Friday, September 21, 2018

Adsmore Museum, Princeton, Kentucky


We traveled about thirty miles and one hundred-twelve years back in time on September 15, 2018 to the Adsmore Museum in Princeton, Kentucky. When we entered the museum, we were transported back to 1906 and the day after 250 “Nightriders” had burned two of Princeton’s tobacco warehouses and held the town captive.

Adsmore is the name of the home which was purchased by the Smith-Garrett family in 1900. It got its name from an aunt who said every time she visited they were adding some more to the house and they should just call it Adsmore. The last family member to own and live in the house was Katherine Garrett, the only child of Robert Garrett and Mayme Smith Garrett. Katherine never married and lived her entire life in the house (1901-1984). It was her wish that the home and its contents become a public museum after she passed away. Therefore, she willed the property and all its furnishings to the library and left enough money for an endowment to fulfill her wishes.

Depending on what time of year you go, you might visit as the family is marking a joyous occasion such as Katherine’s Aunt Selina’s engagement or wedding to Wyoming’s former governor, John E. Osborne. Or you may arrive in time to observe the rituals of a Victorian wake. If you go during November and December, the house will be decked out for a Victorian Christmas. The exhibits at Adsmore change about seven times a year.

Our visit found the family in the opening days of what became known as The Black Patch War. The Black Patch War was a struggle by an association of tobacco growers to force the Duke Trust to pay a fair price for their tobacco. This is the same Duke that a university is named after in North Carolina.

The Smith-Garrett family was friends of the owners of the J.C. Orr and Stegar Dollar warehouses that were burned by the “Nightriders” and they hosted Princeton’s most prominent citizens at a dinner the next night to discuss how to protect their community. The exhibit gave us some insights to how the family members reacted to this event and was well-told by our docent, Sandy.

The tour was very affordable at $7.00 per person for about a 45 minute visit into the past. The home is packed with authentic original furniture and photographs. Admission tickets are sold in the property's carriage house  which also serves as a gift shop. We had a very good time and will probably go back for the Victorian Christmas Exhibit.


Cave-In-Rock, Illinois



We visited Cave-In-Rock, Illinois on September 13, 2018. This area attraction was a film location for John Wayne’s epic movie, “How The West Was Won”. For those of us living on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, the journey offers an opportunity we seldom get to experience. We crossed over the Ohio by the ferry at Crittenden County, Kentucky. The ferry is a joint venture between the two states and was free to all riders. One of the reasons we chose to visit now is because the ferry’s funding may not go past this month. Hopefully, the states will continue to fund its operation.

Crossing over the river on a ferry is quite a bit different than on a bridge. You go at a slower pace and you notice all kinds of debris floating in the water. When we were returning, our vehicle was the lead one and we saw how the pilot navigated the currents to align the ferry with the ramp on the Kentucky shore. The ferry doesn’t travel in a straight line but in an arc to compensate for the current. I must admit, I had to fight the urge to turn my steering wheel when he appeared to be drifting off course. 

Once we arrived on the Illinois side of the river, the state park was just a few minutes away. The population sign for Cave-In-Rock proudly informs visitors that 350 people live there. According to Wikipedia, the earliest known permanent white settlers arrived in 1816 and started building the town. However, it’s the history of the area before that settlement that makes it a tourist destination.

Beginning in the 1790’s, Cave-In-Rock became a refuge for frontier outlaws. An assortment of river pirates, highwaymen, robbers, counterfeiters, and killers used the cave into the 1800’s. The most notorious of them all was the “Harpe Brothers”. They were known and feared throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois.

Micajah “Big” Harpe and his younger brother Wiley “Little” Harpe have the dubious distinction of being America’s first documented serial killers. Their murderous reign was thought to have started with a murder in Knoxville, Tennessee around 1799 before they entered into Kentucky that same year. Once they arrived in Kentucky, their murderous rampage escalated. Somewhere between thirty and forty murders across Kentucky and Southern Illinois were attributed to the pair.

Their brutality apparently knew no bounds and spared neither man, woman, or baby. Contemporary reports stated that they killed just for the sake of killing. One of their last murders would prove to be their undoing. In the summer of 1799, they murdered the wife and baby of a man named Stegall in a cabin a few miles from present-day Dixon, Kentucky. A posse, which included the husband of the victim, soon gave chase to the two outlaws. After days of evading their pursuers, Big Harpe was shot and captured in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

Mr. Stegall exacted “frontier justice” by using a knife to decapitate the dying outlaw. Big Harpe’s head was placed in a sack and carried to a crossroads a few miles north of present-day Dixon. There it was placed on display as a warning to other outlaws. The place became known as Harpe’s Head and today an historical marker marks the location.

Historical Marker
HWY 41-A
Approximately 3 Miles North of Dixon, Kentucky

In the park, we looked through the opening at the top of the cave and could imagine the many innocent victims that had been pushed from it to a painful death from the fall. We followed the steps down to the cave’s entrance at the river’s edge. The interior of the cave was only illuminated by the daylight which entered through its two openings. We ventured into the main chamber of the cave, but we stopped before reaching the inner chamber. The footing was getting too precarious in the dim light and we turned back out of safety concerns. And perhaps, we chose not to enter the chamber which had served as a barbaric killing floor some two centuries before.

View of Cave-In-Rock, Illinois Shore
From the Ferry

We ate lunch at Kaylor’s, the park’s small restaurant. The food was good and the staff was very nice. A small display of photographs included a couple of Fess Parker and Darby Hinton in costume for the Daniel Boone TV Series. The photographs were signed by Hinton, who played Boone’s son, Israel. He apparently attended Cave-In-Rock’s Founder’s Day in 2017. 

We recommend a trip to Cave-In-Rock. You will enjoy the ferry ride and the views of the river from the picnic shelters in the park. And, if you are surefooted and up for some serious exertion, follow the stairs down to the cave entrance and enter a portal that will transport you to a time when Kentucky was the frontier and justice was handed out with a knife.

Two books about Cave-In-Rock that we recommend are: Satan’s Ferryman and The Outlaws of Cave-In-Rock. The first book is out of print, but the second one is available in print or Kindle version.



The National Quilt Museum In Paducah, Kentucky



The National Quilt Museum
Paducah, Kentucky


We visited the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky on September 10, 2018. The admission price to the museum is only $12 for those under 62. 

The first display we saw when we reached the museum had nothing to do with quilts. Prominently displayed on the front lawn of the museum was a set of statues entitled “ON THE TRAIL OF DISCOVERY’. The set honors Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Native Americans that helped them on their travels to the Pacific Ocean. In 1827, William Clark paid $5.00 in fees to transfer the land where Paducah and McCracken County now stand. In contrast to that, Seaman, the Newfoundland dog that is portrayed in the display, was bought by Meriwether Lewis for $20.00 in 1803.

"On The Trail Of Discovery"
Paducah, Kentucky

Our earliest memories associated with a quilt are waking up on cold winter mornings snugly wrapped up in quilts our grandmother had made. We heated our home with coal stoves until changing over to gas space heaters towards the end of our grade school days. Many winter mornings the house was chilly until the coal was replenished. In addition to our regular quilts, our grandmother and her mother made quilts for special occasions such as weddings or births. Furthermore, no shirt was ever just thrown away because it could become part of a quilt top.

Whirling Star
Kansas City Star Quilt Pattern

Some of the quilts, like those created from patterns that appeared in The Kansas City Star Newspaper (1928-1961), reminded us of those our grandmother made. But most were very elaborate works of art. One gallery was called, “Color-Play In Portraits” and included a portrait of Muhammad Ali that was quite good.

Muhammad Ali

We were also impressed by an American Flag quilt. Some quilts had a 3-D appearance and others used geometric designs to create a psychedelic effect. The most unusual quilt was a wooden quilt called “Floating”. The museum was interesting and deserves a visit. If you are a quilter, you may want to go more than once.
"Floating" By Fraser Smith


Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park Near Hodgenville Kentucky


Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Memorial
Hodgenville, Kentucky
Fifty-six steps lead to this memorial the people of the United States built to honor Abraham Lincoln, the martyred sixteenth president. Each step represents a year of his life and sixteen windows in the memorial represent the number of his presidency. The cornerstone for this first memorial to President Lincoln was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. It was dedicated by President William Howard Taft on November 9, 1911 eleven years before the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. The memorial was paid for by public donations given to The Lincoln Farm Association in amounts not smaller than 25 cents nor larger than $25. The Board of Trustees of the Association included such notables as President Taft, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), and Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federation Of Labor (AFL). This National Park includes a cabin, housed within the memorial, symbolizing the one Lincoln was born in on this site. 

    
      Thomas, Nancy, Sarah, & Abraham Lincoln
     Statues at Lincoln Birthplace Museum

Just inside the doors of the visitors center, this life-size set of statues serve to remind us that before he was the "Great Emancipator", he was once a baby born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.

After visiting this memorial, travel about thirty minutes to Bardstown, Kentucky and have a meal at the historic Old Talbott Tavern. Built in 1779, the tavern is "the oldest western stagecoach stop still in operation". Lincoln and his family stayed in rooms above the tavern, when he was five years old.

In addition, legend has it, that the outlaw Jesse James shot several holes in a mural painted on a second floor wall because he thought the birds were moving when he had too many drinks at the tavern. The bullet holes are still there.





















Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Vincennes, Indiana


We visited three sites in Vincennes, Indiana on August 19th. Vincennes is located about an hour from Evansville, Indiana and was very important to our nation’s expansion. It served as the seat of government for the Indiana Territory.

Our first stop was The Red Skelton Museum on the campus of Vincennes University. The museum opened five years ago, so it is still fairly new. Through 1971, Red Skelton was must see television in our home. “Freddie The Freeloader” and “Clem Kadiddlehopper” were brought to life by this Vincennes native each week on CBS. Red’s characters were simple folk with generous spirits and a lot of common sense. In this regard, they reflected their creator who dropped out of school, but would later earn a GED. Red, a 33rd Degree Mason and a “Shriner Clown”, lent his talents to many philanthropic endeavors.



Red, a patriotic WWII veteran, headlined several USO shows throughout the rest of his life. In addition, this entertainer of international acclaim performed for Queen Elizabeth in the 1980’s.

The museum has many items from his long history in show business, along with some fascinating photographs of his family and original oil paintings that he created. In visiting the museum, we discovered that Red did not have an easy, idyllic life. He suffered tragic losses before his birth and as an adult, too. Long after his TV show was cancelled, he was still performing to sold out audiences around the country and the world.

If you get the opportunity to visit Red’s Museum, you won’t be disappointed. It will bring you a smile and some laughter for certain.

 "Grouseland", William Henry Harrison's Home
Vincennes, Indiana

Our second stop was Grouseland, the mansion built by William Henry Harrison. Most of us recall from high school history that he was elected president and ran on the slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”. Our two docents shared many interesting facts about the first “Whig” to be elected president and his time as the first governor of the Indiana Territory.

John Adams appointed him to be governor when he was only twenty-five years old. Harrison had wanted to become a doctor, but because he was not the eldest son, he would not inherit family money and he felt he could not become financially successful in that profession.

Therefore, he decided to become a soldier. He was dating a young woman that he wished to marry, however, her father did not approve of his daughter dating a soldier and would not give his permission for a marriage. On an occasion when her father was out of town, Anna Tuthill Symmes’ mother gave her blessing to the marriage and they eloped. Their union produced ten children. One of those children was the father of Benjamin Harrison who would also become president.

Harrison’s years at Grouseland were productive and his negotiations with Native Americans increased the area of the United States substantially. His victory over Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 would help propel him to the White House in the 1840 election.

As you enter the front hall of Grouseland, two paintings are positioned on opposite walls and facing one another. One is an oil painting of William Henry Harrison, made to look several years younger than when he posed for it. And the other is of Anna, dressed in mourning after his death in 1841. The portrait of Anna is a copy and the artist did not make her appear younger. When Harrison was inaugurated, Anna was ill and remained in Indiana. He died after a month in office, so she never got to serve as first lady. A future first lady bought the original oil painting and had it placed in the First Ladies Portrait Gallery at the White House, thus allowing her to finally be in the White House. Grouseland is a fascinating window into our country’s early history and the family that lived there. We enjoyed visiting Grouseland and believe you would as well.

George Rogers Clark Memorial
Vincennes, Indiana

The third place we visited in Vincennes was the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park located on the banks of the Wabash River. The memorial is built on the site of Fort Sackville, the British fort George Rogers Clark captured in 1779. This victory was a significant step in the Americans’ campaign of winning the Old Northwest. A marker on the site states this conquest resulted in the United States gaining Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The memorial was begun in 1931 and construction concluded in May of 1933. President Roosevelt dedicated it on June 14, 1936. Congress made the building and grounds part of the National Park Service in 1966 and President Johnson signed the measure on July 23, 1966.

The Clark Memorial is over 80 feet high and 180 feet across the base. Inside the rotunda are seven murals, each created on a single piece of Belgium linen 16 feet wide by 28 feet tall. The artist, Ezra Winter, painted them over a two and a half year period. Prominent in the center of the rotunda is a bronze statue of Clark. Around its base is inscribed a quotation of Clark’s: “If a country is not worth protecting it is not worth claiming.”


By the entry doors are four flags: the United States flag; the red-and-green flag used by the Americans during Clark’s campaign; the red-white-and-blue British flag; and the yellow-and-white French fleur-de-lis flag. This memorial is not only a tribute to our history, it is also a beautiful piece of art.

Although not a part of the Memorial, the nearby Lincoln Memorial Bridge was built around the same time and was designed to compliment it. We did not cross the Wabash River into Illinois on the bridge, so we did not see the magnificent stone carvings of Native American Chiefs on the Indiana side. The bridge crosses the Wabash River where Abraham Lincoln was said to have first crossed into Illinois from Indiana by flatboat.



We had a great time in Vincennes and recommend it. Just remember Vincennes is in the Eastern Time Zone!


Friday, August 10, 2018

"Niagara Of The South"

Cumberland Falls
"The Niagara Of The South"

Cumberland Falls is located in Corbin, Kentucky within the Kentucky State Park of the same name. While other waterfalls in the United States surpass it in size, it holds the unique distinction of being the only location in the Western Hemisphere to have a "Moonbow".








Thursday, August 9, 2018

Streetcar Station On Route 66



A recent trip to Branson, Missouri included an extra day to make a quick trip to Kansas and Oklahoma. The highlight of the Oklahoma part of the adventure was passing through the various Native American Nations. However, the visit to Galena, Kansas yielded unanticipated enjoyment for this writer and his family. 

In all honesty, I was just wanting to add the two states to my list of visited states and selected Galena because of its proximity to Branson. While driving in Galena, I realized I was traveling over a portion of Historic Route 66. That was an added bonus! After parking in an angled parking spot in the downtown, we walked through the business district until we came to a restaurant called Streetcar Station. We arrived around 10:30 in the morning and had the place to ourselves. 

My expectations were to use the restroom and have a danish and be on our way. However, once we started talking to the proprietor, our few minutes became an hour. The owner told us his wife had made the sweets that morning and that his brother-in-law painted the mural of a streetcar on the restaurant's wall. He also told us that the chamber of commerce paid for the mural at the top of this page.

He then asked us if we had seen the movie "Cars". We all admitted we had, even though none of us had children. Then, with a smile, he told us that a local truck had been the inspiration for "Mater" and suggested we drive down the street to see it before we continued on our journey. It's not often we get an opportunity to meet our cartoon heroes, so we took a few more minutes to see "Mater" before leaving Galena.




Wednesday, August 8, 2018

The Elizabethtown Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall




If you can't get to Washington, D.C. to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a replica of the Wall is now on permanent display in Elizabethtown, Kentucky at the Nature Park. This eighty percent scale version is located at 1900 Ring Road in Elizabethtown in a serene and well-maintained park. In addition to the Wall, the park has statues honoring each branch of the military and those who worked in civil service. Rubbings of the names can be made from the replica just like the Wall in D.C. The park is located ten minutes from I-65 and has ample parking for cars or buses. This is an excellent day-trip destination and I can think of over 58,000 reasons why you should add it to your list of places to visit in Kentucky.