TIP # 110 - MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU … MY KENTUCKY This is not going to be a researching tip but I think you will allow me to veer a little off course on Christmas week! Many ask, "Just what is so special about Kentucky?" For many years I had known about this State with varied feelings as I grew in maturity and years. Feuding comes to mind from my early years; those "hot blooded Kentuckians" were well known in the state where I grew up. "Backward" was another term that was easily batted about by some of those "northerners." But, then I began a love affair with a state where I had but once visited until that time. It all began when I came here to south central Kentucky on a week's trip. It seems that I had been bitten by that dangerous bug called genealogy and it led me to see first hand this "Dark and Bloody Land" called Kentucky. Oh, how I fell it love with it! Another short trip a few years later cemented this state in my heart and finally, almost 25 years later, I was able to make the move home. Home? Why, Illinois is my home! Or is it Missouri? No, home is Texas or Arizona. I'd lived in all those places over the years. Each held a special place in my heart - Illinois, the state of my birth and my growing up years, the Land of Lincoln. Missouri - I'd been there a long time and enjoyed its beauty, this Show Me State. Texas? It's hard to get Texas out of anyone's heart! The Dallas Cowboys, the laid back life style blended with upscale malls and southern charm. Arizona? It had the beauty, the austere majesty; the warmth. But, Kentucky is my home. A transplanted Yankee had come home. Why is Kentucky home? Now, I am not an expert on all of Kentucky; many of its towns and beauties I have yet to see. I have seen the Blue Grass with the miles of fences gracing the grazing grounds of the Kentucky thoroughbreds. I have seen the Applachian areas which is like walking into another world. I have passed through the historic old communities of early settlement days. I have toured the magnificent Louisville and ridden down the Ohio River. But, my heart is drawn to the part of the state where we live in south central Kentucky. So why is Kentucky so like a magnet tugging at one's heart? What is the charisma that welcomes the visitor and the resident alike much like a spider enticing its prey into its gossamer web? Kentucky is soul. Your soul - my soul. Once you have tasted the delights of Kentucky, you will never be the same. Spring in Kentucky is one of the most delightfully tantalizing seasons of the year. From it's barren slumber, the state suddenly awakes to the realization that warm weather is finally here and there is much to be done. The first thing one notices is green. Yes, the color green in a multitude of variations. The timbers awaken with their new growth and the eye is delighted with just looking at the vista before it. Every shade of green known to mankind as one walks through the woods or observes along the interstate. Before long, a myriad of wild flowers begin to sprout forth. Beautiful miniature blooms erupt from under the leaves of the fall season; whites, brilliant reds; subtle pinks; each poking its head up from around rocks and undergrowth. The breezes are mild, enticing one to take just one more step to see what lies around the next bend. The rains of spring soon arrive, causing unpleasantness perhaps to the human, but encouraging yet more growth and beauty. Summer. Summer in Kentucky is like that of no other place on earth. Sultry often with the humidity dripping from the brow, but yet a time of slowing down one's pace in order to enjoy the beauty. Flowers abound everywhere; crops are in and maturing. It is time for a break on the front porch sipping old time lemonade. It is time of excitement for the children who have been freed from the confines of school for a season. The swimming pools and creeks resound with the gleeful echoes of boys and girls splashing and playing. It is a time to stroll outside in the evening breezes and observe the starry skies overhead. Autumn is a time of awe. It is God's world preparing the cold months ahead and doing it in style. The landscape is suddenly ablaze with brilliant reds, greens, yellows and bronzes. The glory of the sugar maple dominates the color pallet. The crunch of fallen leaves echoes under foot, the neighbors raking the leaves from the lawns, the crispness in the air that is invigorating. School busses rattle down the street with those carefree children looking longingly from its windows as they head back for more schooling. The apple trees are burdened with the weights of the delicious fruit they bear. There is an excitement in the air. Winter. The harsh reality of a land at rest. The winds blow cold and sends shivers down the spine. When the snows come, the blanket of white rests as if the most beautiful pastoral scene. Christmas bells soon ring forth and the houses are a contrast to the snow or the barren landscape. The square is illuminated with delicate white lights around the courthouse and wreaths hanging from the windows. Bundled shapes can be seen darting from store to store seeking the latest bargain to be wrapped and hidden under the tree that blazens in the living room of houses. Old time and beloved carols can be heard from the spire of the courthouse and church carillons toll gently in the evening. Carolers proceed down the streets singing in various keys the Silent Nights and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It is a time of magic; a time of awe in comparison to the stark cold. Throughout the year, there is always something for an individual to see or do. Mammoth Cave looms out of the hillsides in Edmonson County. Tours into the bowels of the earth in eerie darkness broken only by the tiny lights along the pathway. Tours above ground through nature walks; horseback rides; or a leisurely boat trip down Green River as the guide points out the animals and wildlife that populate the area. Or a trip to Hart County which is a step back in time through the museum there and the Civil War battle sites. A short drive takes one to Warren County, home of Western Kentucky University with many attractions in its own right - the restored Hobson House, Lost River, modern malls and old time charm. Or, one can take but a short time down towards the Tennessee border and see the change of the landscape there. Never a day could pass without finding some new sight to see, some new place to explore. However, my favorite pastime is simply getting outside of the towns and driving along the country roads. Roads that used to be the pathway of the settler's wagons. Windy, hilly, with a panorama of views to please the most discriminating viewer. Tobacco fields, horses and cattle; the Amish homes sparsely scattered around. The old family cemeteries which have been almost forgotten with time resting in the ages of time at the edge of timbers, deep within the fields. It is the finding of a yet standing old log cabin or the remains of an old house now overgrown with the luxuriant growth of Kentucky. It is the purity of the air one can breathe; there is no pollution here from huge factories; one's lungs can be filled with all the rich smells of nature alone. It is quiet along those country lanes; the listener can hear the cardinal, the meadowlark, the quail, the mocking bird and watch bluebirds soar overhead. The deer, the possom, the wild turkey, and yes, the snakes, still have room to roam freely. This is my part of the world called Kentucky. Harsh at times; loving and enticing at times. From gentle springtime breezes to cold winter blasts, this is Kentucky. One can close one's eyes and go back in time with just a gentle nudge. Suddenly, if you are very quiet, you can hear the plodding of the horses and oxen's feet as they labor under their heavy load, bringing an old wagon loaded to the top with the supplies and furniture of the settler. You can feel their awe as they arrive at their new home; so untouched by the ages. You can hear the wild animals calling out at night; see the brilliant skies uncontained by modern lighting. You can hear the children's laughter as they dart around their new surroundings. Just be still now and you will hear, you will see, you will know, this place I love called Kentucky. Merry Christmas to all of you from a Yankee who has come home. Sandi © Copyright 23 December 1997, Sandra K. Gorin. All rights reserved. *********************************************************** Sandi Gorin - 205 Clements Ave., Glasgow, KY 42141 502-651-9114 - sgorin@glasgow-ky.com BARREN CO: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1798 GORIN GEN PUB: http://members.aol.com/kygen/gorin.htm KYRESEARCH-KYBIOS-SOUTH-CENTRAL-KENTUCKY lists Send e-mail for info. Research tips at: http://www.usroots.com/~jmurphy/lessons/lessons.htm *********************************************************** ------------------------------