Paducah Life Magazine - August/September 2022

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • $ 2.95

★ Cityine agaz

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1990

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comeback!

ALLEY

Starring Rebecca Madding

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contents 62

Friday Nights At The Rosine Barn

august/september 2022 ★ from the associate editor page 5 ★ last word page 84

13

Paducah’s School of Rock

17

From Novice to NASA

31

Botanical Beauties Live Forever

37

Bourbon Makers Bring Distilling Westward

40

Jaccquelyn Carruthers is an Artist With Good Taste

44

Mason Vinyard Moves to UK Baseball Team

47

Local Supporters Go Beyond Uganda

53

Nic Hutchinson Came to Plan And to Stay

58

Come Sail Away On Kentucky Lake

71

Oak Grove Cemetery And Mausoleum

76

Voices From The Grave

78

Brides, Balloons, And Bourbon Street

80

Susan Guess National Woman In Communications

82

Columbia Art House

74

6

Maiden Alley Makes A Comeback

Local Author to Publish Debut Novel

Visit us at paducahlife.com ★

2 • PADUCAH LIFE

SEE AND HEAR MORE OF THE FEATURES IN THIS ISSUE ON

VOLUME 32, EDITION 4

executive editor/ P U B L I S H E R Darlene M. Mazzone

� associate E D I TO R S Stephanie Watson J.T. Crawford

� art D I R E C TO R Scott McWilliams

� associate art D I R E C TO R Allison Wicker

� editorial P H OTO G R A P H Y Thomas Dean Stewart

� cover P H OTO G R A P H Y Thomas Dean Stewart

� on the C OV E R Maiden Alley Cinema’s, Rebecca Madding

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LIFE! There are so many ways to take part in LIFE in Paducah!

� Paducah Life is published six times a year for the Paducah area. All contents copyright 2022 by Mazzone Communications. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • 3 J UNE / J U LY 2022 • 3

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FROM the

ASSOCIATE ED ITOR

F

OR THIS FORMER ENGLISH TEACHER, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER WILL always signal a period of transition. For most of my life, in fact, August meant pulling out the school supplies, gathering the books, and packing my bag (or many, many boxes once I became a teacher) to prepare for the next year of hard work, growth, and leaving the hazy, lazy days of summer to, once again, tackle the tasks at hand.

For students, the first day back is always a mix of daunting and delightful, but as a teacher, the quiet first day without students was always a treat. Every time I walked into my classroom after summer break, it felt like there was a stillness watching, waiting for the infusion of momentum that was to come. The room has rested, it has been cleaned, and—if you will permit me to further personify—it always seemed to smile quietly in anticipation of the hive of activity and excitement that each school year brings.

As we all transition from summer into the flurry of activity that is fall, we too have the chance to embrace the excitement and momentum of getting back to work. Whether you have kids starting back to school or are simply preparing for the changing of the seasons, we hope you are inspired by the hard work being done across the spectrum to enrich life in our city.

In this edition, we explore the stories of leaders, learners, and visionaries who are also back in action and foraging new paths. Rebecca Madding, the Executive Director of Maiden Alley Cinema, shows us what it’s taken to lead this city staple through the pandemic and come out with an even stronger resolve to enrich lives through film. Nic Hutchison reflects on Paducah’s future, sharing the city’s plans for its next big steps. And PhD candidates from the UK School of Engineering Paducah Campus explain how their research is taking them out of this world and putting Paducah on the map as a destination for forward-thinking industries. Other artists, creatives, writers, and trailblazers across all parts of Paducah life are hard at work making our city a wonderful place to live, grow, and find purpose.

I no longer re-open that classroom door each August, but with each new edition of PADUCAH LIFE, I experience the same possibility that it represents. We are a city of dreamers, builders, of hard-working believers, and when we look for it, we can see there is an open space for each of us that’s anticipating the role we’ll play in it.

Stephanie Watson

stephanie@paducahlife.com

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by S TEPHANIE WATSON

A M E N I C Y E !

L L N A O I T N C E A D I N A I M BACK IS

,

REBECCA MADDING PULLED

MAIDEN ALLEY CINEMA THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, AND NOW SHE’S ENVISIONING A FRESH FUTURE WITHIN ITS WALLS

6

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HEN REBECCA MADDING STARTED HER POSITION AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF Maiden Alley Cinema on March 2, 2020, she had no idea that in 10 short days she’d be closing it because of COVID. “It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done,” she states. “We have a board of directors, but they didn’t know what to do either. This was uncharted territory for our entire industry.”

What she thought would be a difficult two weeks turned into a three-month closure and a reopening that would be slow, gradual, and grueling at times. “It really made me believe in tiny miracles,” Rebecca states. “I mean, there is only so much hard work you can do and so much was out of our control. I remember looking at our bank account and thinking I have exactly one month of money left and no idea what will happen after that.”

After several months of struggling and a gradual reopening, a community survey made it clear that patrons were ready to return. With the film industry at standstill, Rebecca and her team had to get creative: cue the cult classics. Movies like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “E.T.” graced the big screen once again, and families embraced the chance to pass on the classic movie-going experience to a new generation.

“In December of 2020, we had a Sunday matinee of Christmas Vacation which was set at 50% capacity, and we sold out,” Rebecca explains. “I came down from the booth in tears, and I was so happy because it was the most people we’d had in the cinema since I started. It was totally a ‘if you build it, they will come’ moment for us.” It seemed Maiden Alley was back in action and would pull through.

A year and half later and back at full capacity, Rebecca looks forward to more than just “going back to normal.” She envisions a return to Maiden Alley’s arthouse roots while also growing in new ways. With the film industry back in action, Maiden Alley is once again able to focus on sharing independent, documentary, and foreign films that are artistic and thought provoking. The heart of their mission is providing a space for stories to be told that locals may not otherwise have the chance to hear.

“Every film is not for everybody,” Rebecca explains. “We hope people enjoy something that is different or that is thought provoking and sparks their interest in seeing something else.”

Documentaries about social issues, foreign films that bring new perspectives, and poignant award-winning independent films are back on the screen and bringing Paducahans rich cultural experiences that rival big cities.

“I got a card from an older patron saying thank you for showing the film that I don’t have the opportunity to see anywhere else,” Rebecca states. “He was about to drive to Memphis to see the film. That’s amazing. We may seem quaint because of our size, but I love being able to brag to other people that we have these things in Paducah.”

8 • PADUCAH LIFE

!

M L I F , T E S , Y READ

making eracy and film oting visual lit om pr to d te dedica t film.

As a nonprofit of independen artistic films. e production ew th vi ers from to ow e ak gr m ac d m pl an that bring fil at support more than a th h nd ts uc ke en m ee ev is w a e of ns Cinem and inte ing a variety Maiden Alley Project, a fun y strives to br w it premier e 48-hour Film , Maiden Alle th hours. rm d 48 tfo re ar ly so on an on eekend and sa in sp w as s e m fil ha on t es, network y or er le sh ov Al aiden e new techniqu a short film ing the best tic d ak ac ite m pr ed in to d Since 2009, M te an ce pe com te, shot s a chan rn Kentucky to essionals wro ves filmmaker apalooza the across weste yists, and prof competition gi bb g ho the 2023 Film zin gi s, in er er ner. This year ed en im ur t -t at st bu fe fir k, , g st in ris gu w be Short Film Cor lo Au of is 23 In ize Th 20 pr y. al d le iv Al an st n gr for the nes Film Fe reen at Maide e , and compete en at the Can on the big sc nes” challeng to the industry rtunity to scre d po te op “Yes We Can ec t an nn ec co oj ith Pr w es lm Fi m r co ou with others so It al nced 48-h Los Angeles.

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AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 9

EN MALILDEY A A CINEM

More than a Just a Movie Going to the movies is, of course, a lot of fun, but for Maiden Alley Cinema, film has always been about more than an entertaining night on the town. In 1991 the Paducah Film Society was founded by a group of arts-minded individuals hoping to increase local access to foreign, independent, and documentary films. They started small, screening one film per month and calling it Sundays at the Cinema. As interest increased within the community, programming expanded to multiple screenings. While the space rented from Paducah's Market House Theatre was adequate, there were limitations as to how often films could be presented due to the demand of the Market House's live production programming. A new home was needed, and Maiden Alley Cinema was born.

Since then, Maiden Alley Cinema has become one of the area's leading arts organizations, bringing the art of the film to a much wider audience. Alongside the regular weekly films, community events and creative collaborations have become a core part of its identity. Film Brew, which is a partnership with local and regional breweries, pairs popular classics with local beers for fun theme nights. This fall, “Mean Girls,” the classic high school drama starring Lindsay Lohan, will be sponsored by Dry Ground Brewery and paired the beer Hoptarts, which is a collaboration between local female brewers. In October, they’re partnering with Café de Fae for a night of “Practical Magic.”

Maiden Alley Octoberfest, which is an annual fundraiser for the theater, will make an appearance at Dry Ground brewery in midtown again this year. The family-friendly festival brings live music and food and beverages from local vendors while raising money for the nonprofit’s facilities and programming.

The Rivers Edge International Film Festival and 48-hour Film Project are also back, growing the presence of Maiden Alley locally and beyond.

“We have strong hopes for the future as we are on a road back to normal,” Rebecca explains, “but we’re still slowly finding our footing with full-fledged funding and a very limited staff. We have huge aspirations, but it will take some work to get us there.”

So what does it need to not only survive but thrive? According to Rebecca, to really keep the progress going, it’s going to take a community-wide initiative and investment like what the theater saw in the early 2000s when it first moved to its current location. The facilities, which are now 20 years old, haven’t been updated since the cinema opened. Tile, carpets, seats, the popcorn machine, and other infrastructure need to be repaired or replaced, and she hopes to have the community come together with a capital campaign to remedy that.

“Our future work is going to require money, donations, volunteers, and a true hands-on effort from the community and people who love Maiden Alley for what it is,” she notes. “I fell in love with Paducah through Maiden Alley and the film and arts festivals. It’s where I found my people and my place, and I know we can band together to see it move forward to an even brighter future.”

10 • PADUCAH LIFE

Although Rebecca didn’t start her career working in movies, her love affair with film started at an early age.

“I’ve always been a movie nerd,” she laughs. “I grew up around movies, and my parents would call me IMBD because I was always using that site to look up movie facts. I was the ‘did you know’ person for family film night.”

Rebecca grew up in rural Ohio near Maysville, KY, and she was first exposed to Maiden Alley Cinema while working on a bachelor’s degree in literature and professional writing from Murray State. As many good stories begin, it was there that she met a boy. This boy also happened to love film.

Rebecca’s relationship with her now husband, Austin Madding, began with this mutual love of movies and grew from there. While she was still in college, Austin, who is an amateur filmmaker and Creative Director of Innovations Branding, got a job in Paducah after college, and she would visit him on the weekend. Maiden Alley became their second home.

Whether volunteering at the cinema, taking part in filmmaking competitions, or simply seeing a movie, Maiden Alley was where Rebecca found her place and her people.

Rebecca spent her early professional years as a wire editor for the USA Today company, a paralegal, and an account salesperson for Paxton Media.

While obtaining a master’s degree in public relations and communication from Murray State, there was a vacancy for Executive Director of Maiden Alley. Could there be a better fit?

Now, her days are full of all things Maiden Alley. In fact, she usually works seven days a week. From administrative duties, scheduling, correspondence, business development, fundraising, and social media, to simply working the box office, popping the popcorn, and cleaning after guests leave, Rebecca pours her heart and soul into keeping the mission of Maiden Alley alive.

“You never think when you take a position like this that you’ll find yourself spending days looking for Milk Duds for the concession stand,” she states, “but when you love the work you do, you do whatever it takes. And the arts community is so intertwined here, so even though the work can be For the past 18 years in early November, Paducah challenging, it’s also the best thing in transforms from a small, but artsy river town to an independent the world because you get to work film mecca as filmmakers and film lovers gather for a four-day with friends who have the same celebration centered around the viewing of quality independent films passions as you.” from around the world.

The River's Edge International Film Festival, which premiered in 2005 and is the only film festival in western Kentucky, provides multiple venues for moviegoers to experience the best the world of cinema has to offer. From feature films, documentaries, and animated shorts to experimental formats, the festival focuses on bringing attention to stories that are meaningful, artistic, and, sometimes, unexpected.

For filmmakers, the festival offers opportunities for exhibition, education, and networking with contemporaries. In 2021, the festival welcomed 20 filmmakers from across the U.S., with one filmmaker coming from as far as Vermont. The year, the festival will incorporate new activities for the filmmakers such as a brunch held at Barrel and Bond featuring Paducah favorites such as Etcetera and Kirchhoff’s and additional workshops for growing their skills.

The 2022 festival will be held November 10-13 at Maiden Alley Cinema and the Yeiser Art Center. Patrons can expect narrative, documentary, and experimental shorts as well as feature-length films ranging from local productions to films from Spain, Germany, Iran, and beyond. Previously, the festival has included everything from local 48 Hour Film Project winners to selections from Cannes and South by Southwest.

Rebecca is excited about this year’s prospects. “I’m glad we have a committee comprised of MAC board and community members because selecting the films is TOUGH!” she explains. “We get truly phenomenal work submitted, and, in my heart, I know they all deserve a spot on the big screen and in front of an audience. It’s such a big chance to be an independent filmmaker, to put yourself and your story out there without the funding or equipment from a large studio production.

It’s a part of MAC’s mission to support and cultivate independent filmmaking, and Rivers Edge helps us honor that effort.”

JUST THE

TICKET

THE

RIVER’S

EDGE

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS!

O R CK Paducah’s School of

★

by J.T. C RAWFORD

LEFT TO RIGHT: Cody Trimmel Azlyn Goodyke Sam Horton Kylah Hawkins

“THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE ROCK ’N ROLL BANDS; THERE’S ALWAYS GONNA BE KIDS THAT LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL RECORDS; AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ROCK ’N ROLL.”

—

Dave Groh l

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • 13

PADUCAH’S SCHOOLof

ROCK

14 • PADUCAH LIFE

It was an early summer day in downtown Paducah.

The parking lot at Paducah Beer Werks teemed with life as competitors leisurely played cornhole. Tables lined one side of the lot where spectators and those celebrating the magnificence of the day settled into eating, drinking, and being merry.

On the periphery of this scene, unnoticed by most, a band finished setting up and stepped up to their mics, getting ready to perform an afternoon set of music. Then, without warning to the crowd, the opening guitar riff of “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin reverberated boldly through the air. The unmistakable intonation of rock ’n roll acted as the siren call for every middle-aged man present that day, each turning, nearly in slow motion, to find the source of such raw energy.

Expecting to see a few aged rockers reliving the tunes of their youth, the crowd was shocked to find four teens rocking out to music that entered the world more than three decades before these kids did. The crowd asked themselves, “How old are they?” “How do they know these songs?” “What is going on?” There would be time to answer later. Then was the time to rock. Thanks to this band, the afternoon, according to many gathered, was lit.

The four musicians that comprise the band Broken Record are Azlyn Goodyke (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Kylah Hawkins (bass, vocals), Cody Trimmel (lead guitar), and Sam Horton (drums). And all four are sixteen years old. Yet their age does not preclude them from knowing, let alone loving, music that hails from generations before. While at first it seems surprising, great music transcends time, and these four are about chasing what sounds and feels good to them, regardless of its age.

“Like most kids, I listened to what my parents did,” says Sam. “My dad listened to things like Nirvana and some older things. When I started learning, I just played what I knew.

Then once you learn those first songs, it begins to branch out from there.” Sam came from a musical family, and as the youngest, picked up the only instrument left to play with the others—the drums.

Cody echoes the influence of generations before.

“I really got into Jimi Hendrix from my dad,” he says.

Cody, like the teens of the late 60s, was blown away by the Hendrix sound. And Cody’s dad is even too young to have been around in Hendrix’s heyday, showing that greatness encountered is timeless. “My brother had a cheap guitar, and I started fooling around with it when I was eight,” adds Cody. “I was like ‘wait, I really like this!’

I loved the idea of performing, and once my parents saw I was serious, they got me into lessons.” Cody has been a part of multiple bands since he began playing.

“It’s easy when you have a cool dad,” laughs Kylah.

“I love the 70s era, and my parents passed that to me.

I love it so much. I have always been attracted to that time in music. It’s very much a soul-touching thing. My cousin is about eight years older than me,” she adds, “and she lives in Nashville and was doing the music

thing and booking some gigs. I looked up to her and liked what she was doing. I started playing the guitar when I was about ten. I started playing with her and also began my own thing. Then I found out about being in a band through Allen Music. That’s when I learned how to play bass.”

“My grandpa is super into music, and he got me a guitar for Christmas,” says Azlyn who started taking music lessons

at an early age. At around ten years old, Azlyn joined her first band. “I was in fourth grade and had a teacher that was teaching me things like Taylor Swift. But then I started to discover bands like The Beatles and discovered how much I loved older music.”

Beyond their shared musical heritage, the band was brought together through their continuing education at Allen Music in Paducah. “When Corey Evitts worked here, he had the idea of putting students together and forming bands,” says Ashley Allen, fourth generation with the store.

“And I started off in one of those bands when I was young.”

The program was called Groove Academy, and students who were taking lessons at Allen propelled their education to the next level by learning to collaborate with others.

Ashley noticed the talents and interests of Azlyn, Kylah, Cody, and Sam, and brought them together. Broken Record began playing publicly a few years ago, and before long, they were getting requests and landing paid gigs. In addition to learning about being a band, the kids learned the business of booking shows, setting up, and running sound.

“It’s a lot easier with this band now,” laughs Ashley.

“Imagine four 12-year-olds with really loud instruments trying to figure this thing out. Early on, I had to do every little thing. But they have always been very passionate about

it and want to learn as much as possible. I am so proud of them. I have watched them within about six years grow up and do some cool stuff. I will always be their biggest fan.”

Ashley takes a lot of joy in seeing audiences react. “You just don’t know how good a group of kids that age can be,” she says, “and people seem surprised. And when they play the older genres, you can tell how much the band and the crowd loves it. I saw in each one of the band members, early on, a love for that kind of music.”

“I feel so lucky to find the right people who have the right flow,” says Kylah.“When you play with a group and get a flow going, you bounce that energy off of one another. You are sharing the love of music.”

“When you play solo, sure you are making music,” adds Azyln.

“But when you play with a band, you are making something bigger than what you can do by yourself.”

“I agree,” says Cody. “There’s a whole chemistry behind it.

Everyone’s energy helps you get lost in the music. You just feel everything. And there are things you can only learn by playing with others.”

“You aren’t just locked into what you are doing,” says Sam. “You go outside of yourself. It is a lot more fun with other people.”

Broken Record isn’t just about covering favorite classic songs. They have been writing original material, classifying it as more alternative.“Our originals came out so beautifully,” says Kylah. “There’s a lot of freedom to it.”

The kids in the band aren’t sure what the future holds.

They feel a chemistry amongst themselves and are excited about writing their own material. They are realists about how the shared path of teens often goes in different directions when they go off to college, but they are open to doing what they can to stay together. What they ARE aware of are lessons that will propel each of them into a beautiful, musical future.

Back at Beer Werks, the kids are loving the crowd’s response. “Those are some of the best gigs,” says Azlyn, “where the crowd gets into it and people start dancing.

Our energy comes together and interacts with theirs.

It’s awesome.” For one beautiful afternoon, people of all ages are bound together with the chords of some multigenerational music.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 2022 •• 15 15 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

FROM

NOVICE

toNASA

Paducah has a rich history of promoting innovation. Since its formative years as a bustling river town, inhabitants have continued foraging new paths in commerce and industry. As our economy diversifies, new needs must be met, and, thankfully, we have a place where new generations of skilled thinkers and problem solvers can receive their training right in our own backyard.

For almost 25 years, The University of Kentucky Engineering School Paducah Campus has provided the region with creatives and innovators who can engineer the future of our industries. Since the Paducah Campus opened, the program has graduated 500 engineers, many of whom have stayed in the area, bolstering local commerce and contributing to the continued growth of our city. But their work reaches far beyond the impacts on our region.

In this edition, we hear from the director about the future endeavors of the program and celebrate what it is already bringing to our region by exploring the work of five PhD candidates at the Paducah Campus.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY’S SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING BRINGS INNOVATION AND INDUSTRY TO OUR OWN BACKYARD

by S TEPHANIE W ATSON

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18 • PAD U CAH L I FE

D

A FEW

WORDS from the

r. Charles lu, who was named director of the UK Engineering Paducah Campus in June, is proud of the foundation this program has built and excited for the future he’s envisioning. After spending years working in academia, government agencies, and the private sector, Dr. Lu joined the university’s staff in 2006. He is the H.E. Katterjohn Professor of Mechanical Engineering and has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies during his tenure. Here’s what he had to say about the program.

DIRECTOR

The Paducah Campus is not just about educating future engineers but also conducting cutting-edge research, supervising graduate students, and engaging in economic development and entrepreneurship. Our vision is to grow the program by adding new academic disciplines and facilities and to increase the numbers of students, faculty, and staff, and by partnering with local communities and industries to foster innovations and economic development.

People may not realize that western Kentucky is a highly industrial area, but our program was born from a local necessity. We are very proud that our program is focused on responding to industry needs. Because of that, ninety percent of our students will have a job offer before they graduate, and 100% of them are employed within three months after graduation.

At the same time, 25 years ago, the needs of our region were different than they are today, and now we also see an increased need for computer science and aerospace engineering.

The value and opportunity our programs provide is another point of pride. Our program is composed of about 40% first generation college students. Some of our students come to us not even completely knowing what a college degree means or the difference it can make in their lives.

We’ve had students start at WKCTC to obtain a certificate to operate a machine, and after being exposed to the program, they go on to become advanced researchers. The huge amount of growth from when they start college to the point that they graduate makes this a very rewarding career.

Finally, our student to teacher ratio (which averages 30:1) and opportunities for undergraduate and graduate research are unparalleled. The employers in our area are eager to provide internships while students are still in school so that when they graduate, they already have the industry experience they need to receive excellent jobs.

When a company talks about the success they may find in a town or city, they check several key factors: engaged community, community college, and access to a research institution. We are small, but we contribute to the economic wealth of the area. In fact, an aerospace company is interested in locating to Paducah, and the key factor was the presence of the UK College of Engineering.

Sometimes people think there is less opportunity or fewer resources at a satellite campus. I think it’s the opposite. Here, we have more opportunities to engage in research, teaching, and service, and it is with great pride and sense of purpose that we continue the growth of our program and presence in the region.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • 19

A

TheROCKET

MAN

lex Senig’S work with ALEX SENIG EXPLORES heat shield technology ALTERNATIVE HEAT SHIELD has application far beyond MATERIALS FOR ATMOSPHERE this world (such as helping RE-ENTRY space-craft enter Mars’s atmosphere), but its origins can be traced back to a simple boyhood hobby: building rockets.

While he always enjoyed math and science, it was during his 7th grade year when he joined his school’s rocket club that Alex’s love of engineering really took off. By 10th grade, his engineering skills had grown, and his school’s team would go on to compete in a national championship, winning 7th in the country out of 101 teams.

The next year, Alex was accepted to a STEM high school in Bowling Green called Gatton Academy. Located on the Western Kentucky University Campus, this program is a two-year residential high school that focuses on science, technology, engineering, and mathematical training, and allowed him to complete high school and the first two years of college simultaneously while being exposed to the academic environment of a college campus.

In 2016, he joined the University of Alabama where he completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering. While searching for a job after graduation, he came across Dr. Maddox, a professor at the Paducah campus. By the end of that first phone call, Alex’s plan shifted, and Dr. Maddox offered Alex the spot to work under a grant that would pay for him to complete his PhD.

BEA UTIFUL DETA IL S make ALL the difference!

20 • PADUCAH LIFE 20 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Since then, Alex has been hard at work, although, for a person who has always loved science experiments, testing heat shield materials in a NASA-donated vacuum chamber also feels like play. “Whenever vehicles come back into any atmosphere,” Alex explains, “they need materials to protect those vehicles. My research is testing how heat travels through these thermal protection systems and materials in different environments such as planets and moons.”

Opportunities like this one rival experiences found on big-name campuses, and Alex credits the mentorship of his professors and the resources right here in Paducah for his success.

“This is an excellent engineering school, and the Paducah campus actually has more capabilities than the main campus in a lot of ways,” Alex notes.

“We have state-of-the-art equipment that is easily accessible, and the professors truly care about their students. Dr. Maddox, my advisor, is probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I’ve yet to find a question he can’t answer and I’m pretty good at asking questions.”

So where is Alex hoping this work will take him? He’s shooting for NASA Langley, a research center in Virginia where he can continue this type of work. After interning at NASA Kennedy last summer, he developed a taste for the big leagues, and he hopes he can take the work he’s doing in Paducah even further while contributing to a future that’s out of this world.

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3D PRINTING

B

GOES

BULLETPROOF JORDAN GARCIA EXPLORES 3D PRINTING IN CARBON FIBER AND KEVLAR

ecoming an advanced researcher wasn’t on Jordan Garcia’s list of future plans as a child or even as a teen. In fact, according to Jordan, he wasn’t even that great of a student until he was almost out of high school.

Born and raised in Los Angles, California, Jordan moved to Mayfield, Kentucky in middle school. He “got it together” in the second half of his high school career, but, even then, he really fell into engineering by accident.

“I was actually planning to just work for a few years after high school, but my sister-in-law forced me to drive over and register last minute for a UK Engineering undergraduate program,” Jordan explains. “I was so late registering that I missed orientation. But I’m so glad she forced me to make that drive. Engineering captured my imagination very quickly, and I found a community of academics that have been with me each step of the way.”

This community includes Tyler Stoffel and John Higgins, two other PhD candidates that started the same year as Jordan. The trio hit it off quickly, bonding as they spent time studying for classes. Then they had another opportunity that brought them together in a stronger way, jumpstarting their passion for academic research and leading then down a path that none of them expected.

“We had no idea what we had signed up for,” Jordan explains. “But Dr. Lu was looking for undergraduate research assistants working on a carbon nanotube. We had no idea what a carbon nanotube was, but we thought Yeah, why not? That was our jumpstart, and we’ve been working through this program together ever since.”

Jordan’s research now focuses on 3D printing in non-composite materials, such as pure plastic, carbon fiber, and Kevlar. While this process may sound straightforward, it’s anything but. The process of 3D printing has been around since the 1970s, but it isn’t used for industrial models very often because current 3D printing materials are all composites: a material made from other various materials, often without consistency throughout.

“The reason 3D printing isn’t used in industry very often is because the printed piece may look strong, but you don’t really have any idea if the material is going to break or not because it’s impossible to know the exact strength of a composite material,” Jordan explains. “No one

22 • PADUCAH LIFE 22 • PAD U CAH L I FE

is really printing for industrial models because using a check and break method is time consuming and very costly.”

The implications of Jordan’s work could revolutionize parts of manufacturing—3D printing of bullet-proof vests, for example— but his story is also one that comes full circle as he works as a Murray State professor with undergraduates in the same position he once was.

“Undergrad research is what convinced me that I wanted to do graduate level work,” he states. “But this program offers excellent opportunities for connections to industry jobs as much as academic endeavors. When you think of industry here, the first thing you may think of is big chemical plants and big furnace plants. Every single one of them right now is looking for engineers. Many of the students in these programs are people from the area that want to stay in the area. The engineering program helps to make that happen by connecting students with employers here so that people can stay local.”

As a professor, Jordan also has special insight into the benefits of attending (and teaching at) a smaller satellite school. “My favorite thing about the academic experience in Paducah is the ability for the professors to know and engage personally with the students. Coming from a place where I teach 120 students at a time to a place with equally qualified professors teaching 30 provides such an academic advantage for our community.”

And his next step? To continue investing in students the way other professors have invested in him. “I fell in love with teaching while I was a TA working on my master’s degree at the Lexington campus,” he notes. “I’m excited to continue the work of teacher and researcher when I’m done with my PhD.”

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L

SHIELDING gets STREAMLINED

ike many children, chris Barrow had a fascination with space from a young age. Whether it was the dreamy other worldliness of the ethers or the pioneering spirit space travel represents, he knew early on that he wanted a career that would connect him to the cosmos.

Early on this, of course, meant he wanted to become an astronaut, but with increased exposure to the engineering involved in getting someone to space in the first place, Chris pivoted his aspirations.

Chris was first introduced to engineering at the former Lone Oak High School through Project Lead the Way, a national program that provides curriculum for engineering in high school. It was here that he learned both the theoretical and practical applications of engineering and gained exposure to the vast world of mechanical design.

“I was initially interested in finding an aerospace-specific program, but the only downside was that there weren’t any aerospace programs in Kentucky and going out of state was going to be fairly expensive,” Chris explains. “The next viable option was mechanical, and after talking to the representatives at UK Paducah, I realized that I could still work with aerospace concepts by pursuing mechanical engineering right at home. The cost was much less, and I wouldn’t have to worry about paying for food and boarding, so that really helped me make the decision stay here in Paducah.”

24 • PADUCAH LIFE

Chris excelled. And like his peers in the PhD program, early access to undergraduate research made a lasting impression. In the summer between his junior and senior year, Chris was selected to intern with the NASA Langley facility in Virginia as part of a grant obtained by Dr. Maddox, professor of mechanical engineering at the Paducah campus.

Because of his success during that internship, the NASA facility donated a vacuum chamber to the college for Chris and his colleagues to continue their work.

“One reason I wanted to do doctorate work was because of this internship, which I wouldn’t have had without the support of Dr. Maddox,” states Chris. “And this chamber is a rare piece of equipment for a campus this size. Once again, it just shows that staying local doesn’t come with any limitations.”

Chris’s work still involves that boyhood love of space exploration, but in a way that is very concrete. Chris is focusing on how compression affects the thermal conductivity of heat shield materials.

“The practical application of that,” Chris explains, “is in rethinking the protective mechanisms for bringing a spacecraft into an atmosphere. Currently, the technology is to apply a fibrous rigid material to the front of the spacecraft and let that take the brunt of the heat. With the technology I’m exploring, I can have whatever geometry I want for the spacecraft and deploy the heat shield to cover the area in a parachute-like fashion. This decouples the heat shield from the rest of the spacecraft and allows for higher density payloads.”

Landing spacecraft on Mars is a prime example of the immediate applications of this research. Because of its thin atmosphere—one percent of earth’s density, in fact—it’s fairly difficult to slow down a spacecraft enough to safely land on the surface. Having an inflatable structure like the one Chris is exploring allows for a larger surface area on the rocket to help with landing.

One takeaway that Chris would like to pass on to future engineering students is the understanding that saving money to pursue engineering in Paducah came at no cost to his career. When he finishes his PhD, Chris hopes to work in a NASA lab (he has several internships with the Langley facility under his belt already) or with the Air Force research facility lab in Dayton.

“I’ve done work on the main campus, but I don’t think people realize the real advantages we have here,” Chris explains. “The small studentteacher ratio allows for so many opportunities to engage in high-level research, the caliber of the professors and the facilities are just as good as anything you’d fine on a bigger campus. I’m certainly glad this is the choice I made.”

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T

yler Stoffel waS intrigued by math and science at an early age. What sets him apart from his peers is that he sought out the Paducah Campus program even though Paducah wasn’t his hometown.

“I have extended family in Paducah, so after graduating high school in Merrill, Wisconsin, I came straight here for this program,” Tyler explains. “Having family here was a plus, but the program was truly what brought me here. Because of our school’s size, we have opportunities for true mentorships with the professors, and I’ve been able to graduate essentially debt free. I also have four children ages four and under, so being close to support was a must for my family.”

Tyler’s early expoengineering research and more sure to undergraduate TYLER STOFFEL DISCOVERS on the computational. And while research was pivotal to NEW WORLDS THROUGH NUMBERS his days may look like they’re his decision to make spent just “crunching the numbers,” research into a career. During according to Tyler, having someone sophomore year, Tyler and who can write long codes and work through Jordan Garcia worked together doing numbers simulations is an important part of the composite materials research under the scientific process. direction of Dr. Lu. For them, it was both a privilege “Almost my entire research career has been doing and consequential experience. simulation and computations, but we need people to “The number of peer reviewed articles Dr. Lu has do this,” he notes. “I love math and programming, and written is crazy,” Tyler notes. “We didn’t quite know writing these big, long codes that crunch the numbers what we were getting into, but getting paid to do creates a whole world in itself.” research under someone with his credentials was such Tyler’s simulation work involves hypersonic research, an honor. He made it simple for us to understand even a branch of mechanical engineering that addresses though the concepts were very complex, and he laid out aero-thermodynamic problems with the work in such a way that we could contribute to the entry vehicles. research goals even as someone who was just starting “When NASA or anyone sends a in the program.” craft into space the most challenging Now, Tyler focuses less on the experimental side of

CRUNCHING

the

NUMBERS

26 • PADUCAH LIFE

LIKE us on part of the entire mission is getting the vehicle back down to earth without it being obliterated by the heat and high pressures,” Tyler notes. “There are all these different effects that take place when the front to of the vehicle is at 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I work on solving the system of equations that govern fluids when the system is so complicated you need a big, advanced simulation to do it.

While perusing this work, Tyler

has also spent time interning at the NASA Langley research facility.

Although his internship was remote due to COVID, he still had the opportunity to study descent and landing sequence data from the 2020 MARS Perseverance Rover.

“I’m working with a team looking at the data measurements they collected from the heat shield of that capsule,” he explains. “It’s been more than two years since it landed, but that data is so valuable that people will be processing it for years to know the vehicle experience when it was going on to Mars.”

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The

NUMBERS

J

BEHIND theNOISE

ohn higgins is a man JOHN HIGGINS SOLVES SOUND of few words, but like most POLLUTION IN ROTARY reticent individuals, when he CRAFT ACOUSTICS speaks, it counts.

“I’m always surprised more people don’t take advantage of the local program,” he states.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to stay here and save some money. The education is a fraction of the price of the main campus when you figure in the partnership with WKCTC, different scholarship opportunities, the chance to live at home, and the caliber of the program. The only difference between Paducah and the main campus is that here the professors have less students and more time to teach. That’s such an advantage.”

John, who is from Kevil, has certainly taken advantage of his time in the program. Like his peers, he’s always had a mathematical mind, making mechanical engineering a natural fit. John’s PhD research focuses on using computer simulation to adjust acoustic dynamics in rotary craft.

Regulations on the noise pollution of drones and other rotary vehicles often limit the opportunities for industries to put them into everyday use. Using computations rather than material adjustment to study how to reduce and change noise on these vehicles is cheaper, easier, and more efficient than material experimentation.

“We’re attempting to change the way that people perceive the noise or change the noise itself,” John explains. “This will make it easier for people to use drones without all the sound pollution. Companies like Amazon and UPS, for example, would probably already be delivering via drone to houses if the noise regulations didn’t prohibit it.”

The type of computational work John does is certainly cheaper than changing the physical blades for each test. By changing one digit on the computer, each variation can be tested through simulation, which is both a faster and more controlled method.

This no-nonsense dynamic fits John’s personality, but the work isn’t without creativity or excitement. Opportunities to test, try new things, and innovate in an important industry abound. John is currently completing a fellowship with the Department of Energy and hopes to continue work with that entity after graduation.

“People may not think it when they see how much time I spend on computers, but engineering is a very exciting career,” he notes. “Creative problem solvers are in high demand, and this is a great fit for people who want to help make important gains while working with their mind and hands.”

28 • PADUCAH LIFE

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30 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Botanical Beauties That Last Forever

JIMMY NICHOLS AND DANIEL CARLISLE CREATE FLORAL FANTASIES IN PADUCAH’S WEST END

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Staffordshire dogs and walls lined in antique handmade rugs. Neither time nor temperature will affect these florae because, despite their appearances, they’re not living— they are made of clay.

For the past 25 years, Jimmy Nichols has dedicated his life and work to these floral creations, mastering an artform that reaches back to the 1700s and is inspired by porcelain work from France and Italy. “Ceramics are a popular artform,” business partner and art apprentice Daniel Carlisle explains.

“There are only a handful of people in the world that really work in this medium with flowers, however. It’s complex, detailed work, and we’re

by S TEPHANIE WATSON

T IS A SEARINGLY HOT DAY OUTSIDE OF THE WEST END’S new La Belle Plaza—the kind of day when heat rises in translucent waves from the pavement and landscaping droops beneath the violent rays. The flowers just inside the doors of J and D’s Garden, however, don’t seem to have gotten the memo for whatever plans mother nature had today.

On a center table in the middle of the shop, brilliant fuchsia stargazer lilies on long stems welcome guests to a world of botanical beauty that defies the rules of nature. Delicate blue hydrangea blooms and branches of tulip magnolia blossoms sit to the side in hand-made terra cotta pots alongside prim

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • 31

proud to be keeping the artform alive.”

Jimmy, who is a Paducah native, has always been creative. His professional career started as a tailor making dresses for the women of Paducah before he took a job in a ceramics store where his journey with clay and glazes began. As his craft developed, he started to take on commissions. Then, a client brought him a challenge that would change his life. She wanted him to make a flower.

“Taking what I learned at the ceramic shop, I began to experiment with clay,” Jimmy explains. “I started sculpting animal figures like those I had seen in the Staffordshire pieces from England. My work then graduated to fruits and vegetables in life-size forms. In studying the fruits, I realized that they needed flowers and leaves to enhance their life-like appearance. While developing the flowers for these pieces, I was asked if I could make a single flower that could be ‘planted’ into a pot as though it were growing. That’s where it all began.”

Since that first flower, Jimmy has worked with designers like Charles Faudree, Mario Buatta, Laura Kauffman, John Gust, and Bill Ford. His work is now sold worldwide, and even appears in the homes of celebrities like Kathy Hilton and Al Gore. Along with opening a local store and appearing in art shows across the country, Jimmy and Daniel’s work is now sold in retail locations in San Antonio and Naples. It has also been published in the book Country French by Charles

Faudree (a huge milestone that bolstered Jimmy’s career) and has been featured in Veranda magazine, Architectural Digest, as well as many other publications.

Daniel, who worked as a floral designer in Alabama before joining Jimmy 13 years ago, has helped grow the business and continue the legacy of Jimmy’s work. “It takes years to develop the dexterity for sculpting such small and precise pieces,” he explains.

Often, this process of creating a flower starts with a client consultation. Many customers request flowers that signify important moments in their life: weddings, funerals, significant trips, and travel all form the inspiration for many of their creations. The pair has created pieces that are eight foot tall and six foot wide along with tiny pieces that may only be composed of a few petals.

And if the realism of the flowers is breathtaking, so is the time it takes to construct them. “These stargazer lilies took a year and a half to perfect,” Daniel notes.

“We start with a sample of a live flower and treat the initial process like a dissection. We’re examining how the petals are placed, which directions they turn, and looking at the symmetry to understand if it is balanced or looks wild. We even consider the intricate details such as a tiny hole eaten by an imaginary bug or how the colors vary on a sun-kissed leaf.”

Next, Daniel and Jimmy look at form and handmake tools like press molds and cutters to get the texture, size, and shape just right. The process of molding is

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extensive and time consuming, with single blooms taking four to five minutes to create. Since most pieces require at least 500-1,000 sculpted pieces (large ones easily exceed that number), it is truly a labor of love that produces their work.

Finally, the flower pieces are put together like a puzzle, fired in the kiln, and then painted to look just like they would in the wild. “You put a little piece of your soul into each creation,” Daniel notes. “When you spend so much time on a piece of art, a little bit of yourself goes with it when the client takes it home.”

The future of Jimmy and Daniel’s art seems to be just as promising as the past. The store is working on expanding into online sales while Jimmy and Daniel continue taking on bigger commissions and looking at distribution worldwide. Taking care of their local customer base is never far from their heart and mind, however, and they look forward to taking care of guests at their new storefront right here in Paducah.

Jimmy Nichols, left, and Daniel Carlisle

“We wouldn’t be where we are without the support of all our friends and clients here,” Daniel says. “Not only have they supported our art, but they’ve supported us as the work has grown. We also hope to eventually be able to hire and pass on this beautiful artform to others so that it doesn’t get lost. We don’t want to see skills like this die away. That’s what Jimmy did for me, and it’s a passion we hope to see live on in the lives of others just as it lives on in our art.”

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2022-2023 Arts In Focus Series

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34 • PADUCAH LIFE

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Recipes From the River featuring

Chefs Regina Charboneau, Phillip Ashley Rix, Paul Signa & John Varanese

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Kentucky Humanities will host four esteemed chefs who will demonstrate some of their favorite “river recipes,” relate the stories behind their personal food journey, and discuss how cuisine can unify and define a culture. Attendees can sample food items that are demonstrated as well as purchase culinary-related items from each chef.

Saturday, September 17 at 10 a.m. (CDT) Paducah Convention & Expo Center 415 Park Street

This is a free event but requires registration.

Visit kyhumanities.org to register.

TOURISM, ARTS AND HERITAGE CABINET

The Barreling Team (L-R): Octavious Smith, Cullen Wiley and Brady Nall.

Making the Best in the West

L VISIONARY BOURBON CONNOISSEURS ARE BROADENING THE BASE FOR KENTUCKY DISTILLING ★

by S USIE F ENWICK

LLOYD JONES, PRESIDENT and CEO, of Jackson Purchase Distillery, traveled the world and found a unique opportunity within miles of where he grew up in Fulton, KY. With a distinguished shock of white hair and a gentile manner, the Kentucky gentleman loves a good Kentucky bourbon and fast race horses thundering down Churchill Down’s homestretch.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER2022 2022• •37 37 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

JACKSON PURCHASE DISTILLERY

Far from Kentucky’s acclaimed Golden Triangle and off the beaten Bourbon trail, Jackson Purchase Distillery is producing whiskey on its way to becoming fine Kentucky bourbon. Surrounded by a corn field in Fulton County just outside of Hickman, KY, the distillery has been a long time coming into production.

It took a discussion in Lloyd’s basement with his friend and bourbon broker, David Salmon, to breathe new life into a facility with minuscule production since its inception in the 1980’s. David mentioned he would buy a distillery if he could find one for sale. Proof that timing is everything, Lloyd told him that he happened to know of one and that an upcoming duck hunting trip on Reelfoot Lake would lead them past the idle distillery.

It was love at first sight when David laid eyes on the Vendome Copper and Brass Works, Inc. all-copper still.

Sitting in a distillery tucked in the farthest western nook of Kentucky was one of the finest stills in the industry.

Vendome, the manufacturer, is a family owned business and longtime fixture in the spirits industry with a staff of acclaimed coppersmiths located in downtown Louisville.

Lloyd and David, both with extensive and various business experience, wasted no time setting the wheels in motion to buy the distillery. The high caliper still might have inspired love at first site but the acquisition resulted in a long courtship. The venture was stalled when the pandemic shut the world down and made it challenging to hold investors together. The economic slowdown and stock market downturn left some nervous but they saw the vision, believed in the dream, and persevered.

Not to be deterred, the distillery was acquired and on the 123rd day of operations was producing whiskey; a feat anyone ever involved in a startup operation can appreciate.

Credit for the successful start-up goes to an impressive lineup of a world class team of professionals. In addition to Lloyd and David, who is the very capable COO, the team is rounded out by Craig Beam, Master Distiller, and Terry Ballard, Assistant Distiller.

As might be expected by his surname, Beam’s bourbon pedigree is extraordinary. A seventh generation Kentucky distiller, he was the Master Distiller at Bardstown’s Heaven Hill Distillery before coming to Jackson Purchase Distillery. His grandfather and father were both Heaven Hill Master Distillers before passing the legacy onto Craig. Beam is described as having unparalleled knowledge of the industry.

Rounding out the top level management team is Terry Ballard, Assistant Master Distiller and Director of Plant Operations. Terry’s work experience comes from years of experience as Lead Distiller at Willett Distillery also in Bardstown.

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Lloyd is quick to give credit to people in the bourbon industry for being a collegial bunch, Lloyd Jones, CEO and President, always friendly and willing to help. What’s good for one distillery is good for the bourbon Terry Balard, Assistant Master Distiller and Director of Manufacturing, industry and good for Kentucky.

Craig Beam, Master Distiller, Angela Kirby, Executive Assistant.

David Salmon sums it up in a promotional video: “Everybody in Kentucky makes great whiskey. Nobody makes bad whiskey. All of our goals are to make the best whiskey we possibly can, just some whiskey is better.”

Jackson Purchase Distillery is steadily increasing production and the facility is under construction in expansion mode to accommodate the booming bourbon industry. Their capacity is booked for the next three years. Lloyd

38 • PADUCAH LIFE

Around&About Jones is amazed that the number of employees has risen to 34 at last count and that’s 34 good paying jobs in an economically depressed area.

Riding the amber wave of bourbon production is a boon to area agriculture with corn sourced locally. The local corn comes from the same watershed as the calcium rich water used in the mash. The mash byproduct is high in protein and water content making it the perfect cattle feed. The distillery is happy to offload it to area farmers.

It’s a win/win for the distillery and the farmers. The byproduct must be moved due to capacity limitations and farmers are happy to get free cattle feed.

The team at Jackson Purchase Distillery is pleased with their product and the unique factors making the far western Kentucky distillery successful.

Being the only far western Kentucky distillery in a bourbon rich state is unique in itself but the Kentucky gentleman, Lloyd Jones, can lay claim to another distinction. Jackson Purchase Distillery is corporate sponsor to both Kentucky’s Banana Festival in Fulton and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown.

Held the same week, Lloyd will be tasked with deciding who from his team will represent the distillery at which festival. Bourbon and Bananas—it’s truly where two worlds collide!

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Editor’s Note: As a contract supplier, Jackson Purchase Distillery does not offer tours or tastings.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 • 39

H

by Susie Fenwick

Jacquelyn Carruthers THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL VIEWPOINT OF A PAINTER WITH “GOOD TASTE”

T THE WORLD AROUND JACQUELYN Carruthers buzzes with energy and so does Jacquelyn. She is in perpetual motion tending rescue horses, growing an organic garden, participating in community events, and nurturing relationships with family and friends. She is very much a free thinker who channels positive energy into rapid fire thoughts and ideas. She speaks four languages. She laughs often and easily. She is a whirling dervish of sight, sound, and sensation.

Above all, Jacquelyn Carruthers paints. She is an artist with uncommon talent and an abundance of creative energy to sustain her ability to produce for her own enjoyment and for the pleasure of others.

40 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Jacquelyn Carruthers was cautioned at an early age by her paternal grandmother, Lovey, “Don’t tell everybody what you see.”

The wise old lady knew others would think her beloved granddaughter strange if they were privy to the child’s vivid description of tasting colors with her eyes. Grandmother Lovey feared the prospect of Jacquelyn being ostracized if she excitedly revealed to others her ability to see depths and layers of colors not detected by the average person.

So comfortable with her perceptions, Jacquelyn was undaunted by the admonishment.

Jacquelyn’s velvet brown eyes light up with the thought of her eyes tasting colors that the eyes of others only see.

Halloween has always been her favorite occasion because the world is garnished with the blacks and oranges of the season. The color combination is appealing to her eyes but even more so Jacquelyn loves the taste of the colors of the season. Black tastes of licorice with its exotic, bittersweet, aromatic flavor like fennel or star anise. As much in contrast as the color black is the color orange. In Jacquelyn’s world the taste of the color orange has a bright, light, citrus flavor.

Besides tasting the colors, through Jacquelyn’s eyes the inanimate become animate.

Flowers come to life and fruit takes on new dimensions.

A feminist activist, Jacquelyn is known for her striking portraits of women, particularly her likenesses of Native American women. With both Choctaw and Cherokee ancestry,

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 41

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Jacquelyn takes pride in capturing their beauty and strength on canvas.

“Never a prophet in your own house,” is how Jacquelyn describes her art selling in other parts of the country before she gained recognition closer to home.

Through the wonders of social media, aesthetes from across the country learned of her art and were happy to acquire paintings to include in their collections.

Gaining prominence closer to home, the artist’s paintings have been exhibited in many local galleries. Native American paintings were included in an exhibit in November, 2021 in the Kentucky State Capitol rotunda in observance of Native American Heritage Month. Jacquelyn was invited to exhibit again at the state capitol in observance of the Kentucky Derby, but her beautiful painting of a striking, young

42 • PAD U CAH L I FE

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Creole lady was sold locally before it could be exhibited.

Her work is also included in the Kentucky Arts Council’s Native Reflections: Visual Art by American Indians of Kentucky.

To her many viewers both near and far, the world is more beautiful with each new creation crafted at the hands of Jacquelyn Carruthers.

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neLastPitch

MASON VINYARD WILL SPEND THE LAST YEAR OF HIS COLLEGIATE CAREER PITCHING FOR THE HIGHLY-RATED UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY BASEBALL TEAM

M

★

by D USTIN W ILCOX

ASON VINYARD DOESN’T PLAY AROUND WHEN he plays ball—exactly why the University of Kentucky recently recruited him to pitch for its baseball team during his final year of college.

The Paducah native previously played for Wabash Valley College and Western Kentucky University, but that’s not where his story began. While Mason has consistently played baseball since he was just four years old, he said his stint at McCracken County High School marked when his skills first flourished.

“Whenever I was about eight years old, my dad, my brothers, and I would go watch UK play Murray State at Brooks Stadium, and I’m just thinking to myself,

44 • PADUCAH LIFE

‘This is what I want to do,’ ” Mason said. “I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. It started to click with me there that I wanted to be a college baseball player.”

After former WKU coach John Pawlowski resigned, Mason decided he wanted to play baseball for the Southeastern Conference, leading him to enter the transfer portal one last time. He’s already excited to work with the UK coaches and utilize their facilities.

“The opportunity to show that I can pitch at the highest level of college baseball and the way that the coaches talked to me meant a lot,” he said. “They got my family involved, which was very nice.”

However, the road to success admittedly wasn’t always easy,

seeing as how Mason nearly lost his place on the Wabash Valley team after “redshirting” his freshman year.

“I was kind of on the fringe of, ‘Is he good enough?’” Mason said.

“I remember telling my dad that I was so scared about getting cut.”

Even though he’ll soon walk a different diamond, Mason doesn’t take for granted the memories he made at WKU, where he was privy to many an intense moment as a late-inning pitcher. In March, his former team played UK at their stadium where he pitched the last three innings and helped secure victory.

“That was a really cool win for us because UK was receiving votes to be in the top 25 at that time, and they were unbeaten,” he said. “So that was a big moment.”

Mason is eager to pursue professional baseball post-graduation. Yet if the opportunity ever presents itself, the 22-year-old is also more than willing to utilize his bachelor’s degree in finance and master of business administration elsewhere.

No matter where his career takes him, Mason plans to routinely visit his family in Paducah. He doesn’t take for granted the relationships he’s built with coaches and colleagues throughout the years, especially since many helped him get where he is today.

“I’m very appreciative of my parents,” Mason said. “They’ve made all this possible from the financial sacrifices of it to traveling everywhere with me. I’m lucky. A lot of people don’t have that kind of support. Same goes to my brothers.

They helped me out quite a bit.”

Here’s hoping Mason continues to be on the ball in every walk of life.

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H by Amy Sullivan

WHAT’S YOUR BEYOND? For Capulan Gurrola, It’s Beyond Uganda

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“I DON’T WANT BOYS, I WANT SCHOOL, I WANT TO BE A nurse. I want school, I want to be a nurse.” 12-year-old Jennifer persisted, shadowing Capulan Gurrola and her family, pointing to their shoes. It was 2011, and Capulan, her husband, three daughters, and son, had seized the opportunity through Heartland Church to cross off an item from their bucket list: to travel to a faraway country to visit the children they had been sponsoring for several years in Uganda. But Jennifer was not the Gurrolas’ sponsored child, and they couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell them.

During their daily debriefing, Capulan shared this experience with the group. To her surprise, she learned school is not free for Ugandans. They must be able to pay for school fees and a uniform and must have a pair of shoes. Jennifer was asking for a pair of shoes to be able to attend school.

Otherwise, when she reached the age of 15, she would be married off and given no other choices for her life.

This made an overwhelming impact on Capulan’s daughter, also 12 at the time, who realized she probably had 30 pairs of shoes at home, while just one pair would help Jennifer and others attend school. She continued to remind her family how they could help—to do something “beyond Uganda.”

When they returned to the states, the Gurrolas shared Jennifer’s story with others. Within a month they collected 271 pairs of shoes, as well as clothing and money to pay for school fees. A year later, in 2012, they filed for 501c3 status to establish the organization “Beyond Uganda.” Initial funds raised allowed Jennifer to enroll in school, and she was the first graduate of the program sponsored by their organization.

Sponsorship of a child also provides meals and medical assistance, as well as a “nest egg” to begin saving towards their college or vocational school education. If not, a sponsor’s support can later help the child negotiate a plot of land to begin living independently.

Jackie Harris and her husband, Roger, began sponsoring two children in 2015. In April 2022 she took a “vision trip” to Uganda, which takes place every spring and summer, to see what Beyond Uganda is doing now and to continue to develop a vision for the future. Though she also spent time helping a family who had been building for almost 10 years to complete their

Serving a “Center Day” meal to approximately 250 children at the Bugiri outpost.

home and visiting other project sites, the highlight of the trip was finally meeting their two sponsor children.

“When I met them it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before,” Jackie reflected. “I loved them as soon as I saw them. They had these smiles! The time I spent with them, learning what they like and what’s important to them, was priceless. We shared a meal and got to know each other a little. I had come to Uganda to see the vision and liked what they are doing but didn’t think I would go back. Now that I have met the children, I know I will go back.”

Jackie says it was easy to distinguish which kids were sponsored and which weren’t.“We served food for 250, 400, and even 650 children. It was easy to see the benefits of sponsorship. Those kids have hope for a better future, getting what they need to live now beyond merely surviving.”

Supporters still collect shoes to help educate kids, but Beyond Uganda has expanded greatly over the past ten years. With the help of Laura Roberts of Starfish Orphan Ministry, Beyond Uganda set up the infrastructure, and with the collaboration of many ministry partnerships they have been able to grow to four sites including a project center. Aiming to be self-sustainable, they later acquired 47 acres in a neighboring city and now have a primary school, a church, and land plentiful with crops to feed staff and children and sell at market to raise funds. They have two project sites in the east and other sites in the capital city, with a total of four project sites and 147 children enrolled in the program.

Every Saturday is Jackie Harris “absolutely falling in love” with “Center Day,” where the her sponsor children, Proscovia and Franco

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Visiting the children of Suubi Christian Primary School in Namayemba. Funds to construct the school were raised at the 2019 “reverse auction.” / Suubi school student giving thanks to Symsonia students for participation in fundraising for clean water.

gates are open to the community kids to enjoy a piece of meat, a luxury most families don’t regularly get. Within Beyond Uganda’s walled compound, approximately 250300 children not only have a chance to eat a nutritious meal, but also have a safe place to learn and play games.

Three days a week, around 125 adults can participate in life skill lessons, including storing water, business and financial training, and parenting classes. Women enrolled in these classes also have an opportunity to apply for a loan through Beyond Uganda’s Empowering Women program.

Nearly 89 percent of women in Uganda earn only an average of $400 annually, just enough to live in sub-poverty conditions. In the interest-free micro credit loan program, women are given $50 to start a business which they pay back in six months. During that time, they come in three times a week for business classes, life classes, and bible study. When their $50 is repaid, the women then help choose another woman to invest in, teaching them to invest in one another.

Beyond Uganda volunteers also help build houses for families, which can take several years since you build as you get the supplies and help. Each project is a partnership. Ugandan families build a foundation and make bricks year-round until they have enough, and volunteers help build the homes. “We bring 80% of the needed resources, but we require the family to step up with the other 20%, which is not always money – they make bricks and provide food to feed the workers,” says Capulan.

Back in Paducah fundraising is ongoing, with t-shirt, 50 • PAD U CAH L I FE

jewelry and handbag sales, store collaboratives, food sales, and regular donations. But Beyond Uganda specifically raises money for buildings at its annual “Reverse Auction.” Instead of obtaining donations for bidders to purchase and take home items, guests buy windows, doors, the foundation for a home or school, and even the desks for school classrooms.

Plaques with donors’ names are hung in the rooms of these structures.

“That’s the best part of being a team leader taking groups each spring and summer,” Capulan exclaimed, “when we witness the donors’ excitement of standing in a classroom seeing their name on the wall. This happened this past April when donor Amy Brock yelled to her husband, ‘Look, Joe! Here’s our room! Come see the classroom we helped build!’ as she stood in that very room and could see the fruits of their donation.”

Though not everyone is able to visit Uganda, Capulan encourages everyone to reflect upon what their “beyond” might be. “When we see a person in need, it’s a reminder to do something bigger outside of ourselves, even something small. For us, that was Uganda, but for others, it may be helping their neighbor across the street, or coming together as a community like many did for Mayfield when the tornado hit.”

Visit beyonduganda.org to learn how you might help find your beyond.

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by Stephanie Watson

Amanda, Edwin and Nic Hutchison

HE CAME. HE SAW.

He Came Back to STAY! Nic Hutchison visited Paducah as a city planner from Missouri, fell in love with the river city, then jumped at the chance to plan this community’s future based on its historic past

W

HEN NIC HUTCHISON FIRST

became acquainted with Paducah, it wasn’t because he was hoping to work for the city, but rather to learn from it.

In 2018 while working as the City Planner for St. Joseph, Missouri, Nic brought a team of stakeholders to Paducah to learn about the success of the Lowertown initiative, Fountain Avenue affordable housing programs, and the

general framework that helped Paducah become an accredited Main Street Community.

“I instantly loved it,” he says. “It’s a small-town community, but the downtown is so vibrant. Over the years, involved citizens and city leadership have done such a good job with restoration and building the arts and cultural community. My love of the city started by wanting to figure out how it had been so successful.”

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 53

H Nic Hutchison City Planner Nic took what he learned here and applied it to St. Joseph’s goal of restoring a major historic corridor while also providing affordable housing to residents in that area, but Paducah was never far from his mind. When an opportunity to transfer here became available, he jumped on it. “I told my wife that the only reason I would leave St. Joseph was for Paducah,” he states. “When the opportunity came, I couldn’t pass it up.”

Nic was hired as the Director of City Planning for Paducah in May 2021, joining an already strong department that covers the variety of planning disciplines and aspects of the profession. His work involves supporting projects both big and small, tackling large-scale community goals like the revitalization of Paducah’s southside as well as helping individuals and business achieve their own objectives while they build life in Paducah.

And while there is no typical day as a city planner, according to Nic, that’s where the value is. “You never know who is going to walk through the door or call because the needs are always changing,” he explains. “The heart of city planning is the relationships we build.

We engage with residents, answering questions about zoning, permitting, and anything else they are hoping to achieve with their project. We also work a lot with large scale developers, community groups, and neighborhood organizations about potential projects or logistics for current ones. This work is a balance between the very concrete details of the built environment and the more abstract goals of who a community wants to be and how that environment supports quality of life.”

According to Nic, what he loves most about his job is that, at its core, it is a position steeped in relationships: the connection between individual and society, between municipal and private sectors, between economic goals and goals for improving quality of life. “Paducah is a community that is open, warm, and receptive,” he explains. “It’s citizens and municipal leadership are forward-thinking and dynamic, but they place the most value on bettering the lives of residents and improving the experience of visitors. Relationships matter here, and I feel lucky to be a part of preserving parts of our past while helping to build a vibrant future.”

HISTORICAL PRESERVATION AT HOME Nic, who is a native of Springfield, Missouri, has a degree in Community Regional Planning from Missouri State, but he didn’t start his academic path with the intention of planning cities. A fascination with buildings and the cities that house them first led him to study architecture, but the more he experienced the academic aspects of that field, he realized his true passion wasn’t the buildings themselves. It was the relationships and lives that develop within them.

“After studying architecture for a while, I realized that I was really more interested in the functionality of cities and places,” he notes. “I wanted to understand and facilitate the ability of people to connect, grow, and function within these spaces. I love working to help communities tell their own story while helping to create an environment that is reflective of who they are.”

His love of buildings and historic restoration never quite left him, however, and when he

54 • PAD U CAH L I FE

“

This work is a balance between the very concrete details of the built environment and the more abstract goals of who a community wants to be and how that environment supports quality of life.

-Nic HutcHisoN

”

AUGUS T / S E P T E MB ER 2022 • 55

moved to Paducah his family purchased the well-known Wallace LaBelle house, taking on a historic preservation project all their own.

Built in 1858, the Wallace LaBelle house is a one-story Greek Revival home that originally sat on 75 acres in Paducah’s west end. The original residents of the home can trace their lineage back to the first claimant of Paducah’s land, George Rogers Clark. The property is best known, however, for its time as LaBelle Park, a recreational getaway for Paducah’s citizens. At one point, the estate included a 1,000-seat theater, dance hall, petting zoo,

MAPPING THE FUTURE

HILE HELPING TO CHART THE COURSE OF PUBLIC LIFE IS A W complex task, it is also a job that starts very simply: with a map.

“This is what we’re calling the spine,” Nic states as he traces a line on a table-sized map over Walter Jetton, through Coleman Park, and down the stretch of Irvin Cobb leading to the southside Paducah city line. “That used to be a major arterial vein that went through the south side, but the interstate created a bypass for all the business and industry that existed here, which contributed to the disinvestment.

The greatest value in this area is the people that live here, and we are working to support reinvestment in this area in a way that will beautify the region, improve quality of life for its residents, and connect it to the rest of the city in a vibrant way.”

True to his nature, Nic’s view of city initiatives start with his care for the people who live here, and the southside Paducah revitalization project stands as a prime example of that philosophy in action.

“We want to help the people in this part of the city tell their story and shape their community in the way that is meaningful to them,” he explains. “This project will have to be an incremental approach, but it will be one that prioritizes equitable distribution and access to the resources and spaces that support quality of life.”

This includes improving access to affordable housing, safe park spaces and other recreational amenities, as well as access to

56 • PAD U CAH L I FE

racetrack, golf course, playgrounds, and more. In the 1920s, the property was eventually sold and subdivided, making the Wallace house just one of many in the neighborhood formerly known as Wallace Park.

Nic’s family is gladly embracing the charge that many generations of the home’s caretakers have upheld over the years. “It’s pretty amazing because I love historic preservation and architecture,” he states.“Understanding the evolution of the property in relation to how the city of Paducah has developed has made it even more special.”

employment and retail comparable to other areas of the city. The Southside Steering Committee, a subcommittee of the planning department and other community stakeholders, views the recently revealed Dunlap Project as the starting point for these improvements and as the first link between southside, midtown, and downtown.

The project is a $14 million investment in renovating the historic Walter Jetton school into a “live, learn, and work space” that will house a community service facility operated by the Paducah Symphony Orchestra while also providing affordable housing. The department hopes this is the starting point for future development and reinvestments in the area.

The committee is also looking to strengthen the connection between the southside and other areas by looking at alternative modes of transportation to make sure people can run, walk, bike, and drive the entire corridor and make it to other areas of the city.

Another effort headlining the planning department’s work includes resolving the housing crisis that exists across the country. “We are working on a comprehensive plan to consult and engage with the community and see what the people of Paducah want to see in 25 years,” Nic states. “We want to understand the housing choices residents want and how that compares to what we have now.” Access to housing options include planning for helping an aging population to be able to “age in place” rather than leave their neighborhoods.

Of course, maintaining the growth of the historic heartbeat of our city is a cause never far from his mind. “Having the distinction of being a Great American Mainstreet Community is the highest recognition we can get for a main street area,” Nic notes. “We continue to work with the Main Street Board, artists, investors, entrepreneurs, and residents of the downtown area to maintain and expand the work that’s already been done.” Part of that effort includes expanding the revitalization work that’s occurred on the 100-400 blocks of Broadway down through the 900 block. This means working with merchants, business owners, and historic resources like the Columbia Theater to continue telling the story of Paducah while writing its future.

“At the end of the day, we’re working to support through the built environment how people’s lives will intertwine, develop, interact, and grow,” Nic notes. “In doing that, we try to pull from the past and look toward the future.”

AUGUS T / S E P T E MB ER 2022 • 57

by J.T. Crawford

Come

Sail Away

K

entucky Lake is one of the premier destinations for those who practice the art of sailing.We recently joined avid sailor Adrienne Asbell for an afternoon among the wind and waves, getting an inside view of this ancient pastime.

Maybe it was the photos of boats gliding through azure waters near the Great Barrier Reef just off the coast of Australia. Or perhaps it was the alluring lyrics of Christopher Cross as he sang,“Sailing—takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be. Just a dream and the wind to carry me, and soon I will be free.” Or perhaps it was the TV show Gilligan’s Island.

“Yeah, but I guess that didn’t end well,” laughs Adrienne Asbell as she recounts the influences that caused her to fall in love with sailing.“But I did have a huge crush on the professor.”

No matter what led her here, it is a pristine day, and she is right where she wants to be—commanding her sailboat Calypso through Kentucky Lake. “Since I was a little kid, I said I was going to get a sailboat,” she says. About ten years ago, Adrienne found herself driving a regular route by a house where a sailboat was just sitting in the yard. “I finally stopped and asked if they would sell it. And I ended up buying it.”

Adrienne Asbell

Even though Adrienne had dreams of sailing, she didn’t know the first thing about actually doing it. But she had a boat.

And she found a community. “All the folks on my pier were avid sailors,” she says, “and there were a couple of other newbies. We had a mentor, and we all just learned together. Every weekend we’d go out and learn.”

At first, she took it slow, only using the mainsail. Over time, she learned the lingo, the parts of the boat, and the actions needed to be successful. Then she began to practice the art of sailing, something Adrienne says is never mastered but continually learned.

While sailing is more demanding than motorized boating, Adrienne has discovered an experience unlike any other.“I will admit it could be a little more intense at times than I had imagined,” she laughs, “but on those perfect days, it’s not like anything else.” She finds it to be a great escape—one of the few things that completely draws her mind away from the complications of life.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 59

Sailing Club Sailing requires attention and thoughtfulness. Adrienne generally avoids extremely windy and/or gusty days. If she does decide to brave those elements, she will ask someone else to crew on her boat, or she may crew with someone else. And through the Kentucky Lake Sailing Club, she’s able to enjoy multiple facets of sailing. The group holds group sails, raft-up events, overnight stays, and races.

“Racing helps keep your skills sharp,” she says.

“You get all points of sail when you race,” explains Adrienne.“The wind will be at your back, and it’ll seem super flat and quiet. You’ll round a buoy, and the wind will be at your side. Then, you’ll be heeled over (tilted at an angle) all the way. Then you may have the wind coming right at you. You have to tack back and forth then because you can’t obviously go directly into the wind. You have to be able to fill the sails. That can be exhausting.”

For a more relaxing outing, Adrienne enjoys a leisurely cruise around the lake before rafting up with friends.

She often anchors and stays on her boat overnight, which comes with sleeping quarters. Andy Howard, Commodore with the Kentucky Lake Sail Club, says days like those are what it’s all about.

“We have racers, some who have boats and may not sail a whole lot but like to hang out at the marina, and some who love to cruise and just get out and enjoy the water,”

says Andy. “But everyone comes together, and you make fast friends.”

The club, which has been around for nearly four decades, calls Kentucky Lake home. “It is probably the best sailing lake in the central U.S.,” says Andy. It offers the space and depth needed to sail. On nice days, you can see a large number of sailboats on the north end of the lake, and if you’ve been to Grand Rivers, you’ve probably been struck by the beauty of all the sailboats docked in the marina at Lighthouse Landing.

“It really takes your mind off stuff,” says Andy. “And you can sit back and sail or you can really work it. It’s incredibly peaceful. You enjoy it without the sound of an engine.” Most sailboats do have small engines, but they are generally only used for entering and exiting marinas and moving short distances. “In fact, last year, I used three gallons of fuel,” laughs Andy.

More than just radio Art

music

community

You belong here 60 • PAD U CAH L I FE

For sailors like Andy and Adrienne, it’s such simplicity that anchors them to love the art of sailing. It immerses sailors in the most basic yet grand elements of nature—water, sky, and air—becoming one with the motion of the world.

The result is an elevation of awareness to something beyond one’s self.

This is Adrienne’s happy place. “There’s really nothing like it,” she says.“And yeah, it’s all I wanted it to be when I thought about it years ago.”

Kentucky Lake Sailing Club Andy and Adrienne invite anyone who is interested in sailing to contact the group and get involved. You don’t even have to have a boat! Getting into sailing is more accessible than you might think. Visit the KENTUCKY LAKE SAILING CLUB on Facebook or go to their website at klsc.clubexpress.com.

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AUGUS T / S E P T E MB ER 2022 • 61

★

by JT C RAWFORD

Bill Monroe’s Musical Heritage Lives On At The Rosine Barn Jamboree

63

★ W EST K ENTUCKY WANDERINGS

venerable wind strums through the heart of Kentucky as we weave our way through the panorama of Ohio County. There, the land rises and falls in a gentle, tumbling fashion, as the hand of the breeze sweeps across the native grasses, swaying the strings of the earth, striking chords that only the heart can hear.

We are in search of the ancient spirits of the Commonwealth—those elements that are rooted in the primordial building blocks of who we are. Here, land and time summon the past to write a new song that soothes the Kentucky soul.

Perhaps it all began near Jerusalem Ridge above the town of Rosine, Kentucky when a century ago, an 11-year-old Bill Monroe struggled to make sense of a harsh life, expressing himself through music. The youngest of eight children, he’d been relegated to playing the mandolin as the older kids had already claimed more desirable instruments.

When Bill was ten, his mom died. His dad would die six years later, and one by one, all of his siblings moved away. As a teen, Bill tried to hold the homeplace together by himself. Life was overwhelming. But Bill Monroe found solace in his music. And he continued to learn from his fiddle-playing uncle. Bill was fascinated by Uncle Pen’s sense of rhythm. Taking that and combining it with his penchant for writing songs about his home, Bill codified an entire genre of music—bluegrass.

Highway 62, which rolls out of Beaver Dam toward Rosine, is a grand passageway into another space and time. Just before Rosine, we pull off onto a gravel road that takes us up to Jerusalem Ridge. There, we find the original homeplace of Bill Monroe. Restored in 2001, the house is furnished how Bill would have probably remembered it, even housing some of the original family artifacts.

The area surrounding is mostly a quite woodland. One can almost imagine a very young Bill with his parents and siblings on the long porch of the house, the family playing their instruments as Bill mastered the mandolin. The sounds of bluegrass still ring out in the hills every fall with the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration at the homeplace.

We tour the house with the guide, learning about Bill, his family, and the land that inspired a style of music that is uniquely Kentucky. The reverberations that began there continue to ripple throughout the world today.

After leaving the Monroe homeplace, we find our way back to Highway 62 and head toward Rosine.

There, one can find the Bill Monroe Museum and his final resting place in the Rosine Cemetery. In

Above: The crossroads of the Bill Monroe Homeplace, Bill Monroe’s final resting place and the front porch of Slick Back BBQ. Opposite Page, a Slick Back BBQ meal and The Bill Monroe Homeplace.

64 • PADUCAH LIFE

★ W EST K ENTUCKY WANDERINGS

Rosine, Highway 62 is called the Blue Moon of Kentucky Highway, named after one of Monroe’s most famous songs. We stop at Slick Back BBQ, a restaurant located in the old Woosley’s General Store.

The building, constructed in 1933, is largely original. From the porch swing to the nearly 90-year-old wood planks that make up the restaurant’s floor, one is invited to take a step back in time and engage in another Kentucky tradition: barbecue.

We indulge in generous portions of smoked pulled pork, brisket, smashed potatoes, slaw, baked beans, and griddle corn cakes. The walls are decorated with Rosine’s past. Near our table hangs a poster advertising the next Ohio County Bologna Eating Contest. Locals come and go for lunch. “Ya got any frog legs today?” one lady asks upon entering the door. “Nope,” replies the waitress. “They quit jumpin’.”

The old Woosley’s General Store, and now Slick Back BBQ, play a huge part in bridging Ohio County’s past to the present. After lunch, we head next door to the Rosine Barn Jamboree. The barn is a time-worn structure, probably older than the old general store. It’s no doubt that these two buildings would have been part of a young Bill Monroe’s landscape. And Bill was far from the only person crafting music in this part of Kentucky. A musicality has swirled about this part of Kentucky for decades. Even after he’d moved away and become a star, residents of this part of the state still created music; playing and singing whenever they got the chance.

In the back of the old barn, in a makeshift office, we meet Terry Flener, President of the Rosine Association, overseers of the Barn Jamboree. “Years ago, Hoyt and Eleanor Bratcher ran the store,” he says.

“Hoyt played mandolin, and he started inviting friends to come over to the store on Friday evenings to pick.

People found out about it, and some would come to listen, and others would come to play. It kept growing. In ’92, the Bratchers approached the Woosley family about using the barn, which used to be a blacksmith shop.

It gave them more space to play. Word got out, and before long, you could drive by on any Friday night, and the parking lot was full.”

Musicians knew Rosine was the place to pick. Hoyt and Eleanor provided a sign-up sheet for all those who wanted to play, and anyone on the sheet was guaranteed a slot. “It might take all night, but they kept the barn open to make sure everyone got to play,” says Terry. “A few times, the sun was rising when the last band was playing.”

In the late 90s, the Rosine Association was formed to help manage and care for the Rosine Barn Jamboree.

The board kept the Friday night tradition alive with open mic early in the evening and scheduled acts to round out the night. Bill Monroe, who always called Ohio County home, played at the barn three times.

“He would come to the bluegrass festival at his homeplace and come over and play here sometimes,” adds Terry. “One time, we had a band from Russia show up, and one of the things they wanted to do was come play at the Rosine barn. Bill found out about it and came over to see if he could play with them. Of course, they loved that. The last time he played here was the year he died, 1996. He played with the US Navy Bluegrass Band.”

That year, Bill stood behind the mic for a moment as someone traced around his feet. Today, you can stand in the painted footprints of the father of bluegrass. “The saying is that you haven’t played bluegrass until you’ve been in the footsteps of Bill Monroe,” says Terry.

“

Hoyt Bratcher played mandolin, and he started inviting friends to come over to the store on Friday evenings to pick.

People found out about it, and it kept growing.”—TERRY FLENER

66 • PADUCAH LIFE

★ W EST

K ENTUCKY WANDERINGS

The sun begins to ease its way from the afternoon sky as the crowd starts to gather. Across the gravel lot and through the low current of smoke flowing from the barbecue pit, musicians begin to emerge, seemingly emanating from another dimension’s time and space. Some are carrying guitars, some mandolins, some banjos. A few haul their big string bass instruments. The open mic folks make their way onto the stage, pencil drawings of Bill Monroe looking over their shoulders and out into the crowd.

The night is not strictly bluegrass. Classic country songs, some country rock, and a smattering of blues are a staple. One can hear everything from “Rock of Ages” to “Here I Am, Drunk Again.” The crowd claps, sings along, and cheers with each song. They fan themselves as a cooler evening breeze flows through the barn’s open doors. Occasionally, an audience member utilizes one of the community flyswatters hanging from a post.

After open mic, the scheduled bands take the stage, and before long, dark has settled on Rosine, the barn emanating a glow into the night. The crowd has grown, spilling out the door to the lawn. People tap their feet, some dance, some sing along, and aspiring musicians hang out on the periphery of the entire scene, picking along quietly on their instruments.

Even over at the old Woosley Store, a trio of musicians play and sing on the porch.

“Bill started it all right here,” says Terry, “the feel, the sound. Bluegrass tells stories. It’s often about family and about home. It has so much meaning.

And when you add the musicianship on the different instruments, it really touches you.” And this keeps people coming back, Friday after Friday. There is a longing for a connection to our musical heritage played live and in person.

Later, we pull away from the Rosine Barn Jamboree and glide off into the darkness of a Kentucky night. We’ve discovered the current that flows from Kentucky’s musical past and into today.

Windows down and the smell of summer in the air, we sing along with Bill Monroe: “Back in the day of my childhood In the evening when everything was still I used to listen to the foxes And my dad in them old Kentucky hills High in the hills of old Kentucky Stands a fond spot in my memory I'm on my way back to the old home That light in the window I want to see”

THE ROSINE BARN JAMBOREE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EVERY FRIDAY AT 6 PM, APRIL THROUGH MID-DECEMBER

68 • PADUCAH LIFE

Attor neys a t L aw Rooted in tradition.

Prepared for the future.

Gary B. Houston / E. Frederick Straub, Jr. R. Christion Hutson / C. Thomas Miller James R. Coltharp, Jr. / Sharlott K. Higdon Nicholas M. Holland / Elizabeth A. Wieneke Darren R. Smith / Eric C. Straub Matthew S. Eddy

www.whitlow-law.com Old NatiONal BaNk BuildiNg • 300 BrOadway • Paducah, keNtucky • (270) 443-4516

AUGUS T / S E P T E MB ER 2022 • 69

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” —Colin Powell

S LD Carolyn King from Marshall County is a happy seller of a townhouse in Paducah in Lake Forest Sub, June 2022! Jennifer listed this property to sell and she is making a donation in her honor to Marshall County Exceptional Center (m-c-e-c.org). McMurry & Livingston, PLLC Handled the closing.

Charlotte , Russell and granddaughters, Coraline and Lisbeth from Smithland, Ky are Happy Sellers, July 2022 of a home in Paducah. Quality Title & Escrow Company handled the closing. Jennifer is making a Donation in their Honor to Calvert City Elementary School (www.marshall.kyschools.us/7/home).

Blake Foster from Florida is a Happy Buyer of 8 acres in Livingston County, July 2022 ! James and Kristine Quertermous are Happy Sellers. Jennifer represented both in this sale. McMurry and Livingston, PLLC handled the closing. Jennifer Is making a Donation in their honor to SCULPT0R CHARTER SCHOOL in Florida ( www.sculptorcharter.org ).

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Jennifer won 3rd in a very competitive class at the Shelby County Fair Horse Show on her Registered ASB Walterways’s Never Stop Dreamin’ on 6/21/2022. We are working toward a Blue Ribbon!

H by Amy Sullivan

PADUCAH PERFORMERS PERPETUATE THE PAST AT

OAK GROVE CEMETERY AND

MAUSOLEUM

T

HE REMAINS OF FRANK M. FISHER REST AMONG OTHER FAMOUS FELLOWS OF LOCAL lore within the marble walls of the West Kentucky Mausoleum in Oak Grove Cemetery. Frank was the son of Paducah’s second mayor and founder of The Paducah Sun newspaper. John Fisher committed suicide in 1923 after grieving the loss of his son, Robert, who had died of heart failure at the age of 34. Frank is said to still roam the haunted halls of Fisher Manor on Jefferson Street.

Irvin Cobb’s sister, Reubie Cobb Rudy, and mother, Manie Saunders Cobb, are also entombed in Oak Grove’s mausoleum. In the early 1900s, Manie allowed the favored Reubie to join banker Richard Rudy for a weekly buggy ride, resulting in a 40-year courtship. When Manie died, Reubie and Richard finally married, just three days after Manie was laid to rest, but they both mysteriously died a year later.

The

The monument at the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery’s mausoleum was unveiled at the dedication ceremony. It reads, West Kentucky Mausoleum; Dedicated to the Memory of Those Who Rest Within; Built 1914 The Southern Mausoleum Co. Nashville, Tennessee; Renovated 2008 Ohio Valley Monument Co. Paducah, KY; City of Paducah-Mayor Bill Paxton, Commissioners-Robert Coleman, Gayle Kaler, Buz Smith, Gerald Watkins; City Manager-Jim Zumwalt; Public Works Director-Earnie Via.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 71

OAK GROVE CEMETERY AND MAUSOLEUM For almost 15 years, Michael Cochran, Executive Director at Market House Theater, and his cryptic colleagues have been leading lantern-lit walking ghost tours in Paducah during the month of October, coupling histories with legends, playing and dressing the parts. The first three weekends feature downtown tours while the final weekend focuses on an Oak Grove outing through the cemetery and its moonlit mausoleum.

Michael Cochran explained the evolution of these evenings.

“Paducah’s Downtown after Din-

Michael Cochran plays the undertaker during the Oak Grove Mausoleum tours.

ner events used to end on Labor Day weekend. Former Main Street Director and now City Commissioner Carol Gault asked me to create downtown ghost tours to keep attracting people to downtown Paducah on fall weekends. Having written ‘Oak Grove Triumph and Tragedy’, a living history of Oak Grove Cemetery, we set out with a group of volunteer researchers led by Cindy Miller to collect stories of the darker side of Paducah history for the downtown tours and rework the Oak Grove tours to be hosted by the theatre. This evolved into our annual

72 • PAD U CAH L I FE

October River City Ghost Tours downtown and Oak Grove Cemetery after Dark Tours.

The mausoleum in Oak Grove, maintained by the City of Paducah Parks and Recreation, is known as the West Kentucky Mausoleum. It was built in 1914 by the Southern Mausoleum Company of Nashville, Tennessee. Built to house 300, so far 162 crypts have been sold. The mausoleum was closed to the public in 1991 due to safety issues. The Ohio Valley Monument Company started renovating the mausoleum in November 2007. On November 12, 2008, a rededication ceremony was held inside the newly renovated mausoleum featuring a repaired roof, new and repaired marble, electrical outlets, and sanded and painted ceilings.

With only a few small windows at the top and corners of the crypt, very little light enters, setting the stage for the spooky Ghost Tours led by Michael Cochran. A rainy night enhances the atmosphere, and guests are invited to bring their umbrellas – the show must go on!

Guests return annually to relive the mausoleum residents’ tales. While undertaker Cochran guides the lantern journey through the mausoleum, Cat Tilker plays the ghost of Della Barnes, and Roy Hensel acts as Doctor Reuben Saunders, pioneer physician and curer of cholera – also Irvin Cobb’s grandfather.

“It’s intended to be a living history experience filled with strange stories,” says Michael Cochran. The tours are oral histories of many of the legends and lore of Paducah and Western Kentucky’s darker history drawn from newspaper accounts, books, letters and eyewitnesses to

events. We offer theatrical, narrated presentations about unsolved deaths, reported ghost sightings, and the mysterious lives of some of this area’s past residents.

“There are no people jumping out during the tour,” he added, “but it gives residents a sense of the history of life and death in Paducah since its founding. There are some very famous people buried in Oak Grove that have changed the course of history.”

The tours are offered multiple times during the final weekend in

Give the gift of LIFE! PADUCAH LIFE m a g a z i n e

Visit paducahlife.com or call 270.442.3338.

October, last around 90 minutes, and usually sell out. They cover about one mile of walking through the cemetery and the mausoleum after dark.

You won’t find a script online – you’ll have to come in person to hear the haunting histories of Oak Grove.

Loved ones or other visitors may check out the key to the mausoleum from the Paducah Parks Office during the day. You can purchase a crypt on the ground tier all the way up to the fifth tier, or in the alcove in the mausoleum, for $4,000 – $5,000, depending on the area.

Mark your calendar for the downtown River City Ghost Tours offered every weekend in October, with Oak Grove tours October 2830. It’s an annual tradition, and spooky fun! Contact the Market House Theater for more information.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 73

H

Toward The Corner Of

Mercy& PEACE

by Tracey Buchanan

T

HE MOST-ASKED QUESTION ABOUT MY DEBUT novel is: “How long did it take you to write it?”

Straightforward, understandable question.

My answer, not so much.

For this novel I didn’t sit down at my desk and bang out words day after day until—voila!—a complete manuscript emerged. It didn’t even start out as a novel.

In the late 1990s I wrote a series of scripts for a tour of Oak Grove Cemetery that the city sponsored. Characters, dressed in period costumes, “came to life” at their gravesites and told their stories. I researched each character and time period and then imagined them to life, similar to the main character in Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Over the course of several years I had developed around thirty characters.

They rested in the files of my Word documents, biding their time it turns out.

One day—who knows what got into me—I decided to clean up my files and there they were . . . Alben Barkley, Irvin Cobb, Della Barnes, Evitte Dumas Nix, Captain Joseph Fowler, among others.

I couldn’t resist revisiting them and when I did I knew I had to do something to give these people breath again. Originally, I polished each character and planned to feature them as independent stories, like a short story anthology. But that didn’t work. They had all been Paducahans and they now shared a final resting place, but I wanted to knit them together more tightly.

Enter Mrs. Minerva Place. She was to be the narrator. Now, I don’t know why I didn’t choose Irvin Cobb to be the narrator. He had been the guide on the cemetery tours so he would have been the logical choice.

But logic can be overrated. (Don’t tell my engineer husband I said that.)

I have no idea why, but after years of driving past the street Minerva Place, after walking up and down it, after enjoying friends’ homes on this street, I got it into my head that it would make a great character name. And I knew she would be quirky, misunderstood, a little afraid, and funny without knowing she was.

74 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Once I started writing with her as the narrator she just took over. Minerva had her own story to tell. And I really, really loved her and wanted to bring her to life. Life and death, it turns out, is one of the book’s major themes. But I didn’t know that yet.

First, I structured the manuscript by starting each chapter with one of the historic character’s stories. My idea was to use their lives to reveal who Minerva was. But it was too much. All these people populating my manuscript overwhelmed it. So, several (13?) rewrites ensued.

Let me tell you, it’s painful to delete. Words you’ve struggled over. Words that flowed. Words that emerged from hours of research.

Words of pure imagination. So many words snipped out as if they didn’t matter. But that’s the nature of the beast.

Rewriting, cutting, adding, moving, reshuffling—every good writer will do it all, sometimes many times.

And I don’t consider anything I write as pointless. It all informs the final story. Besides, I file the material away in a special folder, where it optimistically waits to be folded into future novels.

Henry Shelton, for example. He started out in Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace, but I eventually cut him. His story is rich with thematic elements I was not pursuing in Mercy and Peace. But he’s patiently waiting. He will play a prominent role in the sequel to this novel.

All along the way, I was asking for input from willing readers. Having cut my writing teeth in the newspaper business, where nobody really cares about your feelings, I learned to value good critiques. Granted, my first readers were friends (like editor Darlene Mazzone) and my mother— ha!—and they were very encouraging. But as I got more involved with

the writing world, my readers expanded into people who don’t know me, don’t know Paducah, and don’t mind pointing out what absolutely does not work.

Every bit of the feedback I received—even from those who know me—was helpful. The encouragers’ comments fueled me to continue working on it and to believe that it was worthwhile. The writing partners helped me dig deeper. Eventually, when it got to an editor, I could polish the valuable, if sometimes rough, stones I had mined.

I’ve got to tell you, I love it all. I love the entire process of writing a book. I love sitting down with a blank screen and launching out with the first sentence. I adore seeing who the characters are and what they want to do.

And nothing beats getting the whole story out and typing THE END. But I love the rewriting too. It’s fun to solve problems, to tweak words until they are exactly right, to make the work stronger. Epiphanies—those out-of-the-blue “ah-ha” moments that reveal how something could be improved—are so rewarding.

So, in answer to that question, “How long did it take you to write it?”

I can only say, I have no idea. Years.

Since it’s my first, I was learning as I went. I attended workshops and writing camps. I read craft books. I listened to podcasts. I tried things that fell flat while other things came easily to me.

Hopefully, in the end I developed Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace into a novel you will love. That was my goal. And, like everything else about the publishing world, now I have to wait. The hardest part of the whole endeavor.

A Taste of What’s To Come

At The Corner of Mercy and Peace IT’S 1952 IN THE SMALL BUSTLING TOWN OF PADUCAH AND Mrs. Minerva Place would prefer everyone mind his own business, follow the rules, and if dead, stay dead. Nosy neighbors and irritating church members are bad enough, but when residents of the local cemetery start showing up, the quirky widow wonders if she’s going crazy.

If that weren’t enough, a new boy in the neighborhood seems intent on disrupting her life. Minerva, aggravated by precocious six-year-old George, holds him and his father Robert at arm’s length as long as she can. Nevertheless, with charming perseverance they find a way into her closed-off life and an unlikely friendship starts to blossom.

But just when Minerva starts to let her guard down a tragic accident shatters her emerging reconnection with life. Now more than her sanity is at stake. With the help of the living and the dead, Minerva’s forced to face issues she thought she had buried.

With gentle humor and a cast of charming characters, Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace explores the power of forgiveness and trust and why it’s worth it to let others into your life, even when it hurts.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace will be published by Regal House Publishing in June 2023.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 75

Voices

from the

Grave A

M

T THE TURN OF THE CENTURY (YOU KNOW THE ONE FROM 1999 TO 2000), PADUCAH LIFE Magazine asked Tracey Buchanan to share some of her clever, creative vignettes of interesting characters who were laid to rest in Oak Grove Cemetery. She developed these as part of her partnership with the city’s seasonal tours of this quiet community of those gone before. We published a number of them so we thought it would be fun to “resurrect” a sample to provide context as we anxiously await the debut of her novel, Toward the Corner of Mercy and Peace.

A Young Girl Looks At Life From Across The Divide Margaretha Better’s monument is inscribed with the words “Margaretha Stuck Denkmal.” Unless you’re familiar with German, you may not know that Denkmal means “monument.”

As you read the inscription, you learn that her maiden name was Stuck and her married name was Retter.

For the love and friendship Of his early deceased wife, Margaretha Retter, maiden name, Stuck, this monument is dedicated by her grieving husband and children.

She was born in Siebeldingen, Germany on July 6, 1819 And passed away after a short sickness in January 1845.

Soft and Peaceful in the Lord Rest her ashes.

As part of a strong German community here, Margaretha Stuck Retter was once a part of Paducah life. She once breathed deeply the heavy, humid air of western Kentucky

76 • PAD U CAH L I FE

and dug her fingers into the same land we walk upon today.

Here’s a voice from the grave at Oak Grove Cemetery. . . perhaps it might have sounded something like this.

Margaretha: I was 25 when I became suddenly ill and died. I don’t remember much about my sickness. A doctor was sent for, but he never made it to our place. I suppose it could have been any number of diseases—but I believe the doctor concluded influenza. I do remember that I knew the end had come.

You think of many things when you know you’re dying.

Maybe everyone returns to her memories of childhood. My thoughts wandered back to Diebeldingen, a tiny village in Sudliche Weinstraffe district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, to a time when I was pappa’s keine prinzessin, I think you would say, “Daddy’s little princess.”

Papa was a farmer and he wanted land of his own to grow his crops. He had attended a reading club at our

church and had heard our pastor read from John Fenimore Cooper’s translated version of the Leatherstocking tales and from Herr Gottfried Duden’s writings about America. Herr Duden had lived on a farm in Missouri for three years, and he wrote that in America you had meat on your table every night—so much meat that you couldn’t possibly eat it all.

He wrote about how beautiful America was and about how many opportunities there were. How could Vater resist this New Eden for his family?

He heard there was land at a good price in Kentucky and so we set out for this strange sounding place. We soon found out that Herr Duden had only told us part of the story. He was right about the beauty. Kentucky was thick with trees and rivers that teemed with life. But the reality of our lives was in harsh contrast to that beauty. Papa soon began to call Herr Duden “duden der Lugenhund,” which means “Duden the lying dog.”

As I grew up, my mama taught me to cook. Oh, the Hase im Topf I made! It was my best dish—a divine brew of rabbit that I always served with my sauerteig (sourdough bread). I was proud of my cooking and it showed.

Luther, my darling husband, used to call me is dumpling.

I think because I was rather round and soft, not thin and firm like so many of the girls you have today.

I married Lutz Retter—Luther—when I was 18. I had loved him since I was 14 and he was 16. He was tall and blond and had beautiful blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

The day we married I wore a dress my sister, Anna, had sewn me from a tablecloth Mama had brought from Germany. Anna had stitched doilies on it in a way that made it look fit for royalty. The Rev. Elisha Durbin married us. Rev. Durbin was a horseback-riding missionary who was considered the patriarch of the Catholic Church in western Kentucky. We heard he was going to be back in the area to check on the St. Jerome Church he had started in Fancy Farm in 1836, so we sent word to ask if he’d mind marrying us.

When Luther and I wed, there were several German families here—the Luigs (John A. Luigs immigrated to the United States from Germany as a stowaway), the Neihoffs (their name meant “Dove of Peace”), the Poats, the Kaufmas, Griefs, Weitlaufs, Krimples, Feasts, Seitzes, Schmitts and more. I heard that after I died, Rev. Durbin kept on building churches all across western Kentucky. In fact, he started St. John the Evangelist Church in McCracken County and St. Francis de Sales Church in 1849.

Just ten months after we married God began to bless us with children. By the time I was 24, I had given birth to six; one a year since I had married. Two of these, my second boy and third girl, died before I weaned them. Poor Luther was

left with four babies. I hope he married again. He needed a wife and they needed a Mama.

Don’t look so surprised. I dare say you’ll have the same kind of thoughts once you cross over to this side of eternity.

It’s impossible to explain, but the best I can tell you is that you’re able to remember without sadness. You don’t know everything that happens on earth, but you do get to know the events that bring you peace. Does that make sense? Of course not. You’re still there.

Anyway, my friends, though my life wasn’t long or impressive or particularly easy, it was good. I crossed a vast, turbulent ocean and traveled into a wilderness thick with stretching trees and gurgling rivers, wild flowers and wild

folks. I worked the dirt of the land until my hands bled and my back hurt. I loved the man I married. I bore his children and held them so close I could smell the freshness of heaven’s dew behind their ears. I laughed with friends. I tasted fresh bread. I lived my life.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The German population in Paducah was a strong presence. Margaretha’s family settled here in the 1820s. In 1848, three years after her death, a revolution in Germany sent many more immigrants to the US. The “48ers” tended to settle in the Midwest and were a strong anti-slavery group. Up until the 1910s, German was still spoken in local Lutheran and Catholic churches. German newspapers were printed for decades after that.

AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 77

BRIDES, BALLOONS, AND

Bourbon Street

by Barton Christmas

IT’S CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE BARTON GOES! BARTON CHRISTMAS (YEAH, like the holiday) is not new to PADUCAH LIFE Magazine. We featured this talented young man when he was really blowing things up in his hometown of Paducah. Barton’s balloons were a standard among events and festivities when he was in high school, and apparently they’ve taken him into some unexpected territory as you will read in his essay about his experiences in the Big Easy.

Barton is a 2021 graduate of Vanderbilt University and was the recipient of the distinguished Keegan Traveling Fellowship.

From July 2022 until somewhere in the spring of 2023, Barton will be traveling around the world interviewing artists and creatives about the impact of COVID-19 on their lives and work. Barton will be in a different country almost every month during his year-long fellowship as he interviews and entertains alongside street performers, studio artists, and other creatives from around the globe.

So, enjoy this sassy essay from Barton’s foray down Bourbon Street, and look forward to future posts from points unknown.

78 • PAD U CAH L I FE

A

NDREW JACKSON RODE HIGH ON HIS HORSE, filling up the center of the square like the beacon of military might that he always was. It seems nobody had notified him that the war was over, that we were way past 1814. President #7 just continued to rear back on his horse, devoted to the rush of battle.

Where was I in all of this? Making balloon animals, naturally.

And I will confess to you, it was a tough gig. Given my training on Paducah’s Broadway, I thought it’d be a cakewalk getting my balloons into people’s hands, and their money into mine.

Unfortunately for me, Paducah’s Broadway doesn’t have a host of beignets, contortionists, and general Cajun pandemonium. To walk in New Orleans is to walk through a fabled whirlwind of light, dark, love, and danger. The home of Mardi Gras is just as zany as you imagine.

New Orleans, first and foremost, is a city of contradictions.

Some of the most beautiful architecture you could ever hope to see rests amidst the technicolor houses of the Bywater; of course, on every block, you’ll find a house that still bears the scars of Katrina. The strong Catholic presence in the city means that NOLA holds some of America’s finest private schools; however, if you can’t pay to play, the public school system is a painfully underfunded roulette wheel.

These contradictions shine brightest on Bourbon Street, where you can see shoeless sixyear-olds drumming their hearts out on wash tubs for spare change. And as these percussion savants build out vast rhythmic landscapes, a car rolls down the street. It’s a fancy truck, one that has seen more body shops than interstates. Inside, based on the cries of “Go Saints!” echoing up and down the way, is a professional football player.

The window comes down, and twenties flutter out into the

waiting hands of those drumming kiddos. Trickle-down economics, Cajun-style.

So what does it take for a balloon artist to make his way in the Big Easy? Well, much like your average Mardi Gras attendee, I had to bend my moral code just a bit. Invading the square with an intensity that would’ve made Andrew Jackson grin, I found myself surrounded by that special collective of feminine spunk, a Bachelorette Party.

“Hey Balloon Man! Can you make a p----?”

I invite the reader to enjoy this game of raunchy hangman, as you take a guess at what the Maid of Honor was hoping to acquire for the bride. And after a slow afternoon with less than a dozen balloons dispensed, it still makes me a bit red in the face to say that I did in fact make the aforementioned part of the female anatomy.

It was an impressive specimen as balloons go, well-inflated and ready for action. Thankfully so, as the bride-to-be took the balloon and immediately began to pantomime a certain activity, one her bridesmaids encouraged her to practice in the face of her impending matrimony.

The bachelorette party moved along, taking up residence on the steps of St. Louis’s Cathedral. As the bride-to-be continued her pantomime, another tourist walked by and tossed a dollar bill in her direction. She raised it high, shouting,“New Orleans, baby!” I turned to the statue of Jackson, staring at the sky, pretending he hadn’t seen all the shenanigans going on around him.

“Quite the city you’ve got here,” I said.

We’re Grateful!

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AUGUS T / S E P T E MBER 2022 • 79

SusanGuess Is National Top Woman In Communications H

by Darlene Mazzone

I

F THERE IS ONE THING SUSAN GUESS’S FRIENDS AND colleagues would say about her, it’s that she is an incomparable communicator. Not only does she lead the messaging and marketing efforts at Paducah Bank (and has for 23 years), she’s also a prolific lifestyle communicator on social media. Since early in the game of “new” platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Susan has captured the imagination of readers and viewers by sharing her life and passions in a uniquely frank and open dialogue with the world.

Obviously, all of us in western Kentucky aren’t the only ones who have recognized Susan’s deft ability to share her words and deeds with the greater global audience.

In June, Susan, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Paducah Bank, was honored in New York City as a Top Women in Communications by Ragan Communications. Susan was recognized for her community service, and was the only honoree from Kentucky among the 150 winners in 12 categories. Other winners represent companies like Amazon, C-SPAN, Cisco, Intel, McDonalds USA, Pinterest, Prudential, Salesvforce, Toyota North America, and UPS. Ragan Communications says the award honors fearless, inspirational, and game-changing communicators. (An apt description of Paducah’s Susan Guess.) Women in communications continue to make incredible strides in having their voices heard and their ideas implemented, says the Ragan Communications website. “Female communicators are telling compelling stories for their brands, their stakeholders, their causes. Ragan’s Top Women in Communications are those making a significant impact in their day-to-day job and career, advancing the profession while accelerating growth for their organization. A Top Woman in Communications inspires—she is fearless and an indefatigable player in the game,” the organization’s leadership maintains.

Susan is a 1987 graduate of Murray State University where she earned a bachelor of science degree in public relations. She also earned a master of public administration degree at the University of Louisville. Susan has a long history of community involvement.

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She was the second woman to chair the Paducah Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and only the second person to chair twice. She served as vice chair and chairwoman of the Murray State University Board of Regents during her nine-year tenure on the board. She chaired the Lourdes Hospital Foundation Board of Directors for six years. She also served a four-year appointment on the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education.

Susan was named Kentucky’s top volunteer two times. The first time was in 1998 after she chaired a campaign to build a $100,000 memorial garden at Heath High School following the school shooting. In 2015, she received the award for her anti-bullying efforts throughout the state. She won a national HUD community service award after starting Girl Scout troops in Paducah’s public housing.

Susan contributed to the Applied Public Relations college textbook, which was authored by MSU professor

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Marcie Hinton. She won two previous awards from Ragan Communications for Paducah Bank’s social media and for creation of the bank’s WOW! Magazine. She and her 19-yearold daughter, Morgan, are the co-founders of the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation. After lobbying the governor to appoint a statewide task force on the issue, both Guesses were appointed to the Kentucky Youth Bullying Prevention Task Force. They successfully lobbied for a bill to define bullying in Kentucky. That law now provides protections for all 640,000 Kentucky students. They were both awarded the Kentucky Justice Association Consumer Safety Award for their legislative work on the issue. In 2020, they received approval for an official Be Kind Kentucky license plate, which is slated to be released in January 2023. They are donating all proceeds to the state’s 16-youth mental health drop-in centers. If purchased for just 10% of Kentucky vehicles, they will donate $1.7 million in ten years.

They are also adding their fourth kindness mural in the Paducah community this summer.

“It was such an honor to be among a host of amazing and accomplished women from major national companies,” Susan said of the distinction.“It just goes to show that urban cities and huge corporations haven’t cornered the market on strong communications and community commitment. That kind of enthusiasm and activism can be found in every corner of the country—like our wonderful community right here in Paducah.”

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H

Columbia Theater Becomes

Columbia Art House

I

by Stephanie WatSon

IN AN EFFORT TO MORE COMPREHENSIVELY

represent the future programming and usage of the historic Columbia Theater in downtown Paducah, KY, the theater’s volunteer board, charged with restoring the 1927 structure, recently approved a renaming of the local venue to the Columbia Art House.

“We anticipate the restored theater to become a cultural center in the heart of downtown Paducah,” said Darlene Mazzone, Chair of the Columbia Art House Board of Directors.“We know that the Columbia will be a great deal more than just a ‘theater,’” Mazzone added.“We expect to host both film and entertainment of all kinds in the next generation of this magnificent building. In addition to that, we would hope to host workshops and educational classes, art exhibits, events such as weddings and rentals, lectures, visiting authors, musical performances, etc. This beautiful historic theater will become an anchor for art and culture in the heart of our downtown historic district.”

Mazzone speaks from experience. She has been involved with the project since its inception in 2013.“We began with a group of passionate people,” she adds,“and in the course of the last nine years we have covered a lot of territory. We have performed virtually all of the ‘boots on the ground’ work that we can do on our own. We have created an outstanding working board of volunteers who are now capable guardians of the work that lies ahead.”

W 82 • PAD U CAH L I FE

During that near decade of work devoted to restoring one of Paducah’s most iconic landmarks, the group identified one of the nation’s most renowned architectural firms to guide the design and restoration of the historic theater.

“DLR in Cleveland has worked on historic theaters both nationally and internationally,” Mazzone added.“We are so fortunate to have found this remarkable group of people who are truly as enthusiastic about this project as we are.”

In addition, and with help from the Kentucky Colonels organization, the group worked with an international restoration company in Atlanta to repair and restore the original fire curtain inside the theater. Asbestos removal was completed several years ago and a full-scale architectural design was created.

“The scope and cost of restoring the theater to its original grandeur was monumentally expensive,” Mazzone said.“Consequently, we are now in the midst of a revised plan that will cut the cost almost in half so that we can hope to move the project along and proscribe a reliable timeline. We have been told that the building is now in dire need of stabilization so time is of the essence.” The board has also recently commissioned a market analysis to provide research data on the operational plans for the Columbia.“We are really excited about this new architectural design and approach,” Mazzone added, “so that we can save this invaluable theater and bring it back to life for generations to come.”

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LastWord the

“If you know somethin’ well, you can always paint it, but people would be better off buyin’ chickens!

—GRANDMA MOSES ★ MARYANN HUEBSCHMANN resides in Calvert City, Kentucky and is a member of the Marshall County Art Guild and the Paducah Area Painter’s Alliance. Maryann has exhibited her work throughout the Paducah area and has won several awards. Her paintings hang in corporate and private collections from California to Florida. Maryann has been interested in art since she took her first painting course in high school. After her children were grown, she continued her arts education at Paducah Community College where she studied drawing, painting, and design.

Maryann enjoys painting flowers, landscapes, and . . . chickens! Her favorite painter is Claude Monet.

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