Paducah Life Magazine - February/March 2021

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • $ 2.95

Paducah’s HUB of Innovation CORBIN SNARDON / STEVE YBARZABAL / TIM FRANKLIN

“I FEEL LIKE THE RIGHT PEOPLE WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.” — Angela Copeland, Heart Care Success Story

Angela Copeland knew something was wrong when she couldn’t take a shower without feeling tired.

After a cardiac stress test showed distress, Angela was admitted to the hospital, where she met Michael Faulkner, MD, a structural interventional cardiologist. During a heart catheterization, Dr. Faulkner located a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, a life-threatening condition that is often difficult to detect, but treatable. “It chokes me up sometimes thinking about it because I could have died,” Angela said. “He found it, and he has taken very good care of me ever since. That’s the culture of Baptist Health Paducah.” Learn more about our advanced Heart Care services at BaptistHealth.com/HeartCare.

Corbin | Floyd | Hardin | La Grange | Lexington | Louisville | Madisonville | Paducah | Richmond

BaptistHealth.com

contents 6 Mask Up in a Creative Way

46

february/march 2021 ★ from the editor page 5 ★ last word

25

Dick Wilson Finds Family Late in Life

29

Morgan Guess Announces Kind License Plate

32

CVB Celebrates Golden Anniversary

36

STAY Van added to Paducah School System

38

Remarks from NEH Chair Jon Peede

42

Let it Snow!

50

Quilt Museum Digital Exhibits

58

Black History Month Beginnings

68

Brent Leggs Leads National Trust Fund

73

History of Stuart Nelson Park

79

Local Black History Notables

82

And Our Flag was Still There Mural

page 84

Paducah’s HUB of Innovation

61 Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club Visit us at paducahlife.com ★

2 • PADUCAH LIFE

SEE AND HEAR MORE OF THE FEATURES IN THIS ISSUE ON

VOLUME 31, EDITION 1 executive editor/ P U B L I S H E R Darlene M. Mazzone

associate E D I TO R / editorial P H OTO G R A P H Y J.T. Crawford

art D I R E C TO R Scott McWilliams

associate art D I R E C TO R Allison Wicker

cover P H OTO G R A P H Y J.T. Crawford

on the C OV E R Corbin Snardon Steve Ybarzabal Tim Franklin

Paducah Life is published six times a year for the Paducah area. All contents copyright 2021 by Mazzone Communications. Reproduction or use of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Comments

Expand your

reach!

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

1

2

3

Subscribe to our print edition.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Receive our weekly Around&About E-Features!

written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ownership or management of Paducah Life.

Subscription rate is $29.95 for six issues. Subscription inquiries, all

Get MORE out of LIFE with

remittances and all advertising inquiries should be sent to Paducah Life, 2780 D New Holt Rd. #346, Paducah, KY 42001.

Phone: (270) 556-1914. This magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. All submissions may be edited for length, clarity and style.

Contact Darlene Mazzone at darlene@paducahlife.com.

www.paducahlife.com

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 3

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 3

KALATY Exclusively in Paducah at Flooring America

Integrity, Quality and Professional Service It’s not just about offering one of the area’s largest selections of quality floor coverings from all the leading brands. It’s making sure you, the customer, are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of your choices. Come and see us today!— G r e g D i l l w o r t h

270.443.1190

O P E N M O N DAY T H R U F R I DAY F R O M 9 A . M . T O 5 : 3 0 P. M . S AT U R DAYS F R O M 1 0 A . M . T O 2 P. M .

★

4 • PAD U CAH L I FE

5 1 5 0 H E A RT L A N D D R I V E

F RO M the E D I TO R

A

ut viam invenium aut faciam.

I really think maybe Latin should be taught in schools. Mostly because I am a fanatical fan of the series The West Wing, and it was always so fascinating to hear the “president” refer to Latin phrases at poignant moments in times of chaos or distress. Also, I run across this long-ago language in beautiful forms of literature where the specific usage is always both profound and lyrical.

The one above translates to: To find a way, or make your own. It’s from one of my favorite books of 2020, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.W. Schwab.

I really want to tell you all about the book, but I’d prefer you read it, so I’ll try and limit my comments as to not spoil your journey should you decide to take it.

Let’s just say Addie learns to find a way or to make her own.

I’ve been thinking a lot about resiliency this past year—most likely because of my ruminations on PADUCAH LIFE Magazine’s 30th anniversary. Staying power. The resolve to find a way.

I’m pretty sure everyone who owns a business, or who has been furloughed, or who found themselves working in their bedroom all the while teaching their kids as a side gig, has perhaps thought about these things as well. Making our way through the world in 2020 was like steering the ship for Odysseus. (I bet you can read that in a Latin translation!)

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Pantsuit Politics hosts Sarah Stewart Holland and her partner Beth Silvers for a Kentucky Humanities podcast. At the end of the discussion, Executive Director Bill Goodman asked me to what I attribute our magazine’s longevity. My answer: we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, one page at a time.

Since 1990 I have seen many a publication pass through our city’s hands. They come. They go. But what is it that sees some entities through the long days and the dark times without faltering. What tenet is it that they subscribe to which keeps the dream alive. What belief system holds firm in order to find a way to reach the desired end.

Some might say an embrace of innovation; the willingness to adapt; a stronghold on exceptionalism; a passion of purpose. I’d say ALL that is necessary to make your own way in a world that is forever uncertain.

Respiciat nos tantum una in via MMXXI.

Darlene M. Mazzone darlene@paducahlife.com

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 5

H U B PADUCAH’S

by

J.T. CRAWFORD

of Innovation

A Swirling Array of Educational and Innovative Possibilities

7

STEVE YBARZABAL BEAMS WITH THE JOY OF A CHILD waking up on Christmas morning as he moves exuberantly down the wide hallways of Paducah Tilghman High School’s new Innovation Hub. “Oh, you’ve got to see this over here,” he exclaims, his eyes widening with the excitement of remembering something else to showcase.

Steve points out the art classrooms on the left and the school’s Makerspace on the right. “You have these individual classrooms and spaces,” he says, “but all of this can be opened up into one big space to include the hallway.” Such functionality highlights a major shift in education— the reflection of a world steeped in everevolving technology and convergence. “Here’s one small example,” Steve adds. “We had art students working on interlocking cardboard sculptures, using Exacto knives to cut out pieces. It was taking them 20 minutes or so for each piece. The art teacher went over to the Makerspace to check out some of the tools. He found that they could use a laser cutter to make the pieces. Instead of making one piece in 20 minutes, they made one per minute. And they were precise. It was a cool, teachable moment for both teachers and students.” The collaboration revealed the connectivity between design and manufacturing, presenting to the students a real-world challenge that some of them might face in the future.

“Here, your only limit is your imagination,” says Steve. At the Innovation Hub, that’s not just a cliché.

The school system planned and built the Hub around

8 • PADUCAH LIFE

a swirling array of possibilities. And now that the school is open, the convergence of ideas and disciplines manifests into even more potentials. The large windows found in much of the building illustrates it perfectly as they welcome and diffuse beams of sunlight, splitting them into new, prisms of revelation.

The Innovation Hub building houses three main areas. “There is the Makerspace,” says Steve, “where kids grades K through 12 accomplish hands-on, projectbased learning, helping open their eyes to problem solving, working in teams, and design processes. It ranges from using basic hand tools to high tech devices like 3D printers, laser engravers, and CNC routers. Then there are classes specific to Tilghman such as engineering, physics, CAD, robotics, health sciences, art, and IT. We’ll also be adding a drone class. Then in the Paducah Area Technology Center we have auto tech, auto body, auto painting, welding, and carpentry. And we have the best of everything when it comes to equipment. We want the students to work with technology that they would be using at a job.”

The genesis of the Hub came from the desire to create a stronger link between public education and potential careers, specifically focusing on jobs in our region— industries like river transportation, IT, construction, automotive, health sciences, and more. “There are many opportunities for careers right here that a lot of people don’t know about,” says Steve. “The river industry alone will need 3,000 people in the next five years. And then there are all the services that support them—for example, welders and diesel technicians. And diesel mechanics can work with the river industry, railroad, agriculture, and heavy equipment. The possibilities keep branching out, and they are all needed right here. And these jobs continue to get more complex and more tech-driven.”

Coursework at the Hub can lead interested students toward certifications like ASE in auto tech, auto collision repair, auto painting, welding, carpentry, phlebotomy, and EKG and MNA for pre-nursing. Steve has also been working with Mercy Regional EMS on potentially offering EMT certification. “We found out that we already teach all the prerequisites and just need the actual EMT

Steve Ybarzabal Steve Ybarzabal is a native of the Big Easy. He grew up in New Orleans and attended LSU where he met Paducahan Susan Bright. After some time in Mobile, Alabama, the couple moved to Paducah where Steve became the Dean of Students at St. Mary. In 2000, he made a move to Tilghman to teach biology.

There, he added teaching AP psychology and became the Science Department Chair. He later went to Clark Elementary where he served as Assistant Principal and then Principal.

“My children went to Clark, my wife went to Clark, and her father went to Clark,” says Steve. “It was my tenth year as principal there when I was asked to come to the Innovation Hub. And who wouldn’t love doing something like this?”

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 9

HE INNOVATION HUB

building contains many fascinating features. An open design with plenty of hallway windows allows students to readily view what’s going on in different parts of the building, thus fostering curiosity and creativity. Lots of external windows makes use of natural light, thus saving money.

And, on cloudy days, the school’s lighting automatically adjusts to compensate.

The school’s main staircase

features a large area for socialization, an important aspect in collaboration among disciplines.

A massive flat panel screen in the lobby allows for the area to also be used for presentations.

The main parking lot will feature a bio-swale thanks to a donation from Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership. Bio-swales are depressed, landscape gardens that collect rain runoff from the Innovation Hub property. It will slow the amount of stormwater flowing into drains, thus reducing flooding issues. They are also natural filters, sending cleaner water to our river.

10 • PADUCAH LIFE

class. Through a collaboration with Mercy, we are going to be able to offer that to high school kids.”

A new partnership with Mercy highlights how the Hub not only works with local industry but depends on them for success. “In IT, for example, we partner with CSI,” says Steve. “They have a great thing going.” The school also works with companies such as Ingram Barge, Paducah Barge, and Baptist Hospital where health students attend some classes on site. Additionally, there are apprenticeship opportunities in most fields, allowing students to not only get hands-on experience but also engage with potential employers. “We had a student from McCracken County High School last year who was in the welding program. He went to school full-time and after school every day worked full-time as a welder. Later, we connected him with a river industry partner. Right out of school, he has a career, not just a job.”

The Innovation Hub offers classes in related fields such as engineering and art. “For those who want to pursue engineering,” says Steve, “they can take some trade classes. That builds better engineers who know the hands-on side of things. A student can engineer something, go draw up a blueprint in CAD, and build it in carpentry or welding.” Graduating seniors moving into fields such as engineering, physics, and design have a solid core of completed education, making them highly competitive.

“We are also training kids to be good problem solvers and thinkers,” adds Steve, “building into the curriculum skills that will make them employable— skills they need to even get their foot in the door. Teaching responsibility is part of what we do because that’s what we’ve heard from our industry partners.”

The school also builds in opportunities to learn about things like business management, creating an educational path that is well-rounded.

And all of this is just the beginning. Steve would like to see more disciplines brought into the mix—professions such as plumbing, electrical work, and HVAC. There are already plans for teaching virtual reality coding. “Certified students can graduate high school and start a job at $44K a year,” says Steve. “It’s an upand-coming industry that will affect all other industries. They’re doing things like virtual hearts for surgeons to practice on or offering architects a way to showcase a building they designed with a virtual walkthrough. Like everything else we have here, there are tons of possibilities.”

Steve wants to keep the Hub at the forefront of this continuing shift in education. And beyond the new technology and fun projects, administrators and teachers keep a laser focus on the meaning of it all, which is to support the school system’s vision of knowing each and every student by name and need, helping them reach their full potential. “We are becoming more end-product oriented,” says Steve. “We are asking, where are these kids going to be in four years? Are we giving them the foundation they need for a successful career or a successful start in life, or are we just cranking them through an assembly line? This is allowing us to be flexible to meet the needs of our students. It’s exciting—helping kids find their way.”

The Innovation Hub features the in-house coffee shop,

STEAM (TOP PHOTO).

It’s just one of the MANY creative, collaborative constructive aspects of the Paducah School System’s new HUB of innovation.

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 11

&

with

Corbin Snardon As Paducah Public Schools rounded out their first leadership team for the Innovation Hub and searched for the right person to fill the role of Assistant Principal, they didn’t have to go any further than the talent found in Paducah Middle School’s Corbin Snardon.

12 • PADUCAH LIFE

Corbin has a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies from Western Kentucky University, an MAE in School Counseling and an MAE in Education Administration from Murray State. He began his career in education teaching sixth-grade geography and eighth-grade history.

He’s served on the School Based Decision Making Council and the School Lighthouse Leadership Team.

In 2015, he was a finalist for the Ashland Inc. Kentucky Teacher of the Year award. Before coming to the Hub, Corbin was the Paducah Public Schools’ Title One Counselor and the interim Assistant Principal at Paducah Middle School.

Corbin also serves as Second Vice-President and Education Chair for the Paducah/McCracken County NAACP where he was named Member Of the Year in 2018.

PL CS

How did you find your way to the city schools in Paducah?

I grew up in Trenton, Kentucky, which is in Todd County, about 20 minutes east of Hopkinsville. I kind of fell into education. There were a lot of things I thought I wanted to be when I went into college. I thought about medicine. That turned out to not be it. The first biology class knocked it out of me. But I did know that I wanted to work with kids. I knew that when I went to school. I didn’t realize that would be in teaching, but after some encouragement, I figured out that teaching would be the way.

My scholarship director was related to the late Fredrickia Hargrove, who was an education staple here. She was trying to recruit teachers to Paducah and encouraged me to apply. I did, and the rest was history.

PL CS

Where did you get the desire to work with kids?

I had already been doing some things in high school.

I was involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters. I had a little brother—a little mentee. In college, I worked for a YMCA. I was a camp counselor and a lifeguard. In working with kids, I just realized I liked that kind of work.

PL CS

Tell us about your involvement with the community I didn’t know a lot about Paducah. I took the first year to get my feet wet and really learn. I worked at BikeWorld and with the bike camp. I completed Leadership Paducah. I just got into whatever I invested my interests and skills into. I got involved with the NAACP. I had been president of my college chapter, and of course, I was a good fit to be on the education committee. I am committed to progressing Paducah. It is a special jewel in western Kentucky.

PL CS

And you are also a published author, correct?

Yes. I have two books.

The first one is The Nature of Legacies. It is my thoughts and musings, from a Christian perspective,

on what we leave behind. The second is called Them and was released under the pseudonym A.M. Clay. It is a collection of short stories loosely based on the encounters and experiences I have had with students.

PL CS

How has it been after going to the Innovation Hub? When they were creating the Hub, my name got thrown around. They wanted to bring some of the successes over from Paducah Middle and I also had experience as the Title One Counselor. The Hub is very different, and I absolutely love it. I am a creative person, and I appreciate all the things that the kids can tinker with. It is the perfect place for students who are hard-wired to work with their hands, or they may really look at things differently and need to experiment. It’s interactive and immersive and fantastic. I want to bring these kids to the forefront of the 21st century. They are ready for the torch. We just have to pass it to them.

PL CS

And you have a signature look.

Tell us about the bowties.

I started wearing them about my second year teaching. It takes a while to learn how to tie them, but once I did, I was sold on them. I am not the biggest fan of neckties.

By the end of the day, everyone wants to loosen them up.

Bow ties are actually more comfortable, and I like the look. It became my thing over time. And yes, it has to be a bowtie you have to tie.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 13

Power Partnerships The

of

IT’S 10:15 IN THE MORNING AT THE INNOVATION HUB. It’s relatively quiet in the school’s main corridor as students focus intently on projects in classrooms and shops. Suddenly, a low rumble emerges. Then, a couple of quick blasts. Vroom!

Vroom! Students begin to emerge, peeking into the hallway just in time to catch sight of a brand new custom Harley Davidson slowly go by. For those in the automotive programs, this is a culmination of an educational journey—one that reaps many rewards and showcases the importance of partnerships.

One of the cornerstones of the Innovation Hub approach is working with local business and industry leaders, tying education to real-world experiences. Like with everything else at the Hub, such partnerships open a myriad of possibilities that are always evolving.

The custom Harley is an example of a connection with Four Rivers Harley Davidson. General Manager Trent Willett, who started his career as a tech and builder of motorcycles, is always on the lookout for ways to share his passion with new generations.

“My first thought was to do a bike build with some students,” says Trent.

“Then, I thought about setting up some sort of scholarship after selling the bike. But that would just help one kid. I found out that there was always a need for money to buy tools and equipment, so we decided to have the students build a bike, raffle it off, and then reinvest the profit back into the program.”

A bike build involves taking a brand-new Harley, deconstructing it, and rebuilding it into a custom bike. Motors are rebuilt, parts are upgraded, some parts are powder-coated, and the bike gets a unique paint job. “It’s a cool process,” says Trent. “We’ll put about $25,000 into it. And this year, we were able to get a lot of things donated. I called around to different companies to let them know we wanted to use their products—things like taillights, seats, handlebars.”

Not only does it help the school financially, it gives students a unique opportunity. “It’s a great experience,” adds Trent. “Not a lot of kids get to take a brand new Harley and tear right into it. When they first start, they are a little nervous. But once you get some tools in their hands and they get going, they take off. It’s like a swarm of piranhas around that bike. When they get going, they love it.”

14 • PADUCAH LIFE

Tony Denson was one of the students who built the ’20-’21 bike.

Tony was part of the Auto Body Tech/Collision program. “We got this bike with ten miles on it,” says Tony. “We tore it down to the frame and rebuilt it.” Tony focused on painting, giving the motorcycle its unique style. For Tony, it was not only a unique opportunity to build a custom bike, it led to a job. He is now employed by Four Rivers Harley Davidson.

“Through the school, I got certifications like structural repair, nonstructural repair, mechanical and

HUB student Tony Denson

electrical, paint refinishing, and ASE,” says Tony. “It was great being able to do this.”

And you can help the school by buying a raffle ticket for the 2021 Harley Low Rider now valued at over $40K. Tickets are $100 each, and a maximum of 750 will be sold.

They can be purchased at Four Rivers Harley Davidson. A drawing will be held on March 20.

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 15

Concepts, Collaboration, Creation Innovation Hub Makerspace Director Tim Franklin Oversees a World Where Education and Experience Collide

WHEN TIM FRANKLIN ENCOUNTERED THE IDEA OF THE INNOVATION HUB, he knew he wanted in. “From the first time I heard about the concept, I had no doubt that I wanted to be a part of that vision in some way,” he says, “just knowing that there would be a place where students could have authentic hands-on experiences so that they are betterequipped to go into the workforce. The news was inspiring.”

16

Tim was teaching in Marshall County at the time. When an opportunity opened up at Paducah Middle, he came to the city school system. While there, he helped introduce a project-based learning class entitled Introduction to Innovation. As the Innovation Hub neared completion, and the Makerspace Director position opened, it became evident that Tim was the right person for the job. Not only did he have the education credentials and experience with project-based learning, he had a background in engineering. “I had no idea I’d be involved in this capacity,” says Tim. “I was blessed to come here and do this.”

The Makerspace is designed to be an extension of teachers’ classrooms. “It complements what they are doing and helps them overcome the limitations they face,” says Tim. “If there’s a teacher who is giving a lesson, and it could be in nearly any subject, and they have an idea for a creative project that would engage students to demonstrate their content knowledge, we have the resources, space, and equipment to extend the classroom environment. It’s a place to bring ideas to reality.”

Just a few of the core concepts in the Makerspace that center around science, art, and design are computer science, coding, CAD programming,

Teachers and Tim are always looking for projects that introduce concepts. Tim utilized the common problem of abused/malfunctioning cellphone charging cables to teach electrical principles. “We had plenty to work on,” Tim laughs. “The students learned something, and they were thrilled to walk away with repaired cables.”

A physics class found a way to utilize the Makerspace. “They were studying pulleys,” says Tim. “They came over and built a frame to mount pulleys on and test them.

Not only do they know how to do the math problems and draw the

3D printing, basic tool usage, laser cutters, virtual reality, and more.

“It’s a creative space,” adds Tim. “They design, make, and build. They can make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. Failure isn’t always a bad thing. It’s a very healthy way to learn, and those kinds of lessons will stick with students forever.”

Just one Makerpace success story comes from a Tilghman art class. “John Romang does pottery,” says Tim. “If I understand correctly, the students had been creating stamps with their initials. They use them when the pottery is still a bit wet to mark them. Mr. Romang is an innovative thinker, so he inquired about students creating 3D-printed stamps. I went to his classroom to teach the students how to use the CAD program to design their stamps and go through the process of getting their creations to the printer. The kids had a really great experience watching something being transformed from design on a computer screen to something they held in their hands. And then they had the tools to sign their artwork. It shows where science, technology, engineering, math, and art all combine in a successful project.”

schematics, they tested the accuracy of their work. Plus, they got to use basic tools—hammers and nails, handsaws, and screws. It was meaningful.” Other students, who were studying aerodynamics, built gliders from balsa wood. Future aerospace engineers? Perhaps. Some students have been so inspired that they collaborate outside of their class environments. One even created a class of his own, teaching others to build computers.

The Makerspace provides education in ways that break beyond the limitations of the traditional

18 • PADUCAH LIFE

classroom. “It’s great to be able to demonstrate a level of mastery through a state exam,” says Tim. “But it’s also gratifying to see a student do something as simple as learning how to use a cordless drill— a skill that can be used in a workplace or at home. Maybe they make the connection between learning about electrical circuits to being able to replace a light switch. I see a lot of confidence-building. There are a lot of students that will need a higher education. But these experiences at the Makerspace will make them better professionals because they will have a more broad experience in

Raven & Moth L O C A L .

I N

S U S T A I N A B L E .

H A N D C R A F T E D .

3 1 3 B R O A D W A Y D O W N T O W N P A D U C A H

T U E S D A Y - S A T U R D A Y

how to learn. Those real-world skills and confidence give our students an edge. They are able to imagine and explore things that before wouldn’t have even been a thought.”

The Makerspace is available to all teachers and students in city schools, free of charge. After school programming allows students to come and learn specialized skills.

And Makerspace will be accessible to the community with minimal fees. Tim is also working with business partners who bring project ideas that give students hands-on experiences.

1 0 - 5 P M

Innovation Incubator FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 19

The

of Education

MORGAN MAYO AND ETHAN RIX KNOW THE DIFFERENCE THE INNOVATION HUB CAN MAKE. Both have been welding for three years. The first two years of their education was at the former Tilghman trade school. Now, they are capping off their senior year at the Hub.

21

degree through the union.

Morgan will continue his welding education at a school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, earning the same additional certifications in school.

“I’ll be done in seven months. I really want to do pipeline work in Texas. This welding program and Mr. Wilber taught me a trade that, in my freshman year, I didn’t even know could happen.”

“This program and all the other programs are good for kids who may not know exactly what they want to do or they don’t have people in their lives giving strong direction,” adds Ethan. “They can do something like this and do their own thing.”

“And for those not great at academics,” says Morgan, “but they want to make something of themselves, they can take one of these trades. It’ll get you somewhere, and you can make some big bucks.”

Even though the Hub offers students the best of the best when it comes to equipment and technology, welding instructor Brandon Wilber is an example of the difference instructors can make. “Mr. Wilber is a mentor,” says Morgan. “He helps with job placements. He’s advised me. I talked to Mr. Wilber about going to school in Oklahoma, and he let me know it was a great idea if I wanted to go down to the pipeline.

He’s helped us a lot through the years.”

Mr. Wilber’s passion for his vocation and the students is always evident. “It can change lives,” he says.

“I see some kids come —BRANDONWILBER from impoverished back“We are working with all new technology,” says grounds, and I let them Morgan. “It’s taken a while to get used to, but it know that if they aren’t satisfied with life right now, they will be good to have this experience.” have the opportunity to change that. I’ve seen it. I have The pair highlight just one of many possible paths former students who are now about 21, and they are buyafforded by an education at the Hub. ing their own homes. I let my students know life is all Ethan will graduate high school, fully prepared to about choices.” enter the workforce with a good-paying job. “I’ll get Once they reach their senior year, Mr. Wilber, who has my certification here,” he says, “and I plan to join the already been preparing them for adult life, helps them local millwright union.” There, he will be an apprentice, make the transition after graduation, doing things like earn additional certifications, and get an associate’s

I WANT TO MAKE THIS AS DIVERSE A PROGRAM AS POSSIBLE.

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

mentoring them in creating meaningful resumes that catch the attention of employers.

Like Morgan and Ethan, Mr. Wilber came over from the old vocational school. “I started in 2016,” he says. “Enrollment had fallen, and there were about 25 kids in the program. I went through all this equipment that was 40 to 50 years old. I got established with the kids and then we came over to the Hub. The new shop opened a whole new world. I can teach on updated equipment. And I still have some of the older stuff. So they can learn on just about anything, and that helps them step into just about any job anywhere.”

Mr. Wilber’s engagement and recruitment efforts since 2016 have paid off. He’s presented at events for middle-school-aged students, letting them take a go with a virtual welder.

“I just want to plant a seed to check it out so they can see if it might be for them. I see the results now.

Some of the kids starting the program remember me from middle school. And I want to make this as diverse a program as possible. I try to get the girls involved. I’ve had few in the program, and honestly, they make some of the best welders.”

Now, the program is running at 65 plus students. “We’re now having to set requirements for students wanting to get into the program because we can’t get everyone in at the moment,” says Mr. Wilber. “It’s been good. The biggest thing is to teach these kids a skill they can take anywhere in the world and make a living at it. My goal is to help as many kids as I can and that they are as successful as possible.”

Around&About Sign up at paducahlife.com for our weekly eblasts and get

MORE out of LIFE!

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 23

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 23

ACT PREP!

IMAGINE THE DIFFERENCE 4-7 POINTS CAN MAKE. JUST ASK THESE STUDENTS.

Christian Fellowship School McCartney Derrington | St. Mary Vasav Rachan | Marshall County Kate Outland McCracken County Reese Hutchins & Lynae Lawrence | PTHS Kindle Knight | Massac County Gracie Stewart Congratulations to Julianna Moore for scoring a perfect 36 on ACT Reading!

“The skills I learned in Sylvan’s Advanced Reading Skills class made all the difference.

I could immediately see the improvement in my testing and in my classwork!

Thank you, Sylvan.” — JULIANNA MOORE, PADUCAH TILGHMAN SENIOR

ACT Prep for Juniors begins February 1st. Does your child need to read faster? Advanced Reading Skills class starts April 12.

270-554-4111

www.educate.com

ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.

English • Math • Reading • Science Reasoning • Writing and More!

24 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Dick Wilson

It’s Not Too Late at 68 to Find

Your First Family H

O

by Amy Sullivan

OVER 68 YEARS AGO, A TALL, ATTRACTIVE

brunette, 17 years old and single, contacted child services in Danville, Kentucky. She confessed she couldn’t provide for her two-month-old baby boy, Charles Russell Hendricks, named after his father, Charles Russell Guthrie, who was serving in the Korean War. Reluctantly, she asked if she could put him up for adoption.

The agency took him in, and not long afterwards, a young couple from Madisonville made an appointment. The Wilsons wandered meticulously through the nursery, studying each bed until they reached the crib holding a chubby-cheeked, carrot-topped boy who so fully complemented the young red-headed husband eager to start a family.

Bill Wilson was elated to have a son, but was not prepared for what occurred just two weeks after signing the adoption papers – the sudden death of his wife. To add to his grief,

Bill was told he couldn’t keep the baby, since he was now a single parent. Adamantly arguing that he was completely capable of raising his son, he pleaded with the agency, stating that his sister and mother would take care of the baby during the day while he worked. He was given a chance.

Social services showed up at all hours, making sure the baby was being fed and kept warm. After several months, Bill went before the judge, who, after checking several references, decided he was fit for fatherhood. Re-named by his new father, Richard “Dick” Wilson became the first child in the state of Kentucky to be adopted by a single parent.

Bill remarried when Dick was two years old, and he and his wife, Sharon, eventually had two other children, Randy and Russell, both red-heads like Richard. “We moved to Paducah when I was eight, when my dad was transferred,” Dick recounts. “We were a happy family. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to adopt me, for two better brothers, or for a better life than what my mom and dad gave me. Dad was a hard worker. He was in the insurance business and retired from there, then went to work for a battery company, then was a house painter, then retired. My mother is only 17 years older than I am, and for a long time, people didn’t believe she was my mother,” he laughed.

Though he was told around age 15, when he was old enough to understand, that he was adopted, Dick never pursued learning more. “I never felt out of place,” he recalled. “My brothers and I all had red hair and resembled each other, and I fit in. I wondered about the details from time to time, but I never did anything about it.”

It wasn’t until 2015, after Dick retired, at age 68, that his wife, Kristie, first suggested using the Ancestry online genealogy database and DNA testing process to potentially locate brothers and sisters, if they existed. This piqued his curiosity, and a year or two later, he bit the bullet and used the online orgaization to discover his lineage.

An amateur genealogist in Texas soon contacted Dick, finding a match, his first cousin who had also shared his DNA results through Ancestry. The genealogist was also helping Dick’s cousin who, coincidentally, was adopted.

They discovered the mothers of Dick and his first cousin were sisters. “It snowballed after that,” said Dick.

He and the genealogist began putting things together, eventually connecting Dick to his birth father’s brother’s

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 25

Dick Wilson’s First Family child, who reached out and emailed him via Ancestry. Dick called her, and she was amazed at the sound of his voice, likening it to her uncle’s, who she thought had to be his father. She said he was funny, like Dick, and she told him she had a picture she wanted to send him, from when he was in high school. There was no resemblance between this photo and Dick. She then contacted her brother, who had another photo, and emailed it to Dick’s wife, Kristie. When she received it, Kristie shouted,“Dick, you have got to come see this!”

He couldn’t believe it – a true Texan with a guitar over his knee and a cowboy hat atop his head, the photo looked just like Dick! Dick took a photo of himself in a cowboy hat and sent it back to his cousin – she couldn’t believe the resem-

Richard “Dick” Wilson (Given name, Charles Russell Hendricks)

blance either!

“I thought about it long and hard – is this real, or is it coincidental?” Twenty years ago, the law wouldn’t have allowed Dick to locate his father. But the Ancestry genealogist said the law had changed and that if he wanted to, he could go view his adoption papers. She sent him the information to contact the state of Kentucky and apply for permission to view his file. Six months went by, during which time the state tried to contact Dick’s parents. According to Kentucky law, if the parents are alive and give permission, you can view the papers. If either parent denies the request, the child can’t look at the file.

It turned out that Dick’s parents had both passed away. He received a letter from Frankfort telling him he could go look at the papers at the courthouse in Madisonville. Dick called the courthouse in April 2020, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the building was closed. Finally, in September, Dick was able to make an appointment, and he drove to Madisonville to see the file.

“It was a fascinating read—12 to 15 pages of legal documents,” Dick recounted.“I literally laughed, and I cried. There were so many interesting facts and

26 • PAD U CAH L I FE

letters of reference about my dad.

Even the comments from the lawyers and judges were very interesting. The lady at the courthouse let me read it in private, and I had tears running down my face when she came to check on me. She asked if I wanted copies, and I of course said, yes! I wanted to read it again and again.”

Dick wishes he could have met his biological father, who died many years ago. He doesn’t even know if his father knew that he had a child.

Dick has emailed one of his three half-sisters (two surviving) and is awaiting her response. He also has two half-brothers, one surviving, Charles Russell Guthrie who he hopes to meet and talk to one day. He has talked to some of his first cousins over the phone and had wonderful conversations. Dick plans to attend the Guthrie clan family reunion next summer in northern Arkansas.

When asked what message he would want to give others who are wanting to search for their biological families, Dick Wilson says,“You should pursue it to the point where you either have to jump in with both feet, or just forget about it. It is truly an enlightening experience to find out things about your birth that you have never known before.”

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 Ryan T. Polczynski / Eric C. Straub Matthew S. Eddy Of Counsel, Richard C. Roberts

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

Order Online at Midtown Market Whether you’re a busy mom on the go or just don’t feel like getting out of the car to face the world today, the drive thru was created for your convenience.

We now welcome online orders for pickup!

midtownmarket.com 70 • PADUCAH LIFE

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 27

Trout Old Time General Store and Market

Thank you for shopping Troutt Old Time General Store and Market!

Shop LOCAL for your Valentine, new little ones, and remember SPRING is right around the corner!

433 North 4th Street / 270.443.0858 / trouttoldtimegeneralstoreandmarket.com

28 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Be Kind, ★

by A MY S ULLIVAN

Kentucky: Be the Difference

Morgan Guess and Her Family Have Long Been Proponents and Activists in the Battle Against Bullying

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 29

I

F YOU’VE LIVED IN PADUCAH FOR THE PAST NINE years, you may have heard 18-year-old Morgan Guess’s story. At the age of eight, Morgan was repeatedly bullied by a classmate, causing her to experience panic attacks.

Parents Susan and Craig Guess provided Morgan unwavering support and explained that she could choose to ignore the bullying, blame others, or be part of the solution. Morgan decided to be part of the solution, share her story with others, and advocate for kindness.

Morgan and her mother Susan began the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation in 2012, an organization with the mission to create a kinder world by empowering young people to lift up their voices against bullying.

The dedicated determination of this mother-daughter duo led to state recognition. In 2014 they were appointed by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to a statewide task force to study youth bullying, and Morgan became their spokesperson to lobby for a bill to define bullying in Kentucky. She joined Governor Matt Bevin in 2015 to sign Senate Bill 228 into law, which established a definition of bullying that now protects approximately 640,000 Kentucky public school students.

Morgan and Susan began the non-profit to help provide resources and education to schools. Every August since 2014, Morgan and Susan host the Paducah Kindness Color Walk. On Christmas Eve in 2016, they created Scarves in the Park, providing scarves, hats, gloves and socks for the homeless and families in need.

The Guess’s latest endeavor is an idea that has been in the works for several years and aims to broaden the scope of encouraging kindness.

On September 17, the Kentucky Special License Plate Committee approved their proposed personalized plate that will be available by early 2022, encouraging

30 • PADUCAH LIFE

Kentuckians to resolve to “Be Kind: Be the Difference.”

“Having a license plate shows that Kentucky is committed to being one of the kindest states,” Morgan said. “When people with the ‘Be Kind Kentucky’ plate drive into other states, it motivates others to get on board.”

“Purchasing the plate is an intentional act; someone has to consciously make the decision to choose that plate,” adds Susan Guess, “making it an intentional commitment to support kindness and spread that message.”

Currently there is an option to pay $10,000 to cover all costs and distribution of an approved license plate. The Guess Foundation will host fundraisers to help defray the cost. Morgan designated the proceeds from the sales of the “Be Kind Kentucky” plate ($10 per plate sold) be donated to assist the 14 youth mental health drop-in centers throughout the Commonwealth.

“In a traditional mental health center, teens would call, come in, sit at a desk, fill out paperwork, schedule another appointment. . . and by the time they did all of that, they may not come back,” Susan explained. “The drop-in centers are more of a recreational hang-out, a place where you can spend time together. Teens can play a game with a peer and have a conversation about what’s going on in their lives.

Then they can be set up with the services they need immediately.”

One of these drop-in centers, The Zone, is located in Paducah, and is near and dear to Morgan’s heart, as she helped establish the center in conjunction with Four Rivers Behavioral Health of Paducah. The Zone offers transition-aged youth

and young adults an after-school “home base” that is drug free and offers peer counseling support and other behavioral health services.

The Guesses have used past proceeds from the Kindness Walk to install new flooring, provide food, and purchase hygiene kits for The Zone. “So many people from the community were willing and eager to help from the beginning.”

Prior to going before the Kentucky Special License Plate committee, Susan and Morgan worked with a local graphic artist who helped create several designs.

These were posted on social media so people could provide input. The plate was reviewed by the state police to test visibility during both day and night. The Guesses went in for their approval meeting set up for success, thanks to the support of the Kentucky Department of Transportation.

The “Be Kind Kentucky Plate” serves as a perfect example of Morgan’s resolve to do something about the bullying she experienced.

“It’s a message that’s so simple, and yet so powerful,” Susan emphasizes.

“It’s not about aggressive drivers— but if it helps with that, that’s great!

The hope is that you see that plate, and it gives you a chance to breathe, and to redirect your thoughts and your actions.”

Morgan, now a senior applying to 18 colleges from Washington State to New York and many in between, hopes, no matter where she ends up, to continue the important work of spreading kindness. “My parents helped me believe I could be part of a positive change. We can lift up all of our voices and change bullying. It starts with me and with you.”

We knowHAPPY how toNEW makeYEAR! your hair dreams come TRUE! Come in and find the new Let’s start fresh with a new look and a Call renewed lookallyou’ve been dreaming about. for attitude of gratitude inand 2021.

We can procedures. help! Call for an appointment in-salon an appointment and in-salon procedures.

270.444.7502 / 270.556.7218

Gayle Kaler, Owner / 540 North 32nd Street 270.444.7502 / 270.556.7218 Gayle Kaler, Owner / 540 North 32nd Street

270.908.0006 f reighthousefood.com

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 31

appy H

Anniversary! ★ The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau is 50 Years Old and Looking Younger and More Active Than Ever 32

PADUCAH LIFE

Becoming A Destination Organization of the Future

I

n 2020, the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) celebrated its golden anniversary as the local destination marketing organization—50 years of telling Paducah’s story, promoting the local experience, and driving visitation and tourism impact in our community.

“Our celebration of this milestone was a bit different than we had planned pre-COVID,” said Mary Hammond, Paducah CVB Executive Director. “At a time of unique and unprecedented challenges for the travel and tourism industry, we took a moment to reflect on the many individuals, developments, and partnerships that have contributed to the growth of tourism into a $274 million industry, and this re-energized our team to continue to innovate to realize the destination vision and emerge as a stronger organization than we were before.”

Mary and her team didn’t pause to reflect for long before forging ahead to see Paducah “recognized internationally for its significant American heritage, inspiring creative culture, and outstanding hospitality.” They joined Destinations International and destination marketing organizations around the world in devising research-driven response and recovery strategies through the OrganizationNext initiative, prioritizing opportunities for community building, customer engagement, and organizational sustainability.

inspiration guides took on new angles from how to support local businesses and practice social distancing in Paducah to how to shop Paducah retailers online from home.

Guest posts and #PaducahCreativeCity stories on the Paducah.travel blog spotlighted diverse and authentic perspectives on the Paducah experience, inviting others to explore “like a local.”

New Challenges Reveal New Opportunities

Celebrating Community and Quality of Life

“A

s the public spent more time online, close to home, and in the great outdoors, the CVB curated new tools to meet these emerging trends and showcase ALL that Paducah has to offer,” says Laura Oswald, Director of Marketing. “The CVB capitalized on opportunities to build and amplify community pride with a series of digital destination resources designed to inform, engage, and inspire local exploration.”

New self-guided tours and interactive wayfinding tools like the Historic Paducah Audio Tour and Paducah Mural Art Experience, welcomed visitors and locals to encounter Paducah in safe and accessible ways. An ongoing series of

34 • PADUCAH LIFE

“T

he CVB has remained in close contact with national, statewide and local partners throughout the pandemic to monitor data signals and evolve partnerships and marketing strategies accordingly,” said Hammond. “By the nature of our organization, we are naturally collaborative and focused on celebrating local quality of life and connecting outsiders to that.”

The CVB recognized a new pattern of migration creating great opportunities for places like Paducah where outstanding quality of life and low cost of living converge.

As a newly nomadic workforce of remote workers emerged, Paducah was featured by The Hill with a nod to UNESCO

Creative City designation as a community strategy to attract and retain talent.

With a marked increase in requests for local relocation information, the CVB curated informational resources specifically for newcomers and those looking to relocate on Paducah.travel, the official destination resource. As the CVB looks optimistically ahead to 2021, they invite you to connect with @PaducahCreativeCity on social media, follow along, and share your Paducah pride.

W

Local Maps & Guides on Paducah.travel e all need something to look forward to in 2021, and nothing is more exciting than planning the perfect itinerary! From aweinspiring natural features to one-of-a-kind local experiences, landmarks and small businesses, there’s so much to explore in our own backyard.

On Paducah.travel, the official destination resource, the Paducah CVB has curated a hub of local maps and guides to equip visitors to see Paducah “like a local” and inspire locals to tour their own town. Explore interactive maps like the Paducah Dining Guide, directories of things to do in

Downtown and beyond, and inspiration guides with local insights to customize the Paducah experience to your style and interests.

Visit paducah.travel/maps for the latest, and show your #PaducahCreativeCity pride by sharing your local favorites on social media.

E

Paducah Mural Art Experience mbark on a self-guided journey on foot, by bike or by car to celebrate our Creative City’s colorful artistic landscape. The Paducah CVB debuted this new mural trail to invite the public to experience a diverse collection of mural art on walls and in public places across Paducah.

The Paducah Mural Art Experience connects nearly 20 locations and highlights more than 80 murals, including the beloved Paducah “Wall to Wall” Floodwall Murals, the new Quilt City USA mural series and many more! The map key offers details on each masterpiece and the talented local and visiting artists who created the work of art or mural series.

Photograph and show some love for the creators of your favorite murals of #PaducahCreativeCity!

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 35

H Paducah Public Schools’

STAY Van

Provides Families with Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly

by Amy Sullivan

W

“WE HAVE A VAN!” HAS BEEN EXCITEDLY

resounding between Heather Anderson and Lynsi Barnhill every time they have seen each other since early December 2020. Thanks to a generous donation, Paducah Public Schools received an early Christmas gift – a van that will be devoted to increasing the reach and efficiency of their mission to meet the needs of at-risk students.

Heather Anderson, Transitional Students Services Coordinator, and Lynsi Barnhill, Food and Nutrition Services Director, began working at Paducah Public Schools at the same time five years ago. Not only did they connect as colleagues, but the duo also briskly became buddies; a bonus, since nutrition services and the needs of homeless students go hand in hand.

“We saw a little bit of duplication of services, and we wanted to be sure we were working together and serving our families the most efficient way that we could,” Lynsi explained.

As the schools’ resident foodie, Lynsi all too often witnesses the barriers of food insecurity and transportation for families. While delivering meals and making home visits

36 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Heather Anderson and Lynsi Barnhill

during the summer, both Lynsi and Heather saw these needs. For about a year and a half, the two have yearned for a way to be the best stewards of the resources they have been given. With COVID-19 forcing many students to stay at home, the employees have pondered new ways to become a “one-stop shop” and reach as many families in need as possible.

Heather recalls recently delivering food in Lynsi’s van to families who couldn’t get to the stops to pick up the food. “We literally looked at each other and simultaneously said, ‘We need a van.’ A couple of months later, our dream came true.”

The STAY van (School Transition Assistance for Youth) carries “grab and go” meals and other food items that can be delivered to students immediately, as an extension of the Tornado Takeout program. This will further ensure students are nourishing their bodies, as well as their minds. The van also has storage shelves for supplies that students might need like clothing, toiletries, or school supplies.

The van enables Heather to have a mobile office and

supply room that provides access to needed technology and supplies. Because Heather makes a lot of home visits, she plans to set up her computer and printer in the van, so if she needs to print needed documents, for example, birth certificates or housing applications, she can do so on the spot instead of having to go back to the office. Heather anticipates that increased mobility will allow her to reach more students.

“Every time we see the van, we are on the verge of tears,” Heather gratefully remarked. “It’s so cool! We are so excited to serve our families in this way. Lynsi and I continue to

pre-kindergarten through high school, whereas in 2019, there were over 200 served. The pandemic has made it tougher to identify needs during remote learning. Heather relies on referrals based on personal interactions between students and teachers or coaches, or students and staff.

She often learns of students in need after they confide in a trusted adult at school.

Heather and Lynsi remind us that their mission is not simply to provide for the needs or give the message that someone will always take care of you. Instead, through encouragement and teaching small life lessons along the way,

Our ultimate goal is to give [students] roots to grow and wings to fly. We want to give them some hope of self-sufficiency and the tools they need to grow and be productive, contributing members of the community. randomly text each other and say, ‘Hey, we have a van!’ just to remind ourselves it’s really true.”

“We are grateful for this resource so that we can be easily recognized and approachable,” Lynsi commented. “We want to have school supplies, even just a pencil, to ease that stress of not having what is needed to do schoolwork. We want to have pillows for kids sleeping on the couch; blankets, hats and coats for kids who are cold; laundry detergent and hygiene items – life necessities that will allow students to be clean, comfortable, and cozy in a classroom or at home, so they can recognize the need to learn without distractions.”

The team works with children and youth who are in transition. This can include minors who lack adequate nighttime residence; are sharing housing due to economic hardship; are living in hotels or emergency shelters; or are living in cars, parks, or substandard housing. Although every school in the country is required to have a liaison to uphold The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Heather Anderson is the only person in Western Kentucky that is employed full time in this position.

In 2020, the Paducah Public Schools’ Office of Transitional Student Services served about 120 students from

they demonstrate how youth can overcome their circumstances.

“That’s really our ultimate goal,” Lynsi reiterates,“to give them roots to grow and wings to fly. We want to give them some hope of self-sufficiency and the tools they need to grow and be productive, contributing members of the community. We don’t want food to be a worry, and we will give them WiFi and pencils and paper and a coat and a hat so they can go to Zoom that day. It’s little things like that that make the difference.”

“It’s like raising our own children – you need these lessons,” adds Heather. “When I help them with printing out a birth certificate, I show them how to address the envelope and where to place the stamp. It’s a tiny lesson, but I try to use every opportunity for them to learn. We have kindergarteners who can set an alarm clock, get themselves up, and get to the bus on time, and those are life skills we are providing.”

Ultimately, the STAY van is a perfect example of how the Paducah Public School System embraces and adapts to ways of educating children during this time of uncertainty, providing stability when children need it most.

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 37

Strengthening Our Economy and Our Democracy Through the Humanities ★

by NEH C HAIRMAN J ON PARRISH P EEDE

The chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities recently “zoomed” into Paducah for the Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Fly Back conference. His remarks were so powerful about the need for a literate society that we wanted to share them with our readers here.

38 • PADUCAH LIFE

I

RECENTLY HAD THE PLEASURE of interviewing Bobbie Ann Mason and Wendell Berry at the Kentucky Book Festival. And I have written and spoken frequently about the writer Robert Penn Warren. So, I know your state from its chroniclers, be they Daniel Boone or the latest novel.

I come before you in solidarity as a native of a rural state and as a fellow citizen who believes that the economic prosperity of our great nation is inseparable from having an informed populace.

President Lyndon Johnson established the NEA and NEH in 1965 as sister agencies as part of the Great Society legislation. The legislation stated, in part, “Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens.”

As you may know, 40 percent of our NEA budget goes directly to our state partners. Our annual appropriation to Kentucky Humanities is around $1.3 million, which equals more than half of its operating budget.

I couldn’t be happier to support Bill Goodman and his team at Kentucky Humanities—they offer innovative educational programs that tell a local story through a national lens. Over the decades, NEH has awarded Kentucky $51.4 million, which I would like to see grow in the coming years.

Today, I want to focus on two main matters. First, I want to speak in practical terms about the vital importance of a strong cultural sector to a diversified state and regional economy. Paducah has a strong economic base in the health care, retail, transportation, and tourism sectors. I would add that the arts and humanities are your strength, too. A continually renewing strength.

And this industry is not at the mercy of the marketplace. It cannot be dashed upon the rocks because of a change of federal regulation, the impact of a trade dispute, or the movement of a key industry to another state. Culture—when well supported by the community and

“

government and civic leaders—is a stable and dynamic and irreplaceable economic engine that improves the lives of citizens, even as it enriches them financially.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the arts and culture sector is an $878 billion industry, which represents 4.5 percent of the nation’s GDP—a larger share of the economy than transportation, agriculture, and construction. Because tourism is reported as separate from arts and culture, the overall impact of the sector is actually greater.

For your state, again according to the independent third-party Bureau, the overall arts and cultural industry generated $5 billion in the state of Kentucky. This includes hotels, food venders, and advertising. For those directly employed in the sector, the compensation was $2.7 billion. By population, it is a major industry, too, employing 108,000 people.

Allow me two more numbers: 2.4 and 2.6. 2.4 percent of total compensation in the state of Kentucky is the

arts and cultural industry. 2.6 percent of the total state employment is in this industry. Culture is big business.

Culture is good business.

The question that I have—and that can only be answered by you and your fellow citizens—is: What is being done to nurture this sector, to grow it, to capitalize on it, to promote it far and wide? Are you claiming it? And, if so, how and to what extent? What are you doing to integrate the cultural sector into the education and lives of the young people who will take over running this state, if they can be retained in their early adulthood years?

The creative economy is not only the future; it is the present, and it is in many ways the ongoing historical past. I want to be clear that I am not merely advocating for a diversified economy, for an economy that draws more heavily upon your cultural and natural assets. I am saying that we, as a nation, need to attend to such assets because, if we do not, slowly but surely, we will lose our way. We will

Sandra Wilson President, Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce

During our 2020 DC Fly-Back, Congressman James Comer praised the Paducah Chamber for always showing up and for bringing the quantity and quality of people from our communkty with us each year when we visit D.C. He said Paducah has developed a “reputation for achievement and quality” and that’s why when we ask for meetings with a cabinet secretary or a representative from a national agency, they say yes. And from the relationships that the Paducah Chamber has built, Paducah and McCracken County have benefited by building close partnerships that have resulted in receiving millions of dollars in investments in our local economy in the form of jobs, business growth, and development.

I believe that is why, when asked, the national leaders of organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities give us the privilege of their time as they did for our 2020 interactive conference. That means we are getting noticed and we are being heard.”

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 39

lose any deep and abiding understanding of our nation’s founding ideals. We will lose touch with what Lincoln called our “better angels.”

For my second point, I want to discuss the vital importance of civic education and its alarming condition across our high schools and universities.We live in a time of cultural amnesia. We must take concrete steps to address this matter. It is not merely a problem; it is an epidemic— one with clear, harmful societal implications.

Last spring, the “Nation’s Report Card” was released by the U.S. Department of Education about the level of knowledge of U.S. history, civics, and geography among eighth graders. The NAEP Report Card reveals a disappointing decline in knowledge of U.S. history and overall low scores in civics among eighth-grade students.

How bad is it? Only 24 percent of students scored at or above the “proficient” level in civics. In American history,

We live in a time of cultural amnesia. We must take concrete steps to address this matter. It is not merely a problem; it is an epidemic—one with clear, harmful societal implications. only 15 percent did. That is staggering. Historical illiteracy in our youth has grave societal implications. For if one does not understand the founding ideals of our nation, then it is difficult to grow into a fully engaged citizen.

We cannot ask our young adults to defend representative democracy unless we ensure they have a foundational understanding of its roots.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

Historical illiteracy will ultimately result in failures of domestic and foreign policy and in an economically weaker nation that is no longer a leader in innovation, much less a leader in humanistic areas such as moral reasoning and ethics. We must do everything we can as business and civic leaders, as public officials, educators, and parents to ensure that we do not live in a bifurcated America where deep

40 • PADUCAH LIFE

civics education and broad civic engagement are no longer a given.

NEH and other federal agencies cannot change this cultural drift ourselves. But we can make catalytic investments in those schools and civic organizations and projects that are trying to turn this trend around. We can, for example, invest in the mission of Kentucky Humanities and the many distinguished private and public institutions of higher learning in this state.

As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, NEH is devoting substantial resources to our new grant program “A More Perfect Union” to inspire a new outpouring of interest in U.S. history and civics education.

We have also created our own educational content. More than twenty years ago, NEH launched EDSITEment!, a pioneering, free educational website with hundreds of lesson plans, teacher’s guides, and student activities from the American Revolution to the civil rights movement.

It is used by more than 1.5 million teachers and homeschool parents each year.

Congress has been very supportive of our efforts: The last appropriations bill for NEH provided $162 million in FY2020 funding, the largest appropriation in a decade. And the CARES Act appropriated $75 million in additional funding for NEH for emergency relief funding to save or create jobs at cultural organizations.

Forty percent of that amount has been distributed to the state humanities councils, and the rest was disbursed to museums, libraries, historical centers, and other humanities institutions facing acute budget shortfalls.

Our signature new initiative is “A More Perfect Union,” which is designed to help Americans better understand the world’s oldest constitutional democracy and how our founding ideals are met in a pluralistic society. We created this grant program in preparation for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026. NEH will fund projects that promote a deeper understanding of American history and culture and that advance civics education and knowledge of our core principles of government. And we will use the anniversary as an opportunity to share the histories of the people on this land before nationhood began.

NEH is committed to providing the American people with the historical knowledge, cultural resources, and educational tools to commemorate the birth of what President Abraham Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth.”

“

Paducah is part of a nation with a culture like no other—a culture followed and emulated by people around the globe. Paducah plays a unique part in the expression of the culture and heritage of the Commonwealth and the United States. But who tells our story? The relationships made by the committed Paducah businesses and organizations traveling to Frankfort and Washington, D.C. represent our voice as a community.

This voice has been heard throughout organizations like National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for Humanities, Americans for the Arts and U.S. Travel. To have the leaders of these organizations know Paducah—to advise and help fund our programs, to share our stories and build the assets that are the basis of community pride and local culture— is an invaluable boost to quality of life and tourism.”

Ceglinski ANIMAL CLINIC Vets Who Love Pets Rennie Church, D.V.M. John Kelley, D.V.M. Laura Williams, D.V.M.

5401 Blandville Road • Paducah, KY 42001 • 270.554.0171

Mary Hammond

Director, Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 41

42 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Bobby Pierceall

LaRanda Clemans

by J.T. Crawford

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Let it SNOW! Leann Cotton

Fowler Black

I

F MOTHER NATURE HAD A MAGIC WAND IN HER bag of tricks, surely its power would be producing the sparkling, shimmering phenomenon we know as snow. It even comes to us in an enchanted fashion—floating in great, white flakes to the ground. It covers the landscape, transforming all we see into a vista of glowing white.

We asked our readers to send us some of their photos from Paducah’s snowy past. And we received plenty. What do most of us do when it snows? We grab our cameras and shoot!

And as we look at snow days gone by, we invariably ask will it snow this winter? It’s a question WPSD Chief Meteorologist Trent Okerson hears all the time. “Winter weather has the potential to impact our daily lives more significantly than things like rainy days,” he says. “And it tends to be fairly rare. So it invokes a big reaction. Plus, we all remember events like the winter storm in ’09. That memory will stick with us for a while, even though historically that’s about a once in a 50-year storm.”

When it comes to answering the question of will it snow? And if so, how much? Trent says it’s one the hardest forecasts to nail down. “There are so many factors that play into it. We have to look at and predict what’s happening at multiple levels in the atmosphere, not just at ground level. It’s not as simple as thinking it’s 32 degrees, so we’re going to get snow. You could have a layer of warmer air that’s a couple of thousand feet above us than can wreck that forecast and cause rain to change to sleet and freezing rain. Drier

F E B RUA RY / M A R C H 2021 • 43

Unique, Experiential Shopping

Fowler Black

• Antiques • Vintage • Garden • Architectural • Industrial • Paddywax Candles and Apothecary

Dana Jones England

Slade Madding

Cindy Vose

11TH & JEFFERSON OPEN TUES 1-5 WED-SAT 10-5 Follow us on Instagram & Facebook Crystal Troutt

Jose Ortega

SHOP SMALL.

air can show up above us and cause the precipitation to not be as intense as what was forecasted.”

Beyond all that, Trent says the most requested bit of information, when it comes to predicting snow, is how much there will be.“That’s under a lot of scrutiny,” he says.

“Snowfall totals are tough. The reason is that a snowflake takes up more physical space and volume than a raindrop.

It’s the rain to snow ratio. Around here, it’s about a ten-toone ratio, meaning that a half-inch of rain is the equivalent of five inches of snow. So imagine we predict a half-inch of rain and end up with one inch. You really can’t tell much of a difference there. But because of that ratio, that’s the difference between predicting five inches of snow and getting ten. People notice that. That comes with a pretty good deal of pressure. When wintry weather is coming, that’s why a lot of people tune in.”

And those impacts provide a lot of people plenty of reasons to NOT like winter. So how about Trent? “I can’t stand winter,” laughs Trent. “I am a sunshine and hot weather kind of a guy. I like to be outdoors enjoying the summer. Winter is kind of draining. I do like it when we get one or two good snowfalls. I don’t like it when we get just a little and it messes everything up. When we get enough to go outside and play, go sledding, play football in the snow—I get excited about that kind of event.”

SHOP SMART. • Normal Brand Clothing • Olivina & Paddywax Apothecary • Hazel Village • Baby Lit Primers • Jack Rabbit Creations • Winter Water Factory Baby Clothes • Books • Vintage Home Goods • Gift Baskets!

125 N. 11TH STREET Follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Mask UP

Paducah

by J.T. Crawford

Many in the community are finding ways to make the message less dire and the effort more desirable

M

Masks—they have been the foremost tool on the front line war against COVID-19.

They aren’t easy to wear, but being the creative city you are, many of you are having fun with them. From making masks a part of your fashion to making statements to using them to support your favorite organizations, you’ve made their styles your own. Here are some notable masks we’ve seen as of late.

Many of us have relied on the wit and humor of Leslie Jordan to get through the pandemic. Kim Yocum spreads some of that fun with an official Leslie Jordan mask complete with one of his sayings. Can’t you just hear his voice, y’all?

46 • PAD U CAH L I FE

Artist Lisa Narloch loves sugar skulls. So it’s no surprise to find her with one on a mask. This one was truly a Paducah affair as it was designed by Judy Coates Perez, who has taught at Ephemera. And it was constructed by local fiber artist Cathy Neri.

Masks have become a way to aid and promote our favorite non-profits. Melanie Davis, ardent supporter of WKMS, proudly tells the world about our region’s public radio station. Pair that with a WKMS t-shirt, and you’ve got a message we can all get behind.

Michael Brewer, the not-so-retired retiree, has been the so-called old man on the block at his job at the Carson Center. Some even lovingly call him “the geezer.” Michael doesn’t mind. He embraces active aging, adopting “team geezer” as his mask message.

When the history of the pandemic is written, there are sure to be mentions of The Tiger King, the Netflix series that dropped just as the world went on lockdown and captivated many. Janet & Bob Bloomingburg decided to have a bit of dress-up fun, incorporating Tiger King into their masks.

Paducah Tilghman Librarian Beth Wyant misses her student book club, the PT Pageturners. Even though they have met virtually, it’s just not the same as being together. Student and book club member Azlynn Goodyke crafted a special Pageturners mask to remind Beth that they are always thinking of her.

Josh Morehead has a passion for working with seniors. For the holidays, he had some festive fun sporting his Christmas Golden Girls mask. Maybe it reminds of him of childhood days back in the old town of St. Olaf?

Morgan Elementary teacher Carol Withrow has a passion for reading. To inspire young readers, even during a pandemic, she sports her Dr. Seuss mask. “I will wear my mask here or there. I will social distance everywhere!”

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 47

Head brewer Tod Tabor at Dry Ground loves beer. From concept to creation to enjoying a pint, he has a passion for his craft.

Although brew days are long, Tod relishes every moment, even sporting a custom-made mask that displays what’s on his mind.

They are knitted together. Valerie Pollard, Stephanie Young, and Vickie Robertson have spent countless hours sharing life over pairs of knitting needles. During the pandemic, they’ve continued with front porch sessions complete with knitting-themed masks.

And, of course, they are reversible.

So what about those disposable masks? As Amy Farmer at Kirchhoff’s Bakery discovered, they too are quickly customizable, especially when you go into the cookie room. Her advice? Don’t stand still. You will get iced!

Paducah Middle School Band Director Lindsey Williams is always looking for ways to weave her love of music into LIFE. A 7th-grade student enlisted the help of his grandma to help her do just that, creating a Paducah Middle mask complete with Lindsey’s main instrument, the trombone.

Like the rest of the world, Wendy Crawford had to put her summer 2020 concert plans on hold. But she didn’t let a couple of canceled Dead & Company shows get her down. She took the spirit of the music with her by sporting a band mask. It’s a reminder that the music never stopped!

Stitched with Love MANY MASKS YOU SEE AROUND PADUCAH ARE LOCALLY made. And why shouldn’t they be? We are a UNESCO Creative City because of our penchant for fiber arts. This year, many of you stepped up, fired up your sewing machines, and churned out mask after life-saving mask.

One such savvy sewer is 17-year-old Paige Lauren Kight. Paige’s mom, Kelly Kight, has plenty of access to all the materials needed. Kelly is a website customer service representative at Hancock Fabrics. “But I don’t really sew myself,” says Kelly.“Paige took a sewing class through 4H and loved it.”

At first, Paige created masks for family and friends.“Then she ran with it,” says Kelly.“She gave masks to local churches and teachers. She created over 100 masks to split between Morgan Elementary and Paducah Cooperative Ministry. By the beginning of December, she had gotten up to about 400 masks. She wasn’t able to participate in a lot of her normal activities, so she was very excited to be able to help the community this way.”

Paige tries to make the masks as personal as possible, and when she donates a batch to an organization, she strives to make something for everyone. During October, there was a lot of demand for breast cancer awareness designs. And there are masks for the love of just about anything—from Pokemon to unicorns to pizza and burgers (and beer *see Tod Tabor’s mask, a Paige creation). Moreover, Paige has not charged anyone for a mask. If someone chooses to donate, she reinvests the funds into material for more masks. Kudos to you, Paige!

‘CAUSE WHAT WORKS BETTER THAN BEER RIGHT ABOUT NOW? CALL IN, ORDER IT UP, AND WE’LL BRING IT OUT TO YOUR CAR OR WE’LL BRING IT RIGHT TO YOUR DOOR!

270.933.1265 / 4-8 PM

F E B RUA RY /M A R C H 2021 • 49

H

Paducah’s Anchor Attraction Reaches

Global Audience with Digital Programs

National Quilt Museum CEO Frank Bennet reimagined the perspective of curating exhibits during the 2020 pandemic

by Amy Sullivan

T

HOUGH COVID-19 HAS created a multitude of challenges for most organizations across the country during 2020, Frank Bennett, CEO of the National Quilt Museum, chose to seize the opportunity to do things differently, offering a new way to enjoy the art of quilt-making, and further developing a program that engages existing enthusiasts and newcomers to the artform.

The average enthusiast makes a visit to The National Quilt Museum, located at 215 Jefferson Street, once or twice a year. However, the museum changes its exhibits 10 to 12 times a year. As such, most people miss the majority of the exhibits. The pandemic has afforded the museum an opportunity to offer every exhibit to its audience in the comfort of their own homes.

Most displays at the museum are traveling exhibits promoted by third parties. The traditional model of exhibit promotion is aimed at getting as many museums as possible to accept your exhibit. Exhibit owners have historically only given museums “in-facility exhibition” rights, as it was perceived in the industry that if one museum creates a

digital exhibit, demand for it will decrease. However, with the pandemic reducing tourism nationwide by more than 50%, finding new ways to promote artists has become crucial and curators have become more open to new formats.

Frank began seeking curators willing to consider alternate media in which to promote their exhibits. He spoke with fiber artist Susanne M. Jones, author and curator of Fly Me to the Moon: An Art Quilt Journey, HERstory: A Celebration of Strong Women, and OurStory: Human Rights Stories in Fabric. Understanding the world was changing and there was a need to meet the demand in a non-traditional way, Susanne agreed to Frank’s idea of creating a video version of her exhibit, OURstory. Frank coordinated the production and coupled it with an interview with Susanne as a curator. In September 2020, OURstory Digital Experience became the inaugural installment in a new online subscription platform, Quilt Museum Digital.

Through Quilt Museum Digital, subscribers receive 10 to 12 exhibit experiences a year, along with artists and curator interviews discussing the inspiration behind their quilts. The mere $8 a month cost also allows access

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 51

National Quilt Museum

to museum behind-the-scenes footage, from preparation to exhibit in The National Quilt Museum, and special curator segments about quilts from The Collection of The National Quilt Museum. In addition, Quilt Museum Digital offers access to the video vault of past exhibits, interviews, and other content.

The museum posts two to three times a month, now totaling between 15-20 programs, and once posted, they are permanent and accessible anytime by subscribers. It’s perfect for anyone who is fanatical about the art of quilt-making and design. Additionally, the purchase directly supports the National Quilt Museum, a non-profit 501c3 organization grateful for the generosity of its supporters.

Frank stresses that his main goal is to bring the work of these extraordinary artists in front of as many people as he can, and Quilt Museum Digital is one way to make this happen. “Now, people around the continent and even the world can enjoy this extraordinary artwork from home,” Frank exclaimed.

“I am excited because at the end of the day, I want everyone, regardless of location, to experience every exhibit that we have. With Quilt Museum Digital, folks passionate and familiar with the museum can view all exhibits from the comfort of their own homes. Quilters are phenomenal artists, and I want

52 • PAD U CAH L I FE

people everywhere to experience their artwork, including millions of people who will never be in Paducah.

We’re now able to bring the work of these incredibly talented artists literally around the globe all year long.”

Connecting people around the world unable to visit the museum in person is a mission of the existing Block of the Month Club as well, begun by a series of brainstorming sessions among Museum Director of Education, Becky Glasby, and a few other employees, over three years ago.

Through the Block of the Month Club, The National Quilt Museum aims to challenge quilters to experiment with new techniques and styles while having fun connecting with quilters from all over the world, and learning more about the museum in the process. The free, year-long project features a new block pattern posted on the group’s Facebook page, facebook.com/groups/ NQMBlockoftheMonth, and on the website, quiltmuseum.org/blockofthemonth, on the first of each month at noon Central Time. Quilters share progress each month through the Facebook group, discuss quilting, share photos, ask for sewing tips, and more. At the end of the year, the hope is that participants have a unique completed quilt that can be showcased on the Facebook page and website, and even be considered for exhibit at the National Quilt Museum. Participants who complete a quilt at the end of the 12 months also receive a free, limited-edition quilt label courtesy of The National Quilt Museum. The club welcomes

Investing in the power

quilters of all levels, and beginners can reach out to advanced quilters with questions. Different blocks will likely introduce new techniques and expand the horizons of modern quilters.

Each block is designed by a quilt artist and inspired by exhib-

of innovation since 2000.

REACH CUSTOMERS. GROW YOUR BUSINESS. LOOK GOOD DOING IT.

Quilters are phenomenal artists, and I want people everywhere to experience their artwork, including millions of people who will never be in Paducah. its in the museum, past or present.

Becky Glasby, who coordinates the program, invites guest designers and quilters to create a block inspired by solo shows from artists such as Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Danny Amazonas, Lise Belanger, and more.

Coinciding with The National Quilt Museum’s anniversary month in April 1991, as well as the annual Quilt Show Week in Paducah, Round 1 of the Block of the Month ran April 2018 through March 2019, and Round 2 spanned April 2019 through March 2020. The kickoff for

Sanders is the Garden Spot of Western Kentucky!

4123 Schneidman Road • Paducah • 270.443.8851

sandersnursery.com

F E B RUA RY /M A R C H 2021 • 53

Round 3 was supposed to have begun in April 2020, but was delayed due to COVID-19.

Frank, Becky, and Heather Adair, who oversees the program’s Facebook page, again viewed this as an opportunity to shift to a new way of delivery – offering the program to correspond with the calendar year.

This should allow quilters to keep up easier, some of whom don’t hear about the club until January, 10 months into the 12-month cycle.

Round 3 of Block of the Month began January 1, 2021, and blocks will continue to be inspired by museum exhibits, themes, and collections. The National Quilt Museum also celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2021, and Block of the Month is another way to tie in and celebrate a milestone year.

If quilters joined recently and would like to participate in past rounds, previous Block of the Months are still free and posted on the Facebook page and website.

Frank emphasized the group has become a true community and is a highly active group. Like many of us check our phones when we get up each morning, the Block of the Month quilters log in to the Facebook group and interact with their friends consistently. Over the last three years, Block of the Month

54 • PAD U CAH L I FE

has become a global phenomenon.

There are now over 16,000 active group members, and that number is growing every day. Over 5,000 group members login to the Facebook group every 24 hours. In an average month, there are over 40,000 comments and likes.

“We have more than 16,000 members from around the world,” Becky reported. “Though not all of these individuals create the full quilt, several hundred are ‘regulars’ who comment and share posts and who are stitching and creating blocks. Some have been there from the very beginning. Sometimes quilters do all 12 blocks, and some create an entire quilt using one block from a particular month. Some also come to the museum and bring their quilts to show us.”

Becky noted,“When participants complete their quilts at the end of the round and register online for their free label, quilters are asked if they would like their quilt to be considered for exhibit. We had 60 interested in Round 2 and over 100 in Round 1, so we selected a variety of layouts and designs showcasing creativity of the groups. Everyone really puts their own spin on the blocks.

We are happy for them to experiment and ‘make it their own.’ It’s amazing what they come up with – different color schemes, circular designs, and

even 3D techniques – with everyone using the same 12 blocks.”

Considering these offerings and their successful positive response already, serving as bright spots during the pandemic, Frank reminds us,“At the end of the day we are a museum with a building, not a museum in a building. We have a mission, to bring today’s quilter to new audiences around the world. It’s great if you can come see us in Paducah, but it’s just one piece of our overall mission that goes well beyond this building and physical space. Through both Quilt Museum Digital and Block of the Month, so many people learn about the museum and what we’re doing from participating in these digital programs. Some even end up putting coming to Paducah on their bucket list, when it wasn’t even on their radar before. We are introducing far more people to this art form through these platforms, which will eventually lead to more people traveling to Paducah.”

For more information, visit quiltmuseumdigital.com and quiltmuseum.org

This is an adverTisemenT

LaBelle Plaza Adds New LIFE to Paducah’s Midtown!

M

idtown Paducah is changing. It has, once again, become a hub of activity—a place where LIFE in Paducah unfolds. There are restaurants, a brewery, retail shops, banks, a gourmet grocer, a yoga studio, a music studio, a coffee shop, and so much more. It’s at the center of our city’s new lifestyle. And surrounding all this are some of Paducah’s historic and most walkable neighborhoods.

In the midst of this revitalization is your opportunity to be a part of these exciting changes. LaBelle Plaza is quickly becoming a cornerstone of Midtown. Home to FNB Bank and Ballert Medical Aesthetics Spa—and coming soon, Romaine & Towery CPA, and Broadway Dental Care—LaBelle Plaza currently only has two spaces remaining.

“We’re looking to create something exciting here in Midtown,” says Alberta Davis, developer of LaBelle Plaza.“We’d like to see this be an area with businesses who complement one another, giving our city a full range of possibilities when they are here. We’ve been asking our neighbors what they would like to see in this location.” If you’ve dreamed of opening a cafe, or a boutique, or a health and beauty salon, this could be the opportunity for you. Alberta loves Paducah’s creativity and can only imagine the amazing places Midtown can go from here. “This is a destination,” she adds. “It’s very walkable, and it’s where people in this city want to be. We are about to begin the second phase of LaBelle Plaza, and we’re getting requests for a new breakfast spot. We’d love to talk to anyone who’s been thinking about opening one of their own.

It’s exciting because this is just the beginning!”

BROADWAY DENTAL CARE and ROMAINE & TOWERY CPA COMING SOON TO THIS LOCATION.

LABELLE PLAZA MIDTOWN / 130 LONE OAK ROAD / CONTACT INFO: (270) 217-4362 LEASE $15 SQUARE FOOT / LABELLEPLAZAPADUCAH.COM

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 55

SPECIAL PROMOTION

Downtown Marketplace

Broussard’s Cajun Cuisine

Broussard’s Cajun Cuisine offers traditional dishes straight from the bayous of Louisiana, as well as classic American fare.

With a laid-back Louisiana vibe, the Broussard’s experience is one you’ll want to repeat again and again! From live music to food and drink specials, you won’t want to miss celebrating at Broussard’s for every occasion!

123 North 2nd Street / 270.444.5220 www.broussardscajuncuisine.com

Innovations Branding House

Innovations Branding House is a full-service marketing agency that has helped businesses become well known in their space since 2000.

Our clients reach customers, grow their business, and look good doing it.

612 Broadway / 270.442.2400 innovationsbrandinghouse.com

River Discovery Center

River Discovery Center is a place to enjoy learning through interactive experiences about our region's rivers including the natural environment, industry as well as the history and culture.

Come be a captain of your own vessel in our state-of-the-art boat simulator! Enjoy a special exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian: Crossroads: Change in Rural America through February 13th.

117 S. Water St. / 270.575.9958 www.riverdiscoverycenter.org

56 • PADUCAH LIFE

Selcouth

Shop the brands you love and discover others at Selcouth.

Angie Harris and Leslie Weber, best friends since childhood, made their dreams come true in a place where you can shop cool fashion, specialty gifts, and touches of nostalgia. To make the vision complete, Leslie opened PRINK a full service salon located right upstairs. We offer curbside pickup and local delivery. Our online store is filled with most everything you see in the store and is just a click away at selcouthshop.com. Stop in and rock out to 80s classics and catch the Selcouth vibe! Follow us on social media @selcouthshops and @prinksalon for all the latest updates of spring events, new arrivals, and salon news.

207 Broadway / 270.415.9501 / selcouthshop.com

FETCH

Fetch is a pet boutique containing items for pets and pet lovers.Here you’ll find treats, toys, apparel, gifts, food and cute, cuddly décor for your pet’s home. We also cater to the needs of pet lovers with photo shoots and other events! We carry leashes and collars with a design specifically for Paducah. We also make fresh treats using spent grain from the two local breweries.

Get 10% off if you bring a receipt from any other downtown business between February 1- March 31!

404 Broadway / 270.557.7680 fetch404broadway.com

The 505

The 505 is a unique blend of Kentucky charm, boho chic and native Southwest style . . . all the while serving up amazing Kentucky Proud coffees and espresso drinks.

What makes us different in Kentucky is our coffees/lattes/ steamers/hot chocolates/teas can be infused with either 10mg or 25mg of American Proud CBD. The 505 includes an Upscale CBD boutique (no glass cases of just CBD Oils/Tinctures here) and features art, jewelry, soaps, candles and other handmade items from local artisans.

In February and March, The 505 will feature Valentine special lattes, heart shaped handmade soaps, sun catchers, and sugar cookies in gift box combinations.

March will include St. Patrick Day-Irish special lattes and 4-leaf clover sugar cookies.

505 MLK Drive / 270.415.5247 / the-505.com

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 57

The Storyof Black History Month

T

he story of Black history mn bgn n cg dung  umm  1915 wn D. c G. Wdn vd m Wngn, D.c.  pp n  nn bn    nnv  mnpn pnd b    in. tund  an amn m m   un   xb ggng  pg  pp d md n  dun  v. inpd,  nd   md  an   sud  Ng l nd h. h pd   wud ppuz  ndng   nd  b nu wud pub n The Journal of Negro History, w  bd n 1916. a   1920, Wdn ugd b v gnzn  pm  vmn   w unvng. a gdu mmb  omg P P,  ugd  n b   up  w. in 1924,  pndd w  n  Ng h nd lu W, w  nmd Ng avmn W. Wdn n u  p  nnunng Ng h W n fbu, 1926.

Wdn  fbu  n  dn nd m. i  mmn d  Wdn d fbu  nmp  bd  w g amn w pd  pmnn  n png b , nm abm lnn nd fd Dug, w bd   12 nd  14, pv. M mpn,   m  n  dn. sn lnn’ nn n 1865,  b mmun, ng w  rpubn, d bn bng  n Pdn’ bd. and n   1890, b mmun  

58 • PADUCAH LIFE

country had been celebrating Douglass’s. Well aware of the preexisting celebrations, Woodson built Negro History Week around traditional days of commemorating the Black past.

Well before his death in 1950, Woodson believed that the weekly celebrations—not the study or celebration of black history–would eventually come to an end. In fact, Woodson never viewed Black history as a one-week affair. He pressed for schools to use Negro History Week to demonstrate what students learned all year. In the same vein, he established a Black studies extension program to reach adults throughout the year.

The 1960s had a dramatic effect on the study and celebration of Black history. Before the decade was over, Negro History Week would be well on its way to becoming Black History Month. The shift to a month-long celebration began even before Dr. Woodson’s death.

As early as the 1940s, Blacks in West Virginia, a state where Woodson often spoke, began to celebrate February as Negro History Month. In Chicago, a now forgotten cultural activist, Fredrick H. Hammaurabi, started celebrating Negro History Month in the mid1960s. Having taken an African name, Hammaurabi used his cultural center, the House of Knowledge, to fuse African consciousness with the study of the Black past. By the late 1960s, as young Blacks on college campuses became increasingly conscious of links with Africa, Black History Month replaced Negro History Week at a quickening pace.

Dr. Woodford summed up Black History Month, as it came to be known, in this way. “We are going back to that beautiful history, and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.”

Broadway Dental Announces New Location at LaBelle Plaza!

Broadway Dental is now located in the new LaBelle Plaza on Lone Oak Road. We are looking forward to seeing you in our new offices, and we look forward to a happy, healthy 2021!

Dr. James K. Hunt, DMD Dr. Kinney E. Slaughter, DMD Dr. Ethan Shelton, DMD

Broadway Dental Care 130 Lone Oak Road, Suite 125 • 270.443.9099 • broadwaydentalcarepaducah.com

Roxie Jarvis, Realtor Cell: 270.519.9763 Service Realty, Inc. 3225 COLEMAN ROAD • 270.442.2100

EXPECT SUCCESS! Each office is Independently Owned & Operated

Thank in 2020!

Thankyou youfor toyour thosebusiness who made it possible:

Home has never Century 21 Salesperson meant more to us than of the Year, 2005 - 2012 it has this past year!

Century Multi-Million Let’s make212021 the year Dollar Club and Centurion for your NEW home!

Producer, 2005 - 2014

240 Spring Valley 200 Chestnut 164 Deerpath St 145 Prestwick 3531 Oscar Place 1250Harrison High Street 2434 St 5930 New Hope Church 1223 Pillar Chase 20 Meadowlinks 6242 Birkdale Bend 250 Jennifer Lynn 1912 C Street 320 Braddie Cove Lot 7, 8, 10 Parkland LotHunting 12 Ascot Creek Drive 230 6461 Barberry 4201 Forrest 4301 Westchester 215 Jalusian Lane 319 Wallace 6425 McNutt 325 Wallace Lane 474 Lakewood Unit 9C 5119 OgilvieRd 600 Hillgate 211 N 38th 3925 160 Alameda Kimberly Crescent 3218 Jefferson 245W Ridgewood

2582 Monroe 295 Old Farm Rd 554 Whitney 1582 Rd Hill 4318Holt Summer 628 Derby 187 Aberdeen 226 Audubon 1832 150Elmdale Brenna Rd 283 Alben Valley Barkley Cove 115 Spring 450 Sunrise 320 N 36th 714 BellevueSt 304Stinesprings Alben Barkley Dr 6424 3 Circle Lake 1238 High St Lane 4611 Partridge 360 Watson Lane 337 Wallace 3834 Phillips 4301 118Miller Milton Dr Drive 248 Audubon 10136 Scale Rd 470 W Jefferson 301-303 Lone Oak Rd 3426 Forest Circle 8080 133Old Pine Lovelaceville Creek Drive Rd

255 Bell Lane 1580 Holt 6490 Muirfield 115 Forest Ridge 3931 Ferncliff 3445 Afton MEMBER OF CENTURION HONOR SOCIETY 811 Levon Park Place Century 21 Multi-Million 12 Dollar Club and Centurion Producer 145 Pine Creek 285 Meadow Ridge Drive roxie@century21servicerealty.com 250 Charlotte Ann 3660 Pecan

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 59

Accents on

BROADWAY Add a sparkling ACCENT to your home!

There are so many ways to shine during the days that lie ahead. One way is to add something beautiful to your home decor or to give as a gift. Stop in and take in all the gorgeous ACCENTS on Broadway, and walk out with something you’ll cherish forever.

2227 Broadway • 270.443.1034 Business Law • Employment Practices • Civil Litigation • Real Estate • Wills & Trusts • Divorce/Family Law Custody & Adoption • Personal Injury • Criminal Defense • Wrongful Death

270-443-6511

201 Broadway, Paducah KY E S T A B L I S H E D

I N

1 9 6 6

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

60 • PAD U CAH L I FE

H Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club Offers

Encouragement,

Enlightenment and Education In 1950 a dozen kids in trouble tore at the heart of a man whose lifelong legacy is still giving hope and possibility to hundreds of youth in his home community.

by Darlene Mazzone and Vicky Cecil

Boys Club members together, integrated for the frist time.

61

Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club

I

N THE SUMMER OF 1950 A DOZEN SPIRITED 12and 13-year-old boys found themselves in front of Judge Roy Stewart at the McCracken County courthouse. The juveniles were facing theft charges for stealing furniture from homes for their newly built dirt cave clubhouse. Fortunately, Oscar Cross, then a janitor at the courthouse, heard their plight and asked the judge if he could take on the job of redirecting the boys and supervising their rehabilitation.

The judge gave them meeting space in a basement room of the courthouse and the Junior Legion Boys Club was born. Cross offered them board games, hikes, and guidance in those early years. Each of these original twelve members went on to lead successful lives.

In 1953 the all-black Junior Legion merged with the all-white Our Gang Boys Club and affiliated with the Boys Clubs of America. The club was run by BCA’s first integrated board of directors with Cross as the volunteer leader.

By the time the original group reached high school age, the club had moved out of the courthouse basement and into the old Masonic Temple. A few years later they bought Longfellow School, a large three-story building near condemnation. The club renovated the second floor and held most club activities there for the next few years. In the mid-sixties, the club demolished the old building and erected a new club building on the same site. Individual cinder blocks from the Longfellow school were sold to raise funds for the new structure.

Although girls had been involved in club activities for years, they weren’t officially added to the name until 1980. At that time the Paducah club was dedicated to Oscar Cross and renamed the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Keep Listening

62 • PAD U CAH L I FE

THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY In 2003, PADUCAH LIFE Magazine published an article celebrating the club’s 50 years of operation. At the time director Clarence Nunn proudly showed us the new Dorenda Cross Technology Center and talked about the numerous programs, plans, and success stories of the club in its half century of operation.

The technology center was named for Oscar Cross’s wife, a computer buff and the club’s secretary. She logged Many historic photos many volunteer hours helping children remain in the archives with homework and pushing students to at the Oscar Cross secure new skills.

Boys and Girls Club.

The addition of the tech center was They tell a story of the result of $20,000 from the state, a one man’s belief that $20,000 contribution from H.B. Fuller, an investment in the and a portion of a donation from Micommunity’s youth crosoft to the Boys and Girls Clubs of reaps great rewards America. CSI set up the infrastructure for the future. to meet the donors’ requirements and then came back and hooked up all the new equipment.

In 2003, the club had nearly 500 members with an average of 40-60 kids using the facility each day. Nine staff members tutored, mentored, organized games and crafts, arranged day trips, and assisted older teens with college applications and career networking.

Nunn’s wife, Melanie, a former English teacher, was the program director and education guru. One of her projects was meeting with a group of teen girls once a month and teaching them to write resumes

ONTHE ROAD

I N OU R N EXT EDITION of

with PADUCAH LIFE MAGAZINE

AD DEADLINE is

MAR1

Come along for a ride around Kentucky in our spring edition of Paducah Life Magazine.

Contact DARLENE MAZZONE at darlene@paducahlife.com for more information.

F E B RUA RY / M A R C H 2021 • 63

Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club

Longfellow School

and other business correspondence. Nunn was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and arranged for the girls to chat online on a regular basis with professional women in her sorority.

“Sometimes we tend to focus on the ten troublesome kids rather than the 100 who behave and strive to succeed,” said Clarence Nunn. A police officer for 25 years, Nunn took great interest in the “troubled” ones. He believed they just needed encouragement and to be told,“You can do it!”“I believe in showing the kids the value of hard work by having them intermingle with successful members of the community, some of who may have also had a rocky start,” he added.

Nunn grew up in the club and is one of its success stories. He began going to the club as a seven-year-old in 1954.

“The club meant so much to me—gave me the guidance that I needed,” he said. “Mr. Cross had a way of dealing with us and he had so much support from our families. Mr. Cross could do no wrong according to our families.”

Oscar Cross’s daughter, Gail Ridgeway, a board member in 2003 when the PADUCAH LIFE article appeared, remembered the early years well. “Dad would have given his right arm in any month when he was the director to actually know how they were going to pay every bill by the end of the month. He wouldn’t believe that they have money to pay the bills and that they now have three vans. It’s so ironic to me that after Dad’s death everything just started to flourish,” she added.

“Paducah is a caring place,” Clarence Nunn said in 2003, “and we’d really like to see more people involved in the club financially and as volunteers. We need to expand and get the whole community involved in the Boys and Girls Club movement because it’s a movement that’s growing every day.”

64 • PAD U CAH LIFE

The ways and means of the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls club runs the gamut from after school snacks and tutoring, to field trips to places like USEC and Vanderbilt, to arts and crafts, to sports and recreation, to the simple effort to show love and support to kids whose future lives hang in the balance. The mission of the man who planted these seeds originally is growing ever stronger with every day.

Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club NEXT GENERATION

in this community and find their unique and collective voices.”

Neal Clark lived next door to Oscar Cross for most To Clark and his team it is much more than tutoring, of his life.“Mr. Cross drove me to the Club most every recreation, and snacks. It’s striving for academic success in day,” Clark says. “From my elementary years through high order to find options at a university or a technical school. school, I found my way to the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls It’s using sports and athletics to build strong bodies and Club with the man himself. He was my guide and mentor. empathetic outlooks. It’s fighting food insecurity for not He changed the futures of hundreds of kids during his only individual students, but for struggling families. lifetime.”

“We want members of the Oscar Cross Club to explore Now the young man who was inspired by Oscar Cross every potential there is to them,” Clark said. “That’s why leads the namesake organization as its CEO. we take field trips to let kids Clark took on the all-imsee the world beyond these portant role in 2019. He gradwalls. Last year, for example, uated from Paducah Tilghman we visited Louisville and we in 1987, earned a degree from included the Mohammed Ali the University of Kentucky Museum, Churchill Downs, and worked in inter-collegiate and the University of Louisathletics for many years. He’s ville. These experiences allow now at the helm of an instistudents to see themselves in tution that is, and has been, new ways and in new environa game-changer for young ments.” people in Paducah for more -Neal Clark Not only is Clark envisionthan half a century. ing new avenues of learning Clark’s biography is a living for his members, he’s also investing in the testament to the ultimate goal of the Oscar facility they call home. “This year we expect Cross Club. He was the national runner up to spend nearly $90,000 to improve every asYouth of the Year in 1985. It was a semipect of the center,” Clark said. That includes nal moment both for Neal Clark and for a complete restoration of classrooms and the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club. No public spaces, new additions to the Club’s one has reached that level of success since fully equipped kitchen, and the construction 1985. Many have, however, been successful of an obstacle course and two picnic areas on at the regional and state levels. “My ability Neal Clark the grounds. to compete among the best in the country, Though Clark’s forecast for the future is optimistic, and represent Paducah’s club in that way, was a great milehe is realistic about the continual challenges. “We must stone for me and the club, and Mr. Cross.” constantly be aware of how we are developing the systems Now Clark pushes local students to fly as high as they in our community that should serve our group,” he added. possibly can using many of the same philosophies fostered “That includes church, home, court system, social services,

by Oscar Cross.“One of the fundamentals of this orgaschools, city government, and many others. Without the nization is to put an emphasis on being an advocate for understanding and collaboration of all of these aspects of our kids to be advocates themselves. There are two major a student’s life, we can’t successfully build a fully formed planks of my practice to reach this goal. One is allowing future citizen. And that’s our ultimate goal. We want our our work to be a driver for economic development in members to become the very best they can be—for themPaducah. The second is to be a true advocate for change selves and for the community at large.” amongst our youth in order for them to become leaders

“One of the fundamentals of this organization is to put an emphasis on being an advocate for our kids to be advocates themselves.”

66 • PAD U CAH L I FE

A

Man of the CROSS “If a man’s ways please the Lord then he will make even his enemies to be at peace with him and he will leave an inheritance for his children.”

O

SCAR CROSS’S DAUGHTER, GAIL Ridgeway, quoted this passage from the bible when describing her late father’s life and legacy.

“He didn’t have any money,” she said, “but ultimately, he left an inheritance to his kids.”

According to many who knew him he didn’t have any enemies either but his ways most certainly pleased the Lord and the legacy he left to the children of Paducah is the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club.

“The club was his heart,” said former director Clarence Nunn.“He did a lot of begging. I sat in the club and wondered how he kept the place together with the means that he had to keep it together.”

Largely because of his rapport with children, Cross became the first black juvenile officer for the City of Paducah, a position that he held until his retirement.

He received the Kentucky Education Association’s Lucy Harth Smith-Atwood S. Wilson Award for Civil and

Human Rights in Education in 1987 and was the 1993 recipient of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Herman S. Prescott Award for individuals who made significant contributions in the area of equality for minorities and women. In 1999 he was posthumously added to the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights’ Great Black Kentuckians Gallery. In 2003, posters of Great Black Kentuckians hung in every 8th grade classroom in the state of Kentucky.

His many other awards include a 1975 Certificate of Merit from the Paducah Chamber of Commerce; the 1978 National Bronze Keystone Award from the Boys Clubs of America; the 1982 Paducah Community Service Award; and a 1983 Certificate of Merit from the Kentucky Conference of the NAACP. Cross died in a car accident in Paducah in April 1999 at the age of 92. Ridgeway said she and her father had discussed his eventual passing many times and that she didn’t consider his death tragic because it went the way he wanted it to. “He told me he wanted to die with his shoes on, doing what he liked to do, and that he’d like for his friends to be around,” she recalled.

“He died with his shoes on, he was in the car with friends, and he went quickly. He got all his wishes,” she added.

Cross had given his daughter explicit instructions for his funeral. He wanted the poem, The House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walter Foss to be read and the Hallelujah Chorus to be sung, and then a prayer. He had said “If my life wasn’t a sermon before then, don’t try to preach me into the ground.”

The life of Oscar Cross was most certainly a sermon, and he left a flourishing legacy for the children of Paducah.

A Native Son is Trusted with a Cultural Cause ★

B

by DARLENE M AZZONE

Former Paducahan Brent Leggs leads the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Fund

RENT LEGGS AND HIS TWIN BROTHER, Kent, used to drive down Jefferson Street and look with longing and awe at the beautiful historic houses that line one of Paducah’s most recognizable avenues. “We would fight over who was going to live in which house,” Brent laughs.

“There was one in particular with a slate-styled roof that we thought was interesting and unique, and we both wanted to live in that one.”

The study and appreciation of architecture would come full circle for Brent Leggs. The Paducah native now leads the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Brent became Executive Director of this program in 2017 when it was established by the National Trust. The fund is the largest preservation campaign undertaken on behalf of African American historic sites by a private preservation organization.

A Paducah Tilghman graduate, Brent later received a B.A. from the University of Kentucky in Marketing. He then earned an M.B.A. at UK with a specialization in finance and real estate. But it was the chance encounter with Dr. Dennis Domer, the chair of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation,, that ultimately brought Brent to the vaulted level of respect he has now garnered among national and international preservationists.

“I had come to the conclusion that a corporate career just didn’t fit my personality,” Brent recalls. “I started soul searching for my professional identity and I took a look at a furniture making program at the university. That’s when the random 15-minute conversation with Dr. Domer took me on a completely different path.”

In 2003, Brent found himself conducting a survey of Kentucky’s Rosenwald Schools on behalf of UK and the Kentucky Heritage Council. “For the next year and a half I identified and documented the extant Rosenwald schools that remained as a part of the Kentucky landscape. I learned about how Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald’s

68 • PADUCAH LIFE

project to build these schools created a social movement in America. Given that both my parents and others in my family had attended one of these schools, it further imbued within me the power of preservation.”

This experience led Brent to the understanding of the beauty and the power of historic buildings. “That original study of the Rosenwald schools gave me the capacity to see how this kind of professional approach to preservation could make a real and lasting contribution to our society,” he commented.

Real and lasting are hallmarks of the work that Brent is currently undertaking.

Despite the success of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to date, an even greater financial foundation is necessary to realize the lasting part of the equation.

“In just three years we have raised more than $25 million and supported more than 150 Black history sites and projects,” Brent explains. “We have exceeded our expectations.

Now we’re developing the strategic plan for 2.0. We are seeing an increased awareness of the value of accurate history and African American site preservation. I’m optimistic in what I see of multi-racial, multi-generational citizens collectively accepting that justice and social inclusion is a way to respect everyone’s humanity as a shared value.”

But the person who best tells this story is Brent himself. Read on.

Telling America’s Overlooked Stories is Fundamental to Building a True National Identity ★

by B RENT L EGGS , E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR

A FRI CAN A ME RICAN C U LT U RAL H E RITAG E A C T I O N F U N D

A Nation Forged from Diversity Needs to Recognize the Art and Achievement of African Americans

P

ABLO PICASSO ONCE SAID, “ART IS THE LIE THAT enables us to realize the truth.”

In August 2017, white men wearing khakis and polo shirts marched in the dark of night in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting hateful, racist language in protest of the city’s decision to remove its statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Holding torches as they circled a sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, they shouted: “You will not replace us! The South will rise again!” Their rally backfired, and the Confederate flag and statues were removed in many communities. Unfortunately, national conversations on the subject stalled.

That’s why, in November 2017, the National Trust for Historic Preservation launched its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a $25 million campaign to reconstruct a true national identity that reflects America’s diversity. I am proud to lead this effort for the National Trust, which preserves cultural landscapes and historic

Learning LEADS the Way Brent is also an adjunct Associate Professor and Senior Advisor at the University of Pennsylvania.

He teaches a seminar studio on preserving civil rights heritage and advises the Center for Preserving Civil Rights Sites. “I feel a social responsibility as a first generation trained Black professional to help to diversify and bring my unique perspective into academia and classrooms,” Brent remarks. “I’m excited about that representation and also about educating the next generation of leaders to be social justice advocates and champions of African American preservation in American cities.”

Brent Leggs attributes his love of reading, writing, and academics to his inspiring parents. Brent is the son of James and the late Thelma Leggs. His twin brother Kent, and his sister, Jayme live in Paducah, as do his stepmother, Eleanor and stepbrother, Damarion.

Brent hopes to begin the process of writing a book in the next year to better convey his thinking on this allimportant topic. “I’m hoping a book can help to achieve a longer shelf life of the project documentation the Action Fund has accomplished in a way that is relatable and accessible,” Brent adds.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 69

BrentLeggsEssay buildings that showcase the richness of African American life, history, and architecture. Through preservation practice, we aim to expose the world and our nation to the culture, ideals, politics, art, and the hope of America. We tell overlooked stories embodied in these places: ones of African American resilience, activism, and achievement which are fundamental to the nation itself.

With urgency and intention, the public should invest in and restore more assets that hold exceptional cultural value. The impressive architecture of Villa Lewaro, rooted in the entrepreneurial spirit of the self-made businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker, and the stately Italianate brownstone in New York that exudes the literary mastery of Langston Hughes, deserve the same stewardship and admiration as Jefferson’s Monticello or George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate.

The simple, unadorned childhood homes of the civil rights lawyer Pauli Murray and the chanteuse Nina Simone in North Carolina, imbued with their legacies of political activism and indelible artistry, should be interpreted for the public to enjoy like Lincoln’s birthplace and Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. These places help the nation learn more about its role models, who exemplify higher education, self-confidence, and leadership. Preserving this tapestry of our shared culture, pride and heritage is an act of racial justice and should be viewed as a civil right.

Today, the Confederate statues debate rages once again.

As we come to a reckoning with America’s Confederate past and see long-simmering racial and ethnic tensions return to a boil, this intensity pervades every aspect of our politics, culture, society, and public spaces. Others are debating whether to rename public buildings and streets and remove public statues and Civil War flags.

White supremacy, like the lost cause its monuments represent, is a false narrative, a construct. Its permanent markers of pride and prejudice in public spaces are a false truth in physical form, as art has contributed to more than a century of historical inaccuracies about American history. The people of this nation, through their dissent and collective affirmation of these concerns, have grown impatient with policy that gives cover to ideas that oppose our democracy’s goals.

Much of the debate about Confederate statues is to take them down and even destroy them. Removal does not mean these statues cannot serve a viable purpose elsewhere to tell the story of the Confederacy and how the cultural remnants

70 • PADUCAH LIFE

of slavery stubbornly persist in our society almost two centuries after the Emancipation Proclamation. They can serve a powerful purpose in other spaces where context and thoughtful information describe their relationship to American history and their link to present-day issues.

We can also expand the conversation to answer bold questions. How should America preserve Confederate monuments so that we never forget their meaning and harm? What’s the role of the African American community, civic leaders, preservationists, artists, and funders to envision landscapes of understanding and reconciliation? The purpose of preservation practice is not to stop change, but to offer tools that help a society manage change in ways that do not disconnect it from the legacy of its past. Done right, historic places can foster real healing, true equity, and a validation of all Americans and their real history.

Preserving the tapestry of our shared culture and heritage should be viewed as a civil right Let artists and designers like Kehinde Wiley, Kara Walker, Adam Pendelton, and Walter Hood create new art, where Confederate sculptures once stood tall, to evoke an empowering positive history. Let us mark space and culture with forms that represent the best in the human experience to remind us all about the full contributions of Black America.

Let the connection between public spaces and Confederate statues disappear, with ruins that will never be maintained again. These sites of conscience will remind nations to never forget the power of propaganda and racial politics cloaked with heritage and carried out with violence.

Like an hourglass, where each falling piece of sand is pulled to the bottom by larger forces, let this community of false heroes enjoy their own decay. Because the truth is that in the reality of this moment, Confederate monuments and their pride and prejudice are a vanishing history.

Our society must revere African American history as American history, while also paying homage and respect to the centuries of Black life that is fundamental to our national identity. Our collective reverence and respect for Black people should be measured by the historic assets that we preserve now and into the future.

In just three years the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has raised more than $25 million and supported more than 150 Black history sites and projects. Two of those include the Mt. Zion Rosenwald school in South Carolina and the childhood home of musician and activist Nina Simone in North Carolina.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 71

WE’RE THE SOMEONE When it comes to caring for loved ones, YOU WERE HOPING FIND TO CARING FIND. PEOPLE TO HELP Caring People Services provides a staff of caregivers with professionalism, compassion, and conscientiousness. We are the people you’ve been hoping to find... to care for the people you love. Call us Services to set up an Non-Medical 24appointment.

Hours A Day

Professional Caregivers

www.caringpeopleservices.com • (270) 575-4529 • 1-800-383-7231 Professional Caregivers Non-Medical Services 24 Hours AofDay Proud member of Home Care Association America

CARING PEOPLE SERVICES HONORS caringpeopleservices.com • (270) 575-4529 THE CARING AND CAPABLE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE PADUCAH POLICE DEPARTMENT!

• 1-800-383-7231

Order Online at Midtown Market Whether you’re a busy mom on the go or just don’t feel like getting out of the car to face the world today, the drive thru was created for your convenience.

We now welcome online orders for pickup!

midtownmarket.com 72 • PAD U CAH L I FE

H

by J.T. Crawford

Power The

Park

of a

Stuart Nelson Park was originally commissioned in the 1930s as a recreational space for African Americans in a segregated Paducah

P

ARKS MATTER. NOT ONLY do they provide cities space for recreation and healthy activity, but they are also part of any community’s core. Parks facilitate connection—a place where we gather and link with others in vital ways. They are necessary for the mental health and personality development of any populace. For Paducah, Noble Park has long been

the city park. But for many years, the city closed it off to a large portion of the population due to segregation. In the early 1930s, the Black community had a small park on the south side of the city. But it was nothing on the scale of Noble Park, nor did it provide adequate space for large gatherings and recreation.

By the mid-1930s, many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives to combat the Great Depression were in full swing, something that would help build a new park in Paducah. An appropriation of $4.9 billion for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) provided jobs by building up our public infrastructure through projects such as parks, schools, roads, bridges, and more.

In 1936, the Paducah Colored Civic League formed a committee to develop a municipal park for Paducah’s Black community. Just a year prior, the city commission had opened the pathway for the creation of the park, and with potential WPA funding, its future came into focus.

The city had already found a good spot. The roughly 55-acre site just off Hinkleville Road was, at the time, just outside the city limits. It had been the home of Paducah’s pest house, a farm of shacks and tents where those with communicable diseases such as smallpox were housed and treated until they recovered and were no longer contagious.

The site had been condemned as treatment of such diseases advanced by the mid-30s, and most patients were housed in an isolation unit at Riverside Hospital. The Black community agreed on the location. There was plenty of room with open spaces for ball fields, tennis courts, and more—and wooded areas provided respite with retreats into nature. For black citizens and city officials, it was a win-win. The land could be developed for the good of its citizens with no purchasing costs.

Naming the park was a community affair. The Colored Civic League asked Paducah’s Black students to write essays. They considered scores of names, including naming it Anderson Park after Dr. Dennis Henry “DH” Anderson, founder of the West Kentucky Industrial College which later became West Kentucky Vocational Technical School.

The winning essay came from Lincoln High School

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 73

Stuart Nelson Park

freshman Mattie Pate. She said: “I would like to name the park Stewart [sic] Nelson Park, for Stewart Nelson, who was a graduate from our school, Lincoln High.

Stewart Nelson is one of the most brilliant young men for the race in America. He was the son of a doctor. He made a lieutenant in the army during the World War and Stuart Nelson was later commissioned captain.

“Stewart Nelson was the first Negro president of Shaw University. He later became the first Negro president of Dillard University, New Orleans. He married a Miss Church of Memphis, TN. He is now one of the most outstanding Negro educators in the United States and is a native of our city. For due respect we should name our park in honor of such an outstanding man of our own race and town.”

A columnist wrote that the name “places honor where honor is due and should serve as a spur and a beacon to many young persons among the local colored population, enabling them to rise above the intolerance and repressions of generations and to work out their own destinies as 74 • PAD U CAH L I FE

every American child is entitled to do.”

On May 30, 1938, an estimated crowd of 2,000 enjoyed the newly opened park. The air was filled with the smell of barbecue and the sounds of laughter, conversations, and playing children. 18 softball teams played games that day.

On June 24, at an official naming ceremony, Stuart Nelson returned home to speak at the park, stating his appreciation and that he owed more to the people than they owed him.

The city held a formal opening on Thursday, August 6, 1938, after additional electrical lines had been run and more finishing work had been completed. The Colored Civic League led a parade to the park, a long celebratory line that began at 7th and Adams. Buses ran every thirty minutes, connecting the park to regular city lines. Picnics and ballgames filled the day’s schedule. At 7:30 PM, the dedication ceremony included addresses from the city’s mayor, city manager, the commissioners, and Dr. D.H. Anderson.

The next year, the Black community raised funds to install a children’s wading pool with a capacity for 180 children. Tennis and basketball were also a part of the park.

A caretaker’s home provided shelter for the person hired to oversee park operations.

On holidays, the park was at capacity. On Independence Day, 1956, for example, baseball teams played, the wading pool stayed full, and children from the Blackburn Park area of Paducah presented an art exhibit. It was also during this time that free movies were presented on Friday nights.

Stuart Nelson park became a central gathering place—a place where community became a verb. When Black organizations needed a place to congregate, they went to Stuart Nelson. And oftentimes, special busses were arranged to transport attendees from the city to the park.

West Kentucky Vocational School hosted track and field competitions. Beginning in 1961, the new Paducah city recreation program invited kids to participate in sand crafts, clay modeling, baseball and softball camps, record hops, folk dancing, tennis instruction, croquet, horseshoes, table games, and more. The Colored Girl Scouts took advantage

The Paducah Junior Legion Boy’s Club held their All-Star series at Stuart Nelson Park.

The Colored Girl Scouts

of the natural aspect of the park’s landscape, learning a variety of outdoor skills including how to build a fire.

Stuart Nelson Park was a gathering space for special occasions, most notably for the annual celebration of Emancipation Day (the 8th of August). Estimated attendance in 1939 was upward of 5,000 with locals and people from out of town attending. 293 alone had come from Louisville via train.

The park was also a mecca for softball. During the summer, the newspaper relayed daily scores and game recaps that rivaled the stories of Major League Baseball games. Teams traveled to Paducah—those such at the Metropolis Brown Bloomer ladies team and the Brookport Broyles Ramblers. There is evidence that both Black and white teams used the park, and it remained a hub for the sport long after the desegregation of the parks.

F E B RUA RY / MAR C H 2021 • 75

Stuart Nelson Park

A

Namesake with a

Notable

LIFE Caretaker’s home at Stuart Nelson Park

While Stuart Nelson Park was worth celebrating because it gave the Black community a place for recreation and congregation, it did not create equity for all people. Black Paducahans were still not allowed in white parks. It seems that most of Paducah saw the establishment of the park as a good thing. But there remained an air of superiority by some. Mayor Edgar T. Washington, in his remarks at the dedication, said “We want you to keep the park clean, and we know that you will so conduct yourselves at all times that there will never be any reason for Paducah to regret having given you this park.” For all the talk about people bettering themselves and finding successes in life, it had to be done within the established, restrictive bounds of segregation. There was a long way to go.

On August 8, 1936, an unknown newspaper writer wrote about the city’s 10,000 Black residents celebrating the opening of the park. He said, “The continuing conquest of bitter prejudice is one of the high spots of human history. For history to the Christian is not the succession of empires built by the sword, but the steady progress of humanity itself toward a civilization of peace and universal brotherhood. The happy day seems not far off when Americans, both white and colored, can pull together without consciousness of racial differences for a greater, happier nation.”

76 • PAD U CAH L I FE

WHEN THE PADUCAH COLORED CIVIC League chose Stuart Nelson as the name for the new park in 1936, the honor was already warranted. William Stuart Nelson, born in 1895, had served in World War I, attended Howard University, schools in France and Germany, and Yale. He became the first Black president of Shaw University and the first president of Dillard University.

After the naming of the park, Nelson made several trips to India as part of the American Friends Service Committee. There, he marched with

Ghandi through Bengal. Nelson became internationally known as an expert on nonviolence, corresponding regularly with and influencing Martin Luther King, Jr. When Nelson sent him his 1958 article, “Satyagraha: Ghandian Principles of Non-Violent Non-Cooperation,” King wrote that it was “one of the best and most balanced analyses of the Gandhian principles of nonviolent, noncooperation that I have read.”

Nelson was active through the civil rights movement, speaking at the 1959 Institute on Nonviolence and Social Change and the 1962 convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and joining the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965.

William Stuart Nelson died in 1977.

Let US do the COOKING!

It’s a new year so get off on the right foot when it comes to your food! Let us help you with nutritious, balanced meals designed to be healthy, delicious, and convenient.

Let us do the cooking, so you can reap the benefits!

270.349.8416 532 N. 32nd Street • Paducah, KY

Information from The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 77

ALL ABOUT HUNTING...AND SO MUCH MORE! Find great winter selections of clothing, hats, gloves, boots, supplies, personal products, and much, much more. Go beyond the expected at Shooter’s Supply, Paducah’s outdoor emporium!

PADUCAHSHOOTERS.COM • 270.443.3758 78 • PAD U CAH L I FE

cal

y of Lo c a g e L e h t Honoring

s n a c i r e m A n a c i r f A D NITY AN COMMU Y K le African C b U ta T o nized n T KEN g S o E c re W , b O lu C RS AG Paducah: & Design FEW YEA , “Defining tudent Art d S e ll ’s a e c eg it ll o ib C ns.” The rt exh Technical n America cah in an a a u ic d a fr P A l m a c o fr students, f Lo Americans igh school g Legacy o h in a d re n a ta , ts ts u n irection of stude the O nder the d e art club Honoring u , th b y lu b C d te ls Gir were crea Boys and paintings . scar Cross O e th the city’s mily Esau f E o ers zke and cans from it ri e e N m a and memb A y n n a a fric rs T s well ulty adviso Marable, a rominent A p te f a o F s r, it e ra d PSAD fac a le port t and band H LIFE it featured jazz pianis PADUCA The exhib ry y. a it d n n u e g m le com arable, , including within the son, Fate M s il rk W a e m d rich history rg n o e G cal la features on s of histori lished full b as painting u p College. l y a sl ri u previo Indust s y a h ck e tu n in e z a K Mag d the West Dupee, an Rev. G. W. E

OF THES ECTED FEW L E S A E R A H ANTED TO S PADUCAH. 2020, WE W HISTORY IN H T H N IC O R M Y ’S Y R NIT HISTO AN COMMU ATE BLACK AN AMERIC IC TO CELEBR R F A E H T F EMINDER O RKS AS A R

WO

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 • 79

FATE MARABLE Fate Marable is a noted jazz musician who got his start playing the piano and calliope on steamboats. He became a bandleader in 1907 and spent years scouting musical talent.

Marable is credited for discovering Louis Armstrong after hearing him play in New Orleans.

ERSA HINES POSTON Ersa Poston was the first African

REVEREND G.W. DUPEE Reverend Dupee started preaching when he was a hired slave. In 1856, his Lexington congregation purchased his freedom at auction. He founded and pastored many Kentucky churches, including Washington Street Baptist Church in Paducah in 1864. In the same year, he organized the first Association of African American Churches.

80 • PADUCAH LIFE

School. In 1965, Lincoln consolidated with Tilghman High School. Brown served the newly-formed institution as Assistant Director of Curriculum and Guidance.

American woman appointed to the U.S. Civil Service Commission after a social work career in both Kentucky and New York. She became vice chairman of the Merit System Protection Board, making her one of the highest ranking African American women in the Reagan administration.

WEST KENTUCKY INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE The art is of the first building of West Kentucky Industrial College later known as West Kentucky Technical College and a predecessor to today’s West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC). The band of 12 in 1871, which led to the creation of Burks Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Paducah.

B.W. BROWNE GEORGE WILSON George Wilson started his football career at Paducah Tilghman. After playing at the University of Arkansas, he moved to a role as a safety for the Buffalo Bills, earning the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award twice.

George received the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2008 for his philanthropy.

REVEREND MOSES BURKS Reverend Burks relocated to Paducah around 1859 from Woodford County, where he had professed religion and joined the Methodist church.

Through his radiant personality and magnetism, he attracted a prayer

B.W. Browne knew one-room schoolhouses from the perspective of a student and a teacher. After moving into administration, he relocated to Paducah and became the president of Lincoln High cornerstone of this building was laid in Paducah in 1911 by founder Dr. D.H. Anderson to start a teacher training college for AfricanAmericans. In 2003, West Kentucky Technical College and Paducah Community College consolidated to form WKCTC. On December 15, 2020, WKCTC President Anton Reece announced a $15 million dollar donation to the college made by American novelist, billionaire, and venture philanthropist MacKenzie Scott—the largest donation ever received by the college.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 • 81

FLAG And Our

Was Still There H

by Rosemarie Steele and Stefanie Graves

W W

HEN KEY PEOPLE HAVE A CONVERGENCE OF MINDS IN A UNESCO CREATIVE CITY known as Quilt City something amazing is bound to emerge. Such was the case during QuiltWeek April 2015. Ro Morse and the late Bill Schroeder, the powerhouse team behind Paducah Wall to Wall murals, looked at the floodwall outside the Carroll Convention Center and thought it was the perfect setting for seeing quilts along the wall. Enter Mayor Gayle Kaler and the conversation ensued.

Before long Mayor Kaler invited department heads and community organizers to her office to discuss a Quilt Murals project. With initial assistance from the Wall to Wall project executive director Ro Morse and past chair Scott Garrett, who shared information on how the Wall to Wall Murals project developed, a new and separate plan was devised for the Quilt City USA murals.

Kaler saw this as an opportunity for local artists who moved here as part of the Artist Relocation Program to leave a legacy and have an impact on the community. Dr. Jay Downs Siska was named Project Coordinator and Char Downs, Pinecone Gallery, who had experience with outdoor murals, was recruited as Lead Artist. Downs soon devised a detailed juried audition process that required local artists to paint samples of “Corona II: Solar Eclipse” by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry, the premier quilt featured in the project.

82 • PAD U CAH L I FE

AQS Show Director Bonnie Browning organized a Quilt Selection Committee, which determined that quilts chosen for the project must reflect educational, humanitarian, or environmental relevance, or exhibit an iconic provenance to their time in history.“Corona II: Solar Eclipse,” named one of the The Twentieth Century’s Best American Quilts, was painted by Lead Artist Char Downs.

The September 13, 2017, unveiling coincided with the historic celestial event Solar Eclipse 2017.

The second quilt in the series, “… and Our Flag was Still There!” created by world-renowned quilt artist and instructor Melinda Bula from California, was unveiled on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020. Bula describes this quilt as “a painting without any paint.”

Muralist Stefanie Graves of Cowango Studios recreated Bula’s intricate thread-painting quilting style—using paint to replicate the fabric, stitches and thread. Following are her remarks from the unveiling in 2020.

“I’m so honored to have been chosen

by Paducah Quilt Murals to paint this mural of Melinda Bula’s quilt, “And Our Flag Was Still There.” The quilt has always been one of my favorites from seeing it for the first time at the National Quilt Museum here in Paducah.

Painting this mural has been the most challenging and largest project I’ve ever accomplished in my art career — over 900 hours total and nearly a year and a half to completion. It was a long, and many times, tedious process but also incredibly rewarding in the end.

As with any of my paintings with this much realistic detail, I become

intimately familiar with the subject I’m painting. This was no exception.

Over the course of the time I spent working on it, I couldn’t help but reflect on the quilt’s meaning for me and how appropriate it felt to be spending my time on this mural at this particular moment in history. “And Our Flag Was Still There” is a line from the Star Spangled Banner that reminds us of our first struggles in forming our democracy.

Melinda Bula’s image brilliantly captures that moment with a tattered American flag still rippling in the aftermath of battle, even as smoke and fire surround it. It is torn but defiantly remains aloft.

Working on this mural made me think of not only that initial struggle but also our many other struggles in preserving our democracy, such as the Civil War, two World Wars, Vietnam, and our fight for civil rights that our country has survived. During these past months of political turmoil I came to find hope through this mural with its reminder of our internal strength as a nation and our unwavering faith in our democracy. It also reminded me of all those who have come before who fought for this union and for these beliefs.

Their strength and sacrifices, in the face of sometimes overwhelming adversity, gave me cause for hope.

The mural and quilt also remind us that art is more than just pretty pictures. In art’s most powerful sense it serves to inspire us, to make us question, to reflect on issues in a way that words cannot convey. I’m proud to be part of a community that celebrates that tradition and honored

to bring to life an image that is the epitome of art’s greatest purpose.

Thank you so much for being a part of this momentous unveiling.

And thank you to all the veterans today for your service, especially you, Daddy.”

Muralist, Stefanie Graves

A PATRIOTIC PRAYER Ten years ago, I was desperate to make a quilt that would help me through the fear of my son becoming a United States Marine in a time of war.

I prayed over every piece of fabric I cut and every thread I stitched that my son would be safe. Dealing with that fear and learning to let them go…that is how you learn to be a patriot.

The hidden blessing is that this quilt connected me to so many other Americans that have prayed that same prayer. Now this quilt is in The National Quilt Museum and painted on the wall of a city I truly love…

Paducah. I’m so grateful.

–Quilter Melinda Bula

F E B RUA RY / MA R C H 2021 • 83

LastWord the

“

When someone looks at a piece of artwork, it says a multitude of words and brings emotions. It sometimes brings back wonderful memories. If no one views a piece of art, it still has meaning, but cannot affect a community or society by provoking a thought or conversation! Art is an important and necessary entity.”

— DALE MCREYNOLDS

DALE McREYNOLDS is a Paducah native whose art has been featured and displayed at galleries around the country along with our own Yeiser Art Center. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dale was the first African American member of two of the local art guilds. She has also exhibited in Denver, Phoenix, and Harlem, among others. In October 2020, Dale opened Dale’s Art Den, the first African American Art Studio/Gallery in Metropolis, IL.

84 • PAD U CAH L I FE

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 • 84

Live Happily Ever After Memorable moments are almost always grounded in the place where you spend most of your time— your home. From baking cookies in the kitchen, to reading bedtime stories, to raking leaves together, every moment in the place you call home becomes a treasured piece of the life you’re building together.

Live happily ever after with the right realtor.

SUZY GILLAND REALTOR

270.556.3697 suzygilland@gmail.com 3225 Coleman Road • Paducah, KY

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PADUCAH, KY PERMIT 44

2021 PADUCAH BANK TEEN AMBASSADOR

ALUMNI BOARD! www.paducahbank.com

| MEMBER FDIC

NOT PICTURED: Sydney Carter / Dylan Houser / Emma Kate Schaaf / Libby Shadoan