Tales From The Kentucky Room

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 progr

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. 

Mariam shares the history of Kentucky’s Separate Coach Law, and Lexington’s second African American attorney, J. Alexander Chiles, who took the fight to the US Supreme court multiple times in the 1890s and early 1900s. Kentucky’s Separate Coach Law was one of many of Kentucky’s explicitly racist Jim Crow segregation laws, and those who fought against it faced persecution, harassment and assault. J. Alexander Chiles was at the forefront of this fight for de-segregated equality. 

October 1973 saw one of Lexington’s most brutal crimes, the murders of Rev. John Barnes (47), his daughter Francine Barnes (18), and his son John E. Barnes (14). In the final part of this series, Wayne takes us through the murders of the Barnes Family, the murders and shootings in Falmouth, KY, and the aftermath of the crimes. Listener Discretion is Advised. 

October 1973 saw one of Lexington’s most brutal crimes, the murders of Rev. John Barnes (47), his daughter Francine Barnes (18), and his son John E. Barnes (14). In this part one of two series on the Barnes Family’s murder, Mariam interviews guest Ike Lawrence, whose father notified Mrs. Barnes of her family’s murder, and later, Wayne discusses the start of the crime, with the two killers escaping the custody of the US Marshals. The discussion of the crime continues in part two tomorrow. Listener Discretion is Advised. 

Erin guests to talk about bloodhound Nick Carter and his handler Captain Volney Mullikin, who together searched for and found over 600 people in Nick Carter’s career as a tracking hound. She goes over his most profiled cases, and shares one case tracked by Nick Carter’s son, Nick Carter, Jr. 

Mariam interviews oral historians Terry L. Birdwhistell and Donald A. Ritchie about their January 2022 book, Washington’s Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, an Oral History. They discuss Bess Clements Abell’s (1933-2020) Kentucky history, her background and family life, her time in the White House during Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, and her later public relations firm. More information can be found about the book here and is available for check out here.

Mariam and David discuss Charles Dickens’ visit to Kentucky in 1842, including his observations of America, particularly about American table manners, tobacco use, and the varied people he sought out for conversation during his travels. Readings by Bill Widener from Dickens’ work American Notes and from The New York Times and The Paducah Sun newspapers. American Notes is available for check out here.

Mariam talks with Kentucky author Jayne Moore Waldrop about her first fiction work, Drowned Town, about the creation of Land Between the Lakes. They explore the differences between man-made displacements and natural disasters, as this episode was recorded just two weeks after the December 2021 tornado devastated parts of Western Kentucky. Drowned Town is available for check out at the library here and for purchase at your favorite bookstore. 

Join us for a dramatic reading by the TFKR Radio Players of several ads taken out by Dennis Nichols and Tazewell Marr in the 1846 Observer & Reporter, each accusing the other of foul play in the sale of a horse that was either already lame or became lame shortly after the sale. The injury to the horse is described as a spavin, which is an osteoarthritis condition and is degenerative. We checked for deeds and court records for the sale and threat of court action, but we weren’t able to find any records to say how this turned out. We hope you enjoy this special episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. 

After a year of pandemic created challenges for the public school system in Lexington, Mariam gives an overview of the history of the public schools in Lexington City and in Fayette County. She discusses the initial funding of the schools, through the creation of segregated public schools in 1864, and finally desegregation and the merging of the city and county public schools in the 1960s. 

Mariam and David discuss Lafayette's 1825 visit to Lexington, his tour through the 24 states of the United States, and touch briefly on his involvement in the American and French revolutions. David references several books: Hero of two worlds: the Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan; Lafayette In America, in 1824 and 1825: Journal of a Voyage to the United States by Aguste Levasseur; Lafayette's visit to Lexington: an account of the General's sojourn in the Bluegrass, May, 1824 by J. Winston Coleman; and the website of The Lafayette Trail, a project to retrace Lafayette’s visit: https://www.thelafayettetrail.org/

Mariam and Wayne discuss the history of Lexington & Fayette County’s merged governments, one of only fifteen merged city-county governments in the United States. They discuss how and why the merger was planned, how it was enacted, and briefly touch on Lexington’s famous mayoral race, known as the “Spider Election”, of 1973.

Jamie tells an abridged history of Russell’s Cave, Fayette County’s largest cave, including a description of the area, evidence of Native American’s habitation of the land, Colonel William Russell’s military grant of the land including the cave, and our favorite event: the Cassius Marcellus Clay fight with Samuel Brown at a political rally. 

Mariam and Wayne discuss the construction of New Circle Road, the transition of the downtown streets to one way, and other major transportation projects in Lexington. (You might notice some light construction noise after the 25-minute mark - there were renovations happening on the floor above us, our apologies!) An image of Main Street while it was still two-way is available on the Kentucky Photo Archive here.