October 2024 | Kentucky Monthly Magazine

OCTOBER 2024

with Kentucky Explorer

Kentucky Book Festival Attending this year’s event: Gwenda Bond, John Lackey, David Arnold, Meg Shaffer and 150 more authors.

Appalachian Writers’ Workshop America’s Most Haunted Neighborhood

Kentucky’s Bookstore Boom James Baker Hall Foundation

MEET KENTUCKY’S BLACK HISTORY MAKERS IN AUGMENTED REALITY COUN

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YOU’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED HISTORY LIKE THIS

KYBLACKTRAILBLAZERS.COM DISCOVER KENTUCKY'S BLACK TRAILBLAZERS THROUGH THE MAGIC OF AUGMENTED REALITY. With stops across the state, visitors will have an immersive experience like no other while hearing the stories of Muhammad Ali, Oliver Lewis, and many more. Join us on this groundbreaking journey through our beloved Kentucky counties and witness these diverse stories come to life. Stops are in Bullitt Co., Hardin Co., Nelson Co., Oldham Co., Shelby Co., and Louisville.

SCAN HERE TO EXPERIENCE HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

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O N T H E C OV E R Attending this year’s event: Gwenda Bond, John Lackey, David Arnold, Meg Shaffer and 150 more authors. P H OTO B Y R E B E C CA R E D D I N G

in this issue

43

Photo taken at Lexington Writer’s Room.

Mural by Wylie Caudill (@wyliecaudillart).

O C TO B E R D E PA R T M E N T S 2 Kentucky Kwiz 3 Readers Write 4 Mag on the Move 6 Across Kentucky 8 Five Minutes With …

9 Music 10 Cooking 77 Kentucky Explorer 88 Past Tense/ Present Tense 90 Field Notes 92 Gardening 94 Calendar 96 Vested Interest

14 Frighteningly Fun Known as America’s Most Haunted Neighborhood, Old Louisville is the setting for ghoulish tours 26 Bookstore Boom New independent book retailers have sprung up across the Commonwealth 32 A Literary Family Reunion The annual Appalachian Writers’ Workshop in Hindman brings writers together for a week of teaching, learning and communing

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38 Character, Creativity, Collaboration and Community The James Baker Hall Foundation supports Kentucky’s literary and visual creatives

40 Honoring an Icon Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy will loom large over a 2024 Kentucky Book Festival that also will feature fantasy, bourbon, spirituality and much more 43 Kentucky Book Festival The Kentucky Humanities presents the 42nd edition of the event at JosephBeth Booksellers in Lexington

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 1

kentucky kwiz Test your knowledge of our beloved Commonwealth. To find out how you fared, see page 4. © 2024, VESTED INTEREST PUBLICATIONS

A. Ricky Skaggs

6. Which Kentucky university has a tomb on campus that is the resting place of a professor who taught there in the 1800s? (He was buried there in the hopes of ending the curse he had placed on the school.)

B. Crystal Gayle

A. Morehead State University

C. Billy Ray Cyrus

B. Transylvania University

1. What country musician had the sound go out briefly during a concert, with the singer crediting the problem to “Paramount Joe,” who is said to haunt the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland?

C. Murray State University 2. Which Paducah building is said to be one of the most haunted locations in Kentucky due to the spirit of Stella Cohen Peine lingering after she died in her apartment there?

A. Market House Theatre B. C.C. Cohen Building C. Hotel Metropolitan Museum 3. Whether it is the spirit of a worker who died in a dynamite explosion or the spirit of a climber who died in a fall, this ghost shows up in the Nada Tunnel at Red River Gorge as what color of light?

OCTOBER 2024

Stephen M. Vest Publisher + Editor-in-Chief Hal Moss Associate Publisher + Business Editor

EDITORIAL Patricia Ranft Associate Editor Rebecca Redding Creative Director Deborah Kohl Kremer Assistant Editor

7. Jimmie (also spelled “Jemmie”) Courtney Hickman Thompson is said to haunt her former home, Lone Oak, and is known for staring out the window and scaring cats and dogs inside the house.

Lone Oak is in which Kentucky town?

A. Cadiz B. Bowling Green C. Hopkinsville

Ted Sloan Contributing Editor Cait A. Smith Copy Editor

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

BUSINESS AND CIRCULATION Barbara Kay Vest Business Manager

A. Glowing white light

8. Patricia Wilson is said to be the spirit known as the “Lady in Blue,” who died in an elevator accident (or was it murder?) in 1936 in what Louisville hotel?

B. Glowing green light

A. Seelbach Hotel

C. Glowing blue light

B. The Galt House C. The Brown Hotel

4. Which Kentucky school was featured in a 2012 episode of the original Ghost Hunters show on the SyFy Channel, in which three haunted locations were investigated?

VOLUME TWENTY-SEVEN, ISSUE 8,

ADVERTISING Lindsey Collins Senior Account Executive and Coordinator Kelley Burchell Account Executive Laura Ray Account Executive Teresa Revlett Account Executive For advertising information, call 888.329.0053 or 502.227.0053

Vested Interest Publications, Inc., 100 Consumer Lane,

A. Eastern Kentucky University

9. Along with the spirits of previous owners, Maple Hill Manor in Springfield is said to be haunted by the spirits of several Civil War soldiers who died there after being injured in what battle?

B. Northern Kentucky University

A. Battle of Gettysburg

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KENTUCKY

C. Western Kentucky University

B. Battle of Perryville

Vested Interest Publications: Stephen M. Vest,

B. Battle of Barkley

Barbara Kay Vest, secretary/treasurer. Board of

5. The International Paranormal Museum and Research Center is located in which Kentucky city?

A. Maysville B. Somerset

B. Billy the Kid

Contributed by Dr. Tamela W. Smith, Western Kentucky University Staff Emeritus.

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January and June/July issues) for $25 per year by Frankfort, KY 40601. Periodicals Postage Paid at Frankfort, KY and at additional mailing offices.

MONTHLY, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602-0559. president; Patricia Ranft, vice president; directors: James W. Adams Jr., Dr. Gene Burch, Kellee Dicks, Maj. Jack E. Dixon, Bruce and

10. Talbott Tavern Inn, one of the oldest buildings in Bardstown, has long been rumored to be haunted by several spirits, including which famous outlaw?

C. Butch Cassidy

2

times per year (monthly with combined December/

Gregory N. Carnes, Barbara and Pete Chiericozzi,

A. Jesse James

C. New Castle

KENTUCKY MONTHLY (ISSN 1542-0507) is published 10

Peggy Dungan, Mary and Michael Embry, Judy M. Harris, Greg and Carrie Hawkins, Jan and John Higginbotham, Frank Martin, Bill Noel, Walter B. Norris, Kasia Pater, Dr. Mary Jo Ratliff, 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.

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H L Y. C O M

Counties mentioned in this issue...

Readers Write Any Other Name …

issue has in store for me.

I loved Bill Ellis’ article “What’s in a Name” (August issue, page 57).

Having red hair growing up, I had quite a few nicknames. “Redheaded Woodpecker Sitting on a Fence” was the longest and most aggravating nickname in school. Some things you never forget!

But mostly, we survive.

I have a flexible pattern of reading each issue—from the front cover to “In this Issue.” Next, I take the “Kentucky Kwiz” and on to “Readers Write,” then to the back page for my friend, Steve’s “Vested Interest,” then back to “Past Tense/Present Tense” to read Bill Ellis’ words of wisdom, to which, agewise, I usually relate.

“Hey Red” was another one. Now, my hair is white and nobody dares to comment!

Ellen Glasgow, Frankfort

Eagerly Anticipated Magazine Toward the end of each month, I begin looking into our mailbox, eagerly awaiting the next issue of Kentucky Monthly, wondering what the next

Dodson Moore, one of my writer friends, who said, “Don, ever since you introduced me to Kentucky Monthly and I began subscribing, I also eagerly await the next issue.”

My sister who lives in Rhode Island, Nancy Dodson Wake, who recently lost her husband, commented upon receiving my gift subscription, “Kentucky Monthly keeps me connected to the Commonwealth, the land I love, and helps me to cope.”

I especially am drawn to Kentucky Explorer and the “I Remember” section. And sometimes, I am proud and pleased to see my name in print with my own contributions.

Clarification:

Recently, while waiting for the beginning of my OLLI at the University of Kentucky, a shared interest group with weekly afternoon gatherings, I expressed some of the above thoughts to Sara

The answer to question No. 1 in our September Kwiz (page 2) should have included the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field, which is composed of a hybrid of Kentucky bluegrass and artificial turf.

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

Don Dampier, Georgetown

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.

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

Follow us @kymonthly Find more at kentuckymonthly.com.

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

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

travel 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!

colorado Linda and Bryan Stopper (center and right) of Frankfort with Kennie Gill of Arlington, Virginia, by way of Lexington, at Garden of the Gods at Manitou Springs in Colorado.

france Mark Joyce and Jim Roush, lifelong brothers of Kappa Sigma at the University of Kentucky, embarked on a bucket list Paris to Zurich river cruise. Their group of eight travelers, all from Louisville, enjoyed two weeks of sightseeing and local cuisine.

submit your photo

tennessee

Take a copy of the magazine with you and get snapping!

Send your high-resolution photos (usually 1 MB or higher) to editor@kentuckymonthly.com or visit kentuckymonthly.com to submit your photo.

KWIZ ANSWERS 1. B. Several incidents have been credited to Joe, including lights mysteriously going out, pictures falling from walls, and heavy footsteps stomping the stage; 2. B. Stella’s restaurant occupies the first floor of the building in which Stella Cohen Peine was found dead in an upstairs apartment in 1980; 3. B. Those who have seen the light describe it as a floating green orb; 4. C. Paranormal researcher and retired WKU faculty member Dr. Tamela Williams Smith conducts Hilltopper History and Haunts Tours on the campus; 5. B. The museum is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; 6. B. Students at the university vie for the opportunity to spend Halloween night in the tomb of botanist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque; 7. C. Thompson’s spirit also has been blamed for rearranged glassware, gifts that disappeared and pulled hair; 8. A. Wilson had planned to meet her husband

Bill and Brenda Watson of Georgetown checked out The Mystery Machine in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the Old Mill.

at the hotel, but he was killed in a car accident on his way there; 9. B. The building served as a Confederate and Union hospital following the battle; 10. A. Ironically, James himself reportedly saw a ghost in the inn.

M AG O N T H E M OV E 4

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

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across kentucky

Music Makers Honored

Four-Legged Favorites “In the whole history of the world there is but one thing that money cannot buy … to wit—the wag of a dog’s tail.” —Josh Billings

L

exington’s Headley-Whitney Museum of Art’s newest exhibition is a celebration of all things dogs and cats. Going on now through Nov. 24, Dogs & Cats: An Exhibition features the work of realist artist Jamie Wyeth.

The third generation, internationally renowned artist has 25 works of canine and feline art on display. They join the works of 30 Kentucky artists, as well as mid-1800s dog paintings on loan from private collections.

The tribute to our four-legged friends also features a historical dog collar collection on loan from the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. Kentucky artist Ellen Skidmore will exhibit 26 new works and her book How Dogs Make Me Feel.

The Headley-Whitney Museum of Art’s fall hours are Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For more information, go to headley-whitney.org.

Welcome, Hal! Hal Moss has joined Kentucky Monthly as associate publisher and business editor, bringing with him decades of knowledge and experience. He previously served in senior account executive roles at Thoroughbred Times, Daily Racing Form and, most recently, The Lane Report. Moss resides in Lexington with his wife, Dana.

“I look forward to joining the great team at Kentucky Monthly,” Moss said. “I have long admired the editorial content, photography, interesting stories and profiles of people from across the Commonwealth. One of the new initiatives is to expand our economic development coverage. We plan to feature the Kentucky-based industries and people who are the key economic drivers in the state. My personal goal is to make Kentucky Monthly the most complete publication in the Commonwealth, serving our readers with informative, relevant content. I am so grateful for this opportunity!”

6 K E NT U C K Y M O NT H LY O CTO BER 2024

A honky-tonk owner, a sound engineer, a fiddler, singers and songwriters make up the Class of 2024 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.

Honorees include Edmonton hard rock band Black Stone Cherry; Somerset gospel legend Rodney Griffin; singer-songwriter and Wilder’s famous honky-tonk owner Bobby Mackey; Winchester musician Paul Martin; Grand Master Fiddler Champion and Leitchfield native Jimmy Mattingly; The McLain Sturgill Simpson Family Band of Hindman; Paint Lick’s Billy Moore, the first sound engineer inducted into the Hall of Fame; Mayfield native and famed Nashville venue owner Ruble Sanderson; American Music Awardand Grammy Award-winning country star Sturgill Simpson of Versailles; singer-songwriter and Puncheon Creek (Anderson County) native Charlie Sizemore; and country singer Gary Stewart of Jenkins (Letcher County), also known as the “King of the Honky-Tonk.”

Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Executive Director Jessica Blankenship noted that this year’s class of inductees covers the gamut of the music industry. “We’ve got so much talent in Kentucky; it’s just bustin’ at the seams,” she said.

The induction ceremony is set for Oct. 26 at Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mount Vernon.

More information on current and past inductees can be found at kentuckymusichalloffame.com.

Bundle up for the coolest holiday attraction around!

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Nov. 8 - Jan. 4 • ChristmasAtGaylordOpryland�com TM & © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. & Classic Media, LLC. Based on the musical composition FROSTY THE SNOWMAN © Warner/Chappell.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

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five minutes with ...

Hank Phillips Kentucky Travel Industry Association President & CEO Question: How would you describe Kentucky’s tourism industry?

Answer: The most literal description is that the businesses and organizations that attract and serve Kentucky visitors are the industry.

That includes local tourism bureaus, hotels and other types of accommodations, attractions, restaurants, marinas, state agencies and suppliers, including media such as Kentucky Monthly.

But the industry is more than an assortment of businesses. It’s the professionals throughout the Commonwealth—from GMs and CEOs to frontline service providers— who are passionate about Kentucky and who channel that passion into convincing people to experience our state and who provide exceptional services to them during their visits.

Q. What role does KTIA play in the tourism industry in Kentucky?

KTIA helps the industry carry out its work of attracting and serving visitors. We do that as the industry’s collective voice to the General Assembly and other policymakers, as a source of education and information, and in other ways that help businesses and individuals develop to their fullest potential.

Q. Why should an organization or business join KTIA? If your business serves visitors to your community, you can choose to be on an island by yourself, fending for 8 K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

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yourself, and learning only from your own experiences. Or you can choose to connect with others from throughout the state who share your issues and challenges and work together to address them … That opportunity to connect is the “why” of joining KTIA. Q. Do you work in concert with the Kentucky Department of Tourism?

Absolutely. The department holds an exclusive KTIA designation of Partner, which is much more than just a title. As they market Kentucky to the world and we focus on serving the industry, we occupy distinct lanes as partners, both pointed toward the shared goal of building tourism and the benefits it provides to Kentucky.

Q. What is the total economic impact that Kentucky tourism generates? Is the bourbon craze a huge factor?

Tourism’s economic impact in 2023 was $13.8 billion, the second consecutive record-breaking year. Yes, bourbon is a huge factor and deserves a great deal of credit, yet Kentucky’s ultimate strength as a travel destination is its variety of experiences. … The complete Kentucky tourism story includes horses, history and culture, special interest attractions, urban excitement and small-town authenticity.

Q. Tell us what to expect from KTIA’s upcoming Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference held

In this edition of Kentucky Monthly, we introduce a new column: “Five Minutes With …” For each issue, we will pose questions to a prominent Kentucky business leader and publish them along with the responses.

this year in Covington (Nov. 13-15).

Conference planning is a year-round process. This year’s edition will be one of the best in terms of the variety and quality of experiences. Education topics range from agritourism to how to do podcasts to sports tourism to serving group tours, and a variety of others. Add to that networking events like Bowling for Bourbon, a voluntourism event at a facility for displaced children, and area tours.

Q. What brings you the most satisfaction working for KTIA? It’s pretty basic—helping people. To be able to help the type of folks who are in our industry—good, committed and creative people—is enormously satisfying.

Q. And conversely, what are the biggest challenges you face in your role at KTIA? One is figuring out how to deliver value and support to each of the diverse segments of the industry. The other is what I think of as bifocal vision: seeing and responding to immediate industry needs and opportunities and at the same time looking ahead to the tourism horizon and anticipating and planning for what’s out there.

Got Business News to Share?

Please contact Business Editor Hal Moss at hal@kentuckymonthly.com with press releases or business news you want to share.

music B Y L AU R A YO U N K I N

Listening and Learning

W

hether he’s listening to new music, playing for his elders, or digging into oldies, Louisville musician Tyrone Cotton is always listening and learning. “The world’s still new,” he said.

While visiting a friend in New York City, Cotton said his friend played a recording by singer-songwriter and Louisville native Tim Kreckel, “an older record. I hadn’t heard it.” That got him digging deeper into Krekel’s catalog.

Other Kentucky musicians have piqued Cotton’s interest.

He likes the songs of R&B singer-songwriter Prince Phillip Mitchell, who had hits in the 1970s, and Will “Bonnie Prince Billy” Oldham (see November 2023 issue, page 6).

“I do love Bonnie Prince Billy,” Cotton said. “I was on YouTube, and I heard him doing some covers. He really puts something into it.”

Being influenced by Kentucky musicians feels natural to Cotton because of his openness to all music. He grew up with music around him but not in a formal way.

He listened to the radio a lot as a teenager and especially liked Jimi Hendrix, who got Cotton interested in playing the electric guitar. “I was pretty open to many things,” he said.

“I think one of the best things I ever did regarding music is just

memory care and assisted-living centers during the day and plays gigs in the evening.

“I learn a lot,” he said of working around older folks. He tries to stick to songs that are familiar to his audience.

“Everybody knows ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations and ‘Country Roads’

by John Denver.”

He pays attention to his listeners and adapts his show to their taste. “I had a group who liked gospel, so I’d throw in gospel. Motown. It varies,” he said.

Two listeners stick out in Cotton’s memory. One was an older woman who requested “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead.

The other was a man who began dancing during the show. “Pops is getting down a little bit,” he said.

It turns out the man’s son was a professional drummer.

Ever the lifelong learner, Cotton aims to learn more about the craft and become a better musician.

He’d also like to write more songs PHOTO BY WILL FENWICK and have enough for another album. His debut album, Man Like Me, was released last February. his sound as blues, soul, a little jazz While Cotton’s career isn’t exactly and Americana. “I’ve been playing out a while,” he said. “I’m getting old. conventional, it works for him. “A friend said I don’t follow the rules, I’ve been gigging a while in but somehow I’m getting away with [Louisville].” it,” he said.

His most recent release, “Man Like Cotton’s music is available on the Me,” has gotten quite a bit of airplay usual sites for streaming, and fans on local radio. Since its release, can check tyronecotton.com or his Cotton said, it “seems like the phone Facebook page for upcoming show is ringing a little more.” Cotton is a dates. full-time musician who entertains at

listening to a lot of music,” he said.

Whether attending piano recitals or going to hear blues bands, “There’s something in that—listening.”

Cotton’s music is hard to pin down genre-wise because he can play so many different types. He describes

ke n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m

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cooking

Fall Fare

Roasted Fall Vegetables with Farro SERVES 6-8

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste ½-1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends removed and halved ½-1 pound butternut squash, cut into ½-inch cubes 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes ¼ cup pecans or walnuts ¼ cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) ½ cup farro or orecchiette pasta ½ cup goat cheese, crumbled ¼ cup dried cranberries Shredded smoked chicken, if desired 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. For the sauce, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, pepper and salt.

3. Place prepped Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on a rimmed 9x13-inch baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toss with half the sauce. Roast 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Add pecans or walnuts and pumpkin seeds in the last 8 minutes.

4. While vegetables are roasting, cook farro or pasta according to package instructions. Toss pasta with remaining sauce, roasted vegetables, goat cheese and cranberries.

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Autumn has arrived in the Bluegrass State, prompting home chefs to serve heartier dishes. Starchy vegetables—such

Roasted Delicata Squash with Honey Glaze SERVES 4-6 2 delicata squash 2 shallots 1½ tablespoons avocado oil 1/ 8

teaspoon salt

1/ 8

teaspoon ground pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes ¼ cup honey ¼ cup cider vinegar Pinch of salt ¼ cup pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted ¼ cup fresh basil, cut into strips 1. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

2. Trim ends from the squash. Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash crosswise

into ½-inch-thick slices. Slice the shallots lengthwise. Toss the squash slices and shallots with avocado oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.

3. Place squash and shallots on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven 30-40 minutes, turning each piece over halfway through roasting. Cook until squash is tender and caramelized in spots. Transfer the squash and shallots to a serving platter.

4. A few minutes before serving, combine honey, vinegar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook until reduced to ¼ to 1/3 cup or about 5 to 8 minutes. Immediately drizzle the syrup over the squash.

4. Serve topped with pomegranate seeds or cranberries, pine nuts and basil.

as winter squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin—fit the bill.

Owensboro resident, Kentucky Monthly Reader Recipe finalist and registered dietitian nutritionist Merritt Bates-Thomas has provided us with recipes featuring these satisfying veggies that offer plenty of flavor and vitamin-rich nutrition.

Recipes and photos provided by Merritt Bates-Thomas, RDN, who has been sharing recipes with a healthy twist on WBKR-FM 92.5’s What’s Cooking since 2017. In May 2023, she joined ABC-25 Local Lifestyles to share recipes and tips for flavorful cooking. She also appears on CW7’s Daybreak Extra’s “Joe’s Kitchen.”You can follow her on Instagram @thekitchentransition.

ke n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 1 1

cooking

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad SERVES 6 1 pound (about 2 medium) sweet potatoes 1½ tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper, to taste 3½ ounces (about 3 handfuls) arugula ½ cup pecans

Autumn Harvest Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette Dressing

¼ cup red onion, diced ¼ cup dried cranberries 2 ounces goat cheese or feta, crumbled

Dressing

SERVES 4

1 tablespoon honey

8-ounce container salad greens

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 medium apple, sliced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

¼ teaspoon poppy seeds

Dressing ½ cup jellied cranberry sauce 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons water 1. Rinse and drain salad greens and place in a salad bowl.

2. Wash and cut the apple into desired shape: sliced or chopped. Add apple and blue cheese crumbles to salad greens.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, toast pumpkin seeds for about 2-3 minutes, tossing with spatula so they don’t stick or burn. Sprinkle seeds over the salad.

3. For dressing, blend together cranberry sauce, vinegar, olive oil and water. Drizzle dressing over salad just before serving or pour into a salad dressing cruet or shaker for individual servings.

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1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into ½-inch cubes or ½-inchthick slices, with each cut into fourths. Place potatoes in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Pour onto baking tray lined with parchment paper.

3. Roast for 20 minutes, then flip cubes and roast for an additional 10 minutes or until golden and lightly caramelized.

4. While sweet potatoes are roasting, mix honey, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard and poppy seeds in a salad dressing shaker or jar. Blend ingredients with a small whisk to get honey off the base, then shake well until combined.

5. Toast pecans in a dry skillet over medium high heat for 3 minutes or until they smell nutty. Remove pecans to cool.

6. To assemble, place sweet potatoes, arugula, red onion and dried cranberries in a bowl, reserving pecans and cheese for garnish. Drizzle with most of the dressing, then toss gently.

7. Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with pecans and cheese. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

Step into

Nature’s storybook.

One of Southern Living’s Top 20 Friendliest Towns in the South, set your sights on Henderson, where delicious food, vibrant festivals, and the comfort and creativity of our river town retreat feed the soul, all with nature and history as its backdrop. plan your trip at hendersonky.org ke n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 1 3

Frighteningly Fun Known as America’s Most Haunted Neighborhood, Old Louisville is the setting for ghoulish tours B Y T R AC E Y T E O

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f there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?

Forget Ghostbusters. Call David Dominé if your ghost is in Old Louisville, one of the country’s largest historic preservation districts that some say is the most haunted.

Dominé, an award-winning Louisville author and historian, has written several books about supernatural encounters in his former stomping ground, where flickering gas lamps cast an eerie glow on Victorian mansions.

He won’t “bust” your ghost, but he might add it to the cast of dearly departed characters on his Old Louisville Ghost Tour.

The gleefully ghoulish 90-minute walking tour stops at several architectural wonders, where shadowy figures flit in the windows of turrets, and gargoyles grimace in the moonlight.

Dominé started the tour 20 years ago because he had his own ghost when he moved into the Widmer House on Third Street in 1999. The previous owner warned him to try to get along with “Lucy,” a poltergeist who disliked pictures hanging on a wall in the butler’s pantry. Dominé disregarded this piece of advice and hung his pictures.

They never stayed there for long. The pictures would come crashing down in the middle of the night, no matter how securely they were affixed to the wall.

Furniture rearranged itself in the wee hours, and Dominé’s dogs and cats sometimes became inexplicably agitated, as though a stranger had entered the room when nobody was there.

He wasn’t alone. Half the neighborhood had a story about an unsettling experience or knew someone who did.

The place was a hotbed of paranormal activity. Some of Dominé’s friends who embrace the metaphysical offered a theory that the homes retain energy and imprints, making it possible for memories to be “played back.”

Dominé is a skeptic despite his encounter with Lucy. To get to the bottom of the creepy goings-on, he meticulously researched the history of the neighborhood and its previous residents. He uncovered a treasure trove of stories and decided to share them through his books that include Ghosts of Old Louisville: True Stories of Hauntings in America’s Largest Victorian Neighborhood and Voodoo Days at La Casa Fabulosa: An Unconventional Memoir.

• • •

The ghost tour—a hair-raising mix of fact, fiction, folklore and true crime— brings Old Louisville’s colorful past to life (or, more to the point, back from the dead).

“On the tour, we don’t try to convince anybody that the ghosts are real,” Dominé said. “We use the stories as a vehicle to talk about the history of the neighborhood.”

Whether you are a believer or not, it’s fascinating to see the palatial houses where Kentucky’s tobacco titans and bourbon barons lived like royalty during the Gilded Age. You don’t have to believe in ghosts to get a spine-tingling chill at the “murder house,” a key stop on the tour.

In Dominé’s latest book, A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City: Murder, Secrets and Scandal in Old Louisville, he reveals that, while house hunting, he toured the brooding mansion on South Fourth Street before it became infamous

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 15

citywide. He admired the majestic mahogany staircase, leaded glass windows and, most of all, a vast wine cellar that could house a large collection.

Dominé didn’t buy the 11-bedroom home and put it out of his mind until it became a news sensation, the site of a gruesome crime that rocked the city in 2010. A drag queen, kinky sex and illegal drugs weave a story that is stranger—and, in this case, scarier—than fiction.

When police responded to a domestic dispute at the residence, a terror-stricken Jeffrey Mundt said his boyfriend, Joseph Banis, tried to murder him. Then he made a chilling accusation: Banis had murdered before, and the body was buried in the basement wine cellar.

The couple had met drag queen Jamie Carroll on a gay adult website and got together for a drug-fueled orgy that ended with Carroll shot and stabbed. Mundt said he was forced to help bury the entertainer.

Dominé’s dream wine cellar had been transformed into a nightmare reminiscent of an Edgar Allen Poe tale. Even though the body wasn’t there when Dominé toured the house, it still gives him the heebie-jeebies to think about it.

• • •

Not every house has such a sordid past.

The Pink Palace (which appeared on the March 2022

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K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

cover of Kentucky Monthly), a landmark mansion on St. James Court, is home to Mr. Avery, the benevolent ghost of a former owner who lived there in the 1890s. He’s a harbinger of danger to living residents and warns them when something sinister is afoot.

One of the best-known stories of Mr. Avery involves him startling a woman while she was in the bathtub, but he was no peeping Tom. He was there to save her life. The sight of the apparition caused the woman to jump out of the water, and, seconds later, vandals sent a concrete block crashing through the window and into the tub where she had been having a relaxing soak moments before.

This stop contains another mystery: Why does a flamingo-hued mansion loom over the elegant red-brick and gray-stone houses in this mecca of Victorian splendor?

It doesn’t exactly blend in.

Dominé explained that the 1890 structure was once a red-brick gentlemen’s club and casino, where wellheeled businessmen gathered to woo Lady Luck and sip bourbon. When the Louisville chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, an organization that opposed alcohol and gambling, moved its headquarters into the Chateau-style building in the 1920s, it tried to purge its sinful past by painting it pink. It’s now a private residence.

Century Casino

Top of the Marq

Regional Airport

CAPE GI R ARDEAU

Welcome to

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO Centrally located between St. Louis and Memphis, Cape Girardeau boasts a blend of city atmosphere with small-town hospitality.

Experience a charming downtown district, state-of-the-art sports facilities and 250 years of rich history situated along the beautiful Mississippi River.

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ThatsMyMo

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 17

Ghost Encounter

“It’s the perfect blend of history, architecture, and storytelling, all delivered with a healthy dose of David Dominé’s expertise. Do yourself a favor and book this tour—you won’t regret it!”

On the Victorian Ghost Walk held Oct. 18-20, tourgoers are guaranteed to see otherworldly apparitions. The spooky fun starts at the

Chelsea Gilson

Conrad-Caldwell

My KY Bucket List

House Museum,

mykybucketlist.com

a three-story grand dame on St. James Court, and moves on to several privately owned homes, providing a rare chance to peek inside. At each location, costumed actors portray a ghost that refuses to cross over.

Meet Lucinda, an insane, griefstricken woman who proclaimed herself “Queen of America,” and the influential businessman who, according to legend, was murdered by his scorned mistress.

The two-hour tour departs every 15 minutes starting at 6 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit louisvillehistorictours.com/ victorian-ghost-walk.

Louisville Historic Tours offers several tours of Old Louisville, and not all of them focus on the paranormal.

The Old Louisville Walking Tour and the Secrets and Scandals of Old Louisville Walking Tour are popular. For a full tour list, visit louisvillehistorictours.com.

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K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

• • •

At the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Dominé recounted the story of the Lady on the Stairs, a tear-jerker that casts a melancholy shadow over its listeners. Local lore has it that an apparition in white waits eternally on the church stairs for her fiancé to make her his bride, unaware that he was one of hundreds of soldiers struck down by the influenza epidemic of 1918 at Louisville’s Camp Zachary Taylor. The bride soon died, too, perhaps going to her grave believing she had been jilted by the love of her life.

The tour group shuffled through the carcasses of fallen leaves littering the sidewalk until arriving at the Witches’ Tree, which is gnarled and knotted, its bare branches resembling skeletal hands. If the malicious Whomping Willow from Hogwarts had a sibling, this would be it.

According to folklore, it was once the site of a beautiful maple tree beloved by a coven of witches, who used to have clandestine meetings beneath its lush branches.

When the tree was cut down by the city for an 1890 May Day celebration, the outraged witches put a curse on Louisville, warning its citizens to “Beware the 11th month.” Exactly 11 months later, they unleashed their wrath through a powerful tornado that killed dozens and caused widespread damage. A lightning bolt struck the maple’s stump, and the next day, the misshapen tree appeared in its place.

Today, the tree is adorned with a bizarre collection of beads, dolls and other tributes meant to appease any modern witches.

Dominé no longer lives in Old Louisville, but he joked that he might return in the afterlife.

“When I’m gone, I plan on coming back and haunting the neighborhood to make things more interesting for future tour guides,” Dominé said with a laugh. Q

O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

Find Kentucky Monthly Magazine at any of these Independent Bookstores.

ARGILITTE

HAZARD

Black’s Bookshop, 7625 Romeo Ridge, 606.922.2805 blacksbookshop.com

LEXINGTON

Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington Green Circle, 859.273.2911 josephbeth.com

FORT THOMAS

Blue Marble Books, 1356 South Fort Thomas Avenue, 859.781.0602 bluemarblebooks.com ASHLAND

Broadway Books, 1537 Winchester Avenue, 606.694.7100 broadwaybooksaky.com LOUISVILLE

Carmichael’s Bookstore, 1295 Bardstown Road, 502.456.6950 carmichaelsbookstore.com LOUISVILLE

Carmichael’s Bookstore, 2720 Frankfort Avenue, 502.896.6950 carmichaelsbookstore.com MOREHEAD

CoffeeTree Books, 159 East Main Street, 606.784.8364 coffeetreebools.com

MAYSVILLE

Kenton Stories with Spirit, 11 West Second Street, 606.407.6037 kenton.social STANFORD

Kentucky Soaps & Such, 203 West Main Street, 606.365.0808 kentuckysoapsandsuch.com DANVILLE

Plaid Elephant Books, 115 North Third Street, 859.449.2100 plaidelephantbooks.com

Read Spotted Newt, 221 Memorial Drive, 606.373.4811 readspottednewt.com COVINGTON

Roebling Books & Coffee, 306 Greenup Street, 859.292.1560 roeblingbooks.com DAYTON

Roebling Books & Coffee, 301 Sixth Avenue, 859.308.7086 roeblingbooks.com NEWPORT

Roebling Books & Coffee (and Art), 601 Overton Street, 859.669.3181 roeblingbooks.com EDDYVILLE

FRANKFORT

Poor Richard’s Books, 233 Broadway Street, 502.223.8018 poorrichardsbooksky.indielite.org

A Likely Story

The Shire Bookstore, 115 Newman Drive, 254.245.0439 theshirebookstore.com

#SUPPORTLOCAL

113 East Main Street, Midway • 859.753.4962 • alikelystoryky.com

Calling

leaf peepers and scenic seekers

Plan Your Next Getaway at Gatlinburg.com

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

JOURNEY THROUGH MOTHER NATURE’S WILD IMAGINATION.

The unbelievable and the astonishing are waiting for you in Kentucky.

Plan your trip at kentuckytourism.com.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave

kentuckytourism.com

UNFORGETTABLE BLUEGRASS VACATIONS Come See For Yourself!

Known as the Horse Capital of the World and the epicenter of Bourbon Country, the Bluegrass State is also a land of immense natural beauty and outdoor attractions.

Sip centuries of tradition in the birthplace of bourbon and tour distilleries to learn how Kentucky’s signature spirit is made. Stroll through rolling horse farms, catch a race at the track and take a trail ride through the forest. Visit epic family attractions, vibrant cities and charming small towns. Explore woods, waters, caves and trails offering endless outdoor adventure.

KentuckyTourism.com

COUNTRY HAM HAS ITS OWN FESTIVAL

ADVENTURE AWAITS!

Plan Your Trip to Cadiz

Visit Harlan, KY

Considered the region’s biggest festival of the year, the Country Ham Festival swells the little town of 2,600 to over 50,000 for one weekend each October. The festival is two days packed with pork-oriented cuisine, carnival rides, over 200 street vendors and live music acts that make feet tap and crowds dance.

Witness the unspoiled beauty of the Appalachian Mountains from Kentucky’s highest peaks. Then, head underground to tour Portal 31, Kentucky’s only animatronic mine tour. Experience the thrill of a lifetime by riding your ATV or side-by-side at Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area or Kentucky’s highest, fastest and longest zip line at Black Mountain Thunder Zipline. For local fare and boutique shopping, explore downtown Harlan.

GoCadiz.com/HamFest

HarlanTourism.com

kentuckytourism.com

HOME OF AMERICAN ICONS Come Visit Central City Celebrate legends like The Everly Brothers, John Prine, Merle Travis and Jim Walker at the Muhlenberg Music Museum. Come visit the Merle Travis Center, the site of the annual International Thumbpickers Contest.

Then, stop by Festival Square to snap a photo with bronze statues of The Everly Brothers and Prine. The attraction pays tribute to the artists’ immense contributions to the community, including the Everly Brothers Homecoming Music Festival, which featured a who’s who of performers over the years, including Billy Ray Cyrus, Sawyer Brown, Keith Urban, Tammy Wynette, Neal McCoy, The Kentucky Headhunters and Travis Tritt.

Come see Kentucky’s motorsports tradition at the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame & Museum. Open year-round, the museum features more than 40 auto and motorcycle displays, covering everything from pit crews and drivers to salt flats and dirt tracks to Daytona and the Indy 500. Be sure to circle the annual Hall of Fame Induction on your calendar.

CityofCentralCityKY.com

kentuckytourism.com

VISIT LEBANON

EXPERIENCE THE WILD & WONDERFUL

The Heart of Kentucky

Explore Lee County Kentucky.

Lebanon is the Heart of Kentucky and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Experience the beauty of historic Maker’s Mark Distillery and tour the Kentucky Cooperage to see how bourbon barrels are hand-crafted. Finish your visit with a trip to our one-of-a-kind Limestone Branch Distillery to take home their famous Yellowstone Bourbon.

Discover unforgettable moments and memories throughout Lee County, from festivals to regional cuisine, music to arts & crafts.

And be sure to experience the annual Woolly Worm Festival in Beattyville, October 25-27. With fantastic woolly worm races, live entertainment, delicious foods, a vibrant parade, car show and much more.

VisitLebanonKY.com

VisitLeeCountyKY.com

SAVE THE DATE

ARTS & EXPLORATION

Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival

Plan a Berea Vacation

The Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival is the county’s largest community event each year, attended by an estimated 30,000 people. Set for September 28 – October 12, the festival includes more than 20 family-friendly events, including historic walking tours, a golf scramble, a reenactment of the 1868 Jesse James robbery and the festival’s biggest event, the annual Festival Parade.

Take in the breathtaking views of Berea, where the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains meet the bluegrass! As a certified Kentucky Trail Town, outdoor enthusiasts can craft their own adventure. Experience the Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky by watching artists at work, exploring local galleries and shops or taking a class through Berea Tourism’s LearnShop Program.

TobaccoFest.org

VisitBerea.com

kentuckytourism.com

MEET AN ENORMOUSLY FUN FAMILY Explore Lake Malone State Park Engaged in all kinds of thrilling activities, the larger-than-life Big Twigs family is inviting you to share in all the fun at Lake Malone State Park. These enchanting characters – from 10-17 feet tall – are ready and waiting for your unforgettable selfies.

Lake Malone State Park also features a nature inspired butterfly wing mural in the campground. Along with a picturesque beach, fishing, picnic shelters, a playground and more. The park and all of the attractions are free to visit from dawn to dusk, beginning in mid-March through mid-November.

VisitMuhlenberg.com

IT’S AN ADVENTURE FOR YOUR SENSES Explore the annual Millstone Festival Discover unique designs & crafts from a variety of artisans. Listen to lively local entertainers. Indulge in the delicious aromas and menus of several food vendors. And ignite your senses of joy and wonder. Join in all the thrills of the 5th Annual Millstone Festival in downtown Richmond on Saturday, October 5 – from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Celebrate the area’s rich history and distinctive Kentucky culture.

During the festival, be sure to explore the charming downtown area and boutique shops, along with quaint neighborhoods and all kinds of walking trails within minutes of downtown.

VisitRichmondKY.com

kentuckytourism.com

KENTUCKY’S LINCOLN MUSEUM

SWEET ADVENTURE AWAITS!

Experience Hodgenville Historic District

Find history, mystery and adventure in Hopkinsville

Wander through the pivotal points in the life of the 16th President at the Lincoln Museum, with life-size dioramas, period artifacts, a collection of wax figures, original artwork and Civil War memorabilia. The museum is just three miles north of Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace National Historical Park and seven miles west of Lincoln’s Boyhood Home at Knob Creek.

Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is a place where sweet adventures await.

Over three million bushels of soft red winter wheat are harvested annually. As the leading wheat-producing county in Kentucky, Hopkinsville is responsible for globally recognizable products like Ghirardelli brownie mix, Krusteaz products, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix, SunFlour cornmeal and more. This is why Hopkinsville, KY, is known as the Batter Capital of the World®!

LincolnMuseum-KY.org

VisitHopkinsville.com

VISIT HAUNTED GRAVES Eat, Drink & Be Scary Celebrate spooky season in Graves County. Haunted Graves is a month-long celebration of all things Halloween. The county is also home to fall fun zones like the Bluegrass State’s largest corn maze at A-Maize-ing Farms and two haunted attractions – Industrial Slaughterhouse in Fancy Farm and Talon Falls ScreamPark in Melber. While you’re here, be sure to check out stops along the Western Kentucky Wine Trail, the West Kentucky BBQ Trail and the Kentucky After Dark Paranormal Passport.

VisitMayfieldGraves.org

BOOKSTORE

BOOM New independent book retailers have sprung up across the Commonwealth

BY AMANDA

CORBIN

Here’s a surprising effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: New independent bookstores have opened across the country, including Kentucky, where more than 20 new bookstores have opened since 2020. With the pandemic, people confined to their homes started to read more, creating a higher demand for books. As businesses began to reopen, those new

BLUSH & BASHFUL ROMANCE BOOKSHOP

independent bookstores became community

3012-B Fort Campbell Boulevard, Hopkinsville

centers for those who like to buy local.

270.839.9727 • blushbashfulbooks.com

“We’ve seen tremendous growth since the beginning of the pandemic,” Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, told USA Today. “That has been a pleasant surprise for us

Blush & Bashful is a haven for romance lovers, with a beautiful bookish backdrop for photos and books in every sub-genre, from dark fantasy to rom-com. The shop, owned by Emily Ezell, hosts author signings and other romance-themed events.

here at the ABA, and for bookstores and their communities.”

Each store is unique in how it competes with internet retailers. Some offer inventory in addition to books, some host special events or activities, a few cater to niche markets (horror, romance, children’s), and they offer a personal touch not available to online shoppers.

BUTCHER CABIN BOOKS 990 Barret Avenue, Louisville • horrorbookstore.com The spooky season lasts all year long at Butcher Cabin Books, where author and owner Jenny Kiefer operates a niche bookstore that offers new and used horror books and other items for thrill seekers.

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FOXING BOOKS 1314 Bluegrass Avenue, Louisville 502.536.8858 foxingbooks.com Owned by Kelly Nusz, Foxing Books got its start as a bookmobile and now has a storefront in south Louisville.

Aiming to make books available to every neighborhood in the city to help foster a love of reading for all, the shop carries books and other merchandise for adults, teens and children.

THE NEXT CHAPTER 201 East Pike Street, Cynthiana

DISPLACED PAGES 601 Commerce Drive, Owensboro Facebook: Displaced Pages Inside T&T Vendors Mall in Owensboro is Displaced Pages, a micro-bookshop owned

by Virginia Hardesty that carries new and used books and gifts for the book lover.

Displaced Pages also sets up at local cafes, breweries, and street fairs and hosts events such as book fairs.

859.569.3078 • thenextchapter41031.com In downtown Cynthiana, across from the “Walking Dead” mural and beside Boyd’s Station Gallery, is The Next Chapter, a community-minded bookstore owned by Andrew and Betsy Owen that stocks new releases. The store and other local businesses participate in fall-themed events, tours and festivals throughout the season.

BROADWAY BOOKS 1537A Winchester Avenue, Ashland 606.694.7100 • broadwaybooksaky.com Part of Ashland’s downtown resurgence, Broadway Books was opened by friends Jill Donta and Nancy Miller. The spacious bookshop has new and used books, gifts by local artisans and a large children’s section with activities to keep kids entertained while their parents shop.

CONVEYOR BELT BOOKS 410 West Pike Street, Covington 859.360.2311 conveyorbeltbooks.com With the credo “all killer, no filler,” Conveyor Belt Books, owned by Brandon Thomas DiSabatino, specializes in used and rare books with an eclectic mix of topics. The bookstore collaborates with others to host poetry readings, film screenings, popups, live music and other performances. k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 27

FABLED FOREST BOOKS & GIFTS 146 South Broadway Street, Georgetown 859.361.9490 fabledforestky.com “Magical” is the vibe at Fabled Forest Books and Gifts in Georgetown, where you can get a tarot reading or memorialize a person or event in your life on the book mural that decorates the stairs. The shop, owned by Bobbi Craig, carries books for children and adults, and most gift items are locally sourced.

KENTON STORIES WITH SPIRIT 11 West 2nd Street, Maysville

A NOVEL ROMANCE

BOLIN BOOKS

10512 Watterson Trail, Louisville

304 Main Street, Murray

502.509.5410

bolinbooks.com

606.407.6037

anovelromance.com

kenton.social

The state’s first-ever romance bookstore opened last year and quickly outgrew its first location. Now in a larger space, A Novel Romance, owned by Jonlyn Scrogham, is home to several book clubs and a writing group, enabling readers and writers to find their happily ever after.

In Maysville, Kenton Stories with Spirit offers pottery, paintings, jewelry and textiles created by local artists; a selection of new books; and a restaurant/bar that serves food, coffee and bourbon. Owned by Bruce Carlson, the shop is managed by Dee Werline and her husband, Skip.

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K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

270.216.0863

Bolin Books carries new and used books with a focus on vintage and rare titles. It also has a children’s section.

Through their preservation of a 140-year-old building, owners Whitney and Wesley Bolin contribute to a revitalized downtown, where visitors can take a historic walking tour or a mural walk.

THE READ SPOTTED NEWT 221 Memorial Drive, Hazard 606.373.4811 readspottednewt.com Owned by Mandi Fugate Sheffel, The Read Spotted Newt opened in Hazard just before the pandemic but survived the shutdown and 2022 flooding. The shop has become known across the region for fostering a writing community, promoting Appalachian storytelling, and inspiring young readers.

FROM THE GROUND UP

PLAID ELEPHANT BOOKS

205 East Main Street, La

116 North 3rd Street, Danville

Grange • 502.293.0496 160 Frank E. Simon Avenue, Shepherdsville 502.531.0032 fromthegroundupbooks. com

859.449.2010 plaidelephantbooks.com

The Plaid Elephant, owned by Kate Snyder, is Central Kentucky’s only independent children’s bookstore. This kid-focused shop carries everything from board books to young adult literature and hosts a

variety of events, including mosaic classes.

With its colorful décor and large selection of books, stuffed animals and gift items, it is a magical place to browse, making it a destination for families.

Author and owner Lynne Tincher’s mission is to help build writers, artists and bookstores From the Ground Up. Both locations carry all genres of new and used books and items from local artists and craftspeople. From the Ground Up offers mentorship programs, classes and writers’ groups for aspiring authors and hosts book clubs, author signings and other events.

A LIKELY STORY 113 East Main Street, Midway 859.753.4962 alikelystoryky.com Halfway between Frankfort and Lexington, historic Midway is home to A Likely Story. This family-owned bookstore, owned by mother-anddaughter pair Ashlee and Anagail “Annie” Denington, carries new and used books starting at $1 and hosts author events. It includes a community room, a children’s area and a reading nook inside an old bank vault.

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 29

THE HIDDEN CHAPTER 118 North Fort Thomas Avenue, Fort Thomas 859.442.0118 thehiddenchapter.com The Hidden Chapter, owned by Dave and Lacey Mulcahy, offers a fairy-tale atmosphere (think crystal chandelier, shiny gold ceiling and crackling fireplace). The store hosts a variety of events from poetry nights to stand-up comedy. It also serves coffee and spirits.

ONLINE EXTRA K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY. C O M

There is value in the experience of visiting a local bookstore, browsing its shelves, and discovering that special something we didn’t know we were looking for. Find a selection of well-established independent booksellers in Kentucky worth visiting on our website.

MAIN STREET BOOKS

PAGES TURNED USED BOOK SHOPPE & MORE

21 North Main Street, Monticello

3147 Lone Oak Road,

606.753.6125

Paducah • 270.816.1771

msbmonticello.com

Facebook: Pages Turned, LLC

Charity and Rhett Ramsey of Monticello bought a 123-year-old building after it was damaged by fire, and out of its ashes, Main Street Books was born.

The bookstore celebrated its one-year anniversary this summer.

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Nestled in a two-story house just outside of downtown Paducah is Pages Turned, a shop with used books and other media. Thanks to its trade-in policy, Pages Turned, owned by Kimberly Ferguson, has a constantly changing inventory, and it hosts book signings for Paducah-area authors.

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

THE SHIRE BOOKSTORE 115 Newman Drive, Eddyville 254.245.0439 theshirebookstore. square.site An avid reader and book collector, Anna Tobey started selling new and used books online and then opened The Shire Bookstore in Eddyville’s Lakeway Plaza to also serve as a community space with nights for knitting, poetry, games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and more.

THE TALELESS DOG BOOKSELLERS 204A Estill Street, Berea 859-302-8757 thetalelessdog.com Housed in a 100-year-old cottage owned by Berea College, The Taleless

Dog offers adult, young adult and children’s books as well as gifts for book lovers. The bookshop is so cozy, it was adopted by a tailless cat, now named Nora.

The Taleless Dog’s owners, Clark and Susan Buckmaster, liken their shop to “a candy store for bibliophiles.”

SET & SETTING 1512 Portland Avenue, Studio 11, Louisville setandsettingshop.com Set & Setting started as an online shop with a curated selection of affordable used books and now has a permanent location in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood. The shop, owned by Kaleigh Basso, carries all genres of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Q

Kentucky Life host Chip Polston is hitting the road for season 30! Join him for brand new adventures as he discovers the Commonwealth’s most fascinating people, places and stories.

TUNE-IN Kentucky Life KET Saturdays • 8/7 pm KET2 Wednesdays • 2:30/1:30 pm

Stream on KET.org or the PBS Video App

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

For more information, visit hindman.org/workshop.

Hindman’s Ironwood Writers Sudio is for high school students.

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A Literary Family Reunion The annual Appalachian Writers’ Workshop in Hindman brings writers together for a week of teaching, learning and communing TEXT BY KIM KOBERSMITH P H OTO S B Y M E L I S S A H E LTO N

f

or 47 years, writers have gathered on the banks of Troublesome Creek at Hindman Settlement School for what has been called the premier literary gathering of the Mountain South. The list of attendees at the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop through the years reads like a Who’s Who of regional literature: James Still, Harriet Arnow, Harry Caudill, George Ella Lyon, Silas House, Barbara Kingsolver, Crystal

Wilkinson, Gurney Norman, Frank X Walker and Wendell Berry.

The workshop has become an expected place to be every July for a cadre of regional writers. They gather to talk about craft, share work, and gain confidence and skill.

For those who have returned year after year for decades, it is something more—a family reunion, a homecoming and a celebration of carefully cultivated community.

“Arriving at Hindman is a favorite moment for me every year,” said

Harlan County’s Robert Gipe, who has been part of the workshop since 2006. “Writing is a strange and isolating thing to do. Being embraced by other writers and anticipating the week feels like Christmas morning.”

The structure of the event lends itself to camaraderie. Most participants travel to Hindman and stay on campus the entire week.

Conversations happen organically across the table in the dining hall and between adjacent rocking chairs on open-air porches. Many relationships

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

Left, Amy Le Ann Richardson and Neema Avashia learn the dulcimer; right, an Ironwood Writers Studio participant.

are forged over the dishwashing sink, a required task for all attendees at least once a session.

But according to Hindman’s director of literary arts, Melissa Helton, the event is truly special because of the people and the spirit they bring to the workshop. There is no hierarchy, no sense of division or ego based on publishing history or writing experience. Instead, workshop leaders in one class join as participants in another. There is an ebb and flow of teaching and learning, where everyone is taken seriously and respected as a writer.

“Writers often talk about the workshop with a mythic tone,” Helton said. “People come to be in community, and the elders feel a calling to pass along the legacy.

Looking at the passage of the community through time is like

34

seeing an Appalachian literary family tree.”

DEVELOPING WRITERS The Hindman Settlement School has a rich literary legacy. Early teachers and administrators— including Lucy Furman and Ann Cobb—published journals, novels, folk songs and poetry. In 1977, Hindman alumnus and writer Albert Stewart, along with Hindman director Mike Mullins, founded the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop. Their aim was to mentor young Appalachian writers and preserve the cultural heritage of the region. The two set the tone of egalitarianism and nurturing support from the beginning.

The event has grown and evolved.

Beginning, emerging and established

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

writers are all encouraged to apply.

Between 80 and 100 writers attend each year, and while many return for 20, 30, even 40 years, at least a third of participants annually are firsttimers. Applicants turn in poetry, short story, novel or creative nonfiction manuscripts and are selected for genre-specific classes of 12 to 15 students. The curriculum is determined by each teacher. Some are intensely craft focused; others are more generative. One beneficial element is a one-on-one critique for each student by the class leader.

Aside from the genre-specific workshops held daily, the schedule is filled with optional classes on writing for children and panel discussions about publishing. The afternoon participant readings may be the first time new writers share their work. Evenings might offer

faculty readings, keynote speakers (Tennessee author and opinion writer Margaret Renkl this year), a square dance, playing music on the porches, and a trivia tournament.

Schedules can be as filled or open as people need or want.

Supportive creative partnerships formed at the workshop have launched careers. Writers find friends to read manuscripts, blurb books, and help find an agent. Gipe was already an experienced playwright with Higher Ground Theater, but when he decided to try his hand at fiction, he knew where to go. The first fiction piece Gipe ever wrote was for his Appalachian Writers’ Workshop application. His first published piece was in Appalachian Heritage. The editor of Appalachian Heritage heard Gipe at a Hindman afternoon participant reading and asked if he could publish what Gipe had read. The workshop helped birth Gipe’s three illustrated novels: Trampoline, Weedeater and Pop. He took a longer novel class with a mentor he found there, and Still: The Journal published six chapters after editors saw his zines at the workshop. Gipe credits his first book contract to connections he made at the event.

stories that are nuanced and include Affrilachian, immigrant, Eastern Band of Cherokee and queer voices.

One of those nuanced voices is that of Neema Avashia, author of the memoir Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place.

Through the workshop, she found her place in regional literature. “As a queer, desi woman who grew up in West Virginia, I wasn’t always even sure I could use the term ‘Appalachian’ to describe my identity,

despite having been born and raised in the region,” Avashia shared. “But being in community with other Appalachian writers, hearing their words, hearing their responses to my words, and seeing the ways in which they’ve extended themselves to support my work has given me the powerful sense of belonging and home that I’ve been chasing ever since I moved away from West Virginia.”

Almost everyone who writes in the region has a connection to the

CAMP BRECKINRIDGE MUSEUM AND ARTS CENTER

TELLING APPALACHIA’S STORY Through the development of new writers and the formation of an ethos, the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop has had a major influence on the course of place-based literature. The event is a response to early writings about the region that often were by outsiders. It is part of a larger movement of Appalachians reclaiming the right to tell their own stories,

CONNECT & EXPLORE UNIONCOUNTYKY.ORG

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 35

Beyond the Workshop

Hindman’s rich literary tradition has generated a smorgasbord of programs in addition to the Writers’ Workshop.

Now in its third year, the Ironwood Writers Studio is a weeklong summer residency for high-school students.

Adults can join the spring or fall writers’ retreats. The upcoming November event will be led by author Annette Saunook Clapsaddle of Cherokee, North Carolina. Oak Ledge Writing Residencies are self-led retreats in the historic James Still Cabin. The Makery offers online writing courses of varying lengths across genres.

In the publishing realm, Hindman has its own imprint with the University Press of Kentucky called Fireside Industries. Its most recent publication was Troublesome Rising: A ThousandYear Flood in Eastern Kentucky, an anthology from more than 60 writers who were in session at the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop during the destructive 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods. This past June marked the first issue of Untelling, a new biannual print literary journal that shares regional voices.

Writer Megan Hutchinson practices her craft under the trees.

workshop. Yet, Hindman does not want to serve as a gatekeeper or definer of “Appalachian.” Historically, mountain voices have been excluded from the mainstream; the workshop, as a response, leans toward inclusion.

At Hindman literary functions, Appalachian writers are prioritized, but others are not excluded.

A DEPARTING RITUAL Recently—no one is quite sure when it started—the workshop adopted a spontaneous tradition to close out the last evening. Attendees gather in a long line in the parking lot, and each takes a turn at holding a flashlight to read an excerpt of “The Brier Sermon” poem by Jim Wayne Miller. Couched in religious language, it serves as a reminder of the

importance of knowing and honoring Appalachian identity and tradition, even while moving outside the region or into the future.

That closing ritual continues to be reinvented. Sometimes, participants read poems by Crystal Wilkinson and Irene McKinney that also relate to leaving a homeland and culture.

There was an issue with everyone being able to hear the poem when they were in a long line, so traditional music leaders at Hindman have started weaving the group into a spiral before the readings begin.

It serves as a fitting symbol of the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop itself: a tradition that honors what has come before yet remains open to the evolving needs of the writing community it serves. Q

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 37

Character, Creativity, Collaboration and Community The James Baker Hall Foundation supports Kentucky’s literary and visual creatives

BY STEVE FLAIRTY

J

ames Baker Hall imparted his oldest son, Lawrence “Larry” Pemble, with the strong notion to “recognize that from where your bliss comes is where your energy comes … and be ready to receive it.” With that realization ingrained and received in his own life, Hall often said, “It’s not what you say; it’s what you do.”

Inspired, Pemble established the James Baker Hall Foundation (JBHF) in 2023. It might rightly be called a gift to Kentucky’s storied literary and artistic environment. Its James Baker Hall Book Award in Poetry, with prize money of $3,000 and a contract with Accents Publishing, is already a coveted literary recognition, gaining scores of submissions. The winner will be announced on Oct. 1. But there is much more.

The work of the Foundation is off to a good start, with vast potential to foster the emergence of more James Baker Halls who might serve to enrich the state’s humanities footprint.

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Pemble, who set aside a career guiding a successful health-care company in China to start the Foundation, knows from where his bliss comes these days—in honoring his father’s literary and artistic legacy.

And what an impressive legacy it is.

• • •

Born in Lexington in 1935, Hall resided in the Scott County community of Sadieville with his wife, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall. The two were kindred spirits walking together down a creative path. She also is a successful author and today continues to garner respect for her work, which includes her 1995 debut novel Come and Go, Molly Snow. She joined her husband as a Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame inductee earlier this year.

Along with noted authors Wendell Berry, Gurney Norman, Bobbie Ann Mason and Ed McClanahan, Hall was counted as one of the state’s vaunted “Fab Five” of writers. All studied under Robert Hazel and Hollis Summers at the University of Kentucky and went on to

illustrious writing careers. Hall wrote three novels and seven volumes of poetry, and shot an estimated 75,000 photographs for display and publication.

Hall was appointed Kentucky Poet Laureate in 2001, and for 30 years, he taught and directed the creative writing program at UK, having a great and positive influence. He died in 2009 and was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2014.

In Kentucky and beyond, James Baker Hall’s words are quoted; his photographic images are shared; and the legions who knew him as a friend bear witness to his imprint on their lives.

Regarding his father’s teaching impact, Pemble remarked that he “was a very determined guy, always about making his art. Students all over the country now are doing what he taught them to do. Most of them, when you talk to them, say something like: ‘He changed my life.’ ” Hall wrote many letters to his students, Pemble discovered, and when Pemble perused a collection of them at the Kentucky Historical Society, he was “astounded,” noting that any person who had a relationship with his father knew that “when he was with you, he was totally yours. He gave you his time, and he gave you his spirit.”

• • •

The Foundation’s stated mission is “to celebrate the legacy of our great artistic heritage by providing direct support to Kentucky’s literary and visual creatives.” Emphasizing the values of character, creativity, collaboration and community, JBHF believes that creating art “gives testimony to the very fabric of life … [and] is the record of our existence, a vehicle to change individual lives and build communities.”

The 2024 inaugural program goals include bestowing the Book Award, funding Eastern Kentucky’s Hindman Settlement School to supplement its literary outreach to area high schools and its Ironwood Writers Studio, and collaborating with Bobbi Buchanan and the Write to Recover program that she directs at the Bullitt County Detention Center in Shepherdsville.

Buchanan hopes to impart skills to help individuals overcome addiction. More program details will be announced at the Oct. 1 press conference at Spalding University in Louisville.

The executive committees of the Foundation include well-known Kentucky humanities influencers Bill Goodman, Frank X Walker, Maurice Manning, Tom Eblen, Christopher Meatyard and Guy Mendes. Katerina Stoykova heads Accents Publishing, which partners with JBHF on the Book Award.

Pemble uses the term “friend-raising” when describing JBHF’s current direction, and that starts with locating Hall’s former students. “It takes a lot of time,” he said. Many have been found, but Pemble knows there are more, and he would appreciate help in directing them to the Foundation. Along with that initiative, it also is searching for today’s emerging writers across the state. The Foundation is looking toward “partnering with people doing interesting work, successful work, that meets our mission standards,” Pemble said. Q

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Visit jamesbakerhallfoundation.org for more information.

Opposite page, from left, Wendell Berry, James Baker Hall, Ed McClanahan and Gurney Norman.

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H L Y. C O M

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

Honoring an Icon Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy will loom large over a 2024 Kentucky Book Festival that also will feature fantasy, bourbon, spirituality and much more

BY KEVIN NANCE

W

ell before his King: A Life won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for biography, Jonathan Eig knew he had outdone himself. Readers and critics were responding to his book about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in ways that set it apart from his past biographies of Muhammad Ali, Al Capone and Lou Gehrig. “From the minute the book came out, it was getting a special reaction,” Eig said. “People were connecting with it emotionally and spiritually, so I could tell I had touched a nerve.”

Eig is among more than 150 authors looking to connect with readers at the Kentucky Book Festival on Nov. 2 at Lexington’s Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Other big names at this year’s festival, a program of Kentucky Humanities, include TV personality Al Roker, young adult author Nic Stone, Louisville chef Edward Lee and two prominent Lexington writers—novelist Gwenda Bond and Kentucky Poet Laureate 2021-2023 Crystal Wilkinson.

(Wilkinson, author of the culinary memoir Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, also will be featured at a literary luncheon 40

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

at Fasig-Tipton in conversation with the award-winning food writer Ronni Lundy on Oct. 31.) Also appearing will be newcomer Yolanda Renee King, the only granddaughter of MLK and his wife, Coretta Scott King, who celebrates her grandparents’ legacy in a new children’s book, We Dream a World.

Eig always expected that King: A Life—a page-turning, deeply human portrait of the great man that relies, in part, on newly released FBI files and new interviews with scores of people who knew the slain civil rights leader personally—would require unusual sensitivity, especially when revealing details about his personal life, including infidelity and struggles with mental health. “The bar was always higher on this book because he matters so much to people … There are plenty of people who have pictures of Jesus and MLK on their walls,” Eig said in an interview from his home in Chicago. “I had to be careful to write a book that dealt with his greatness and his flaws. If I balanced it right and didn’t overemphasize those negative things, I felt that readers would give me a fair shake.”

The decision to use information from the FBI files,

including transcripts of wiretapped conversations and other electronic surveillance over many years, was particularly fraught. “The files had to be handled delicately and with the overriding goal of showing how the Bureau and its director, J. Edgar Hoover, were out to destroy King,” Eig said. “You could argue that the files don’t belong in the book because they come from a corrupt source, but they also help us understand him better as a person. They show how vulnerable, how distraught he is, how he’s suffering.”

The book reveals for the first time the existence of a shocking note anonymously mailed to King by the FBI in 1964 suggesting that he should avoid the exposure of his extramarital activities by committing suicide. “When I do public readings from the book,” Eig said, “that draws audible gasps from the audience every time.”

• • •

MLK figures in the work of another KBF guest, Nic Stone, author of the bestselling young adult debut novel Dear Martin (2017) about a Black teenager who begins writing letters to King after a frightening run-in with a racist policeman. Since then, Stone has written several books that, unlike many YA novels that keep the mood light, delve into surprisingly dark themes.

In her most recent novel, Chaos Theory, Stone writes

about Black high school students dealing with heavy issues—including mental illness and alcohol abuse. The story follows Shelbi, a physics genius with bipolar depression and a history of self-harm, and Andy, an excellent student-athlete who deals with grief and the stress of his troubled family life by drinking too much.

Andy and Shelbi find themselves falling in love, but can their relationship withstand the pressure of their respective “brain stuff,” as Shelbi calls it? The answer is moving, complicated and, for the author, deeply personal.

In an author’s note, Stone revealed to her readers that much of the story is inspired by her own experiences. “I needed to validate my own reality,” she said in an interview from her home in the Atlanta area. “For me growing up, my father was an alcoholic, and he never hid his drinking from me, including the fact that he was actively working to mitigate it. He used to take me with him to his AA meetings, and just recently hit his 30-years-sober mark.”

Stone used that life experience as inspiration for Andy’s story, while Shelbi’s neurodivergent condition is informed by the author’s struggle with bipolar depression and generalized anxiety disorder. She hopes to help reduce the stigma around mental illness by reminding affected young people that they’re not alone and that it’s OK to talk about it. “As human beings, we’re

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

not designed to exist in isolation, so it’s important that we not hide from each other,” she said. “Books like mine can serve as mirrors and can help young people realize that there’s nothing wrong with them. It’s only dark because we keep it out of the light.”

• • •

In another neck of the fictional woods, bestselling author Gwenda Bond once again does what she does best: mixing genres. In The Frame-Up, a feisty former con artist named Dani must reassemble her estranged mother’s old crew of art thieves with magical abilities to pull off a new job: stealing a painting that might have supernatural properties. Bond delivers a fast-paced mash-up of an oldfashioned heist caper and fantasy, with big dollops of action, screwball comedy and romance—not to mention that the book is set mostly in Lexington and Louisville.

“It’s Ocean’s Eleven meets The Picture of Dorian Gray in Kentucky,” Bond said. “Weird combinations of things are my rubric.”

As research before she began writing, the author watched about 50 heist movies, focusing on ones that “put a lot of time into building the team,” including the Ocean’s series (including Ocean’s Eight, which she says is unfairly unappreciated) and both versions of The Thomas Crown Affair and To Catch a Thief.

“It’s really about how everyone’s going to work together with competing motives, about second chances and found family,” Bond said.

• • •

There’s also a strong Bluegrassy flavor in Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whiskey, the newest book by the chef and author Edward Lee. A collection of short essays on the history of bourbon, profiles of industry luminaries and 50 recipes featuring the Commonwealth’s famous libation, Bourbon Land is a delicious concoction for bourbon lovers and adventurous home cooks alike. (For a recipe sampling from Bourbon Land, see Kentucky Monthly’s Setpember issue, page 8.)

“When I was thinking of what my next book would be about, I asked myself whether I had something to say that’s not already out there,” said Lee, chef and owner of 610 Magnolia and Nami in Louisville, whose earlier books include Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine, winner of a 2019 James Beard Book Award. “There were a lot of barbecue cookbooks that featured bourbon, but there are a lot more uses of bourbon in cooking than that.”

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In Bourbon Land, Lee explains how to use what he calls “the one true American spirit” in a dazzling array of delectable-sounding dishes featuring bourbon in marinades, vinaigrettes, sauces and gravy; bourbon for poaching, basting and braising; and bourbon combined in a multitude of ways with gochujang, miso and other Asian ingredients, not to mention old standbys such as honey, maple syrup and sorghum, to infuse, enhance and otherwise glorify meats, fish, vegetables and desserts.

“In the beginning of America’s culinary journey, we were mostly fascinated by European cuisines, but now American cuisine is fast becoming a melding of cultures: Mexico, the Far East, the American South,” Lee explained.

“Now you need something stronger than wine to stand up to all those chiles and ginger, all that turmeric, all that smoke. You need bourbon.”

• • •

Much of Brother Paul Quenon’s half-century of monastic life at the Abbey of Gethsemani in New Haven has been spent nurturing the legacy of his former novice master: acclaimed writer, poet and theologian Thomas Merton. But in the just-published A Matter of the Heart: A Monk’s Journal—a follow-up to his 2018 memoir In Praise of the Useless Life and several earlier poetry collections—Quenon consolidates his reputation as Merton’s literary heir and continues to emerge as a gifted writer in his own right.

Based on excerpts from his journals from the 1970s to the 2000s, A Matter of the Heart barely mentions Brother Louis, as Quenon called Merton. Instead, it oscillates between spiritual reflections and elegantly observed, sometimes gently comic slices of daily life at the monastery: the routines of worship; insightful encounters with nature, including animals, on the Gethsemani grounds; conversations—sometimes in sign language— with other monks; and occasional reactions to world events such as the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.

“Brother Louis didn’t like imitators,” said Quenon, who will participate in a KBF panel discussion about spiritual writing with Fenton Johnson and Jon Sweeney.

“He wanted people to be themselves, the way God made them, and I suppose I’ve tried to do that as a writer and poet. I can’t be compared with him, really, but I admit that he inspired me to develop that part of my life.

There’s something about monastic life that allows for writers and inspires them. You’re given the gift of the contemplative life and having these moments, so why not share them? It’s about having something to give and to give it freely to others.” Q

AUTHOR EVENTS

LOCAL GIFTS

CASUAL DINING

STORY TIMES

YOU'RE INVITED N OV E M B E R 2 9:30AM–5:00PM

Dear Authors, Readers, Fans and Friends of Books, Kentucky Humanities is proud to welcome you to the 43rd edition of the Kentucky Book Festival, where every lover of literature can find a book to enjoy and to shake the hand that wrote it. We hope you enjoy browsing the author’s gallery, attending a few sessions of our diverse programming, and visiting the children’s tent with fun activities for the next generation of readers. Thanks to our sponsors, for the third year, hundreds of children age 14 and under can receive vouchers for a free book of their choice.

Joseph-Beth Booksellers 161 Lexington Green Circle Lexington, KY 40503

B B B

TURN THE PAGE FOR THE 2024 AUTHOR LINEUP 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.

This festival would not have been possible without the generous help of numerous organizations and individuals. We’re grateful to our partners at Joseph-Beth Booksellers for hosting and assisting in planning the event. Our volunteers’ dedication and enthusiasm are greatly appreciated. We hope that everyone who attends the event leaves enriched with engaging books

stay updated.

For the most up-to-date author lineup and event schedule, follow us here: WEBSITE

and treasured friendships.

Katerina Stoykova A N D T H E K E N T U C K Y B O O K F E S T I VA L

TEAM WEBSITE

KENTUCKY HUMANITIES

kybookfestival.org FACEBOOK

Kentucky Book Festival 2024 IMAGE ARTIST John Lackey is a native of Lexington and runs Homegrown Press Studios. He now operates his various art endeavors out of the weird and wonderful Luigart Gallery. A painter of surreal landscapes and realistic abstractions, he is also responsible for many logos, murals, posters and wood engravings for, among others, North Lime Coffee & Donuts, Wilco, Holler Poets Series, Alfalfa Restaurant, Larkspur Press, Kroger, the Kentucky Chamber, and the Kentucky Arts Council.

INSTAGRAM

@kybookfestival

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 45

Thank you to the staff and volunteers who make this event possible! We appreciate your time and support in making the book festival a success.

KENTUCKY HUMANITIES

BOARD OF DIRECTORS BRIAN CLARDY Murray

KEITH McCUTCHEN Frankfort

JENNIFER CRAMER Lexington

TOM OWEN Louisville

CHELSEA BRISLIN Lexington

JORDAN PARKER Lexington

SELENA SANDERFER DOSS Portland, TN

LIBBY PARKINSON Louisville

BEN FITZPATRICK Lexington CLARENCE GLOVER Louisville NICHOLAS HARTLEP Lexington CHRIS HARTMAN Louisville SARA HEMINGWAY Owensboro ERIC JACKSON Florence LOIS MATEUS Harrodsburg

For the l ve of

LOU ANNA RED CORN Lexington ANDREW REED Prestonsburg JUDY RHOADS Owensboro RON SHEFFER Louisville HOPE WILDEN Lexington BOBBIE ANN WRINKLE Paducah WAYNE YATES Princeton

K E N T U C K Y H U M A N I T I E S S TA F F

There is something beautiful about Lexington—the rich symphonies of the youth orchestra, the vibrant murals adorning city walls, the colorful horses across downtown, or my favorite, the resonant applause of the Lexington community echoing back as I conclude a performance on stage.

The arts community of Lexington is truly beautiful.

Paul Martin

PENELOPE PEAVLER Louisville

Bill Goodman Executive Director

Julie Klier Event Producer

Derek Beaven Program Manager

Katerina Stoykova Kentucky Book Festival Director

Gladys Thompson Fiscal Officer

Mariane Stoess Assistant Director

Jay McCoy Administrative Assistant to Kentucky Book Festival

Rebecca Redding Graphic Designer

PHOTO

—

SENA KIMURA Kentucky Ballet Theatre Academy Student

It’s why musicians play.

Joanna Murdock Administrative Assistant

It’s why artists create.

It’s why authors write.

It’s why economies thrive.

It’s why communities shine.

It’s why so many support the

LEXARTS FUND FOR THE ARTS! Share the love and support the arts today!

HELPING A RT COME TO LIFE

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161 N. Mill St. | Lexington KY 40507

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

LexArts.org/Give

Sam Corbett Development Assistant

Zoe Kaylor Grant Administrator 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.

2 0 2 4 F E S T I VA L E V E N T S FA S I G -T I P T O N , 2 4 0 0 N E W TOW N P I K E , L E X I N G TO N , KY 4 0 5 1 1

Join Crystal Wilkinson and Ronni Lundy for a discussion of Crystal’s culinary memoir, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks. Books by both writers will be available for purchase. This premier event will be catered by Ouita Michel and Holly Hill Events.

THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT. REGISTER ONLINE.

O C TO B E R 3 1 • 7 P M

Books & Brews Trivia Socialize and to test your literary trivia!

Free and open to the public.

G O O DWO O D L E X I N G TO N , 2 0 0 L E X I N G TO N G R E E N C I R C L E , L E X I N G TO N , KY 4 0 5 0 3

N OV E M B E R 2

• 9 : 3 0 A M to 5 P M

Festival Day

JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS 1 6 1 L E X I N G TO N G R E E N C I R C L E L E X I N G TO N , KY 4 0 5 0 3

150 authors, co-authors and illustrators will be in attendance, meeting readers and signing books. Patrons can enjoy a full slate of presentations, readings and craft talks across five stages, as well as a packed schedule of children’s events. The program includes special appearances by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Jonathan Eig, bestselling young adult author Nic Stone, Yolanda Renee King – the granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with her debut picture book, We Dream a World, and others.

Events and authors subject to change. Visit kybookfestival.org for the updates, ticket information and schedule of events.

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The real mer play a crit cing new voc er’s own artihstic careers Thisat isen him am e—and A Nationa Afric kerl, fait Alth them ker. ism Shaitua er text school t place ’s books odu een prev , spir oric gam A Men's the hon in oth oftual ay,orSha red livin hildren ldview, intr in a young read ctive g in nection betw F Emb as a high llec tod ers ments tha the 1978 NCA that hist the s that I me g in igno rld ieve way alln ils ers wor orin the inte folkthe wo in con Lms ach perspe ons to tes. undersc memb direct child’s tives ofte k in s mate and in a ral less ing UK d for a e Blue Dev r. ities string of n affir Blac nity ofmu States, perspecnds of draws aUnitedtedSta “Jackso H E genius is an inti on. the Duk ably lead into the g up arting mo is a serious nee verbal complex ges t yea com ond es and thousa, is that iteasternthe not inst Uni win tha imp , st Bey the regi ed aga voic and s, taps s, and gro T for l e mo re and and brid air in gina pris , thoughoss the vation ling in s.” ural and g Player nd, from years with the ketball d carving formanc mal Melodies ionHill . Yet the asa or , Ch acr k experienceof Ple eratnt lifies mar peak comStudies ges Blac storytel y all lege standin ant woo ple, farm ani tucky Bas context ned to the cult se’s Appalachian ers an point per his villadern ms and amp ction to Blacknal mo M.anTa ylUn iv rs it across gen ki music and cal and vibr rs read Villceage r Most Out se: My Life in Ken er of the basketb 's basketball, a college and NBA mu the kerlien odu remains with peo rtwarming poe’s harsh ness of msi comand more attu hia. Mommy Goo re and offe Sharesi —itNik Final Fou UK as men wa rd An Intr Me Goo onicand hea the rich dem with whi ld populated icon and care life es, and alac r for the with UK tion, his career y, Ho ky’s acti orical eras tuc of the n’s literatu ge and the life They Call int and muniti orory pses of unique of App wor tan es. Eric he was success mentato ught and Ken ous hist of tho Hi s hist look at se com in childre ght in langua rhyme, in Revealed is a dren. The qua poignant glim s ted Stat tes a all Associa ment as a com od—how on, to his ity of the passing nt ofe. The objinect the gap the Uni crafted historchil to deli childho Basketb adeies nursery un charm. other continu encom oint y from alachia and crea in Lexingt r l touchston an hian his was one nity dm and ndm ly pa app awa Jap ject stud alac m han ortu gra nt ura from od esp k cise pro the his theof Blac opp soa con hom cal poe g cult e k: stories his rece ic to App le not shyingculture of App ks and d toory g housing orical peri nt with s wer uce a wor endurin Each lyri l wonder and r and fantast finally to and endearing nta Haw such irinlive nntred each hist the hist ieve and ect, whi mers spe ported him alon rts and Atla of , the for ura 's ofte ge, resp sum ilia al effo is lyst nat but gua l ir lysis NBA the , ach and E I Nart, lan fam sup r ana kerst treatme ncia The person lars sold it y Sha world of ketball, urel. ana ed and equally ptance, I Ftes andscho on colo the shares ous fina my culterfu brillian duc edt few iv rs that is andalpow ss, acceM YceleLbra televisi ead of bas ches who guid poverty, ruin key, Mom d wha k. Givens textteri helped pelling, they ishe : each oo k Un wildlife ons of kindne ir ma on r con coa y the Mon one of his eball inst family Networ mpl pro rate “A com br beliefs n the s clea collecti of all ages. nk, Sports ter, Sonn hers and experiences with faith and his gious nt, Say has acco incomo ievers’ ed in bas rpore tha offer less This colorful n iter, and d Doug Bru Blue Roos the teac Jackson his interest the Bel his their reli much ement.” childre s. ed to fulD ative that initially , Kentucky, and ks: Bright is also a songwr d with , Pr esirializes ly about journalist sman, and , and how ld—for ry realitie neglect ies mov use n Lo ngity memo ical narr k stud candid rts. on with ent gations E Y O N dren’s booRhym ines ical wor es. He their eve em has were suff plic ha tor, bus in Danville He also speaks ual assault alle . In collaborati Today cha ican desc band mag on syst A N D ofB four other chil guided —N asturdy sim Goose in the Blac er, men y.

Bluegrass ges esta sex ple of Afr educati how it an Art or n: Mommy piece’s challen k from band, fath ic sports legend. his journe #1 on the d and erican public history of peo ted States. The for an Americ , and the is the auth Around the Moo y, reached blowbac hardships and l story of a hus ory oni Am n to Go icon Uni rich the IS vict t, an Art iths the the pro otio Ring the pan or s, of e’s love a maj deb erfu ugh dev s of year to be s, and te and discuss sformationche NO RR seum of time achieve at the Sm ted and Com Nathan him thro s with the pow just happens dred . examine, and gton Mu ections life an collegia a broadParker MI KE es from the Mountain ol Peas represen sustain fan the tranCar Bois and or hunaction es e, d with Huntin s Council for as ent coll Americ d by Jeff who also program role in rapherand cture, presents owledg E. B. Du erous disciplin aborate and erly an perman Art Museum, working Goose: Rhym ns, recorde tucky— ents the such as W. ly ackn played a pivoistalphotog Givens vice archite s, has coll st with tucky Art num ENS, form nt many years itio or for Ken de departmfactscho descent. e s—lars es as the an Folk folk arti the Ken University. She from the Mountain compos OSE” GIV ker Ma ssions from of African who hav k studiesuraof er, spe l arti k ambassad ently serv irs at Bowlin Sha omia’s need NS is aof Art, the Americist Award from ead resseric Am JACK “GO ketball play Rhymes State t of Blac the icat cultion Blac to add He curr ut persons continuing son ADKI one of rnal a�fa work. He lishmen l bas my Goose: eloper. lery ofght e has IE hs abo er to a vind the Art from Moreh the exte sou dev iona Gal Mom y es che lett myt Jack te fts— and al ived and NN key, fess a. trat t Net stud on icul MI m, the Nation ter. She rece ry doctorate Sonny the Mon es. Pea demons pes, and andofcra real esta eeducati elopmen the UK Sports e two n fourversity curr societi Jackson iturge,field , sterneoty ice mov higher Cen ora caster and business dev furnrgin for They hav Rooster, Museu utopia ies, Eric R. more tha in unis, of social just e ons s. This eme iad distorti analyst , Linda. y Folk Art holds an hon ks: Bright Blue nt of chapter Hill for studies,glarsse Huggin myr notabl ck Stud io color his wife preside and Kentuck asant Americanh as bro eyeade context ipline. Each l ect themost n to Bla as a rad vious boo the arts hedasPle tucky, with suc the Africanitemsies and corr Introductio the disc an history as wel k , and ment in ris on four pre Goose Rhymes.

Group and rgetown, Ken tograp ll k stud to irdem tlesfor . and phoalso known sma In An my written Geo hildren ary bot African Americ s valuable wor , elix act of Blacrchtem Mike Nor the Moon: Mom s—from lives in who has iefspor r grandc is the k studies, ade ornd rs. Thi and imp han rnalist decth dkecon iturine andeducato its imp n and fou figure for Blac tions. He nt furn ing jou Ring Arou orical and imp red ortaed childre t forgs that Americans, world. all hist ts the grow bro ide er publica rd-winn aninguish ting poin connec ican of the zing the buildin dist an awa consum Kentucky Basketb Afr is ette star hasiem and a the 260 and es and NK N K e n vign emp r vide Stat icals, to that pro s’ 1978 Blacks curato ada re tha ments, raphnet United DOUG BRU articles for trad de Stories from B R U in can y Wildcat the mo larship on s a biogbon objectivreesof ce to the Hill. The s: Insi and ctured ds of Kentuck include learninghite ctu rigor of scho asant relevan asant Hill, O U G of Arts manufa Memorie hundre Inside the arc Ple , and its lt at Ple H D rd College bui of Wildcat utes to Glory: as student the strength and r program wothe l processker Village of kersona n in fore author W I T e dea to tive k Studies Journal thealSha Forty Min ciat educati lph Hacke rma at Sha speaks the Blac infoasso g the anand Greats and ip Season. the form collections ctorrsofa esory ord by Ra hist dire offe , includin ew World ofvid of er tance to pro onsh or on self nals For form les, fess mpi nal her jour pro Thee Cha ity. che ber ofher rnational Jour ound RailonaisSou ksecc a num le Pea Reb Univers laining n Undergr clesninexp tuck on, Inte ntioati’s .

R. Jac n Ken tosy, whiand artictio cati ents ic pho Edu . The atte Er ther the Cincinn erican Par reviewsintrodu etics of Negro ject s at Norto lished uthor of tpos edcan Am UK Athl Science Journalto the sub pubngly written Afri com He is coa ully he haslovi men of tory, the tion E. White utif Studies. bea Involve at NKU, American Hisal connec ful s yet SPO RTS L. Smith and Derrick etics ools: The son African anple respect All Page sim Sch of African Jourper of UK Athl .indd nal of Pan ges ald RAC E AND gant and in Urb nt ies Mech o courtesy ail in the ors: Ger n Melod Pleasa detllen as an ele toCha Peace, and que Cover phot Appalachia of the Series edit serves Uni who legacy raphs road and people photog ory and stood the hist to isunder of life. roksima ute s n-m m/p ect trib ofte all asp s—an e: iStock.co ine in Shaaker hel Vran Cover Imag gn: MicHill the div or to hon Cover Desi sought

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3/25/2

CHILDREN’S P. A N A S TA S I A

J O D I E CA M P B E L L

Hughes and a deep love for her

POE Prophecies: The Black Cat

There Was a Zookeeper

grandparents, King shows the world

P. Anastasia is the author of nine novels

As a registered nurse for her local

that young people are strong enough

and two children’s picture books

health department, Jodie Campbell

to carry on their elders’ legacy while

resonating with mystery, charm and a

has a big heart for helping families in

creating a new path for themselves in

little bit of magic—the embodiment of

her community. Filled with her

her latest book, We Dream a World.

her unique writing style. The second in

memorable characters and vibrant

her POE Prophecies series, an engaging

illustrations by Alexey Chystikov, There

MARY KNIGHT

young adult mystery series inspired by

Was a Zookeeper offers a tale of

What the Seahorse Told Me

true events and the works of Edgar Allan

decision-making, friendship and

An award-winning author living in

Poe, The Black Cat continues Aidan

forgiveness.

Lexington, Mary Knight coaches other

Gray’s journey through P.O.E. Academy

writers on their book-length manuscripts

as he investigates the mysterious

JEFFREY EBBELER

and travels around the country visiting

behavior of another student and

Jerry, Let Me See the Moon

schools and hanging out with her

uncovers a sinister secret.

A graduate of the Art Academy of

middle-grade readers, who always offer

Cincinnati, Jeffrey Ebbeler has worked

her new insights into her novels as well

B R I TA I N Y B E S H E A R

as an art director, book designer,

as life. What the Seahorse Told Me is a

+ A N I TA H AT C H E T T

illustrator and even marionette sculptor

magical tale of friendship, family and

Winnie Tours the Kentucky State Capitol

and performer for a puppet theater.

the spirit of aloha—guaranteed to

Larger-than-life bad guys and slapstick

delight your heart.

2024 Kentucky Book Festival Honorary

humor meet a heartfelt exploration of

Chair and Kentucky First Lady Britainy

what makes a place home in Jerry, Let

R E B E C C A S U T E R L I N D S AY

Beshear is a powerful advocate for the

Me See the Moon, a page-turner that

+ D E B O R A H S LO N E

Commonwealth’s children and has

will leave younger middle-grade

been there for them and their families

readers howling for more.

Mr. Tux and the Little Garden Hotel

during challenging times. After

Former president of the Kentucky State

completing her BA in English from the

M A R C I A T H O R N TO N J O N E S

Poetry Society, Rebecca Suter Lindsay

University of Kentucky, Anita Hatchett

Dragons Don’t Cook Pizzas

knows how kids tick from tutoring them

worked as a graphic designer and

A former columnist for Writer’s Digest

for 35 years, and how cats behave from

graphic design coordinator before

magazine, Marcia Thornton Jones is the

living with at least 15 of them over time.

joining the Tourism, Arts and Heritage

author or co-author of 138 books for

Illustrator Deborah Slone is a watercolor

Cabinet, where she now serves as

children, including the bestselling The

artist whose botanical paintings are a

executive director. In Winnie Tours the

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

nod to her family’s storytelling traditions.

Kentucky State Capitol, First Dog of

series. In the fourth title in the popular

Mr. Tux and the Little Garden Hotel, born

Kentucky Winnie Beshear takes kids on

Bailey School Kids Graphix Scholastic

from a stay at a small, charming hotel

an adventure touring the State Capitol.

Series, Dragons Don’t Cook Pizza, the

in Central France, follows Pipsqueak, an

kids visit Jewel’s Pizza Castle for a party,

abandoned kitten who finds a new job,

LO R I B R I L E Y

only to see smoke and hear roars

new name, new home, and adventure

Dognapped at the Ice Rink

coming from the kitchen and wonder

trying to save the hotel from the mice,

Lori Briley is the author of the Buddy and

what’s going on.

the health department and El Cidre.

Panda Mysteries series based on her real-life dogs and her daughter’s

YO L A N DA R E N E E K I N G

G E O R G E E L L A LY O N

experiences playing ice hockey. In her

Time to Fly

unravel secrets and embark on a

We Dream a World: Carrying the Light From My Grandparents Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King

heartwarming adventure proving that

The first and only granddaughter of

young readers and numerous books for

true friendship and teamwork can

Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther

adults. In Time to Fly, a sweet and

overcome even the most challenging

King Jr., Yolanda Renee King is a

encouraging picture book, Baby Bird

mysteries.

national civil rights figure in her own

learns to overcome his fear of leaving

right. With inspiration from Langston

the nest.

latest book, Dognapped at the Ice Rink, the dynamic doggy duo sniff out clues,

Former Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon is an award-winning poet and author with more than 35 books for

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 49

N CHILDREN'S

2024 AUTHORS

N CHILDREN

T. L . M c B E T H

his literary debut with a middle-grade

and anthologies. Michael McBride, a

I Am Not Santa Claus!

novel, The Ghost Rules, a hilarious yet

Nashville, Tennessee-based artist and a

Author and illustrator T.L. McBeth’s work

heart-wrenching look at grief and the

professor at Tennessee State University,

has been featured by Macmillan,

supernatural.

has illustrated more than 75 children’s books. She Remembered It All,

Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Threadless, McDonald’s, Today, The

ANDREW SHAFFER

Waldrop’s second children’s book,

Wall Street Journal and the Society of

explores the life and art of Helen

Illustrators, and is part of the

Mothman’s Merry Cryptid Christmas

permanent collection of the Mazza

A five-time Goodreads Choice Award

who captured a lively, vibrant view of

Museum. His latest picture book, I Am

nominee and a two-time finalist in the

rural life in a changing world.

Not Santa Claus!, is a hilariously clever

Humor category, Andrew Shaffer is The

story about a man with a white beard

New York Times bestselling author of

G AY L E G . W E B R E

and a red hat who, despite all

Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden

Greta’s Gumbo

evidence to the contrary, insists that he

Mystery, the international bestselling

Gayle G. Webre has worked in

is NOT Santa Claus.

parody Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, and

elementary education for 25 years,

18 other books in multiple genres,

primarily designing and implementing

SUSAN MILLS

including mystery, horror and humor. In

enrichment curricula for gifted children,

Hadley, the Happy and Helpful Hadrosaurus

Mothman’s Merry Cryptid Christmas,

and represented Louisiana in 2020 at

Rudolph takes an unexpected vacation

the National Book Festival with her

Susan Mills is an award-winning author

one foggy Christmas Eve, forcing Santa

debut picture book, When I Was an

and illustrator renowned for the

Claus to ask for Mothman’s help.

Alligator. In her latest book, Greta’s

LaFrance, a Kentucky memory painter,

Gumbo, imagination rules when a

DinoSprout Educational Book Series as well as founder of the nonprofit My

B R I T TA N Y J . T H U R M A N

young girl summons the help of a

Autism Tribe. Beyond teaching about

Forever and Always

hyperactive monkey, a curious

incredible dinosaurs, the yummy tale of

Brittany J. Thurman, a Louisville native

rabbit,and a frozen penguin while

Hadley, the Happy and Helpful

with an MFA in Dramatic Writing from

shopping for groceries for her family.

Hadrosaurus reminds us that friendship

Carnegie Mellon University, writes

is the best ingredient in every recipe.

award-winning books for kids. Forever

CA R O L W I L L I A M S

and Always respects the deep MIKE NORRIS

emotions of young readers while

Mother Goose’s Appalachian Melodies

The Supernatural Files of CJ Delaney

offering comfort and reassurance to

Carol Williams has a long history of

any child waiting for a loved one to

writing: ad agency copywriter, health-

Mike Norris is an author and songwriter

come home.

care content wordsmith, insurance marketing scribe and motherly

well known for his children’s books in collaboration with Minnie Adkins, a folk

KRISTIN O’DONNELL TUBB

storyteller. Her debut middle-grade

artist with permanent collections in

Fowl Play

novel, The Supernatural Files of CJ

national museums and a recipient of

Author of The Story Collector series and

Delaney, is a fast-paced mystery with

the Artist Award from the Kentucky Arts

several books for middle-grade

just the right amount of hair-raising

Council for lifetime achievement. Their

readers, Kristin O’Donnell Tubb lives

thrills that begs to be read cover-to-

fifth collaboration, Mommy Goose’s

near Nashville with her bouncy-loud

cover in one setting.

Appalachian Melodies, offers lyrical

family and two dogs. In her latest book,

poems and nursery rhymes in tandem

Fowl Play, Chloe Alvarez inherits her

J E S S I CA E . YO U N G

with whimsical and vibrant wood

Uncle Will’s African grey parrot Charlie,

Two Homes, One Heart

carvings giving readers an opportunity

whose mysterious chatter makes Chloe

A former art teacher who grew up in

to delight in language and the richness

question her favorite uncle’s death

Ontario, Canada, Jessica E. Young loves

of music and storytelling attuned to the

and sends her in pursuit of answers.

writing picture books, early readers and

verbal complexities of Appalachia.

chapter books, and sharing the J AY N E M O O R E W A L D R O P +

creative process with young readers

A DA M R O S E N BAU M

MICHAEL McBRIDE

through author visits. In her latest

The Ghost Rules

picture book, Two Homes, One Heart,

video production and digital media,

She Remembered It All: The Art of Memory Painter Helen LaFrance

Adam Rosenbaum operated a sawmill

Kentucky writer and attorney Jayne

reassurance to kids navigating

in Kentucky, stocked groceries in Los

Moore Waldrop writes fiction, poetry

separation or divorce and remind us

Angeles, and was a student draftsman

and children’s books, and has been

that while families change, love is

at a local power company. He makes

published in several literary journals

constant.

Before working the last 15 years in

50

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

Young’s poignant story and Chelsea O’Byrne’s tender illustrations offer gentle

2024 Kentucky Book Festival

2024 AUTHORS

YOUNG ADULT D AV I D A R N O L D

I Loved You in Another Life David Arnold is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and winner of the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award. He was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for his debut novel, Mosquitoland. With lyrical prose and

KIDS ZONE

original songs (written and recorded by the author), I Loved

FREE BOOK

Illustrating Workshops

You in Another Life explores the history of love and how some

Arts and Crafts

Magician

souls are meant for each other—yesterday, today, forever.

Face Painting

Pumpkin Decorating

Meet Authors

and much more!

Z AC H GA R L A N D

The Levi Effect

Free Book Voucher entitles children 14 and under to one (1) free children’s book from inside the Children’s Tent up to $25.00 value.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a

Valid while supplies last on November 2, 2024 ONLY. All kids 14 and

bachelor’s degree in English, Zach Garland fulfilled his

under receive a free book courtesy of LFUCG and Central Bank.

childhood dream in 2017 when he published his first book, Snow Angels. His second novel, The Levi Effect, follows the

KY B O O K F E S T I VA L .O R G

story of 16-year-old Levi and the aftermath of a bad batch of Kentucky moonshine.

K A I T LY N H I L L

Wild About You Kaitlyn Hill is a Kentucky writer who lives to tell love stories and make people laugh. She also enjoys messy reality TV, has never met a tea she didn’t like, and thrives on overly ambitious home-improvement projects. Her latest novel, Wild

VisitLEX proudly supports the arts community and the Kentucky Book Festival.

About You, is a grumpy-sunshine teen romance that proves the trail to true love doesn’t always come with a map.

M A R I A M A J. LO C K I N G TO N

When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology Award-winning author of Forever Is Now, Mariama J. Lockington has more than 13 years of experience working as a K-12 educator in the nonprofit sector and currently works for the University of Kentucky’s College of Education. Edited

by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung, When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology contains tales from 15 bestselling, acclaimed and emerging adoptee authors, including Lockington, who genuinely and authentically reflect the complexity, breadth and depth of adoptee experiences.

We’re here to help connect you with the best of what Lexington has to offer. Stop by our Visitors Center to learn more and shop our unique retail offerings.

215 W Main St, Suite 75 | (800) 845-3959

STAY UPDATED. Events and authors are subject to change. Visit kybookfestival.org, for the latest updates and full schedule.

VisitLEX.com

N YO U N G A D U LT N A N C Y M c CA B E

working at their local library branch or

E M M A M c E LVA N E Y TA L B O T T

Vaulting Through Time

at home planning all the D&D

Not Far from Freedom

The author of nine books, Nancy

campaigns they’ll run one day, they

Educator, freelance writer and human

McCabe directs the writing program at

swear. The No-Girlfriend Rule, their

rights advocate Emma McElvaney

the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

debut novel and an instant USA Today

Talbott taught in public schools and

and teaches in the low-residency

bestseller, is a queer YA romance in

as an adjunct professor at several

graduate writing program at Spalding

which the rule of high school senior

universities, served as parenting editor

University in Lousiville. Her most recent

Hollis Beckwith’s boyfriend prompts her

for Family Digest magazine and Family

book, the young adult novel Vaulting

to join an all-girls group of role-playing

Digest Baby magazine, and was a part

Through Time, tells of 16-year-old

game, Secrets & Sorcery, only to

of the inaugural class of Louisville

gymnast Elizabeth Arlington’s

experience an in-game crush with a

Courier-Journal Forum Fellows. In Not

captivating journey through time,

charismatic girl, which develops into a

Far from Freedom, a formerly enslaved

courtesy of the discovery of a time

sweet romance.

great-grandmother in mid-1950s

machine by ex-best-friend Zach.

Kentucky shares stories of crossS H A N N O N S TO C K E R

generational survival, striving,

Stronger at the Seams

determination and forgiveness as her

Recipient of the ALA Schneider Family

great-granddaughter garners

A ninth-generation farmer and former

Book Award, the Anna Dewdney Read-

knowledge, strength and

school librarian, award-winning author

Together Award and the Comstock

understanding to chart her future and

Mindy McGinnis has written multiple

Read Aloud Book Award, Shannon

find a new way to move forward.

novels spanning many genres, from

Stocker is driven to fill bookshelves with

historical to fantasy, contemporary to

diverse protagonists with disabilities, as

A M B I K A VO H R A

gothic thriller. With Under This Red Rock,

she believes every child deserves to see

she delivers a powerful psychological

themselves on the written page. With

The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal

thriller, deftly exploring the dark places

themes of self-advocacy and

A Michigan native, Ambika Vohra now

in the earth and the human mind,

acceptance in the face of medical

lives in San Francisco, writing while

where what is real and imaginary isn’t

hardship, her debut YA novel, Stronger

surrounded by tiny plants and big

so easily distinguishable.

at the Seams, is for everyone who has

books and making Indian-style chai

ever felt broken.

with concerning levels of cardamom

M I N DY M c G I N N I S

Under This Red Rock

K E L L I E M . PA R K E R

Thin Air

pods. Her first novel, The Sticky Note N I C S TO N E

Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal, starts with

Kellie M. Parker is an award-winning

Chaos Theory

a deal to get Aisha out of her comfort

writer of young adult fantasy and

After graduating from Spelman College,

zone so that she can write a college

thrillers. A flight to Paris full of teenagers

Nic Stone worked in teen mentoring and

essay, follows a series of sticky note

seeking opportunity turns deadly in her

lived in Israel for a few years before

to-dos and dares she accepts in

latest novel, Thin Air, a suspenseful,

returning to the U.S. to write full time.

exchange for helping Quentin pass

locked-door YA thriller.

Stone, the No. 1 New York Times

math class, and leaves Aisha and the

bestselling author of Dear Martin,

reader contemplating if winning is

C H R I S T E N R A N DA L L

delivers in Chaos Theory a gripping

worth it if you end up losing yourself in

The No-Girlfriend Rule

romance between two teens, a gut

the process.

When Christen Randall—a queer, fat,

punch of a novel about mental health,

neurodivergent author—is not writing

loss and making the discovery that you

joyful stories for the next generation of

are worthy of love.

geeky gay kids, you can find them

52

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

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N FICTION

2024 AUTHORS

FICTION AMY CIPOLLA BARNES

G W E N DA B O N D

colonial documents, and studying the

Child Craft

The Frame-Up

Patawomeck language. The novel tells

Award-winning author of three short

Co-founder and chair of the nonprofit

the story of her people and their

fiction collections, Amy Cipolla Barns is

Lexington Writer’s Room, Gwenda Bond

unlikely survival due to the courage of

a Fractured Lit associate editor, Gone

is The New York Times bestselling author

two Patawomeck women.

Lawn co-editor and Ruby Lit assistant

of many novels and nonfiction work in

editor. She reads for CRAFT, The

Publishers Weekly, Salon and The Los

MELISSA R. COLLINGS

MacGuffen, Best Small Fictions and

Angeles Times. In her latest novel, The

The False Flat

Narratively. She returns with a new

Frame-Up, a magically gifted con artist

Before Melissa R. Collings started

hybrid prose collection of stories, Child

must gather her estranged mother’s old

writing women’s fiction and romantic

Craft, that will leave you feeling both

crew for a once-in-a-lifetime heist.

comedies, she worked as a physician’s

haunted and a little less alone.

assistant in Nashville, where one of her B E T H D OT S O N B R O W N

favorite procedures was reconstructing

Rooted in Sunrise

a lower-lumbar tattoo after a back

Award-winning feature writer, short story

surgery. In The False Flat, an uplifting

With work appearing in in The New

author, essayist and debut novelist, Beth

story about friendship, love and

York Times, The Guardian and on NPR,

Dotson Brown has visited with a king in

growth, one woman must untangle

Jeff Biggers is the American Book

Ghana, listened to the dreams of

herself from a past that’s holding her

Award-winning author of many works

mothers in Guatemala, and learned

back in order to move forward into the

of investigative journalism, history and

about sustainable living in Kentucky.

life that will set her free.

theater, and winner of the Delta Prize

Rooted in Sunrise is a story of learning

for Literature and the Brower Award for

to change and, in the process,

WHITNEY COLLINS

Environmental Reporting. Written with

discovering what is most important.

Ricky & Other Love Stories

JEFF BIGGERS

Disturbing the Bones

the acclaimed director of The Fugitive,

Pushcart Prize-winning author and MFA

Andrew Davis, Disturbing the Bones is a

RICK CHILDERS

graduate from the Naslund-Mann

propulsive debut political thriller set in

Turkeyfoot

Graduate School of Writing, Whitney

the aftermath of a global nuclear

A writer from Estill County, who received

Collins has been a contributing editor

weapons crisis.

his BA in English from Berea College

for The Weeklings; a book reviewer for

and an MA in writing from the Naslund-

Barnes & Noble; a reader for The Big

WES BLAKE

Mann Graduate School of Writing, Rick

Jewel, The Louisville Review and

Pineville Trace

Childers serves as Berea College’s

Carolina Quarterly; and an editorial

Wes Blake received his MFA from the

Appalachian Male Advocate and

assistant for The Sun Magazine. Her

Bluegrass Writers Studio. His fiction and

Mentor. In Turkeyfoot, the opioid

second story collection, Ricky & Other

essays have appeared in Blood &

epidemic has ravaged the namesake

Love Stories blends elements of

Bourbon, Book of Matches and Jelly

Eastern Kentucky community and

Southern gothic, speculative fiction and

Bucket. Winner of the Etchings Press

Sweetie Goodins has played no small

horror into 23 dark, derelict (and

Book Prize, Pineville Trace follows a

part in feeding his neighbors’ bad

hilarious) tales about love … and the

former Southern revival preacher on his

habits. Before he can atone for any of

stories we tell ourselves about it.

escape from prison eventually

his wrongdoings, he must either

confronting his past and seeking

acknowledge his role in the lives ruined

BOBI CONN

redemption amidst the wilderness.

or continue paving a path of

Someplace Like Home

destruction.

Born in Morehead, and raised in a

JOSH BOLDT

Moneymaker

nearby holler, Bobi Conn developed a L O R A C H I LT O N

deep connection with the land and her

Josh Boldt writes crime fiction and

1666: A Novel

Appalachian roots. She graduated from

mystery novels set in the American

A member of the Patawomeck Indian

Berea College and Eastern Kentucky

South. For fans of his prior novels,

Tribe of Virginia, author Lora Chilton is a

University and becoming a passionate

Moneymaker offers a glimpse into the

nonprofit executive and a writer living in

advocate for educational access for

early years of the familiar character

Memphis. 1666: A Novel is her second

people on the margins of society. In her

Mack Abbott in this gripping tale of

work of historical fiction based on

third book, Someplace Like Home, a

intrigue and suspense.

interviewing tribal elders, researching

mother and daughter in Appalachia

54

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

Sourwood Mountain, returns to the

KAREN L. GEORGE

powerful and reflective novel about

mountains of Eastern Kentucky for the

How We Fracture

family, healing and moving on.

story of a schoolteacher at an

Retired from a career as a computer

Appalachian mission school and a

analyst to write full time, Karen L.

young mountain girl yearning for family.

George is a recipient of grants from

W I L L I E D AV I S

I Can Outdance Jesus

the Kentucky Foundation for Women

Willie Davis is the winner of the

A M I N A GAU T I E R

and the Kentucky Arts Council, and

Willesden Herald International Short

The Best That You Can Do

earned an MFA in writing from the

Story Prize, judged by Zadie Smith, and

The author of four award-winning short

Naslund-Mann Graduate School of

The Katherine Anne Porter Prize, judged

story collections and more than 100

Writing. The stories in How We Fracture,

by Amy Hempel. The shady characters

published stories, Amina Gautier is the

winner of the Rosemary Daniell Fiction

in I Can Outdance Jesus go on bizarre

recipient of the Blackwell Prize, the

Prize and set primarily in Kentucky,

and unforgettable adventures, taking

Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st

follow a group of diverse female

them from the Appalachian Mountains

Century Award, the International Latino

characters, from teenagers to women

to the Atlantic Ocean, and bringing

Book Award, the Mellon-Flamboyan

in their 60s, who experience some

alive the strangeness and humor of

Foundation Letras Boricuas Fellowship,

points of fracture in their lives and

the mountains.

and the PEN/MALAMUD Award for

discover how we are connected to,

Excellence in the Short Story. Inspired by

and nourished by, the natural world.

A N N H . GA B H A R T

1970s and ’80s music and pop culture

The Song of Sourwood Mountain

touchstones, The Best That You Can Do is

N AT H A N G O W E R

a collection of stories loudly and joyfully

The Act of Disappearing

Ann H. Gabhart has mined her rich

filled with cousins, aunts, grandparents,

Nathan Gower is a professor of English

family history and rural Kentucky

budding romances and the nostalgia of

at Campbellsville University with an

background to tell award-winning

Black childhood.

MFA in fiction from Spalding University

stories in her 39 published books. Her

and a PhD in humanities from the

most recent release, The Song of

University of Louisville. Alternating

Write more. Grow more.

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Grow in craft, confidence, and community.

We accept applications year-round.

For early placement, apply by March 1 to start with the on-campus May residency or April 1 to start with the virtual June residency. fiction poetry creative nonfiction TV, screen, and stage children and young adults SPALDING.EDU/MFA SCHOOLOFWRITING@SPALDING.EDU

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 55

N FICTION

unpack the traumas of the past in a

between present-day Brooklyn and Kentucky as it enters the 1960s, The Act of Disappearing chronicles the days of Julia White, a bartender and debut author, struggling to make ends meet while unraveling the mystery of a strange photograph with a story more staggering than anything she could have imagined.

S C OT T G U I L D

Plastic An assistant professor at Marian University in Indianapolis, Scott Guild served for years as assistant director of Pen City Writers, a prison writing initiative for incarcerated students. A musician, Guild earlier toured with the B-52s and opened for Blondie as the lead guitarist for the new wave band New Collisions. Plastic is a surreal, hilarious and sneakily profound debut novel that casts our current climate of gun violence and environmental destruction in a surprising new mold.

C H R I S H E LV E Y

Bayou

Proud Supporter of the 2024 Kentucky Book Festival

A founding member of the Bluegrass Writers Coalition and editor-in-chief and publisher of Trajectory Journal, Chris Helvey is an award-winning author of more than a dozen novels and multiple short-story collections. His latest unique and powerfully honest novel, Bayou, is a must read for fans of historical fiction and Southern grit lit.

ROBBY HENSON

Loud Water A recent convert to fiction writing with an MFA from NYU’s graduate film school and several writing and directing credits for PBS documentaries, Robby Henson now teaches screenwriting at the University of Kentucky and is the Artistic Director of Pioneer Playhouse. He runs the outreach program Voices Inside, which instructs incarcerated writers in writing and performance skills to fight recidivism. His debut novel, Loud Water, details the gritty and redemptive story of Crit Poppwell and his paroled return to Breathitt County after a prison awakening to the healing power of art and creativity.

K E L LY E . H I L L

A Home for Friendless Women Kelly Hill has a PhD from the University of Louisville and an MFA in fiction from Spalding University. Set in Victorian-era Louisville, A Home for Friendless Women follows the home’s benefactors and several women who live there through their daily religious lessons and hard work, while they grapple with a secret that has the power to unravel the home entirely.

W E N DY M . J E T T

Tainted A born and raised Kentucky girl, Wendy M. Jett is a longtime fitness instructor, découpage nerd and improv junkie, who loves to write. Tainted picks up where her first book, Girl, left off in a cosmic blend of magical prose, poetry and recipes, wrestling cosmic questions as Girl continues her journey.

56

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

F E N TO N J O H N S O N

Scissors, Paper, Rock A contributor to National Public Radio, Harper’s Magazine and The New York Times Magazine, Fenton Johnson has received numerous literary awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Lambda Literary Awards in both fiction and creative nonfiction, and induction into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. Scissors, Paper, Rock delves into the complexities of human relationships, identity and the search for self-discovery. Kentucky Humanities selected the novel for its 2024 Kentucky Reads to serve as a focal point for community-wide book discussions that promote a shared literary experience and celebrate the diverse voices and stories that shape Kentucky’s rich cultural landscape.

K A R O L L AG O D Z K I

Controlled Conversations A native of Poland, Karol Lagodzki has fixed stucco while dangling from roofs in Paris and sorted through human cadaver heads in Florida, but his true ambition is to remain a student for as long as he possibly can. His debut novel, Controlled Conversations, challenges readers with the

LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES

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Every Student, Every Day sah@lindsey.edu lindsey.edu 1-800-264-0138

question of what separates people who transcend their fear and take risks for the sake of change from the rest of us.

M E R E D I T H R . LY O N S

Ghost Tamer

LWC is a proud sponsor of the 2024 Kentucky Book Festival

Meredith R. Lyons grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to pursue acting. There, she made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job before relocating to Nashville. In her fast-paced debut, Ghost Tamer, a young woman discovers why she was the lucky one to survive a train crash while also facing—and conquering—shadows from her past that won’t let her go.

CHRIS McGINLEY

Once These Hills A middle school English and social studies teacher, Chris McGinley has published fiction and commentary on literature and film in LitHub, Cutleaf and many other forums. His third book, Once These Hills, begins in 1898 on Black Boar Mountain in Eastern Kentucky and follows Lydia King from her discovery of an ancient, preserved body, through love and marriage, to her attempts to reverse the curse of the bog body.

ANESA MILLER

I Never Do This A recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Fellowship for creative writing, Anesa Miller was a finalist in regional fiction in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. With Rust Belt country gothic flair, I Never Do This touches on spiritual abuse, addiction, family entanglements and the disenfranchisement of women and young people in fundamentalist settings.

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 57

N FICTION

ELLEN BIRKETT MORRIS

JIM ROBERTS

N AT H A N L . VA N D E R F O R D

Beware the Tall Grass

Of Fathers & Gods

+ H O L LY B U R K E

Ellen Birkett Morris is an award-winning

A full-time writer who splits his time

poetry, fiction and essay writer who

between Ohio and Texas, Jim Roberts

Cancer in Appalachia: A Collection of Youth-Told Stories

teaches creative writing across the

has been nominated for a Pushcart

Nathan L. Vanderford is an associate

country. Beware the Tall Grass skillfully

Prize, was a finalist for the Screencraft

professor at the University of Kentucky

weaves the story of a modern family

Cinematic Short Story Award, and was

College of Medicine and the Director of

with a young son’s past life memories

longlisted for both the Santa Fe Writers

the Appalachian Career Training in

as a soldier in Vietnam and the life of

Project Short Fiction Prize and the W.S.

Oncology (ACTION) Program. The

another young man caught up in the

Porter Prize. His debut short story

program coordinator for ACTION at the

drama of mid-1960s America.

collection, Of Fathers & Gods, opens a

UK Markey Cancer Center, Holly Burke

window into the most primal elements

has worked students in her language

LAURA LEIGH MORRIS

of the human condition and shows us

arts classroom and through the Upward

The Stone Catchers

how, try as we might, we can never fully

Bound programs at Morehead State

Laura Leigh Morris teaches creative

escape the bonds of parent and child.

University. Cancer in Appalachia: A Collection of Youth-Told Stories is an

writing and literature at Furman University and lives in Greenville, South

MEG SHAFFER

anthology of powerful short stories and

Carolina, with her family. Narrated in

The Lost Story

poems written by high school and

alternating voices and set in

The Wishing Game, the debut novel of

undergrads who use their experiences

economically depressed Appalachian

Meg Shaffer—a part-time creative

in Appalachia and knowledge of

town, Morris’ The Stone Catchers

writing instructor living in Louisville—was

cancer to convey fictional, yet realistic

explores the trauma experienced by

a national bestseller, Goodreads

stories about the pain and disruptions

survivors of a school shooting.

Choice Awards finalist and Book-of-the-

cancer causes individuals, families and

Month Book of the Year finalist. Her

communities in the Appalachian region.

TA M M Y O B E R H A U S E N

second novel, the fantasy The Lost Story,

The Evolution of the Gospelettes

was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ The

J U L I A E L L E N W AT T S

Chronicles of Narnia. It is a fairy tale for

Lovesick Blossoms

Tammy Oberhausen has an MFA in

grown-ups who still knock on the back

Author of 14 novels for young adults

writing from Spalding University and

of wardrobes, just in case.

and adults, Julia Ellen Watts’ books

lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her

have won a Lambda Literary Award, a

debut novel, The Evolution of the

J E S S I CA S T R AW S E R

Golden Crown Literary Award, and

Gospelettes, is a compelling exploration

The Last Caretaker

Honorable Mention for Best YA Novel of

of family ties and rifts, faith and doubt,

The USA Today bestselling author of six

the Year in the Foreword INDIES awards.

and holiness and hypocrisy in a

popular book-club novels, Jessica

Set in a small Kentucky college town in

changing world.

Strawser is editor-at-large at Writer’s

1953, Lovesick Blossoms is a compelling

Digest and a former writer-in-residence

and emotional tale of passion, power,

MARK POWELL

for the Public Library of Cincinnati &

fulfillment and consequence of not

The Late Rebellion

Hamilton County. In her latest book, The

playing by the rules in Appalachia.

A recipient of the Chaffin Award for

Last Caretaker, an empowering and

contributions to Appalachian Literature,

provocative page-turner, a woman in

SHEILA J. WILLIAMS

fellowships from the National

search of a new beginning is put to the

No Better Time

Endowment for the Arts, the Breadloaf

test in ways she never imagined.

A graduate of the University of Louisville

and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences, and

living in Northern Kentucky, Sheila

two grants from the Fulbright

LAUREN THOMAN

Williams is the author of seven novels,

Foundation to teach in Slovakia and

You Shouldn’t Be Here

one of which was adapted for the

Romania, Mark Powell directs the

Lauren Thoman’s debut novel, I'll Stop

Netflix film, Juanita. The multitalented

creative writing program at

the World, was selected for publication

Williams also is the librettist for Fierce,

Appalachian State University. In The

by six-time Emmy Award nominee

an opera commissioned by the

Late Rebellion, the residents of

Mindy Kaling through her imprint,

Cincinnati Opera. Her latest novel,

Germantown, a small South Carolina

Mindy’s Book Studio. In Thoman’s latest

inspired by the author’s second cousin,

community in the Appalachian

thrilling and twisty novel, You Shouldn’t

who served in World War II as a

Mountains, challenge traditional

Be Here, two strangers search for the

member of the WACs, No Better Time is

notions of what it means to be

truth behind bizarre occurrences no

a story about a unit comprised entirely

Southern and what it means to be

one else dares to discuss, only to

of women of color, the only unit of its

accepted, particularly when the old

discover that they’re connected by

type to serve in Europe during WWII.

ways begin to crumble.

secrets that could destroy them both.

58

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

N POETRY

2024 AUTHORS

POETRY B. ELIZABETH BECK

writing. He edited Latino Poetry: The

L E N N I E H AY

Dancing on the Page

Library of America Anthology, a

Lost in America

B. Elizabeth Beck is a poet who writes

landmark Latinx poetry collection that

A former educator and MFA graduate

fiction and the founder of two poetry

includes more than 180 poets,

of Spalding University, Lennie Hay now

series: Teen Howl and Poetry at the

spanning from the 17th century to

lives on the water in Southern Indiana

Table in Lexington. Her fifth collection of

today, and presenting poems written in

and in Florida, drawing energy from the

poems, Dancing on the Page, a

Spanish in the original and in the

natural world, visual art, her family’s

memoir in verse, is an homage to the

English translation.

history and music. Lost in America

soundtrack of the process of a poet

chronicles the pain and joy of

becoming herself.

D O R I A N H A I R S TO N

navigating life in America as the daughter of an immigrant Chinese

MISSY BROWNSON

Pretend the Ball Is Named Jim Crow

Hush Candy (Revised Edition)

father and German mother.

Poet and scholar Dorian Hairston is a

Poet Missy Brownson resides in

former University of Kentucky baseball

TO M C . H U N L E Y

Georgetown and works in Frankfort as

player and a member of the Affrilachian

the associate director for

Poets. His debut poetry collection,

The Loneliest Whale in the World

communications and outreach for an

Pretend the Ball is Named Jim Crow,

A professor of English and creative

educational agency. In Hush Candy,

explores the Black American experience

writing at Western Kentucky University

her accomplished debut collection,

through the lens of basebal legend

since 2003, Tom C. Hunley has

she revisits the venerable genre of

Josh Gibson’s life and 17-year baseball

published eight full-length poetry

domestic advice manuals—those 19th

career, while addressing social change,

collections, eight chapbooks and two

and 20th century compendia of

culture, family, race, death and

textbooks, as well as written and

wisdom designed to guide women

oppression. Hairston honors and gives

co-directed You’re Not Alone, a short

(especially aspiring women of the rising

voice to Gibson and a voiceless

film produced by Forerunner TV. The

middle class) in the exercise of their

generation of African Americans.

poems in his latest collection, The

proper roles in the home and society.

LY N N E L L M . E D W A R D S

The Bearable Slant of Light

Loneliest Whale in the World, have PA U L E T TA H A N S E L

been called “prayers [and] a way to

Will There Also Be Singing?

remind us that we are not alone, that

Born and raised in Southeastern

there is a world inside this world, and it

Lynnell Edwards serves as Associate

Kentucky, Pauletta Hansel is a poet,

is beautiful.”

Programs Director and on the poetry

memoirist and teacher, who is a core

faculty for the Naslund-Mann Graduate

member of the Urban Appalachian

LISA M. MILLER

School of Writing at Spalding University.

Community Coalition and has served

Woe & Awe

Her sixth poetry collection, The Bearable

as Cincinnati’s first Poet Laureate. She

A community-building mind-body

Slant of Light, documents the burden

was the past managing editor of Pine

health specialist and social justice

and beauty of mental illness in one

Mountain Sand & Gravel, the literary

advocate, Lisa M. Miller has spent 25

family and across this history of writers

journal of the Southern Appalachian

years as an energy healer, is trained in

and artists.

Writers Cooperative. Will There Also Be

clinical chaplaincy, and serves a wide

Singing?, her 10th collection, contains

demographic through support groups

R I G O B E R TO G O N Z Á L E Z

poems of witness and protest exploring

and workshops. Her debut poetry

Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology

personal culpability in current social

collection, Woe & Awe, invokes the

injustices and divisions, while examining

voices of female ancestors—physical

Rigoberto González is distinguished

the complicated grief about a land she

and spiritual—in poems of timeless

professor of English at Rutgers University

loves and for whose future she fears.

perspective and contemporary

in Newark, New Jersey, where he is

language with fearless depth and

director of the MFA program in creative

beauty. k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 59

Bring Community Home Every day brings an opportunity to connect, learn and grow. From cooking demos to exercise classes, book clubs and informative workshops, AARP has so many virtual options at your fingertips.

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WWW.BERRYCENTERBOOKSTORE.COM 60

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

N POETRY

G R E G PA P E

loneliness of the woods and tackling

Frank X Walker is a multidisciplinary

A Field of First Things

the frank reality of self-acceptance in

artist and the author of 13 collections

Former Montana Poet Laureate and

the face of ugly truths, Kingfisher Blues

of poetry and a children’s book. He

current faculty member of Spalding

offers a visceral encounter with the

also serves as professor of creative

University’s Naslund-Mann School of

intertwined forces of nature, human

writing and African American and

Writing, Greg Pape has received the

struggle and redemption.

Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky. In Load in Nine Times, a

Discovery/TheNation Award, two National Endowment for the Arts

JA M E S A L A N R I L E Y

stirring new collection of historical

Individual Fellowships, the Richard Hugo

Uncertain Mythologies

poetry, Walker braids the voices of the

Memorial Poetry Award, the Pushcart

Founding editor of The Pikeville Review

United States Colored Troops—

Prize, and others. The poems in A Field

and professor emeritus of English at the

including his own ancestors—with

of First Things are evocations of

University of Pikeville, James Alan Riley is

family members, slaveowners and

experience and attempts to clarify,

the recipient of a National Endowment

prominent historical figures—including

preserve and share first things.

for the Arts Fellowship, the Thomas and

Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln

Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Excellence in

and Margaret Garner—into a wide-

MARIANNE PEEL

Appalachian Literature, two Al Smith

ranging series of poems imbued with

Singing Is Praying Twice

Fellowships from the Kentucky Arts

atmospheric imagery and brimming

After teaching middle and high school

Council, and an Individual Artists

with indomitable spirit.

English for 32 years, Marianne Peel

Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council.

spent three summers in Guizhou

His second poetry collection, Uncertain

L AV E R N E Z A B I E L S K I

Province, teaching best practices to

Mythologies, deals with our perception

teachers in China and received

of time passing and the moments that

Mariposa: Opioid Abatement Poems

Fulbright-Hays Awards to further her

establish and accumulate meaning in

Founder of the Working Class Kitchen

research in Nepal and Turkey. Her

our lives.

and host of Cafe LuigArt, Laverne

second poetry collection, Singing Is

Zabielski has traveled nationally and

Praying Twice, focuses on five

K AT E R I N A S T O Y K O VA

internationally from California to

generations of females and the rites of

Northern Ireland as a community artist

passage inherent in intergenerational

Between a Bird Cage and a Bird House

connections. It makes palpable the

Founder of the independent literary

host readings. Her latest poetry

musicality amid loss and regret with

press, Accents Publishing, Katerina

collection, Mariposa: Opioid

much singing, dancing and rejoicing

Stoykova is an author, editor, teacher

Abatement Poems, tells two parallel

on the page.

and translator from Bulgaria who has

stories: one a harrowing descent of a

published several poetry books in

beloved adult daughter into heroin

ERIK REECE

English and Bulgarian since her arrival

addiction and homelessness, the other

Kingfisher Blues

in the United States. Through themes of

a quietly hopeful mother’s journey

Winner of Columbia University’s John B.

domestic abuse, the death of a

toward a heroic self-discipline.

Oakes Award for Environmental

parent, the loss of a friend, and the

Journalism and the Sierra Club’s David

search for cultural identity, the poems

Brower Award for Excellence in

in Between a Bird Cage and a Bird

Environmental Writing, Erik Reece

House transcend the borders of

teaches writing and literature at the

language and nation-states.

to develop writing communities and

University of Kentucky. He is the author of six books of nonfiction and two

F R A N K X WA L K E R

previous collections of poetry, and is

Load in Nine Times: Poems

the founder of Kentucky Writers and

The first African American writer to be

Artists for Reforestation. By conveying

named Kentucky Poet Laureate and

the despair—and serenity—found in the

co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets,

STAY UPDATED. Events and authors are subject to change.

Visit kybookfestival.org, for the latest updates and full schedule.

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 61

N NONFICTION

2024 AUTHORS

NONFICTION GEORGE BARNETT

working as an actress and producer

Nearly 25 years of traveling to Italy with

Foraging Kentucky

before returning to Kentucky. Bluegrass

her husband and recently making a

Author, forager and environmental

Sons is a true crime family saga about

second home in a small hilltop village

educator George Barnett owns and

Bradley Bryant, a United States Marine

through restoring a former horse stable

operates the Hungry Forager, an

who lived a double life set between

inside the medieval walls of a tiny town

educational program based in the

Lexington and the desert days and

form the basis of her latest book, a

Bluegrass region and focused on

gaudy nights of 1970s Las Vegas,

travel memoir called Restored in

teaching people about wild edibles,

Nevada, with a little El Paso, Texas;

Tuscany.

ethnobotany, ecology and agroforestry.

Guatemala; and Savannah, Georgia,

With high-definition color photographs,

thrown in.

W I L L I A M E . D AV I S

Foraging Kentucky is an beginners’

KEITH CLEMENTS,

In Service to Justice: Striving to Bring Forth Our Nobility

guide full of information for readers who

MICHAEL L. JONES, ET AL.

One of the first Kentuckians to join the

want to safely and ethically forage the

The Soulful Sounds of Derbytown

Peace Corps, William E. Davis has spent

The six authors of The Soulful Sounds of

improving justice systems across the

G AY L O R D B R E W E R

Derbytown—Ken Clay, Michael L. Jones,

United States and internationally. An

Before the Storm Takes It Away

Wilma Westfield Clayborn, Keith

account of a life framed by family, faith

A recipient of a Tennessee Arts

Clements, Gary Falk and Ron Lewis—

and service, In Service to Justice is a

Commission Fellowship, Gaylord Brewer

have spent their lives immersed in a

part-spiritual and part-adventure story.

has been a professor at Middle

variety of roles within many genres of

Tennessee State University for more than

music and entertainment in Louisville,

LISA DICKEY

three decades and is the author of 17

all sharing the same dream: to

books of poetry, fiction, criticism,

research, write and publish a coffee-

The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis

cookery and this collection of

table book that would be the first-ever

A longtime book collaborator, Lisa

nonfiction. In Before the Storm Takes It

record of Louisville’s African American

Dickey has helped write more than 20

Away, he steps into short explorations in

musicians, entertainers, promoters and

nonfiction books, including 12 New York

nonfiction—alternately dark, wry,

enablers. Their comprehensive volume

Times bestsellers, and is the author of

contemplative and explosive.

contains historical essays, hundreds of

Bears in the Streets: Three Journeys

historical and contemporary

Across a Changing Russia. Written with

L U B R I N A B U R TO N

photographs, and biographical

George Stephanopoulos, The Situation

Shitbag Soldier

sketches profiling award-winning

Room provides the definitive, past-the-

Raised in Knox County, Lubrina Burton

African American musicians,

security-clearance look at the White

left home as a teenager to serve in

songwriters, recording artists, singers

House Situation Room and the people—

Germany with the United States Army

and entertainers, who have performed

the famous and those you’ve never

and returned home at 21. Her many

on television, in films and on stage.

heard of—who have made history within

recipes and short history lessons,

delectable foods available in Kentucky.

the past 45 years working in the field of

its walls.

experiences as a young, enlisted soldier in a pre-9/11 military inspired much of

ANGELA CORRELL

her work. Her first book, Shitbag Soldier,

camouflage nightmares of a reality

Restored in Tuscany: A True Story of Facing Loss, Finding Beauty, and Living Forward in Hope

where she must survive by writing her

Angela Correll is an award-winning

The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights

own narrative instead of letting

author, whose trilogy of novels were

Joshua A. Douglas is a law professor at

someone else define her truth.

adapted to the stage for Pioneer

the University of Kentucky College of Law

Playhouse, and co-founder of the

and legal expert invested and engaged

ERIN CHANDLER

annual Good Lit Writer’s Retreat,

in helping everyday people understand

Bluegrass Sons: A True Crime Memoir

Kentucky Soaps & Such, The Stanford

our elections. In The Court v. The Voters,

Inn, the Bluebird restaurant and other

he takes us behind the scenes of

Memoirist, essayist and playwright Erin

hospitality businesses all located in

significant cases in voting rights—some

Chandler spent 22 years in Los Angeles

Stanford, Kentucky’s second-oldest city.

surprising and unknown, some familiar—

examines the military fairy tale that fueled Burton’s enlistment in light of the

62

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

JOSHUA A. DOUGLAS

to investigate the historic crossroads that have irrevocably changed our elections and the nation.

C A R O LY N R E N E E D U P O N T

Distorting Democracy: The Forgotten History of the Electoral College—and Why It Matters Today A contributing opinion writer for The Huffington Post and The Washington Post, Carolyn Dupont is professor of history at Eastern Kentucky University, where she specializes in African American history and American religious history. By telling the story of the Electoral College’s origins, 237-year history, and surprising present-day operations, Distorting Democracy, her most recent book, shows how we ended up with this odd method for choosing our leader.

J O N AT H A N E I G

King: A Life Jonathan Eig is a former senior writer for The Wall Street Journal and a New York Times bestselling author of several books that have been listed among the best of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated and Slate. In this landmark biography, winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award, Eig gives us a Martin Luther King Jr. for our times: a deep thinker, a brilliant strategist and a committed radical who led one of history’s greatest movements and whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime.

R O DA F E R R A R O

The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers Roda Ferraro, director of the Keeneland Library, has more than 25 years of experience leading, assessing and promoting library, museum, research and educational services, including her work with National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

The first comprehensive chronicle of its kind, The Heart of the Turf showcases 125 select stories of the countless African Americans, from racetrack superstars to behind-the-scenes caretakers, who forged their way in Kentucky and beyond, making the racing industry what it is today.

TA M A F O R T N E R

Everyday Joys Devotional: 40 Days of Reflecting on the Intersection of Ordinary and Divine Tama Fortner is an ECPA award-winning and bestselling author with more than 60 titles to her credit, including collaborations with such well-known authors as Max Lucado, Levi Lusko, Sadie Robertson Huff and Emily Ley. Everyday Joys Devotional is an invitation to see and experience joy with 40 short, sometimes humorous, and always real and thoughtprovoking interactive devotions.

N NONFICTION

G E O R G E W. G E T S C H O W

Twice the recipient of the American

director for the Hindman Settlement

Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry

Women in Radio and Television Award,

School. In Troublesome Rising, a

Barbara Bradley Hagerty is a New York

powerful anthology, well-known and

Times bestselling author and

emerging Appalachian writers create

Former writer, editor and bureau chief

contributing writer for The Atlantic, and

not only a historical document and an

for The Wall Street Journal, George

she covered criminal justice and religion

in-depth investigation of the July 2022

Getschow is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for

for NPR for nearly 20 years. Her third

flash flood in Eastern Kentucky, but also

National Reporting and director of the

book, Bringing Ben Home, tells the story

a celebration of Appalachian strength,

Archer City Writers Workshop. Pastures

of Ben Spencer, a Black man wrongly

determination and resilience.

of the Empty Page brings together

convicted and sentenced to life before

fellow writers to honor Larry McMurtry

being freed after 34 years. It is a case

BLAIR THOMAS HESS +

and his impact on American letters.

that reveals how easy it is to convict an

CA M E R O N M . L U D W I C K

innocent person and how difficult it is to DA N I E L G I F F O R D

undo the mistake.

Benefactors of Posterity: The Founding Era of the Filson Historical Society, 1884–1899

Kentucky, Y’all: A Celebration of the People and Culture of the Bluegrass State

TO M H A M M O N D

Friends for more than 20 years,

+ M A R K S TO R Y

Cameron M. Ludwick and Blair Thomas

With a career spanning both

Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams:

Hess have written four Kentucky travel

academia and public history, including

A Sportscaster’s Life

books for destinations across the state

several years with the Smithsonian

American sportscaster Tom Hammond

as well as reliable sources of history,

Institution, Daniel Gifford is a public

retired after a renowned rise to the top,

culture, arts, events, food, entertainment

historian who focuses on American

including a 34-year career with NBC

and living. Their latest book, Kentucky,

popular and visual culture, as well as

Sports. Mark Story has been a sports

Y’all, is an entertaining and informative

museums in American culture. His most

reporter with the Lexington Herald-

compilation of the state’s favorite

recent book, Benefactors of Posterity,

Leader for more than three decades. In

oddities, quirks and traditions told

explores the Filson Historical Society’s

Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams,

through stories from their experiences

founding era and Louisville in the

Hammond—with co-writer Story—offers

as writers, travelers and residents in this

Gilded Age.

an intimate and gripping look at his

ode to the Commonwealth.

experiences of broadcasting from 13 JAC K G I V E N S + D O U G B R U N K

Olympic Games and 16 Kentucky

AVA LY N H U N T E R

They Call Me Goose: My Life in Kentucky Basketball and Beyond

Derbys to providing the play-by-play commentary for Notre Dame football

The Kentucky Oaks: 150 Years of Running for the Lilies

and announcing SEC men’s basketball.

Avalyn Hunter is a nationally recognized authority on Thoroughbred

Formerly an American collegiate and professional basketball player,

N I C H O L A S DA N I E L H A R T L E P

pedigrees and racing history whose

broadcaster and real estate developer,

work has appeared in BloodHorse,

the vice president of business

Belonging in Higher Education: Perspectives and Lessons from Diverse Faculty

development and external affairs at the

Dr. Nicholas D. Hartlep holds the Robert

The Kentucky Oaks: 150 Years of

Bowlin Group and as a radio color

Charles Billings Endowed Chair in

Running for the Lilies, Hunter traces the

analyst for the University of Kentucky

Education at Berea College, where he

evolution of the Kentucky Oaks through

Sports Network. Doug Brunk is an

chairs the Education Studies

the stories of the men, women and

award-winning journalist who has

Department. With chapters contributed

fillies who have made the race a

written hundreds of articles for trade

by a diversity of higher education staff

symbol for women’s growing

and consumer publications. They Call

and faculty, Belonging in Higher

participation in the sport.

Me Goose presents fans with the

Education illuminates auto-

powerful story of a husband, father,

ethnographic stories of belonging in

E R I C R . JAC K S O N

mentor, businessman and ambassador

higher education in the United States.

Introduction to Black Studies

Jack “Goose” Givens currently serves as

for Kentucky—who also happens to be an iconic sports legend.

Thoroughbred Times, MarketWatch, New York Breeder and Louisiana Horse. In

Recipient of the Thomas D. Clark M E L I S S A H E LT O N

Medallion Award, Dr. Eric R. Jackson is a

Troublesome Rising

professor of history and associate dean

BA R BA R A B R A D L E Y H AG E R T Y

Previously a tenured associate professor

in the College of Arts and Sciences at

Bringing Ben Home: A Murder, a Conviction, and the Fight to Redeem American Justice

of English at Southeast Kentucky

Northern Kentucky University, with 30

Community and Technical College,

years of university experience and more

Melissa Helton, serves as the literary arts

than 50 publications. In An Introduction

64

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

N NONFICTION

Funding Kentucky Arts

Rewarding Excellence

www.jamesbakerhallfoundation.org

Inspiring Ambition

N NONFICTION

to Black Studies, he connects the

chairman of the board of directors of

Book Promo, helps his fellow authors

growth and impact of Black studies to

Humana. Retired Louisville Times and

find readers without spending money

social justice movements, emphasizing

Courier-Journal columnist Bob Hill

based on lessons learned during his

the historical and contemporary

collaborated with Jones to write Always

30-year broadcasting career and a

demand for the discipline.

Moving Forward, an inspiring and

three-year campaign for his novel,

insightful autobiography of the health-

Fiona’s Guardians.

EUGENIA JOHNSON-SMITH

care business titan and philanthropist.

Positive Power: 31 Devotionals to Unleash Your Positive Power

STEVEN L. JONES

BROOKS LAMB

Black Writers Collaborative and an

Murder Ballads Old and New: A Dark and Bloody Record

Love for the Land: Lessons From Farmers Who Persist in Place

active member of St. Matthew African

Kentucky-born son of a choir director

Brooks Lamb, the land protection and

Methodist Episcopal Church, Eugenia

and violinist, Steven L. Jones is an artist,

access specialist at American Farmland

Johnson-Smith teaches writing classes

writer, musician and former instructor at

Trust, is a conservationist, agrarian,

and serves on the board of the

Virginia Commonwealth University and

teacher and author. His latest book,

Carnegie Center for Literacy and

the School of the Art Institute of

Love for the Land, draws on in-depth

Learning. She wrote the foreword and

Chicago. His first book, Murder Ballads

interviews and the writings of Wendell

several stories for The Midway Museum

Old and New, is a graveyard stroll that’s

Berry to explore why some small and

Midway African Heritage Series Book No.

equal parts musicological,

midsized farmers continue to care for

2 published in June 2023. Positive Power

psychosocial and genealogical,

their land. Lamb calls upon everyone to

is a collection of empowering stories

excavating facts and exploring stories

learn from these farmers and cultivate

and poems for anyone who needs

that reveal larger contexts, while

a better future for food and farming.

encouragement or inspiration along

mapping the lineages of songs and

their spiritual journey.

themes, forebears and ancestors.

E D WA R D L E E

D AV I D A . J O N E S + B O B H I L L

D A N K L E F S TA D

Always Moving Forward: A Memoir of Friends, Family and Building Humana

DIY Book Promo: How to Find Readers Without Spending Money

Bourbon Land: A Spirited Love Letter to My Old Kentucky Whiskey

Born and raised in Louisville, David A.

Dan Klefstad is a longtime radio host

Lee is chef and owner of 610 Magnolia

Jones was co-founder, CEO and

and newscaster. His latest book, DIY

in Louisville and culinary director of

A passionate member of the Kentucky

Author of Bourbon Land, Smoke & Pickles and Buttermilk Graffiti, Edward

When you’re ready to make a difference, we’re ready to help We are proud to support Kentucky Humanities Council.

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K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

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Succotash in National Harbor, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. In Bourbon Land, Lee pays tribute to the iconic Kentucky spirit with a book full of original recipes, Kentucky bourbon history, industry profiles and more.

A N YA L I F T I G

Holler Rat: A Memoir Anya Liftig is a writer and performance artist whose essays have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and whose artworks have been exhibited at Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Queens Museum, Movement Research, Performer Stammtisch Berlin, Performance Space London, and many other venues around the world. In Holler Rat, Liftig skillfully interweaves family lore from her childhood with descriptions of her performance art pieces and scenes of the yearlong period in which her life fell apart, then plumbs the cathartic self-reckoning that followed.

R O N N I L U N DY

Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes Former restaurant reviewer and music critic for the CourierJournal and former editor of Louisville Magazine, Ronni Lundy has long chronicled the people of the hillbilly diaspora as a journalist and cookbook author and has been recognized for her work with the Southern Foodways Alliance Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award. Winner of the James Beard Foundation Book of the Year Award and Best Book, American Cooking, Victuals is an exploration of the foodways, people and places of Appalachia.

J E F F R E Y J . M AT T H E W S

Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks: Dishonorable Leadership in the U.S. Military Author of five books, Dr. Jeffrey Matthews is the George F. Jewett Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. His most recent book, Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks, analyzes the bases and motives leading to American military missteps of the past 100 years and explores what could be done to curtail future misconduct of generals and admirals.

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“We can say we’re going to put students first, but by stepping forward in this way, we do put students first,” UK President Capiluoto said. “We believe in them, their future and what it can mean for Kentucky.”

A.L. McCLANAN

Griffinology: The Griffin’s Place in History, Myth and Art An art history professor at Portland State University with family from and caregiving responsibilities still in Floyd County, Kentucky, A.L. McClanan studies the representation of

many depictions in human culture.

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N NONFICTION

awards, including the Annie Dillard Prize,

Legend Pete Browning

Awarded the Bluegrass Trust for Historic

the New Southerner Literary Prize, the

Tim Newby was awarded a Certificate

Preservation’s Clay Lancaster Heritage

Orison Anthology Award, a grant from

of Merit from the Association for

Education Award, a Governor’s Award

the National Endowment for the Arts,

Recorded Sound Collections for Best

for Innovative Programming, and an Art

and multiple notable mentions in Best

Research in Recorded Country Music,

Meets Activism grant from the Kentucky

American Essays. At turns lyrical,

and his book, Bluegrass in Baltimore,

Foundation for Women, Carol Peachee

poignant and alluring, I Could Name

was named one of the 30 best books

is a fine art photographer and

God in Twelve Ways probes her personal

about bluegrass music by About Great

psychotherapist whose photographic

history from the stance of different

Books. The Original Louisville Slugger

work explores cultural and natural

places and perspectives, as she

addresses the myths surrounding the

heritage. Shaker Made is a love letter to

searches for acceptance and a place

larger-than-life figure Louis “Pete” Rogers

the cultural artifacts—the architecture,

to call home.

Browning. It uncovers the thin line

furniture and crafts—of one of America’s

between fact and fiction, and presents

most notable utopian societies.

KEVEN McQUEEN

Historic Louisville Murders

an extensive account of the man and legendary ball player.

A senior lecturer in English composition

B R O T H E R PA U L Q U E N O N

A Matter of the Heart: A Monk’s Journal, 1970–2022

at Eastern Kentucky University, Keven

DA N I CA N OVG O R O D O F F

McQueen has written 23 books on

One of Thomas Merton’s former novices,

supernatural, biography, historical true

The Simple Art of Rice: Recipes from Around the World for the Heart of Your Table

crime, and what he calls real-life

Writer, artist and New York Times

theology at Catholic Theological Union

surrealism. Historic Louisville Murders

bestselling illustrator, Danica

in Chicago, and taught and lived at a

covers 24 homicides that rocked

Novgorodoff has been a fellow at the

monastery in Nigeria. After five decades

Louisville from the 1840s to the 1920s.

MacDowell Colony, Blue Mountain

of life at the Abbey of Gethsemani in

Center, VCCA, Willapa Bay and Brush

Kentucky and 10 published books of

Creek, and was awarded the Yoto Kate

poetry, Quenon has penned A Matter of

topics such as American history, the

J A M E S W A LT E R M O O R E

Exile on K Street

Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO, entered the Abbey of Gethsemani at 17, studied

Greenaway Medal, the United

the Heart, which mingles reflections,

A 13-year aerospace engineer for the

Kingdom’s most prestigious award for

meditations, insights and wanderings. It

McDonnell Douglas Missile Systems

children’s book illustration. With

includes outward experiences in nature

Company, James Walter Moore started

Novgorodoff, award-winning author

and community, as well as sketches of

his own IT consulting firm and was a

Chef JJ Johnson takes readers on an

monks—saintly, comical or strange—

candidate for the United States

informative and exciting culinary

and poetic moments, for a multi-colored,

Congress. His intriguing life experience

adventure through The Simple Art of

diverse and surprising display of what it

and subsequent involvement in politics

Rice that will help anyone master the

is like to live “an enclosed life.”

form the basis of his first book, Exile on

art of cooking rice.

DERRICK RAMSEY

K Street.

E L A I N E F O W L E R PA L E N C I A

+ JOHN HUANG

Geneva’s Garden: Four Seasons of Beauty in Lexington’s Gratz Park

On Rising Ground: The Life and CIvil War Letters of John M. Douthit, 52nd Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

They Call Me Mr. Secretary: Through the Lens of a Winner

Kevin Nance is a writer, photographer

An award-winning writer and freelance

history of the University of Kentucky

and arts journalist who has exhibited in

editor, Elaine Fowler Palencia grew up

football program, who went on to great

solo and group shows in Chicago,

in Kentucky and Tennessee and has

success in the National Football League,

Portland, Danville and Lexington. His

authored six books of fiction, four poetry

entrepreneurial real estate endeavors,

hardcover coffee-table book, Geneva’s

chapbooks, and numerous essays and

state government and academia. Dr.

Garden, is a collection of his

book reviews. On Rising Ground

John Huang is a retired orthodontist and

photographs shot over the course of a

provides a richly researched account

military veteran, who currently serves as

year in the private garden of Elvis and

of a Confederate foot soldier drawn

a sports columnist for Nolan Group

Geneva Donaldson.

from the 30 surviving letters he wrote to

Media and a freelance reporter for

his wife, Martha.

several other regional publications. A

KEVIN NANCE

68

American starting quarterback in the

story of encouragement and

TIM NEWBY

The Original Louisville Slugger: The Life and Times of Forgotten Baseball

Derrick Ramsey was the first African

CA R O L P E AC H E E

inspirational leadership, They Call Me Mr.

Shaker Made: Inside Pleasant Hill’s Shaker Village

Secretary follows Ramsey’s journey from

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

an impressionable childhood spent in

segregated Hastings, Florida, up through his current role as elder statesman of both the NFL and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

JON REYNOLDS

Illuminating Nature: Chasing Light Across the Landscape An award-winning photographer based in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area, Jon Reynolds has been a full-time adult educator with Gateway Community and Technical College for more than 25 years. His first book, Illuminating Nature, combines mesmerizing photographs with reflections on the peace we find in nature, the importance of planning and equal power of serendipity, and tips for getting that photo.

B O B B I DAW N R I G H T M Y E R

James Harrod: Founder of Harrodsburg, Kentucky A lifelong native of Harrodsburg, Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer writes books of narrative historical nonfiction and historical articles for the Harrodsburg Herald, Kentucky Monthly, the Advocate-Messenger and Kentucky Humanities. Her latest book, James Harrod, details the beginning of the historic city of Harrodsburg and life of the pioneer, soldier and visionary who founded the first permanent English settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains.

AL ROKER

Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By: Easy, MemoryMaking Family Dishes for Every Occasion America’s weatherman, Al Roker, with a career spanning more than 40 years on TV and 14 Emmy Awards, is the current weather anchor on NBC’s Today and a prolific

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author, with 13 books to his credit—from cookbooks to true-life historical narratives. Written with his daughter, Courtney Roker Laga, a recipe developer and trained chef who has worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants, Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By celebrates the joy of cooking for family, friends and loved ones, of gathering people together and not just for the big events but for everyday occasions, which are even more important.

D E I R D R E A . S CAG G S

Simplicity and Excellence: Elizabeth Kremer from Beaten Biscuits to Shaker Lemon Pie Deirdre A. Scaggs is associate dean of the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center. A gastronomic history like no other, Simplicity and Excellence effortlessly paints a portrait of Elizabeth Cromwell Kremer, one of the most influential forces behind the preservation of Kentucky’s culture through its cuisine.

KCTCS is an equal opportunity employer and education institution.

k y b o o k f e s t i v a l . o r g 69

N NONFICTION

J E A N I N E S C OT T

winning author of 40 books on

The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75

+ B E R K E L E Y S C OT T

spirituality, mysticism and religion. With

Objects, she sets out to recover the

Kentucky’s Lost Bourbon Distilleries

history and anecdotes centering

accurate history of America’s longest

around books such as Thoreau’s

continuously held sporting event and

Journalists and historians with a keen

Journal, Tagore’s Gitanjali, Martin

establish a balance between well-known

interest in Kentucky’s bourbon legacy,

Buber’s Hasidic Tales, and Tolstoy’s

narratives and those that are less widely

husband-and-wife team Jeanine and

Twenty-Three Tales, he demonstrates

shared with a personal tour of 75

Berkeley Scott have authored seven

how and why there is magic and

objects from the museum.

books in the Images of America series.

enchantment that takes place between

Their latest contribution, Kentucky’s Lost

people and books.

C R Y S TA L W I L K I N S O N

the rich history of the Commonwealth’s

J E R R Y T I P TO N

world-renowned bourbon industry and because of Prohibition or decades

Déjà Blue: A Sportswriter Reflects on 41 Seasons of Kentucky Basketball

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts

afterward with only old photographs

After a Hall of Fame career that

an Academy of American Poets

left to tell this story of dedicated

spanned nearly 50 years, veteran

Fellowship, a USA Artists Fellowship and

craftsmanship.

sportswriter Jerry Tipton is best known for

an Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary

Bourbon Distilleries, recounts a part of

the hundreds of distilleries that closed

Recipient of a Writing Freedom fellowship, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Poetry, an O. Henry Prize,

his no-nonsense coverage of University

Excellence, Crystal Wilkinson was Poet

M AT T H E W S PA R K S

of Kentucky men's basketball,

Laureate of Kentucky from 2021 to 2023

+ OLIVIA SIZEMORE

challenging questions, catchy leads,

and currently teaches creative writing

Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers

and legendary exchanges with Coach

at the University of Kentucky, where she

John Calipari. In Déjà Blue, he shares a

is a Bush-Holbrook Endowed Professor

A native of Southeastern Kentucky,

behind-the-scenes look at his career in

and Director of the Divsion of Creative

Matthew R. Sparksis a published writer

sportswriting, from his early years at the

Writing. Her latest book, Praisesong for

and researcher on minority ethnic and

Huntington Herald-Dispatch (W.Va.)

the Kitchen Ghosts, is a lyrical culinary

religious communities in the Middle East.

through over four decades covering the

journey that explores the hidden legacy

Olivia Sizemore, who was born and raised

highs and lows,of the Wildcats for the

of Black Appalachians. Through

in Leslie County, Kentucky, holds a BA in

Lexington Herald-Leader, including three

powerful storytelling along with nearly

studio art from Berea College. Comprised

national championships, nine Final

40 comforting recipes, the book was

of a mixture of claimed accounts and

Fours and six head coaches.

named a Most Anticipated Book or Best Book in 2024 So Far by Ms. Magazine,

fabricated lore, Haint Country is a collection of weird, otherworldly and

STEPHEN M. VEST

Book Riot, Parade, Electric Lit, The Root,

supernatural phenomenon in Eastern

Atlanta Journal Constitution and others.

Kentucky, recorded and documented for

George Graham Vest: The Life and Times of Dog’s Best Friend

the first time.

Author, teacher and frequent speaker

K AT H R Y N W I T T

Stephen M. Vest is the editor and R A I N E S F O R D S TA U F F E R

publisher of Kentucky Monthly, a

All the Gold Stars

Governor Award in the Arts (Media)

Perfect Day Kentucky: Day Trips, Weekend Getaways, and Other Escapes

Rainesford Stauffer, a Kentucky

honoree. His most recent book, George

A member of the Society of American

freelance writer and reporter, has

Graham Vest: The Life and Times of

Travel Writers and the Authors Guild,

contributed reports and essays to Time,

Dog’s Best Friend, provides a detailed

Kathryn Witt is an award-winning author

The Guardian, Esquire, Teen Vogue, The

look at George Graham Vest, a

and travel writer who has written about

New York Times and other publications.

distinguished attorney and politician

Kentucky for many years, including for

Her latest book, All the Gold Stars, is an

known as a champion for the rights of

Kentucky Living magazine and the

examination, dismantling and

Native Americans, who helped establish

official Kentucky Visitors Guide. Her

reconstruction of ambition, where

Yellowstone National Park.

latest book, Perfect Day Kentucky,

burnout is the symptom of our holiest

shares insights and insider tips to help

sin: the lonely way we strive.

J E S S I CA W H I T E H E A D

visitors make the most of the quintessential experiences, while

JON M. SWEENEY

The History of the Kentucky Derby in 75 Objects An independent writer and artist, Jessica

further inspire exploration and

K. Whitehead is curator of collections at

encourage longer stays.

My Life in Seventeen Books: A Literary Memoir Former bookseller and longtime

the Kentucky Derby Museum, where she

publisher Jon M. Sweeney is an award-

has worked for more than a decade. In

70

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

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A section for Kentuckians everywhere … inside Kentucky Monthly.

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

K ENTUCKY XPLORER E All About Kentucky

Volume 39, Number 8 – October 2024

1906 Mayfield Mayfield is in the center of the Jackson Purchase, an eight-county region in far Western Kentucky. Isaac Shelby and Andrew Jackson purchased the area from the Chickasaw people in 1818. Mayfield was established as the county seat of Graves County in 1821.

Your Letters -- page 78 Quilting: A Family Tradition -- page 83 Why the Moon Shines -- page 84

“I Remember” By Our Readers

and More!

Featuring Things Old & New About Kentucky

78

THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

Kentucky Explorer a magazine published for Kentuckians everywhere Charles Hayes Jr. • Founder Stephen M. Vest • Publisher Deborah Kohl Kremer • Editor Rebecca Redding • Typographist One-Year Subscription to Kentucky Monthly: $25

Letters to the Editor

Do You Recall Ludlow Railyard?

Efforts to preserve The Storehouse at Ludlow Railyard in Kenton County are currently under way, with future plans to make it the home of The Ludlow Heritage Museum.

This unique 1890s building will showcase the rail history of the Cincinnati to Chattanooga line. We invite anyone with memories, memorabilia or photos to contact:

FOUNDED 1986, VOLUME 39, NO. 8 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.

Who Remembers Flour Sack Dresses?

In the 1930s and ’40s, sacks containing flour and grain were made of cloth, primarily cotton fabric.

Manufacturers realized that families were reusing their cloth bags to sew dresses for women and girls.

To draw attention to their brand, they began to print them with floral and other colorful motifs.

They also made sure that the ink used for the logos faded after a simple wash.

Some bags even had patterns already drawn on the fabric, ready to be cut and sewn.

The Ludlow Heritage Museum 49 Elm Street, Ludlow, KY 41016 859.609.1808 ludlowheritagemuseum@gmail.com.

Supporters and interested parties are invited to attend The Ludlow Railyard Heritage Festival on Oct. 5, when The Storehouse will be open for viewing.

Carol Kirkwood, Hebron In memory of Donna Jean Hayes, 1948-2019 Carroll County, formed in 1838, was named for Charles Carroll …

October 2024 79

Recognize Anyone?

I own West Kentucky Genealogy and have thousands of old Kentucky photos and documents. I’ve raided every auction, flea market, antique shop and eBay shop, grabbing all of the Western Kentucky items I can find. I then get online and try to track down families and get the memorabilia back home, where it belongs.

I’ve been donating many of the old court books I have to the Pogue Library in Murray State University and some books to various historical societies.

Generally, I know nothing about the photos and items I find. If I see they’re identified or in a family estate, that’s usually the extent of what I know about them. There are those that I find that have local photographers’ stamps on them but no other identification. I grab them all, then post them in various locations in hopes that someone can identify them.

My sole focus is just getting them back into the family they came from. All I ever ask is my money back, if I paid $10. The only time I ask for a higher amount is if I have to ship the items. I’m not wealthy, just determined.

Don A. Howell West Kentucky Genealogy Research Books & Materials Westkygenealogy@yahoo.com Here are a few items from Don’s collection. Others can be seen on the Facebook page Items of Interest from Calloway, Graves, and Marshall County Kentucky.

A sampling of Don’s collection.

A Western Kentucky family.

From a Fulton photographer.

Almo School, 1909.

From the Bradford family album.

From the Bradford album.

On photo: “Ethel Dowell.”

… who was the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence.

4 THE 80 THEKENTUCKY KENTUCKYEXPLORER EXPLORER Send memories to Deborah Kohl Kremer at deb@kentuckymonthly.com or mail to Kentucky Monthly, Attn: Deb Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602.

“I Remember” Send your memory in today!

Going to School

By Carol Ingle, Scott County When I was growing up in Wayne County in the 1950s, the majority of my friends were cousins. I had a friend my age who I met on the school bus. We were in the same room in the first and second grade. Her family had more money than we did, so our friendship was limited to the bus and school. We did not live in the city, and the kids who lived in the city kind of ruled the school.

I got three brand new dresses and a new pair of shoes when I started school. They were ordered from a Sears and Roebuck catalog. We ordered them big. My granny could sew and used a treadle sewing machine. I still have that machine. My granny fixed the dresses to fit better. As I’d grow during the year, she would let them out and alter them to fit me. My shoes were a little big, but socks helped them fit better. During the year, I’d grow into them.

As soon as I got home, I hung up my dress and put my shoes away before I put on my play clothes. Granny inspeced the dress to make sure it was still clean. If it wasn’t, she washed it by hand and hung it up. I had only three dresses, and there were five days of school. My

By Our Readers

granny told me to put the dress at the back of the hook so I would know that I’d already worn it that week.

We were dirt poor, but we were clean. I took a wash pan bath before bedtime. On the weekends, I got a big tub bath. The tub used to wash clothes was my bathtub, too.

My hair was washed on weekends and was kept short in a pixie cut. I had a family member who could cut hair.

She wasn’t a beautician. My granny had her hair permed by this friend. I hated smelling those home perms.

I loved school, but the stuck-up kids let you know they were better than you. I learned to try to ignore them, but I got called names and made fun of. Some of the girls figured out that I had only three dresses and pointed it out to me. I was always chubby, so I was called “fatty, fatty, two by four; can’t get through the kitchen door.” Or “Carol, Carol, big as a barrel.” I’d come home and tell Mom or Granny.

They told me to ignore them, but if they touched me, to fight back. I did hit a girl one time, and that’s because she spit on me. I slapped her cross-eyed and got a whipping with the teacher’s paddle. I didn’t care; nobody was going to spit on me. The teacher didn’t do anything to the girl who spit on me. It did stop the teasing/bulling. I got a reputation as a redneck, and that suited me just fine.

Do you enjoy reading “I Remember”? Our readers tell us it is their favorite part of Kentucky Explorer! Please share your memories of how things were, or what it was like when you were growing up. Just be sure to include the Kentucky town or county and decade when it took place.

You can email it to deb@kentuckymonthly.com or write to me and mail it to Kentucky Monthly, Attn: Deb Kremer, P.O. Box 559, Frankfort, KY 40602. Be sure to include a phone number so I can call you if I have questions. Thanks! DKK.

Miss Effie Foster, Milliner

Moore Cooksey, were always late for church because they were dressed in the latest

By Eloise C. Layman, Mankato, Minnesota fashions. I loved going with my mom, Reba When I was growing up, ladies wore hats.

Cooksey, to the milliner, because Miss Effie It was important to get a new hat for Easter, was entertaining, and it was interesting to see fall and winter. Milliner Miss Effie Foster, the artist at work. whose shop was on Main Street in Springfield Hat boxes were stacked from floor to (Washington County) said that every hat was ceiling in my closet at home. I haven’t seen a individually suited to her client. She had an hat box in years. Hats were important in the A popular hat style array of feathers, flowers, ribbons and fancy 1940s and ’50s because most women only went from the 1940s. trims. to the beauty parlor for a permanent. They did While decorating a hat, she entertained us with their own hair with pin curls and bobby pins. interesting stories about our family. She told how my Miss Effie made sure that all her clients’ hats were grandmother, Annie Moore Cooksey, and her sister, Berti flattering.

Lake Cumberland is a reservoir in the Kentucky counties of Clinton, Pulaski, Russell, Wayne and Laurel.

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Sweet Taste of Fall

By Cathy Bunch, Williamsburg When I was growing up in the 1950s and ’60s in Whitley County, Mom and Dad helped Papaw make molasses in the fall. I remember getting to stay up late because they were still running off a batch of molasses and couldn’t just stop when it got dark. We watched the mule going round and round, turning the cane mill, as it

squeezed the juice out of the cane. Then, they poured the juice into the long pans set over a fire, where they boiled the juice down to make the molasses. They cut off pieces of the cane for us to suck out the sweet juice. I can still remember the smell of fresh molasses being poured into canning jars. If it boiled too long, it made what they called “tough jack,” which was not a good thing, so they had to keep close watch on it, stirring it occasionally with big wooden paddles.

Belmont School Days

folded to take home and use again.

By Markley M. Freer, Our bathroom was an Owensboro outdoor privy, away from the I started school in 1941 at school near a fence. We had Belmont near the Ralph no toilet paper; therefore, you Community in Ohio County. used some scrap Big Chief This one-room school tablet paper after wadding and originated around 1850. crumpling it up to make it The wooden school building softer. Some kids wiped was located about a mile down themselves with the poke the country road from our leaves that grew near the home. The school had some toilet’s door. boards missing and a few We began the day with windowpanes broken out. It Bible readings, saying the Belmont School in Ohio County, 1941-1942. was heated by a pot-bellied Pledge to the Flag, and singing stove in the center of the room. In the wintertime, the “My Country ’Tis of Thee” from The Golden Book of Favorite teacher came early to start the fire for the day. In extremely Songs. It was not unusual for boys to carry Barlow knives to cold weather, children wore long cotton underwear and school in their pockets. A few would have a rifle to use for old socks or rags on top of their shoes. In the summertime, killing squirrels and rabbits as they walked home from most of the boys went barefoot. Most boys wore bib school. This was a common food for supper. A dog might overalls, and girls wore dresses to school. The classroom come to school and sleep underneath a tree to wait for the was sparsely equipped, with a blackboard, chalk, erasers, a kids to go home. world map, a small globe, an American flag, a Bible, a Teachers usually were local people from the community dictionary and a set of encyclopedias. and rode horses to the school, tying them to a tree while he The recitation bench was much like a church pew. It or she taught. Teachers were invited to eat supper in a was in the front, near the teacher’s desk. The teacher called child’s home at least once during the school year. each group to recite, read and spell their lessons.

School plays were simple but educational. The teacher My little yellow primer was Ben and Alice by the would put up a strong string and hang sheets for stage American Book Company; I was thrilled to receive a copy curtains. That was my first experience in drama and later from a longtime girlfriend and classmate. performance. Who would have thought a little girl in a At the back of our school was a blue-and-white stone pink crepe paper dress (made by her teacher) could one crock with a spigot for drinking water that came from the day perform with a chorus in Carnegie Hall! well located a few feet away. Water was drawn with a Aside from plays, another popular social event held at rope tied to a metal bucket. At recess, someone removed school were pie suppers. Folks brought lanterns for lights, the rope to use for a jump rope. Germs were never as there was no electricity until 1946. Many of our mentioned. neighbors didn’t own cars, so they walked or rode horses Games at recess included playing marbles, pitching to the pie supper. horseshoes or washers, and playing “Ring Around the My father decided to have his children leave the oneRosie” and “London Bridge Is Falling Down.” room school one year before it closed its doors forever. We All kids took their lunch in lunch boxes, sorghum last three siblings went to the larger Fordsville School, molasses buckets, or brown paper bags that would be about 8 miles away, until we graduated high school.

The Ohio River flows 664 miles along the northern and western borders of Kentucky.

6 THE 82 THEKENTUCKY KENTUCKYEXPLORER EXPLORER

The Ohio River Highway

By Nancy Daily Duncan As told to her daughter, Gaye Holman, of Lexington The area known as “Patton’s Creek” once was a lively rural community in Northern Kentucky. Defined by the creek that flowed into the Ohio River halfway between Westport and Milton, the neighborhood stretched across the creek to both shores of Trimble and Oldham counties.

My mother, Nancy Daily Duncan (1909-2007), wrote of her memories of the boats that carried goods to the Patton’s Creek country store owned by her parents, Bert and Stella Daily.

When I was a little girl, there were few good roads, so most goods were shipped by boat or train. If you were not near a railroad, you traveled on the river by boat. There were places known as “landings” on both the Kentucky and Indiana shores, where boats stopped to pick up or let off passengers or freight.

Our landing was known as Jobson Landing. It had a “government light,” and the people who lived there were responsible for keeping it lighted as a beacon to the boats.

My dad stored his merchandise in a warehouse until he hired someone to pick it up by “jolt wagon” (a big wagon drawn by two horses). There was a phone there connected by wire to our house. We called it the River Phone.

The thrill of my life was to go with my dad, or sometimes all the family, to Louisville. We got up by daylight (I couldn’t sleep the night before), dressed and drove the 2 miles to Jobson Landing to catch the boat. We stood on the bank, and the waves lapped at the shore as we watched for the boat to come around the bend in the river.

(Sometimes we skipped rocks as we waited.) As the boat neared the landing, it blew one blast. Then, we started waving a cloth in the air (known as “hailing the boat”), after which the boat blew two short whistles, signaling that it was stopping for us. They lowered a stage plank for us to walk from shore to the boat. If there was any freight, the deckhands carried it off.

On the lower deck, there was all kinds of produce— chickens, pigs, cows, fruit, etc. At one landing in Indiana, they sent bushel baskets of fruit from the top of a hill on wire chutes. The deckhands always stayed on the lower deck, and when the boat was not landing, they shot dice, sang and sometimes fought with one another.

On bigger boats, the passenger decks were luxurious, with berths for overnight passengers that had red plush and brass furnishings. There was a dining space with white tablecloths and waiters in white coats. One time, I saw one of the boat officers get angry at a Black waiter for a small mistake. He picked up a chair and started beating him

Sternwheeler Georgia Lee in Louisville around 1905.

viciously on the head. The poor fellow just stood there, whimpering and taking it. Someone finally grabbed the officer, or I believe he would have killed the man. There was violence of a different kind in those days.

In the summer, we sat on the outside deck, and there was a lot to see as people got off and on and freight was loaded. One time, as they were loading hogs, some of them got away—some jumping into the river, others running into a nearby woods. We had to wait until they were rounded up.

On the bigger steamboats, it was about a three- or fourhour ride to Louisville. We got in before noon and left for home at about four o’clock. Sometimes, we went on a smaller boat run by a gasoline engine. It was called The Hanover. Its captain was a red-haired, fearless man. Once, some men or boys became rowdy, and he stopped the boat and made them get off. The next time he stopped at their landing, they appeared out of the woods (river people were supposed to be tough characters) and dared him to come ashore. He immediately started striding down the stage plank with his head up and back straight. Before he had gone far, they hit him with a barrage of rocks. He was badly injured but recovered and lived to be a old man.

On this boat, some of the freight was on the same deck as the passengers. One time, they had bags of wheat grain stacked outside the cabin. My mother was inside talking to someone and had her hand out the window, rubbing and squeezing on what she thoughtlessly thought a the bag of grain. She felt it moving and looked out and found she was playing with some man’s bald head!

Another time, when the whole family had been to Louisville, it was dark when we got off. We started to get in the buggy to go the rest of the way home, when Dad asked, “Where is your mother?” We panicked and feared she may have fallen into the river. Looking up the river, we saw the lighted boat that had started around the bend suddenly began turning around. Mom had been busy talking and had forgotten to get off! The boat brought her back, but I imagine she was sorry they did from the way we kidded her.

In 1802, founding father of abdominal surgery Ephraim McDowell …

October 2024 83

Quilting: A Family Tradition

By Bobbie Smith Bryant, Jefferson County

A

s I’ve studied my ancestral past as an eighthgeneration farm kid from Western Kentucky, I’ve come to understand a great deal more about the culture and traditions of my family. Surprisingly, quilts have a way of telling our collective stories.

In early America, the Album or Friendship pattern was a popular quilt style. It often was given to couples as a wedding gift. It gained popularity when wagonloads of pioneers migrated westward to Oregon and California in search of gold and a new life.

During the post-Depression years, quilters were drawn to the style once more, particularly in Western Kentucky, with the building of Kentucky Dam. During the 1940s, the federal government relocated more than 2,600 families and took over 400,000 acres for what we know today as the Land Between the Lakes.

For women of that era, quilting provided a way to express themselves. For those who had no choice but to move away from family and friends—and others whose voices were neither heard, nor heeded—quilting provided an outlet, both physically and emotionally.

For some, the act of quilting may have provided solace.

From the focus of selecting a pattern and choosing multiple pieces of material in different colors, to placing them into pleasing patterns and cutting them into sharp angles or perfect circles, quilting was a diversion from the upsetting changes occurring all around.

For others, the rhythmic and repetitive stitching provided a comforting routine. Perhaps for some quilters, having their hands busy with a creative outlet may have helped them cope with the loss they felt and to deal with their new surroundings.

My family, like most in rural 20th century Kentucky, made a living off the land. The women not only worked in the field,

Above, Dovie Sutherland Brewer; right, Jim and Dovie Brewer with their children, circa 1900.

but also grew huge gardens, did all the housework, and— in their free time— quilted and sewed.

My brother and I are fortunate to have the results of their handiwork— fabulous, colorful quilts that have been passed down through generations.

The quilt in the above photo is the oldest in our family collection. It was made by Dovie (Sutherland) Brewer (1871-1946) around 1900. Dovie was my great-greatgrandmother. We have wonderful photos of her, and the stories that have been passed along over the years bring her to life, even though we never knew her.

The eldest of three children, her dad, Jesse Sutherland, fought for the Confederate Army in Hardeman’s 31st Cavalry Battalion during the Civil War. When he was injured, her mother, Martha Ann, drove a covered wagon to Texas and brought him back to Kentucky. He died soon after from his wounds.

Dovie had the same determined grit and spirit as her mother. At an early age, Dovie married James I. Brewer, and they started a family right away. Dovie was dedicated to her family, raising six sons and a daughter in Graves County.

As each of her sons married, Dovie insisted that the couple come to live in her home for a while, so she could teach the new wives to card, spin and weave. She felt it important that they know how to make their own wool, then create a blanket and three quilts before leaving the Brewer home to start life on their own.

When I think about the amount of time Dovie had to spend taking care of children and the house—plus helping her husband on the farm—I am in awe of her capabilities and time management skills. I’m also impressed with her creativity, shown in the layout and design of this fourpatch-pattern quilt made from worn-out shirts, dresses, bibbed overalls and feed sacks.

Quilting is a legacy in which Kentuckians can take pride. Quilts have a way of telling our stories. It is an honor to reflect upon a craft that has been passed along from one generation to the next throughout our shared Kentucky and American history, connecting our past to the present.

This article is excerpted from a longer piece published in the Murray Ledger & Times, May 21, 2020.

… married Sarah Shelby, the daughter of Kentucky’s first governor, Issac Shelby.

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THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

Why the Moon Shines

By David Wheeler, Mount Dora, Florida

E

very morning, speeding cars on Lawrence County’s Ky. 32, the old Skaggs Post Office Road, whooshed between the towns of Martha and Blaine. They came within 10 yards of August L. Sparks’ front porch. That didn’t faze him as he lounged on the woven straw seat of his polished bamboo rocking chair. He pulled down the wide brim of his tall, crushed-crown felt hat to shield his eyes from the morning sun while he listened to the national news. The radio blared from the open window behind him.

He was waiting for the smell of Aunt Maye’s doublesided thick-crust cornbread to float down the hallway to call him into the kitchen.

She fried the coarse home-ground cornmeal, sugar, cream and seasoning mixture on one side, then flipped it over on the wood-burning stove. Nothing spilled from the cast-iron skillet. It had a closed-hinged top. Halved and awash in butter she had churned, the cornbread was a start-the-day gift.

During my elementary and junior high school years, I went with my parents to visit my Grandmother Wheeler and Kentucky relatives. I particularly remember Aunt Maye and Uncle August Sparks and how differently they lived in their narrow clapboard house. It stood on low concrete blocks and was stuffed between the highway and Martha Ridge Mountain.

A hallway began at the front entrance. Its floor was covered in multicolored linoleum, and it ran by each interior room. The door to every room opened from it. The hallway ended at the back door. The appellation “shotgun house” is accurate. If the front and back doors were wide open, you could shoot straight through the house without hitting anything.

The burnished tin roof was sometimes spectacular. In the spring, it sparkled from the splatter of pattering rain.

In the summer, it baked in the sun and gleamed. In the fall, it reflected the rainbow colors of nearby leaves. In the winter, it groaned until the snow slid off.

A cold-water well was near the kitchen door with a galvanized bucket hanging from a rope that ran through a pulley.

A hexagonal wire chicken coop was 20 yards away.

Next to the coop, an old mule and a Jersey cow shared a shed. An interior wall divided their stalls. They had opposite-side corrals and entrances.

Farthest away was a mucky hog lot with its slop trough on a concrete pad, and a muddy pond for drinking and

soaking. Those arrangements created a solid waste distance from the well and a progressively reduced smell distance from the house. Except for the vegetable garden and severalacre cornfield in the only flat area, the land was limestonepacked and mountainside steep. There was no alternative but to jam the animal land uses close together.

Even in the late 1940s, I thought outhouses were things of the past. Not so. Theirs was down a garden path.

Although a small single building, it held its own compared to the animal shelter odors on the other side of the house.

Lime sprinklings dipped from a white, red-lipped enamel bucket were scattered in the pit to speed decomposition below the two wooden seats. If you were in a hurry, waiting in line wasn’t necessary.

Pages were jaggedly torn from a dedicated-purpose Sears catalog, and there were night soil pots in bedrooms.

Kentucky winters are cold. Tarrying in the john is a recent phenomenon. Although he was not the original inventor, the credit often goes to Thomas Crapper for his flushtoilet manufacturing prowess. Thank you, Tom. The Sparks’ decades-long small income stream from the dozen barrels of oil that were produced every few months had stopped. Their two wells were pumped dry. Fracking with dynamite dropped down the drill holes no longer helped.

The open-pit coal mine where Uncle August worked had shut down. He said, “The state’s reclamation and other requirements are costin’ the mines around here so much they’re goin’ broke.”

Aunt Maye was my dad’s youngest sister, a pleasant and hospitable lady, who enjoyed the clear channel radio station that brought music into the mountains. Cool and breezy, she wore hand-sewn flowered flour-sack cotton dresses and danced around in bright yellow clogs.

Strumming her Silvertone guitar, she sang along with the Grand Ole Opry stars on the radio.

Uncle August was a prideful fellow and a man of singular opinion. Dressed in bib overalls, he raged about the government as he heel stomped the floor in scuffed brown heavy brogans. Rolling cigarettes with tobacco from his Old Gold cloth pouch, he sermonized. His pulpit was a kitchen chair.

Uncle August’s prime line was, “People should not be paid not to work.” He next said, “David, you need to learn that people have to take care of themselves.”

• • •

We were bouncing up a tree tunnel road in his faded blue Chevy pickup truck. It had a rear window rifle rack.

Colonel Harland Sanders (1890-1980) began selling fried chicken from his Corbin restaurant in the 1930s.

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

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Uncle August braked and stopped. He unstrapped his .22 caliber Winchester rifle.

“What’re you doing?” I exclaimed, He answered by firing three shots two seconds apart out the window into an oak tree. After two rapid shots came right back, he said, “I gotta know it’s safe to go in the Mulberry Grove. It’s around yonder bend.”

Split firewood was stacked by smoldering coals. Curled copper tubes connected burnished kettles. A dead possum bobbed in the tall copper corn mash vat. Misting clear liquid dripped from the distiller spout for the Mason jars that were in nearby stacked cardboard boxes.

“Will people drink that possum mix?” I asked.

Uncle August said, “Yep. It’s distilled. It’s sterilized. The possum speeds up fermentation and helps the taste.”

“Is it called Moonshine because it’s usually made at night?” I asked.

“Yep, and it’s called white lightnin’, hooch and panther piss. I’ll sell it, and I ain’t payin’ no taxes.”

Uncle August added, “All the government wants is money to spend on somethin’ I ain’t got no say about. And, when thar ain’t no jobs, I jest gotta do what I gotta do. I ain’t takin’ no government dole!”

Moonshining was now his role.

B irth C ertificate M ystery

By Carlos “Carl” Combs, San Antonio, Texas

B

ack in June 2010, I read a story in Kentucky Explorer by William Henry Young about the first Black doctor to deliver babies in Perry County. I was born in Perry County, so this really caught my eye. Reading further, I noticed how familiar the doctor’s name, Carlow Brit Combs, looked. It intrigued me enough to dig out a copy of my birth certificate. Lo and behold, I was brought into this world on Dec. 19, 1936, by Dr. Carlow Brit Combs in Walkertown, Perry County.

It was always a mystery as to why I, a white person, was delivered by a Black doctor, which was not the custom at that time. From the beginning, I have been called Carlos B. Combs because the name recorded in the blank marked “Full Name of Child” on the the birth certificate was Carlow B. Combs. (I had gone by the name Carlos for all these years because the W in Carlow was believed to be an S.) The doctor signed the birth certificate as Carlow Brit Combs in the blank space for the doctor’s name.

Was I named in honor of the doctor who delivered me?

Or was it simply a mistake of entering the wrong name in the “Name of Child” space? Unfortunately, I have not been able to solve the mystery of the unusual circumstances of my birth. All my brothers and sisters have passed on, and sadly, my parents split up shortly after my birth. I lived with a foster family (the Watkinses) in Perry County until I was 17. I was known as Carlos Watkins until I enlisted in the United States Air Force in March 1954, when I became Carlos B. Combs again.

My life-changing entry into military service began with basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in New York, followed by technical school at Chanute AFB in Illinois and then to Great Falls AFB in Montana, where I met my wife, Grace Katherine Reynolds (Cinker). She didn’t care

for the name Carlos, so I’ve been Carl ever since but never officially changed my name.

We were always stationed in the Western United States. Our oldest daughter was born at my first permanent station in Great Falls, Montana, followed by the births of another daughter and two sons in Roswell, New Mexico, and our last daughter in Cheyenne, Wyoming. About six months after her birth, I was deployed to Nha Trang Air Base in South Vietnam for a year. This was an unaccompanied tour, so Grace and the five kids continued to live in Cheyenne while I was overseas. Following that tour, we relocated to Williams AFB in Arizona, and then on to Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, followed by an assignment at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. I politely declined orders for one more transfer to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and decided to retire in San Antonio with 22-plus years of military service in 1976.

I used my GI Bill and graduated from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. I put my new degree to work teaching auto mechanics in a program for underprivileged students. Preparing these motivated and eager students at St. Philips College for a career that would help them make a good living was meaningful and a good choice for a brand-new college graduate.

After a few years of teaching, I moved on and worked for several other enterprises in San Antonio and continued to learn more tricks of more trades—not a bad life for a kid who grew up with a mysterious name in Perry County, Kentucky.

Fast forward to today, I am happily retired and living in San Antonio, and, of course, reading my Kentucky Explorer!

Seven Kentucky governors have resigned, most recently, Wendell Ford, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1974.

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THE KENTUCKY EXPLORER

Hiding in the corn ...

Harvest Time and Packsaddles

By David R. Caudill, Daytona Beach

A

s fall is upon us, my thoughts go back some 50 years to other falls, specifically the year we moved into the old homeplace at the head of Rockhouse Fork of Big Willard Creek in mid-June of 1953. It was way too late to plant anything other than a garden. The fields were overgrown from sitting idle for years and required a lot of work to prepare them for the following year’s corn crop.

Broom sage had overtaken the fields, and Dad decided the best way to get rid of it was to plow them and manually remove the roots. Dad, my two younger sisters, and I spent weeks grabbing broom sage roots, Corn shocks, shaking the dirt from them, and above, and the placing them in piles for burning. I packsaddle don’t know if herbicides existed caterpillar. back then, but we sure could have used some Roundup weed killer. I estimated we did some 4 acres. We moved larger rocks to existing rock piles that probably had their beginnings long before Dad and his brothers scratched out a living there in the 1920s and ’30s.

The spring of 1954 saw us planting 3 acres of corn and a 1-acre garden. There were nine of us, and Mom and Dad intended to can lots of vegetables. Dad was in vocational school using his GI Bill to learn to be a carpenter. That left me to take care of the crops. I liked to say I often stood back to gaze fondly at the long green rows of corn, but honestly, it was just a lot of work. The first hoeing wasn’t too bad, but on the second hoeing, two things made it an uncomfortable chore—summer was in full tilt by then and hot, and the corn was high enough to block any chance of a breeze. I always took a second T-shirt with me on the second hoeing. The rows were so long that by the time I made a round (to the end and back), I was soaking wet. I wrung out the T-shirt, hung it up and put on a dry one. By the time I made a round, the first

T-shirt would be dry, and I repeated the process.

Then, of course, there were always the snakes. I can’t think of a time hoeing that field that I didn’t come across a snake. I would hoe along, finish one hill, step up to the next hill, and when I reached out with the hoe to grab some dirt from the balk, I’d see a snake. SNAKE! My mind screamed, and I jumped two rows down the hill! As I flew backward, I realized it was a black snake and resumed my hoeing.

As things will, everything was laid by, and I naïvely thought the worst was over. As September rolled around, it became time to harvest the crop.

Some farmers cut the corn close to the ground and placed stalk, corn and all in tall shocks. I know of a few people where I lived who did that. Others topped the corn (cutting it above the top ear) and stripped the remainder of its leaves. These were placed in bundles and were tied using one or two tops. These bundles were stacked in shocks around two remaining corn stalks. To tie the shock required you to hug the shock and pull everything tight to tie it.

Therein lay the problem. There was (and still is) an insect that loves corn. It is yellow with a design on its back that looks like a saddle. The packsaddle caterpillar, also known as a saddleback, is fuzzy-looking, much like a woolly worm, but there the resemblance ends. Each of those fuzzy things or cilia must have stingers, and they hurt like the devil if you touch the insect. Its sting is guaranteed to raise a large red blister on the skin, and you

Both the town of Murray and Murray State University are named for …

October 2024 87

are at risk of getting stung when topping the corn, when stripping the leaves, and when hugging the bundles to make a shock! I have never cut tops or pulled fodder without getting stung at least once, and often many times.

What a hot, sweaty chore.

The corn leaves made the skin itch so badly that experienced hands wore long-sleeved shirts.

Still, you could never tie shocks without getting pieces of corn leaves inside your shirt. And don’t forget the packsaddle.

In one sense, I have unpleasant memories of the fall., but the views were and still are terrific. The mountainsides look like God’s coloring book, with all the different shades of brown, yellow, red, green and even pink.

There is nothing more pleasant than standing on your porch and watching the sun work its way over the mountains and see the dew on the leaves sparkle like diamonds. It tends to make one forget harvest time and the packsaddle … well … almost.

The Kentucky Historical Society Presents:

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(O)

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(F-D)

WANTED — All types of antiques and collectibles. Top prices for gold, silver and costume jewelry. Scrap gold. Gold and silver coins. Wrist and pocket watches. Collections. Early post cards and fountain pens. Civil War swords and other military items. Vintage toys. Pocket knives. Lighters. Old eyeglasses. Pottery and stoneware. All types of railroad items. Advertising signs. Handmade quilts. Marbles. Jars. Much much more.

Complete and partial estates. Call Clarence, buyer for more than 30 years, at 606.531.0467.

(F-D)

… John L. Murray (1806-1842), a politician who lived in Calloway County.

past tense/present tense

BY BILL ELLIS

Famous People I Have Known

I

f you figure this is another “name dropping” venture by someone who is certainly not famous by any means, you are only partially right.

My first year of teaching and coaching came at Harrodsburg High School in August 1962. Not long after I had started practice, I got a call from a Jaycees member inviting me to interview new University of Kentucky football coach Charlie Bradshaw for the local radio station. I agreed. The Jaycees member brought a state-ofthe-art tape recorder to our house and gave me the rudiments of the machine’s mechanics. Actually, all I had to do was push the “on” button.

I went to the UK Athletics Department offices at the appointed time. A secretary led me down a hallway, where I saw Coach Adolph Rupp. We introduced ourselves, and then Rupp’s assistant coach, Harry Lancaster, appeared. Lancaster asked about my hometown, and when I said Shelbyville, he said, “I taught and coached at Bagdad High School.”

“My mother recalled when you coached there,” I replied, and we conversed as if we were old friends.

He was a graduate of Georgetown College, my alma mater.

My first impression of Bradshaw was that he was possessed by his profession. UK football fans may recall “The Thin Thirty” 1962 squad.

About all I recall of the interview 62 years later is that Bradshaw was excitable. He became so absorbed in describing his defense that (and I can never forget this) saliva drooled down both sides of his mouth.

That year at Harrodsburg, I also 88

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

came under the influence of a wonderful mentor, Forest “Aggie” Sale, who was basketball coach at the school until 1960. One of Rupp’s first All-Americans, Sale was full of knowledge and advice. He and Harrodsburg Principal Roy Camic, a hardened war veteran, kept me from making many mistakes. I have kicked myself many times for not interviewing Sale about his life.

Four years later, I embarked on an academic career by entering the master’s in history program at Eastern Kentucky University.

...

The other famous people I have “known” have been through my work as a historian. I joined the EKU faculty in 1970.

Not long after I moved to Richmond, I met President Robert R. Martin, when—because of a rotation system then in effect—I became president of the Faculty Senate. He was always good to me.

Bill Berge, director of the Oral History Center at EKU in the mid1970s, devised a project to interview people in each Kentucky county who represented “County Elites.” At 50 bucks an interview, I gladly took up the task.

One of my first assignments was to interview Jefferson County JudgeExecutive Mitch McConnell. I found him to be low-key, soft-spoken and rather terse on occasion. He certainly has become famous, hasn’t he?

When Berge left the Oral History Center, I became director for a short time. I carried on the Carl D. Perkins

O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

Oral History Project and initiated others. Of course, I interviewed Carl D. Perkins. I spoke with him after he had completed a hearing on black lung disease one hot Washington, D.C., afternoon and found him to be a warm human being.

As others had told me, Perkins did have a soft whistle when he spoke, but he was not wearing his famous white socks that day.

...

In studying the life of Louisville entrepreneur Patrick Henry Callahan, a Catholic layman and progressive leader, I interviewed people who had known him. As a young man, Barry Bingham Sr., the owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, had known Callahan. A few years later, I interviewed Bingham about his father, Robert Worth Bingham, who had purchased the two newspapers in 1918.

Barry Bingham was a bit patrician in his bearing, carefully spoken and well-dressed. We hit it off, and he was frank about his father’s contemporaries and his own.

Former Gov. A.B. “Happy” Chandler had been a contemporary of the elder Bingham’s in the 1930s, when Chandler was governor.

Chandler recalled Robert Worth Bingham vividly. During the ’30s, kidnapping became a serious crime.

In 1934, the famous Alice Stoll kidnapping in Louisville brought this home to Kentuckians. While governor in his first term (19351939), Chandler remembered that he and the elder Bingham discussed the

case. When asked if he had a firearm, Chandler replied he did not. Bingham gave a pistol to Chandler. When I interviewed Chandler more than 50 years later, he replied that he still kept it in his bedside table. He then explained how he and Bingham drifted apart politically.

...

While working on a project that I eventually turned into a monograph, The Kentucky River—published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2002—historian Todd Moberly and I interviewed nearly 150 people.

Among this group was Col. George Chinn, an expert on automatic weapons, who persuaded then Senator Chandler to insist that the United States Marine Corps induct him as an older and obviously overweight 300-pound recruit.

I interviewed Chinn as part of “The Kentucky River Oral History Project.”

As a youth, he recalled “living half of the year on the Kentucky and the other half in the Kentucky” because of constant flooding. At age 84 and hard of hearing, I can now sympathize, whole-heartedly recalling how Chinn had to shout into the telephone in a call to his wife during an interview break.

As a side note, Carlton Jackson wrote a great biography of Chinn called Kentucky Maverick. Don’t miss it.

While at EKU, I interviewed other famous people, including former governors Earle Clements and Louie B. Nunn, and two-time Lt. Gov. Harry Lee Waterfield. However, I was always more comfortable interviewing folks like myself—the not-so-famous, hard-working individuals.

Readers may contact Bill Ellis at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

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89

field notes

BY GARY GARTH

In Praise of the Muzzleloader

T

he morning of Sept. 16, 1805, in what is today Idaho County, Idaho, dawned snowy and cold. Conditions were miserable and would worsen throughout the day. The Corps of Discovery, led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was attempting to traverse the rugged Bitterroot Mountains on its way to the Pacific Ocean and into American history. It was tough going.

Before breaking camp on a day when Clark later would record that he had been as “wet and as cold in every part as I ever was in my life,” the captain, an experienced woodsman with deep Kentucky roots, spotted four mule deer. The previous evening, the party had dined on horse meat.

The venison was needed. Clark set his rifle, a flintlock muzzleloader (an antique by today’s standard but a modern, high-tech weapon in that time and place), took aim and pulled the trigger. The hammer snapped, but the gun failed to fire. He repeated the sequence six more times. It’s unknown whether Clark gave up, or the deer moved out of sight or beyond range. But checking his rifle, which had never before failed him, Clark “in examining her found the flint loose.”

Few details are known about the specific firearms carried by the Corps of Discovery. It is known that several members likely were armed with a standard military issue model 1795 musket. The Corps of Discovery was, after all, a military unit. But other members, including Clark, Lewis and the famed nine young men from Kentucky (Charles Floyd, Nathaniel Pryor, William E. Bratton, John

90 K E NT U C K Y M O NTHLY O CTO BER 2024

Colter, Joseph Field, Reuben Field, George Gibson, George Shannon and John Shields)—several of whom Clark had hand-picked—carried their personal rifles, as did another famed member from Kentucky—York, the man enslaved to Clark. Specifics of those shooting tools are unknown, except they were muzzleloading flintlocks, each subject to the fractiousness of such weapons.

The Corps survived the Bitterroots, reached the Pacific, and returned with great fanfare to St. Louis, thus weaving themselves into the rich fabric of American history.

The weapons on which their survival depended evolved but didn’t totally disappear.

A muzzleloading-style gun is selfexplanatory. A muzzleloading firearm is simply a rifle or pistol that is loaded from the muzzle. And they still are employed as hunting tools, although the muzzleloaders used by most of today’s hunters are sleek, inline models armed with saboted bullets; designed with lightning-fast, sure-fire ignition systems; and powered with clean, fastburning substitutes for black powder.

These would scarcely be recognizable to Clark and his companions.

Kentucky offers 11 days of muzzleloader-only deer hunting. It’s a split season, typically opening with the third weekend in October (Oct. 19-20 this year) with nine additional days in December. The October muzzleloader hunt is popular. It offers hunters their first shot at a deer with a firearm. Hunters typically bag about 10,000 deer during the two-day October muzzleloader hunt.

It’s unknown how many hunters

today use the traditional-style sidelock flintlock rifle that Clark would have recognized. If you’re in this minority, as I am, don’t neglect to check the tightness of your flint.

Muzzleloaders are allowed statewide for deer, but Kentucky has a hunting area specifically reserved for the weapons of old. The 7,731-acre Pioneer Weapons Wildlife Management Area in Bath and Menifee counties was established in 1962 and may have been the first area of its kind in the country that limited hunters to primitive weapons. Little has changed.

Regulations prohibit the use of both modern firearms and in-line muzzleloading guns. Scopes are off limits, but open and iron sights are permitted. The rough terrain is heavily forested. It’s a challenging area to hunt.

Clark would feel right at home. Details are at app.fw.ky.gov/Public_Lands_ Search/detail.aspx?Kdfwr_id=36.

• • •

Kentucky is now a chronic wasting disease (CWD) positive state, and wildlife officials have expanded the CWD surveillance zone to eight counties for the current deer season. These include Ballard, Carlisle, McCracken, Calloway, Marshall, Graves, Hickman and Fulton counties. Special regulations apply inside the CWD zone, including no baiting for deer.

For more information, contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at 1.800.858.1549 or go to fw.ky.gov/Wildlife/Pages/CWDSurveillanceZone.aspx.

Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

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gardening B Y WA LT R E I C H E R T

Deconstructing a So-So Season

I

f I were a better record keeper, I could tell you with charts and data exactly how the 2024 gardening season stacked up against previous years. Alas, I am not, so what follows comes from (an increasingly suspect) memory.

In many ways, this past season was much like those of the last decade or so: The weather was quirky; insect and disease attacks were up and down; and new challenges, especially from fourlegged critters, came into play.

WEATHER

We had more of what I would call a “real spring” this year. Temperatures remained cool almost until the onset of summer, and rains were abundant but not overly generous. Cool-season vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, and flowers, such as pansies and the spring bulbs, held up well.

Bloom times on my 15 or so varieties of daffodils were incredibly long. In Central Kentucky where I live, we were spared the usual strong spring storms, so even delicate flowers, such as tulips, put on a lengthy show.

On the weather-related downside, we again had several late frosts that damaged fruits and flowers in many locations. In my garden, I had little damage to fruit trees and brambles from April frosts, but others in my county (Shelby) lost buds and blooms on everything from apples to raspberries to hydrangeas.

In the summer, we had several weeks of drought or near-drought conditions. In my part of the world, we had a month-long dry spell in early 92

K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

summer followed by another in midsummer. Like late frosts, dry spells during the summer are becoming a constant in Kentucky gardens.

The lessons gardeners should take from those weather challenges are twofold. First, we need to seek out vegetables, fruits and flowers that bloom toward the latter end of their growing seasons to escape potential late frosts. Second, we need to have equipment on hand to irrigate our gardens during the almost inevitable dry spells we’re going to encounter every summer. We should have plenty of mulch, purchase soaker hoses to water new plants, and buy annuals and perennials that can tolerate periods of low moisture.

Another trick to avoid damage from hot sun and dry weather is to plan your garden for some afternoon shade. Catalogs and gardening sites describe many plants as requiring full sun. But in the South, including most of Kentucky, some afternoon shade is appreciated by even the most sunloving plants. If you’re planning a perennial pollinator garden, for example, position the taller plants, such as Joe Pye weed, amsonia, some of the monarda (bee balm plant, ‘Jacob Cline’) and native grasses, such as switchgrass, on the west side of the bed. They can soak up the rays and will shade shorter plants growing at their feet from the wrath of the summer sun in the afternoon.

On the insect and disease battle, ’24 came off pretty easy, at least for me. The predicted plague of cicadas never showed up at my place.

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Japanese beetles were few, although I heard from others whose gardens were devastated by them. Aphids, thrips, spider mites and other juicesucking insects were only a minor nuisance. Flies seemed to be more abundant this past summer than normal (I can still hear my mother yelling at us kids to “close that screen door!”), but they don’t do much harm in the garden.

But as gardeners, we shouldn’t become complacent. Just because ’24 wasn’t a bad year for insects and disease doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready for next year. Have plant protection on hand before the season starts. Garden centers tend to order products once in spring and, after running out of supplies, don’t order again until the following year.

CRITTERS

On the other hand, four-legged critters became more challenging, especially deer. When I worked at Extension, I constantly heard, “I just gave up growing [fill in the blank] because of the deer.” I could sympathize, but not empathize, with that until this year.

In the spring of 2023, a doe had triplets in a shrubby patch in my neighbor’s back 40. They didn’t do much damage last year except to nibble the lower hanging apples.

I didn’t take any precautions against deer, assuming they would scatter to other properties, get run down on U.S. 60, or be shot by hunters. Those things didn’t happen.

All three were back in ’24. They

churchofthesavior.net

N ov 2 wiped out the early corn, tromped all over newly planted vegetables, chewed on fruit trees and took most of the fruit within reach, and did some damage to flower beds.

Unfortunately, battling any fourlegged creature, especially deer, is much more challenging than, say, a bug infestation. The battle requires constant spraying of a repellant, fencing or, finally, giving up on those plants the critters prefer.

For deer, there are a few options.

Scare tactics—such as balloons, streamers and radios blasting music— work for a while. Then the deer get used to those and ignore them. But they may work long enough to harvest a crop or protect flowers.

Likewise, spraying repellents works for short periods, but they have to be reapplied after so many days or after heavy rains.

Fencing works if you can frame your garden with a fence at least 7 feet high; 8 feet is better. I had pretty good luck keeping deer out of late corn by putting up an electrified woven fence that was easy to install and can be moved from place to place.

The deer can certainly jump over it, but they seem to fear getting entangled in the fence. I plan to have more of it on hand next year.

Yes, I could give up growing sweet corn, apples and other deer delights next year, but I don’t plan to. I have just begun to fight, mama deer and her three babies!

See you next year.

Readers may contact Walt Reichert at editor@kentuckymonthly.com

10am–5pm

Fall Craft and Vendor Fair

Handmade Crafts • Christmas Gifts • Specialty Foods • Art Food Trucks and much more!

10% of all sales will be used to help families in need at Christmastime!

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STATEMENT OF OWENERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION: 1) Publication Title: Kentucky Monthly, 2) Publication No.: 1542-0507, 3) Filing Date: Oct. 1, 2024, 4) Issue Frequency: monthly, 5) No. of Issues Published Annually: 10, 6) Annual Subscription Price: $25, 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; Estate of 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; 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 2024, 15A) Total No. of Copies. Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 27,360. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 26,986, 15B) 1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541. Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,401. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 17,466.

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.: 19,401. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 17,466. 15D) 1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 4,000.

No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 5,000. 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.: 0. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 0. 4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 6,494. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 4,065. 15E) Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 10,494. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 9,065. 15F) Total Distribution: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 27,360. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 26,986. 15G) Copies Not Distributed: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 465. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 455. 15H) Total: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 27,360. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 26,986. 15I) Percent Paid: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 70.91%. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 64.72%. 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.: 19,401. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 17,466. 16C) Total Print Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 19,401. No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 17,466. 16D) Percent Paid: Avg. No. of Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Mos.: 70.91%.

No. of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date: 64.72%. I certify that statements made above are correct & complete. Stephen M. Vest, Publisher & Editor.

k e n t u c k y m o n t h l y. c o m 93

calendar

F I N D M O R E A T K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY. C O M

OCTOBER

2024 S U N

M O N

Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular

T U E S

W E D

T H U R S

F R I

S AT

Ongoing

Ongoing

1

2

3

4

5

Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular

All in the Family Exhibit

Women of Abstraction Exhibit

Haunted Objects Live

St. James Court Art Show

Wilmore Arts and Crafts Festival

Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, through Nov. 4, 502.309.4458

UK Art Museum, Lexington, through Nov. 23, 859.257.5716

Gallery 104, La Grange, through Oct. 21, 502.222.3822

The Whiskey Files with New Riff’s Jay Erisman

Old Louisville, through Oct. 6, 502.635.1842

downtown Wilmore, 304.615.3464

6

7

8

10

11

12

STOMP

Celtic Thunder

Bardstown Arts and Crafts Festival

Tanya Tucker in Concert

Sesame Street Live!

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, 606.324.0007

SKyPAC, Bowling Green, 270.904.1880

Norton Center for the Arts, Danville, 859.236.4692

9

Hermitage Farm, Goshen, 502.398.9289

The Carson Center, Paducah, 270.908.2037

RiverPark Center, Owensboro, 270.687.2770

downtown, through Oct. 13, 502.348.4877

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14

15

16

17

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19

BGKY Harvest Festival

Stephen M. Vest Book Signing

Blippi: Join the Band Tour!

Macbeth

The Isaacs

Fall Art Market

Paul Sawyier Public Library, Frankfort, 502.352.2665

Corbin Arena, 606.258.2020

A Tribute to The Grand Ole Opry, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, Owensboro, 270.926.7891

October Court Days Festival

Circus Square Park, Bowling Green, 270.202.0256

Shelby County Community Theatre, Shelbyville, also Oct. 17, 25 and 26, 502.633.0222

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21

22

23

24

Burlington Antique Show

An Evening with David Sedaris

Dear Evan Hansen

Little Feat: Righteous Can’t be Brothers Satisfied Tour Turfway Park

Boone County Fairgrounds, Burlington, 513.922.6847

Lexington Opera House, Lexington, 859.233.3535

Theresa Caputo Live: The Experience

Gold Over America Tour with Simone Biles

28

94 K E NT U C K Y M O NT HLY O CTO BER 2024

KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, 502.690.9000

Louisville Palace, 1.800.745.3000

25

Racing and Gaming, Florence, 859.371.0200

Kentucky Artisan Center, Berea, also Oct. 20, 859.985.5448

26

2024 Hall of Fame Induction Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, Mount Vernon, 606.256.1000

31

HALLOWEEN FIND MORE

>>>

27

SKyPAC, Bowling Green, 270.904.1880

The Carson Center, Paducah, 270.908.2037

downtown Mt. Sterling, through Oct. 21, 859.498.8732

PRESENTS

Henry Clay’s Lexington

An audio-guided walking tour in the heart of historic Downtown Lexington.

Get Your $10 Download Code Today only at Henry Clay’s Historic Law Office 176 North Mill Street henryclay.org This tour was made possible through the generous sponsorship of VisitLex

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vested interest

Papá Pazzo

I

am known by many names: Little Stevie, Snail (my friend Slick called me “slow”), Vest, Vestie, Stephen, Stephen Matthew, Bozo, Steve, Dad and Pop-Pop. My freshest moniker is Pazzo—Papá Pazzo, given to me by Sofia, our 16-year-old Italian exchange student, in response to my inquiry into the name of a shop I saw on our Kentucky Monthly trip to Venice. “It was called Vestopazzo,” I said.

“Oh,” Sofia said. “Vesto means clothing. Pazzo means crazy. So, the store sells crazy clothing.”

“Oh,” I said. “I figured it meant ‘Vest is crazy.’ ” “No. But Papá is ‘Papá Pazzo.’ ” ...

So, how did we come to have a foreign exchange student? The lady with whom I share my home apparently is experiencing emptynest syndrome—“a feeling of grief and loneliness when the children move out of the family home.” Couple that with one too many frozen margaritas at Casa Fiesta, a Mexican restaurant/watering hole, and STEPHEN M. VEST daughter Sydney’s former bedroom Publisher + Editor-in-Chief has become home base for Sofia while she attends Frankfort’s Western Hills High School and experiences American life firsthand.

“We have this young lady whose life dream is to come to America, and her host family fell through,” said Natalie, a neighbor who oversees exchange students in our community. “I think you’d be a perfect family, but if you 96 K E N T U C K Y M O N T H LY

O C TO B E R 2 0 2 4

say no, I guess we’ll have to tell her she can’t come.”

Imagine, if you will, Casa Fiesta, a former McDonald’s, suddenly transformed into the set of 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street. Cast Kay (the aforementioned empty-nester) as Mrs. Julian Shellhammer after being plied with a couple of double martinis as her husband tries to get her to agree to have Santa Claus come live with them for a few weeks.

“Hellooooo,” Kay says to Natalie, speaking into an imaginary upside-down telephone. “Darling, that would be charming.”

And it has been—charming, that is.

Sofia quickly has become a member of our extended pazzo family, visiting local cultural icons such as Kentucky Kingdom, the Kentucky State Fair and Holiday World. She’s been to Daniel Boone’s grave and places in Kentucky with European names, including Paris, Versailles and Florence. In October, she’ll go through London en route to the original KFC in Corbin and to view Cumberland Falls’ moonbow. We plan to take her to see The Bean in Chicago and a pumpkin patch.

Sofia has taken it all in stride, and I’ve yet to catch her rolling her eyes, which is universal in its meaning. She may have rolled her eyes while trying to get me to understand that my name in Italian is STEF-ano instead of Ste-FAHno, but we communicate fairly well.

Our family’s Italian vocabulary is probably similar to yours and the Fazoli’s menu. We all know spaghetti, lasagna, rigatoni and pizza. Advanced speakers know ciao (pronounced chow), which can be hello or goodbye, buongiorno (good morning) and arrivederci (goodbye).

Four decades ago, I took a semester of modern Italian in college, during which I mastered the pronunciation of “no” and learned that train station is “treno stazione,” which helped me understand “instituzione militaria” is military installation and an upset tummy is often caused by “constipazione.”

A month into Sofia’s visit, she has already expanded my vocabulary to include “pelle d’oca” (goosebumps) and “stupido,” which I’m sure you can figure out.

“Any chance of me being fluent in Italian by the time you go home?” I asked Sofia.

“Nnnoo,” she said with the perfect inflection. “No.”

Vest can be contacted via his email, steve@kentuckymonthly.com

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