Tales From The Kentucky Room

Quilting Kentucky's Stories is a year-long series of autobiographical tales from Lexington Residents, some of them funny, some of them heartwarming and some heart wrenching, but all of them important as they build the quilt of Kentucky life.

Donna Carter joins us for our inaugural episode, performing the speech she gave on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for Winchester (Clark County), Kentucky. She recounts her 30 years in recovery, and how equity helped her to build the life she has now.

Donna resides in WInchester, KY with her husband of 23 years and their 14 year old daughter. Donna has over 20 years of HR experience within various industries.  Over her career she has been responsible for leading HR departments and DEIB initiatives in the manufacturing, non-profit, government, education and private sectors. She is currently the Director of Professional and Community Development at Internal Family Systems Institute, headquartered in Chicago, IL and also oversees the HR department.  

Mariam sits down with JP Johnson, Kentucky Room Librarian to discuss his research into Pralltown, one of Lexington’s best known Black Enclaves. They talk about the founding of Pralltown, how the residents of Pralltown stood up to urban renewal and destruction of their neighborhood in the mid-twentieth century, and a few of Pralltown’s famous residents: community leader James Herndon, known to most as Sweet Evening Breeze; Lou Johnson, the professional baseball player for the Dodgers; and Tony Briggs, a leader in Lexington’s Punk music scene.

Join Sylvia Lovely for a preview of the upcoming series presented by Tales from the Kentucky Room: Quilting Kentucky's Stories. 

Quilting Kentucky's Stories is a year-long series of autobiographical tales from Lexington Residents, some of them funny, some of them heartwarming and some heart wrenching, but all of them important as they build the quilt of Kentucky life.

Theme song "Appalachian Lofi" composed and performed by Bryan Klausing and Christine Cole.

This episode has mentions of violence of dueling, listener’s discretion is advised. 

Mariam sits down with Stuart Sanders to discuss his newest book, Anatomy of a Duel: Secession, Civil War, and the Evolution of Kentucky Violence. They talk about his role and artifacts at the Kentucky Historical Society, why dueling was so embraced in Kentucky (Henry Clay himself dueled more than once), and Stuart’s previous and upcoming projects. Stuart is the Director of Research and Publications for the Kentucky Historical Society and has written four other books exploring interpersonal violence in the Civil War Era.

Anatomy of a Duel: Secession, Civil War, and the Evolution of Kentucky Violence examines why white male Kentuckians engaged in the "honor culture" of duels and provides fascinating narratives that trace the lives of duelists. Stuart W. Sanders explores why, during a time when Americans were killing one another in open, brutal warfare, William T. Casto and Colonel Leonidas Metcalfe engaged in the process of negotiating and fighting a duel. The book is available for checkout at the Lexington Public Library and for purchase at your local bookstore.

During the episode, Stuart mentions a memento ring from a duel that is available to view online. You can see it at the Kentucky Historical Society’s online archive.

In our last episode of 2023, Mariam sits down with Betty Abdmishani, retired Village Branch manager and Jackie Arakaki, one of the original staff members at Village Branch, to discuss the history of the Village Branch location. Village Branch became an essential and beloved part of the community by never saying "we don't do that here" and helping customers with whatever they needed, in many ways shaping the services the Library now provides at all locations. In 2024, twenty years after Village Branch opened, the newly designed and far larger Marksbury Family Branch will open on the site of the original Village Branch. They reminisce about the founding and opening of Village Branch, staffing, and the unique challenges and successes for the Village community.

Mariam sits down with local author Doris Settles to discuss her latest book, Kentucky and the War of 1812: the Governor, the Farmers and the Pig detailing Kentucky’s heavy involvement and heavy losses during the War of 1812. Doris details how Henry Clay pushed for the fledgling United States’ declaration of War on Great Britain, and what led to Governor Isaac Shelby leading 4000 Kentucky farmers north to fight on the northwestern front. They also discuss Doris’s gardening book for children, and her contribution to the book Prohibition in Bardstown with Dixie Hibbs.

Kentucky and the War of 1812: the Governor, the Farmers and the Pig is available for purchase from local booksellers, from Doris Settles’ website and from the publisher’s website. It is also available for checkout from the library.

Mariam sits down with Rona Roberts and Barbara Sutherland to discuss their work on Segregated Lexington. Segregated Lexington gathers primary sources and research to show how systemic racism in housing result in unequal life opportunities for Lexington’s Black residents versus white residents. They speak on redlining in particular, as well as the effect of realtor steering in relation to home ownership. They talk about how, as white women, they can contribute to repair, and how it’s important to understand our past to move forward together in the future. You can visit Segregated Lexington at https://www.segregatedlexington.com

This podcast episode is produced in conjunction with the Library’s Community Read of The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (available for checkout) and the UnDesign the Redline exhibit at Central Library, available for viewing until November 17, 2023.

Mariam interviews local author Gary O’Dell about his new book Bluegrass Paradise: Royal Spring and the Birth of Georgetown, Kentucky. Royal Spring is the largest spring in central Kentucky and is located in Georgetown, Kentucky. They discuss how Gary became interested in springs in Kentucky, and how he gathered the information for his new book about Royal Spring. They also discuss Kentucky’s pioneer history, the discovery of Royal Spring, and the growth of Georgetown around it until it was made into a State Park. Bluegrass Paradise: Royal Spring and the Birth of Georgetown, Kentucky is available for purchase at your local bookseller and available for checkout at the Lexington Public Library.

David guest hosts to interviews Wayne about more street names and how streets are named in Lexington. Part Two covers the names of streets in subdivisions and major roads around Lexington. And yes, Wayne does tell us the origin of the name Chinoe and how to pronounce it like a native Lexingtonian.

Shelby joins us to read selections from Lexington’s Fallout Shelter Plan from 1965. The plan was created in a pilot program funded by Stanford Research Institute and the Federal Offices of Civil Defense to maximize survivability using shelters in the event of an atomic attack. One city in each state developed a plan, and Lexington was the representative city for Kentucky. The full plan can be found in the Library’s Digital Archives.

David guest hosts to interview Willie Carver, Jr., Kentucky Poet and 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year about his new work, “Gay Poems for Red States.” They discuss Willie’s approach to poetry, growing up gay and Appalachian in the 90’s, and the effect on book banning in schools on students. Willie reads his poem “First Crush” for the podcast. 

“Gay Poems for Red States” is available for checkout and for purchase at your local bookseller.

David guest hosts and interviews Wayne about street names in Lexington. The first episode of this two-part series covers streets named after racehorses, racetracks, and horse farms in Lexington. 

The Week of June 5th is Secretariat Week in the Kentucky Room, so check our events page for more information about the programs for this week.

For our 75th episode, Mariam interviews Peter Brackney about The History Lovers' Guide to Lexington and Central KY, his new book co-written with the late Foster Ockerman, Jr. They discuss some of the places that were selected for the book, and how it's important for history to remain in context as markers are placed or removed, or places renamed. The History Lovers' Guide to Lexington, KY is available for checkout from the library or for purchase from your local booksellers.

Mariam hosts a roundtable discussion with librarians Brenna and Heather about the 1964 March on Frankfort. On March 5, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball player Jackie Robinson, and band Peter, Paul and Mary participated in a march from Louisville to Frankfort to advocate for the passage of a bill to end segregated public accommodations in Kentucky. This bill was eventually passed in 1966, but previous to that time, a pivotal moment in Kentucky Civil Rights history was several Black NBA players, including Bill Russell, were not allowed accommodation in the Phoenix Hotel because of their race. 

Producer Erin briefly joins the conversation when the talks move into how the March, and many aspects of Kentucky history, including Civil Rights, are not taught in Kentucky schools, and how surprised Heather, Mariam and Erin were to discover the March had happened only as adults.

There is no known transcription of the speeches given at the March on Frankfort, but the Library does have a digitized copy of the program available in the Digital Archive. Brenna makes many recommendations for further learning on this topic, including oral histories, in the episode.

February 15, 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the 2003 ice storm that brought Lexington to a standstill and nearly half of utility customers (over 140,000) without electricity. Mariam interviews Wayne Johnson about the storm, and his experiences riding out the storm with no electricity. Our producer, Erin, pops into the booth to tell her experience of the storm as a high schooler in Lexington. 

Mariam interviews David Bryant about the life and work of Lexington-born African American composer Julia Perry (1924-1979). David covers her early life in Lexington, KY, and Akron, OH and her move to Europe. He also discusses her musical style, with three examples of her works. Special thanks to Dr. Yvonne Giles for her assistance with the research for this episode.

Recordings of Sabat Mater, Short Piece for Orchestra, and Homunculus C.F. are used under Fair Use for purposes of review.

Mariam interviews Fred Mills about the history of the Kentucky Theatre and his 50 year tenure as the theatre’s manager. They discuss the opening of the theatre in 1922, and the ups and downs of the theatre industry, and of the Kentucky Theatre itself, from funding issues to the building fire that shuttered the theatre for years.

There is a brief discussion of the theatre showing adult movies in the 1970s and the first amendment implications, but no discussion of the movies beyond their titles and the legal trouble that the theatre faced, some listener discretion is advised. 

Brenna guests to share her research on three of Lexington’s Black enclaves, founded by formerly enslaved persons after the Civil War. In this episode, she discusses Davis Bottom (est. 1865; redeveloped in 2010s to make way for Newtown Pike road expansion), Adamstown (est. 1870; razed in early 1900s to make way for Memorial Colosseum), and Brucetown (est. 1865; still exists today). Brenna highlights the history we know, and points out that much of the history of these hamlets and their residents are lost to time, despite their vital contributions to Lexington’s development and growth pre- and post-Civil War. 

Mariam and David discuss the sordid life of John Wilkes Booth before his assassination of Abraham Lincoln, including his visit to Lexington during the Civil War as a theater actor. Some listener discretion is advised as they discuss his womanizing, his racist and pro-slavery views, and the conspiracy theories surrounding his death. 

Mariam and Wayne talk about the history of Lexington Public Library spaces, from its beginning as a subscription library in 1795 to the building project for the new Marksbury Family Branch (formerly Village Branch) now in 2022.