History Burgoo

Oral History Based Radio Series on Displaced LBL Region

KHS Collection. 1987ph08.77. J.B. Bruce homestead, Eddyville, Ky. Described as: "This old log house is one of the few dwellings entirely within the 55, 000 acre forest preserve of Hillman Land in the 'In Between the Rivers' section of Lyon County." circa 1920. 

I recently heard from author, journalist and oral historian, Constance Alexander (also a member of the Kentucky Oral History Commission, might I add) about the rebroadcast of a radio program based on a western Kentucky oral history series from the late 1990s.

If you are interested to see

a) how oral history can be turned into a meaningful and interesting media broadcast,

b) unique culture and history from the Land Between the Lakes Region of the state or

c) a good way to spend a few hours over the upcoming work week,

then this is something you are going to want to check out.

The original series Connecting People & Place, aired on Murray’s public radio station WKMS-FM, is a documentary radio project celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Between the Rivers in west Kentucky and Tennessee.

Each hour of the rebroadcast combines two of the half-hour segments originally developed by Alexander in 1997-98 as a cooperative project between WKMS and Land Between The Lakes Association with funding from the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Oral History Commission. As a part of this oral history project, Alexander conducted more than 60 interviews focusing on the displacement of people who formerly lived in the Between the Rivers region. Between the Rivers is an area of land comprised of roughly 170,000 acres located in parts of Lyon and Trigg Counties of western KY and Stewart County of TN. In 1963, President Kennedy created Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, eventually displacing hundreds of families living in the Between the regions area. The interviews cover family, community, historical personal narratives along with regional folklore of a place that only exist in the shared memory of a dislocated physical community.

I recommend listening to some of the radio pieces and seeing if the stories being broadcast ring familiar with your own family and community history? If so, maybe it is time to document your own stories – oral history is an easy way to get that started. (Find out how)

The re-broadcast kicks off a celebration of our region’s history in conjunction with Journey Stories, a traveling exhibition form the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program. With support from the Kentucky Humanities Council, Journey Stories will be on view at Murray State University’s Wrather Museum from January 28 to March 10, 2012. WKMS is seeking personal journey stories from its listeners to broadcast while the exhibition is on view. (CONSIDER PARTICIPTING!) Contact msu.wkms@murraystate.edu by the end of October to participate and receive a keepsake recording as well.

Does anyone have their own memory of this region of the state? Feel free to share comments.

 

--sarah milligan

 

 

Spring Film Series Kicks Off March 17

Films have become an important part of programming at KHS since March 2010.  Since that time we have screened eight films, which have covered topics from stereotyping the "hillbilly image" to learning more about the "Narco" farm on Leestown Road in Fayette county to the terrible tragedy of the Prestonsburg school bus crash in the 1950's.  All of these films have given us an opportunity to explore Kentucky's culture and history that may not be found in other mediums.  We have also been fortunate to host a few directors for our screenings and this has given our audience an opportunity to talk with the filmmakers firsthand about their knowledge on the topic and their experience making the films.

This March 17 will begin the spring film series at KHS and will continue along the lines of the programming offered in 2010.  Again, we will be featuring independent films made by Kentuckians and about Kentucky topics.  We are also fortunate that we will have multiple directors on hand for the March and April films, a tradition we hope to continue throughout 2011.  Thanks to everyone for their support of this new program and we look forward to a great year of movie watching.

Our first set of screenings will be a group of short films by the youth filmmaking crew of the Appalachian Media Institute (AMI).  Many of these films address social and cultural issues that directly connect with Kentucky culture, from the stereotypes that go along with the eastern Kentucky accent to families coping with loved ones serving in the military overseas.  Provocative, insightful, and sometimes humorous these films are told from the perspective of the young people making them.  In addition to the films being shown, the directors will be in attendance and will participate in an informal question and answer session after the screenings. 

Above image from "Back Home," courtesy AMI.

AMI has been training youth in media literacy since 1988 and they help young people explore how media production skills can be used to ask, and begin to answer, critical questions of themselves and their communities.

In April, KHS will be screening another original documentary, this one on the life and times of former major league baseball player Steve Hamilton. Titled "The Father, The Pitcher, The Hero"  this film, made by several students from Morehead State University, chronicles the late baseball players life, pitching career, and involvement with the Major League Baseball's Players Association. 

      

Our third film, "To Save the Land and People" is a history of the early efforts to stop strip mining in Kentucky.  The documentary, directed by Anne Lewis, also discusses the impact that coal mining has on
Above image, screen shot from "To Save the Land and People," courtesy Appalshop, Inc.

the environment and the community in which it is found.  "To Save the Land and People" is an Appalshop film and more information can be learned from their website, www.appalshop.org. 

All films are free with admission to the Kentucky Historical Society campus and include film screening, entrance to Thomas D. Clark Center exhibitions, as well as free popcorn and soda.  For more information about the film series contact Mike Deetsch at mike.deetsch@ky.gov or 502-564-1792.

Why are the Oral History Folks so Busy in February?

February is not only the last month of our seasonal closing here at KHS (furious processing going on here, more later), the month that brings out all of the candy hearts and super sweets in the stores, but it is also Black History Month – as you all should know.

Why does this month usually see an increased attention for the Kentucky Oral History Commission? In 2002, the KOHC here at KHS released a documentary about the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky, Living the Story. The documentary continues to air on KET – check your listings – but is also a continued excellent classroom and educators tool to teach students about a major chunk of Black History in their own state.

The project was a culmination of a 3 year oral history project out of the KOHC offices, with then project director, Betsy Brinson, KOHC director, Kim Lady Smith, and archivist Doug Boyd (not to mention a sizeable advisory committee comprised of the subject scholars). From close to 200 interviews collected, 11 individuals were profiled for the documentary which focuses on the period between the 1930s-1970s in Kentucky and discusses topics like equal accommodations, open housing, and education. The documentary is now available on DVD with easy to access menus based on the various themed chapter breakdowns so educators can access parts of the documentary that might fit better with a particular lesson plan.

This is an example of a project done well, in many senses. It is especially evident by the amount of programming and products that have resulted in the project (or maybe it also speaks to the need of addressing this topic in KY). There were 2 symposiums held here at KHS after the documentary, a museum theatre piece (Nothing New for Easter, come down and see it!), teacher’s resources and lesson plans, a series of individual interviews based on unreleased footage from the documentary, the Rest of the Story, an online database of full text searchable transcripts of interviews, as well as audio and video interviews – broken into 5 themes or searchable by county. Most recently, a book by Tracy K’Meyer and Cate Fosl was published, Freedom on the Border.

All of this and we are fast approaching the 10 year anniversary of the original release of the documentary! So, those of you still looking for cool resources to teach this month, check all of this stuff out. Other great collections to explore online are the University of Kentucky Robert Penn Warren Civil Rights Project, which includes interviews with Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X, to name a few. Also,  check out the Louisville based civil rights interviews at the University of Louisville.

Oh! And FYI, to order the documentary, you can send me an email at sarah.milligan@ky.gov or call at 502-564-1792 ext 4434. The documentary is $12 for non-profits plus $3 shipping costs (unless you pick it up). We can still give you a copy on VHS if you prefer (just throwing that out there).

Get to know your own community and your own state’s Black History this month. Some courageous and momentous events have taken place – yes, they mimic a national story, which makes it all that much more impressive.

--Sarah Milligan

Images: above right: KHS Collection. 1995ph2.40AAFRA8. Gov. A. B. Chandler signing proclamation to open Kentucky State Police Force to Negroes before a group of NAACP representatives in 1959. Chandler seated. Standing: unknown (partial face visible), unknown (woman with beads), unknown, W. J. Hodge (man with glasses), Laura Chase, Helen Holmes, Jennie Buckner, Archie Surratt, James Crumlin, Marjorie Hall, Garland Offut, George Simmons. 1959

above left: KHS Collection. 1995ph2.53AAFRA1. Martin Luther King Jr., speaker at Kentucky State commencement, with President Rufus Atwood, 1957.

Tickets now on Sale for "The Very Worst Thing," November 18, 6:30 p.m.

Advanced tickets for The Very Worst Thing are now on sale through the Kentucky Historical Society.  The film will be screened at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History at 100 West Broadway, Frankfort, KY  40601.  The director will speak after the film.  Advanced ticket prices are $8 for KHS members and $10 for non-members.  Admission fee includes popcorn, soda, and entrance to the KHS history campus and sites.  To order your tickets in advance please email julia.curry@ky.gov or call (502) 564-1792 ext. 4414. 

The Very Worst Thing is a documentary film about the worst school bus crash in U.S. history.  On the morning of February 28, 1958, a school bus carrying 48 elementary and high school students on U.S. Highway 23 in Floyd County, Kentucky plunged into the swollen waters of the Big Sandy River.  Twenty-six children and their driver perished that morning, making it the worst school bus accident in U.S. history.  The tragedy not only shook the small, eastern Kentucky community but also the entire nation.  The cause of the wreck remains a mystery even to this day.  Additional information about the tragedy can be found at www.thekapt.com and www.floycountytimes.com.

Remix Films revisits the tragedy with their documentary film The Very Worst Thing, which was shot throughout 2009 in Kentucky.  Several individuals who were personally affected by the tragedy were interviewed.

The Very Worst Thing also included several original photographs taken during the recovery effort, many of which have been unseen by the general public.  Also included is a rare radio broadcast from the rescue scene from Ernest Sparkman of WSGS Radio, recorded just hours after the accident.

About Remix Films

Remix Films is an independent film company that consists of filmmakers Michael Crsip, Andrew Moore, and Scott McBrayer. More information can be found at http://www.theveryworstthing.com/. 

Annual Oral Historian Brain Swap - Whew, What a Conference!

The recent meeting of the national Oral History Association in Atlanta, GA – I must admit – was very interesting. I don’t know an exact count of participants, but it seems that there is a steady attendance for the last few years, somewhere around 400-500 participants. From what I heard and saw, the Wednesday pre-conference technical assistance workshops were well attended (digital preservation, digital audio, oral history basics, digital video and oral history and the law). The opening program was a short view of a on the WPA Federal Writers’ Project – Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story - I have been waiting to see, as well as a panel of participants discussing the topic and the documentary – including Stetson Kennedy, a Florida WPA writer and folklorist I always enjoy.

After this great start of engaging panels and technical workshops, the OHA conference itself , Thursday – Sunday, seemed to follow the lead. There was a good mixture between reports on new model projects (ie: Audio Histories and Tours of Change, Hope,and Adaptation), discussions on theoretical issues (Theoretical and Practical Challenges in Oral History, Ethical Dilemmas Undercover) and practical applications for oral history in a variety of settings (Oral History in the 21st Century Classroom, Oral History in the Reclamation of Cultural Space). There were Plenary Sessions every day, the Thursday plenary was exceptionally interesting as it dealt with oral history projects in post- Katrina Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, 5 years after the hurricane.

There were many Kentucky projects represented, as well as Kentuckians in attendance. I was pleased to see our oral historians and oral history project leaders represent their state as well as lend their support – once again – on a national stage.

There were so many things I participated in that were interesting, inspiring and just useful as far as oral history for Kentucky in the context of the global discipline. I am so grateful I was able to attend. Please let me know if you have questions about specific panels or presenters, I am happy to tell you more about what I know or connect you with those on a national level that were presenting.

Also extremely exciting is a new book by the revered oral historian, Allesandro Portelli, THEY SAY IN HARLAN COUNTY: An Oral History. Portelli is known in the oral history world for ground breaking oral history examinations and since the early 1970s has been conducting oral histories in Harlan County, KY about the people, the culture and the industry. This new publication is a culmination of this research and is getting great reviews. Although Portelli is from and lives in Italy, he often returns to Kentucky to revisit his friends and work. The original interviews are archived at the Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky.

Please, check out the online program to see more about what was discussed during the 2010 Oral History Association meeting.

Next year is in Denver the second week of October. The topic will be focused on “Memories of Conflict and Disaster: Oral History and the Politics of Truth, Trauma, and Reconciliation.” I will be sharing the call for proposals in the coming weeks. Please consider sharing our state’s oral history participation with the West. As for me, you will see me there – early and late – since I have been asked to join the conference program committee.

- Sarah Milligan

Fall Film Series at KHS Begins October 28!

This October KHS will be screening three very unique movies as part of it's film series.  The first film, scheduled to screen October 28, is titled the The Narcotic Farm and is a story about the large federal addiction hospital that sits on Leestown Road in Fayette County just outside of Masterson Station Park.  While the building now serves at a Federal Medical Center, essentially treating those inmates with serious or chronic medical problems, it was first created in the 1930's as a drug treatment center for both federal inmates and volunteers alike.

In November KHS will screen the documentary The Very Worst Thing, written and directed by Michael Crisp, a film about the fatal school bus crash in Prestonsburg, KY in 1958.  The Prestonsburg crash is tied with the Carrollton bus crash of 1988 for the highest number of fatalities (28) resulting from a bus accident.  Director Crisp will be on hand after the screening to answer questions from the public.

December's film, Big Lever: Party Politics in Leslie County, comes right on the heals of the November elections.  This film details President Richard Nixon's first public appearance after he resigned from office.

All fees include admission to the KHS campus, film entry, popcorn and soda.  Admission for The Narcotic Farm and Big Lever is $4 for members and $8 for non-members.  Admission for The Very Worst Thing is $10 for both members and non-members.

The Narcotic Farm

Thursday, Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m.

Narrated and scored by former inmate Wayne Kramer, the film tells the story of this long forgotten American institution through the voices of the former addicts who spent years of their lives locked within its walls.  Many of the photographs and film footage are from the KHS collections.

The Very Worst Thing

Thursday, Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m.

A documentary about the worst school bus crash in United States history, which occurred in Floyd County (Ky.) on the morning of February 28, 1958.  Carrying 48 elementary and high school students, the bus collided with a tow truck on US Highway 23 just 3 miles south of Prestonsburg, then plunged over a steep embankment into the swollen waters of the Big Sandy River.  The director will be available for questions after the film.

Big Lever: Party Politics in Leslie County, Kentucky

Thursday, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m.

In 1978 Richard Nixon chose this small mountain jurisdiction for his first public appearance since

resigning the Presidency. Priceless footage of his visit introduces this incisive and sometimes hilarious look at the engines that drive American politics. The film explores the machinations of party politics in this rural and staunchly Republican county: Hollow to hollow vote-hunting; family squabbles over candidates; patronage promises; speech-making on the courthouse steps; and the up-and- down career of the incumbent County Judge-Executive who sought re-election while under indictment for vote fraud conspiracy.

For more information about the KHS film series feel free to contact me at mike.deetsch@ky.gov.

--Mike Deetsch

Check out our NEW BOOKS in the Library!

  New Books

Be sure to check out these new additions to the Martin F. Schmidt Library:

• A. Lincoln Legacy Tasting Tour: a Bicentennial edition, 1809-2009.  Springfield Main St., 2009. 

• Cooper, Gaylor.   Stories Told in Stone: cemetery iconology, a manual for genealogy research.  Motes Bks., 2009.

• Edds, Margaret. Finding Sara: a daughter’s journey. Butler Bks., 2009.

• Gatto, Kimberly. Churchill Downs: America’s most historic racetrack. History Press, 2010. 

• Jones, Jacqueline. Saving Savannah: the city and the Civil War. Knopf, 2008.

• K’Meyer, Tracy. Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South: Louisville, Kentucky, 1945-1980. Univ. Press of Ky., 2009.

• Leonard, Elizabeth. Lincoln’s Avengers: justice, revenge and reunion after the Civil War.  Norton, 2004. 

• McCartney, Martha. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: a biographical dictionary. Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007.

• Obadele-Starks, Ernest. Freebooters and Smugglers: the foreign slave trade in the United States after 1808.  Univ. of Arkansas Press, 2007. Phillips, Ted Ashton.

• City of the Silent: the Charlestonians of Magnolia Cemetery.Univ. of South Carolina Pr.,  2010. 

• Vest, Stephen. That Kind of Journalist: the collected ramblings of Kentucky Monthly’s Stephen M. Vest.  McClanahan Pub. House, 2008. 

All Your Burgoo are Belong to Us*

 
Above: 2005 Kentucky Folklife Festival visitors gaze upon a hot kettle of bubbling burgoo.

Hello, I'm Mark Brown with the Kentucky Folklife Program, and this is my first History Burgoo blog post.  My friend and colleague Sarah Milligan suggested that someone write something about burgoo, the traditional stew for which this blog is named.  I accepted the opportunity to share some experiences, encounters, and thoughts related to burgoo.

Lest this post become a large block of uninterrupted text, here is a list of some facts about burgoo that I have learned while working as a folklorist in Kentucky: 

• No one is certain about the origins of the word burgoo.
• When saying the word, some people place emphasis on the first syllable, “bur-goo,” while others say “bur-goo.”
• Burgoo is almost exclusively a Kentucky food. It is similar in some ways to Brunswick Stew found elsewhere in the southern U.S.
• Early burgoo recipes called for whatever ingredients were available. Meats included beef, pork, and chicken as well as wild game like deer, possum, and squirrel. Vegetables like corn, beans, and potatoes were added, along with various seasonings and thickening agents.
• Today, many burgoo-makers keep their recipes secret, but most burgoos made for the public do not include wild game anymore.
• Burgoo is cooked for long periods of time, often overnight, and it is considered ready to eat only after the stirring stick can be released to stand on its own in the pot.
• Historically, burgoo was linked to celebrations like abundant harvest and successful hunt. Still a celebratory food, today burgoo is sold at many social, political, charitable, and religious gatherings.

State folklorist Bob Gates asserts that Everyone Likes Food, especially folklorists.  Foodways is a major topic of study by folklorists and anthropologists because it is something every group of people, or folk group, has.  Almost every human consumes some type of food.  Foodways includes not only ingredients and recipes, but the context surrounding foods, which includes when, where, why, how, for whom, and by whom food is prepared and eaten. 

One way to learn about someone’s cultural background, aesthetics, and identity is to ask about food.  Sometimes food questions trigger fervent responses that reflect deep-seated beliefs.  Here is an example:  sweet cornbread – manna from heaven, or impious abomination? 

When engaged in such lively conversations, most folklorists try to adhere to an ethic of cultural relativism, meaning no culture is superior or inferior to another.  We are trained to recognize our own beliefs and practices, and be aware of how they affect our work. 

Now is a good time to disclose that I’ve been a vegetarian since 1996.  Before that time, though, I ate burgoo on at least two occasions at the famous Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in Owensboro, and I remember it clearly.  Its unique aroma, color, texture, and flavor made a lasting impression.  Moonlite’s website includes their version of the Burgoo Soup Story and a Burgoo Recipe.

Besides Moonlite, burgoo is available in many other Kentucky locations.  Downtown Lawrenceburg, Kentucky is home to the Anderson County Burgoo Festival.  Every year in late September, this festival is a popular pilgrimage to what some recognize as “the burgoo capital of the world.”  I attended one evening in 2004 when vendors, shocked to have underestimated the demand, were entirely sold out of burgoo. 

The Kentucky Folklife Program has documented several burgoo specialists, and presented some of them at the Kentucky Folklife Festival.  These include Russ Kennedy of Frankfort, David New of Owenton, and the green-and-yellow-clad burgoo team from St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Owensboro. 

In 2005, filmmaker Stan Woodward received a Kentucky Arts Council Folk Arts Project grant to support research on his film Burgoo! which aired on KET.  Woodward teamed up with folklorist Saddler Taylor to present an exciting exploration of burgoo and the culture surrounding it, including ingredients, implements, techniques, differences in burgoos made in western and central Kentucky, and enlightening interviews with burgoo masters. 

Whether you love burgoo or can’t stand being near it, I hope you have enjoyed reading about this quintessential Kentucky food phenomenon.  These days, I don’t miss eating burgoo or any other carnivore delights, but I love vegetarian foods that are supposed to taste like meat (not-dogs, tofurkey, facon, etc.).  What to you think, readers?  Is there a market for vegetarian burgoo?  If so, by what clever name would it be known?

* The post title is not a typo, but a reference to the classic Internet meme “All your base are belong to us.”

KHS Film Series - Strangers and Kin: A History of the Hillbilly Image

I'm sure that many of you are aware of the stereotypes that are attached to the people of Kentucky.  That we're uneducated.  We don't have any culture.  And that we're all poor.  These are just a few of the descriptions I heard about my home state when I went off to college in Indiana.  No matter what the reason, Kentucky just gets a bum rap.  This topic is exactly what Appalshop filmmaker Herb E. Smith explores in his 1984 documentary "Strangers and Kin: A History of the Hillbilly Image" which will be screened at the Kentucky Historical Society on Thursday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m.  The hour-long documentary uses images from popular and news media sources and interviews to talk about what really is a hillbilly and how did that stereotype get placed on residents of Kentucky, specifically those living in Appalachia. 

What struck me most while watching this film was the concept of progress.  Many of the people interviewed in the documentary said that people living outside of Kentucky view eastern Kentuckians as resistant to progress.  And there is evidence of this outside view throughout the film, as seen in segments of Walter Cronkite's "Depressed Area USA" and Paul Henning's "The Beverly Hillbillies."  

While the film works to help dispel these myths, it also encourages one to think about how and why these myths exist in the first place. Other images and clips throughout the film are at times frustrating and often leave you scratching your head.  In order to help counter these stereotypes there are some funny segments woven throughout the documentary that involve reenactments and dramatic readings.  I won't give away more than this.  You'll just have to come here to watch the movie.

For more information on "Strangers and Kin" or the KHS Film series please visit our website at www.history.ky.gov.

When: Thursday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History

Admission: $4 members or $8 non-members; admission fee includes film, refreshments, and admission to KHS campus

--Mike Deetsch

"Stranger with a Camera" with Appalshop filmmaker Elizabeth Barret

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) film series will show the Appalshop documentary "Stranger with a Camera" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History.  Elizabeth Barret, the director, will be at the showing and speak after the screening.

In 1967 Canadian filmmaker Hugh O'Connor was shot and killed by Hobart Ison while filming a
documentary in Jeremiah, KY for the United States Department of Commerce.  Frustrated with the national media painting an inaccurate portrait of his town, Ison wanted to take matters into his own hands.  O'Connor and Ison had not met prior to this encounter. 

This story is the impetus behind the 2000 documentary, "Stranger with a Camera," directed by Leslie County native Barret.  During this hour-long documentary, Barret tells the account of O'Connor's death, the criminal trial of his assassin, and the challenge the media face when attempting to share a community's story.

Among members of the community there were mixed feelings for members of the media and filmmakers like O'Connor.  One resident notes in the film, "They're telling the truth [about the poverty of our community] and someone should know about us."  While another resident counters," You're showing the poverty [and nothing else] and [you] shouldn't be revealing it to others."  Barret has always recognized the complexities of the relationship between the media and the place where she grew up.  As she asks in the film, "Can filmmakers show poverty without shaming the people we portray?  I came to see that there was a complex relationship between social action and social embarrassment."

As a director and filmmaker, Barret is committed to producing and preserving work in media about the history, culture, and social issues of the Appalachian region and rural America.  "Stranger with a Camera," an award-winning documentary, was recognized in 2001 by the American Historical Association for the film's interpretation of history through the medium of film or video.  The film was also an official selection of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on "P.O.V.," the PBS series that showcased the work of America's best contemporary-issue independent filmmakers.

Tickets to the film are $4 for KHS members and $8 for the general public.  Admission to "Stranger with a Camera" includes post-film discussion with the filmmaker, popcorn, soda, and entrance to the KHS campus.

--Mike Deetsch