Podcasts about lexpublib.org

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. 

Producer Erin takes a turn on the other side of the mic to tell the story of the unsolved murder of Alexander T. Hays. She explores the coverage of the crime, the investigation, the suspect, and two theories of the 1846 crime. 

Mariam and Wayne discuss the National Guard’s shooting of unarmed student protestors on Kent State’s campus in 1970, and how protests against the shooting, including the ROTC building fire, on UK’s campus led to curfews and lockdowns by Kentucky’s Governor. This episode was recorded in September 2020. May 4, 2021 was the 51st anniversary of the shooting, and May 6, 2021, was the 51st anniversary of the fire. An image of the fire and more can be found on ExploreUK.

Mariam interviews Lauren Burke, of the podcast "Bonnets at Dawn", about Elizabeth Keckley, dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln. They discuss her life as a slave, her move to Washington D.C., and the effect of her memoir on her relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln. They also discuss Lauren’s podcast, "Bonnets at Dawn", about women writers from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Lauren’s upcoming book about Elizabeth Keckley is titled A Stitch in Time. 

Denise guest hosts and give sketches of the lives of three Lexington Civil War era women: Elizabeth Harbeson Hummons, Francis Dallam Peter, and Ella Bishop Ransom.

Naomi interviews Reverend L. Clark Williams about what progress has been made in Lexington since the June 4, 2020 march for racial justice.

Wayne, Library resident sports expert, interviews sports broadcaster Alan Cutler about his career and new book, Cut to the Chase.

Mariam and Wayne share the story of David Rice Atchison, the only person in history who was possibly president for a day.

Mariam and Beverly discuss Beverly’s recent book, The Murder of Marion Miley.

Wayne tells the story of Pamela Brown and the ill-fated hot air balloon voyage across the Atlantic in 1970, in time for the 50th anniversary of the crash.

Mariam tells a brief history of Lexington's first steam powered street roller, named the Willipus Wallipus.

Mariam and Erin discuss and play clips of a few of their favorite moments from Tales from the Kentucky Room. This episode was recorded online from their homes.

Enjoy this discussion of Lexington born Major League Baseball players that was cut from the KY Baseball episode.

Mariam and Wayne discuss the rich history of baseball in Kentucky.

Mariam interviews Dr. Randolph Hollingsworth, Barbara Grygutis and Rob Bolson about their involvement in Lexington’s “Breaking the Bronze Ceiling” monument initiative.

Mariam interviews Ruth Gaylord about her life and work as Lexington Public Library’s first African American librarian.

Brenna Pye guest hosts to celebrate the life of Dr. Mary E. Britton (1855-1925), a passionate advocate for equality, her charitable works, and her professional accomplishments in teaching and medicine.

Join us for a walking tour Lexington's Gratz Park Historic District. The full tour is available as a single MP3, or you can download individual tracks. For the single MP3, music will play between the stops. You can pause the track while you walk between stops. For more information and additional audio please visit www.lexpublib.org.

Join us for a walking tour of Lexington's Historic Lexington Cemetery. The full tour is available as a single MP3, or you can download individual tracks. For the single MP3, music will play between the stops. You can pause the track while you walk between stops. For more information and additional audio please visit www.lexpublib.org.

Join us for a walking tour of Downtown Lexington’s African American Heritage Sites. The full tour is available as a single MP3, or you can download individual tracks. For the single MP3, music will play between the stops. You can pause the track while you walk between stops. For more information and additional audio please visit www.lexpublib.org.

Mariam interviews local author and attorney Peter Brackney about his latest book, The Murder of Geneva Hardman and Lexington’s Mob Riot of 1920.

Mariam discusses the life of Margaret Garner, the real life Kentucky Woman who inspired Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. This episode may be difficult for some listeners to hear, listener’s discretion is advised.

Mariam interviews Cindy Heine and Dee Pregliasco from the Kentucky Chapter of The League of Women Voters about the organization’s 100 year history and its current initiatives.

Mariam interviews Shea Simanek Magnuson about the history of women’s suffrage in Kentucky.

Mariam interviews Susan Griffith and Vikki Franklin from Eastern State Hospital about the 195 year history of the hospital, and shares stories from contemporary newspaper articles.

Mariam interviews Kentucky native Kevin Lane Dearinger about his forthcoming memoir, Bad Sex in Kentucky, his Broadway career, and his second career in education.

Mariam and Denise discuss the history of the Joyland Amusement Park (1923-1963).

Jennifer and Erin discuss three new vegetarian cookbook titles and some of the issues that can come up with vegetarian cooking.

Mariam interviews Wayne Johnson about the colorful life of abolitionist and Ambassador to Russia, Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-1903).

Mariam interviews Arwen Donahue, visual artist and oral historian, about her 2009 work This is Home Now: Kentucky’s Holocaust Survivors Speak.

Mariam interviews Foster Ockerman, Jr., author of Hidden History of Horse Racing in Kentucky, and President and Chief Historian of the Lexington History Museum about his book and horse racing in Kentucky.

Mariam interviews Trevor Claiborn, co-founder of Black Soil: Our Better Nature, about the organization and the history of African American farmers in Kentucky. Trevor also performs as “Farmer Brown tha MC” to attract young people to farming.

Mariam interviews Lucy Jones, founder of the Harry Dean Stanton Festival in time for this year’s festival.

Mariam interviews Wayne Johnson about Lucille Caudill Little's kidnapping in 1979.