History

As we near the fall election, I see the Republican Party is running true to form, always taking care of the rich. There is no doubt that the many-times-a-millionaire Mitt Romney will be their candidate. Isn't that who the party always has been for? In the meantime, if all the bad things they have said about each other are true, then none of them is fit to be president. So, rest assured, no matter which one of them is their choice, and no matter how bad the others say he is now, they will clean him up by November in order to fool the American people.

In the words of President Obama, justice is done. Bin Laden is dead. A team of United States Navy Seals took out the terrorist mastermind in Pakistan. The United States military works tirelessly, and often without recognition, around the clock to keep us and our interests safe. So, two big thumbs up for the United States military. Thank you for a job well done. Congratulations are in order for President Obama, the Navy Seals and the CIA. The president has said that the world is now safer.

It was the first Sunday in August 1846 when First Baptist Church of Danville, (then called Green Street Baptist), held its first organized and independent service. “And that was no easy feat,” said Bobby Trumbo, former Danville school teacher of 35 years and unofficial historian of First Baptist. “As a 'colored' church, as they said back then, there were some folks that were apprehensive about a large group of free black people gathering on our own. " Kentucky, after all, was a slave state until the end of the Civil War, with more than 10,000 free blacks walking amongst a population of  more than 200,000 enslaved persons.

The community of Keene may not be very large, but there is a lot of history packed into the small town, and that history is continuing to grow. History is part of what attracted John O'Dwyer, an Ireland native who moved to the area three years ago. "I come from Ireland, and our history goes back thousands of years, but at the same time that sense of history is very important here," he said. "If you talk to some of the people that have lived around here for years and years, you can get connected to that history very easily.

Barry Bonds is one home run away from becoming baseball's all-time home run leader. Who would have thought Bonds would have tied the mark nearly a decade ago when Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa chased the single-season home run record. Records are made to be broken, but aren't supposed to be tied to controversy. It's no secret that Bonds and steroids are possibility linked. What makes the story interesting is that baseball commissioner Bud Selig hasn't been overly excited about Bonds tying Hank Aaron.

Thursday at 7 p.m., local author and historian Harry Enoch will present a program about the history and culture of Clark County's stretch of the Kentucky River. Harry is one of our most popular speakers.  Harry walks his talk, literally. He is a painstaking researcher who not only spends untold hours scouring pertinent physical and digital documents, but also usually walks the territory related to his studies. Reference librarian Andy Gary says he's been on the river with Harry and a group of intrepid revelers, so I'm sure his information wasn't merely gleaned from Google Earth satellite photos.

(Sun photo by James Mann) Clay Glover dresses as one of Kentucky's most well-known icons, Col. Harland Sanders, during the "Walk Through Kentucky History Day" at Strode Station Elementary School. The students dressed as a famous Kentuckian, visited the educational hallways throughout the school and gave speeches describing their character. This activity was a prelude to introduce Kentucky history. Strode Station also honored Palmer Engineering and Traditional Bank for purchasing the 2006 edition of the Clark Group Kentucky Almanacs for the fourth grade.

Dear Editor: When I was a child, my favorite teacher quietly entered the class room, walked up to the blackboard, and began to write: "History ... We can't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been!" I was reminded of that Tuesday at a Boyle Fiscal Court meeting as I listened to a young woman stand and tell us, "It doesn't matter what's happened in the past, etc.,etc. " In short, she seemed to be saying to the court, "Fagetaboutit and vote for the payroll tax!"

The FC of Kentucky U11 Chaos girls won their pool in the Eurosport Challenge Cup and competed in the State Cup finals in Bowling Green on May 31. The team was the first FC team to reach the milestone. Team members were: front row from left: Skylar Porter, Haley Neal, Brooke Cantrel, Leah Kovalic, Brooke Abner and Hannah Becraft. Back row from left: Zoe Wafford, Bray Barnett, Brittany McClure, Kyra Parido, Kayela Caton and Karli Parker. Standing are coaches Michael VanHooser and assistant Michael Blair.

Recently, The Advocate-Messenger described a discussion of city commissioners about when the city began supporting charitable organizations. I do not wish to enter the political aspect of the discussion, but merely to report on the historical issue in virtue of the fact I have been writing the history of one such organization, namely, Family Services Association of Boyle County, which I believe to be the oldest non-church, wholly local charitable organization...

On Dec. 5, 1831, the Ohio River froze over, making voyage impassable for Alexis de Tocqueville and his party. They disembarked at Westport, Oldham Co., Ky. and walked the cold 22 miles to Louisville. It was one of many poor experiences that during a 10-month voyage planned to determine “what a great republic is like.” Upon reaching Louisville, the river still offered no passage and de Tocqueville experienced a large swatch of central Kentucky as he traveled south toward Nashville.

In 1874, Kentucky School for the Deaf began publishing a weekly in-house newspaper, the Kentucky Deaf-Mute to give the male students an opportunity to learn the printing trade. KSD published the newspaper continuously from 1874 to 2004 with only a name change in 1896 - to the Kentucky Standard.  From 1883 until 1942 George M. McClure was the editor of the paper. His relationships with students and wide connections with schools for the deaf throughout the country give a glimpse of the life of students and staff in a residential school for the deaf and show how the community touched the lives of students and staff at the school.  Jacobs Hall Museum volunteers make excerpts from the campus news found in the Deaf-Mute and Standard from 125 years ago (1888)

Drew Welsh officially qualified for the National History Bee's (NHB) national championship last week, but his journey began four years ago with a teacher who got him excited about history. Drew, now an eighth-grader at East Jessamine Middle School, finished in the top 40 percent of the regional NHB competition in Lexington on April 8 to qualify for the national event in Atlanta on June 1. Brookside Elementary teacher Amy Polk taught Drew in fourth and fifth grades. It was in Polk's classes that Drew said he fell in love with history.

LEXINGTON - Montgomery County advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in program history Friday night, but it wasn't easy. Mr. Basketball candidate Omar Prewitt, battling foul trouble for most of the game, was limited to 11 points on three-of-11 shooting, but teammate Bryan Wallace stepped up and led the Indians past John Hardin 66-57 in the quarterfinals of the Boys Sweet Sixteen at Rupp¿Arena. Wallace scored a game-high 21 points, as Montgomery County fought back from a nine-point first half deficit by going on a 16-0 run that spanned from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third frame.

The worst part about being a slave wasn't the beatings or the being forced to work for free, said Michael Crutcher, acting as Frederick Douglas.  No, the worst part was never getting to see his mother's face in the light of day. “When I was a baby I was snatched from my mother's arms, and she was sold,”¿he said. “I recall only seeing my mother three or four times in my life.” Those meetings were late at night, when his mother walked miles to visit him. Crutcher told this story during a skit he performed at Jessamine County's black-history celebration Saturday in the auditorium of East Jessamine High School.

Where could you go last week to learn about flamenco, the liberation of a concentration camp and Madonna? East Jessamine Middle School -  that's where. East Middle hosted its first “I Love History Day” on Valentine's Day, with 43 students displaying months of research on their chosen history topics that fit the theme of “turning points in history.” The 34 presentations last week will be at a preliminary competition Saturday leading up to the district competition at Eastern Kentucky University's “History Day,” sponsored by the Kentucky Junior Historical Society.

STANFORD - Students at Stanford Elementary School were treated to a very musical black-history event Friday afternoon. The gymnasium was packed out at the end of the school day for "From Africa to America," a special two-man show tracing the roots of today's popular music all the way back to centuries-old drumming traditions in Africa. Papa Malickfaye, a native of Senegal, West Africa, performed on his traditional goat-skin drum for the students and explained how the beat of a drum was the world's "first text message.

As a U.S. history teacher at George Rogers Clark High School, Amy Madsen made a class suggestion, and it was granted at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. “I thought a black history class was in need,” said Madsen. “I suggested it. I had to go through a process, write out a course outline and they agreed wholeheartedly.” Madsen has obtained her masters degree and is pursuing her doctorate in black history. In her third year teaching at the high school, she was able to put her main focus of education to good use. Madsen said the students have responded really well to having the class.

Exhibits and speakers will be presented Thursday and Friday, Feb. 21-22 in observance of Black History Month. The programs will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.  Boyle Landmark Trust will present “Boyle County African-American Education Trail” at Grayson's Tavern both days, and The Boyle County Public Library will have an exhibit of items from the Doric Masonic 18 AF&FM Lodge as part of the observance. “We want to re-emphasize the importance of Professor Bate and other early teachers who have worked to improve education for students,” said Barbara Hulette, president of Boyle Landmark Trust.