October 2022 | Kentucky Monthly Magazine

Sweet Home Kentucky

the cusp of her induction into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, country star Carly

on her Bluegrass State

Made in Augusta With the Kennedy Center

coming up in

George Clooney

Hats Off to the Tea Maker When COVID curtailed her millinery business, Polly Singer immersed herself in another passion

A Family of Writers

removed from their heady beginnings in the 1990s, the Affrilachian Poets continue their quest for identity

kentucky kwiz

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

KENTUCKY POET GEORGE ELLA LYON

1. Where in Kentucky was prolific and profound author George Ella Lyon born?

A. Hazard

B. Pikeville

C. Harlan

2. What is her primary focus as a writer?

A. Poetry

B. Prose

C. Plays

3. When was Lyon Kentucky Poet Laureate?

A. 2010-2012

B. 2015-2017

C. 2020-2022

4. Complete the title of her 2007 memoir: Don’t You ________?

A. Remember B. Believe

C. Recall

5. Her moving novel With a Hammer for My touches readers.

A. Heart

B. Head

C. Hand

6. Finish the title of her well-known novel for younger readers: Borrowed ______.

A. Butter

B. Hope

C. Children

7. One of her books strongly influenced by her roots is Come a ______.

A. Storm

B. Tide C. Flood

8. This 1986 picture book from Lyon also delights adults: A Regular Rolling ______.

A. Nora

B. Nate

C. Noah

9. Another title harking back to her roots is _______ Is a Miner.

A. Papa

B. Mama C. Sister

10. Lyon’s son Benn has co-authored with her on titles such as Boats ______.

A. Sail

B. Float C. Speed

11. Her 2021 poetry collection was titled Back to the ________.

A. Basics B. Future C. Light

12. When was Lyon inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame?

A. 2022

B. 2020 C. 2018

“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.

Celebrating the best of our Commonwealth

© 2022, Vested Interest Publications

Volume Twenty-Five, Issue 8, October 2022

Stephen M. Vest

Publisher + Editor-in-Chief Editorial

Patricia Ranft Associate Editor

Rebecca Redding Creative Director

Deborah Kohl Kremer Assistant Editor

Ted Sloan Contributing Editor

Cait A. Smith Copy Editor

Senior Kentributors

Jackie Hollenkamp Bentley, Jack Brammer, Bill Ellis, Steve Flairty, Gary Garth, Mick Jeffries, Kim Kobersmith, Brigitte Prather, Walt Reichert, Tracey Teo, Janine Washle 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 Vested Interest Publications, Inc., 100 Consumer Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601. Periodicals Postage Paid at Frankfort, KY and at additional mailing offices.

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

Vested Interest Publications: Stephen M. Vest, president; Patricia Ranft, vice president; Barbara Kay Vest, secretary/treasurer. Board of directors: James W. Adams Jr., Dr. Gene Burch, Gregory N. Carnes, Barbara and Pete Chiericozzi, Kellee Dicks, Maj. Jack E. Dixon, Bruce and Peggy Dungan, Mary and Michael Embry, Thomas L. Hall, Judy M. Harris, Greg and 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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Readers Write

Kudos for Keeping Explorer Around

Thanks for putting out a great magazine about the great state of Kentucky. Kentucky Explorer is a great addition. Thanks for finding room for it.

I always enjoy reading whatever Bill Ellis writes, as well as Steve Vest’s column.

Keep up the good work.

John Herndon, Cadiz

Musical Notes

I was thrilled to see Bill Ellis’ mention of the Renfro Valley Sunday Morning Gatherin’ in the August issue (page 58). That was my father John Lair’s program, and it aired for many years.

I recall a Christmas morning when I was a little girl in the mid1940s. Daddy was on a microphone in one room, and the speaker was in the living room under the Christmas tree. As I neared the tree, Daddy

said, “Merry Christmas, little girl. Ho, ho, ho!”

My mother and sisters, anxious to hear my response, asked, “Who’s talking to you, Barbara? Who is that?”

In a matter-of-fact voice, I replied, “It sounds like John Lair on the Gatherin’ to me.”

Barbara Lair Smith, Hopkinsville

• • •

I so enjoyed Bill Ellis’ article about music in the August issue. Add Johnny Mathis to the lineup. Like Mr. Ellis, I like the music more than the singing, so my all-time favorite is composer/conductor

[Annunzio Paolo]

Montovani.

I think the love came from growing up. Every afternoon, our radio station WFMW had a 30-minute program called Echos of Evening, brought to us by our local

greenhouse, Metcalfe’s. This program featured Montovani most of the time. He took famous pieces—movie music and then later pop music— and turned it into orchestra music that makes your heart SO happy. If you are lucky enough to have a station labeled “easy listening,” they play Montovani’s orchestra a lot.

It is by far my favorite in the world. I’m just a bit younger than Mr. Ellis— born December 1948.

James Allen, Madisonville

Enjoyable

My wife and I thoroughly enjoy Kentucky Monthly—its articles, “Kentucky Kwiz,” and, of course, “Vested Interest.”

We’ve been giving gift subscriptions to several friends who are also enjoying it.

Keep up your excellent work!

Loys Mather, Lexington

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.

UNITING KENTUCKIANS EVERYWHERE.

MAG ON THE MOVE

Take a copy of the magazine with you

get snapping!

Caribbean Cruise

BELIZE

Fred and Sharon Meade of Walton voyaged to the western Caribbean, where one of their ports of call was Harvest Caye, Belize.

Roadhouse Visit

ALABAMA/FLORIDA

Louisville natives Gene and Brenda Drexler, who now reside in Sellersburg, Indiana, stopped at the famous Florabama roadhouse, which sits on the line separating western Florida and eastern Alabama.

Harborside Dinner

CALIFORNIA

Louisville’s Marlene and Jack Will visited daughter Erin Will in Oceanside, California, and enjoyed dinner at the harbor.

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!

Coins in the Fountain

ROME

Massimo Bannetta (left of center) safely guided most of the Kentucky Monthly delegation to famous Trevi Fountain. From left, kneeling, Lindsey C. Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./Berea), Editor Steve Vest (Frankfort), Massimo, Heidi Cherry (Louisville), and guide Marina (Rome); second row from left, Kay Vest (Frankfort), Gayle Tabor (Madisonville), Tricia Wilson (Richmond), Michelle Bibee (Shepherdsville, holding magazine), Glenna Glass (Frankfort), Billie Lee Sheckler Brock (Jacksonville, Fla./ Irvine), Henrietta Hardin (Shelbyville), Judy and Don Estep (Corbin), Marcy Mountjoy Goff (Melbourne, Fla./ Williamsburg), and Carrie Bemiss (Frankfort); back row, Dianne and Tim White (Shepherdsville), Ann and Don Morse (Frankfort), Dan Glass (Frankfort), Gary and Sherry Adkins (Madison County), John Deeb (Bowling Green), Teresa Baker (Louisville) and Tim Cherry (Louisville). For more on the trip, see page 80.

cooking Pork and Butternut Chili

Olive oil, for browning pork

2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into ½-inch cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 poblano peppers, diced

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 12-ounce bottle Mexican lager, such as Modelo

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes)

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

Salt and pepper, to taste Sour cream, for serving Chopped cilantro, for serving Corn chips, for serving

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat about 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper and, working in batches, brown the meat.

2. Remove the last batch from the pot and sauté peppers, onion and garlic in any remaining fat for 3-4 minutes.

3. Add squash, beer, tomatoes, chili powder, chipotle peppers, oregano and browned pork and bring to a simmer, adding water if needed to just barely cover. Simmer about 45 minutes to one hour, until pork is tender. The squash cubes will soften and thicken the chili as they break apart.

4. Add black beans and simmer again for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with sour cream, cilantro and corn chips.

The crisp coolness of autumn is in the air. Front porches are bedecked with pumpkins and other varieties of squash that signify the season of harvest. These delicious foods also grace dinner tables in hearty, healthy dishes such as those on the following pages provided by Brigitte Prather , the host of central Kentucky’s Fox 56 Meal Time Monday .

Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¾-inch cubes

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

For vinaigrette:

4 slices bacon, diced

½ onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Toss butternut squash cubes and Brussels sprouts with olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 3035 minutes, until vegetables are caramelized and tender.

3. To make vinaigrette, cook diced bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

4. Add onion to the bacon fat and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add mustard, vinegar and maple syrup and whisk to form a hot bacon dressing.

5. Drizzle vinaigrette over the sheet pan of roasted vegetables and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and top with bacon bits and chopped walnuts.

FALL FLAVORS

Photos by Jesse Hendrix-Inman . Recipes provided by Brigitte Prather , the host of central Kentucky’s Fox 56 Meal Time Monday , and prepared at Sullivan University by Ann Currie

Bourbon Butternut Pie

2 cups roasted butternut squash purée (we roasted 1 medium butternut squash)

3 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons bourbon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 blind-baked pie shell (a raw shell also can be used, but lightly prebaking will combat a soggy crust)

Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine squash purée, eggs, brown sugar, cream, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.

3. Using an immersion blender, purée until smooth.

4. Transfer mixture to baked pie shell and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until center is set and no longer jiggly.

5. Allow pie to cool and top with Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream before serving.

Maple Bourbon Whipped Cream

Butternut squash makes a sweeter, silkier pie than canned pumpkin. Brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla and spices add depth and dimension to a rich backdrop of roasted squash, eggs and cream. To roast and purée squash, simply cut the squash in half lengthwise and place on a rimmed baking sheet. If using for a savory application, I drizzle the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. For a sweet recipe such as this pie, I roast it plain, cut side up, in a 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the squash, until tender when pierced with a fork. When it’s cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh of the squash into the bowl of a food processor and purée until smooth. The purée makes for a luxurious risotto stirin, flavorful quesadilla filling, simple side dish, or spectacular baby food.

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon bourbon

Pinch salt

Whip heavy cream, maple syrup, bourbon and salt until soft peaks form.

ONLINE EXTRAS: For more autumn-inspired recipes from Brigitte Prather—Spaghetti Squash with Brown Butter and Sage and Pumpkin Spice Grits with Toasted Pepitas—see kentuckymonthly.com

Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

Pastry cream:

2 cups milk

½ cup sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

¼ stick butter

1½ teaspoon vanilla

Pumpkin mixture:

2 cups pumpkin purée

¼ cup brown sugar

1¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or ¾ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch each of allspice, ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon bourbon

Pinch kosher salt

For assembly:

2 cups gingersnap cookie pieces or crumbs

Sweetened whipped cream

1. To make pastry cream, bring milk to a simmer over medium heat in a saucepan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and whole egg. Once the milk simmers, temper it into the egg mixture by slowly streaming in hot milk and whisking continuously.

3. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and bring it back to a simmer, stirring often with a wooden spoon or whisk. Once it thickens, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool.

4. Stir pumpkin purée, brown sugar, spices, ginger, vanilla, bourbon and salt into cooled pastry cream to make a lovely pumpkin mousse.

5. To assemble, layer gingersnap crumbs, pumpkin mousse and sweetened whipped cream in a large trifle dish or individual parfait glasses. Repeat layering to fill the dishes. Chill before serving.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Buttery Pecan Streusel

Cake:

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin purée

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Streusel:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup pecans, chopped

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ cup flour

Pinch salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk oil with eggs, sugar and pumpkin purée.

3. In another bowl, combine pumpkin pie spice, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry to form a thick batter.

4. To make streusel, melt butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add pecans and toast until fragrant and crisp, about 4-7 minutes.

5. Combine pumpkin pie spice, flour, salt, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and add toasted pecans and butter. Stir to form a crumb topping.

6. Spread half the cake batter into a greased 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with about 1/3 of the streusel crumbs, then follow with remaining batter and the rest of the streusel.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.

BY TRICIA DESPRES

SWEET HOME KENTUCKY

On the cusp of her induction into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, country star Carly Pearce reflects on her Bluegrass State roots

It was 2008, and Carly Pearce was feeling lost. As the songstress chased her superstar dreams at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, she missed home, mourned her late grandpa, and craved the unshakeable foundation that she had always found in her home state of Kentucky. So, the aspiring country singer did the only thing she knew could make her feel better.

She got a tattoo.

“I wanted to get some sort of a reminder of the very last thing [my grandpa] ever said to me,” Pearce remembered quietly during an interview with Kentucky Monthly about the tattooed outline of the Bluegrass State on her right wrist.

“[My grandpa] wanted me to go to Nashville. And he knew that, once I got there, I was going to make it.”

And make it she did. In the 16 years since she left her beloved hometown of Taylor Mill in Kenton County, Pearce has found her way toward the top of country music’s impressive heap of female vocalists. From her induction into the Grand Ole Opry in 2021 to number one singles such as “Every Little Thing,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now” (with Lee Brice) and “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” (with Ashley McBryde), Pearce is well on her way to cementing her proper place in country music history.

But come Oct. 28, the reigning Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year and four-time Academy of Country Music Award winner will cement her place in the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, as she is honored at a ceremony in Renfro Valley alongside Grand Ole Opry background vocalist Norah Lee Allen, Steel Guitar

PHOTOS BY ALLISTER ANN

Hall of Famer Tommy White, blues guitarist and singer Tee Dee Young, “I’m From the Country” hit songwriter Marty Brown, and—posthumously—bluegrass songwriting legend Pete Goble and master guitarist and producer Paul Yandell “I don’t even know that I feel worthy of it yet,” Pearce admitted of the induction. “I’m still so taken aback by it.”

That’s understandable, as the recognition will forever list Pearce’s name with some of Kentucky’s finest, including Loretta Lynn, Jean Ritchie, The Backstreet Boys, Florence Henderson, Rosemary Clooney, Keith Whitley and Homer Louis “Boots” Randolph.

“Kentucky means everything to me,” continued Pearce, who will headline a series of shows at the iconic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Oct. 26-27. “It’s where I found my love of country music. It’s where my country music dreams started. It’s where I learned so much about who I am as a person. And to be recognized forever in the place that made me who I am is just really overwhelming. Since the age of 12, this is all I have ever wanted.”

While Pearce has made a living finding the words for the most unspoken of sentiments, the country music hitmaker admitted that she didn’t know how she would possibly express her thankfulness when she is inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. “It reminds me of how I felt right before I was inducted into the [Grand Ole] Opry,” said Pearce, who spent much of this past summer as part of Kenny Chesney’s Here and Now Tour. “I almost didn’t write anything down because I just wanted it to feel authentic in the moment, but I’m going to think about it this time around, just because I feel like this is so special. Not only to me, but to so many people

in the state of Kentucky that have helped to make this dream come true for me.”

One of those people is her childhood best friend, Kara Foxx.

“Every time I come through town, she picks me up at the venue, and we take a drive to all the places that I miss,” Pearce said with a laugh. “We’ve done it for years.”

Often, one of the places the two longtime friends visit is the sign that sits at the south end of Taylor Mill on Pride Parkway reminding everyone passing it that they are entering the hometown of a country music star. The sign, which was placed there in early September 2021, was stolen less than a week later but has since been replaced.

“The last time I was in town, [Kara and I] just pulled over and took a picture with that welcome sign,” Pearce remembered of a moment she shared on Instagram. “Since the time we were 12 years old, she has known that this is the life that I have always wanted.”

Pearce grew up on the Kentucky sounds of artists such as Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn and Ricky Skaggs. But perhaps no one inspired her more than the country duo The Judds. Today, Pearce finds inspiration through her friendship with fellow Kentuckian Wynonna Judd. “She is such a pillar of strength,” said Pearce, whose first concert was to see Wynonna and the group BlackHawk at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati when she was 10 years old. “She just serves as such an example about what it means to go through hard things and just tackling them and not letting them take you down … She sends me almost every day some sort of inspirational message that a lot of times I need.”

The accolades continue to pile up for Pearce. On Nov. 9, she will be up for a slew of awards at the 56th annual Country Music Association Awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year— the latter four nominations for the hit “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”

And if this professional bliss wasn’t enough for the 32-year-old, there is the personal bliss she currently finds alongside boyfriend and former professional baseball player Riley King. “He makes me very, very happy,” said Pearce, who went through a rather public divorce from fellow country artist Michael Ray in 2020. “He really does.”

Still, when life feels too big, and the future seems a tad uncertain, all she needs to do is look to that little reminder forever emblazoned on her wrist.

“This career can get a little crazy at times,” said Pearce, who recently confirmed her collaboration with Kelsea Ballerini and Kelly Clarkson on the song “You’re Drunk, Go Home,” set to be featured on Ballerini’s new album. “It also can be a little bit isolating. And so, sometimes, you just need that reminder that there are a lot of people that love you, and there’s a place that you can always go back to, and it’s the place that made you. That’s Kentucky to me.” Q

Daniel Boone Country is Waiting for YOU!

Barbourville Tourism Commission 606-545-9674 barbourvilletourism.com

Clay County/ Manchester Visitors Center 606-598-0169

Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission 606-528-8860 corbinkytourism.com

Cumberland Tourism Commission 606-589-5812 harlancountytourism.com

Beattyville-Lee County Tourism 606-464-5038 visitleecountyky.com

Harlan Tourist Commission 606-573-4156 harlancountytourism.com

Hazard-Perry County Tourism 606-487-1580 hazardperrycountytourism.com

Irvine-Estill County Tourism Commission 606-723-2450

ExploreEstill.com

Jackson County Tourism 606-287-8562 visitjacksoncountyky.com

Letcher County Tourism & Convention Commission 606-634-1814 discoverletcher.com

London-Laurel County Tourist Commission 606-878-6900, 800-348-0095 visitlondonky.com

Middlesboro-Bell County Tourism 606-248-2482 bellcountytourism.com

Mt. Vernon-Rockcastle County Tourism 606-256-9814 rockcastletourism.com

Owsley County Action Team (O.C.A.R.E. Inc.) 606-593-7296 www.exploreowsley.com

Powell County Tourism Commission Slade Welcome Center 606-663-1161 gopoco.org

Williamsburg Tourist Commission 606-549-0530 williamsburgky.com

Wolfe County Tourism Commission 606.668.3040 visitwolfecounty.com

Kentucky’s ultimate road trip destinationhome of the Corvette and so much more.

Made in

With the Kennedy Center Honors coming up in December, George Clooney continues to make his Kentucky hometown proud

BY JACK BRAMMER

Q

Penny Fegan is a bartender at The Augusta Pub on Main Street in the town of about 1,200 on the Ohio River in northern Kentucky. In her job, she often gets “George questions” from out-oftowners.

“Is George Clooney from Augusta?” “Does he ever come to this pub, and how often?” “If so, where does he sit, and what is he like?”

Clooney, an accomplished actor and filmmaker, is Augusta’s most famous export. He grew up there, and his parents—Nick, a journalist, and Nina, a businesswoman and member of the Kentucky Film Commission—call it home. They often frequent The Augusta Pub.

George sometimes comes with them when he is visiting with his wife, attorney and activist Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and their 5-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander

It was at the pub in 2018 where David Letterman talked to George’s parents about their famous son for Letterman’s Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction

Clooney, who graced the first cover of Kentucky Monthly magazine in September 1998, certainly needs no introduction.

The easy-going, Hollywood-handsome guy is the recipient of numerous accolades—including two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the other as a producer; four Golden Globe awards; four Screen Actors Guild Awards; a British Academy Film Award; and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.

He is a star of films and television, appearing in acclaimed movies such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000),

Syriana (2005), Michael Clayton (2007), Up in the Air (2009), The Descendants (2011) and Gravity (2014).

In the 1978 television miniseries Centennial, Clooney— then 17—appeared in an uncredited role as a young man carrying a barrel. The scenes representing St. Louis in the late 18th and early 19th century were filmed in, of all places, Augusta.

Clooney was a national heartthrob in the TV sitcom E/R from 1984-1985. He starred in the popular dramatic television series ER from 1994-1999. Clooney will keep hearts pounding this fall in the romantic comedy film Ticket to Paradise with Julia Roberts

The 2009 Kentucky Monthly Kentuckian of the Year, Clooney is known for his humanitarian efforts. His honors in that area include the 2007 Peace Summit Award, presented at the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, and the 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. He has produced three telethons: The Tribute to Heroes (post 9/11), Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope, and Hope for Haiti Now. The latter raised $66 million.

And now Clooney is about to become even more famous.

Clooney, 61, is one of five recipients of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. They will be honored in a star-studded celebration Dec. 4 at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. CBS will air the show at a later date.

Other recipients are contemporary Christian and pop

Augusta’s riverfront

photo by Annette Nantell

Courtesy City of Augusta/Augusta-Bracken

County Tourism

Above, Clooney with parents Nina and Nick; above right, with wife Amal; far left, the star played basketball at Augusta High School; left, Clooney (standing, second from left) with tennis pals in Augusta in 1978.

singer-songwriter Amy Grant; the legendary soul, gospel, R&B and pop singer Gladys Knight; Cuban-born American composer, conductor and educator Tania León; and iconic Irish rock band U2—Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.

George Clooney will be the second Kentuckian to receive the award, which has been presented annually since 1978.

The late Irene Dunne, a Louisville native and actress best known for her comedic film roles in the 1930s and ’40s, was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor in 1985 for her services to the arts.

Clooney, in a release from the Kennedy Center, said of his award, “Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I could never have imagined that someday I’d be the one sitting in the balcony at the Kennedy Center Honors.

“To be mentioned in the same breath with the rest of these incredible artists is an honor. This is a genuinely exciting surprise for the whole Clooney family.”

Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said of Clooney, “Whether saving humanity, masterminding a heist, or captaining a ship in dangerous seas, actor George Clooney’s unique brand of earnest charisma and his complete embodiment of a character has led us to root for him every time.”

“The Commonwealth is proud to see our fellow Kentuckian, George Clooney, celebrated by the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award for his impact on American culture and arts,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. “Kentucky is a special place, full of special people, and George has shown that on the national stage. On behalf of the Commonwealth, congratulations to George on this well-deserved honor.”

•

The entire Clooney family has been a boon for Augusta, said Mayor Michael Taylor. “They are good people, and we are fortunate to have them,” Taylor said.

George Clooney brings more awareness to Augusta’s status as a tourism spot, said Janet Hunt, tourism director for Augusta and Bracken County.

In 2005, the late Kentucky historian Dr. Thomas Clark listed Augusta as one of the 11 places of particular historical, cultural or ecological significance in the state. It was the only city included on his list of Kentucky’s “mustsee” locations. USA Today named Augusta, with its 9 miles of unobstructed outstanding river views, the most picturesque town in Kentucky.

Tourism director Hunt said she first met Clooney when he was having breakfast with his parents at a restaurant in

Francis Specker / Alamy

Stock

Photo

Glyn Lowe Photo

Augusta. “We are protective of their privacy, but I had to say something to him,” she said. “I said, ‘Hi,’ and he shook my hands and was quite charming and gracious.”

Augusta Pub bartender Fegan said the Clooneys often pose for photos with staff and patrons.

Other area restaurants and businesses that have garnered publicity by the Clooneys’ visits include the historic Beehive Augusta Tavern by the river, Caproni’s on the River restaurant in nearby Maysville, and Magee’s Bakery in Maysville, which makes George’s favorite dessert, transparent pie.

Former Kentucky Lt. Gov. Steve Henry and his wife, 2000 Miss America Heather French Henry, who is from Augusta, appreciate Clooney and his support of the nonprofit foundation they head to preserve the home of Clooney’s aunt, singer and actress Rosemary Clooney

The modest house on Riverside Drive where Rosemary Clooney lived for about 20 years contains not only memorabilia from Rosemary Clooney, such as her costumes from the 1954 movie White Christmas, but also a few items of George’s memorabilia and costumes from some of his movies, along with a shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs.

“I remember he visited the house with his mom, and he said, ‘Steve has my baseball and tennis trophies,’ ” said Steve Henry, an orthopedic surgeon. “Nina told him,

‘Relax, George. They are just on loan.’

“We still have some of his childhood memorabilia but not his trophies.”

Henry described George as “a very funny guy who I have never seen in a bad mood.”

“The last time I saw him, the kids were climbing all over him and giving him a workout. I told him that at least they are not in diapers anymore. He replied, ‘But I am.’ ”

Henry recalled a dinner one evening with film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who, with his wife, Linda, owns a farm in Bloomfield.

“I asked him how big George is,” Henry said. “He said that he’s really big. He’s reached Clark Gable status. He has put together a remarkable career of civic responsibility, philanthropy and acting. Very few people in Hollywood can do that, and he has never embarrassed himself or his family.”

Like George Clooney, Heather French Henry is, as she put it, “a chartered member of Augusta.”

“The Clooney family has served as an inspiration to me,” she said. “George has proven over and over that he is a great person. He loves this state and its people.

“All Kentuckians should be proud of what he has accomplished and especially now that he is in line for a Kennedy Center Honor.” Q

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BY PATRICIA RANFT

Hats Off to the Tea Maker

When COVID curtailed her millinery business, Polly Singer immersed herself in another passion

M any Kentuckians know Polly Singer as one of the Commonwealth’s most talented designers of couture hats. Her stunning creations have graced the heads of Kentucky Derby patrons, wedding guests and Easter service attendees for decades. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t much demand for hats, so Singer turned her attention to another passion— tea—about which she blogged.

“I’d been posting about tea online, and a lady called me from California. She said, ‘Have you ever thought about doing tea etiquette?’ ”

Singer recalled about the February 2021 conversation. The woman was Nancy Hoogenboom, the CE O of

Daily Etiquette, Southern California School of Etiquette & Protocol. “And I said, ‘No, but it would be interesting.’ I was stuck at home. There was a pandemic and an ice storm, and my Jeep was stuck in ice, so I couldn’t go anywhere.”

Singer, a devotee of afternoon tea parties, decided to dive into tea etiquette training. “We did it all via Zoom,” she said. “[Nancy] looked at my table, and I had to present to her how I would serve tea. It was about 10 hours of training—very involved.”

Singer became certified as an Afternoon Tea Etiquette Trainer and began doing presentations.

After posting online about tea etiquette, Singer was thrilled when central Kentucky restaurateur Ouita Michel contacted her around the same time. The owner of Midway’s

Holly Hill Inn and other restaurants throughout the Bluegrass asked Singer if she might be interested in partnering in an afternoon tea at Holly Hill Inn. Michel mentioned that she loved tea, and that Holly Hill had done teas in the past, but they were incredibly labor intensive. “There are lots of little pieces” in hosting a tea, Singer explained. “There are the soup and the salad, the sandwiches and scones and the desserts—so there are a lot more plates, a lot more service.”

The pair collaborated on a public afternoon tea at Holly Hill in April 2021. “The food was amazing; it was off the charts,” Singer said. “[Ouita] was so encouraging about it … I had gone through the pandemic and making hats with no events for people to wear them to. I had gone through a year and a half of being

Where to Purchase Polly Singer Teas

Oh Sew Cute

East Main Street

Martine’s Bakery

East

depressed. It was hard.”

The tea’s success snapped Singer out of the pandemic doldrums. “It was the first event for many people in a year and a half. So, people who attended were thrilled, and it was just so much fun to see people getting together, trying on hats, having tea,” Singer said about the get-together, which included her hats for sale.

The Making of a Milliner

A native of Georgetown, Singer graduated from Scott County High School before attending Hollins

College in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1985, her senior year, she moved to New York City for an internship at Columbia Records. “I liked the music business, but I really missed working with my hands and being creative,” she said. “I worked as an assistant to the CEO, and I thought that I really liked this … but I needed a creative outlet.”

While recuperating from a broken foot in the summer of 1993, Singer picked up a little straw hat and hotglued some dried flowers to it. It was the beginning of her journey into millinery. “I grew up doing 4-H

sewing and then style shows,” she said. “I always loved sewing. My grandmother from Eubank [on the border of Pulaski and Lincoln counties] taught me how to sew.”

She enrolled in New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and graduated with a degree in millinery.

Singer returned to her home state in 1998 and lived in Lexington, where she met her now-husband, Keith. The couple found an older house for sale in Georgetown and purchased the charming 1890 Victorian home in 2010.

New Creative Venture

Singer has been a member of a local tea group since 2008. The tea aficionados meet monthly at a member’s home to enjoy each other’s company and an afternoon tea. “It’s our little bonding time,” she said. “Because tea is kind of an escape to me, by having a tea group or a friend over for tea, it’s a special time.”

While she was taking a neighborhood stroll in September 2021, a thought occurred to Singer: With her love of tea and hosting teas—and following the success of her collaboration with Michel—why not develop her own line of artisan teas? “I’m in a group of businesswomen, and I posted online, ‘What do you all think of this?’ ” she said. The response was positive and encouraging.

Singer reached out to master tea blender, writer and historian Bruce Richardson, who owns Elmwood Inn Fine Teas in Danville, about working together. “I was looking at companies to work with. I always liked the quality [of the Elmwood Inn products], so I reached out to them and went down and did a tasting,” she said. “[Richardson] is very talented. I wanted a Kentucky company, and I wanted somebody that had the quality.”

“This has been such a fun collaboration,” Richardson said. “Polly came to our shop in true Polly Singer fashion, wearing a long floral dress and an original Polly Singer couture camel color fedora. She tasted several tea blends to make sure the colors and tastes of the teas met her vision.”

The Singer private-label teas are blended and packaged by the Elmwood Inn facility, with highquality ingredients sourced from all over the world. Singer has a hand in blending the teas, custom tailoring them for specific events or hat designs. “Polly is lovely to work with,” Richardson continued. “She has a very good eye for color and a sophisticated palate. She is always willing to try new blends and flavors. This collaborative project was a great way to blend two things that go hand in hand—hats and tea.”

The artisan tea line became a reality the following January with the release of Singer’s first teas. Her

creativity extends to them—not only in the flavors and blends, but also in their names, which are reflective of her background as a hat-maker. The initial blends released were Earl Grey’s Top Hat, a classic black Earl Grey; Audrey’s French Beret, a black tea similar to Earl Grey but light on the bergamot oil, with hints of vanilla and citrus; Jane’s Blueberry Bonnet, a fruity herbal blend brimming with antioxidants; Belle’s Blue Butterfly, a purple-hued herbal with butterfly blue pea flowers and notes of anise, licorice and fennel; and Rose’s Cherry Cloche, a green tea blend with rose

petals and cherries.

In July, the teas were certified as Kentucky Proud products.

Singer plans to release new tea blends each season. For autumn, tea lovers can enjoy Paula’s Pumpkin Fedora, a black blend with the rich fall flavors of cinnamon, apple, orange and, of course, pumpkin (’tis the season!); Charlie’s Chai Cartwheel, a rooibos—or red tea—with ginger, cardamom and cinnamon; and Vanessa’s Vanilla Halo, another rooibos with almond bits and calendula petals. The original lineup of teas remains available for purchase year-round.

Polly’s Tips for Hosting an Afternoon Tea

1. Choose a theme and time. You can choose a holiday theme, such as Valentine’s Day or Christmas. Other possible themes include Queen Elizabeth II, Beatrix Potter, Steampunk, Bridgerton and Jane Austen. A theme helps determine the type of tea you will serve as well as decorations, food and clothing options. Have fun with this!

2. Invite guests via email or text—or tap into your own creativity and design an invitation using the free online tool Canva at canva.com

3. Make the tea a potluck. This allows your guests to incorporate their own unique food choices. For a Jane Austen tea with my group, a guest once brought syllabub, a dessert popular during the Regency period.

4. Ask guests to RSVP so that you can plan how many place settings you will need. I like to set the table the night before to make things easier on “tea day.”

5. Decide which china to use. I love to use matching plates and let guests select teacups from my collection. It makes the setting a bit whimsical.

6. Surprise everyone with a lovely floral arrangement. You can use a vintage teapot, a silver teapot or even a few teacups with the floral design.

7. Try to serve a show-stopping cake. If you don’t have time to bake one, visit your favorite bakery! There is no rule that you must prepare all of the food.

8. Get everything ready one hour ahead of time so that you can relax and enjoy your tea and your guests.

As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” As a hostess, the most important thing is that all your guests feel valued and loved. Afternoon tea is a time of R&R (renewal and relaxation) with others.

Singer pointed out that tea events are becoming more prevalent. “A lot of people are doing bridal teas or birthday teas,” she said. “I recently read an article about a tea as kind of the new happy hour, because a lot of people don’t drink or are watching how much they drink.”

Afternoon teas provide an opportunity to gather with friends and to bring out some of the

dressy attire that may have been stashed away since the beginning of the pandemic. “I hear from women, ‘Oh, I really love to dress up, and I don’t have the chance to.’ Or, ‘I’d really like to wear my hat because I don’t often have the chance to,’ ” Singer said. “This is an event where people can dress up and have that avenue to do it, and be with a group of other people who are dressed up.”

Hatmaker and tea maker Polly Singer and one of her stunning chapeaus

BY KIM KOBERSMITH PHOTOS BY PATRICK MITCHELL

A Family of Writers

Decades removed from their heady beginnings, the Affrilachian Poets continue their quest for identity and justice

Frank X Walker remembers the breathtaking and heady days of the writing group that became the Affrilachian Poets in the early 1990s.

Centered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center at the University of Kentucky, the young writers were in love with language and fired up with its profound power to speak their experiences.

As is often true in the young, they shared a sense of immediacy. When one of them had something that needed to be shared RIGHT NOW, he or she would walk through the center and pronounce it a “Poetry Moment.” That was their cue. The others knew to get to the elevator quickly, before the reader had enough listeners and would shut off the power prior to privately sharing a new work.

Those moments bolstered the unifying spirit of the group. “There is something about sharing the same breath in the same space that enlivens the poetry process,” said Walker, the 2013-2014 Kentucky Poet Laureate.

Those elevator days were more than 30 years ago. Back then, the community coalesced through weekly writing workshops and public readings. They intentionally furthered each other’s writing and publishing careers.

Distance and age have eliminated the immediate nature of their sharing, but the Affrilachian Poets remain relevant as a family of writers spurring each other on to their finest work and as important witnesses to the diversity of the region.

OUTWARD

The name “Affrilachian” emerged early in the group’s history from one of Walker’s poems, written as a creative response to a dictionary definition that perpetuated the myth of an all-white Appalachia. From the beginning, the Affrilachian Poets were grounded in inclusivity and intentionally multicultural. The founders include people with African, Asian, Puerto Rican and Lebanese ancestry. As young writers of color, the group helped members embrace their identity and gave them a place to belong.

“The name is based on a definition that said everybody in the room was left out,” Walker said. “ ‘Affrilachian’ troubles the mainstream definitions of the region.”

The power of the name is

something they freely share with others who embrace it and its variations (Cubalachian, Asialachian, etc.) as a key to their own search for home in the region and a way to encapsulate their own cultural experience.

The perspective of the Affrilachian Poets has enriched the poetic landscape of Kentucky. But it is bigger than that. As Shauna M. Morgan wrote in the foreword to the group’s anthology Black Bone in 2018, “This art … moves beyond the region … to forge a new world, to stand up for justice, and to call truth’s name in ink and song.”

These poets write about this underlying current of justice and many similar themes: family, history, identity and place.

From their diversity comes unique

voices and a range of poetic genres. One member writes experimental abstract poetry about jazz; another writes straightforward narratives imagined as historical personas.

Jeremy Paden grew up predominantly in Latin America and is working on a bilingual Spanish/ English ABC bestiary. The short lyrical poems about endangered animals that migrate between Central and North America will become a children’s book with illustrations. It follows his 2020 illustrated book of poems, Under the Ocelot Sun, which is about Latin American refugees.

Ricardo Nazario y Colon is writing a more scholarly text about the history of folks of Latin American descent in Appalachia. Though often unacknowledged, they have lived in the region since the early 1900s. It

will do the important work of broadening the conversation about who is Appalachian. A founding Affrilachian Poet, he explained, “Poets are meant to be critical of the time and place they live. It is our responsibility to question the manner under which we are living to bring about dialogue and a humanistic point of view.”

INWARD

Writing can be a solitary pursuit. Groups like the Affrilachian Poets give members whatever they need, for wherever they are. Walker said that the Affrilachian Poets give him support, encouragement and motivation. “We really lean on each other,” he said. “I always tell others to find a writing community or start

From left, Makalani Bandele, Frank X Walker, Ron Davis, Amy Alvarez, Lisa Kwong, Zakia Holland, Crystal Wilkinson and Jeremy Paden

Affrilachian Poets Accomplishments

The 40-plus Affrilachian Poets have published more than 60 books, including poetry collections, short stories, novels, memoirs, plays and, most recently, a coloring book. The members also have published widely in literature anthologies and journals. Two members— Frank X Walker (2013-2014) and Crystal Wilkinson (2021-2022)— have served as Kentucky Poets Laureate. Many are artists, educators and activists.

They collaborated on a documentary, Coal Black Voices, that honored their 10th anniversary, and a poetry anthology, Black Bone, that commemorated their 25th anniversary.

They will be well-represented at the Kentucky Book Festival this year with Walker and his Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York expanded edition, scheduled for a Nov. 1 release; Jeremy Paden and his 2021 book Self-Portrait as an Iguana; Crystal Wilkinson and her 2021 release Perfect Black; and Danni Quintos, the author of Two Brown Dots, which was published in April.

For more information on the Kentucky Book Festival, see page 29.

one. It is paramount to not create art in isolation to sustain the passion and work.”

Giving feedback to one another is a cornerstone of their interactions. “Knowing I am supported by a group who comes at questions of ethics and politics in a similar way helps me through the more lonely times,” said Paden. “I can send drafts to fellow poets who will give it a deep, honest read.”

Only one member—Nikky Finney, a 2021 inductee into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame—had published a book when the group began. She started a tradition of helping others on the journey to publication. Members recommend, review and promote each other’s work with a sense that one person’s publication is everyone’s success.

Through the years, the founders have formed such a close-knit community that they feel like family. They join each other’s wedding

celebrations and travel across states to visit. In their introduction to Black Bone, Paden and Bianca Lynne Spriggs explain their relationships: “There is so much about this family of writers and artists, activists and educators, that we cannot show you through this collection. How we smack-talk, laugh hard, turn up the music, clink mason jars, and love one another the hardest through every trial and triumph. How we mourn each other’s tragedies. Crow over one another’s successes. How somebody will have a hand outstretched to welcome you home, no matter how long you’ve been gone.”

FORWARD

The longevity of the group is attributable to something more than the close-knit community they have formed. Together, they have mastered a challenge for any group

that wants to last beyond its original visionary members. They invite, welcome and integrate new young members into their fold.

It is not by accident. Many Affrilachian Poets are educators, and they take that role seriously. They serve young people as teachers at the Governor’s School for the Arts and celebrated their 25th anniversary with a reading to the statewide gathering of high schoolers. “Having groups read poetry in elementary and middle schools is a deeply meaningful part of what we do,” Paden said. “We help children develop a love for the written word and find their own creative voice.”

By developing mentoring

relationships, the writers get a sense of who might be a good fit as an Affrilachian Poet. They welcome new members. by invitation only, about every five years. As a result, they have successfully become intergenerational. Their most recent induction was this past June at the Lyric Theater in Lexington, where they welcomed four new members.

“Our commitment to continually

bringing people in brings fresh vision and new voices,” Paden said.

To their knowledge, the Affrilachian Poets are the oldest active poet collective of multicultural writers in the United States. While they have good reason to look back and celebrate this milestone, they also have good reason to look forward.

“The continuity of our vision to make poets of color visible and giving space within the group for that to happen doesn’t rely on individuals,” Nazario y Colon said. “We are replaceable and hope that, 30 years from now, there is a group that still says, ‘We are Affrilachian Poets.’ ” Q

kentucky monthly ’s annual writers’ showcase

PENNED

We are seeking submissions for the literary section in our February 2023 issue. Entries will be accepted in the following categories: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction and One Act Play.

attention, writers... Submission Deadline

Kentucky Book

Southern Reads

FROM BESTSELLING AUTHORS

Available Wherever Books and eBooks Are Sold

Medical missionary Cynthia Myers is trained to save lives. Captain Rick Norton of the Special Forces A-Team is ordered to take them. They must learn to put aside their differences if they want to make it home alive.

Widow Rose Meadows accepts her brotherin-law’s offer for her and her two daughters to live on his farm after her treatments in a sanatorium finds them needing a home. But is this reclusive man ready for all the changes these women will bring to his life?

Nora Fenton inherits a struggling horse farm and a dangerous secret from her father—one that Silas Cavallero threatens to uncover. As the two grow closer over their shared passion for horses, the mysteries and dangers of the past loom closer than ever.

A colonial lady and a privateering sea captain collide once more after a failed love affair a decade before. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them?

The 41st annual Kentucky Book Festival returns to Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington for a one-of-a-kind literary celebration. On Saturday, October 29, the festival will host 150 authors, including Jon Meacham, Barbara Kingsolver, Crystal Wilkinson, Wendell Berry, Silas House, and Geraldine Brooks . There is no admission fee to attend, and you’ll find plentiful parking at Lexington Green. Along with a packed schedule of events across multiple stages inside Joseph-Beth, we’ll also host family-friendly programs including story times, face-painting, and a costume contest. And, thanks to our generous sponsors, each child 12 and under can receive a voucher for a free book (terms on our website)! View the author lineup, additional festival events, and Saturday’s schedule at kybookfestival.org

We’re so grateful for the sponsors and partners who make the Kentucky Book Festival possible, including Joseph-Beth Booksellers; Hardscuffle, Inc; the Kosair Charities® Face It® Movement; Kentucky Monthly magazine; The Owsley Brown II Family Foundation; The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels; Kentucky Living magazine; Elite Graphics; Anonymous; Tallgrass Farm Foundation; Kentucky Soaps & Such; Lexington Green; University of Kentucky; Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet; Harshaw Family Foundation; Central Bank; Baird Private Wealth Management; Campbellsville University; LFUCG; Wildcat Moving; AARP Kentucky; Transylvania University; McClure Family Fund; Bryant’s Rent-All; Spalding University Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing; VisitLex; LG&E and KU Foundation; Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer; Aldi; Commerce Lexington; Goodwood; WEKU; and WUKY!

Sara V. Woods DIRECTOR, KENTUCKY BOOK FESTIVAL

FORMS OF HEALTH

We appreciate your time and support in making the 2022 Kentucky Book Festival a success.

KENTUCKY HUMANITIES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR

Charles W. Boteler, JD Louisville

VICE CHAIR

Brian Clardy, Ph.D. Murray

TREASURER

Martha F. Clark, CPA Owensboro

SECRETARY

Clarence Glover Louisville

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

John P. Ernst, Ph.D. Morehead

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

Judy Rhoads, Ed.D. Owensboro

Chelsea Brislin, Ph.D. Lexington

Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D. Lexington

Paula E. Cunningham Kuttawa

Selena Sanderfer Doss, Ph.D. Bowling Green

Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. Morehead

Catha Hannah Louisville

Lois Mateus Harrodsburg

Tom Owen, Ph.D. Louisville

Jordan Parker Lexington

Libby Parkinson Louisville

Penelope Peavler Louisville

John David Preston, JD Paintsville

Andrew Reed Pikeville

Ronald G. Sheffer, JD Louisville

Maddie Shepard Louisville

Hope Wilden, CPFA Lexington

Bobbie Ann Wrinkle Paducah

KENTUCKY HUMANITIES STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Bill Goodman

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Kathleen Pool

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/EDITOR, KENTUCKY HUMANITIES Marianne Stoess

CHAUTAUQUA & SPEAKERS BUREAU COORDINATOR/ ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Zoe Kaylor

FISCAL OFFICER Gladys Thompson

CHRISTINA

KENTUCKY BOOK FESTIVAL DIRECTOR AND SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Sara Volpi Woods EVENT PRODUCTION/ LOGISTICS MANAGER Julie Klier

INCOMING KENTUCKY BOOK FESTIVAL DIRECTOR & SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Hap Houlihan

Kentucky Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. Kentucky Humanities is supported by the National Endowment and by private contributions. In addition to producing the Kentucky Book Festival, Kentucky Humanities sponsors PRIME TIME Family Reading Time®, offers Kentucky Chautauqua® and Speakers Bureau programs, hosts Smithsonian traveling exhibits throughout the state, publishes Kentucky Humanities magazine, and awards grants for humanities programs. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the NEH or Kentucky Humanities board and staff. Learn more at kyhumanities.org

Thank you to the staff & volunteers who make this event possible!

Nana Lampton

Commerce Lexington

Lexington welcomes the Kentucky Book Festival!

Now Accepting Bold Dreamers

You know it. You can feel it. It’s that moment when you know you are ready. Ready to move ahead. Ready to take that step. Ready to turn all your promise and potential into reality.

It’s your moment.

At the University of Kentucky, we know it, too. We are a community that welcomes dreamers and doers. There’s a sense of momentum here. We believe – we know – we can change lives and transform communities.

After all, we are doing it – every day. You can, too.

Here, you can join a community of scholars and students who will support and challenge you as you pursue your passions. With more than 200 academic programs, you won’t be limited in where you can go and what you can do.

And you will it do it in a wildly powerful community – what we call the Big Blue Nation. We will support you for who you are, while challenging you to push yourself just a bit further.

Because we know it, too.

It’s your moment.

An

Soaps & Such has been making generosity easier since the creation of our signature gift baskets in 2006. We offer a variety of options, featuring bath products, snacks, and more—all built to fit almost any budget.

After a promising Kentucky basketball career is cut short by injury, a Mormon family man navigates the seductive underworld of ticket scalping in pursuit of success — and salvation.

Meet the authors and have your copy signed at the Kentucky Book Festival on October 29.

Free resources to make parenting

little bit

2022

N Children’s

ANASTASIA

A Spot of New

P. Anastasia is the Kentucky young adult and children’s author of the Fluorescence series. Her latest children’s book, A Spot of New, is a gentle and inspiring equine tale written to rouse courage in those seeking to chase their dreams even though it can be scary.

MARY KAY CARSON

The River that Wolves Moved: A True Tale from Yellowstone

Mary Kay writes young people’s science, nature, and history books. In The River that Wolves Moved, she provides a step-by-step illustration of the unintentional but profound impact of human activity on nature.

DEBBIE DADEY Q Frankenstein Doesn't Plant Petunias

Veteran children’s author Debbie Dadey returns with two books: A Titanic Friendship from the Mermaid Tales series, and another graphic novel in The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series.

LORI DEGMAN

Travel Guide for Monsters

Lori used to be a full-time teacher, and now she’s a full-time picture book author. Travel Guide for Monsters contains all the information you'll need to help you, your family, and your monster enjoy the sights from coast to coast and avoid monster-related mishaps.

CHRISTOPHER DENISE Knight Owl

Christopher has made a career of illustrating children’s books for other authors, but Knight Owl is

the first book where he did the writing. It’s the story of an owl who has always wanted to be a knight—and what happens when he gets his big chance.

AMANDA DRISCOLL Q

Little Grump Truck

Amanda is a graphic designer and author-illustrator of four picture books. Little Grump Truck shows kids that meditation and mindfulness can banish even the most serious case of the grumpies.

RACHEL ELLIOTT Q

The Real Riley Mayes

Rachel teaches composition, multimedia writing, and writing comics at the University of Kentucky. The Real Riley Mayes, follows fifth-grade Riley as she discovers more about herself, navigates fearsome social challenges, and learns to create her own place in the world.

SAADIA FARUQI

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party

Saadia moved to the United States from Pakistan at age 22. She writes middle-grade novels and the Yasmin series for early readers. Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party finds Marya doing whatever (she thinks) it takes to build the best birthday party ever.

CHRISTINE ELIZABETH HERREN Q

Under the Angel Tree: The Eileen Series

Christine is the co-founder of First Generation Women Achievers of the Bluegrass. Under the Angel Tree is the story of a little girl who is bullied by her friends only to discover the special magic that lives inside each of us.

Joseph-Beth Booksellers

161 Lexington Green Circle Lexington, KY 40503

Authors will sign books at various locations within Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Most authors will be seated downstairs on the lower level with access via escalator and elevator. Maps will be provided day-of.

Events and authors are subject to change. Visit kybookfestival.org, for information including the latest updates.

Saturday’s scheduled programs can be found at kybookfestival.org/2022-events.

The Kentucky Fishing Reel

ABriefHistoryofBaitcasting,BassFishing andtheKentuckyReel by authors William Hinkebein and Art B. Lander, Jr.

Take home the lavishly illustrated new 142-page history of early fishing in Kentucky and the story of the famed Kentucky Reel, truly one of the great contributions of the Blue Grass state to the wider world. The first widely popular multiplying fishing reels were hand made in Kentucky in the nineteenth century, and their popularity changed fishing forever by ushering in the modern age of baitcasting. Featuring examples of some of the rarest Kentucky Reels, this book is a welcome introduction to an important yet overlooked piece of angling and Kentucky history.

Available at the Kentucky Book Festival and http://whitefishpress.com/

Give the Gift of Adventure

TAH Kentucky Gift Cards are perfect gift ideas for any occasion for anyone on your gift list. Gift cards can be used at all Kentucky State Resort Parks (except Breaks Interstate Park), the Kentucky Artisan Center, the Kentucky Horse Park and the Kentucky Historical Society’s 1792 Store. Use gift cards to purchase anything from meals to lodging or gift shop purchases.

TAH.KY.GOV

WILL HILLENBRAND

Mighty Reader and the Reading Riddle

Will is the author/illustrator of over 70 books. Mighty Reader and the Reading Riddle is the story of Inky the pup, whose quest to find just the right book results in a medieval adventure worthy of song.

GREG HOWARD

The Visitors

Greg writes about LGBTQ characters and issues, writing the kind of books he wishes he'd had access to as a gay kid growing up in the South. The hero of the middle-grade novel The Visitors is a 12-year-old boy trapped in an obscure, otherworldly locale. Only friendship and understanding can help him escape.

LAURA KRANTZ

The Search for Sasquatch

Laura is a journalist whose Wild Thing podcast—about science, the unexplained, and human curiosity—inspired The Search for Sasquatch which explores the myth and reality surrounding Bigfoot and demonstrates the use of practical scientific principles to investigate impractical questions.

GEORGE ELLA LYON Q

Time to Fly

Former Kentucky Poet Laureate and inductee to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame, George Ella adds a new picture book to her list of accomplishments. Time to Fly tracks Baby Bird’s passage from fear and doubt alone in the nest to flying about, along with the rest.

MELISSA MARTIN

Those Are Not My Underpants!

Melissa is a child therapist and writer who believes in the restorative power of laughter. Those Are Not My Underpants! follows Bear Cub on a quest through the forest to find out who belongs to the underpants he’s discovered. It’s funny, because underpants!

T. L. McBeth Randy, the Badly Drawn Reindeer!

T.L. is a children’s book illustrator and has been the writerillustrator for several books, including the Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse series. Randy, the Badly Drawn Reindeer! is a Christmas tale in which Randy, despite being a horse, has high hopes of joining Santa’s team of reindeer.

DANICA NOVGORODOFF Q

Alexander von Humboldt: Explorer, Naturalist, and Environmental Pioneer

Danica is a writer and New York Times bestselling illustrator. She wrote and illustrated Alexander von Humboldt, the biography of a man driven by curiosity and love of nature to explore the wild places of the earth.

CARMEN OLIVER The Twilight Library

A picture book author, Carmen also teaches writing and is the founder of the Booking Biz, an agency for children’s authors. In The Twilight Library, the age-old power of stories is revealed for nocturnal creatures as they gather each night in the heart of the wilderness.

TIMOTHY A. PACK Q

Skacky: Adventures in Imagination

Timothy is an illustrator, artist, and writer. He wrote and illustrated Skacky: Adventures in Imagination, which takes you through the imagination, creativity, and sense of humor of a child on the autism spectrum and his beloved toys.

SHAWN PRYOR Q

Currency Control

Pryor is an author of many books for kids, including the Cash & Carrie series. Currency Control is

the latest installment of Shawn’s The Gamer series. Young teen Tyler Morant suits up as the Gamer to oppose Cynthia Cyber and her minion Currency as they rob the digital world blind!

MARILYN SADLER Q

It's Better Being a Bunny

A veteran children’s author, Marilyn loves to give her readers (and herself) a good laugh. It’s Better Being a Bunny is a beginning reader featuring P.J. Funnybunny, who wishes his mom would just let him do whatever he wants—until he finds out where that leads.

DORIS DEAREN SETTLES Q

Leira Clara's Flowers

Doris, a writer and gardener, combines these two crafts in her latest picture book, Leira Clara's Flowers. Leira Clara learns the joys of cultivating flowers and kindness, which she passes on to her grumpy neighbor, Mr. Thorney.

BRITTANY J. THURMAN Q Fly

Brittany is an author and playwright who lives in her childhood home of Louisville. Fly is Brittany’s picture book about Africa, a young Black girl who employs friendship, community, memories of her grandmother, and her courage to compete as a beginner in a double Dutch contest.

KRISTIN O'DONNELL TUBB

The Decomposition of Jack

Kristin, a children’s author, lives near Nashville with her bouncyloud family. The Decomposition of Jack is Kristin’s book about a

VISIT US DOWNSTAIRS LAKESIDE NEXT TO JOSEPH BETH KIDS

middle-school boy dealing with his parents’ divorce, a mysterious cougar, fitting in, helping out, and roadkill— lots and lots of roadkill.

JULIE WHITNEY

Astra The Lonely Airplane

Julie owns a public relations and marketing company. When her husband lost his job as a corporate pilot due to COVID-19, Julie was inspired to write Astra The Lonely Airplane, a picture book about a plane and its pilot facing the difficulties of getting grounded.

SARAH WINTER Q

The Great Toy Disaster

Sarah is a software developer, Girl Scout Troop leader, basketball coach, and aspiring flower farmer. The Great Toy Disaster is a nightly read to make straightening up at the end of a day of play fun!

JESSICA YOUNG

Baby's Here

When Jessica was little, she wanted to be a tap-dancing flight attendant/veterinarian, but now she’s quite happy to be a children’s author. Baby’s Here is an interactive board book with a unique shape that encourages young readers to cradle, rock, and play with the babies in the pages; an ideal book for sibs-to-be!

N Young Adult

DAVID ARNOLD Q

The Electric Kingdom

Arnold is a New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland and other titles. His post-catastrophic, genre-smashing novel The Electric Kingdom is a sweeping exploration of art, storytelling, the afterlife, and finding love in a world gone dark.

DAVID BELL Q

She's Gone

Bell is a USA Today bestselling author and professor of English at Western Kentucky University, where he directs the MFA program. In his new thriller, She’s Gone, 17-year-old Hunter wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to learn that his girlfriend is missing—and that he’s a suspect in her disappearance.

HELENE DUNBAR

The Promise of Lost Things

In addition to writing YA novels, Dunbar has worked as a drama critic, journalist, and marketing manager. The Promise of Lost Things invites readers into St. Hilaire—a town that has built an industry of communing with the afterlife—to meet a diverse cast of characters, alive and dead.

HEATHER HENSON Q Wrecked

Henson is a novelist and managing director of Pioneer Playhouse, Kentucky's oldest outdoor theater, which her father founded in 1950. Wrecked is set in Appalachia amidst the opioid epidemic: Miri really likes Fen, the new kid in town, but his dad is DEA, and her dad is…something else entirely.

KAITLYN HILL Q

Love from Scratch

Hill believes that all the world is not so much a stage as a romance novel. Love from Scratch is her first book. Southern girl Reece finds herself as an intern in Seattle competing for a lone job opening with the infuriating (but stimulating) Benny: will their rivalry give rise to romance?

ELIZABETH KILCOYNE Q

Wake the Bones

Kilcoyne is an author, playwright, and poet from Kentucky. Her debut novel is Wake the Bones: returning to her family farm after dropping out of college, a young woman must face everyday challenges and a dark supernatural legacy that threatens to steal everything she loves.

JENNY O'NEILL Q

The Freethinker's Daughter

O’Neill is the author of four YA novels, including the acclaimed Goodbye and Keep Cold. The Freethinker's Daughter is set almost 200 years ago in Lexington: an abolitionist girl navigates the horrors of slavery and epidemic using her progressive upbringing and innate courage.

BRYAN PROSEK

A Measure of Serenity

Business attorney and author Prosek offers his second young adult novel, A Measure of Serenity When Serenity’s father goes missing, the young genius soon finds herself in a dystopic parallel dimension, where she must take on the identity of her slain alter ego to protect her home universe.

LYNN SLAUGHTER Q

Deadly Setup

Formerly a professional dancer and dance educator, Slaughter now writes coming-of-age romantic mysteries. In Deadly Setup, 17-yearold Sam finds herself on trial for the murder of her mom’s new beau and is forced to choose between loyalty and freedom.

JULIA WATTS Needlework

Watts’ books, set in her native Appalachia, often depict the lives of LGBTQ people in the Bible Belt. In Needlework, Kody, a 16-year-old boy with a love of quilting, cooking, and Dolly Parton—helps his grandma care for his opioidaddicted mother until the discovery of a family secret upends his life.

N Fiction

ASHLEY BLOOMS Q

Where I Can't Follow

Blooms received her MFA as a John and Renee Grisham Fellow from the University of Mississippi. Where I Can’t Follow is set in Appalachian Kentucky with a strand of magical realism. Maren Walker must choose between her present bleak circumstances and a mysterious destination from which none can return.

GWENDA BOND Q

The Date from Hell

Bond is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the Lois Lane and Cirque American trilogies. She and her husband, fellow festival author Christopher Rowe, live in Lexington. The Date from Hell is the romcomedic, paranormal sequel to Bond’s Not Your Average Hot Guy.

HALLEE BRIDGEMAN Q Honor Bound

USA Today bestselling author Bridgeman writes action-driven romantic suspense novels. In Honor Bound, a medical missionary is rescued by an elite soldier in warravaged Africa. As this unlikely duo struggles against hostile forces— and each other—an unforeseen attraction develops between them.

GERALDINE BROOKS Horse

Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and People of the Book, offers a novel with deep roots in our local history with Horse. Brooks deftly weaves visual art, racism, and forensic science into the fading history of Lexington, a real-life 19th-century equine champion to create a vibrant tapestry.

ANNETTE SAUNOOKE CLAPSADDLE Even As We Breathe

Clapsaddle, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, holds degrees from Yale and William & Mary. Even As We Breathe explores the immutable nature of the human spirit and the idea that physical existence, with all its strife and injustice, will not be humanity’s lasting legacy.

LEE COLE Q

Groundskeeping

Cole was born and grew up in rural Kentucky. In Groundskeeping, a young man attempting to rediscover his place in the world begins a secret romance with a woman from a decidedly different background.

BOBI CONN Q

A Woman in Time

Conn is the author of the Appalachian memoir In the Shadow of the Valley. In her first novel, A Woman in Time, Rosalee, increasingly fettered by her station as a woman at the end of her matrilineal line in prohibition-era Appalachia, finds solace in the deep forest as she navigates between loneliness and selfreliance.

DE DE COX Q Stolen Roses

Cox is a romance author from Rooster Run, KY. In a tale of romantic generosity reminiscent of “The Gift of the Magi,” Stolen Roses begins with a misunderstanding between longtime friends that threatens to divide their paths forever but might result in a true loving partnership.

Proud Supporter of the 2022 Kentucky Book Festival

MICHAEL EMBRY Q

Reunion of Familiar Strangers

A veteran journalist and author living in Frankfort, Embry offers the fifth novel in his John Ross Boomer Lit series. In this book, John and his wife Sally attend their 50th high school reunion and experience a weekend of encounters that include flirtation, fighting, and flashbacks.

ANN H. GABHART Q

When the Meadow Blooms

Gabhart’s many novels are set in her home state of Kentucky. Her latest novel, When the Meadow Blooms, takes place in the early 20th century on a picturesque family farm. Each of Gabhart’s characters is offered a much-needed chance for recovery if they can fall back on their faith.

CHRIS HELVEY Q Into the Wilderness

Helvey is a longtime author and editor-in-chief of Trajectory Journal. His latest novel, Into the Wilderness, finds Dave retreating to his hometown of Frankfort amidst a midlife crisis, only to stumble into a state government corruption scandal.

SILAS HOUSE Q

Lark Ascending

House is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels and one book of creative nonfiction. Lark Ascending follows Lark and his impromptu family of fellow refugees as they struggle to find a haven in a near-future world of widespread ecological, political, and civil dangers.

ANGELA JACKSON-BROWN Q

The Light Always Breaks

Jackson-Brown is an author, poet, and playwright and serves on the graduate faculty at Spalding University. In The Light Always Breaks, an inconvenient romance blooms between a successful Black entrepreneur and a white junior senator from Georgia in post-WWII Washington, DC.

R.J. JACOBS

Always the First to Die

A practicing psychologist who has written his third psychological thriller, Jacobs lives and works in Nashville. In Always the First to Die, a dilapidated manor house in the Florida Keys is the setting for deadly secrets—first for a young actress, and then for herself and her daughter a generation later.

BARBARA KINGSOLVER Q

Demon Copperhead

Kingsolver was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts. She lives in Appalachian Virginia with her family. Demon Copperhead is the story of a person and the place he comes from, both of whom have the odds stacked against them from the outset. Kingsolver's visit is sponsored by Transylvania University.

BOBBIE ANN MASON

Dear Ann

Mason is the author of numerous books, including Clear Springs, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. In Dear Ann, she captures the excitement of youth and the nostalgia of age, and relates how consideration of the road not taken can illuminate, and perhaps overtake, our present.

CATHERINE MCKENZIE Please Join Us

McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and practiced law for 20 years before leaving the practice to write full time. Please Join Us is a propulsive thriller centering on one woman’s entrance into a secretive organization that promises all the success she could hope for—but at what cost?

JESS MONTGOMERY

The Echoes

Montgomery is a literary journalist and author of the Kinship series of historical Appalachian mysteries who lives in Ohio. In The Echoes, intertwined old family secrets have created new havoc for Sheriff Lily Ross and her Appalachian community.

LO PATRICK

The Floating Girls

Patrick is a lawyer-turned-novelist living in Atlanta. The Floating Girls is her debut. This coming-of-age family drama is told from the perspective of a feisty 12-yearold girl—reminiscent of a modern-day Scout Finch—as she unravels the secrets that threaten her entire family.

MARK POWELL Lioness

Powell directs the creative writing program at Appalachian State University. Lioness, an explosive literary thriller, explores the uncertain boundaries between activism and terrorism, love and obsession, and personal idealism versus “greater good.”

BETH PUGH Q

The Santa Run

Born and raised in the hills of eastern Kentucky, Pugh has completed her second novel in the Pine Valley Holiday series. The Santa Run is Pine Valley’s oldest tradition, and as Eliza works closely with Bennett to help it succeed, the promise of romance develops.

SHERRY ROBINSON Q

Shadows Hold Their Breath

A retired vice-provost and English professor at Eastern Kentucky University, Robinson was born and educated in central Kentucky. Her third novel is Shadows Hold Their Breath. Propelled by unresolved grief, Kat impulsively abandons her husband and children in pursuit of an intangible resolution.

West Virginia University Press

Lioness

MARK POWELL

$21.99 pb

“A thriller with quickness and elegance. . . . A gorgeous, enthralling, immensely readable novel.”

—Kayla Rae Whitaker

A Year without Months

CHARLES DODD WHITE

$19.99 pb

“Many books linger forever in our minds. Only a few also linger forever in our hearts, and this is one of them.”

Also of interest

—Ron Rash Another Appalachia Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place

NEEMA AVASHIA

$19.99 pb

“I’m glad this memoir exists . . . and I’m especially glad it’s so good.”—New York Magazine

The Harlan Renaissance

Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns

WILLIAM H. TURNER

$26.99 pb

“Warm and insightful.”—Elizabeth Catte

Rock Climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

An Oral History of Community, Resources, and Tourism

JAMES N. MAPLES

$26.99 pb

“Well-written, accessible, and succinct, Maples’s oral history takes the reader on a memorable journey through time.”—Kristi McLeod Fondren

CHRISTOPHER ROWE Q

These Prisoning Hills

Rowe lives in Lexington with his wife (and fellow festival author), Gwenda Bond. These Prisoning Hills is Rowe’s post-apocalyptic Appalachian "weird fiction" novella portraying humanity’s struggle against a near-omnipotent artificial intelligence: Athena Parthenus, Queen of Reason.

ERIN KATE RYAN

Quantum Girl Theory

Ryan is a writer from New York who earned numerous fellowships and grants for the writing of her debut novel, Quantum Girl Theory Departing from the actual unsolved disappearance of college student Paula Jean Welden, each chapter includes a life Welden may have lived after she vanished.

IGIABA SCEGO

The Color Line

Scego was born in Rome to a family of Somali ancestry. She is a journalist, author, and editor living in Italy. The Color Line weaves the stories of two Afro-Italian female artists, born over 100 years apart, exploring what has—and hasn’t— changed for Black women since the mid-19th century.

C.W. SHUMATE Q

Ghosts of Blackberry Holler

Shumate shifted from a Kentucky farm upbringing to a business career, and now adds writing to his catalog of pursuits with Ghosts of Blackberry Holler. Still reeling from the horrors of the Civil War, Harper —a Union veteran—finds healing and grace in the friendship with a former enemy.

SHELIA STOVALL Q

Every Day Filled with Hope

Stovall is the director of a small-town library in southern Kentucky and lives on a farm with her husband. In her second Weldon novel, Every Day Filled With Hope, Casey is contacted by the daughter she put up for adoption 19 years ago, and she must now address old regrets to avoid creating new ones.

JESSICA STRAWSER The Next Thing You Know

Strawser is a novelist and editor-atlarge at Writer’s Digest who lives in Cincinnati with her family. An endof-life doula meets a musician afflicted whose life and career are threatened by health issues in The Next Thing You Know, and it might be the hardest, best thing that's ever happened to them both.

JUDITH TURNER-YAMAMOTO

Loving The Dead And Gone

An art historian, journalist, and writing educator, Turner-Yamamoto lives in Cincinnati with her husband. Loving The Dead And Gone, her first novel, is a story about the people left behind after a fatal accident a witness, the victim’s widow, and his mother and the passion, need, and pain that result.

JAYNE MOORE WALDROP Q Drowned Town

Waldrop is a Kentucky poet, author, and attorney. Drowned Town explores the multigenerational impact caused by the loss of home and illuminates the joys and sorrows of a group of people bound together by the formation of Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake, and Land Between the Lakes.

SHEILA WILLIAMS Q

Things Past Telling

Williams is the author of several novels including The Secret Women. Things Past Telling is a historical epic that charts a woman’s journey across an ocean of years that will eventually separate her from all that she loves. Yet as the decades pass, she never loses her sense of self.

JESS WRIGHT Q

A Stream to Follow

Wright is a psychiatrist, author, and psychiatry professor at the University of Louisville. A Stream to Follow is his first novel, the story of a WWIIveteran battlefield surgeon and his attempt to find peace, purpose, love, and home as the echoes of war continue to affect his life.

N Poetry

B. ELIZABETH BECK Q

Mama Tried

Beck is a writer and founder of the Teen Howl Poetry Series, which serves young writers in central Kentucky. Mama Tried is Beck’s collection of poems that take us into a classroom of at-risk children and the journey through motherhood.

PAULETTA HANSEL Q

Heartbreak Tree

Hansel is a former managing editor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel and was Cincinnati's first Poet Laureate. Heartbreak Tree is a poetic exploration of the intersection of gender and place in Appalachia, honoring the forbidden stories of her own and other women's lives.

DAMARIS B. HILL Q

Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood

Hill is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Kentucky and a former service member of the United States Air Force. Breath Better Spent is a book of narrative in verse that takes a personal and historical look at the experience of Black girlhood.

JEREMY PADEN Q Self-Portrait as an Iguana

Paden was born in Milan, Italy, and raised in Central America and the Caribbean. He is a professor of Spanish at Transylvania University. Self-Portrait as an Iguana includes poems in English and Spanish united by threads of reverse anthropomorphosis and the conception of home.

MELVA SUE PRIDDY Q

The Tillable Land: Poems

Priddy grew up working on her family’s dairy and tobacco farm in Hardin County and taught English Language Arts and Creative Writing for 20 years. In her debut collection, The Tillable Land, Priddy tells the story of a girlhood made of both land and family in midcentury Kentucky.

DANNI QUINTOS Q

Two Brown Dots

Quintos is a Kentuckian, a mom, an educator, and an Affrilachian Poet. She lives in Lexington with her kid & farmer-spouse. Two Brown Dots explores what it means to be a racially ambiguous, multiethnic, Asian American woman growing up in Kentucky.

FRANK X WALKER Q

Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York, Expanded Edition

Walker, the first African American writer to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate, is an artist and educator. Buffalo Dance recounts the Lewis and Clark expedition from the point of view of York, who was enslaved to Clark. This expanded edition features a new historical essay, preface, and 16 additional poems.

Crystal Wilkinson Q Perfect Black

Wilkinson, Kentucky’s Poet Laureate, is the author of three works of fiction and Perfect Black, her collection of poetry and prose. This book is a captivating conversation about life, love, loss, and pain, interwoven with striking illustrations by her long-time partner, Ronald W. Davis.

MARIANNE WORTHINGTON Q

The Girl Singer

Worthington is a poet, editor, and co-founder of Still: The Journal Worthington’s first poetry collection, The Girl Singer, sketches local, familial, and personal histories across rural Appalachia.

N NonFiction

W. RON ADAMS Q

Coal Mine to Courtroom: A Quadriplegic's Memoir of Relentless Faith, Courage, and Eternal Success

Adams is an attorney and owns a law firm in Erlanger. Coal Mine to Courtroom is his debut memoir. Adams was a high-school basketball star with NBA dreams until a coal-mining accident left him a quadriplegic. His life since that day includes many stories, told with great candor, that depict a successful life.

RACHAEL ADAMS Q

A Little Goes a Long Way: 52 Days to a Significant Life

Adams is a spiritual writer and podcaster and runs a farm and business with her family. A Little Goes a Long Way was written to help women realize their Godgiven purpose. In 52 devotions, Adams shares her stories and suggests prayers and actions that build and improve one’s relationship with God.

FARRAH ALEXANDER Q Resistance in the Bluegrass: Empowering the Commonwealth

Alexander is a writer whose work focuses on feminism, parenting, social justice, politics, and current events. Resistance in the Bluegrass gives citizens inspiration and guidance for how they can make a difference across the Commonwealth.

AMY ARGETSINGER There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America

Argetsinger is an editor for the Washington Post’s style section. There She Was explores a popculture icon on its 100th anniversary, featuring a pageant history with accounts from pageant winners, a closer look at the 2020 contest, and a chapter on Phyllis George.

PAUL W. BASS

Kentucky Innovators: Famous (and Infamous) Kentuckians Who Led the Way in Their Field

An educator, pastor, and champion debate coach, Bass lives in Missouri with his wife. Kentucky Innovators presents 75 exceptional Kentuckians who have made significant contributions to fine arts, education and literature, business and industry, science and technology, politics and the military, athletics, and more.

CHRIS BELCHER

Pretty Baby: A Memoir

Belcher is a professor of writing and gender & sexuality studies at the University of Southern California. Pretty Baby observes a small-town Appalachian girl coming out as queer, moonlighting as a dominatrix for male clients in LA, and developing her professional academic career along with incisive theories on male desire.

WENDELL BERRY Q

The Need to be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice

ASK THE MORTGAGE LOAN EXPERTS.

Berry, a poet, farmer, critic, storyteller, and activist, is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal. The Need to be Whole uses history to illuminate the Americanendemic practice of dispossession, tracing it to a deeply unhealthy present relationship with our world— and an unsustainable future.

EMILY BINGHAM Q

My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song

Bingham is currently Visiting Honors Faculty Fellow at Bellarmine University. In My Old Kentucky Home, Bingham explores the eponymous song’s rich history, its complex relationship to—and reflection of—evolving conceptions of slavery and race, and its past and present roles in American culture.

DONALD A. RITCHIE & TERRY L. BIRDWHISTELL Q

Washington's Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, An Oral History

Ritchie is historian emeritus of the United States

Senate. Birdwhistell is founding director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. Their book enlivens the story of Bess Abell, a political impresario through the Johnson administration and beyond, through the anecdotes and comments of her peers.

WINFREY P. BLACKBURN JR. & R. SCOTT GILL Q Gideon Shryock: His Life and Architecture, 1802-1880

Blackburn is an attorney in Louisville. Gill teaches architectural history and practices real estate in Austin. Gideon Shryock biographs Kentucky's first formally trained architect, who brought the Greek Revival style to Kentucky, and imparted a template of architectural and professional dignity for others to follow.

DAVID W. BLIGHT

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

Blight is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, now in paperback, is an extensive biography, drawing on new information about Douglass.

LAURIE M. BROCK Q

God, Grace, and Horses: Life Lessons from the Saddle

Brock is an Episcopal priest and attorney. Having taken up riding after moving to Kentucky, Brock has discovered revelations from God and attendant peace in the saddle. God, Grace, and Horses shares the love, grief, humility, joy, and wisdom that she discovers with horses.

DAN CANON Q

Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class

Canon is a civil rights lawyer and a law professor at the University of Louisville. Pleading Out is a critique of America's assembly-line approach to criminal justice and the shameful practice at its core: the plea bargain.

DENNIS CARRIGAN Q

Ashland: 100 Years of a Lexington, Kentucky Neighborhood

Ashland, written by Ashland resident Carrigan and featuring photographs by Walter Foreman, provides a sketch of the historic neighborhood surrounding the Henry Clay estate. The development of this neighborhood was administered by Clay’s heirs in the early 20th century and designed by Olmsted Brothers, the scions of Frederick Law Olmsted.

TOM CLAVIN

The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII

Clavin is a New York Times bestselling author of 18 nonfiction books. The Last Hill recounts the “Rudder's Rangers,” the US Army’s most elite and experienced attack unit, and their mission to take the heavily contested Castle Hill— the gateway to the German homeland in WWII.

KEVIN COOK Q

House of Champions: The Story of Kentucky Basketball's Home Courts

In addition to writing, Cook has worked as a naval officer, a high school teacher, and a corporate salesperson. House of Champions combines archival research and interviews with players and coaches to reveal the history and colorful details of the structures that have hosted UK basketball.

ERIC DETERS Q

The Butcher Of Pakistan

Deters is a lawyer, author, media personality and a candidate for KY governor. The Butcher Of Pakistan is the story of a twelve-year lawsuit, the medical wrongdoing that brought it about, and the victims’ fight to be made whole.

ST. CLAIR DETRICK-JULES

My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood

Detrick-Jules is a filmmaker, photographer, author, and activist. A photo-illustrated collection of empowering stories, My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates the “top” visual aspect of Black femininity—natural hair—and embraces it as a central part of Black womanhood.

ARWEN DONAHUE Q

Landings: A Crooked Creek Farm Year

Donahue is an interdisciplinary writer, artist, farmer, and oral historian. In 130 ink-and-watercolor drawings with accompanying essays, Landings conveys the story of one year on a family farm in

Kentucky—in captured moments from its daily life.

KATHLEEN DRISKELL & KATY YOCUM, EDS. Q

Creativity & Compassion: Spalding Writers

Celebrate 20 Years

Driskell is Chair of the Graduate School Of Writing at Spalding University. Yocom is the associate director for communications at Spalding University.

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Spalding lowresidency MFA in Writing program, Creativity & Compassion collects essays from the MFA faculty blog.

RON ELLIS Q

Yonder: Tales from an Outdoor Life

Ellis is an outdoor sportsman and author/editor of books on outdoor life. Yonder is a gathering of memories that Ellis enjoyed while outdoors: hunting, fly-fishing, hiking, and camping. These essays tell of the cherished friends, family, and traditions in Ellis’ outdoor life.

DANIEL EPSTEIN

Portraits of Faith

Formerly a marketing director at Procter & Gamble, Epstein is a marketing and innovation consultant. He lives in Cincinnati. Portraits of Faith combines photographs and essays to document the role of spiritual experience inside and outside of formal religion, expected and unexpected, told in people’s own words.

Celebrating Kentucky’s Unbridled Spirit

KELCEY ERVICK

The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women's Lives

Ervick is an author, artist, mother, and professor of creative writing at Indiana University. The Keeper is the coming-of-age graphic memoir of a young goalkeeper on a top national soccer team in the 1980s and how it shaped her life— as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

KRISTINA R. GADDY

Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History

Gaddy is a Baltimore journalist and author of Flowers in the Gutter. The banjo has a centuries-old and largely forgotten history, now re-illuminated in Well of Souls Gaddy uncovers the banjo’s West African, Caribbean, and American heritage and its key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion.

BENJAMIN GILMER

The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, A Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice

Gilmer is a family medicine physician and lives with his family in Asheville. An expansion on a popular This American Life episode, The Other Dr. Gilmer recounts a shocking murder by a beloved family doctor and examines the roles of healing and punishment in our society.

ANN HAGEDORN Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away

Hagedorn is a journalist, writing educator, and author of six books including Wild Ride, about Calumet Farm. Sleeper Agent is the story of a charming all-American boy who infiltrated the Manhattan project, passed atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, and avoided prosecution.

JAMES BAKER HALL Q The Missing Body of the Fox: A Memoir

A Poet Laureate of Kentucky, Hall (1935-2009) was a photographer, author, and educator. Hall’s memoir includes dozens of his photographs and maps the effects of his mother’s tragic death on his boyhood and adult life. His wife, writer Mary Ann Taylor-Hall, appears on Hall’s behalf at the Kentucky Book Festival.

TERRY HATTON & JEREMY RICE Q

Kentucky Hustler: The Terry Hatton Story

Hatton is co-founder of Malibu Jack’s indoor theme parks. Rice is a fiction writer, poet, and essayist. Kentucky Hustler is Hatton’s story: after navigating an international criminal underworld while raising his family in the Mormon Church, Hatton brings a chain of indoor theme parks to Kentucky.

TRACY HILANDER Q

The Lady and The Legacy: The Bradshaw Story

Hilander is a lifelong resident of Georgetown, and The Lady and the Legacy is his first book. Margie Ellen Bradshaw, the reclusive wife of Saddlebred champion rider and trainer Frank Bradshaw, teams with Hilander to save her Scott County farm and preserve the Bradshaw legacy.

WILLIAM HINKEBEIN & ART LANDER Q A Brief History of Baitcasting, Bass Fishing & the Kentucky Reel

Hinkebein is a longtime antique fishing tackle enthusiast. A veteran outdoors journalist, Lander serves as outdoors editor of Kentucky Forward Generously illustrated with photos, A Brief History denotes the importance of the Kentucky Reel in the history of baitcasting and bass fishing.

WILLIAM F. HOLLAND JR. Q

Receiving Our Healing: Going to War on our Knees

A minister, faith journalist, musician, and author, Holland lives in central Kentucky. His third book, Receiving Our Healing, combines commentary on the scriptures, spiritual insights,

and accounts of modern-day miracles to strengthen those who are seeking to know God—and God’s will—more intimately.

SUSAN HARRIS HOWELL Q Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization to Answer God's Call

Howell, a psychologist, teaches courses in gender studies and the integration of faith and science at Campbellsville University. Buried Talents elucidates Howell’s passion: helping students and readers recognize the impact gendered socialization has on the decisions they make, particularly career choices.

Kentucky Passion: Wildcat

Wisdom and Inspiration

Huang is a retired orthodontist, now the editor-in-chief for JustTheCats.com. Duduit is a nonfiction author and former sportswriter from Ohio. Kentucky Passion helps Wildcat basketball fans re-experience some of the most memorable seasons, meet players and coaches, and find inspiration from Wildcat history.

JASON KOGER Q Handed a Greater Purpose

Koger lives in western Kentucky with his family. Handed a Greater Purpose is his story: the first bilateral upper arm amputee in the world to be fitted with two multi-articulating bionic hands. Today, he encourages others to live a life without limitations.

MALLORY LEWIS

Shari Lewis & Lamb

Chop: The Team That Changed Children's Television

Lewis is an entertainer, philanthropist, and author. She tells her mother’s story in Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop. The legendary performer who delighted children for decades had many little-known aspects to her personal and

DR. JOHN HUANG & DEL DUDUIT Q

SUSAN E.

Liberty Brought Us Here: The True Story of American Slaves Who Migrated to Liberia

Lindsey is co-author and editor of Speed Family Heritage Recipes Liberty Brought Us Here explores the motives and attitudes of Liberian colonists and colonization supporters, both before and after emancipation in the United States.

JOHN N. MACLEAN

Home Waters: A Chronicle of Family and a River

In the spirit of his father’s classic A River Runs Through It comes a chronicle of a family and the land they call home: Home Waters is Maclean’s meditation on fly fishing and life along Montana’s Blackfoot River. Maclean is a journalist and author who divides his time between Montana and Washington, DC.

ALAN MAIMON

Twilight in Hazard:

An Appalachian Reckoning

Maimon is an author and journalist, formerly reporting for the Louisville Courier-Journal Twilight in Hazard is an intimate portrait of a people staring down some of the most pernicious forces at work in America today while simultaneously being asked: How could you let this happen to yourselves?

LUKE MANGET

Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia

Manget is an assistant professor of history at Dalton State College in Georgia. Ginseng Diggers looks back almost two centuries to unearth the development of the unique relationship between southern Appalachia and the global trade in medicinal plants that exists to this day.

TRAVIS L. MARTIN Q

War & Homecoming: Veteran Identity and the Post-9/11 Generation

Martin is founding director of the Kentucky Center for Veterans Studies at Eastern Kentucky University and a veteran of the Iraq War. War & Homecoming examines representations of veterans in patriotic rhetoric, popular media, and literature to illuminate a new veteran identity—focused on the present, not the past.

KEVEN MCQUEEN Q

Bizarre Bluegrass

McQueen is a veteran nonfiction author and a senior lecturer in composition and world literature at Eastern Kentucky University. Bizarre Bluegrass presents some of the weirder vignettes from Kentucky lore, from ghost towns to circus performers to mass hysteria.

JON MEACHAM

And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling biographer. And There Was Light chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting how—and why— he confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America.

FOSTER OCKERMAN JR. Q

A New History of Lexington, Kentucky

Ockerman is a historian, attorney, author, and president of the Lexington History Museum. A New History of Lexington, Kentucky presents many of the people, events, and places that make up the city’s rich history as Lexington approaches its 250th year.

CHAD OLDFATHER

A Man Walks into a Barn: Navigating Fatherhood in the Flawed and Fascinating World of Horses

Oldfather is a professor at Marquette University Law School. When his daughters first became obsessed with horses, Oldfather found himself entering a new world. At turns funny and alarming, A Man Walks into a Barn looks at both the light and dark sides of youth sports, and equestrianism in particular.

JANE OLMSTED Q

The Tree You Come Home To

Olmsted is a poet and retired professor of English at Western Kentucky University. The Tree You Come Home To is the story of her family’s struggle with mental illness, addiction, and the crises that followed the murder of her youngest son, offering hope and guidance for those with similar family issues.

BRYAN PAIEMENT

The Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails

Paiement is an author and professional bartender in Estes

and authors are subject to change.

kybookfestival.org,

information and updates.

scandal! scandal!

availablenow available

Kentucky’s politics and government have been rocked by scandal, and each episode defined the era in which it happened.

your copy and meet the authors at the

Park, Colorado. The Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails offers 50 recipes suitable for whiskey enthusiasts of

expertise levels, as well as origin stories, terminology, and humor

any whiskey

Richard Parker Q Wicked Western Kentucky

Parker is the vice-president of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society and lives in Paducah with his family. Wicked Western Kentucky is a literary tour of the darker side of the region, with 15 accounts of wrongdoing and woe including the Murray vampire cult and more.

MARY PERDUE

Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion

Perdue is a freelance turf writer and a winner of the Equus WINNIE award. The first successful issue of Seattle Slew, filly Landaluce had a very promising early career until she suddenly died of a mysterious virus. In Landaluce, Perdue revisits the pedigree and promise of a champion thoroughbred.

STEPHEN PERRINE & HEIDI SKOLNIK

The Whole Body Reset: Your Weight-Loss Plan for a Flat Belly, Optimum Health & a Body You'll Love at Midlife and Beyond

Best-selling health & nutrition author Perrine teams with nutritionist and exercise physiologist Skolnik to present The Whole Body Reset, which defeats the notion that weight gain comes with age. The authors reveal how simple changes to the way we eat can halt, and even reverse, age-related weight gain and muscle loss. This visit is sponsored by AARP Kentucky.

MARK REESE Q

A Life’s Journey Outdoors

Reese served as an extension agent for Estill and Scott Counties and contributes outdoors articles to the (Irvine) Citizen Voice and Times. A Life’s Journey Outdoors, celebrates the rich life of the natural world, whether hunting, fishing, or observing nature’s sensorial bounty.

WILFRED REILLY Q Taboo: Ten Facts You Can't Talk About

Reilly is an author and associate professor of political science at Kentucky State University. Despite the potential social dangers of discussing race, gender, or class issues today, Reilly fearlessly offers Taboo, using real data in presenting 10 truths—and analyzing why the mainstream is so reluctant to look at them.

RANDOLPH PAUL RUNYON Q

The Assault on Elisha Green: Race and Religion in a Kentucky Community

Runyon is a retired professor of French and the author of many books. The Assault on Elisha Green is the story of a Black preacher, his assault at the hands of white educators, and the lawsuit that followed. Runyon reveals the true character of the primary actors and the racial tensions unique to a border state.

ROBERT SCHRAGE & JOHN SCHAAF Q

Hidden History of KY Political Scandals

Schrage is an active local historian from northern Kentucky and Schaaf is an attorney and former director of the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission. Hidden History offers a fascinating account of Kentucky’s history and its many unique and scandalous characters.

GEORGIA GREEN STAMPER Q

Small Acreages: New and Collected Essays

Stamper is the author of three creative nonfiction books and lives in Lexington. Small Acreages completes a trilogy of connected essays that are candid and personal, but also resonant and universal. Stamper puts her generous heart and honed sense of humor to good use in these writings.

RICHARD TAYLOR Q

Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landscape

Taylor is professor of English and Kenan Visiting Writer at Transylvania University and former Poet Laureate

of Kentucky. Like Thoreau’s Walden Pond, Elkhorn Creek has been a touchstone for Taylor. Elkhorn is a unique recipe: personal narrative blended with regional history and seasoned with illustrations.

NANCY STEARNS THEISS Q

A Hidden History of LaGrange, Kentucky

Theiss is the director of the Oldham County History Center and a former Courier-Journal history columnist. This book uncovers the fascinating aspects of LaGrange’s history using oral histories she has collected from locals over the last 18 years.

GWINN THOMPSON & JERRY M. COLEMAN Q

The Lincoln Family: Its Lost & Hidden History

Thompson is a retired high school English teacher, realtor and historian. Coleman is an attorney, historian, and author. The Lincoln Family focuses on the early lives of the Lincolns in Kentucky’s Hardin and Washinton Counties, dispelling myths and misinformation that have been perpetuated for over two centuries.

JYOTI THOTTAM

Sisters of Mokama: The Pioneering Women Who Brought Hope and Healing to India

Thottam is a journalist, currently a senior opinion editor at The New York Times Sisters of Mokama is the never-before-told story of six intrepid Kentucky nuns, their journey to build a hospital in the poorest state in India, and the Indian nurses—includinng Thottam’s mother—whose lives would never be the same.

PAUL VOLPONI & LENNY SHULMAN

Phyllis George: Shattering the Ceiling

Volponi is an author, journalist, and educator. Shulman is an Emmy Award-winning television and film writer. Phyllis George traces George’s story, from Miss America to professional broadcaster—among the first women in national sports TV—arts advocate, author, philanthropist, and First Lady of Kentucky.

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Happy 50th Anniversary Kentucky Humanities

STEVEN WALKER Q

Kentucky's First Senator: The Life and Times of John Brown 1757-1837

Walker has led a diverse career in defense, government, and academia. His second book, Kentucky's First Senator, unearths the life of John Brown, who, despite his role as a father of Kentucky statehood, plus other important contributions and associations in his day, has been largely minimized by historians.

CHARLES DODD WHITE

A Year without Months

White, a celebrated Appalachian author, teaches English at Pellissippi State Community College. A Year without Months is White’s collection of essays that explore the boundaries of family, loss, masculinity, and place in the wake of tremendous personal and family tragedy.

HEATHER WIBBELS Q Bourbon Is My Comfort Food

Wibbels is a photographer, digital marketer, and mixologist. Bourbon Is My Comfort Food reveals the delicious beauty of bourbon cocktails and the joy of creating them, showcasing more than 140 variations on classic bourbon cocktails.

STEVE WILSON & LAURA LEE BROWN Q Hermitage Farm

Husband-and-wife duo Wilson and Brown co-founded 21c Museum Hotels, Kentucky Bison Co., Garage Bar, and Barn8 Restaurant. Hermitage Farm showcases their latest project, using photographs, poems, and stories that capture the beauty, grace, and flavor of a place that is quintessentially Kentucky.

AMELIA ZACHRY Q

Enough: A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood

Zachry currently resides in Lexington with her family. Enough is her memoir, a courageous exposition of the sexual assault and mental illness that threatened to limit and define Zachry, and the resilience— tempered with acceptance—that helped her achieve sustenance and growth.

STAN “J.R.” ZERKOWSKI Q

Coming Out and Coming Home: A Gay Catholic Man’s Journey from Marginalization to Ministry, with a Few Miracles along the Way

Zerkowski, a community activist, is founder and executive director of Fortunate Families Lexington. Coming Out and Coming Home is the story of his struggle to embrace his identity as a gay man and to reconcile it with his deeply rooted Polish Catholicism—and a call for healing, compassion, dignity, and inclusion.

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Kentucky Explorer

M.

October brings gloriously hued leaves, exciting homecoming games, and—my favorite—the Keeneland fall race meet. Weatherwise, it’s traditionally Kentucky’s driest month, so get out and enjoy a football game, a fall festival or autumn colors at a Kentucky State Park.

This month, we have a couple of stories about tobacco farming that might bring back some memories. Does your family have memories of visiting Fort Sequoyah (now known as Rockcastle River Trading Company) in Livingston? Writer Betsy Carloftis grew up there and shares a story of how her parents created the tourist attraction in the 1950s.

Since it is Halloween season, we have a bit of spookiness with a story about Harrodsburg’s mysterious dancing woman.

In the “I Remember” section, Lois Wilcox recalls the fun of shopping from the Sears Catalog. It brought back memories of paging through it each season, begging my mom to place an order. Fast forward to a few years back, when I was browsing around the now-closed Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville. On the dusty shelf, I found a Sears catalog from spring 1974. I immedately recognized the cover. I purchaed the 5-pound book of memories and inside found my childhood bedspread, my mom’s bathrobe and this spiffy plaid seersucker jacket—a real steal at $6.99. I proudly wore it everywhere.

A correction we need to mention: Apologies to regular contributor Jerry Martin. In the August issue, the caption for a photo of his grandfather’s gorgeous car, a 1929 American Austin, should have read that the town of Mason was in Grant County (page 49).

Happy fall, y’all!

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.

Letters to Kentucky Explorer

Memories from Pleasure Ridge Park

I am a loyal Kentucky Monthly fan. I was born in the Portland area of Louisville in 1935, which makes me 86. I went to school in downtown Portland from kindergarten to third grade. We moved to Valley Station, then known as Pleasure Ridge Park, when I was in third grade.

Here is a photo of my fifth-grade class at Greenwood Elementary. I graduated from Valley High School in 1955. I understand my classmates still meet occasionally at Mike Linnig’s Restaurant.

Pattye Kiesz-Hubbard, née Pat Metcalf

Leesburg, Florida

pattyekieszhubbard@gmail.com

Looking for Article and Information

In the past few years, I have been working on my wife’s family history. She was born Linda Sue Abston, daughter of Frank H. Abston of Albany, Clinton County, and Elleanor L. Callihan of Russell, Greenup County. In researching on familysearch.org, I found an image of my wife’s grandfather, Richard Blaine Abston. I was told this image was possibly in the November 2015 issue of Kentucky Explorer. I am looking to find information associated with the image in that issue. Maybe I could find a reader or library to scan any relevant details.

You can reach me at gobucks69@hotmail.com, 850.420.0856 or 256 Kidd Street, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548.

Edward J. Pfeifer, Walton Beach, Florida

Hit a Roadblock on Ancestry

Looking for genealogy help to find information on Magdalena Senn, b. January 1852 to Johann Senn and Maria Anna Weindel Senn in Kentucky. If you have any information, please call me at 502.417.1464.

Jeff Mueller, Mt. Washington

Please send letters to Editor Deborah Kohl Kremer at deb@kentuckymonthly.com or mail to Deb Kremer, Kentucky Monthly, PO Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602.

I’m looking for information on the Traveling Ackermans—Frank E. and “B” Ackerman—who called Williamsburg, Kentucky, home—at least in 1950.

The postcard above (front and back shown) was mailed to my grandparents nearly threequarters of a century ago. The Ackermans’ archaeological expedition and “lecture work” carried them to Central America; Clarksville, Tennessee; and Louisville, where my grandparents lived.

I would appreciate any information that anyone might share, and, looking at the postcard, keep an eye out for snakes!

Daniel Meyer

7919 Daffodil Drive Louisville, KY 40258

Pompilio’s: A Legendary Newport Establishment

Who could forget the iconic toothpick scene from the 1988 film Rain Man? Not only is that scene memorable, so, too, is the restaurant where it was shot (far right).

Pompilio’s at 600 Washington Avenue in Newport opened in 1933 and has been serving up baked ravioli and authentic Italian dishes ever since. The photo above shows the main dining room in the 1940s. Rumor has it that back then, it was a favorite hangout of gangsters during Newport’s seedier days.

Kentucky was the second-highest corn-producing state in the country in 1850.

Sometimes, Grandparents Are Pretty Cool!

memories to Deborah Kohl Kremer

Kentucky Monthly, Attn: Deb Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602.

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Send

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Superstitions, Omens and Haunted Houses

This is an excerpt from Lest We Forget, a 1974 booklet by Lynnie Davis White of Steubenville, Wayne County, of her memories that was dedicated to her grandchildren. White’s birth year isn’t included, but it appears she was born around the turn of the 20th century. The youngest of 13 children, White wanted to share with her family what it was like growing up without electricity, running water, a telephone or central heating.

We were brought up on superstitions, as was most everyone. It seemed to me that we had more bad luck omens than we did good ones. It was bad luck to raise an umbrella in the house, to have a black cat, to twirl a chair on one leg, to put your dress on wrong-side-out and then take it off and change it, to leave home and forget something then go back after it, to walk under a ladder, to change your place at the table, to bring a tool such as an ax or hoe in one door of the house and take it out another, and on and on. I am sure everyone in our county had the same and many other bad-luck omens.

It was good luck to have a white cat, to find a pin and pick it up, to see a bluebird, and to have a cricket chirp under your hearth. We had many weather signs. If smoke settled to the earth, it was a sign of rain. If it rained on Monday, it would rain three more days that week. If it rained before 7, it would stop before 11. It never rained at night in July. If the leaves turned up, it was a sign of rain. There was something about the equinox ruling the weather for the year. If the wind blew from the east or north, it was a sign of dry weather, and from the west and south, it was a sign of plenty of rain. I am not sure that I have that right.

People back in those days lived close to nature and learned to watch the elements. My mother studied her Ladies Birthday Almanac and also planted with the moon. Potatoes or any root crop were planted when the moon was going down. Beans, peas and tomatoes were planted when the moon was coming up. There may not have been

What’s in the Mail?

By Lois Wilcox, Piqua, Ohio

In the late 1930s, we residents on Big White Oak Road, in Load, Greenup County, went to Dunn’s Grocery Store to pick up our mail. Back then, the mailman delivered mail by horseback. For a mailbox, my brother Arthur screwed a large tin can to a fence post. We got mostly catalogs. The largest was the Sears Robuck Catalog, and I loved looking at it.

I remember asking my mom for something I wanted, and she told me to cut

anything to it, but she believed in it, and we always had an extra good garden. I guess hard work had a lot to do with it, too.

Many of our people believed in ghosts back in those days. We children heard many weird stories. Nearly every community had a haunted house. The story usually involved someone who had hid money and died and had not told anyone where it was. Then they came back to haunt the house until the money was found. I doubt this ever happened, but it made a good story.

I once heard a story about a man who had been in the cavalry during the war. Years later, surrounded by family as they waited for him to die, they heard a horse come galloping up to the door. They rushed out, but there was no horse. When they went back inside, the man was dead, and they believed his horse had come for him.

In our community, there was a haunted house. They said the ghosts made so much noise going up and down the stairway that the family had to move it outside. They had four or five boys, and some of the neighbors believed it was just the boys sneaking in and out instead of ghosts.

In our family, we had a ghost story. Uncle Mose Davis was supposed to have hidden some money, but I don’t suppose he ever did. We had an aunt who lived with us, and she would tell of a will-o’-the-wisp that would float 20 feet in the air at the back of the house and then disappear. I remember seeing it; we would call it Uncle Mose. After they found oil in Wayne County, we never saw it anymore.

out the picture, and then it would be mine. The catalogs were our form of fun, as we had no radio or TV. The pages served as fire-starters in the living room fireplace and the wood-burning kitchen stove. We removed pages and used them as wallpaper in the two upstairs bedrooms, and we even used them as toilet paper in the outhouse.

When Mom mailed an order from one of the catalogs, I expected the items to be in our mailbox the next day. Back then, a letter cost three cents to mail, and a postcard was a penny.

Mom would order 50 or 100 baby chickens by mail. They were our source of meat, and the eggs helped us purchase items that we needed from the local store.

Stripping Tobacco: A Fall Memory

By Kitty Essex, Bloomfield

You knew that fall had arrived down on the Mattingly farm, outside the small town of Fairfield in Nelson County, when the black coal smoke from the stripping room chimney in the tobacco barns was seen wafting high into the air. The final days of hard work from the year’s tobacco planting and harvesting were coming to an end. Farmers, like my dad, had hopes of good prices for their tobacco at the market.

I remember carrying a pot of beans with ham hock seasoning to the tobacco barn. My mom stripped tobacco all day long. Beans with ham hock cooked on the coal stove in the stripping room was our dinner—nowadays, it would be called lunch. The small stripping room was abuzz with talking and laughter as the radio played from the local station, WBRT in Bardstown.

A rustle of leaves could be heard from under the walnut trees standing along the edge of the creek by the old tobacco barn. I heard my family’s voices from inside as I reached for the door with one hand and held our pot of beans next to me. I heard my dad’s voice saying, “Open the door! I’m bringing in the last load of tobacco from the wagon. We need to work fast. The cold is causing it to go out of case. We need to get this to market.”

My mom lifted the pot of beans from my hands and placed it on the coal stove in the stripping room. It wouldn’t take long until the smell of beans and ham mingled with the smell of the tobacco. I would take my place along the stripping room table, where the coppercolored tobacco was being stripped from the stalks. The tobacco was stripped into three grades: flying, lugs and leaf tips. The tobacco leaves were put into separate grades, tied at the top, then placed on a tobacco stick that then would be placed into the tobacco press. Once the tobacco was stripped and pressed, it was loaded on the family farm truck to take to market. You could hear the

In the Tobacco Patch

By Jerry Martin, Corinth

I honor my father, Frank Wayne Martin, by sharing this photo of us in the tobacco patch. We were cutting tobacco in mid-August on the farm that he had bought and paid for by the sweat of his brow. And I do mean sweat, since Kentucky’s hot and humid summers can be brutal.

Dad worked hard at two jobs, plus farming, just to make ends meet for his family of five. He was a selftaught mechanic, carpenter, plumber and electrician. He was really good at anything he laid his mind to.

He got out of the United States Army in 1946 and bought the farm that Mom and I still live on. He died in 1996, but his memory still lives in my heart. This photo was taken in Harrison County in the late 1960s.

excitement in my family’s voices as they were finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. It was 10 months of hard work and a lot of prayers. The tobacco went to market in Danville. My dad was a farmer for more than 50 years, and he loved everything about the farm. He raised our family close to nature. We knew hard work, but, more importantly, we knew he and my mom would be there working right alongside us. We would be there, too, because we were a farming family.

How We Grew Tobacco

The tobacco was sown from seeds in March after burning a patch of disked ground to keep the weeds down and prepare the soil for planting. After the seeds were sown, a tobacco canvas was placed across the tobacco bed. In about six weeks, the seeds began to sprout. The young plants were soon pulled from the tobacco bed. The tobacco was hoed, removing weeds from the first plants that appeared in the patch.

My dad and my siblings, along with other family members, would top the tobacco by removing the bloom from every plant. This encouraged the leaves to spread on the stalk. We walked from one end of the patch to the other. The rows of tobacco flourished in the hot summer sun of June and July after much plowing, hoeing and spraying. We even removed worms from the plants with our hands.

Cutting time was in August and September, and, if the weather cooperated, it continued into early October. November was the time for the tobacco to cure, or dry, while hanging in the barn. After it was dried, it could be stripped from the stalks to be put in grades. November was a time to sow cover crops on the tobacco patch and get the tobacco barn ready to start stripping. After many weeks of planting, cutting and hanging, by December, the hard work was over. The farm truck was loaded and ready to go, bringing a year’s worth of work to a close.

general

Army, was born in Madison County

The Legend of Harrodsburg’s Dancing Lady

By Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer, Harrodsburg

Living in Harrodsburg my entire life, I have formed a sentimental attachment to Youngs Park, located on Linden Avenue between the Mercer County Fairgrounds and the former James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital. I have so many memories of playing in the park, eating picnic lunches, and attending family functions. The entire area of Young’s Park—plus the hospital, fairgrounds, and all of the area to Beaumont Inn— totals 234 acres.

All my life, I have heard the story of the Dancing Lady who arrived at the 19th century Graham Springs Hotel and attended a lavish ball, where she danced all night. She eventually danced herself to death, collapsing onto the ballroom floor at the feet of her partner. A grave on the Graham Springs property marks

the final resting place of the unknown woman.

Historic Harrodsburg Springs was located in the area of the current Physician’s Park and James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital and was on the site of a natural spring. There were numerous springs in the Harrodsburg area, and they were reputed to have healing and restorative properties.

The Harrodsburg Spring eventually would become Graham Springs and was a spacious spa as early as 1807. In 1827, Dr. Christopher C. Graham purchased the springs, and in 1842, he constructed the Graham Springs Hotel. It was a brick, four-story building that Graham said would hold 1,000 people.

Graham charged $20 per month for guests to stay at the springs and “take the waters.” Not only did they enjoy and benefit from healing waters, but the guests also joined in a lively social season that lasted from June until September. Balls and other entertainment

The only known lithograph of the historic Graham Springs Hotel. Photo from the Kentucky Historical Society.

One of the historic springs scattered around the Graham Springs property. From the collection of Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer.

occupied the guests while they drank the mineral waters and had soaking sessions in the water. Graham claimed the waters helped to alleviate the aches and pains of those who suffered from ailments such as gout, rheumatism, dropsy, neuralgia and “autumnal fevers.” Called the “Saratoga of the West,” Graham Springs flourished until 1853, when it was sold to the United States government for use as a military asylum for aged and invalid soldiers. Fire later destroyed the main buildings, and the place fell into disuse.

According to legend, sometime in the early 1840s, a beautiful young lady appeared at the springs. No one knew who she was, but it was rumored that she had come from “down South.” She said that her name was Virginia Stafford and that she was the daughter of a prominent judge in Louisville. That night, as music played in the ballroom, she came downstairs and began dancing with various partners. She danced passionately, and at the end of the evening, her final partner realized to his horror that she had died in his arms.

Rumors maintain that Judge Stafford did exist, but he did not have a daughter named Virginia. The shocked staff and guests at Graham Springs held a funeral for the young woman, whom they buried on the hotel’s property in an area that is now Youngs Park.

When she had arrived at the springs, the mysterious woman did not sign the guest register with her real name. After her death, she became known as the “unknown lady,” although most people from Mercer County still refer to her as “the Dancing Lady.”

In June 1938, the Lexington Leader published an article claiming that the mystery of the Dancing Lady had been solved, and that she was Molly Black Sewell. Sewell had fled her philandering husband in Tennessee. Rumor has it that she did not arrive in Harrodsburg alone, but the man with whom she was dancing abandoned her when she collapsed. One story mentioned that he asked to be alone with her and then fled through an open window.

Rumors of Graham’s nephew going on an all-expensespaid trip to New Orleans the same week are not substantiated. Dr. Robert Graham, the nephew of Dr. Christopher Graham, went to jail for killing a man in New Orleans on Nov. 1, 1854. According to rumors, the elder Dr. Graham had sent his nephew away because he was known to be violent.

After the young woman’s death and burial at the springs, the city of Harrodsburg erected a monument to honor her. The tomb is located between the road and the shelter house, with a sign bearing the words:

Unknown Hallowed and Hushed be the Place of the Dead. Step Softly. Bow Head.

Top, the site of the grave for the Dancing Lady before her burial. From the collection of Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer; above, her grave at what is now Youngs Park. Photo by Keith Rightmyer.

As I child, I thought I saw the ghost of this mysterious lady on several occasions, but as I have grown older, I realize it was mass hysteria brought on by ghost stories around campfires. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the Dancing Lady, whose identity remains a mystery.

Celebrations are in the planning stages for Harrodsburg’s Sestercentennial— the town’s 250th anniversary—which takes place in 2024!

Baseball Hall of Famer and United States Sen. Jim Bunning was born on Oct. 23, 1931, in Southgate.

The Early Years of Fort Sequoyah

By Betsy Margaret Carloftis, Livingston

The year was 1955, and Americans were traveling highways and byways that brought them into the middle of rural communities. Camping trailers captured the hearts of many, and the tourists hungered for adventure. In was a new age, a time when families loved the idea of being able to to glide down the road in search of interesting stopovers and inexpensive entertainment.

Crude, handmade wooden signs cropped up on roadsides, enticing the adventurous travelers to stop and rest a while after long, grueling hours of pulling their compact-sized “houses” behind. Diners and small familyowned motels were abundant and dotted the highways, along with shops teeming with souvenirs often spread out and displayed right to the road’s edge. It seemed a perfect time and opportunity to open a small replica of an authentic American Indian village in an ideal location with natural settings, complete with Cherokee natives from North Carolina, who waved to those who passed by and aroused their curiosity.

It soon became more than a dream. My mama and daddy were young, with three small children and a new baby not quite six weeks old. They had traveled back and forth to St. Augustine, Florida, and to the mountains of Cherokee, North Carolina, seeking a place to live and to raise their children.

Carlo and Lucille Bowling Carloftis made many journeys only to discover that the perfect place to start a tourist business

and to raise their growing family was not far from their own roots. The same spot where they began evolved into a 60-year journey on the Rockcastle River in Rockcastle County.

Daddy grew up around the Hub Grill Restaurant, a fine dining establishment in the hills of Pineville run by his family. At one time, he dated Marilyn Monroe’s sister Berniece, taking her to the “walk-in picture show,” and they later climbed upon the chained rock at nearby Pine Mountain.

Mama, who was from Clay County, had never cooked a full meal until she married. She left a beautiful stately home in Pineville to spend summers on the river with only meager necessities. With my father, she began living in a new world, where there were no cooks to serve lavish dinners in the main dining room, no bell at hand to call the maid. There were no closets filled with freshly laundered, hand-tailored shirts for Daddy. There were no caretakers for the lawn and no carefree strolls down the street to the Hub Grill for dining. Trips to Middlesboro, London and Knoxville for merely a good piece of pie had come to an end. The tradeoff was life on the Rockcastle River.

This brave, happy couple, filled with curiosity and a zest for living, were brimming with energy. They shared a dream to open a tourist attraction.

Upon setting up shop, the family had no electricity nor running water for the first several weeks. There was no telephone for the first 18 years. Mama washed clothes in

Five-year-old Betsy Carloftis at Fort Sequoyah in 1960.

the little creek beside the shop to make do between trips to the laundromat. I lived in Manchester, Clay County, with Great-Granny, Granny and “Unca” Chester (Mama’s grandmother, her mother and her uncle) until I was six months old. My diapers were starched by hand, as my mother’s family deemed the Rockcastle River life not suitable for a new baby.

Mama and Daddy drove an hour each way to Manchester over am old curvy road several evenings a week, after working hard building the shop and village during the daytime. They brought my siblings Carcille, Buzzy and Koula to visit. How hard it must have been for a new mother and father, even with their strong determination for making Fort Sequoyah a reality. Despite many odds, Mama and Daddy moved to Rockcastle County along the river and quickly stole everyone’s heart.

A decal that was sold in the shop.

opened their doors with scant stock, the walls mostly bare.

John Lair, well-known entrepreneur and the founder of Renfro Valley, was so taken with this young couple that he most kindly loaned them some items and relics from the walls of his own home to help fill in the gaps until more souvenirs arrived.

Buildings began to crop up, along with small summer cottages beside the river. These were intended only to be three- or four-month homes to live in and work nearby. The small wooden shop structure above the manywindowed house would soon become Fort Sequoyah, named for the great Cherokee native who invented his tribe’s alphabet. For all of us, a new way of life was born.

The first day of business for Fort Sequoyah on a hot summer day in July 1955 was disappointing. There were not many customers and even less in sales. My parents

Fort Sequoyah didn’t take long to catch on. Our doors were open from early morning until late at night, seven days a week. Nestled along the river, Fort Sequoyah became a destination as well as a stopover for travelers who returned time and again on their way to vacations. There was a snack bar, a souvenier shop and a replica of an Indian village. The Cherokee women made pottery and baskets, and the men put on a show in the Council House. The attraction was called Fort Sequoyah until 1972, when the name was changed to Rockcastle Riverboat Town. Then in 1998, it was changed again to RockCastle River Trading Company and Riverside Gardens.

Many wonderful friends were made inside that little rustic shop, as well as outside on the long covered porch, including among the Cherokees and the many customers from all walks of life. The visitors made our lives all the more rich by walking through our doors.

For more information on Fort Sequoyah, visit betsycarloftis.com or email Betsy Carloftis at bcarloftis@icloud.com.

Leslie County is named for Preston H. Leslie, governor of Kentucky from 1871-1875.

Cherokee natives, who lived on the property in the summer, positioned themselves in front of Fort Sequoyah and waved to cars as they passed, inviting them to stop. The attention-getting idea worked. Carloftis remembers that, sometimes, there was not a parking place available for more than a half-mile.

By Eric Brooks, Curator of Ashland

On April 15, 1849, Henry Clay wrote to Rodney Dennis, a Connecticut grocer and admirer, “I am in one respect better off than Moses. He died in sight of, without reaching, the Promised Land. I occupy as good a farm as any that he would have found, if he had reached it; & it has been acquired not by hereditary descent, but by my own labor.” Clay deeply loved Ashland, the farm and home he built. For him, it provided a place of refuge and sanctuary from a difficult and often disappointing world and was one of the places where he found happiness.

For four generations of Clay’s descendants, Ashland was a place of great reverence, inspiration and attachment. For the students and regent of Kentucky University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College during the 1860s and ’70s, Ashland was a place of learning, development and growth. For today’s visitors, Ashland is a place of great history, pride and awe.

In 1804, Clay began to acquire land for a farm for his young family. He had lived in Lexington since 1799, but by 1804, he was ready to move from his townhome on Mill Street to a more substantial residence on the outskirts of town. By 1809, the center block of his new home was complete, and Clay resided on the farm he named Ashland for the ash trees abundant on the property.

By 1811, Clay desired still more room and received plans to add wings to Ashland from Benjamin Latrobe, the architect of the United States Capitol. Within a year or so, the home was a five-part Federal structure that included a center block, two hyphens (connecting pieces), and two end blocks. Clay and his wife, Lucretia Hart, resided at the home until his death in 1852. When Clay died, his will dictated that Lucretia would have a life estate on the property, but when she left or died, the property would be sold. A short time after Clay’s death, Lucretia moved to her son John’s home (called Ashland on Tates Creek), and Ashland was sold to another son, James

Upon purchasing Ashland in 1853, James Clay found the mansion in a state of serious disrepair. He arrived at the difficult conclusion that there was only one thing to be done: raze the house and rebuild. James had the house torn down, taking care to save all materials that could practically be salvaged. He then rebuilt the home on the existing foundation following his father’s original floor plan. James carefully and thoughtfully rebuilt Ashland as a

A Brief History of Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate

memorial to his father. He did incorporate certain Italianate, Greek Revival and Victorian details in the rebuilding to bring the house into the more current style but, by and large, intentionally recreated his father’s home.

James Clay resided at Ashland until 1862 at which time he fled Lexington because of fear of retribution due to his strong Confederate leanings. He first traveled to Cuba then to Montreal, where he remained until his death in 1864, never to return to Ashland. In 1866, James’ widow, Susan, had no option but to put Ashland up for sale. The estate was bought by John Bryan Bowman to become part of the new Kentucky University.

Bowman and his wife moved to Ashland in 1866 and initially used the home as a residence but, after a time, determined it had more room than he needed. He selected rooms on the first floor for use as the university’s new museum. By the late 1870s, Bowman’s relationship with the University’s board of directors unfortunately had begun to deteriorate, and he was fired. He was forced to leave Ashland in 1878. While still owned by Kentucky University, Ashland was rented out until 1882, when it was sold to Henry Clay’s granddaughter, Anne Clay McDowell, and her husband, Henry Clay McDowell, who had been named in honor of Anne’s famous grandfather. The McDowells returned Ashland to family ownership for the first time in more than 17 years.

The McDowells engaged in major interior renovation and restoration. They kept the house largely the same but made several alterations to add modern conveniences and bring it into a current style. Anne and Henry Clay McDowell resided at Ashland until their deaths. At that time, their oldest child, Nannette, took possession of the home. Nannette McDowell Bullock, her husband Thomas, and son Henry were the last residents of Ashland, and it is through Nannette’s efforts that the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation was created, preserving Clay’s legacy, the house and the 17 remaining acres for future generations.

Since 1950, Ashland has been open to the public as a historic house museum. Due to its long and varied history, Ashland may be thought of today as an onion, the layers of which can be peeled away to reveal the history of the home and its occupants and, remaining at its core, Henry Clay’s five-part Federal structure and floor plan. To this core were added son James Clay’s Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian flourishes, with Eastlake and Aesthetic Movement details added by granddaughter Anne Clay McDowell.

Ashland is a National Historic Landmark and the site of profound history. It serves as a place of retreat and comfort for many of its neighbors, the people of Lexington, and thousands of visitors each year. Most of all, it is a reminder of the “Promised Land” that Henry Clay and his descendants found there.

For more information, visit henryclay.org.

Underground Weddings in Mammoth Cave

By Bob Thompson, Mason, Ohio

Gothic Avenue is a historical, upperlevel passage inside Mammoth Cave National Park. The Gothic Chamber, as it sometimes is called, is the oldest cave passage that’s accessible on modern cave tours. It was named “Gothic” because of its unusual rock formations that resemble Gothic architecture. A variety of signatures, artifacts and monuments can be found in this passageway as well as stalactites and stalagmites.

One of the more interesting features in Gothic Avenue is a formation called the Bridal Altar, which is made up of three stalactites forming a canopied, triangular chamber beneath and between them. These three pillars symbolize the officiating clergyman, the bride and the groom.

Over the years, the Bridal Altar has been known as the Gothic Chapel, The Altar and the Bridal Chamber. According to early books about and photographs of the cave, it was not known as the Bridal Altar until 1889.

Approximately 25 weddings were held at the Bridal Altar from 1852-1941.

According to newspaper sources, the first Mammoth Cave wedding was conducted on April 29, 1852. Other known weddings that were posted in newspapers include those in 1868, 1870, 1879 (a double wedding), 1882, 1901, 1924, 1925 and 1940.

The following announcement that

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appeared in the Louisville Journal is presented as evidence of the first wedding in Mammoth Cave on April 29, 1852:

“Married, on the 29th of April, in the Gothic Chapel of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, by the Rev. Dr. Edgar, of Nashville, Tennessee: the Rev. J.H. Hall, of Bourbon County, to Miss Wealthy F. Pettingill, of Winthrop, Maine. The party consisted of some 50 or 60 ladies and gentlemen.”

Of the approximately 25 weddings in the cave, few were captured on camera. Many of the so-called wedding photographs that exist today were staged in the early 1900s by the cave management for publicity purposes.

Since 1863, cave guides at Mammoth Cave have shared the legend describing the circumstances of one wedding. A young girl is said to have made a promise to her dying mother that she would marry no man on the face of the earth. Her wedding was held in Mammoth Cave at the Bridal Altar location so that she could marry her beloved beneath the face of the earth and keep the promise she had made to her mother.

The last cave wedding at the Bridal Altar was on Sept. 20, 1940. Weddings ceased in the cave when Mammoth Cave became a national park in 1941, but subterranean proposals are known to happen today!

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by Gary Garth

Hunters, Hunting and Conservation

Irecently received a letter via email from a reader who somewhat took me to task for my support of deer hunting.

The writer, who acknowledged that he is not a hunter but said that he is not “antihunting,” did not question the legality of hunting or the ethics of the sport. The complaint seemed to hinge on my reference to deer hunting as a conservation and game management tool.

“I enjoy seeing deer around my house,” he wrote. “I DON’T need them MANAGED by hunters.”

Actually, sir, you do. We all do.

Conservation is a word that cuts a wide usage swath, but Webster’s (Definition 1) defines it succinctly: “a careful preservation and protection of something, especially: planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.”

OK. But what does that have to do with hunters or hunting?

Most hunters also are conservationists in that they generally place the care and protection of the wildlife resource (including needed habitat for that resource) above their own desire to tag a deer or bag a grouse or down a duck. Granted, not everyone who wields a rifle, shotgun or bow adheres to the rules or takes the ethical high road. The hunting community has its share of poachers and other wildlife thugs. Hunters are an opinionated and often vocal bunch, but, overall, we also follow game laws that are designed to first, protect wildlife, and second, provide sporting opportunities. You can’t

hunt, or enjoying viewing, deer (or ducks, geese, grouse, quail, rabbits, etc.) if there are none.

Whitetail deer are the critters you often see grazing at or near the edge of soybean, corn and other crop fields but also are commonly seen munching on suburban plantings. Their return is

Today, the Kentucky deer pendulum has swung to the land of plenty. No one knows how many deer we have in the Commonwealth. The statewide herd generally is estimated at around 1 million animals—a healthy and manageable size. But if the herd were not hunted for three consecutive years, it likely would double.

The results:

malnourished deer, an increase in crop and property damage, a spike in deer and automobile collisions, and no reasonable means of trimming the herd to a manageable size. No one wants that.

the overwhelming conservation success story of the last century across Kentucky and beyond. Hunters and hunting are part of that story.

During the early and middle years of the 20th century, deer and other game numbers plummeted. Part of the decline was a result of unregulated hunting, but the main culprit was habitat loss.

Changes—powered and backed by some farsighted, conservationminded political victories and supported by sportsmen and sportswomen—eventually led to habitat improvements. Critter numbers began to rebound, boosted by conservation and game management measures funded and supported by hunters and hunting.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources separates the state into four deer-hunting zones. About half the counties, including Jefferson, are Zone 1, which— unofficially—means they hold more deer than people want. Biologists refer to this as the “social carrying capacity.” The habitat would support more deer than the public will happily tolerate. The only realistic method of controlling deer numbers is by hunting, and hunters are the primary management tool employed by state game managers. In some counties, game managers would like for hunters to take more deer than they do.

A handful of counties, designated Zone 4 and located in the southeastern block of the state, could use a boost in deer numbers. There, hunting is again employed as a management tool to help control and balance the numbers. In these counties, hunters are limited to two deer per season, and only one can be a doe (anterless). No does can be

Hunting is one management tool that state wildlife officials use to help keep the state’s whitetail deer herd balanced and healthy.

Gary Garth photo

taken during the modern gun hunt, and doe kills are restricted during most of the designated special muzzleloader seasons. It’s conservation and game management at work.

Perfect? No.

Functional and reasonably efficient? Yes.

Kentucky’s deer season is in full swing. Archery season opened Sept. 3 and runs through Jan. 16. Crossbow season is currently open through Jan. 16.

The youth-only modern gun season is Oct. 8-9. Muzzleloader season is Oct. 15-16 and Dec. 10-18. Modern gun season is Nov. 12-27.

During the 2020-2021 season, hunters checked 141,631 deer. Most are tagged during the November modern gun hunt.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a neurodegenerative disease that is always fatal to elk and deer, has been discovered in west Tennessee. The disease has not been detected in Kentucky’s deer or elk, but, as a precaution, state game managers have established a CWD Surveillance Zone in Calloway, Fulton, Graves, Hickman and Marshall (all Zone 1) counties. Season dates and bag limits within the five-county zone adhere to statewide and county zone regulations, but the following special regulations apply:

n No feeding or baiting of deer is allowed within the zone.

n Deer taken within the zone must be checked at a physical check station. Thirteen check stations have been established across the zone.

n No deer taken from within the zone can be taken out of the five-county area.

For more information, page 13 of the current Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, go to www.fw.ky.gov/cwd, or call the state game agency at 1.800.858.1549.

Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

by Walt Reichert

Salute to a Hunger Hero

One of the many food pantries in Shelby County has a sign outside that reads, “Hunger Heroes work here.” Those volunteers certainly are heroes.

Let me introduce you to a different kind of hunger hero, one whose passion is teaching folks how to grow their own food, save their own seeds, get moving and out of doors, buy locally grown, and, in the process, preserve their culture.

His name is Bill Best, and he lives in Berea.

A native of the mountains of North Carolina, Best has farmed most of his life in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A former professor, coach and administrator at Berea College, he is one of the founders of the Lexington Farmers Market. When that market opened in 1973, he was the youngest member. At 86, he still attends the market and is its oldest member. He also founded the farmers market in Berea.

Best brings beans and tomatoes to market—but not just any beans and tomatoes. These beans come with the rich heritage of the Appalachian region and the folks who grew them for generations and saved the seeds for next year’s harvest. The tomatoes are not just the round red ones that we’re used to. His heirlooms come in pink, purple, black, green, yellow and striped, and range in size from huge lunkers to tiny “Tommy toes.”

In his lifetime, Best has saved—often from extinction— dozens of bean and tomato varieties that are Kentucky and/or Appalachian heirlooms.

Kentucky Heirloom Seeds

Best has written 10 books on gardening, farming and seed saving. A seed saver myself, my eye was caught by his Kentucky Heirloom Seeds, published five years ago by University Press of Kentucky. The book was co-written by farmer and fiber artist Dobree Adams of Frankfort. It combines lessons in history with tributes to individual seed savers in Kentucky, including the indigenous peoples of the region who were saving seeds long before Europeans arrived in the mountains.

In the book’s foreword, Dr. A. Gwynn Henderson writes that, despite the myth that Kentucky was merely a “dark and bloody ground” where Native Americans came only to hunt and fight, those peoples had been practicing agriculture and saving seeds for more than 3,000 years before white settlers arrived. Many of the bean varieties Best has saved can trace their origins back to indigenous people.

The rest of the book is a tribute to the heirloom bean and tomato varieties and the mountain people who grow them and have saved their seeds over generations, even when saving seeds went out of fashion or became unnecessary.

Beans were grown by almost everyone in the mountains and have dozens of descriptive names—cut-short beans, greasy beans (missing the fine hairs on the pod), cornfield beans, shuck beans, shelly beans, leather britches, butter beans and more. Most of those were pole beans and grew up corn stalks, pole teepees and strings. Beans and corn

Top, seed-saving hunger hero Bill Best; above, Best’s 2017 book and his award for sustainable agriculture that was named in his honor.

Photos courtesy UK Agricultural Communications Services

Berea Seed Swap

Looking for heirloom seeds? The Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Seed Swap event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Acton Folk Center in Berea from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

are a natural pair; the corn provides the “pole,” and the beans feed the corn additional nitrogen. Add squash at the foot of the hills, and you get the “Three Sisters” of Native American plantings.

Best writes that we lost flavor and nutrition when we started harvesting beans and tomatoes by machine and breeding varieties for shipping quality and shelf life. The green beans that we eat canned, fresh or frozen are husks only, Best writes, while the heirlooms have the beans developed inside, and that’s why they are richer in protein.

Even those who lack taste buds know that storebought tomatoes leave a lot to be desired when it comes to flavor. That’s because they were bred for shipping, uniformity of shape, and shelf life, not flavor. Heirloom tomatoes, by contrast, typically have thinner skins but are more flavorful and juicier. They certainly are more colorful.

In Kentucky Heirloom Seeds, Best describes many of the old-time varieties of beans and tomatoes and lets those who have saved their seeds through the generations tell their stories. They speak of a time when gardening was not just a hobby or a pleasurable activity but a necessary part of feeding the family. In the days before food stamps and welfare, vegetable gardening was food security. The seed savers tell of growing acres of vegetables and canning hundreds of quarts of beans and other vegetables—and always saving seeds for the next year.

Over his lifetime, Best has collected dozens of Kentucky heirloom seeds and makes them available through the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center. When you’re ordering your garden seeds next year, consider planting a piece of Kentucky history and culture. The Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center offers more than 175 varieties of Appalachian regional heirloom beans and about 50 tomato varieties on its website, heirlooms.org.

Best writes that he is witnessing a resurging interest in heirlooms:

“A quiet revolution is taking place as many thousands of people discover heirloom beans. Although most of these beans require staking or trellising, and most of them must be strung prior to cooking, the end product is worthy of the name, food.”

Bill Best. Hunger Hero.

Readers may contact Walt Reichert at editor@ kentuckymonthly.com

STATEMENT OF OWENERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION:

1) Publication Title: Kentucky Monthly, 2) Publication No.: 1542-0507, 3) Filing Date: Sept. 30, 2022, 4) Issue Frequency: monthly, 5) No. of Issues Published Annually: 10, 6) Annual Subscription Price: $20, 7-8) Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication & Address of Headquarters: 100 Consumer Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601, 9) Full Name & Complete Mailing Address of Publisher, Editor & Managing Editor: Stephen M. Vest, 100 Consumer Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601, 10) Owner: Vested Interest Publications, Inc., 100 Consumer Lane, Frankfort, KY 40601-8489. Shareholders owning at least 1%: Barbara K. & Stephen M. Vest, 1001 Silver Creek Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601; Michael & Mary Embry, 152 Skyview Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601; Thomas Hall, 661 Berry Lane, Lexington, KY 40502; Leesa Shake, 4014 South First Street, Louisville, KY 40214; Mary Jo Ratliff, PO Box 1347, Pikeville, KY 41502; Rebecca & Randy Sandell, 7419 Falls Ridge Court, Louisville, KY 40241; Jack E. Dixon, 6114 Franklin Villa Way, Indianapolis, IN 46237; Robert Hawkins, 1140 Rostevor Circle, Louisville, KY 40205; Barry Royalty, 4325 Cloverleaf Drive, Louisville, KY 40216; Tom & Judy Harris, 1713 Parkridge Parkway, Louisville, KY 40214; Gregory Carnes, 4106 Montalto Court, Louisville, KY 40299; Ted Sloan, 1067 Macland Street, Lawrenceburg, KY 40342; Walter Norris, 418 Northridge Drive, Lexington, KY 40505; Kendall Shelton, 204 Denison Way, Frankfort, KY 40601; Barbara Ann Chiericozzi, 7114 Topsail Court, Tega Cay, SC 29708; Michelle McDonnell, 10706 Norman Avenue, Fairfax, VA 22030; 11) Known Bondholders, Mortgagees & Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1% or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: First Federal, 216 West Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40601, 12) For completion by nonprofit organizations or other securities: not applicable, 13) Publication Title: Kentucky Monthly, 14) Issue Date for Circulation Data: September 2022, 15A) Total No. of Copies. Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 31,203. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 30,941, 15B) 1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541. Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,026. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 18,874. 2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers & Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales & Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: 0. Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through USPS: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 15C) Total Paid Distribution: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,026. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 18,874. 15D) 1) Free or Nominal Rate OutsideCounty Copies Included on PS Form 3541: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 5,000. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 5,000. 4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 6,772. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 6,742. 15E) Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 11,772. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 11,742. 15F) Total Distribution: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 30,709. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 30,616. 15G) Copies Not Distributed: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 405. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 325. 15H) Total: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 31,203. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 30,941. 15I) Percent Paid: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 61.77%. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 61.64%. 16A) Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 16B) Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,026. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 18,874. 16C) Total Print Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,026. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 18,874. 16D) Percent Paid: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 61.77%. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 61.64%. I certify that statements made above are correct & complete. Stephen M. Vest, Publisher & Editor.

OCTOBER 2022

Ongoing Murder & Mayhem Tours, downtown Frankfort, each Thursday during October, 502.875.8500

Ongoing Kentucky Women: Helen LaFrance, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, through April 29, 2023, 502.634.2700

Ongoing

The Power of Color Retrospective, Art Center of the Bluegrass, Danville, through Oct. 28, 859.236.4054

Ongoing Crazy Quilt Mania, Kentucky Museum, Bowling Green, through June 30, 2023, 270.745.2592

Detail of “Heaven’s Gate” by Susan Stuller, from the Aqueous Exhibit

Ongoing Aqueous Exhibit

Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington, through Nov. 6, 859.255.6653

1

Lincoln Days Celebration, downtown Hodgenville, through Oct. 2, 270.358.8710

2

Flea in the Fort, presented by Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Tower Park, Fort Thomas, 859.572.1209

3 16

Vintage Baseball, Waveland State Historic Site, Lexington, 859.272.3611

17

Jack O’Lantern Spectacular, Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, through Oct. 31, 502.368.5865

5

6

Keith Urban in Concert, Rupp Arena, Lexington, 859.233.4567

Kentucky Wool Festival, Concord Caddo Rd., Falmouth, through Oct. 9, 859.951.8025

14

8 Tri-County Car Club, Car Club Homecoming, Campbellsville University, 270.789.7852

15

Celebration of Traditional Music, Berea College, 859.985.3000

Forkland Heritage Festival, Community Center, Gravel Switch, through Oct. 15, 859.332.7839

21

Fiddler on the Roof Kentucky Center for the Arts, Louisville, through Oct. 23, 502.566.5111

Seinfeld

Center for the Arts, Richmond, 859.622.7469

Tootsie: The Comedy Musical, Lexington Opera House, 859.233.4567

28

Kentucky

through

Ghost Stories, The Plaza Theatre, Glasgow, through Oct. 30, 270.361.2101

a guide to Kentucky’s most interesting events

For a more extensive listing of events, visit kentuckymonthly.com.

22 Homeplace Halloween, Homeplace on Green River, Campbellsville, 270.789.0006

ATOM Fall Fest downtown Harrodsburg, 859.734.2383 19 25

The Judds Final Tour, Rupp Arena, Lexington, 859.233.4567

Italian Adventure vested interest

“H

ere’s your SLAW DOG,” snapped the Varsity counter staffer at a beleaguered tourist in front of us on our return to Atlanta. “Ketchup’s in the BUCKET.”

“Welcome home to America,” whispered Charlie, a fellow traveler on Kentucky Monthly’s nine-day Italian adventure, causing us both to chuckle.

The counter encounter was in stark contrast to the peaceful exchanges from Venice to Bologna to Florence, San Gimignano to Siena to Rome with three dozen Kentucky Monthly readers in early September. Everything you’ve heard about Italy is true: The food. The people. The scenery. The history. There is something unexpected and spectacular around every corner.

For a sampling, you’re welcome to visit my Facebook page. It’s a public page, and I’ve shared dozens of photos for those who enjoy other people’s vacation photos or want to plan their own. If you need help scheduling your own visit to Italy, contact Total Travel Services in Madisonville and ask them to put you in touch with Massimo Bannetta, our personal guide. “OK, OK?”

As a college junior, I took modern Italian. I remember the instructor telling us that, because so many servicemen stayed in Italy after World War II for so long, many American phrases, such as “OK,” have found their way into the Italian language. If you’re willing to try, the instructor said, you’d have no trouble communicating. He was correct. After four or five days, I could read most road signs and instructions.

Several people we asked to join us on this trip were worried about traveling internationally, and in the interest of transparency, we did leave two of our guests behind when one of them came down with COVID. Rest assured, they’re OK now and have returned home sad that they missed Michelangelo’s David, whose hands and feet are out of proportion with the rest of his body, and everything that Rome has to offer—the massive St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican

Museum and the Sistine Chapel (which everyone agreed was spectacular but smaller than expected. The word “chapel” should have been a clue). But heck, if you’re going to leave someone somewhere, it should be the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo in Florence.

When asked what I enjoyed most, I’d say the single location that amazed me was St. Peter’s, which is massive. But the smaller cities, and especially the views of Tuscany, were more to my liking. What I enjoyed most was the fellowship of Kentuckians. We had folks from each region of the Commonwealth watching out for one another (we walked more than 55 miles in six days), sharing stories, and enjoying laughs over breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

During our visit to St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, known as “the Church of Gold,” I told our guide, Paula (to my right, above), that she reminded me of my mother, who passed away before COVID (would that be 1 BC?). “There is no way I could be YOUR mother,” she said.

“No, no,” I said as I tried to find a picture of my mom on my phone. “All I meant is you look like my mother when she was much younger—see? Isn’t she lovely?”

We’ve always speculated that my mom had Italian heritage, especially after she came down with a condition called Mediterranean anemia when I was in college.

At the end of our tour of St. Mark’s, I jokingly asked Paula, “Momma, can we have a group photo with you?”

“You,” she said, pointing her finger. “Call me your mother again, and I’ll kiiillllll you!”

I can’t help it. That sounds like something my mom might have said.

Kwiz Answers: 1. C. George Ella Lyon often sets her work in Appalachia, where her roots are; 2. A. Lyon says, “Though I write in many forms, I am first of all a poet, which means my job is to see and sing the connections between things”; 3. B. Her poetry project, “Where I’m From,” opened up poetic expressions throughout Kentucky; 4. A. Much of her work is based on her Kentucky origins, coming from “family, friends, words, music, dreams, mountains and the joy of making”; 5. A. Her work spans a wide range of genres, including picture books, poetry, articles and juvenile fiction; 6. C. Much of her writing work appeals to readers of all ages, and she has a long list of books for younger audiences; 7. B. Her books for younger readers cover a wide range of themes and topics; 8. C. Though this is an early title, her picture books for children span the length of her ongoing career; 9. B. This 1994 title reflects her awareness of her roles as a woman, a writer and a Kentuckian; 10. B. Her list of published works is lengthy and well respected, but her first and deepest love is poetry; 11. C. This poetry collection was recently published by the University Press of Kentucky; 12. A. Inducted in March 2022, Lyon joined some 50 other distinguished Kentucky writers, some living and some deceased.

come from all across Kentucky

on the campus of

Kentucky University.

thrive in

seniors

high school, we enroll in WKU courses, conduct research

study

we are challenged

and make