March 2022 | Kentucky Monthly Magazine

THE GLORY OF THE GILDED AGE SHINES

IN OLD LOUISVILLE

MARCH 2022

with Kentucky Explorer

AND MORE ...

RIVER CIT Y GRANDEUR KY BLACK WRITERS COLLABORATIVE FROM COAL MINE TO COURTROOM KSU'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED'S KY LEGACY THE VOICE OF PATRICK WHITMER Display until 04/12/2022

www.kentuckymonthly.com

Where do jaw-dropping wonders and heart-pumping thrills stretch on for miles?

CHAINED ROCK OVERLOOK

Welcome to The Kentucky Wildlands, a vast unspoiled region filled with breathtaking natural landscapes and beauty, unique outdoor recreational adventures and one-of-a-kind cultural experiences unlike anywhere else.

Visit exploreKYwildlands.com to start your next great adventure.

This material is based upon work supported under a grant by the Appalachian Regional Commission to Eastern Ky PRIDE, Inc. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in the material are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

O N T H E C OV E R Old Louisville’s Pink Palace, photo by Pradip D. Patel

in this issue

26

MARCH D E PA R T M E N T S 2 Kentucky Kwiz 3 Readers Write 4 Mag on the Move 9 Across Kentucky

18 Nature and Neighborhood Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted left behind an extraordinary legacy in Louisville and beyond

10

38 Empowerment Through Expression The Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative helps members break through barriers to achieve writing goals

10 Cooking 45 Kentucky Explorer 56 Off the Shelf 58 Past Tense/ Present Tense 60 Gardening 62 Field Notes 63 Calendar 64 Vested Interest

26 Gilded Age Glamour in Kentucky The glory of the late 1800s shines in Old Louisville 32 Small But Mighty The Kentucky State University men’s basketball team shattered records and claimed championships 50 years ago

40 Relentless W. Ron Adams recounts his unlikely road to success with the hope of inspiring others to push through their own obstacles 42 A Winning Voice Public-address announcer Patrick Whitmer amps up the excitement at Bengals and Wildcats games k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 1

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

KENTUCKY MEETS HOLLYWOOD Celebrating the best of our Commonwealth

1. What was the setting for the 1938 movie Kentucky?

A. Elizabethtown B. Paducah C. Lexington 2. The Kentuckian, filmed in several areas of Kentucky, was made in what year?

A. 1955 B. 1960 C. 1965 3. Filmed partly in Kentucky, 1957’s Raintree County starred which well-known actress?

A. Grace Kelly B. Kim Novak C. Elizabeth Taylor 4. Where was the 1956 movie Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer made?

A. Mexico B. France C. Utah 5. Shot primarily in Lexington, what movie starring Kentucky native Lee Majors was released in 1979?

A. Kentucky Melody B. Steel C. Bluegrass 6. Coal Miner’s Daughter, filmed in several parts of Kentucky, told whose story?

A. Loretta Lynn B. Mary Todd C. Sissy Spacek

7. The movie In Country was based on the novel of the same name penned by what Mayfield-born writer?

A. George Ella Lyon B. Bobbie Ann Mason C. Kim Edwards

Stephen M. Vest Publisher + Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Patricia Ranft Associate Editor Rebecca Redding Creative Director

8. The 1997 film Fire Down Below focused on what?

A. Sinkholes B. Mammoth Cave C. A coal mine 9. What famous racehorse was featured in this 2003 movie based on the best-selling book of the same name?

A. Seabiscuit B. Secretariat C. Sir Barton 10. What 2005 movie was named for a Kentucky city?

A. London B. Elizabethtown C. Paducah

Deborah Kohl Kremer Assistant Editor Ted Sloan Contributing Editor Cait A. Smith Copy Editor

Senior Kentributors Jackie Hollenkamp Bentley, Bill Ellis, Steve Flairty, Gary Garth, Janine Washle, Kim Kobersmith, Walt Reichert, Joel Sams, Tracey Teo and Gary P. West

Business and Circulation Barbara Kay Vest Business Manager Jocelyn Roper Circulation Specialist

Advertising Lindsey Collins Senior Account Executive and Coordinator Kelley Burchell 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 $20 per year by

11. Which Triple Crown winner was featured in a 2010 movie, shot partly in Louisville and Lexington, starring Diane Lane?

A. Citation B. Secretariat C. Sir Barton

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KENTUCKY MONTHLY, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602-0559.

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12. The Hunger Games film series starred Louisville native Jennifer Lawrence and which other Kentucky-born actor?

A. Michael Shannon B. Josh Dallas C. Josh Hutcherson

“Kentucky Kwiz” courtesy of Karen M. Leet, author of Sarah’s Courage, a Kentucky historical novel, and co-author of Civil War, Lexington, Kentucky, historical nonfiction, both from The History Press.

2 KE NT U C K Y M O NT H LY MARCH 2 0 2 2

© 2022, Vested Interest Publications Volume Twenty-Five, Issue 2, March 2022

Carrie Hawkins, Jan and John Higginbotham, Frank Martin, Bill Noel, Michelle Jenson McDonnell, 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.

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Counties mentioned in this issue...

Readers Write Spirited Tale Louisville native Michael Noltemeyer’s cleverly written story “A Kentucky Christmas Carol” delighted our family and neighbors (December/January issue, page 64).

Hailing from Bardstown, the “Bourbon Capital of the World,” we felt a personal connection to Scrooge, Very Old Barton and the Kentucky spirits! We loved the article so much that we ordered several copies to frame for our entertainment!

Sue Brauch Thomas, Crestview Hills

Remembering the Big Top Thank you for Bill Ellis’ article about circuses (February issue, page 60).

It brought back one of my fondest childhood memories.

In 1940 or 1941 (give or take a year), while my family was visiting my grandmother in

Owensboro, the Clyde Beatty Circus passed in front of her home on West Main Street. The circus came into the city by rail and “parked” at the station on Frederica Street. From there, it paraded down Main Street and headed to vacant grounds in west Owensboro, where the circus tents were set up with the help of elephants pulling the long cables.

special connection with Owensboro, but I have not found information regarding this circus.

The parade included the performers in costume, animals in cages atop circus wagons, the circus band marching and playing, and elephants strolling along with their handlers.

I remember my mother taking me to the circus at the Louisville Armory.

Loved it!

I was 5 or 6 years old, but a memory that exciting is not easily forgotten. It took more than an hour for the parade to pass the house.

My parents later took me to the circus grounds to watch the raising of the tents.

I have another memory involving the Cole Bros.

Circus and another parade down Main Street. I believe the Cole Bros. Circus had a

I enjoy Kentucky Monthly and especially Ellis’ articles.

Charles Deusner, Dover, Florida

The Kentucky Gift Guide Kentucky Monthly is thrilled to partner with Kentucky Proud, bringing to your attention some of the finest handcrafted gifts and treats our Commonwealth has to offer.

I read Bill Ellis’ column in each issue. Since we are the same age, I can identify with all he writes.

John Kleber, Louisville Bill Ellis’ column about the circus reminded me of a story.

One New Year’s Day in the 1980s, we were driving across Missouri on U.S. Hwy. 60 and passed a farm that over-wintered circus animals. A trucker reported on his CB that he had just seen an elephant.

Another trucker responded, “Was it pink?”

Drink Local This handy guide to sipping in the Bluegrass State spotlights local breweries, wineries and, of course, distilleries. Discover unique ways to drink in Kentucky, creative cocktail recipes and more.

Betty Darnell, Taylorsville

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.

Find more at kentuckymonthly.com.

Use your phone to scan this QR code and visit our website.

C O N N E C T.

UNITING KENTUCKIANS EVERYWHERE. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 3

travel

MAG ON THE MOVE

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!

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.

Seely and Family FLORIDA (left) Seely Hunkler takes her Kentucky Monthly to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, every year. “The recipes are yummy!” she says. Seely’s parents, Chris and Vicki Hunkler, then bring her back to Paducah, where she enjoys the dog park in the summer.

Pre-COVID Cruise NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (right) Cape Coral, Forida, residents Allen and Cherrie Fincham, at left, formerly of Richmond, and Darrell and Wanda Valentine of Versailles are pictured at 1,000 Steps in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, while on a cruise in February 2020.

4 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2 0 2 2

These photos pre-date the COVID-19 outbreak, social distancing and mask mandates. Kentucky Monthly supports all safe travel measures.

Fun in the Sunshine State FLORIDA Steven and Annie Duckworth, Kentucky natives now living in Tennessee, soaked in the sun while on a trip to Perdido Key, Florida. Steven originally is from Versailles, and Annie hails from Princeton.

Fabulous Vegas

On the Border

LAS VEGAS

ARIZONA

Bruce Bancroft (not pictured) of La Grange took his wife, Marcy, on a trip to Vegas to celebrate her 50th birthday. “The trip was exciting,” Marcy wrote, “but I missed my old Kentucky home very much.”

Chase Smith of Letcher County visited Rancho de la Osa in Sasabe, Arizona. The scenic guest ranch is located on the Arizona side of the Mexico/United States border.

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 5

travel Kosher Cuisine NEW YORK CITY While attending the National High School Model United Nations in the Big Apple, Kentucky high school students and their chaperones paused for a snaphot in front of Katz’s Delicatessen, a nationally renowned deli featured in Seinfeld. From left are Chris Gootee (Bardstown), Reagan Trzop (Bardstown), Peter Trzop (Bardstown), Steven and Teresa Ray (Madisonville) and Iliana Deras (Madisonville).

Melba and Charles Hay INDONESIA The Richmond couple visited the exotic locale of Komodo Island, Indonesia.

South for the Winter FLORIDA Gary (not pictured) and Laurie Ryan of Louisville enjoyed their Kentucky Monthly gift subscription at their snowbird location, Safety Harbor, Florida.

6 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2 0 2 2

KENTUCKY GATEWAY MUSEUM CENTER 215 Sutton Street Maysville, Kentucky 41056 606-564-5865 www.kygmc.org Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm The Old Pogue Experience located in the limestone building on the corner of sutton & west 2nd Streets kygmc campus

KYGMC is home to several Steve White original paintings! Subjects include Simon Kenton, John Colter, Maysville's ship-building history and more.

Stop by Kentucky Gateway Museum Center to see these beautiful pieces!

"Simon Kenton Departing on a Spy Mission"

By Steve White

"Kenton Running the Gauntlet"

By Steve White

gatlinburg.com

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 7

travel The Holy Land ISRAEL This Owensboro group toured the Holy Land in Israel. Making the trip were, front from left, Carolyn Estes, Judy Dixon, Tom Dixon and Laura Bronn; middle row, Sandy Bugay, Susan Rouse and Elaine Williams; and back row, Gary Kirtley, Mark Rouse and Ron Williams.

Bea and Tony Frazier TENNESSEE Now living in Jasper, Alabama, the couple—who visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park—resided in Louisville and Hardinsburg for 27 years before retiring and moving south. Tony is a native Kentuckian.

Joyce Berndt JERUSALEM A Louisiville resident, Joyce is pictured at Dan Jeruselem Hotel overlooking the ancient city.

“Our tour was shortened by two days when the Tourism Bureau of Israel closed all sites,” Joyce wrote of her March 2020 visit. “Despite taking extreme cautions to avoid COVID-19, eight out of the 24 travelers tested positive when we returned home, including myself.”

8 KEN T U C K Y M O NT H LY MARCH 2 0 2 2

across kentucky

MARCH BIRTHDAYS 2 Denny Crum (1937), former basketball coach who led the University of Louisville to NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 3 Larry Stewart (1959), Paducah-born musician and singer 3 Tom Leach (1961), sportscaster, voice of the University of Kentucky Wildcats 6 Tori Murden McClure (1963), president of Spalding University and rowing explorer 10 Lance Burton (1960), Columbia-born, Shively-raised Las Vegas magician 10 Angela Correll (1966), author and preservationist from Stanford 14 Rick Dees (1950), Boyle County resident best known for the 1970s song “Disco Duck” 16 Chuck Woolery (1941), Ashland-born original host of Wheel of Fortune 17 William Stamps Farish III (1939), former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, owner of Lane’s End Farm near Versailles 18 Ciara Bravo (1994), Alexandria-born actress best known as Katie Knight on Big Time Rush 18 Tim Farmer (1964), host of the KET program Tim Farmer’s Country Kitchen 21 Ceila Ammerman (1983), fashion model from Cynthiana 22 William Shatner (1931), actor and horseman best known for Star Trek, who owns a Versailles horse farm 24 Emma Talley (1994), 2015 NCAA Women’s Golf Champion, LPGA golfer from Princeton 31 Greg Martin (1953), Kentucky Headhunters’ guitarist from Metcalfe County

Arts Awards Gov. Andy Beshear has announced the recipients of the 2021 Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Each year, the Kentucky Arts Council accepts nominations for the awards and coordinates the selection process.

The awards honor organizations and individuals who have made outstanding and significant contributions to the arts in the Commonwealth. The recipients are: The Milner Award (for outstanding philanthropic or other contributions to Fisherville artist Ann Klem designed the the arts) – James Gifford, Boyd 2021 Governor’s Awards in the Arts.

County; Artist Award – The Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers, Kenton County; Business Award – Paducah Bank, McCracken County; Community Arts Award – Butler County Arts Guild; Education Award – Jane Dewey, Boyle County; Folk Heritage Award – Sue Massek, Washington County; Government Award – City of Beaver Dam, Ohio County; Media Award – Louisville Public Media, Jefferson County; and National Award (for achievement of national fame in the arts) – Martha Redbone, Harlan County.

Nominations are accepted from organizations, businesses or individuals from within or outside Kentucky.

The awards will be presented virtually in ceremony later this year.

New Leader Dr. Joseph Hopkins has assumed the helm at Campbellsville University as the institution’s 12th president. Prior to coming to the school, Hopkins was dean of the School of the Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

His background includes performances in leading operatic roles, and he is an ordained minister.

In a video address to students and staff on Feb. 1, Hopkins expressed pride at being a part of the Campbellsville team. “OK, Campbellsville,” he said. “Let’s do this. Let’s work together. Let’s seek His direction and look forward to the high calling and journey ahead.”

A highly acclaimed Christian university with more than 12,000 students, Campbellsville offers 100-plus programs of study.

Lexington Summit Concordia is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes partnerships among governments, businesses and nonprofits to address the world’s needs. The annual summit was initiated in New York City in 2011.

From April 7-8, the Concordia Lexington Summit will bring together thought leaders with a clear focus on Kentucky and the United States, and their position on the global stage.

For more information, visit concordia.net/americas/lexington. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 9

cooking

Recipes provided, prepared and photographed by Janine Washle of Cloverfields Farm & Kitchen and K’s Café & Catering in Clarkson.

Emerald Isle

Delights

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is the anniversary of the death of the patron saint of Ireland. To many in that country, it is a religious holiday observed with solemnity, a holy day of obligation.

To other native Irish and especially to many Americans, the holiday is nonliturgical, marked by celebrating the shamrock, rainbows and leprechauns— popular symbols of Ireland.

Among the staples of Irish cuisine are potatoes, oatmeal and stout such as Guinness. Ireland was once a poor country, and the traditional recipes reflect the nation’s frugality.

A traditional Irish breakfast known as a fry is served with pork sausage, rashers (bacon), eggs, tomatoes and potato bread, which is what we know as a potato pancake.

Stout breweries abound in the country, and Guinness is one of the most popular. It is a rather contemporary notion to cook with Guinness, but the brew is popular in dishes such as Guinness Stew.

However you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, include some delicious recipes featuring budget-friendly potatoes, oatmeal and the stout of your choice.

10 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY M A R C H 2 0 2 2

Guinness Pot Pie SERVES 6-8 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 tablespoons butter 2 pounds boneless chuck beef, cut into 1-inch cubes 4 medium onions, chopped ¼ cup all-purpose flour 6 cups canned reduced fat, low-sodium beef broth 1 bottle Guinness Extra Stout 1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Brown Bread

1 tablespoon raisins

M A K E S O N E L A R G E LOA F

1 tablespoon tomato purée

This is a soft, sliceable soda bread

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste ½ pound (5 to 6 large) carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

½ pound (4 to 5 large) parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium turnip, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large eggs 2 tablespoons molasses

SODA BREAD TOPPING: 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking soda ¾ cup buttermilk

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meat and cook in batches, about 5 minutes per batch, or until the meat is lightly browned on all sides. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a large pot or Dutch oven that is oven proof.

2. Add onions to the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the flour and stir to coat the onions. Transfer to the pot with the meat, and add beef broth, stout, caraway seeds, raisins, purée, salt, pepper, carrots, parsnips and turnips. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over medium-low heat for two hours or until meat is fork tender.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Prepare soda bread topping by sifting together the flour, salt and baking soda.

Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Working around the bowl, draw the flour into the buttermilk, continuing with a circular motion until the dough comes together.

5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently. Add a little flour at a time if dough is very sticky. Pat the dough out to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out circles of dough using a 3-inch cookie cutter.

1¾ cups whole wheat flour ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons white flour 1½ teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup old-fashioned or quick oats 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a large loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, eggs and molasses.

Stir in both flours, baking soda, salt and oats. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle a few oats over the top of the batter if desired.

3. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

4. Remove pan from oven and allow loaf to cool in pan for about an hour.

Remove loaf from pan.

5. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

6. Place circles on top of stew, then place pot in oven for 30 minutes or until soda bread is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 11

cooking

Oatmeal Snack Cake M A K E S O N E 8 - I N C H CA K E 1 cup quick oats, uncooked 1¼ cups boiling water 1 cup oat flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature ³ cup light brown sugar, packed

2/

2 large eggs ½ cup plain yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest 2/ cup dark raisins, ³ optional

ORANGE GLAZE: 3 tablespoons orange juice 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted ¼ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest 1. Grease and flour an 8-inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir oats into boiling water and set aside.

2. Whisk together oat flour, wheat flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Stir yogurt, vanilla extract and orange zest into warm oatmeal.

3. Starting with dry ingredients, add ¼ to butter mixture, then 1/ ³ of wet mixture, then another ¼ of dry ingredients, etc., ending with dry. Stir in raisins. Spread batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake until the edges pull away from the pan sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 45-50 minutes. Internal temperature should read 175-180 degrees.

5. Meanwhile, combine orange juice, powdered sugar and orange zest for the glaze.

6. Remove cake from oven. Cool for 15 minutes, then spread glaze evenly over top of cake.

“Boxty on the griddle. Boxty in the pan. If you can’t make Boxty, you’ll never catch a man!”

Irish rhyme that speaks to the simplicity of the recipe >>>

12 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY M A R C H 2 0 2 2

Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes) SERVES 6 1 cup warm, unseasoned mashed potatoes 1¼ cups peeled and grated russet potatoes, squeezed dry ¾ cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup (approximately) buttermilk Vegetable oil 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, mix grated potato, flour, baking soda and salt into mashed potatoes.

Gradually stir in enough buttermilk until mixture is the consistency of firm mashed potatoes.

2. Heat a heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Brush lightly with vegetable oil. Drop 1 tablespoonful of potato mixture into skillet and flatten into a 2-inch round. Repeat, making three to five more rounds. Cook over medium heat until boxty is golden brown on bottom and slightly puffed, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until second side is brown, an additional 3 minutes.

3. Transfer to baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining potato mixture, brushing skillet with more oil as needed.

COOKING TIPS: This is an Irish breakfast treat commonly served with bacon and eggs, but it is delicious at any meal. If you make the boxty larger than 2 inches, you risk the grated potato not cooking thoroughly.

Shepherd’s Pie M A K E S T W O 9 - I N C H P I E S, O N E 1 0 - I N C H CA S T- I R O N S K I L L E T, o r O N E 1 3 x 9 x 2 - I N C H CA S S E R O L E D I S H M A S H E D P OTATO E S : 8 large or 12 medium potatoes Salt, to taste B R O W N G R AV Y: ¼ cup vegetable oil ³ cup all-purpose flour

1/

3 cups beef stock Salt and pepper, to taste FILLING: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 pound ground beef 2 cups grated carrots 1½ cups chopped onion 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup ¼ cup chopped parsley 1 tablespoon fresh thyme ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon salt

1. Peel, cube and place potatoes in a large pot filled with cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until potatoes are soft, about 25-30 minutes. If you don’t have a large enough pot, divide potatoes between two smaller pots and proceed. Drain water from potatoes and mash while hot. It’s OK if a few lumps remain. Season with salt and set aside.

2. While potatoes are cooking, make the brown gravy by whisking together oil and flour in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk mixture constantly until it reaches the color of peanut butter and smells toasted, about 15 minutes. This is called a medium-dark roux.

3. Pour in a cup of beef stock and whisk furiously. Pour in another cup and whisk until smooth. Pour in the last cup and whisk until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat until ready to use in filling.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For the filling, heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy sauté pan or skillet until it shimmers. Add beef and break up into pieces. Cook until no longer pink, about 7 minutes.

5. Stir in 1½ cups of brown gravy. Keep remainder of gravy warm to serve on the side. Stir in carrots and onions.

Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste or ketchup, parsley, thyme, pepper and salt.

6. Spoon a generous amount of mashed potatoes into the dish(es) of your choice. Spread potatoes with a rubber spatula over the bottom and up the sides of the dish, making about ¼-inch thickness of potatoes.

Spoon in the filling. Plop remaining potatoes over top of filling and gently spread out to edges of dish.

Run a large serving fork through the mashed potatoes to create a roughened texture.

7. Bake to set the pie and brown the top, about 20 minutes. Serve hot with the remaining gravy on the side. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 13

For more information on Louisville’s Olmsted Parks Conservancy, visit olmstedparks.org.

18 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

BY JESSE HENDRIX-INMAN

&

Nature Neighborhood Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted left behind an extraordinary legacy in Louisville and beyond

A

rare orchid grows in the shadows of a less-traveled area of Cherokee Park in Louisville. Hexalectris spicata, also known as Crested Coral Root, was found by Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s Team for Healthy Parks after an extensive invasive species removal project. The yellow-and-purple flowers favor the limestone cliffs near Alta Vista Road, an area where it’s a bit nebulous as to where the park ends and the Louisville Seminary property begins. In recent years, a sign above the cliffs advertised land for sale: a development opportunity with space to build more than 70 homes.

Cherokee Park is part of the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted, the founder of American landscape architecture.

Olmsted’s signature design concept is the park system, a network of neighborhood green spaces connected by parkways.

This concept was most fully realized in Louisville, the last and ultimate park system of Olmsted’s career and one of only four such Olmsted systems in the world. One might say Olmsted planted the roots of the city. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth, and his contributions are scheduled to be celebrated on a national level.

“The parks are so thoughtfully designed,” said Olmsted Parks Conservancy Board Chair Summer Auerbach. “The parkways connect the parks together and the city as well. This was a visionary project that changed the outcome of Louisville.”

The national Olmsted200 celebration invites people from across the country to celebrate their favorite Olmsted parks on social media. Share a photo or a story with #Parks4AllPeople and #CelebrateOlmsted.

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 19

Olmsted parks are community treasures for families across Louisville to gather and enjoy the outdoors.

20 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

Olmsted’s remarkable career began in 1856, when he partnered with English-born architect Calvert Vaux to enter a contest to design a park in New York City. Their Greensward Plan was announced as the winning plan in 1858 and went on to be the blueprint for Central Park. While Vaux had extensive experience with landscapes, Olmsted had never before designed a park.

Later, Olmsted’s reputation attracted the attention of the Salmagundi Club, a Louisville literary group that spearheaded the earliest efforts to establish Louisville’s public park system. The club’s efforts gained speed in 1890, when jurisdiction over all city parks was transferred to the newly formed Board of Park Commissioners. Andrew Cowan, a Salmagundi Club member, invited Olmsted to Louisville, convinced that Olmsted was the only designer who could do justice to the club members’ vision for public parks in the city.

Olmsted and his young associate, Henry S. Codman, sealed the deal at the Pendennis Club in 1891, having thoroughly impressed 20 prominent local citizens over dinner.

In addition to his work as a landscape architect, Olmsted was an abolitionist, conservationist and activist. He was a prolific writer and was hired by the New-York Daily Times (now The New York Times) in 1852 to report on slavery in the South. During the Civil War, he served as the first executive secretary of the United States Sanitary Commission, the precursor to the American Red Cross.

These unique experiences gave him a keen understanding of the intersection of environment, politics and society.

As a result, he advocated for inclusive and accessible parks for all people.

Chickasaw Park is one of the most remarkable testaments to this philosophy, having been created by the Olmsted firm for the Black community during the segregation era.

• • •

Earl Jones has been advocating for the Olmsted Parks since the late 1990s and now serves on the Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s Board of Trustees. He is particularly interested in focusing the conservancy’s efforts on Olmsted’s vision for the parks as

Hogan’s Fountain in Cherokee Park was created by acclaimed Louisville sculptor Enid Yandell; right, Frederick Law Olmsted.

equalizers for all people. “The parks are symbols of Louisville’s potential to return to its connections lost over the years—to heal what was lost due to neglect, disinvestment and redlining,” said Jones.

Olmsted believed parks should promote freedom and equality for park users while preserving the natural character of the land. As Louisville’s urban center grew denser, he understood only the wealthy had private gardens where they could escape the city’s pervasive noise and pollution. While the development of the “Big Three” anchor parks—Shawnee, Cherokee and Iroquois—formed the framework for Louisville’s park system, Olmsted placed great importance on small

urban parks because of their accessibility to inner-city residents.

Today, Olmsted parks continue to be major amenities for families across the city.

Olmsted’s final trip to Louisville was in March 1894. He retired in 1895 as his health declined, leaving management of the firm to his son, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.; his

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 21

Iroquois Park’s Scenic North Overlook

stepson, John Olmsted; and Charles Elliott. While the senior Olmsted emphasized natural areas, the younger designers were more open to active recreation spaces such as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Today, the Olmsted park system features a combination of rural retreats and urban green spaces that invite social opportunities. It is the perfect realization of Olmsted’s vision of the park system as a cultural landscape that connects nature and neighborhood.

The three signature parks offer different experiences. Iroquois beckons visitors to South Louisville with mature woodlands, rugged terrain and the signature Scenic North Overlook. Nearby, Frederick Law Olmsted Academies North and 22 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

South are namesake schools in the neighborhood. Shawnee Park features an expansive Great Lawn and offers river access where the Ohio River curves to the south and embraces the west end of the city. Cherokee Park meanders through the Beargrass Creek valley and offers impressive natural landscapes in the Highlands neighborhood.

The Olmsted system in Louisville consists of 17 parks in all, including the Big Three and a variety of neighborhood parks. Olmsted’s influence extends beyond the park system, including design work in corporate settings, country clubs, and even entire neighborhoods such as Anchorage in Louisville and Ashland Park in Lexington.

As an avid cyclist, Jones has a

profound appreciation for the park system. “You get a totally different view of the city when cycling,” he said. “There is a physical connection and engagement of the senses that give you a much greater appreciation for the logic of the park system that ties our community together.”

• • •

In 2020, Louisville’s Olmsted park system experienced unprecedented use. The COVID-19 pandemic closed all but essential businesses, and the parks offered safe havens across the city. Volunteers found more time than ever before to pull invasive honeysuckle from wooded areas.

Fitness groups moved their activities to the hills and lawns. Residents

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supported their favorite local restaurants by ordering takeout and setting up picnics. The quarantine seemed to shift everyone’s focus to the outdoors, and the park system was there to welcome us.

Even as the city rediscovered the value of the parks, there still was the matter of the land for sale near the rare orchids on Cherokee Park’s limestone cliffs. The park system is no stranger to the threat of development. John Swintosky, a prominent Louisville landscape architect with Louisville Metro Public Works, can list the ways that these historic parks have been endangered.

“Shelby Park was targeted to be the site of a school in the ’90s. Churchill Park was lost to development entirely.

Shawnee and Chickasaw are bisected

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Cherokee Park resident Norman Noltemeyer (at the podium) and his family gifted $8 million to Olmsted Parks Conservancy last year.

by a floodwall. Shawnee has a detention basin installed under the Great Lawn. The interstate was expanded through Cherokee Park … I could go on,” he said. “It’s essential for the community to buy in to these great assets. It would be a shame to let them slide into oblivion.”

About a third of the 25 acres for sale was treated as an extension of Cherokee Park, with trails and natural areas running through it.

Development would have removed these areas from public use and

The rare Crested Coral Root orchid that grows in Cherokee Park.

24 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY MARCH 2022

encroached into the park.

Fortunately, Cherokee Park neighbor Norman Noltemeyer stepped in to help. In late 2021, the Noltemeyer family made a gift of $8 million to Olmsted Parks Conservancy, which used the funds to purchase the property and save it from development. This year, the organization is poised to expand Cherokee Park with the first significant addition of land in more than 100 years.

“Just like city planners and Frederick Law Olmsted did for us in the late 1800s, the Noltemeyers had the vision and resources to protect this property for future generations,” said Olmsted Parks Conservancy President and CEO Layla George.

The Conservancy was created to advocate for the park system out of necessity. In the early 20th century, Louisville’s parks were thriving, and their influence inspired designs for civic institutions (examples include the grounds of the public library, the University of Louisville campus, and the landscapes of many private homes). By the 1980s, however, the parks were falling into disrepair, prompting concerned citizens to form “The Friends of Olmsted Parks,” which came together to try to breathe new life into these integral green spaces. In 1989, then-Mayor Jerry Abramson established a task force

that recommended the creation of Louisville’s Olmsted Parks Conservancy to protect and restore this great public resource.

Summer Auerbach’s family members have supported Olmsted parks for generations. A grove near Willow Pond in Cherokee Park pays tribute to her grandmother Minx Auerbach, who, as the first female director of a City of Louisville department, worked to ensure that everyone would have access to outdoor resources. Her grandfather was a history buff, and her father is a cyclist who started the Tour de Olmsted bicycle event.

“People have a sense of pride in their neighborhood parks, but what we want to emphasize is the importance of investing in the whole Olmsted Parks system,” Auerbach said. “It promotes connection and unity in our city.”

“We can never forget for whom this great design was created,” Swintosky said. “Olmsted made these parks for the people—for all people.

The parks interact with the public as great community treasures, and we must always protect them.”Q Photos by Jesse Hendrix-Inman, Matt Spalding (Crested Coral Root), Courtesy of Olmsted Parks Conservancy (Frederick Law Olmsted) and Courtesy of University of Louisville (Hogan’s Fountain).

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B Y T R AC E Y T E O

T H E G LO R Y O F T H E L AT E 1 8 0 0 S S H I N E S I N O L D LO U I S V I L L E P H OTO S B Y P R A D I P D. PAT E L

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nybody who’s seen HBO’s new period drama, The Gilded Age, is familiar with the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by America’s affluent New York industrialists in the late 1800s—a time of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity.

Ostentatious Victorians, especially the nouveau riche, advertised their wealth by building the largest, most extravagant mansions they could afford, preferably something that would overshadow their old-money neighbors.

But Gilded Age splendor didn’t end at New York’s borders. It also left its refined mark on Louisville. Nowhere is that more evident than in the city’s 45-block historic preservation district known as Old Louisville. With more than 1,400 stone and brick structures, the area has one of the largest collections of late Victorian architecture in the country.

To see the highlights, join a 90-minute outdoor walking tour guided by David Dominé, the owner of Louisville Historic Tours and author of several books about the neighborhood. “Many still considered Louisville a rough-and-tumble river city during the Gilded Age,” Dominé said. “In any case, a Victorian class system emerged in Kentucky, and those at the top enjoyed unbridled extravagances. The society pages and local papers abounded with stories of extravagant parties and social events.”

•

F O L LO W @ U 2 P H OTO G R A P H Y

On the tour, the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum never fails to elicit accolades from architecture enthusiasts. The stately three-story grand dame looms regally over her sister mansions on St. James Court, the city’s most prestigious address during the Gilded Age, a phrase coined by Mark Twain to describe the late 19th century. The opulent limestone house is known locally as Conrad’s Castle because an array of turrets and towers give it a medieval, fortress-like appearance. A moat would not be remiss. Unlike a drafty European castle, the seven-bedroom Conrad home was built in 1893 with all of the latest modern conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing.

This masterpiece of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture was designed to display the status of its French-born owner, Theophile Conrad, who made his fortune in the leather tanning industry.

Most of Old Louisville’s elegant homes are privately owned and rarely open for tours, so the ConradCaldwell House Museum offers a rare opportunity to see the interior of one.

Many people return after the walking tour to admire the intricately carved staircase and glowing stained-glass windows. For more information on the museum, visit conrad-caldwell.org.

As Dominé leads the tour to the next stop past rows of scarlet azaleas, he provides a little background on Old Louisville’s origins. During the Southern Exposition—a series of

World’s Fair-like events held in Louisville from 1883-87—everything in what is now Old Louisville was brand new. The area was a bustling hub of innovation and technology that attracted visitors from around the globe.

At night, the grand spectacle was illuminated by thousands of incandescent lightbulbs, Thomas Edison’s new invention that wowed the crowds. The Southern Exposition lights explain why Old Louisville was one of the first electrically lighted neighborhoods in the nation.

Paradoxically, part of the area’s charm today comes from flickering gas lamps.

The sprawling exposition hall that stood in St. James Court is long gone, but what remains are the grand houses of the bourbon barons, tobacco titans and racetrack royalty who once resided there.

• • •

Victorian homes in some cities often look alike, but Old Louisville has a diversity of architectural styles—Italianate, Victorian Gothic, Georgian Revival, Beaux-Arts and more. Because Victorians loved fancy architectural embellishments, you could take the tour a dozen times and see a new detail—a gargoyle or a fleur de lis relief panel—every time.

“What makes the neighborhood unique is that every house is different than the one next door,” Dominé said.

“There are no cookie-cutter houses.”

In the mid-20th century, the area went through a period of decline. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 27

For more information on Louisville Historic Tours, visit louisvillehistorictours.com.

T H E C O N R A D - CA L D W E L L H O U S E M U S E U M

Many homes were boarded up or divided into apartments. Some were lost to the ruthless wrecking ball of urban renewal in the 1960s. When Old Louisville became a historic preservation district in the 1970s, revitalization efforts began, and eventually the neighborhood was restored to its former glory.

Dominé points out the Pink Palace, a circa 1890 house that, except for its imposing size, resembles a child’s princess playhouse. It was never 28 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

meant for children, though. Originally red brick, it was a gentlemen’s club and casino where elite businessmen could sip their favorite bourbon and woo lady luck at the card tables.

When the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, one of the driving forces behind Prohibition, moved its headquarters into the Chateau-style building in the 1920s, the group wiped away its sinful past with a coat of pink paint. It is now a private residence.

Many early residents of Old

Louisville had interesting lives to go with their interesting houses.

For example, the widely lauded literary couple Cale Young Rice and Alice Hegan Rice lived in a 1910 NeoColonial Revival house where, according to Dominé, they entertained John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway long before they were Pulitzer Prize-winning novelists.

Alice was best known for her 1901 best seller Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, a social commentary based on

S TAY I N O L D L O U I S V I L L E

Be Gilded Age royalty for a weekend. Book a room at one of the mansions-cum-B&Bs on the tour, and you’ll be surrounded by the glamorous vestiges of a bygone era.

DUPONT MANSION

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The DuPont Mansion, a three-story Italianate-Renaissance gem, was built by the Delaware DuPonts in 1897. Today, it’s a bed and breakfast loved for its soaring ceilings, Italian marble fireplaces, and an eyecatching mural in the parlor.

SAMUEL CULBERTSON MANSION

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her work in Louisville’s lower-income Cabbage Patch neighborhood that illuminated the divide between the haves and have-nots. The novel was made into several films, one starring Shirley Temple.

Madison Cawein, a poet known as the “Keats of Kentucky” lived in a two-story Greek Revival home from 1907-12. Graceful curves created by a half-moon, colonnaded entry and a rounded bay window make the house seem more inviting than some of its

colossal neighbors.

Perhaps something about the area sparks writers’ creativity because another well-known author lives there now. Sena Jeter Naslund, the 2005-06 Kentucky poet laureate, is the author of the 1998 critically acclaimed best seller Ahab’s Wife: or, The Star-Gazer.

Across from Naslund’s St. James Court home is a landmark of Old Louisville, an elegant fountain depicting Venus rising from the sea. Recast in the 1970s, the fountain served as

If you’re in town for the Kentucky Derby, soak up a little Derby history at the Samuel Culbertson Mansion on Third Street. Samuel Culbertson, the home’s original owner, was president of Churchill Downs and launched the tradition of placing a garland of roses on the winning thoroughbred, leading to the expression “Run for the Roses.” Some of the earliest Derby balls were held in the palatial 20,000-square-foot home Culbertson shared with his wife, Louise Craig Culbertson, and their two sons. Six guest rooms feature luxurious canopy beds and period furniture befitting a Gilded Age industrialist or socialite. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 29

A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City At 1435 South Fourth Street stands an old red brick house that David Dominé almost bought years ago but is oh-soglad he didn’t. There have long been stories of haunted houses in Old Louisville (Dominé also guides a haunted tour in the neighborhood), but the “murder house” has a dark story that’s far more frightening than the ghosts of sobbing ladies and ragged children.

In a nutshell, the body of drag queen and drug dealer Jamie Carroll was found buried in the dirt-floor basement of the house in 2010, and the two men who lived there, Joseph Banis and Jeffrey Mundt, were accused of Carroll’s murder.

The sordid tale so intrigued Dominé that he wrote a truecrime mystery about it, A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City. (The title references Louisville as home to a large manufacturer of disco balls.) Dominé follows the trials of Banis and Mundt while offering an unexpectedly humorous glimpse of Old Louisville’s most colorful characters.

inspiration for the setting of her 2013 novel The Fountain of St. James Court: or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman.

Some of the most stunning houses are on Third Street, known as Millionaire’s Row. Bourbon merchant Samuel Grabfelder built a stone Beaux-Arts mansion that’s a standout for what it lacks. There’s no steep, multi-faceted roof adorned with turrets and towers. The symmetrical house has a flat roof, and its grandeur comes largely from its size and an array of sculpted wreaths and garlands in the spaces between the third-story windows.

• • •

Dominé leads the group through Central Park, a 17-acre green space that heralds the arrival of spring with blooming dogwoods and redbuds.

30 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

Designed by pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York, the park was formerly called DuPont Square because it was part of the DuPont family’s country estate (see related story on Olmsted beginning on page 18). In the 1870s, the family opened the grounds to the public, providing not only a bucolic oasis from the noise and grime of the city but also entertainment, including concerts and fireworks.

The scene in the late 19th century may have resembled “A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte” (18841886), George Seurat’s famous painting that depicts bustled ladies with parasols and gentlemen in top hats relaxing in a suburban park near Paris. Today, the park is best known as the home of the long-running Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.

For a more private outdoor space, Floral Terrace is a “hidden” pedestrian courtyard off Sixth Avenue that has all the charm of a secret garden. Oblivious passersby stroll right past the iron gate, perhaps believing it to be private property.

Those in the know follow a welltrodden brick walkway shaded by fragrant magnolias to a bench by the fountain. It’s the ideal spot to admire the cottage-like houses that flank the courtyard and small front yards carpeted with periwinkle. These Victorian homes don’t have the size and grandeur as some of the others, but they still have points of interest.

Dominé said that he never tires of introducing visitors to the neighborhood he loves. “It’s not just a treasure for Louisville and Kentucky.

It’s a national treasure,” he said. Q

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 31

Rip Rhorer/Frankfort State Journal photo

The Kentucky State University men’s basketball team shattered records and claimed championships 50 years ago

The Team’s Big Man: Elmore Smith uses his long reach to block a shot.

32 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

BY JARRETT VAN METER

Small But

Mighty A

burger and a Coke, that’s all they got. While calorically dense, it was small enough proportionally not to weigh them down. Meals were always waiting for them ahead of time, for game days were about efficiency and detail, and nobody was as organized as Coach. After fueling up, the players made their way across campus to the 3,000-seat Bell Gymnasium and filed into the small locker room.

Everybody dressed and made individual preparations.

Travis Grant got his ankles taped. Point guard Jerome Brister huddled the guards together to go over assignments. They could hear the gymnasium, already full and rocking, on the other side of the wall. The band was cued up, the standing-room-only crowd in a frenzy.

After the players were dressed, they marched 20 yards down the corridor to the equipment closet. It was cramped and musty, but nobody spoke; nobody stirred.

Coach Lucias Mitchell was a thin, bespectacled man. He dressed in nice suits and drove a Cadillac Eldorado, but when it came to basketball, he was elemental, a force of nature. Mitchell entered the room to reverent silence. He reviewed the game plan and delivered a final exhortation.

Then, it was show time.

Once the ball was tipped, the game was on. Opponents struggled to get the ball across midcourt, past the Thorobreds’ vaunted 2-2-1 press that was as willowy as Spanish moss and unrelenting as kudzu. Grant and William Graham were in the front, using their height— both at around 6-foot-8—to force opposing guards to

throw the ball over them. Guards Jerome Brister and Jerry Stafford were the second line, using their quickness to swoop in and intercept the passes lobbed over Grant and Graham’s outstretched, tendril-like arms. If the other team was able to break the press and make it into the front court, they’d have to contend with the big man, Elmore Smith, who, at 7 feet tall, was still so quick that he was known to catch flies out of the air. Smith would either swat or alter the opponent’s hurried shot, snatch up the rebound, and zip the ball out to his guards to head the other way for two points.

On the surface, it seemed a simple formula: Great players and an up-and-down style of play that utilized their physical advantages. But it went deeper than basketball. From 1970-72, Kentucky State University, a small-but-mighty member of the close-knit group of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), won three consecutive NAIA national championships. The Thorobreds shattered records and stole the heart of Kentucky’s capital city. More importantly, they built a bond so authentic and so fortified that it is even stronger today than it was in Frankfort 50 years ago.

• • •

The team congregated outside of New Men’s Dorm just as the morning warmth was gathering itself and preparing to fledge into midday swelter. It was September, with no basketballs in sight. The Thorobreds ran the crosscountry course winding from the dorm up to the football

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 33

“He taught us how to be a family ...”

In the early 1970s, there was little doubt as to the Thorobreds’ claim to being No. 1, as the players’ gestures indicate; opposite page, far right, the close-knit team contines to get together every year.

stadium—nearly 5 miles—as Coach Mitchell drove behind them to monitor their pace. When they reached the stadium, the real workout began. Pullups on the crossbar of the goalpost, sprints on the field, and, before they could head back to shower, a few trips up and down the stadium steps for good measure. Then, with their drenched cotton T-shirts clinging to them like spandex and their legs wailing in pain, they’d walk back to the dorm together.

“I never got used to that in all the four years I was there,” Grant said. “That was something I was glad when it was over. All in one day at one time.”

That was pre-season. Come winter, the team members moved inside for three-hour practices. Drill after drill after drill, each one scripted out to the minute by Mitchell.

When the final whistle blew, there was time for a quick bite before homework and sleep. The next day held full class loads and three more hours in the gym.

“You didn’t have anything left,” Graham said. “All you wanted to see was a bed, and sometimes you might think about taking a shower. It was tough times … but it was all good because we saw where it was paying off each and every year. We were getting better and better.”

Kentucky State posted a 2-19 record the season prior to Mitchell’s arrival in 1968. Mitchell enforced his will from day one and guided the Breds to a 10-15 record in his first season in Frankfort. By the fall of 1969, the transformation

34 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

was complete. Mitchell had taken a program that was in disarray only a few years prior and built a winner. He found Smith—a raw, unheralded big guy from Macon, Georgia—and turned him into college basketball’s most prolific rebounder and most feared shot blocker. He gave Grant—a high-scoring forward from tiny Clayton, Alabama—the freedom and confidence to shoot from anywhere and become college basketball’s all-time leading scorer at any level.

He became a father figure to Brister, a Cleveland native who learned about the university when the KSU choir visited his church. Brister asked the choir director to help him land a walk-on tryout at the school. He made the team, earned a starting spot, and became a conduit between Mitchell and the star-studded lineup.

“My take on it is always me, Elmore, Travis and Graham—we wasn’t supposed to be there,” Brister said.

“The fact that we got together—and with Stafford, too—to form a great team, it was by accident.”

Averaging more than 100 points per game, the Thorobreds lost only three games during the 1969-70 season and entered the 1970 NAIA tournament as a fourseed. The grueling event, held in Kansas City, required a team to win five games in as many days. But no team was better prepared for the physical demands than the Thorobreds. The young group from the Bluegrass State gutted out four wins of 10 points or fewer to win its first

national championship. Fans greeted them back in Frankfort, as did the mayor. It was a celebration, but then it was back to work. Work-work.

Summer vacation offered no reprieve from the grind of the season. Smith went home to Georgia and got a job hauling refrigerators and other appliances. Graham worked in a steel mill back in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Grant spent that summer in Frankfort taking classes; he had worked buffing floors at a school in Rochester, New York, a year prior. These jobs gave them strength, for Coach Mitchell’s conditioning program did not include weightlifting. Running, yes, but no lifting.

The team returned to campus in the fall of 1970 stronger and with their championship lineup largely intact. They were no longer the upstarts, entering the season as the nation’s top team, losing just two games during the season, and arriving at the 1971 NAIA tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Thorobreds cruised to double-digit wins in all five of its matchups in Kansas City, each game played in front of a hearty contingent of KSU fans who had made the trip.

That looked like the end of the magical run. Graham and Brister graduated. Smith was selected with the third overall pick of the 1971 NBA Draft. Home games were moved from Bell Gymnasium to the downtown Civic Center. But Grant was still in town and Stafford, too. So again, in 1971-72, Kentucky State dominated. Smith was in

Buffalo, New York, when he got a call from one of his new teammates. “Turn on the television,” the friend said.

“Travis is facing off against George Gervin.” Smith tuned in to watch Kentucky State host Eastern Michigan.

“And Travis scored 18 points in the first half and 50 in the second half,” Smith remembered with a laugh.

Led by Grant, Stafford and transfer Sam Sibert, Kentucky State rolled into Kansas City in the spring of 1972 with momentum. Grant scored 60 points in an opening-round thrashing of Minot State, and the threeseed Thorobreds vanquished top seeds Stephen F. Austin State and Wisconsin-Eau Claire to secure the three-peat.

“Coach Mitchell said that that was the sweetest one because we weren’t expected to do that,” says Grant, who earned the Lapchick Trophy as The Sporting News College Basketball Player of the Year, making him the first smallcollege player to win the honor.

• • •

There was more success after graduation. Smith and Grant enjoyed fruitful professional playing careers before Smith went into the restaurant business and Grant into education. Graham went on to coach at KSU and serve as the school’s athletic director. Brister enjoyed a successful career in the mortgage loan industry with Fannie Mae. There are kids and grandkids now. Yet despite life’s winding course, they make time to get together every year, k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 35

Star Thorobred Travis Grant graced the cover of the KSU men’s basketball media guide.

36 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

without fail. Locations change— Tampa, Atlanta, Virginia Beach— but they all show up.

They bring their families, watch the NBA playoffs, eat good food, and tell stories. They talk about the championship wins and the close losses. Someone always tells the story about when the team got locked out of the dorm building and Coach Mitchell had to kick the door in. They invariably rib Brister for not passing them the ball more. They reminisce about their time living on the top floor of New Men’s Dorm, the brutal workouts, and their coach, who passed away in 2010.

“Man, I tell you, sometimes you wish you could just call him up to be able to talk to him,” Smith said of Mitchell. “He taught us how to be a family. We were a united group of guys that served the same purpose … At the time, it was tough, but when you look back, you really appreciate what he put us through.”Q

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BY EUGENIA JOHNSON-SMITH

Empowerment Through Expression The Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative helps its members break through barriers to achieve their writing goals

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mid the Black Lives Matter protest, voices were raised, and shouts for justice were heard all over the nation and around the world. The killing of Breonna Taylor sent shock waves through the hearts of people nationwide. We will never be the same, and we will never forget her name. The protesters marched and chanted. Toes were stepped on. Corporations large and small listened and took notice.

The staff and the board of Lexington’s Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning heard the cry and reflected on their own policies and operations. They realized that, though their classes are available to all writers, many Black writers face financial and cultural barriers.

In support of Carnegie’s mission of “empowering people to express their voices,” Black residents of Kentucky were invited to take free writing classes, and the center put in place a robust anti-discrimination policy.

The Carnegie anti-discrimination statement is read at the beginning of every class. The center established the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative (KBWC) to support the state’s Black writers.

The center hired Claudia Love Mair to serve as the KBWC’s coordinator, and the collaborative launched in October 2020. The author of 11 books, Mair holds a master of fine arts degree from Spalding University in Louisville. She is a writing teacher and a mentor at the Carnegie Center. “The goals of KBWC are to amplify the voices of Black writers at every level, from journal scribbler to the well-established published writer,” Mair said. “[The collaborative is] to support and educate writers, and celebrate their work.”

One of Mair’s greatest accomplishments as coordinator is that she has recruited nearly 100 KBWC members, many of them fully engaged and attending classes and events.

Mair was instrumental in arranging the “Say Her Name”

memorial reading event on March 13, 2021, to commemorate Breonna Taylor. Held on the first anniversary of Taylor’s death, it was one of the highestattended virtual events sponsored by the Carnegie Center since the beginning of the pandemic. The reading featured notable writers Silas House, George Ella Lyon, Frank X Walker and others, who inspired attendees with poetic verse in honor of Taylor.

• • •

On March 12, the Carnegie Center will host the dedication of an interactive sculpture by Lexington artist Kiptoo Tarus. Commissioned by the KBWC, the art project was influenced by the death of Taylor and is titled “At the Clearing.” With a name inspired by Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, “At the Clearing” makes space for our collective grief. Folks will gather at the Carnegie Center to grieve, bear witness, and commit to working to prevail in the struggle for justice, especially for unarmed African Americans who have been killed. The 7-9 p.m. event is free and open to the public.

KBWC will offer a year-long community series of special events focused on the “At the Clearing” project.

People will gather quarterly at the Carnegie Center’s SkyDome Gallery to read messages placed inside Tarus’ interactive sculpture. After a year, the wooden sculpture will be moved to its permanent outside location on the center’s grounds. “I believe this project will be the highlight of what the KBWC has achieved thus far,” Mair said.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Tarus obtained his bachelor’s degree in illustration in 2008 from the University of Nairobi. He then attended the University of Kentucky, where he studied sculpture. His work can be seen in and around Lexington. Q

Membership in the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative is free and open to any Black writer in the Commonwealth.

For more information, contact Claudia Love Mair at Claudia@CarnegieCenterlex.org or visit carnegiecenterlex.org.

38 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative Coordinator Claudia Love Mair

Meet the Folks Behind

KBWC Claudia Love Mair Coordinator Mair is available to answer questions about the KBWC and can guide those interested in learning how to make the best of Carnegie Center offerings.

IF YOU G O:

Patrick Mitchell photos

CLAUDIA@CARNEGIECENTERLEX.ORG

“At the Clearing” Dedication, March 12, 7-9PM Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, 251 West Second Street, Lexington 859.254.4175 / / CA R NE GIEC E NT E R L EX.O R G

Monet Proctor Registration Proctor can help writers join the KBWC and benefit from the program.

MONET@CARNEGIECENTERLEX.ORG

JC McPherson Poet and Instructor McPherson can help writers explore their creative writing interests and find classes that fit their needs.

JUDE@CARNEGIECENTERLEX.ORG

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 39

Relentless W. Ron Adams recounts his unlikely road to success with the hope of inspiring others to push through their own obstacles

BY JACKIE HOLLENKAMP BENTLEY

I

t was March 17, 1977. It didn’t look good for W. Ron Adams that day.

A coal mining accident left him with a broken neck and contemplating a lifetime confined to a wheelchair. He could have resigned himself to an existence of self-pity.

Instead, 45 years later this month, he will release his memoir, Coal Mine to Courtroom: A Quadriplegic’s Memoir of Relentless Faith, Courage and Eternal Success.

“When I got hurt and was getting ready to turn 20, they were saying, ‘Well, your life is over as you know it,’ ” Adams said in a video call with his co-writer, Fred Anderson. “It’s like, I’m not thrilled about where I’m at, but I’m a little young for it to be over.”

Four decades later, Adams runs a prominent law firm in Erlanger and works to inspire others to push through life’s obstacles. “I didn’t want to write a book to say I wrote a book,” he said. “But I believe God takes everything in your life and uses that for your own journey. Part of the reason, I believe, that I’m in the chair still is because I’m supposed to use where I am to help other people who are similarly situated or who need to have some perspective change in their own world.”

• • •

40 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

Following the initial chapter describing the accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, the book highlights Adams’ childhood in St. Charles (Hopkins County), Uniontown (Union) and Dawson Springs (Caldwell). It was at Dawson Springs High School where Adams made a name for himself as a standout basketball player, even landing a scholarship to Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg. When an ankle injury his freshman year forced him to sit out the season, he went back home and took a job in a Uniontown coal mine to raise money to finish college. That’s when he suffered a broken neck in the mine accident and vowed not to give up hope but to fight through life, doing what he needed to do to “go forward.”

“I just kept on, one step at a time.

That’s all I could do,” he said. “[With] each degree I collected I thought, ‘Now can I make a living?’ and the answer was ‘No’ on a bachelor’s degree and ‘No’ on a master’s degree.”

Adams went on to law school and subsequently opened his own law firm. “I opened the door and put my shingle out there and typed one finger at a time for about a year, and it slowly got better and better. Thirtyfive years later, I’m an overnight success,” he said.

The stories about what happened during those 35 years—some comical, some heartbreaking, some even cringy—are related in the memoir with such raw honesty that Adams includes a disclaimer in the introduction: “My intention is not to offend readers or air dirty laundry, but merely to tell my story as honestly as possible, warts and all …

In some cases, my opinions, as described in this book, were based on youthful ignorance or human imperfection.”

Some of those stories include tales of people who have come in and out of his life, and Adams does not paint some of them in a positive light. “I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble, but they may or may not like everything I said,” Adams said. “But everything I said was the truth—at least as I saw it.”

• • •

Anderson, who brought Adams’ tales to life, said he couldn’t tell the story of Ron’s life without relating some of the negative aspects. But he also didn’t want the book to be a “woe is me” account of his friend. “I wanted his sense of humor to come through,” Anderson said. “Ron is a funny guy, and he doesn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself. I wanted his personality to come through.”

Meet the Author

W. Ron Adams with his wife, Connie, on their honeymoon; left, Adams as a standout basketball player at Dawson Springs High School

The two began working on the book roughly three years ago.

Anderson said they could have had it ready for publication last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused several delays. “It ended up being a blessing in disguise because if we had finished the book when we originally wanted to, I don’t think it would have had as many interesting little anecdotes as it does now,” Anderson said. “[Ron and I] would be talking and think we’re just about finished with it, and then he and I would have

a casual conversation, and he would tell me some story that I hadn’t heard before. I would say, ‘We probably gotta put that in the book.’ ” Adams admitted that he’s “done a lot of crazy things” and wanted to share “the good, bad and ugly” with the hope that he could help others.

“Sometimes, it seems better to add more discretion than valor. But I really hope that when people read that, they’ll be able to relate to something, because perspective is everything,” he said. “ ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ as they say.”

Adams continues to practice law in northern Kentucky but admits to “slowing down some”—working 50-hour weeks instead of his usual 70-hour pace. He has no plans to retire.

“We are always looking to see if the grass is greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed,” he said. “As long as I’m of some value to somebody, I’m going to keep plugging along.” Q

W. Ron Adams will sign his new book, Coal Mine to Courtroom: A Quadriplegic’s Memoir of Relentless Faith, Courage and Eternal Success, at several locations. Here are a few: Roebling Point Books & Coffee March 16, 5-6:30PM 306 Greenup Street Covington, 859.292.1560 ROEBLINGPOINTBOOKSANDCOFFEE.COM

Joseph-Beth Booksellers March 21, 7PM 2692 Madison Road Cincinnati, 513.396.8960 JOSEPHBETH.COM

Southern Kentucky Book Festival March 26, 9AM-3PM Knicely Conference Center 2355 Nashville Road Bowling Green SOKYBOOKFEST.ORG

Carmichael’s Books April 8, 6PM 2720 Frankfort Avenue Louisville, 502.896.6950 CARMICHAELSBOOKSTORE.COM

Joseph-Beth Booksellers April 18, 7PM 161 Lexington Green Circle Lexington, 859.273.2911 JOSEPHBETH.COM

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 41

B Y G A R Y P. W E S T

A Winning Voice Public-address announcer Patrick Whitmer amps up the excitement at Bengals and Wildcats games

C

incinnati Bengals and University of Kentucky Wildcats fans may notice the public-address announcer’s voice sounds familiar. That’s because Patrick Whitmer holds that role for both the Bengals and Wildcats men’s basketball home games.

And the crowd goes wild. For 15 years, Whitmer has announced for nearly every UK game and last year joined the Bengals just in time for a run that placed the team in Super Bowl LVI. Fans probably don’t know that, when that voice is not energizing the crowd at Paul Brown Stadium or Rupp Arena, it might be overheard at Independence Bank in Owensboro. “I’ve got a pretty good seat for sure,” said the 52-year-old Whitmer. “There hasn’t been a game that I haven’t been excited about doing in all of the years I’ve been doing it.”

A Russellville native, Whitmer describes himself as a sports nut, though he didn’t play. “In high school [where he was class valedictorian], I worked part time at WRUS on weekends doing whatever needed to be done, and often, it meant getting football and basketball scores,” he said.

When Whitmer attended Transylvania University in Lexington, he continued the sports gig. “They needed a PA

42 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

man for their women’s games, and even though I had never done it, Don Lane, the men’s coach, gave me a chance. Halfway through the season, I also began working the men’s games.”

Whitmer graduated from Transy in 1992 and, two years later, obtained an MBA from UK. He went to work for a Lexington accounting firm, which gave him time to continue announcing the Transy games. In the meantime, he hooked up with Lexington radio station WVLK and became friends with radio icons Ralph Hacker and Tom Leach.

Whitmer left radio in 2001, and in 2004, his “day job” required him to move to Louisville. Two years later, he lived in Cincinnati, employed by a CPA firm and later a bank.

In 2007, UK decided to make a PA change at Rupp Arena.

The decision-makers knew Whitmer. He had filled in a few times, and they liked his style and the excitement in his voice for the Wildcats. “I know my audience … 24,000 people who know the game,” said Whitmer, who arrives two hours before every game. “I do my research, go over the pronunciation of names with visiting coaches and sports information directors. The worst thing I can do is mess up a name. When in doubt, I keep my mouth shut, and I never want to say anything disrespectful of the other team.”

• • •

Things were about to change once again for Whitmer.

“I got a call from Independence Bank in Owensboro looking for someone with my skill set in the banking business,” he said.

“I wasn’t looking to move, but this looked like such a

good fit. The bank was on the move, too—really growing—and I wanted to be a part of their movement.”

Whitmer was familiar with the area. His dad grew up in Bremen, 35 miles south of Owensboro, and family visits were enough for him to realize that Daviess County would be an excellent place to live and work.

Making the trip to Lexington for Wildcat home games 20 times a year during the week and on weekends hadn’t been an issue from Cincinnati, but how would it work with a nearly three-hour drive each way from Owensboro? “The bank has been so accommodating with my schedule,” he said. “They see value in one of their employees having such a high-profile gig. I’m most appreciative.”

In the spring of 2021, Whitmer’s phone rang again. This time, it was the Bengals on the line. “They wanted to change up the fans’ game-day experience. Someone in the Bengals organization had heard me at Rupp and thought I could add to it.”

The pro football game day is entirely different from what Whitmer does at UK. Luckily for the bank, most NFL games are on Sunday, when the bank is closed. “I sit in a big production room—maybe 25 people, big screens, scoreboards and an on-ground coordinator,” he said. “I have a producer in my ear, and so much of it is scripted.

“My first announcement is 90 minutes before kickoff. I deal with the national anthem, cheerleaders, special recognitions, color guard and starting lineups. Some of my generic messages are pre-recorded. It’s fun. The crowd loves it when I introduce Joe Burrow [the Bengals’ quarterback].”

Whitmer had a dilemma on Jan. 15, a Saturday. The Bengals, who had not made the playoffs for more than 30 years, were playing host to the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the American Football Conference playoffs, and UK was playing at home against the rival University of Tennessee Volunteers. “It was an easy decision,” Whitmer said. “The Bengals had not won in a playoff game in so long [1989], so that’s where I went.”

He admitted to feeding off the Rupp Arena fans. “They feed off me, too. That’s my role.”

Whitmer has seen the Wildcats lose a few but not many. Going into the 2021-22 season, his PA record in Rupp was 215-27. The Bengals, who hadn’t posted a winning record in any of the five seasons before Whitmer’s arrival, are 7-4 with him behind the microphone. “Who Dey?” Q k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 43

Uniting Kentuckians everywhere.

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260 Piece Puzzle

SHOP + SUBSCRIBE Kentucky Monthly Magazine shopkentuckymonthly.com

SUBSCRIBE TODAY Kentucky Monthly Magazine celebrates the people, places and events that make the Bluegrass State such a wonderful place to visit or call home.

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Learn about our advanced capabilities.

Visit pikevillehospital.org or call (606) 430-2212.

44 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

A section for Kentuckians everywhere … inside Kentucky Monthly.

The 1901 Kentucky Derby was the 27th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on April 29, 1901.

K ENTUCKY XPLORER E All About Kentucky

Volume 37, Number 2 – March 2022

Congratulations, Girls! The 1926 Girls Basketball Team from Crescent Springs High School in Kenton County.

Top row, from left, Myrtl Margaret Finnell, Lucille Thompson and Anna Marksberry; middle row, from left, Tate Hageman, Wealthy Robinson, Ruth Turner and J.A.Caywood; front row: from left, Ethel Graham, Georgie Eubanks and Margaret Richmond. Photo from kykinfolk.org.

Your Letters -- page 46 Historical Cookbooks -- page 50 The Bowlings of Clay County -- page 52

“I Remember” By Our Readers

and More!

Featuring Things Old & New About Kentucky

46

THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

Kentucky Explorer a magazine published for Kentuckians everywhere Charles Hayes Jr. • Founder Stephen M. Vest • Publisher Deborah Kohl Kremer • Editor Rebecca Redding • Typographist One-Year Subscription to Kentucky Monthly: $20

FOUNDED 1986, ISSUE 335, VOLUME 37, NO. 2

Letters to Kentucky Explorer Letters may be edited for clarification and brevity.

Downtown Corinth I’m not much of a cook, and people who have that talent always fascinate me. How do they whip up a fabulous meal, with each dish nearing completion at the same time, present it on a beautiful table, and still appear calm and cool? Well, I don’t know, but maybe they have the help of some of the historic cookbooks on page 50.

Don’t miss the recipe for scrambled brains (eek!) or, if you happen to be entertaining an army, the burgoo recipe that makes 1,200 gallons! As for me, my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook is probably all I’ll ever need.

In addition to stories, photos and memories, we would love to share your recipes, too.

You can reach me at deb@kentuckymonthly.com or mail items to Kentucky Monthly, Attn: Deb Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602-0559.

— DEBORAH KOHL KREMER March 20 is the first day of spring.

On the lower left corner of page 47 (December/January issue) is a picture that hung either in the old Post Office or the old bank in Corinth. I lived near there from 1934 until 1964 and remember seeing this picture. The building included the post office on one side and the bank on the other, and it is still there.

I do not know who owns the building. I appreciate any information you can enlighten me with.

Thomas Fisher, Edgewood

Editor’s Note: This photo is of Corinth in 1910. It is the cover photo for the Facebook page “My Kentucky, photos of our past.” The administrator of the page, Jerry Martin, grew up there and selected the image for the cover. William Gaines Dorman and family ran the two-story store in the photo’s lower left. The Farmers Bank building is next to Dorman’s, and the Henry Jones Store is on the other side of the.

The three-story building at the top of the hill was known as the Lodge Building. Later, the first floor of that structure was used by several banks, a post office and private residences.

Looking for Cassidy Relatives

In memory of Donna Jean Hayes, 1948-2019 Kentucky Explorer appears inside each issue of Kentucky Monthly magazine. Subscriptions can be purchased online at shopkentuckymonthly.com or by calling 1.888.329.0053.

I am looking for relatives of Hedley Cassidy (born 1920 in Lewis County). He and my father, “Bombardier” Bertram Theiss, were crew members on a B-17 named “Hi Lo Jack” that was shot down in France on Sept 3, 1943.

With the help of the French Resistance, both men escaped France. I have a lot of research on Cassidy and the crew that Cassidy’s family may have interest in, for legacy purposes.

Tom Theiss, Independence, Missouri theisstomkat@aol.com, 816.833.3874

March is Irish American Heritage Month in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

March 2022 47

Some Natural and Political History of Kentucky Kentucky has always possessed an amazing variety of topography, wildlife and plant species. Long before it was named “Kentucky,” its fertile soils grew vast amounts of timber, cane and other plants, some of which decayed into layers of peat and eventually into rich reserves of bituminous coal. The lush vegetation provided food and cover for an abundance of wildlife, including bison. The bison lazily chose the easiest travel routes to fresh, grassy ground for many centuries, thereby forming the “Buffalo Traces” that Native Americans used for efficient travel and hunting.

By all accounts, Kentucky was a “hunters’ paradise.” In fact, by unwritten understanding, the American Indians essentially “zoned” Kentucky for hunting and not for residential dwelling. All tribes realized that they would be killed by other tribes if they tried to live among this abundant wildlife. They strongly resisted the settlement by immigrants from Europe and elsewhere, fearing the destruction of their hunting grounds and way of life. The Kentucky that was once a hunters’ paradise became a “dark and bloody ground” for immigrants and Indians.

The buffalo traces formed over the centuries eventually became the routes selected for efficient road construction by the new settlers. As was feared by the Native Americans, some of our ancestors depleted the bison numbers and displaced the natives while trying to make better lives for themselves and their families. European diseases killed many Native Americans because of their lack of immunity. Aggressive governmental policies and attitudes of exploration and exploitation were major accelerators of these changes.

Although the land was unfairly obtained, many generations have experienced the beauty and enjoyment of living in and being from Kentucky. And while no truly wild bison remain in Kentucky today, ironically much of our traveling around that beautiful state can be considered as tributes to the bison and the Native Americans who originally created and used these same routes.

(Sweeping generalizations can allow various inaccuracies, but I think my conclusions over time and from many sources are basically correct.)

Harold Brown, Indianapolis, Indiana

Corrections I read with interest your article on my father, Francis Gary Powers (“The High-Flying Kentuckian,” November issue, page 53). While I appreciate you including the article about my father and the U-2 Incident, there are several factual errors that need to be addressed and, hopefully, corrected so that the record can be set straight.

1. Powers did not fly combat missions during the Korean War. He flew F-84s out of Turner AFB near Albany, Georgia. He missed his deployment to Korea in 1955 because of an appendicitis surgery.

2. He was promoted to captain posthumously in May 2000.

3. He climbed to an altitude of more than 70,000 feet. His exact altitude at shoot down was 70,500 as declassified in 1998.

4. About 3.5 hours into his flight, his autopilot failed.

5. U-2s cannot fly at 100,000 feet. While the actual altitude is still classified, it is above 73,000 feet and below 78,000 feet. This has to do with physics and aerodynamics.

6. Powers was at his assigned altitude of 70,500 feet when he was shot down by the near miss of a Soviet SA-2 below and to the right rear of the plane.

7. There was no descent of the U-2 before being shot down.

8. You state that Powers failed his mission. This implies that it was his fault, which is not the case. The Soviets shot him down, which prevented him from completing his mission through no fault of his own.

9. The poisoned pin was an optional device to take and to use in the event of torture, not capture.

10. He was criticized at the time for not using the poisoned pin and the “fake news” and opinion of some are still repeated today.

11. The silver dollar was not on Powers when he was captured. He had kept the pin and thrown away the dollar while parachuting to the ground.

12. In 1962, the CIA, after three weeks of debriefings, cleared him of any wrongdoing and indicated that he had followed orders as instructed.

13. In 1962, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence exonerated Powers of any wrongdoing.

14. Because of inaccurate reporting, the court of public opinion did not clear him.

15. A 1998 USAF/CIA Declassification conference set the record straight and dispelled the misinformation. For more information, visit nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/ NSAEBB434/.

16. As a result of the 1998 conference, Powers was posthumously awarded the POW Medal and CIA Directors Medal in 2000 and the Silver Star in 2012.

17. Powers was awarded the DFC in 1959 with all the other pilots, but the family finally received it at a U-2 reunion in approximately 1986.

More can be found in my 2019 book Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy, which addresses the misinformation. To order, visit spypilotbook.com.

Thank you for your assistance to correct the inaccuracies in the article.

Francis Gary Powers Jr., MPA, MA U.S. History Midlothian, Virginia

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17, the anniversary of the death of Ireland’s patron saint in the fifth century.

4 THE 48 THEKENTUCKY KENTUCKYEXPLORER EXPLORER Send memories to Deborah Kohl Kremer at deb@kentuckymonthly.com or mail to Kentucky Monthly, Attn: Deb Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602.

“I Remember” Send your memory in today!

Memories of Corinth

By Jerry Martin, Corinth

My paternal grandfather, Ira Martin (aka Pap), had a farm truck that was ivory colored, battle-worn and sometimes it had cattle racks on it for hauling livestock, hay bales, fence posts, barbed wire, new bedroom furniture bought in Cynthiana, and other farm items.

This photo was taken in 1968, and by then, the mirrors were either removed or broken off because of bushes and tree limbs. My parents and grandparents drove these trucks way back into fields, across gullies and sometimes into wet, muddy creek beds—wherever and whenever needed.

Farming was taking care of your livestock, cutting firewood for the winter months, and tending to your

Where the Road Meets the Water

By Lois Wilcox, Piqua, Ohio

The creeks, streams and branches were part of the roads in my neck of the woods, 10 miles west of the town of Greenup on Big White Oak Road, where I lived back in my early childhood.

My oldest sister, Goldie, and her husband, Clyde Stevens, built a three-room log cabin on Stump Run Road.

It was the next road south of where I lived. There was a spring of water where Goldie got their drinking and cooking water. Living in this spring were some wiggle tails, also known as tadpoles. To get water from the spring, you needed to use a long-handled dipper to push the tadpoles aside to fill the water bucket or get a cool drink. Wash water and bath water came from Stumps Run Creek which ran east-west along the hill north of the cabin. Water that ran from this spring connected with a stream that was a great place for children to wade and swim.

Many streams in this area crossed roads that then had to be either waded or driven through. My siblings and I loved to wade through these little streams. Where I lived, a large creek made a border for my parents’ 100-acre farm.

To get to my uncle C.C. Reedy’s farm across the creek, one

By Our Readers

crops such as tobacco and hay. My parents and grandparents even hauled field rock for mud holes in the dirt roads of the 1960s. These mud holes would swallow up most SUVs these days.

I remember when the road department came out and widened the dirt roads and paved them. Sure was much cleaner around there then and smoother, too. I can’t remember how many times I nearly bounced out of the back of the truck before the roads were improved. The road grader operator once let me ride with him—a big thrill for a little child. Sitting up on the narrow rail of the bed was frowned upon and dangerous.

No more dust clouds were ever seen behind us again as we motored around the roads of Harrison County in the back of Daddy’s and Pap’s old trucks.

It is a miracle we all survived childhood.

needed to wade or drive through this creek. There was a huge log laying across the creek that could be used to cross when the creek was at flood stage in the spring. If we needed to use the log to cross the creek, my cousin, Robert Reedy, would come to help us.

Big White Oak Road and Rt. 7 were dirt roads.

Sometime in the 1940s, both were blacktopped. Until then, a road grader was used twice a year to smooth the roads until the next rain came and washed out more potholes.

On the way to the Pat Boggs farm was a swinging bridge made of metal ropes with wood across to walk on. This is near where the Big White Oak Creek connected with the Tygart Creek, which flowed to the Ohio River.

My childhood in Greenup County was a busy time, helping raise our food and taking care of our farm animals, which later would become food, or furnish eggs and milk.

We were busy all the time. When we had time to play, we invented games or ways to play that cost nothing because there was no money for toys.

On Sundays, we walked almost 5 miles to church, one way. We were seldom ill, so our lives on the farm were healthy ones. I wouldn’t trade that kind of life for those that children of today have. I have many great memories, thanks be to God.

On March 10, 1775, Daniel Boone and 35 axmen began to cut a trail through the Cumberland Gap …

March 2022 49

Uncle Hiram Story by Rev. Harold Paul Combs, Clayhole, Kentucky, who passed away in October 2018; submitted by his son, Paul Combs, of Franklin, Ohio

Uncle Hiram Campbell lived on Nixes Branch near Clayhole in Breathitt County. He was a large man with white hair and incredibly blue eyes. He was a schoolteacher and lived on a farm. He had several beehives because he and his family all loved honey.

I would walk to Uncle Hiram’s house sometimes when I was a boy. It was a long walk—nearly a mile. But I looked forward to being treated with hot biscuits, fresh butter and honey. Uncle Hiram’s first wife passed away, and he told a story about seeing a neighbor lady, Lizzie Allen, at his wife’s funeral. Lizzie’s husband, Ethan Allen, had been killed in the Clayhole election fight back in 1921. Lizzie was a sister to my father, Nathan Combs. When Uncle Hiram saw Lizzie at the funeral, he said to himself, “There is my next wife. She is a good Christian woman, and I need her to take care of my children.” They were soon married.

Uncle Hiram taught two of my brothers, Charles and Edward, in a one-room school. He bragged about both of my brothers but emphasized that Charles was an especially good learner. When Charles was in the first grade, Uncle Hiram would say to my brother, “Charles, you’re a bear!

Yes, you’re a bear all right.” Charles would stick out his chest with pride each time Uncle Hiram bragged on him.

Charles later became a school principal and then a

Park City’s Edwards Cemetery

By Ronnie Doyle, Park City

For several years, I cared for the Edwards Cemetery in Park City. One day, as I was leaving from cleaning up the cemetery, Aunt Mamie Edwards (I referred to her as “aunt” out of respect) was sitting on the front porch of the Edwards home.

I stopped and asked her if she could answer some questions. I asked about some fieldstones marking graves just through the gate on the left, in a fenced row. She told me that those were the graves of wounded or sick Civil War soldiers. Both the North and the South brought soldiers needing medical attention to her father, who was a doctor.

Soldiers who died and whose bodies were not claimed were given a decent burial.

Further in, along a fencerow, are single graves marked with several fieldstones on each. Aunt Mamie explained that both her grandfather and father had owned slaves. Those markers were for the slaves who lived there, and she

superintendent. Uncle Hiram told everyone who would listen, “I knew all the time that boy would amount to something someday.”

One school year, Uncle Hiram was reassigned to a school a long way from home. It was way up in the head of a hollow. He had to stay with a family near the school, so he walked about all day to get there. When he got to their simple home, it was almost suppertime. He said he wanted to be positive with the people and get off on the right foot, so he complimented the family on their home.

As he entered, he smelled meat frying. In a few minutes, the lady of the house said, “Supper is ready.”

Hiram sat down at the table with the rest of the family, and the lady brought in a fried opossum for supper. He looked at the greasy dark meat, and it turned his stomach.

But he was hungry and did not wish to offend his new hosts, so he said, “That’s my dish. I sure do love possum!”

Early the next morning Uncle Hiram said that he smelled chicken frying. He was so glad it wasn’t possum because he was starved from not eating much of it the night before. He sat down at the breakfast table, and the lady came in with two plates—one filled with hot steamy fried chicken and the other one with a small piece of cold, greasy meat. She sat the latter dish in front of him and proudly said, “Mr. Campbell, here is some possum for you.

This is all we had left from supper last night, but we wanted you to have it.”

Uncle Hiram said that he never bragged on possum again.

said they were each given a decent burial, too.

On one side of the cemetery is a row of small concrete markers. Aunt Mamie asked if I remembered that her family always had beautiful collie dogs. As each one passed away, they also were buried in the family cemetery.

She explained that graves away from the fencerow are Edwards family members and neighbors. Those all have markers.

In 1983, I had the honor to serve as pallbearer to Aunt Mamie at her funeral. At her death, she was 101. She was the last person buried in the cemetery.

Because Aunt Mamie had passed this way, the community was a little better.

Mamie Edwards with her nephew, Bill Edwards in the 1970s.

… and into central Kentucky. The trail became known as the Wilderness Road.

6 50 THE THEKENTUCKY KENTUCKYEXPLORER EXPLORER

Historical Cookbook Collection:

More Than Recipes

B

erea College’s Special Collections and Archives has more than 500 historical, regional cookbooks housed in the Hutchins Library on campus.

With recipes like Emergency Cake from the 1922 Chestnut Street Christian Church Cook Book or a Very Plain Venison Pie from Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book published in 1857, the collection is full of culinary history.

“It is fascinating to flip through old cookbooks that have been donated to the library, including titles from the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, West Virginia and

Tennessee, to find variations of familiar recipes and unusual recipes as well,” said Tim Binkley, an assistant professor of library science who heads the Special Collections and Archives. “Some of these publications originated from civic clubs, churches and families.”

Most of the cookbooks were collected by Margaret Dotson, a retired professor who taught historic foodways at the college for many years. She used the cookbooks in her classes and, when she retired, decided to donate them so she could continue to enhance the education of students by making them available.

Binkley explained that the oldest cookbook in the collection dates to around 1750. For the next 100 years, the cookbooks were similar in style.

“They had directions that say, ‘use butter about the size of an egg’ or ‘bake in warm oven,’ with no specifics in measurements or temperatures,” he said. “In the late 1800s, the recipes become more standardized because by then, cooks wanted the dish to come out the same way each time.”

Binkley said that by the 1950s, cooking had become a marketing tool.

“Recipes began calling for name-brand ingredients, like a specific cornmeal or flour,” he said. “There also was a rise in pre-fab ingredients, such as calling for one can of Campbell’s soup.”

More than just a book about food prep, some of these the cookbooks contain insights into living at that time. They include tips on house cleaning and how to care for ill family members.

“These were more like recipes for life,” Binkley said.

Like all books in the Special Collections and Archives, the cookbooks are not available for circulation because they are rare, valuable or fragile, but they are available to the public to view on site. Those wishing to see the books can reserve space in a reading room.

For more information, call 859.985.3262 or visit libraryguides.berea.edu/archives.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.” Thomas Merton, Trappist monk

March 2022 51

WHAS-TV began broadcasting on March 27, 1950, in Louisville.

52

THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

The Bowlings of Clay County

By Ted Garrison Manchester

C.B. had the unusual distinction of being a World War II soldier whose father had served in the Civil War. He and other servicemen were aboard the USS LST-57, a illiam Bowling and his son, Carlo “C.B.” tank landing ship, on June 6, 1944, when the Allies Bowling, led colorful lives and served in the launched their invasion of mainland Europe. LSTs were defining wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. designed to carry tanks, vehicles, troops, food and other My friend, Anthony “Tony” Gibson, is Carlo’s greatsupplies onto the beach. The LST-57 crew supplied cargo grandnephew, and he encouraged me to write this article. for the U.S. Army troops at Normandy through June 25, During the Civil War, William, then 27, volunteered for enduring German attacks to carry out an important and service in the Confederate Army with dangerous job.

Company H, 9th Kentucky Cavalry When C.B. returned home from the Regiment, part of the “Orphan Brigade.” war, he went to work at the Garrison The commanding officer was Gen. John Coal Company at Greenbriar in West Hunt Morgan. William was taken as a Virginia. He mined coal for 20 years. He prisoner of war three times. He was also worked on the railroad and logged nicknamed “High Hat” because he wore for a while, but he always returned to the same style of hat as President leather. He loved teaching kids in Abraham Lincoln. school how to plait whips.

One story of William that the One time, I asked C.B. about his residents of Manchester have long leatherwork, and he replied, “At the enjoyed involved Clay County’s first present time, I’m out of leather.” I courthouse. The building was designed volunteered to get him a sheet of with a long hallway entering through leather as a gift. He was reluctant at one end of the building and exiting the first but finally accepted the idea. A other. The story goes that, after few days later, he came into Patty’s and drinking a large amount of the local gave me a whip, a horse lead rope, a beverage that was manufactured in the dog leash, and a replica of a cat o’ nine light of the moon, High Hat climbed tails. He refused let me pay for these onto his black stallion and rode through items, saying, “You did me a favor, and Rare photo of William Bowling and the courthouse, firing his .45 pistol from I did one for you.” his son, C.B Bowling. one end of the building to the other.

During his younger years, C.B. drank Have any of you readers heard this Clay his share of whiskey, and in my County legend, and do you know what happened to anger opinion, he was distressed, like many war veterans trying the former horse soldier? Write to Kentucky Explorer and let to deal with the difficult memories of combat. His first us know! granddaughter, Sandra Asher, passed away as an infant, At age 76, William married Nancy Jane Sizemore, and and her death dramatically affected C.B. He never drank later, C.B. was born. William was almost 88 when he died alcohol again and became a deeply religious man. in 1931. C.B. was 10 when his father died, and his halfOne day, my brother, Charles, and I were eating lunch sister, Ciatte Bowling Gibson, and her husband, John at Patty’s when C.B. came in and joined us. The first thing Gibson, helped raise him. he did was to ask Charles if he was a Christian. Charles As a child, C.B. developed an appreciation for leather answered “yes,” and C.B. proceeded to explain a colorful work, and he continued to work with leather throughout beaded keychain that he gave to most of the people he his lifetime. A talented artist, he primarily made whips met. Each bead had religious significance, and C.B. would but also made many other items. One day, a gentleman give a thorough explanation—actually, a short sermon. named Bill Phillips was walking toward the entrance of C.B. passed away on March 16, 2005. During his life, he Patty’s Place restaurant in Manchester while C.B. was at never met a stranger. He had many friends, and I’m happy the side door demonstrating one of his whips for a that I was one of them. prospective buyer. C.B. cracked the whip three times, making a sound identical to gunfire. Phillips immediately Thank you to C.B.’s daughters, Wendy Fawbush and Kathy fell to his knees and drew his pistol. C.B. entered Patty’s Sulfridge, and Melissa Napier, his granddaughter, for their help with his usual mischievous smile. with this article.

W

Transylvania University was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains.

52 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY NOV EMBER 2 0 2 0

March 2022 53

This poem was written by James Mulligan (1844-1915), a judge and politician. Born in Lexington, Mulligan received a law degree from Transylvania University in 1869. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1881-89 and Kentucky Senate from 1889-93. Mulligan’s Lexington home, known as Maxwell Place, is now the home of the University of Kentucky president. Mulligan shared the poem as he closed a speech to members of the Kentucky Legislature at Lexington’s Phoenix Hotel in 1902.

Kentucky’s Limerick Many Kentucky traditions can be traced to Ireland—distilling and music come to mind—but did you know that there was an entire Louisville neighborhood of Irish immigrants?

According to familysearch.org, historians estimate Kentucky’s population in 1790 was made up of English (52 percent), Scots-Irish or Scots (25 percent), Irish (9 percent), Welsh, (7 percent), German (5 percent), French (2 percent), Dutch (1 percent), and Swedish (0.2 percent) in ethnicity.

During the mid-1800s, more than 1 million people left Ireland for the United States. Many settled in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood. But in 1858, with the opening of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad’s Kentucky Locomotive Works, Irish workers moved to that area to be near their jobs. Many of these immigrants originally were from the county of Limerick in Ireland, so the neighborhood became known as Limerick. The working class lived

in shotgun houses, and those who were more affluent moved to larger homes on St. Catherine Street. The neighborhood is bound by Breckinridge Street to the north, Fifth Street to the east, Oak Street to the south, and the railroad tracks to the west.

St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church was completed in 1872 and became the neighborhood’s focal point. Around that time, an annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade was initiated with the church as its starting point. This tradition continued until 1918.

It was in Limerick that the newspaper Kentucky Irish American was started in 1898 and published for the next 70 years.

In 1902, the L&N moved again, this time to the Highland Park neighborhood, bringing its Irish workforce with it. Thus, ending the primarily Irish-immigrant population of the neighborhood of Limerick.

Top, Louisville’s Limerick neighborhood (from ecentral.com/louisvillemaps/limerick.html); left, St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church.

“The best audience is intelligent, well-educated and a little drunk.” Alben Barkley, US Vice President from Kentucky

54

THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

The acquisition of an unusual artifact with a Kentucky connection leads to a search:

Whose Medal Was It?

By Charles L. Turner Louisville mokymdde@att.net

Robert E. Lee’s chief of artillery in 1862. William and the Rockbridge Artillery, along with the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865 and were paroled.

The next year, William moved to Shelbyville, Kentucky, ears ago, I purchased a delegate badge from the 30th where he was a teacher. He eventually moved to annual reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Richmond and, in 1874, became one of the organizers of which was held in Dallas in 1925. I went on a quest Central University. The school was founded after a split of to find out more about the original owner. the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, where William was The badge, in the shape of a Maltese cross, depicts an elder. The private college was established by the Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith on the left, the initials “SCV” Southern Synod of the church. The students primarily in the center, and several monuments on the right. It does were made up of elite young adults not have the delegate’s name. from Confederate families. William However, it is designated “Adjutant became a professor of Latin and and Chief of Staff, Kentucky Greek and stayed in that role until Division.” he retired in 1895.

After contacting the Sons of In 1878, at age 40, he married Confederate Veterans, Kentucky Agnes Woodson Hanna, who had Division, and researching on Google been born in Shelby County and was and Ancestry.com, I concluded that it 28 years old. They had five children belonged to W.H Willson of and, according to the 1900 Census, Lexington, the son of a Confederate the couple resided in Shelby County. soldier. The son (with the double L in William died in 1910. the last name, which was common at Central University closed in 1901 the time) lived in Lexington in 1925. and was absorbed into Centre Membership in the SCV was open to College. The campus buildings in male descendants, and apparently, Richmond were acquired by the William Hannah attended the Walters Collegiate Institute, which convention. His father, I came to was a private classical preparatory learn, had enlisted as a Virginian and institute for men. The school was was not alive at the time of the open until 1906. reunion.

Around that same time, the Here is what I learned: Kentucky General Assembly The Confederate soldier, William developed a plan to establish two Matthew Willson, was born in 1838 in normal schools—one serving the Rockbridge County, Virginia. His eastern part of the state in grandfather fought in the Medal obtained by the author.

Richmond, and the other serving the Revolutionary War. He graduated western half in Bowling Green. from Washington College, which is Normal schools educated students to become teachers now Washington and Lee University in Lexington, with the hopes of improving primary and secondary Virginia. He earned a degree in Latin and Greek and went education in rural areas of the state. The Central on to pursue a master’s degree in Greek language and University campus in Richmond was chosen as the site of literature. During the first month of the Civil War, the new school. In 1922, it became a four-year institution students at the college formed the Rockbridge Artillery called the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Company, and Willson enlisted as a corporal in August Teachers College. In 1930, it was renamed Eastern 1861.

Kentucky State Teachers College. The word “teacher” was He fought in all the major eastern engagements— removed from the name by the General Assembly in 1948.

Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, In 1966, Gov. Ned Breathitt signed a bill into law Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania Court House, to name a renaming the institution Eastern Kentucky University. few. He rose to the rank of general and was appointed

Y

Restaurant guide writer Duncan Hines was born on March 26, 1880, in Bowling Green.

March 2022

55

Union Col. John Wilder in Munfordville

By Dr. Marshall Myers Richmond One of the strangest things to happen in the Civil War in Kentucky occurred in Munfordville, a small town between Louisville and Bowling Green.

During the Civil War, the town was near an enormous railroad trestle on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

The trestle was important because it was part of a system that regularly supplied Union troops in Nashville, south of Munfordville.

To guard the trestle against burning or interrupting the traffic, a stockade was built to house 4,100 Union soldiers, commanded by Col. John Wilder. Wilder was what the Civil War had plenty of—a politically appointed commander with little training in military protocol. In fact, he was an industrialist from Greensburg, Indiana, with no military training.

Little did Wilder know that he was to be visited by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg with the entire Army of Tennessee, on his way to “liberate” Kentucky from Union hands. Later, Bragg met Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell in “the battle for Kentucky” at Perryville on Oct. 8, 1862.

But on Sept. 16, 1862, Bragg lost what little patience he had at Munfordville. After some skirmishing in Cave City, Bragg took over the command of all his troops. His army quickly surrounded the stockade, leaving the Union troops trapped inside.

Bragg quickly sent Wilder a note that reflected Bragg’s mood, demanding that Wilder surrender immediately.

Wilder was confused; he had never been in situations like this before. “Militarily,” what was he supposed to do?

Wilder knew that Kentuckian Confederate Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner was with Bragg’s army, Moreover, Wilder thought that Buckner was an “honorable man.” So under a white flag, Wilder asked Buckner (a future Kentucky governor) to tell him exactly what was going on. Quickly, Buckner met with Wilder and told him that Wilder’s forces were surrounded by four times the number of men plus Bragg’s heavy artillery.

With Buckner’s coaching. Wilder concluded that he should surrender. Wilder told Buckner, “I believe I ought to surrender.”

Bragg quickly paroled the Union forces and sent them to Union installations in Bowling Green to feed the hungry troops.

Thus ended the strange story of a Union officer asking a Confederate general just what he needed to do.

The L&N Bridge over the Green River near Munfordville.

Reach 120,000 readers with classified advertising available in Kentucky Explorer. Classified ads $50 per issue (up to 25 words).

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CLASSIFIED ADS WANTED TO BUY: All types of antiques and collectables. 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 eye glasses. 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) SELF-PUBLISHING: On-Demand Book Printing, Softcover, Hardcover, and Spiral Binding, Side-Sewing for Children’s Books, Kindle Books, Typesetting, Editing, Graphic Design, Amazon Listing, Bible-Rebinding, etc. Contact Reformation Publishers, Inc., DBA 24-Hour Books, DBA Williams Printing Co., 14 S. Queen Street, Mt. Sterling, KY 40353, Email: rpublisher@aol.com, 1.800.765.2464, Telephone 859.520.3757, Fax 859.520.3357, Text 606.359.2064, www.reformationpublishers.com.

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The three other states officially called “commonwealths” are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

off the shelf

(P)-Paperback (C)-Clothbound (H)-Hardback

Action-Packed Reunion

Influencial Immigrants

Women of Note

When a well-meaning daughter gifts John Ross and his wife arrangements to attend his 50th high school reunion, it takes some arm-twisting to get him to go. After the couple experiences the weekend-long event, it’s not hard to see the reasons for his initial reluctance.

In the fifth installment of Michael Embry’s John Ross Boomer Lit Series, titled Reunion of Familiar Strangers, the Rosses meet a colorful array of “familiar strangers” from his 1968 class. Included are women who flirt with John, a bully from the class who continues to bully, a former basketball star who has become quite religious and leads the gathering in prayer, and a oncestrong classmate who now has a physical disability—and whom John encourages to attend the reunion.

Someone gets pushed into the swimming pool, a fight nearly breaks out, and a few long-lost friendships are rekindled. In the author’s typical character-based style, he manages to elicit smiles, frowns and even tears in a story that seems all too familiar to many baby boomers.

Embry, who spent more than 30 years in the news media—including seven years as editor of Kentucky Monthly—has settled into a second career as a fiction writer.

Due to civil unrest and economic problems in Germany in the early 1800s, thousands looked to the United States as an option for a better future. The 1830s saw more than 100,000 immigrants arrive on our shores, and by the 1840s, that number had increased to almost 400,000.

At the same time, the steamboat had become popular for river transportation, thus enabling those new arrivals to float down the Ohio River and make their homes in cities such as Cincinnati, Covington, St. Louis and Louisville.

German Influences in Louisville, edited

by C. Robert Ullrich and Victoria A. Ullrich, examines the immigrant impact on Kentucky’s largest city.

By 1850, German immigrants and their families made up one-third of Louisville’s population. They founded churches, a brewery and a newspaper, and added their art and music to the culture of the city.

They were known for their skills in carpentry, brickmaking and blacksmithing. They shaped the growth of Louisville with the creation of banks and insurance agencies, along with companies such as Quast Shoe Manufacturing and the Prante Organ Company.

This intriguing book is composed of essays covering medicine, trades, financial institutions, music and more.

Many of Kentucky’s most influential women, historical or contemporary, have flown far under the radar in receiving deserved public recognition. That’s why a book such as Bluegrass Bold: Stories of Kentucky Women is important.

Authored by educators Carly Muetterties and Maddie Shepherd, the offering is, according to its website, “a children’s book of Kentucky’s bold women civic leaders, past and present, illustrated by Kentucky’s artists.”

But the collection of profiles is a productive read for adults, too, bringing to bear both widely known and newly discovered faces across the state—and a solid book of reference for further study.

Among the more than three dozen individuals covered, there are such “found” spirits as Susan Mullins of Berea, a Mohawk Native American who creates art, writes, plays music, and shares her culture by visiting schools. Paris resident Margaret Ingels gained respect as a science innovator, championing strides in the use of air conditioning, and Tomasena Grider is a ground-breaking police officer.

More well-known Kentuckians such as Ashley Judd and Martha Layne Collins also are profiled.

By Steve Flairty

By Deborah Kohl Kremer

Reunion of Familiar Strangers, John Ross Boomer Lit Series, by Michael Embry, Wings ePress, $15.95 (P)

German Influences in Louisville, edited by C. Robert Ullrich and Victoria A. Ullrich, History Press, $31.99 (H)

56 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2 0 2 2

By Steve Flairty Bluegrass Bold: Stories of Kentucky Women, by Carly Muetterties and Maddie Shepherd, Butler Books, $19.95 (P)

Through a Young Man’s Eyes In a small south Louisiana town, young Silas LaMontaie sees Daddy implicated in the mysterious burning of a sugar mill. Soon, the family moves to western Kentucky and settles in Lyon County. Not surprisingly, many back in the Louisiana community think the reason for the family’s migration is to escape consequences of LaMontaie’s deed at the mill. The thought of that notion wears on the family and particularly on Silas.

The matter of Silas’ coming-ofage in an often-complex world is punctuated by his relationship with “the beautiful and enigmatic Jessie May,” a girl he meets in childhood who rescues him from bullying boys. Jessie’s abiding influence on his life is for a good reason. Books and music stir him, too, also for a good reason.

This first-person narrative, titled Silas LaMontaie, is craftily written by author Lawrence Weill, a resident of the Kuttawa area, the setting for a portion of the book. To be sure, Weill knows the landscape of the story in more ways than one, and he knows how to paint the scenery in delicious detail.

By Steve Flairty Silas LaMontaie, by Lawrence Weill, Black Rose Writing, $22.95 (H)

To Love a Man of the Sea

Intrepid Librarian

Laura Frantz’s novel A Heart Adrift takes readers back to 1775 in York, Virginia. Esmee Shaw has resigned herself to a life of running the family’s chocolate shop, having never found anyone to take the place in her heart of sea Captain Henri Lennox. Their love affair was thwarted by the pull of the sea.

But after a decade without seeing Henri, Esmee finds herself seated at dinner beside him. Has too much time passed for the two to pick up where their relationship had left off? Have Esmee and her captain changed too much?

Henri has returned to York to finish building a lighthouse for the dangerous Chesapeake Bay. He and Esmee had dreamed of the project years before. Now, it is time to see it done. Henri thinks he is finished with his sailing career, but the colonial government is seeking his expertise for a secret navel expedition against the French. Can Henri complete the mission and return home safely?

Frantz, who has lived in several Kentucky cities but makes her home in Lexington, weaves a delightful story of history, suspense and romance in a time fraught with peril on the sea and in the heart.

In Along a Storied Trail, a work of historical fiction set during the Great Depression, readers get to ride along with Tansy, a horseback librarian with the Pack Horse Library Project. Begun in 1935, the program delivered library books to remote homes in eastern Kentucky.

With few paved roads in the region, the area was not easily accessible, and these librarians provided a valuable service.

Tansy takes a full-time job as a librarian to help out her mother, who still has young children at home. Her father has left the mountain region to look for fulltime work in a big city, but the family has not heard from him.

Tansy knows the hills, the families and the benefit of education, so the job is a good fit for her.

This 350-page book contains snippets of history along with realistic dialog. It is a good snapshot of the rigors of the job as well as life during that time.

Author Ann H. Gabhart of Anderson County has written more than 30 books, including several novels based on the Shaker community and The Heart of Hollyhill series.

By Deborah Kohl Kremer

By Kay Vest A Heart Adrift, by Laura Frantz, Revell Books, $16.99 (P)

Along a Storied Trail, by Ann H. Gabhart, Revell Books, $15.99 (P)

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 57

past tense/present tense

by Bill Ellis

Biographies of Kentuckians

R

eading biographies is one of the most rewarding forms of getting historical information about Kentuckians. At the moment, I am reading The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero by Peter S. Canellos. Published by Simon & Schuster, the book came highly recommended by early reviews, publicity and word of mouth.

Whether a book of any kind withstands the test of time is gauged by many factors. Any type of writing must be well written up to a point and adapted for a reading public, which may be primarily academic or general in nature.

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to write biographies of several individuals, including E.Y. Mullins, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville from 1899-1928; Patrick Henry Callahan, a Louisville Catholic layman and business leader in the early 20th century; Robert Worth Bingham, owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times and Ambassador to Great Britain; and Irvin S. Cobb, a Paducah-born writer and humorist, who charmed a nation with his wit for many years.

These books were “academic” in the sense that I was not too concerned with a “popular” audience but more interested in getting the facts correct to my own satisfaction. These efforts were supported by my teaching a full load at Eastern Kentucky University as well as much-appreciated grants from EKU. I won an award from the Kentucky Historical Society for the Bingham book, which also included $1,000. Other than that, I see rather slim books on a shelf of which I can be proud.

• • •

Why write for the audience for which I wrote? Well,

58 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY MARCH 2022

that is where I came from. I had limited resources— conducted all the research, took my own notes, and had little time outside my teaching duties for reflection, except for the Cobb book, which was researched mostly after my retirement from EKU. I think I contributed to the general knowledge of the Commonwealth, if not the art of biography.

There are other biographers who have large amounts of resources, paid researchers, advance contracts, and seemingly unlimited time and energy to write longer and more detailed accounts. I envy them to a point. But sometimes, they get caught with mistakes made by their researchers and, on occasion, have ventured into duplicity.

In years past, Stephen Ambrose, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough and a few other “popular” biographers have been tainted with shoddy work. Award-winning biographer and historian Joseph Ellis not only fudged on his research and writing, he also lied about his past exploits.

Here are some biographies of Kentuckians not to be missed and others still waiting to be written.

EKU’s Rob Weise includes John Faragher’s Daniel Boone among the biographies that stand out. A scholar on Appalachia, Weise suggests Melanie Beals Goan’s Mary Breckinridge: The Frontier Nursing Service and Rural Health in Appalachia.

Several fine studies of Kentucky women have been published in recent years. Lindsey Apple’s Cautious Rebel: A Biography of Susan Clay Sawitzky is based on once-unavailable sources. Emily Bingham’s detailed Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham originated from hitherto unarchived family records among other sources. Other Kentucky women of note have been the subject of outstanding biographies, including Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women’s Activism in Modern America by Anya Jabour and Enid Yandell: Kentucky’s Pioneer Sculptor by Juilee Decker (see photo of one of Yandell’s public works on page 21).

It has been said that only writings about the life of Jesus Christ are more numerous than those of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was born in Kentucky and considered himself one of us, even if he wasn’t claimed by Confederate supporters.

David Herbert Donald’s Lincoln is the ideal place to start reading about this irreplaceable American.

Several biographies about Lincoln’s Southern counterpart, Jefferson Davis, also a Kentucky native, are more than adequate and include books by Kentuckians Clement Eaton (titled Jefferson Davis) and Robert Penn

Warren, who wrote the popular Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back.

There are more lengthy biographies

by William C. Davis and James M. McPherson.

INTERNET SERVICES

• • •

Kentucky State Historian James C. Klotter, who will be inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame on March 24, has added immeasurably to the study of our history. He has produced a number of important studies of the Commonwealth and its citizens in his positions at the Kentucky Historical Society, his encouragement of scholars, and his determination to improve our understanding of the twists and turns of our history.

Among Klotter’s many writings and editorships is a biography that will be the standard for a Kentucky biography for many years to come.

Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President, published by Oxford University Press in 2018, is, in the truest sense of the word, judicious. It could be the proverbial last word about Clay for years to come.

Added to Clay family studies is Lindsey Apple’s exhaustively researched The Family Legacy of Henry Clay: In the Shadow of a Kentucky Patriarch.

Klotter and others suggest that we still need adequate biographies of J.C.W. Beckham, A.O. Stanley, Ollie James, John Sherman Cooper, Earle Clements, Wendell Ford, Robert J. Breckinridge, A.B. “Happy” Chandler and James “Honest Dick” Tate, among others.

Most historians agree that it is best to write after the death of a famous personage when the writer might feel unrestricted to include his or her evaluations of a subject.

Otherwise, the biography of a living person can often come off as to be present minded or perhaps searching for some political screed.

Plus, writers must worry about lawsuits.

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Readers may contact Bill Ellis at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 59

gardening

by Walt Reichert

Turn Tragedy Into Opportunity

I

hope this never happens again, but this spring, Kentucky gardeners can use tragedy to create opportunity.

The tornadoes that swept through much of the state in December 2021 resulted in loss of life, homes and businesses across a wide swath of the Commonwealth. Folks in the affected areas are still reeling and will be for some time.

Besides devastation to human habitats, the photos of the tornadoes’ paths also showed nearly complete destruction of wildlife habitat. Trees, shrubs, gardens and landscapes were swept clean by the cyclones. Native birds and small mammals will have nowhere to build nests. Migrating birds returning this spring will find an empty landscape in parts of Kentucky.

But Kentucky gardeners are a resilient lot who will see this “blank slate” as an opportunity—an opportunity to replace landscapes that had been filled with non-native, even invasive species with plants that are welcoming to birds, wildlife and the pollinators we all depend on. It’s also an opportunity to replace the conventional landscapes of the past with plantings that are more resilient and require fewer inputs of water, fertilizer and disease-controlling chemicals. No plant, native or nonnative, can withstand the wrath of an F4 tornado, but native trees from storm-prone regions are more likely to withstand high winds, according to Mary Phillips, director of Garden for Wildlife, an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.

“Native plants are lowmaintenance. That means less supplemental watering, which can be wasteful, and fewer pest problems that require toxic chemicals,”

Phillips said. “Within days—even moments—after native plants are introduced to a space, wildlife can appear. Research shows wildlife habitat gardens support 50 percent more wildlife than surrounding conventional landscapes.”

Even small-scale native plant gardens or the addition of one or two native trees goes a long way to boost the local wildlife population. At the same time, avoid “exotic” species all too common in our landscapes such as taxus, barberry and ornamental pear.

These plants not only offer nothing for native wildlife, they often become invasive and crowd out the good plants that feed our native fauna.

THE PLANTS YOU NEED The first consideration in planting an empty landscape is putting in trees. They will take the longest time to grow, and native trees are the foundation plantings for enticing wildlife. Oaks native to Kentucky are good choices; they support more than 500 species of butterflies and moths, for example. Our state tree, the tulip poplar, is another good choice. It grows fairly quickly and supports swallowtail butterflies, luna moths and many other species. The Kentucky coffee tree (our state tree for a short time), persimmon, beech and umbrella magnolia are among other large trees that are golden for wildlife.

For smaller yards and tighter spaces, yellow buckeye, dogwood, redbud, hornbeam and yellowwood are good choices. Redbuds are especially fast growing and tolerant of many soil types.

Shrubs often are overlooked as wildlife attractants, but they are

Readers may contact Walt Reichert at editor@kentuckymonthly.com 60 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2 0 2 2

critical habitat to many species of birds and insects that feed on them or nest there. Look for clethra, arrowwood viburnum, spicebush, buttonbush and sumac. The latter two are magnets for native pollinators as well as honeybees. Clethra smells fantastic, and buttonbush will tolerate wet spots—I’ve seen it growing just off-shore in Lake Barkley.

Planting a small garden of native perennials is a great way to throw a lifeline to native wildlife. Look for orange butterfly milkweed that supports monarch butterflies. (It’s the only plant on which they will lay their eggs.) Also consider planting grayleaf goldenrod, beard tongue foxglove, smooth aster, cardinal flower, eastern columbine and wild bergamot (bee balm). These plants will bloom for months and offer wildlife food and shelter year-round.

What are the best sources for Kentucky native plants? Several nurseries and garden centers in the state specialize in or offer a good selection of natives. The most comprehensive, up-to-date list is through the Native Plant Society based in Frankfort. Visit knps.org for a list of vendors. The National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife site also contains a list of natives adaptable to Kentucky. Visit nwf.org and search “Garden for Wildlife.” You can type in your zip code and pull up a list of trees, shrubs and perennials.

Native plant gardens won’t replace the lives lost or homes and businesses destroyed by the tornadoes, but they can offer shelter and sustenance to the birds, insects and other wildlife we want and need in our lives.

LOSING BIRDS AND BEES Insect and bird populations have declined dramatically over the last 50 years. Scientists think the two are related—fewer insects mean fewer birds.

The North American bird population has declined by almost one-third in the last 50 years.

That’s a loss of billions of birds.

The monarch butterfly population has declined more than 90 percent in the eastern United States and more than 99 percent in the West.

We all have read about the declining populations of honeybees, but there also are approximately 4,000 native bee species in North America, most of which rely on native plants for nectar. Those bees, along with wasps and other pollinators, service the more than 90 percent of flowering plants that produce the seeds, nuts and fruits relied on by wildlife and people.

We may not be big fans of insects especially, but the bottom line is that we cannot live without them.

And the world would be a poorer place without birdsong.

Years ago, I wrote a column telling my faithful readers that “Gardeners Can Save the World.” That may have been a bit optimistic, but certainly we Kentucky gardeners can work to heal our small part of it, especially the part damaged by the tornadoes. Let’s go native and get it done!

MARCH 25-26, 2022

Knicely Conference Center (2355 Nashville Road) Friday (Children’s Day): 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Saturday (Main Event): 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

FEATURING ANDREW MCCARTHY AND MATT DE LA PEÑA!

FREE ADMISSION! VISIT SOKYBOOKFEST.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.

KICKOFF EVENT WITH KAREN KINGSBURY Thursday, March 24 @ 6:00 P.M. The Capitol (416 E Main Ave) Free tickets available at warrenpl.org/tickets. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 61

field notes

by Gary Garth

Turkey Tales

K

entucky’s spring turkey season opens in April, and if you want to have a decent chance of bagging a bird, it would be a good idea to get into the woods now and look around.

You can make preseason turkey scouting as complex as you like, but all that’s really needed is a decent pair of binoculars and the willingness to get up early. Get out and look and listen for birds. (This can also be done at dusk, but first light provides a better sense of when and where birds come off the roost.) Occasionally, blind luck follows turkey hunters, but generally, it’s tough to bag a bird if you don’t know where they are.

One thing you cannot legally do while preseason prowling for turkeys is sound like a turkey, although it’s OK to sound like other critters. So seriously do wildlife officials take this restriction that it is etched in the Kentucky state hunting regulations: “A person shall not mimic the sound of a turkey in an area open to turkey hunting and where turkeys are reasonably expected to be present from March 1 until the opening of the youth-only turkey season, and from the close of the youth-only turkey season until the opening of the state-wide turkey season. However, locating turkeys with an owl, crow, coyote, or woodpecker call is permitted when scouting.”

For a full review of the state spring turkey hunting regulations, visit fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Spring-TurkeyHunting.aspx.

There are other scouting strategies that springtime gobbler seekers can and should employ. My friend and colleague Scott Bestul, who plies his trade at Field & Stream, has details. Learn all about them at fieldandstream. com/story/hunting/how-to-scout-for-spring-turkeys.

Bestul’s tips are on target, and at various times, I have employed each (except the trail cam approach) but, unfortunately, to little avail. That’s not because the advice is unsound. It’s because I’m not a good turkey hunter.

I take no shame in this. Repeated attempts have only reinforced that I am the poster child for “THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO IN THE TURKEY WOODS.” I fidget. I change locations. I call too much. I call too loudly. I don’t call enough. My calling sounds like a critter in pain. I mess with my eyeglasses. I lack patience. I adjust my cap.

My attention waxes and wanes. I touch my nose. I wonder if crappie are biting. The cumulation of this is that a critter with a brain the size of a walnut regularly defeats me. Draw your own conclusions.

I typically hunt alone but occasionally enter the woods with a friend or colleague, many of whom are skilled and accomplished turkey hunters and gladly offer advice. And

although the advice is sound, it rarely helps. Several years ago, I found myself in the woods one warm, pre-dawn April morning with a guide. He was a few years older than I, widely experienced, and deeply skilled in the ways of the turkey woods. We were hunting in Muhlenberg County, which has long been one of Kentucky’s lodestone turkey producers. Last spring, Muhlenberg County hunters tagged 622 birds—the highest number of any county. “We need to get in the woods early,” he had said.

We met in Central City at 4:30 a.m.

We were set up well before sunrise in a patch of gently rolling timber. Just as it was getting light enough to see, we heard a gobble. We quickly took our positions. I sat against a tree, 12-gauge at the ready. My guide crouched behind by my left shoulder, occasionally calling so seductively that no gobbler could possibly resist. The bird appeared at the top of the ridge, darted toward us at startling speed, and then suddenly stopped. I gazed down the rib of the shotgun trying to decide if it was within range. I decided it was. Then, it wasn’t. The bird vanished, racing away so quickly that it might never have been there.

I remained motionless hoping, perhaps from my inexperience, that the bird would return.

The guide stood up, clearly displeased with the turn of events.

“What happened?” I asked.

“You moved.”

“I didn’t move.”

“You moved. Let’s go.”

“Go?” His disgust was almost palpable.

“Yeah. We’re done. At least, I’m done.”

I was convinced I had not moved and said so. But given my track record since, I probably had.

• • •

Kentucky was once nearly devoid of turkeys. In 1978, the statewide flock was estimated to be about 2,400 birds.

That year, hunters killed 44 turkeys. In the 2021 spring season, hunters tagged 29,221. Statewide, bird numbers are more than 200,000.

The 2022 Kentucky spring 23-day turkey season opens April 16 and runs through May 8. The season bag limit is two bearded birds, but only one bird can be taken per day. Youngsters get the first shot during the two-day youth season, which, by statute, is the first weekend of April. This year, that is April 2-3.

Take a kid hunting. It will be good for them, good for the sport, and good for you.

Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com 62 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY MARCH 2 0 2 2

calendar Due to COVID-19, please visit the event’s website or call the contact number prior to attending to ensure that it is taking place.

MARCH 2022 SUNDAY

MONDAY

Ongoing Illuminations Exhibit, Kentucky

Ongoing Roots and Refuge Exhibit,

History Center, Frankfort, through March 20, 502.564.1792

National Quilt Museum, Paducah, through March 22, 270.442.8856

TUESDAY

1

1792 Dinner,

WEDNESDAY

2

Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville, 502.637.1111

9

First Sunday 6 Nature Tour:

First Sunday Bluebird Trail, Nature Tour: Josephine Bluebird Trail,

<<<

16

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Norton

The Hobbit, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Lexington, through March 26, 859.254.4546

20

Center for the Arts, Danville, 859.236.4692

21

22

Trolls Live!

Rupp Arena, Lexington, 859.233.4567

27

Richard Marx in Concert, Mountain Arts Center, Prestonsburg, 606.886.2623

28

29

Menopause: The Musical, Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, 606.324.0007

23

Joe Bonamassa, Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, 859.257.4929

30

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

3

4

Mahr Center for the Arts, Madisonville, 270.824.8650

Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, Lexington, 859.280.2218

10

11

12

Theatre, Glasgow, through March 13, 270.361.2101

River Dam State Resort Park, Falls of Rough, 270.257.2311

18

19

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Corbin, through March 20, 606.528.4121

SKyPAC, Bowling Green, 270.904.1880

The Grass Roots in Concert, Glema

Hairspray, RiverPark Center, Owensboro, 270.687.2770

Sculpture Park, Josephine Frankfort, Sculpture Park, 502.352.7082 Frankfort, 502.352.7082

13

THURSDAY

17 St. Patrick’s Day

24

Eleanor Dubinsky in Concert,

Church Basement Ladies, The Plaza

Storytelling Festival,

5

James Gregory Live, SKyPAC, Bowling Green, 270.904.1880

St. Patrick’s Dance, Rough

Celtic Celebrations: Orchestra Kentucky,

Lexington Comic & Toy Con, Lexington

Old Crow Medicine Show in Concert, EKU

25

26

Convention Center, through March 27, 859.233.4567

Center for the Arts, Richmond, 859.622.7469

Yum! Center, Louisville, 502.690.9000

Ongoing A Child’s World Exhibit, Filson

Ongoing Welcome to Derbyville Exhibit, Kentucky

31

Judy Collins in Concert, The Grand Theatre, Frankfort, 502.352.7469

Historical Society, Louisville, through March 21, 502.635.5083

The Avett Brothers in Concert, KFC

Derby Museum, Louisville, through Fall 2022, 502.637.1111

a guide to Kentucky’s most interesting events For a more extensive listing of events, visit kentuckymonthly.com. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 63

vested interest

Senator Vest? Is the Time Right?

S

ome things make me laugh, such as when I realized I have until April Fools’ Day to decide if I want to run for the Kentucky State Senate in 2022. Since it made me chuckle, I shared the tidbit on Facebook, asking for comments.

Four friends (all female) offered to run my campaign.

Within 24 hours, more than 100 friends “liked” it, and 74 commented, mostly positive. Of those who said I should run, I fared slightly better with females (54 percent) than males (46 percent). The three people who told me not to run were men.

Fifteen friends, including my eighth-grade teacher, wrote either, “Do it!” or “Go for it,” and 11 quipped, “You’ve got my vote.” Several wrote, “I hope you’re a Republican.” How many of those reside in District 20? I’m guessing not many.

Lendol Vest, my Colorado cousin, STEPHEN M. VEST wrote, “It’s been more than 100 years Publisher + Editor-in-Chief since we had a senator named Vest. I would say it’s time for another.”

The Vest he’s referring to is Frankfort-born George Graham Vest, best known for coining the phrase, “Man’s best friend is his dog.” He was born a few miles from my house, graduated from Centre College and Transylvania University, and started The Gazette—an early Owensboro newspaper—before going into law and eventually the Confederate Congress and the United States Senate from Missouri. He served until 1904.

I assumed people would have seen it as a tongue-incheek comment when I posted it, but not everyone did.

Morehead radio legend Chuck Mraz wrote, “Steve, only you and your family can answer this question. What will it add to your life, and what will it take away? Giving something means giving something else up. You have to determine if that sacrifice is worth it.”

He’s right. The only legitimate reason I would consider such a thing is that the new state Senate boundaries create a district that includes my home county of Franklin and Owen County (where my middle daughter teaches school), and stretches north to include Gallatin, Carroll and southern Boone County (where most of my cousins live and my ancestors are buried).

“Check your closet,” wrote one. “If there’s nothing there, then do it.”

Well, that’s a problem. My closet is packed with

T-shirts, pajamas, ill-fitting suits, dust bunnies, shoes, ties and convention lanyards.

So, this idea began in jest, similar to comedian Patrick Layton Paulsen’s satirical campaigns for President of the United States from 1968 (on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour) until 1996, shortly before he died.

Paulsen’s campaign slogans included: “We’ve upped our standards, now up yours.” In 1992, he finished second in the Republican primary in North Dakota to President George H.W. Bush, and in 1996, he finished second to President Bill Clinton in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire.

As Mike Heflin of Livermore pointed out, I could have some catchy, rhyming slogans with my last name, such as “Forget the rest; vote for Vest.” Floridian Chuck Moffat offered, “Get In-Vest-Ed in Kentucky!”

It is rare for a journalist to aspire to a political office.

Henderson Mayor Steve Austin spent 42 years in newspapers and is the former publisher of the Henderson Gleaner. He’s spent 12 years as mayor. “It’s a natural conversion,” Austin said. “The mindset you have as a newspaper person carries over because both [careers] are centered on community involvement and development.”

Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider was a longtime reporter for the Gleaner and the Madisonville Messenger. “The skills we learn in journalism translate well to a public office,” he said. “First, we’re taught to be nonpartisan, and you learn that every day is different. One day you’re writing about an important bit of legislation, and the next, you’re interviewing the Boy Scout of the Month. It teaches you to communicate, be flexible and adapt.”

“You’d be the voice of reason,” wrote Marc Jennings of Louisville.

I’ve never been overtly political. While I consider myself impartial, my conservative friends think I’m liberal, and my liberal friends see me as conservative. So, if I choose to run, I’ll be doing it as an independent.

Said Christopher Hildebrand of Paducah, “I don’t care what party you belong to, Steve. I know you are a kind, decent and intelligent person and would always put Kentucky first before a political party.”

Maybe I should give this more consideration.

“Do it!” wrote Dan Wright. “You’ll always regret not trying. You can make it happen!”

Readers, and those looking for a speaker for a church or civic group, may contact Stephen M. Vest at steve@kentuckymonthly.com

Kwiz Answers: 1. C. This blend of love story and family feud was set partly on Castleton Farm; 2. A. The movie, starring and directed by Burt Lancaster, was shot at Cumberland Falls, Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park and areas along the Green River; 3. C. Filming for this historical romance took place in Frankfort, Paducah and Danville; 4. A. Oddly, this Western about Daniel Boone exploring Kentucky was filmed south of the border; 5. B. While filming, stuntman A.J. Bakunas was killed in a terrible accident; 6. A. Texas native Sissy Spacek starred as the singer from Butcher Holler; 7. B. This 1989 movie was filmed in Paducah, Mayfield and elsewhere in the Jackson Purchase; 8. C. Starring Steven Seagal and Kris Kristofferson, the film was set in Appalachia; 9. A. Scenes were shot at Lexington’s Keeneland Race Course and in Paris, Kentucky; 10. B. Though part of the movie was filmed in E-town, areas in Versailles and Louisville also were included; 11. B. The Virginia-bred superstar retired to stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris following his racing career; 12. C. Hutcherson was born in Union.

64 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY MARCH 2022

11 Consecutive Appearances on Jay Mathews’ List of Top Performing Schools with Elite Students 249 National Merit Semi-Finalists

We come from all across Kentucky to The Gatton Academy on the campus of Western Kentucky University. As juniors and seniors in high school, we enroll in WKU courses, conduct research with WKU professors, and study abroad. While we are challenged academically, we thrive in a supportive environment designed just for us and make lifelong friends. Best yet, our tuition, meals, housing, and fees are all paid for by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. You, too, can have a future filled with infinite possibilities.

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

facebook.com/gattonacademy

@gattonacademy

@gattonacademy

Class of 2025 Admissions Deadline:

February 1, 2023

BUCKET LIST EXPERIENCES ON THE

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It’s true the Backside of Churchill Downs only grants access to horse industry insiders. Unless, that is, you book a premium tour through Kentucky Derby Museum. Let our seasoned guide take you on an unforgettable journey through the infield tunnels to the legendary Backside where you will get an intimate look at Thoroughbreds training on the track and the vibrant culture of the people who live and work there.

Backside workout tours available beginning March 30, 2022.

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