Archive for September, 2009

24
Sep
09

Grant funds support Civil War programs in Kentucky

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The Kentucky Humanities Council recently awarded more than $2,250 to two Kentucky organizations for public programming.

Friends of the Lost River Inc. of Bowling Green will receive $1,064.50 to host several events during the Lost River Cave Civil War Living History Weekend. Scheduled for Oct. 16-17, the fifth annual event offers a glimpse into the period lifestyle of civilians and soldiers during the Civil War. Artisans and experts present exhibits, demonstrations, reenactments and guided participant activities. This year’s event features a Civil War Ball with period music and dance. Kentucky Chautauqua®’s Jim Sayre, portraying Abraham Lincoln, will give his “I, too, am a Kentuckian” performance.

Friends of Middle Creek Inc. will receive $1,200 for its project “First Ladies of the Civil War,” which will be featured Oct. 2-3 at the Apple Day festival in Paintsville and Oct. 10-11 at the Jenny Wiley Festival in Prestonsburg. Reenactors portraying Mary Todd Lincoln and Varia Howell Davis will actively participate with audiences at both of these festivals in period dress and settings, discussing their husbands, the causes and issues of the Civil War and how the Civil War affected women.  The reenactors will also offer a presentation to history and political science classes at Big Sandy Community and Technical College.

These grants are made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities and private contributions. For more information about applying for a minigrant through the Kentucky Humanities Council, click here.

18
Sep
09

Several University Press authors featured in Speakers Bureau

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LEXINGTON (University of Kentucky News) − The Kentucky Humanities Council has released a list of scholars and writers who will serve on its Speakers Bureau for 2009. Among this year’s roster of featured speakers are five faculty and staff members from the University of Kentucky and 10 University Press of Kentucky authors, four of whom are new to the program this year.

The Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau brings together historians, scholars, writers and poets from across Kentucky. These speakers are available to speak to community groups with an audience of 25 or more about a variety of topics, from World War II to Abraham Lincoln, from how to become a fiction writer to tales of memorable Kentuckians in history. Programs are available at a reduced cost for nonprofit organizations.
Continue reading ‘Several University Press authors featured in Speakers Bureau’

02
Sep
09

Speakers in central, western Kentucky this weekend

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Categories: Humanities and Speakers Bureau
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The Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau will feature talks in central and western Kentucky this weekend by two very interesting presenters — state historian James Klotter and Kentucky NPR commentator Georgia Green Stamper.

In Winchester, Klotter will offer his presentation “A Power Trio: Henry Clay, Mary Todd and Honest Abe,” in which he explores the unique relationship between these three influential Kentuckians. Klotter’s talk begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Clark County Public Library, 370 S. Burns Ave, Winchester.

In Greenville, Stamper will tell you about “Extraordinary Ordinary Kentuckians.” A seventh-generation Kentuckian, Stamper is in love with Kentuckians and their unique stories. From farmers in bathrobes who taught her the true meaning of the Christmas story, to a shell-shocked housepainter who took her to Hell on a train, Stamper’s real-life characters will stir the hearts of those in the audience. Her talk begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Muhlenberg County Library History Annex, 117 S. Main St., Greenville.

02
Sep
09

He, too, was a Kentuckian: See him in Munfordville

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Categories: Humanities and Kentucky Chautauqua
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The Hart County Historical Society, together with Kentucky Chautauqua, presents Abraham Lincoln: “I, too, am a Kentuckian” Chautauqua at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 at the historical

Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Jim Sayre

Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Jim Sayre

society museum, 109 Main St. in Munfordville.

Born on a farm in what is now LaRue County, Ky., Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) spent his early years in the Commonwealth. When he was 7, his family moved to Indiana, and later Illinois. But as his native brilliance and burning political ambition carried him to the presidency and

greatness — a panel of historians recently chose him as the most influential American who ever lived — Lincoln always had connections with his native state.

In his law office in Springfield, Ill., he had a partner, William “Billy” Herndon, who hailed from Greensburg, Ky. His best friend in Springfield was Joshua Speed from Louisville. His wife, Mary, was from Lexington, a daughter of the prominent Todd family. And his political role model, a friend of the Todd family, was the Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. During the Civil War, Lincoln was unpopular in Kentucky, but when he said, “I, too, am a Kentuckian,” no one could dispute it.

Continue reading ‘He, too, was a Kentuckian: See him in Munfordville’

02
Sep
09

Atta kul kulla to perform near Ashland

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Atta kul kulla (c. 1715–1780) was the peace chief of the powerful Cherokee Nation from 1758 until his death. Called the “most important Indian of his day,” Atta kul kulla was a skilled and sophisticated diplomat. His policies and actions are still controversial, but he did unite his people and lay the foundation for the long-term survival of the Cherokee Nation on a continent where European immigrants were rapidly growing in number.

Atta kul kulla, Cherokee peace chief, portrayed by Robert K. Rambo

Atta kul kulla, Cherokee peace chief, portrayed by Robert K. Rambo

Learn more about this influential Cherokee peace chief as Wolfpen Woods Pioneer Village and Kentucky Chautauqua present Atta kul kulla: Cherokee Peace Chief at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11. Wolfpen Woods is located at 20740 Bolts Fork Road in Rush, Ky., near Ashland.

In 1775, Atta kul kulla played a key role in the famous land transaction known as the Transylvania Purchase. The Cherokees were defeated after a war with the Chickasaw. In return for much-needed arms and ammunition, he made the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals with the Transylvania Land Company, headed by Judge Richard Henderson of North Carolina, who used the agreement to claim purchase of what is now Kentucky. Unlike Henderson, Atta kul kulla did not regard the treaty as a sale. The governments of Great Britain, North Carolina and Virginia termed it illegal and annulled the treaty, but Virginia still used it to claim state ownership. Kentucky was lost to the Cherokee forever and sold to a flood of settlers from the east.

Atta kul kulla died around 1780, but the unity and sense of identity he had forged allowed the Cherokee to prosper until the 1830s, when the U.S. government forcibly removed them to the west from their homelands in the southeast. Atta kul kulla’s legacy is that Cherokees still seek and cherish the separate identity he did so much to establish.

Robert K. Rambo portrays Atta kul kulla for Kentucky Chautauqua. Rambo, who is of Cherokee ancestry, has been studying and portraying the great chief for more than a decade. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Rambo is a graduate student in history at Western Carolina University.