History Burgoo

Behind the scenes at the opening of "The Makings of a Master: Kentucky Folk Art Apprenticeships"

        I’ve had some interesting assignments in the two and a half years I’ve been a volunteer at the Kentucky Historical Society. One of the most enjoyable was spending an evening with Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-Press.

        Since I’m a bluegrass music fan it wasn’t a hard decision when the call came for volunteers to help with the September 15th opening of ”The Makings of a Master: Kentucky Folk Art Apprenticeships” exhibition and the concert to mark the Bill Monroe centennial.

     Bob Gates, director of the Kentucky Folklife Program, surprised me with the assignment of looking after the musicians -- showing them where the food and soft drinks were and making sure they could get in and out of the locked doors to their tour bus.

     What a nice group of guys!

     When I informed Bobby Osborne about the cold sweet tea in the “green room” (the education rooms off the main lobby), he told me how he had gone off tea while fighting as a Marine in Korea. He said he had gotten too many cups of lukewarm tea when what he really wanted was something cold. 

     Bobby passed on the food and tea, but other members of the band dug into the fried chicken box suppers.

     While waiting with the band members until time to go onstage, I spotted a small electronic device clipped to the neck of Joe Miller’s guitar. Miller explained that the digital readout allowed him to tune his guitar, even when the rest of the band was playing. Bobby Osborne Jr. also had one on his five-string bass.

     It was a great concert! One of the highlights was the appearance with Osborne and the X-Press by Cory May, a young musician from Kentucky.

     I had a chance to talk to Cory early in the evening. It’s easy to tell he’s very passionate about his music. His talent and long hours of practice were evident when he played both guitar and mandolin and sang with Osborne and his band.

     "The Makings of a Master: Kentucky Folk Art Apprenticeships" will be open at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History through December 10 and will then tour the state through 2014.

     The next concert in the Folklife series will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, and feature the Reel World String Band, Carla Gover and Jeri Katherine Howell. The exhibition and concert are free with admission to the Kentucky Historical Society.

     I’m looking forward to it!

-Jim Gill, KHS volunteer since 2009. Jim also blogs at Searchin' for Kinfolk.

All photos by the Kentucky Folklife Program.

Come visit the KHS Library for Thursday night programs!

In September, we started some new Thursday night programs to go along with our “Getting to Know the Library” session which is offered the first Thursday of each month at 5:30.  Now that October is here, we wanted to remind everyone of these opportunities to learn more about the library and research materials that are available.  Registration is not required for any of these programs, so you’re welcome to just show up at the Library at 5:30 on Thursdays.

 

Here’s the rundown on our programs:

•  1^st Thursday of each month, 5:30-6:30 – “Getting to Know the Library”

A Library staff member will lead interested patrons on a tour of the Martin F. Schmidt Research Library and answer questions about the resources we have available.

•  2^nd Thursday of each month, 5:30-6:30 – Fold3 Users Group

Interested in learning more about using Fold3 (which was formerly known as Footnote)?  Or are you a frequent user of Fold3 that can share your experiences and knowledge with others?  Beginners, experts, and everyone in between are welcome!

•  3^rd Thursday of each month, 5:30-6:30 – Ancestry and Heritage Quest Users Group

We’ve all heard of Ancestry.com, but what’s the best way to use it?  How do you navigate the thousands of databases they have available?  When do you have to leave the computer and go to the original records?  And what exactly is Heritage Quest?  How can it help with genealogy research?  Both of these sites can be valuable to both beginning and advanced researchers, so come to our Users Group to learn more about using these resources or offer your advice to others!

•  4^th Thursday of each month, 5:30-6:30 – RootsMagic Users Group

Do you use the genealogy software RootsMagic to organize your family tree?  Come to the library to meet fellow RootsMagic users, discuss features of the program and strategies for making the most of this software.

(Use a different genealogy software program?  Contact us at KHSRefdesk@ky.gov about forming additional user groups!)

 

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday nights in the Library!