Covered bridges around the state; artist Stan Schu of Georgetown, who sculpts with a chain saw; Louisville's renovated Cathedral of the Assumption; and Carter Caves State Park in northeastern Kentucky. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A botanist's tour of a recently discovered area of old-growth forest in Harlan County, the Speed Art Museum's restoration of a doll presented by the Japanese as part of a cultural exchange in the 1920s, and a wetlands area in Western Kentucky that's a stopover for migrating birds. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A family-oriented riding program in Falmouth and Carrollton, a 70-year-old weaving business in Berea, songs of the 1960s civil rights movement, and a privately preserved forest in Nelson County. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Profiles a nun, one of the Sisters of Loretto, who creates liturgical art; an Owensboro museum dedicated to Kentucky's indigenous music, bluegrass; the museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville, which traces Kentucky Derby history; and Kingdom Come State Park in Eastern Kentucky, home of black bears. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A settlement near Paintsville where visitors can see how 19th-century pioneers lived; a Henderson man who carves elaborate wooden miniatures, many with moving parts; monks' lives at the Trappist abbey in Central Kentucky where Thomas Merton once lived and wrote; a former basketball star who's making a name for himself as a sculptor; and a 15,000-acre forest and park in Christian County.
Mount Sterling's Paul Williams and his hand-crafted guitars and dulcimers; a working farm in Scott County where visitors can pick their own Halloween pumpkins; the traditional stone fences of the Bluegrass; and the Western Kentucky recreational area, which features an 1850s homeplace. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A gifted Lexington boy who composes music, writes, and draws; Herschel House of Butler County, who makes traditional Kentucky long rifles by hand; an Eastern Kentucky park and its classes on building bird and bat houses; and the University of Louisville's annual jazz camp for student musicians of all ages. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
The oldest continuously operated mill in Kentucky, a memorial to Kentuckians killed in the Vietnam War, the Mount Sterling candy company that makes "Blue Mondays," a Frankfort bourbon distillery, and a volunteer program to rescue wounded birds of prey. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford
An Owenton quilt artist, a museum in Benham dedicated to the history of the coal-mining industry, a young sculptor from Wilmore, and the site of Daniel Boone's first Kentucky settlement. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Jessamine County's Janice Miller and her painted gourds; a Louisville program that teaches young men about drums and about their African heritage; "Hombre" Embry and his private Bluegrass Motorcycle Museum in Ohio County; and a Woodford County farm that produces thoroughbred horses, cattle, and crops. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A historic tour of Paducah and a textile exhibit at its Yeiser Art Center, a cave-country motel where travelers can sleep in concrete teepees, and a 4-H agricultural exhibit for Northern Kentucky kids. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Camp Nelson was a training camp for African-American troops during the Civil War, then a refugee camp for their families. The Valley View Ferry hauls cars across the Kentucky River between Fayette and Madison counties. Both Civil War presidents were born in Kentucky, and both have monuments in the state: Abraham Lincoln's in Hodgenville and Jefferson Davis' near Hopkinsville. A 1995 KET production
The history and charitable works of the Kentucky Colonels, ultralight airplanes, and the restaurant where Harland Sanders perfected his "finger-lickin' good" fried chicken. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Santa impersonator Jack Gillespie of Shepherdsville; Olde Tyme Toys in Richmond; a Christmas concert by Rockcastle County children; holiday decorations in Frankfort; and dollmaker Anna Lee Blinco of Louisville, who gives away many of her creations. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A cooperative that helps woodworkers network and find new markets, simulator-based tank operations training at Fort Knox, Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville, a Lexington painter of religious works, and a post-office mural that depicts the history of a small Western Kentucky town. A 1995 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
An equine breed developed in Kentucky for its smooth gait; a profile of the Scott County town, home to a Toyota manufacturing plant; Paula Cinieros, who ran the Alaskan Iditarod race in 1995; and a cave near Bowling Green. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Paintsville artist Garland Dixon, who turns scrap wood into beautiful turned bowls; the small-town Western Kentucky team that won the 1952 state basketball tournament; Glendale wicker furniture craftsman Tony Vance; T-shirts with a message of peace and unity; and a Northern Kentucky state park where remains of prehistoric mammals are preserved. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A Louisville couple who raise puppies for training as companion dogs for the disabled; making syrup in Harlan; a folk artist from Eastern Kentucky; and Doug Howard, an Owensboro craftsman who makes baskets from split white oak. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
A Lexington sculptor, traditional team marble games from the Kentucky-Tennessee border region, and historic furnaces throughout the state. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington; Lexington's Rose Mary King, who makes African-American dolls based on family members and historical figures; a family-owned furniture business in Western Kentucky; a Louisville gallery that promotes and sells Kentucky crafts; and a brief tour of the University of Kentucky Arboretum in Lexington. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Maker's Mark, the Loretto bourbon distillery and Kentucky landmark run by the Samuels family; a portrait of the late gourd artist Minnie Black of London; and Pike Countians who are turning a famous feud into a tourist attraction. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Edmonton's Craig Pierpont, who crafts harps and other musical instruments; Greg Turay, a former University of Kentucky student rising in the world of opera; Louisville musical group Union Tree; and a State Fair salute to old-time Kentucky folk music traditions. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Elizabethtown's Carmen Ray Coyle, who makes bottles and other glass art; Louisville sculptor Ed Hamilton, who was commissioned to create a memorial to African-American Civil War soldiers; quilting stories from the State Fair; and natural arches and Yahoo Falls in southern Kentucky. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Homemade wooden bridges in Eastern Kentucky; a special Scouting program for children with disabilities; and abstract artist Sam Gilliam, originally from Louisville. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Calhoun's Boat Works, maker of "stump jumper" boats designed for the shallow waters of Reelfoot Lake in far Western Kentucky; the site of the state's largest Civil War battle in Perryville; folk artist Myra Howard of Salyersville; and the Quilt Box, an unusual quilt shop in Northern Kentucky. A 1996 KET production hosted by Byron Crawford.
Host Byron Crawford sees the sights and samples the food at the fair, from young livestock exhibitors to purveyors of ostrich burgers and from auctioneering and rooster-crowing contests to the thrill rides of the midway. A 1996 KET production.
A profile of the Oneida Baptist Institute in Clay County, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1999; Northern Kentucky singers who perform traditional Native American songs; and a lake in Natural Bridge State Park. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A Jefferson County rescue organization for needy dogs; a Hardin County nature writer, photographer, and free spirit; and music of the Civil War played by reenactors. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A nonprofit Louisville company that creates Braille books and other products for the visually impaired, trains and railroad history in Fulton County, and a nature preserve near Paducah. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
World-famous Claiborne Farm near Paris has been home to some of the greatest thoroughbred horses in history—including Secretariat, who is buried there. Built in 1865, the Conrad-Caldwell House in Louisville is a Victorian showplace. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
In Madisonville, Dr. Loman Trover built the "Mayo Clinic of Kentucky." In Paintsville, a couple built a fabulous playhouse for their granddaughter. Jeanine Brady of Marion County builds colorful feeders to attract hummingbirds to her backyard, and Carter Caves State Resort Park in Olive Hill attracts spelunkers and hikers alike with natural beauty. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A look at the life and work of the Franklin County painter and naturalist, best known for his pastoral watercolors inspired by Central Kentucky landscapes. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A Paducah museum and antebellum/Civil War education center, a dig in Jackson County where archaeologists are uncovering Kentucky history circa 12,000 years ago, a Mount Sterling painter who's a rising star in the worlds of landscape and wildlife art, and Kentucky's longest lake. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Host Dave Shuffett drives the eastern route of the old Dixie Highway—the "magic highway"—from the Roebling Bridge over the Ohio River at Covington to the Cumberland Gap at Middlesboro. While visiting some of the current roadside attractions, he also remembers those that flourished from the 1930s through the '50s but faded away with the coming of the interstate highways. A 2000 KET production.
19th-century artifacts from an archaeological dig at Riverside Farm near Louisville; Seldom Scene Farm in Woodford County, where Paul and Lindy Huber raise llamas and alpacas; and the historic small town of Warsaw in Gallatin County. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A special expanded edition features the history, culture, and people found along Highway 68. Driving from Maysville in the northeast to Paducah in the northwest, host Dave Shuffett stops at the Blue Licks and Perryville battlefields, the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill, a neon-lit drive-in restaurant in Paris, a farm where country hams are made, Duncan Hines history, and more.
The small Ohio County town of Rosine was the birthplace of Bill Monroe—and therefore of bluegrass music. Howard Brandon of Murray shows off his collection of antique automobiles, and Johnson County painter Catherine Smart Wells gives a tour of her studio. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Tom and Pat Gish have been publishing the Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg since the mid-1950s. This small-town newspaper has the motto "It Screams!" on its masthead, and it has won several national awards for its in-depth, sometimes crusading coverage of Eastern Kentucky issues. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A Lexington author who wrote for 35 years before attracting a major publisher, husband-and-wife hammered dulcimer players from Shelby County, a wildlife artist from Murray, and a look at Elkhorn Creek near Frankfort through the seasons. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Daviess County's Kay Wimsatt and her passion for crazy quilts; a Louisville tattoo parlor that also houses a museum of body art; abstract artist David Gulotta, who finds inspiration in the depths of Mammoth Cave; and Dawson Springs' past as a resort town and spring-training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1914 to 1917. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A Kentucky poet laureate, the Kentucky doctor who attended Floyd Collins and Sgt. Alvin York, the William T. Young Library at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and a Hartford factory that recycles old wooden materials into new flooring. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A Nature Conservancy preserve in Garrard County; Tracy Watkins of Jessamine County, who goes treasure hunting with a metal detector; Powell County young people learning to play bluegrass music from legends of the form; and the lush flora of the Lexington Cemetery. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Knob Hill Farm, where Abraham Lincoln spent his toddler and preschool years; the site where Lexington was founded, now a park and education center maintained by a volunteer foundation; airport training for firefighters who have to battle blazes aboard airplanes; and log cabins around the state. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Remembering the old-time resort at Edmonson County's Chalybeate Springs, folk-dancing with the Coffeys of Shelby County, and hiking the trails of Bell County's Pine Mountain State Resort Park. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
A cherry furniture factory in Campbellsville, a region-wide effort to clean up Eastern Kentucky, and an organ performance by Jeff Jones on Danville Presbyterian Church's new Taylor and Boody pipe organ. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Though long since eclipsed, High Bridge between Jessamine and Garrard counties was once the highest railroad bridge in the country—and a popular tourist destination in its own right. University of Louisville librarian and historian Tom Owen talks about the history of the River City. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
An internationally renowned multimedia artist from Bowling Green; Tec-Fab Inc. of Campbellsville, where metal church steeples are manufactured; and diminutive horses on a farm in Metcalfe County. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
The home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and novelist Robert Penn Warren, author of All the King's Men, at Guthrie in Todd County and a museum exhibit in Hopkinsville that pays tribute to early 20th-century "psychic healer" Edgar Cayce. A 2000 KET production hosted by Dave Shuffett.
Host Dave Shuffett takes a candlelight tour of the fort, visits a Victorian-decorated mansion museum complete with a Christmas Tree Festival, enjoys holiday music, and meets a Victorian-era version of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. A 2000 KET production.
Pioneer Playhouse in Danville is a unique outdoor theater; restoration efforts of the old Wayland gym in Floyd County will house a museum honoring the region's high school athletes; St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville houses the skeleton remains of two 2000-year-old Roman Martyrs; two plant-based restaurants in Lexington are challenging the notion that vegan foods are bland.
During the Great Depression, a group of women riding horses and mules brought books to the people of Appalachia; two local farms provide classic Fall activities in the small town of Nancy; Lexington artist Robert Beatty is one of the most recognizable creators of modern album artwork; Beaver Dam in Ohio County is making a big name for itself as a Kentucky concert destination.
Every April, Pikeville hosts the Hillbilly Days festival, three days of food, fun, and hillbilly spirit; Lexington students get first-hand experience in the world of fashion; the late artist Chester Fryer created Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordville; Friends of Eastern Cemetery in Louisville is helping to restore the most over-buried cemetery in the U.S.
Our friend Doug Flynn learns about the Bluegrass Barons and vintage baseball; Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville specializes in moonshine; hosted by the Kentucky Renaissance Faire, the Highland Renaissance Festival in Eminence is an annual tradition; Lemonjuice McGee's Comic Cavalcade in Somerset is home to a wide selection of toys, comic books and more.
Cove Haven Cemetery has served the Black community of Central Kentucky since 1907; the rich history of Huntertown, established in 1871 as an African American free town in Versailles; musician Julia Perry and her association with the Lexington Philharmonic; the Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library system was the first library in the nation staffed by, and intended for, Blacks.
Started in Rowan County in 1911, Cora Wilson Stewart thought up the idea of Moonlight Schools to combat adult illiteracy; the history of the iconic Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky; first-generation Sri Lankan-American Sam Fore recounts her journey starting a small pop-up restaurant in Lexington; the unique Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland in Calvert City.
The large-scale murals of central Kentucky artists Graham Allen and Geoff Murphy include a diverse group of people with Kentucky roots; meet comic-book illustrator and artist Tony Moore; the Red River Gorge Trail crew maintains the trails of this Kentucky treasure; Mojothunder is an up-and-coming rock band in the Bluegrass.
In Louisville, Rudy Salgado creates tintype photos with techniques and equipment from the 19th century; Kentucky women veterans traveled to DC over the summer for Honor Flight Kentucky; learn about the small part of Kentucky "north" of the Ohio River; the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum in Marion, Kentucky, features thousands of colorful fluorite mineral specimens.
The flood that devastated portions of Eastern Kentucky in July 2022 highlighted the hard work, resilience and kindness of mountain communities; photographer Dean Hill has dedicated his life to capturing Appalachia on film; painter Ceirra Evans draws from her childhood to showcase the people of Appalachia; in Russell, the once-popular Railroad YMCA was originally built to house railroad workers.
WRFL is the University of Kentucky's student-run radio station and has been operating for 35 years; visit Flame Run, a glass studio and gallery in Louisville and glass artist Brook Forrest White Jr.; celebrating the Western Kentucky artist Helen LaFrance; and the history of Hensley Settlement and one man's determination to preserve a quieter way of life for his family.
Meet Wade Houston, Louisville businessman and former basketball coach; author Aimee Zaring explores the recipes and journeys of refugees who live in Kentucky in her new cookbook; established in 1799, First Vineyard was the first commercial winery in the U.S.; and a Buon fresco mural honors the once thriving African American community of Jonesville in Bowling Green.
Wickliffe Mounds, a Native American archaeological site, features abundant wildlife, museum exhibits, and more; kudzu is known as 'the vine that ate the south' because it is so invasive; Charles Young from Mays Lick overcame barriers and received overdue recognition a century after his death; the 127-year-old Monte Casino Chapel may be small in stature, but it makes up for its size in history.
The illustrations of Louisville artist Bri Bowers depict some of the city's beloved local landmarks; a look at bike polo in Lexington; a 1876 phenomenon occurred when a substance resembling meat fell from the sky over the Crouch family farm in Olympia Springs; and artist Kelly Brewer and friends started the Common Wealth of Kentucky Project, using their talents to showcase people and places.
Explore the history of the B-29 Superfortress, the plane used to deliver the atomic bombs during World War II; Pink Boots Society comprises movers and shakers in the fermented and alcoholic beverage industry; Lexington-based artist Robert Morgan creates moving assemblage sculptures out of discarded family items; and explore the life of Louisville native and business leader Alice Houston.
Chip visits Empress Chili in Alexandria, the restaurant that started the Cincinnati Chili craze in 1922; the works of contemporary landscape painter Jon Gaddis; the history of White Hall, the mansion that has been in Richmond since the 1700s and was the home of the prominent Clay family; meet Lexington artist Lakshmi Sriraman, who specializes in painting, dance, and more.
Explore the life and works of renowned Kentucky author and activist bell hooks; The Lexington Writer's Room offers local, active writers (and visitors) affordable and collaborative workspaces; when the tornados went through Western Kentucky in 2021, WKDZ stayed on the air; the Butterfly Greenhouse at Wilson Nurseries & Plant Co. educates Kentuckians about the importance of native pollinators.