombstone, but few mountain people could afford it. On a visit to my uncle’s grave, I saw a stone with a picture of a couple who were buried side by side. The husband was a rough-hewn mountain man sporting new denim coveralls, and his wife was a typical hill woman with her face tanned by the sun and wearing a freshly ironed gingham dress with a dog’s tooth pattern. The inscription below the picture declared unequivocally, “We Will Meet Again.”

In the final analysis, I guess that is the dream of all people—rich or poor, urban or rural—and all races of humankind: that we will be reunited with our loved ones in the afterlife.

Reach 120,000 readers with classified advertising available in Kentucky Explorer. Classified ads $50 per issue (up to 25 words). For more information, contact Deborah Kohl Kremer at deb@kentuckymonthly.com.

BURLINGTON ANTIQUE SHOW — More than 200 dealers, 10 minutes south of Cincinnati. Sunday, August 18, 7 am-3 pm, rain or shine, 513.922.6847, www.burlingtonantiqueshow.com.

KENTUCKY EXPLORER MAGAZINE — We have a select number of back issues of Kentucky Explorer from 1986-2000. Back issues are $5 plus postage. If you are in search of a certain issue or are interested in adding issues to your collection, please contact Deb at deb@kentuckymonthly. com to see if it’s available.

WANTED — Paying cash for large diamonds; collections of vintage wrist and pocket watches; gold and silver coins; sterling flatware and serving pieces; gold and silver jewelry; collections of arts and crafts and pottery; antique advertising signs; antique walking canes; pocket knives; collections of antique guns and swords; military collections; early handcrafted crocks and jugs; and musical instruments. Call Clarence, buyer for more than 35 years, 606.531.0467. (F-D)

WANTED — All types of antiques and collectibles. Top prices for gold, silver and costume jewelry. Scrap gold. Gold and silver coins. Wrist and pocket watches. Collections. Early post cards and fountain pens. Civil War swords and other military items. Vintage toys. Pocket knives. Lighters. Old eyeglasses. Pottery and stoneware. All types of railroad items. Advertising signs. Handmade quilts. Marbles. Jars. Much much more. Complete and partial estates. Call Clarence, buyer for more than 30 years, at 606.531.0467. (F-D)

Above, Covington’s Linden Grove Cemetery, founded in 1843; inset, handcarved gravestones in a family cemetery near Jackson.

Interwoven Tales

Louisville native Ellen Birkett Morris’ debut novel Beware the Tall Grass is a fascinating tale of intertwined lives. The book has two narratives. One, set in the 1960s, focuses on young Thomas, who looks for purpose in his life. He rashly volunteers for the Army during the Vietnam War.

The other deals with a contemporary young mother, Eve, who hopes she and her husband can give their son a “perfect childhood.”

The novel is quiet, with a measured pace and slow build that hints at an underlying tone of eeriness and dread. As Thomas graduates high school and joins the Army, he falls in love and begins to question his decision to enlist.

Eve’s child, Charlie, learns to speak but talks of matters far beyond his experience, with a vocabulary too advanced for his age. He has night terrors that, in turn, terrorize his mother. Tension increases as his parents disagree over how to deal with their son.

Morris’ writing style is spare and elegant, shaped by her years as a poet and short story writer.

By Laura Younkin

Picture This

Before books, newspapers and magazines contained flashy, colorful photos, publishers used drawings and engravings to help illustrate stories. Black and White: Kentucky Prints and Printmakers From the Collection of Warren and Julie Payne is a selection of early prints collected by Warren and Julie Payne of Louisville. For inclusion in the book, an illustration needed to be black and white, with either the artist or the image having a tie to Kentucky.

The collection appears in chronological order, starting with the earliest image, dated 1828, and ending with one produced in 2004. The author devotes a full page for each treasured print, with the opposite page containing information about the artist and the artwork. The vast differences in style, quality and subject matter of the illustrations make the book hard to put down.

The Paynes are art dealers and consultants. Warren retired after 33 years as a Louisville Courier-Journal columnist, and Julie is a graphic designer.

By Deborah Kohl Kremer

Acceptance Vs. Intolerance

When a group of war-weary Syrian refugees are welcomed by a community inside an American town called Grand Forks, one of the elderly refugees, an appreciative soul known as “Uncle Ahmad,” makes special gifts to acknowledge the welcomers’ kindnesses. A skilled craftsman, he creates wooden figurines with likenesses of town residents. He soon gains many admirers after a Black church displays his art in a fundraiser to support the refugees.

If Uncle Ahmad’s Toys ended there, readers would feel upbeat and hopeful. A touch of challenging reality emerges when angry white nationalists in town push back on what they consider an intrusion of a group of people who don’t look or believe like they do. Violence follows, and the town is left with a burning question: Will love and tolerance or the forces of hatred win?

Lexington author E. William Fruge’s novel presents a bold and compelling account that examines divisive issues with which our nation deals today.

By Steve Flairty

Black and White: Kentucky Prints and Printmakers From the Collection of Warren and Julie Payne, by Warren and Julie Payne, PFA Press, $35 (P)

Uncle Ahmad’s Toys, William Fruge, Wing E-press, Inc., $16.95 (P)

Beware the Tall Grass, by Ellen Birkett Morris, Columbus State University Press, $22.94 (P)

Uncertain New Start

Eight years into a 15-year prison sentence, Crit Poppwell discovers that drawing and painting bring the calmness and separation from the prison chaos he needs. A Dominican nun who teaches art encourages Crit to paint and helps him obtain parole.

Back home in Breathitt County, Crit’s brother leads a crystal meth sales operation, and Crit’s ex-wife wants Crit dead. Can he escape his past and use his newfound creativity to change his life and save others?

Loud Water is Robby Henson’s debut novel. Henson is a filmmaker and artistic director of Danville’s Pioneer Playhouse and a University of Kentucky media instructor. He runs an arts-behind-bars program in Boyle County.

Screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue calls Loud Water “a visceral Southern Gothic Noir” with the rough-edged prose matching the Eastern Kentucky landscape.

By J. Les Rosenwald

Treasured Tunes

Appalachian music is at the heart of mountain culture, and we have Katherine Jackson French to thank for collecting ballads and preserving them. Due to rivalries, prejudices and unkept promises, her music collection was not published in her lifetime. Thankfully, author Elizabeth DiSavino, assistant professor of music at Berea College, studied French’s long-buried collection and has brought it to the public.

This book delves into the life of French, who was born in 1875 near London. She was educated at Shelbyville’s historic Science Hill Female Academy, earned a master’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, and obtained a Ph.D. from Columbia University at a time when few women received even a basic education. At Columbia, she began to study ballads. Back in Kentucky, she traveled into the mountains to listen, learn and collect songs.

This book devotes a third of its pages to the music that French compiled more than 100 years ago.

By Deborah Kohl Kremer

Loud Water, by Robby Henson, Down & Out Books, $18 (P)

Katherine Jackson French: Kentucky’s Forgotten Ballad Collector by Elizabeth DiSavino, University Press of Kentucky, $50 (H)

‘Kentucky’s War of 1812’

Though none of it was fought on Kentucky soil, America’s War of 1812 might justifiably be called “Kentucky’s War of 1812,” if one considers that Kentuckians bore the brunt of lives lost. American forces were decimated at the Battle of River Raisin in Michigan. In response, two-time Kentucky Gov. Isaac Shelby led 4,000 soldiers from Newport to Canada to defeat the British and kill iconic Shawnee Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames.

In Kentucky and the War of 1812: The Governor, the Farmers and the Pig, author Doris Dearen Settles explains “how Kentuckians won the War of 1812 and why it is far more significant than textbooks record.”

In this book, replete with blackand-white images, Settles reveals some rarely discussed parts of national and state history. A strong feature of the chronicle is a chapter on notable Kentuckians of the war, and a close look at Shelby and Tecumseh presents a compelling view of the two famous men.

By Steve Flairty

Sherriff’s Slaying

When Sheriff Noah J. Tipton of Rockcastle County was shot and killed in 1932, there were a lot of unanswered questions. This nonfiction book looks at the murder, trial and conviction, along with the subsequent pardon of the murderer.

Saving Noah: Love, Murder, and Kentucky Politics paints a picture of everyday existence in Mount Vernon at the time of the murder and examines the life of Tipton. It relates how the political climate led to suspicions of then-Gov. Ruby Laffoon playing partisan politics when he granted a pardon to the convicted killer.

Written in an easy-to-read style, the book features photos of the people involved, their residences and even the weapons used.

Author William F. Carman of Lexington is Tipton’s greatgrandson. He is a hunting and fishing guide and has written books and magazine articles about the outdoors.

By Deborah Kohl Kremer

Mirroring Murders

For Louisville author J.H. Markert, there’s nothing like a good nightmare to inspire a good story. In The Nightmare Man, Markert writes of a best-selling horror novelist, Ben Bookman, who finishes his latest work, The Scarecrow, by surrounding himself with an ambiance of terror for a weekend. He stays inside the eerie Blackwood mansion, which overlooks the small town of New Haven. Bookman happens to be the heir of Blackwood.

On the eve of The Scarecrow’s release, reality becomes more horrible than Bookman’s fiction. Gruesome murders are committed in the area, and the murders’ details appear to mirror those in Bookman’s new novel.

Bookman becomes a prime suspect in the murders. Macabre details and mystery are well blended in this book for horror lovers.

James Markert (pen name “J.H.”) is a husband, a father of two, and a producer and screenwriter.

By Steve Flairty

The Nightmare Man, J.H. Markert, Crooked Lane Books, $28.99 (H)

(P)

Kentucky and the War of 1812: The Governor, the Farmers and the Pig, by Doris Dearen Settles, The History Press, $23.99

Saving Noah: Love, Murder, and Kentucky Politics, by William F. Carman, Acclaim Press, $19.25 (H)

BY BILL ELLIS

What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.

— Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

Ihave been known by many names in my lifetime.

I started out as “Baby Billy,” a 4-pound, 14-ounce wonder kept alive by an incubator at the old Ephraim McDowell Hospital in Danville, beginning Jan. 1, 1940. My beloved Aunt Mary once, jokingly (I think), said I looked like a drowned rat.

My dear Grandmother “Bess” Stratton, a hard-working keeper of chickens at the Stratton farm on Buzzard Roost Road in Shelby County, thought my skinny legs reminded her of the Bantam variety of chicken. She joked that I was “Banty-Legs.”

Well, I have evolved through several name changes over the years. You probably have also.

From an early age, I was called “Buck” by my father, and he was known as “Pop” to me.

I was always the red-headed, freckle-faced kid whom other kids liked to belittle. I got the “I’d rather be dead than red on the head” insult from older kids on Snow Hill, just outside of Shelbyville. I am still known as “Snow Hill Bill” in some circles.

“Red-headed peckerwood” followed on occasion. That kind of stuck in my craw, as the old saying goes, necessitating a playground battle at old Shelbyville Elementary School one spring afternoon. I battled

two older boys to a draw, or perhaps they just got tired of taunting and wrestling me and went on their way. They are both long dead; God rest their souls.

I was still “Billy” until I went out for the Georgetown College football team in the autumn of 1958. Then, I became just plain “Bill.” Anyone who ever played for Coach Bob Davis recalls his tough practices. I stuck it out and was proud to become one of “Bob’s Boys.”

. . .

My proudest moments in life came when I was called “Dad,” then “Granddad,” and finally “GreatGranddad” or “GGDAD” as I prefer.

In my early teaching career, I was “Mr. Ellis” to some great young folks at Harrodsburg High School and Shelby County High School. Coaching football for four years, I was “Coach” to a bunch of young men of whom I was always proud. Too bad they did not have a better coach.

Time moved on. I attended Eastern Kentucky University and received a master of arts degree in history before going to the University of Kentucky and obtaining a Ph.D. in history; some of my critics might perceive Ph.D. to mean “piled higher and deeper.”

I taught for three years at Lees Junior College in Jackson and for more than 30 years at EKU, where I rose in the ranks to become a full professor and even was awarded the accolade Foundation Professor of

History. I wrote articles and a few books, but more than anything else, I enjoyed teaching in the classroom. My wife, Charlotte, and I spent a wonderful six months in New Zealand, where I taught on a Fulbright Grant. . . .

I did have detractors. One day after class, a young lady took exception to my grading process and called me an “S.O.B.” Word came to me of a young man who finished one of my classes with a C. To a colleague of mine, he supposedly exclaimed, “That bastard Ellis did this to me.”

Well, you can’t make everyone happy, can you?

I still maintain my moderate Baptist bona fides and am known as “Baptist Bill” in religious circles.

Finally, after all these years of writing for Kentucky Monthly, I was vilified by a reader as “ignorant.” So, a new appellation has been added to my repertoire of names: “Ignorant Bill,” but I prefer the vernacular “Ignert Bill.”

Then again, a reader recently called me a “Kentucky treasure,” so I reckon I will hang around for a little longer, though only God knows how much time I have left.

What are some warranted and unwarranted names by which you have been known?

Readers may contact Bill Ellis at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

by Walt Reichert

Dying Trees and Sick Peaches, Oh My!

It’s question-and-answer month for the garden columnist. This year, in the (virtual) mailbag, I received a lot of questions about sick and dying trees, along with the usual concerns about diseases on everything from tomatoes to peaches to roses. I’ll try to answer as many questions as space allows.

QUESTION: My oak tree leaves were covered with little bumps this year. I never noticed those before. Will they eventually kill the tree?

ANSWER: Those little “bumps” are the egg cases of gall wasps, which lay their eggs on the leaf, and the surrounding tissue protects the larvae as they develop. They have probably been there every summer, although in some years, they are more common and noticeable than others. Leaf galls like those you saw do not harm the tree. Some gall wasps lay eggs on small branches, and those develop into galls that can choke off and kill the end of the branches. An infestation of those could, theoretically, kill the tree, but that would be rare. Regardless, there is not much you can do to deter gall wasps; spraying isn’t practical. Your tree should be fine.

Q: We just had a house built on a heavily treed lot. Now, I’m noticing that many of the trees, some of them very old, seem to be dying. Is there a disease going around that is taking out my trees? Anything I can do to help?

A: The “disease” is called a bulldozer. Construction equipment can cause considerable harm to established trees, usually in two ways. The heavy equipment often compacts the soil severely, cutting off oxygen to the roots. The trees typically live for a few years before they succumb to the oxygen-depleted soil.

Trees also are killed when, during construction, soil is piled over the tree’s roots. That, too, deprives tree roots of needed oxygen. Even a couple of inches of soil piled over a tree’s roots can kill it. If soil has been piled over tree roots, you may save the trees by raking away as much as possible. On a large lot, of course, that would be quite the task. If the tree is valuable, you might want to consult an arborist about your options. Trenching around the tree can get needed oxygen to the roots. As you might imagine, that’s not a cheap fix.

Q: I have a shady lot and can’t get a decent stand of grass. Are there grasses I can sow that will grow well under trees? I saw a bag of grass seed advertised as “growing well in shade.”

A: It’s true some grasses tolerate light shade better than others, but resign yourself that no grass will grow well under a canopy of large trees. People often don’t like my answer to the question, but I always say you can have one or the other: a good stand of grass or shade. You can’t have both.

Personally, I’ll take the shade. You can try growing shade-tolerant ground cover such as wild ginger or periwinkle, but getting a good stand of those can be challenging. Relax and sit a spell in the shade.

Q: We finally got peaches this year on our two peach trees, but almost all of them had gooey gunk oozing out of them, and most rotted before they ripened. What can we do to avoid this next year?

A: Believe me, I know it’s frustrating to finally get peaches (or plums or nectarines) because they escaped late frosts only to have them rot before we can eat them. Peaches have a lot of enemies, and you probably experienced two of the most common: plum curculio and brown rot.

The plum curculio is an insect that slits the skin of apples, peaches, pears and other fruits and lays its eggs. The wound on an apple is a moon-shaped scar; on a peach, the site oozes juices. Brown rot is the most common disease of peaches (and cherries, plums and nectarines) in Kentucky and is spread during rainy weather. Both insect and fungal damage can be controlled by timely spraying. I would recommend you contact your county Extension office and ask for its publications on backyard fruit spraying. Those spray schedules are geared to the amateur fruit grower and offer a calendar for spraying products that control insects and

diseases. Those schedules have organic options.

Q: I have a dogwood shrub—not the tree—and every year in mid-summer, it gets covered in white caterpillars. They eat almost all of the leaves, leaving it raggedy looking the rest of the season. What can I do to prevent that from happening next summer?

A: Dogwood sawflies are the wasp larvae, and they can quickly overwhelm redtwig, yellowtwig and other types of dogwood shrubs (which are great for pollinators, by the way). I’ve lost a couple of shrubs to the insects. Their populations explode rapidly. One day, you see a couple of the fuzzy white critters; a few days later, the shrub is covered with them. Start watching for them in mid-June, and as soon as you see a few, take action. An organic solution is to spray with insecticidal soap or spinosad (sold as Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew). Sevin or malathion sprays also will work, but don’t spray the shrub when it’s blooming; you don’t want to harm pollinators.

Q: I have watermelons in my garden for the first time ever. How do I know when they’re ripe?

A: Forget thumping. Doesn’t work. Watch for three things. When it’s ripe, the melon will go from a shiny green to a duller color. The change is subtle, but you can see it. Also, gently roll the melon over and look at the bottom. The “belly” will change from white to yellow or cream color. And the best sign is checking the pigtail tendril closest to the melon’s stem. When it turns brown and shrivels, the melon is almost always ripe.

Readers may contact Walt Reichert at editor@kentuckymonthly.com.

Uniting Kentuckians everywhere.

BY GARY GARTH

Elk and Bison

About 20 minutes before sunset, the early summer heat wave had—at last— begun to loosen its grip on the day at Golden Pond. According to the AccuWeather app on my aging iPhone, the temperature was 86 degrees (the “RealFeel” temp remained a sizzling 97). Humidity rested at a damp 84 percent. The waist-high prairie grass was hardly disturbed by the 2-mph south/ southeast breeze which, according to AccuWeather, occasionally gusted to 4 mph.

I clicked off the car’s AC, and my wife and I lowered the windows. We were on the 3.5-mile loop road that roughly circles the Elk and Bison Prairie, one of the centerpiece attractions of the 170,000-acre Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a 40-mile-long and 6- to 8-mile-wide federal property that separates Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. About one-third of the LBL property spills into Tennessee.

The Elk and Bison Prairie is a 700acre fenced enclosure just off U.S. 68/80 and about a half-mile north of the area’s Golden Pond Visitor Center. It is fully within the Kentucky section of the LBL.

The prairie opened in 1996 and has finally achieved the look and feel of the open prairie land that was largely absent of people but flush with wildlife (including elk and bison) that marked the region before settlers arrived. There is some timber, of course. But reintroduced Eastern gamma grass, switchgrass, Indian grass, Little Bluestem and other

warm-season grasses define the landscape. It’s a pretty place. Wildlife, of course, are what help bring the prairie to life. About 50 bison currently reside there, along with 40-50 elk. There are plenty of other animals, too—turkeys, coyotes,

rabbits, squirrels, skunks, deer, raccoons, hawks, eagles, songbirds, snakes, butterflies and more. While the area is fenced, the animals are free ranging. Hunting is not allowed. Most visitors come for the elk and bison.

Elk are large animals. An adult male can reach 800 pounds or more— four times larger than a whitetail deer. I’ve always found it stunning how little cover elk need to seemingly disappear. We’d hardly gotten inside the prairie when my wife spotted a head poking out of the chest-high grass near a low knoll. We slowed the car to a crawl and moved into a creek bed at the base of the knoll. I let the car roll to a stop. Two elk appeared out of the grass to our right, one nearly close enough to touch. These animals are no doubt accustomed to vehicular traffic (slow moving though it may be). But they are wild critters, not pets. Not even close to pets. Signs

warn visitors: “Do not approach wildlife.” It’s good advice.

A horsefly buzzed the elk (which appeared to be a young cow) that was grazing near our car, prompting her to bolt across the road and vanish into the grass. She disappeared in less time than it’s taken me to describe it. My wife and I looked around. We counted seven elk grazing quietly, all but one within 30 yards. They would appear out of the grassy cover then, hardly moving, seem to vanish into it.

I was surprised at the number. Animals are generally smarter than people when it comes to behaving sensibly in hot weather. They often feed and move at night. These elk were enjoying the approaching twilight.

Up the hill and near a spot that marks one of the highest points in the prairie, a large bull elk—its impressive freshly grown set of antlers in full velvet—stood near the roadside, grazing quietly and seemingly oblivious to the admiring humans who had stopped to gawk. The elk released at the prairie’s opening in 1996 were Rocky Mountain elk that had been transported from Elk Island National Park near Alberta, Canada. The prairie herd has since become self-populating and has been used for seed stock for other elk re-introduction projects, including a small free-ranging herd in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. More recently, 43 LBL elk were transported and released in West Virginia.

Elk that originally prowled lands east of the Mississippi River were Eastern elk, a subspecies of today’s Rocky Mountain elk transplants. The

difference between the two critters would have been subtle. It’s a moot point. Eastern elk are extinct. No one has seen one for more than 150 years.

We encountered a group of about 25 bison, including a few calves, grazing between a patch of timber along the creek and the road. Bison, sometimes called buffalo, can weigh up to a ton and are the largest land animal in North America. They often appear slow and clumsy. They are not. Bison can bolt into a sprint without cause or warning. They also can be aggressive, particularly if provoked. Prairie bison sometimes serve as traffic barriers, wandering onto the one-way road that loops through the prairie. When that happens, you wait, watch and wonder what the world was like when millions grazed and thundered across the Great Plains. Then in little more than a generation, they were nearly wiped out. By 1880, only a handful of bison remained. Today, North America is home to about 200,000. A few live here. Come see them, and don’t miss the elk.

The Land Between the Lakes Elk and Bison Prairie is open daily from dawn to dusk. Entry fee is $5 per vehicle, payable at the gate. Visitors must be in an enclosed vehicle. Bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrian traffic are not allowed.

The prairie is just north of the junction of U.S. 68/80 and Ky. 458, which is the north/south route through the Land Between the Lakes For more information, go to landbetweenthelakes.us or call the Golden Pond Visitor Center at 270.924.2233.

Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com.

Whatever your taste for adventure, London, KY is the ideal place to start. Because here, on the edge of the great Appalachia, surrounded by pristine forests, lakes, rivers and amazing history, unforgettable adventures begin right outside our door. VisitLondonKY.com.

Adventure’s Beginning!

LAUREL RIVER LAKE

North to Alaska

Sixty-seven of us set sail for Alaska in May in search of adventure in “The Last Frontier.” In Ketchikan, we found the infamous red-light district, but now, the 30 former houses of ill repute sell yarn, magnets and other trinkets, and homemade fudge. A store called Simply Salmon is the go-to for halibut.

In Juneau, we met indigenous people—the Tlingit—who now sell fudge and “authentic” Chinese-made souvenirs. The only bears I saw were the stuffed ones in the frontier bars, such as the Red Dog Saloon, which were devoid of anyone resembling Grizzly Adams or Jeremiah Johnson. I saw an eagle and maybe a whale’s fin, and a deer using a Victoria, British Columbia, crosswalk.

We climbed nearly 3,000 feet from Skagway to Fraser, British Columbia, on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, built between 1897-1900 for gold miners. There were no miners on my train. After the initial 1896 discovery, there was never enough Yukon gold to justify the Klondike Gold Rush or the hardships of the “Stampeders” and the 3,000 horses that gave the Dead Horse Trail its name. “The horses died like mosquitoes in the first frost and rotted in heaps,” wrote journalist Jack London (1876-1916), best known for his novel The Call of the Wild (1903). “…

They fell off the trail, what there was of it,” or the men “worked them to death, leaving them where they fell.”

Alaska was more than any of us expected. Photos cannot capture its beauty. Deep down, I wanted excitement—but no, even the weather was pleasant. There were no robbers or ruffians or raging bears. There were no avalanches or rockslides in our more than 2,000-mile roundtrip.

. . .

You seldom find adventure when you look for it, but if you are patient, it will find you.

Our drama began back in the safety of our four-star hotel in Seattle’s economic center. Four of us sat in high-back leather chairs. I sat next to my mother’s first cousin facing the bar. My wife, Kay, and Patti, an early employee of Kentucky Monthly, faced us.

“Outside. I need help,” we heard from the far side of the bar. Someone, we thought, was hurt outside, but we quickly realized any real danger was in the head of a man in high-end running attire. His hair was dark and neat. He was clean shaven, but his skin glistened with sweat. “Drink,” he roared. “Water.” He moved from the opposite side of the bar. “They’ve been chasing me all day. Don’t you understand? They’re going to hurt me, kill me.”

“Who?” asked the baritone-voiced bartender, passing him a water bottle.

“Don’t you understand? I need help.”

“Tell me how to help you. More water?”

“Please help me—they’re coming.”

“Who is?”

The young man turned from the bar and crossed the lobby toward the registration desk. “Call someone,” he said. “Please, call someone!”

The bartender attempted to hand him another bottle of water, but the man drew short of taking it. The bartender placed the bottle on the bar, and the man cowered like a spooked wolf. He started around to our side of the bar but was stopped from going fully behind it. At the sink, he splashed dishwater on his face and continued pleas for help. “Can anyone help me?” He made eye contact with my mother’s first cousin.

The bartender said, “We’re trying to help you.”

The man paused.

A hotel security guard approached the front of the bar and identified himself. “Who is trying to hurt you?” he asked.

“You don’t understand,” the man answered. “They’re going to kill me.”

“Who?”

As the security guard stepped forward, the man realized he was trapped between the guard and the

bartender. He looked back at us, maybe 10 feet away.

As he grabbed a bottle of Kahlúa, I took my cousin’s hand, hoping she’d stay still. I guessed he didn’t have a weapon, because why else would he choose a coffee liqueur? Patti and Kay, hidden by the high-back chairs, ducked behind a panel that divided the seating area from the bellmen’s stand near the main entrance. I sensed more movement might escalate the man’s confusion.

With the bottle, the man attempted to either break out the window or shatter the bottle. “Please don’t touch me. Don’t hurt me,” he said.

After three loud slams of the bottle, the bartender and guard stepped back,

and the man swung around. When he realized the bottle was unbroken, he laid it on the bar and lifted a stool over his head. “Help me,” he said. “Call the police. They know me.”

The first police officer arrived, identified himself and called the man by his first name. “I have my camera on, and I’m here to help,” the officer said.

When the policeman mispronounced the man’s last name, he corrected the officer and dropped the barstool, which crashed to the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the terrified look on my cousin’s face. His shoulders drooped.

A female officer arrived and asked the man to please go outside with her.

“You’re going to hurt me,” he said.

“No one is going to hurt you,” she said.

“Please don’t touch me,” he said, stepping forward slowly and following her outside.

As quickly as the excitement began, it ended.

We sat in disbelief. The manager broke the silence by telling us our beer nuts and soft drinks were on the house. “Would you like some fried pickles?” he asked.

Patti stepped back from behind the panel and quipped, “Scene and cut.”

Patti’s timing and delivery were flawless. The line was hilarious.

No one laughed.

Kwiz Answers: 1. B. 1816 by Colonel Lewis Sanders; 2. B. While Louisville is home to Louisville Slugger baseball bats and Bowling Green to Duncan Hines, the batter capital is Hopkinsville for producing 2 million pounds of flour per day; 3. C. Cave Run Lake is one of the top 10 muskie fishing locations; 4. C. Owensboro, home of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum; 5. C. Somerset, where Jim Sharpe is credited with building the first houseboat in 1953; 6. B. Beer cheese originated in Clark County nearly 75 years ago; 7. C. The Baseball Hall of Famer’s number was 7 during most of his 18-year career with the New York Yankees; 8. A. The event has nearly 150 international-themed arts, crafts and food booths; 9. B. The Kentucky Expo Center ranks sixth; 10. C. There are four toothpicks left in the box.

Members of the Kentucky Monthly group on the cruise donned their alma mater’s colors for a school spirit cocktail party.

Tom’s Elton Tribute Gateway Regional Arts Center, Mount Sterling, 859.498.6264

Ongoing

Tiny Pieces Vast Visions Exhibit

National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Aug. 9-Dec. 30, 270.442.8856

Ongoing Ground to Sky Exhibit

National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, through Sept. 15, 270.781.7973

Gardening for Pollinators & Wildlife

Mahr Park Arboretum, Madisonville, 270.584.9017

Dave Barnes with Steve Moakler in Concert

Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Louisville, 502.584.7777

County Fairgrounds, Madisonville, 270.821.0950

Amphitheater, Lexington, also Aug. 13, 859.425.2550

Buddy Guy: Damn Right Farewell Tour

Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Louisville, 502.584.7777

Corbin, through Aug. 10, 606.528.6390

Blue Licks Battle Reenactment

Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, Carlisle, through Aug. 18, 859.289.5507

Days Old Fort Harrod State Park, Harrodsburg, through Aug. 18, 859.734.2365

Author Nicholas Sparks Q&A

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, 606.324.0007 Bonsai Weekend

Waterfront Botanical Gardens, Louisville, through Aug. 24, 502.276.5404

Cirque du Soleil: OVO

Rupp Arena, Lexington, 859.233.3535

Kentucky Flea Market Spectacular

Kentucky Expo Center, Louisville, through Sept. 2, 502.367.5000

Woodland Park, Lexington, through Aug. 18, 859.246.7024

Avett Brothers Concert

MegaCorp Pavilion, Newport, 859.900.2294

Grand Rivers Arts and Crafts Show

Little Lake Park, Grand Rivers, through Sept. 2, 270.362.0152

BEREA COLLEGE IS

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Since 1855, Berea College has made a high-quality, debt-free education a reality.

BEREA COLLEGE IS

the state’s highest-ranked institution.

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National Liberal Arts College (Washington Monthly, 2023)

BEREA COLLEGE IS

invested in students of high potential and limited resources.

Free tuition :::: No-loan package for funded housing and meals :::: Free medical and dental clinic :::: Free laptop :::: Paid internships :::: Professional clothing funds :::: Subsidized study abroad :::: Gift of $500 upon graduation to begin post-college life.

Discover the meaning of Geared For Fun with rip-roaring good times waiting around every bend in the road. Whether you’ve got the need for speed or long for your next great outdoor adventure, Bowling Green, Kentucky, is just a short drive away.

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