Kentucky by Heart: Shelby County’s Veterans Rural Outreach helps veterans with affordable housing
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
You just never know when you’ll run into people doing noble things in Kentucky. One such example is serving America’s military veterans with excellence, as they do in a special Central Kentucky town.
After the Shelby County Library “Coffee with the Authors” book event a few Saturdays ago, Suzanne and I again explored the beautiful and inviting downtown...
Kentucky by Heart: NKY native Mary Hissem DeMoss was nationally recognized soprano singer
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Being a “tuneful” place in many respects, Kentucky would seem to be a place of many well-known performing singers, and it is. Some are still active, and some are from the past.
Recently, I discovered a nationally recognized female soprano singer born in 1871 in the community of Carthage, located by the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. Though her name may not...
Kentucky by Heart: i.imagine program exposes Northern Kentucky teens to the art of photography
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
As Kentucky Derby inches closer, I can’t think of a better way for Northern Kentuckians to embrace the equine pageantry than attending the April 23 fundraising event, “Down the Stretch with i.imagine.” The main event occurs from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the Triple Crown Country Club, in Union, with cocktail hour preceding it from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Patrons will be...
Kentucky by Heart: Kentuckians share places they find strikingly similar to the Commonwealth
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Last week’s column featured a special annual event in Crandon, Wisconsin, called “Kentuck Day.” The gathering is dedicated to lending tribute to a large throng of people who settled there after migrating from Kentucky, starting generally in the 1900s. Part of the allure of Kentuckians to Crandon, according to a local resident there, is that the hilliness...
Kentucky by Heart: Wisconsin town’s ‘Kentuck Day’ celebration honors its resident’s Kentucky roots
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
“It seems no matter where a Kentuckian moves, the proud heritage of his state goes with him and is passed from generation to generation.” –Louie B. Nunn, Kentucky Governor
The term “Kentuck Day” likely conjures up thoughts of a festival-like atmosphere taking place in the fall in some small community in the Bluegrass State. But it sure doesn’t have...
Kentucky by Heart: Kentucky’s high school Sweet Sixteen tournaments revive fond childhood memories
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
March Madness basketball, high school style, is upon us in Kentucky.
In the girls’ Sweet Sixteen matchups, Saturday night saw Sacred Heart crowned as the state champion with a 60-49 win over McCracken County. It was the Louisville school’s fourth straight title, a record.
Newspaper account of 1946 state basketball tourney (Image courtesy of Billie Jo Chaplin)
This...
Kentucky by Heart: Celebrating Kentucky’s deep Irish influence as St. Patrick’s Day approaches
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, and here’s hoping you’ll appreciate me sharing a “stew” of Irish-laden tidbits passing through my Irish-ancestry mind as we approach March 17.
Let’s start with praising an Irishman who came to Kentucky and grew an amazing business, called Alltech, creating jobs and spurring others to seek new ways of doing things. Dr. Pearse...
Kentucky by Heart: KY native — and Miss America 1944 — Venus Ramey dodged post-pageant spotlight
Miss America 1944 was surely a glamour girl, right? Beautiful, a much-needed celebrity for our tense times in World War II, and a young woman headed for an urbane life spent in materialistic entitlement and doting fandom, you might think.
Venus Ramey in later years at speaking event (Photo by Mark Taff, Wikimedia Commons)
Well, it didn’t quite happen that way.
Venus Ramey, a Kentucky native born...
Kentucky by Heart: Visit to Mary Todd Lincoln House offers up-close look at one of KY’s iconic figures
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
For my wife, Suzanne, a trip to the Mary Todd Lincoln House (MTLH), in Lexington, means taking along one more tag-a-long than only her husband. That “extra” would be in the form of her treasured Mary Todd Lincoln doll, of the Madame Alexander First Ladies of the United States series, which she proudly showed to her the hosts and other assorted visitors recently...
Kentucky by Heart: Coach Don Lane’s story is breath of fresh air, a positive take on competitive sports
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Over three decades ago, I came to pick up my middle school stepdaughter after she participated in activities at a summer basketball camp at Transylvania University in Lexington. Arriving early, I sat in the stands within earshot of the camp director, Don Lane, as he talked to the campers before sending them home.
Something Don shared that day with those young people...
Kentucky by Heart: Celebrating Uncle Howard’s 95th birthday an invigorating ‘slice-of-life’ moment
A few Saturdays ago, Suzanne and I traveled to the Grant’s Lick area, in the southern part of Campbell County, for a surprise celebration for “Uncle Howard” Johnston’s 95th birthday. Being there and seeing old friends and family members captured pleasant memories from my youth.
The party occurred at the Fairlane Baptist Church, on Highway #27, a stone’s throw from where I lived from age 6...
Kentucky by Heart: Celebrating Kentucky’s rich literary history; appreciating cold-weather friends
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Kentucky has a rich literary and historical landscape, for sure. And across the state, there are frequent events that showcase such. Here are a few that are happening soon. Hope it stirs your interest.
The 2024 additions to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame have been chosen by members of the Carnegie Center, in Lexington, and the Kentucky Arts Center, in Frankfort....
Kentucky by Heart: Lifelong Kentuckian Tony Wilhoit holds humble view of impressive life of public service
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Anthony “Tony” Wilhoit was born in Versailles 88 years ago and has mostly lived within three blocks of his current home, a large, majestic brick house built in 1870; he’s a lifer in his town, in tune with its history. Just ask him about all the friends he has made around Woodford County.
He also has an impressive resume in the area of jurisprudence, a long-time...
Kentucky by Heart: Bob Snow’s Appalachian Trail adventure comes to an emotional September end
Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part story account of a Kentuckian’s successful hiking of the Appalachian Trail.
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
And, oh yes, how must one deal with the call of nature on the Appalachian Trail? The protocol for using the natural facilities of the hiking terrain, according to Bob, is to “dig a hole six inches deep, 200 yards off the Trail,...
Kentucky by Heart: Lawrenceburg resident Bob Snow shares adventures through-hiking Appalachian Trail
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story account of a Kentuckian’s successful hiking of the Appalachian Trail.
By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
A funny thing happened to Bob Snow on the way to completing a 2198-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Springer Mountain, in Georgia, to Mount Katahdin in Maine and covers fourteen states. However, it didn’t seem...
