Coming up on Kentucky Life... We'll check out the site for our show, Kincaid Lake State Park.

We'll meet the Traipsin' Woman, Jean Thomas, and see how she started a major music festival in the Commonwealth.

We'll examine the influence of Frank X Walker, a Kentucky poet, whose work highlights the importance of African Americans in Appalachia.

And we'll see how the Kentucky Harp Society showcases its music across the state to build awareness of the art form.

All that's next on Kentucky Life.

[music playing] Hey, everybody, and welcome to Kentucky Life.

I'm your host, Chip Polston.

Now, all season long, we've been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Kentucky State Park System, and we're back at it again this week.

Welcome to Kincaid Lake State Park.

Located between Lexington and Florence, as the name would imply, the big draw here is Kincaid Lake.

It's stocked with what is described as keeper size and trophy, largemouth bass, as well as channel cat, bluegill, sunfish, and crappie.

Really is yet another gorgeous gem in the state park system, and we'll be exploring it a little later in our show.

But first, traipsing, or to traip, means to walk around with no real purpose or direction.

And there‘s no better example of that than the Traipsin' Woman herself, Jean Thomas.

Born in eastern Kentucky, Thomas made a name for herself traveling via wagon and traipsing through Appalachia as a court reporter.

Now, during her travels, she learned about traditional singing and gathering within the region.

And Thomas would later take this experience and form And Thomas would later take this experience and form the American Folk Song Festival, which ran through most of the 20th century, and was dedicated to the preservation of traditional folk music.

Let's take a look at the complicated legacy of Kentucky's own Traipsin' Woman.

[music playing] This is Jean Thomas, the Traipsin' Woman, founder, Thomas, the Traipsin' Woman, founder, director of the American Folk Song Festival, held each year on the second Sunday in June in the woodland beyond the garden wall of my museum home, Wee House in the Wood, in Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky.

Jean Thomas was born Jeanette Bell in 1881 here in Boyd County, Kentucky.

Bell in 1881 here in Boyd County, Kentucky.

She was the fifth of six children and she grew up to become, I like to call her an Appalachian folklorist.

She was an entrepreneur.

She was also a manager for a little while.

She did a great number of many different things.

Jean Thomas was a woman of her time, and that was a time when people from other parts of the country were getting interested in and discovering folk music.

Many people were fascinated by and wanting to establish these connections between mountain culture and Elizabethan England.

Thomas believed that the Elizabethan era's minstrels, the traveling minstrels, were directly connected to the folk music in Appalachia because they would have been brought here from England by colonists.

And she thinks that those were just continuously passed down by an oral tradition.

They might have been modified somewhat over the centuries, of course, if it was an oral tradition.

But she definitely thought that was where the root of it was.

And she thought it was invaluable for people of the mountains to understand where they had come from.

During Jean's travels as a court stenographer, she had an opportunity one day on a Sunday that she went traveling with some friendly neighbors she had met.

And they heard some music playing, and they told her, they're like, “Oh, it's the singing gather and you go on.

You can go sit and listen to that, and we'll pick you up on our way back.” And she said that she came into this clearing with a windowless cabin and there were all these musicians that had gathered.

And this was something they just did for fun.

They would come and play religious music, folk music together.

And that was clearly a huge turning point for Jean.

She held on to that for decades.

And that is the idea behind the American Folk Song Festival.

The American Folk Song Festival was her rendition of what she first witnessed when she happened upon this.

It was like a one-room cabin with no windows.

And there were all these people gathered around on a Sunday in Kentucky in the mountains singing Elizabethan ballads.

And she was probably just blown away.

The very first American Folk Song Festival was actually an informal event held at Jean's house in her backyard.

This was just a small gathering of some friends.

But one of them was the first lady of Kentucky at that time, Mrs. Sampson.

Mrs. Sampson in particular was very fond of the event and her guests were so enthusiastic.

Jean thought, “You know, I could probably do this every year.” The second American Folk Song Festival is sometimes considered the official first because this one had 18 acts.

It was a formal event that Jean had created.

In it, Jean performed as the narrator and that was always what she liked to be.

She wore just a simple black dress and she kind of sat to the side on the stage.

And I think that's her, again, being the storyteller.

She's not in the story, but she is telling you the story.

And so they did this in front of a windowless cabin to try to emulate that first singing gathering that Jean was a part of.

And they included singing, dancing, different musicians, all of them folk musicians.

She just did things her own way and wasn't afraid to be deemed a certain thing that was dishonorable.

She's like this solo lady traipsing around the mountains and documenting all these songs of mountain people.

In 1926, Thomas met James William Day, a blind fiddler from Rowan County.

She changed his name to Jilson Setters and booked him successfully as the Singin' Fiddler from Lost Hope Hollow, an act viewed by some today as controversial.

She got certain chairs for him to sit in, props to take with him when he was performing to give him that look of the Appalachian minstrel.

He did do several recordings with the Victor Phonograph Company.

They went to New York together in 1928 for him to perform.

And then, they also went to England together and they perormed there at the Royal Albert Hall.

I feel like she is a little overlooked.

There are people that come in that are not familiar with her, and they're like, "I've lived here my whole life.

How have I not heard of her?” But then, at the same time, I will get people who say, “I am descended or related to Jean Thomas.

I was in one of the productions.

I attended one of the productions."

So, there are people left that still remember the American Folk Song Festival.

And even though it's no longer held the way Jean had it, there are other festivals that have sprung up inspired by that festival.

And so, I think that that is her legacy.

It never really ended.

It's still going just in a different format.

[Singing] As we've been checking out the highlights of Kentucky's state parks over the course of our season here on Kentucky Life, I have been absolutely blown away by what you can do at all of these places besides hiking and the like.

Here at Kincaid Lake State Park, kayaking is a big attraction and it's easy to see why.

Now, there was no way I was going to turn down the chance to come out here and grab a paddle.

Come along as we get out on the water.

Thanks, sir.

All right.

Are we ready?

We're ready.

Okay.

Anchors aweigh.

Wow.

Very nice.

It's a beautiful autumn morning in Pendleton County.

The perfect day to get out on the water.

Okay, I could get used to this really quickly.

This is beautiful out here.

This pristine 183-acre lake is ideal for fishing and kayaking as it's entirely a no-wake zone.

No speedboats allowed.

We're an idle-only lake, so it's perfect for being out.

It's just nice and quiet.

No, but an idle-only lake, you're not going to see the big dog boats and everything out here.

It's very serene that way.

Yes, yes.

You're not going to see the big boats.

You're not going to hear the loud motors.

It's just a very nice lake to get out and to paddle around and just enjoy it and be peaceful.

A couple of weeks ago, we had an impromptu fishing tournament.

Some of our campers and their families had kind of squabbled over who could catch the biggest fish.

And they lined the banks up here that morning and they got some good ones.

That's so cool.

There's trophy largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish, bluegill, carp, just everything that you would want to do, you know, fishing-wise.

There is a family of albino deers that you can see in the evenings usually or sometimes in the mornings across the lake here.

They've been around for as long as I've been alive.

And you are really away from civilization out here.

I mean, this is.

you got to work a little bit to get here, but the payoff is this.

It's northern Kentucky.

You can't get here fast.

But again, that's part of the attraction.

That's part of the draw is that we're set away from the cities.

is that we're set away from the cities.

We're set away from the busy pace of life.

And it's just getting back to nature, enjoying the time outdoors, and creating quality time with family and friends.

A place for wildlife and peaceful tranquility is exactly what the locals had in mind when the idea for a new state park here came to light back in the 1950s.

One of the unique things about Kincaid State Park is it was actually created by the people of Pendleton County, northern Kentucky, and the residents of Falmouth.

There was nothing here.

And they saw a need where they wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of civilization.

And so, they went to Frankfort and said, “Hey, we think this would be a great place for a state park.” And lo and behold, they made it happen.

So, that's So, that's really interesting because most all the other state parks, Frankfort decided they wanted to put something there.

The folks here in Pendleton County decided they wanted to do this and went to Frankfort and said, “Hey, let's make this happen.” Yup.

Yeah.

And it was not an easy process.

There was a lot of obstacles along the way, and they were persistent and made it happen.

So, that's the unique history of Kincaid State Park.

[music playing] Today, there's a little something here for everyone.

And if it looks like a scene out of a movie... well, it is.

We had the five-year reunion of the strangers to pray at night.

So, the director, the actors, they all came back, had a reunion.

We had like a guest experience.

And so, it just recreated the movie, had interviews.

It was just a really, really cool experience.

One of the things that we've encountered this season when we've been out on the road, you all are without a doubt some of the nicest people that we've ever gotten to work with.

But you've got a really cool job.

This is your office.

That's pretty remarkable.

And I consider myself blessed beyond measure.

I'm not originally from Kentucky.

I'm from New Jersey.

And, you know, moving away from the East Coast, I was looking for a place where I could enjoy the outdoors.

Lo and behold, I fell in love with Kentucky, fell in love with Kincaid State Park.

And I have considered myself very fortunate to just come out here, enjoy being outdoors, getting to meet some of the best people I've met in my lifetime and just making sure that it will be here for many years to come.

Do you ever have a moment when you're out in all of this and you just kind of look around and think, “I can't believe get Ito do this?” Every day.

Absolutely.

Every day.

Like, to be in Pendleton County, to be in northern Kentucky, to be in the Commonwealth is just an absolute blessing.

And I consider myself very fortunate to be here.

And for visitors, it's another one-of-a-kind Kentucky experience at Kincaid Lake State Park.

[music playing] Frank X Walker is one of the most accomplished writers and poets to come out of Kentucky.

Originally from Danville, Walker forged his own path and gained widespread recognition for his poetry, coining the term “Affrilachia” to highlight the importance of African Americans within the Appalachian region.

He would go on to become the Kentucky Poet Laureate in 2013, the first African American to hold the honor.

Now, his influence can be heard through the generations of poets to come after him.

And his impact on the Kentucky writing scene cannot be underestimated.

Let's take a look.

Grove.

This was the first time we really look at each other and not be able to tell who mastered the cruelest, who sorrow the deepest, who ground been the hardest to hold.

We was lined up like oaks in the yard, all standing with chins up, chest out, shoulders back and already nervous stomachs in.

We was a grove wanting to be a forest, ready to see what kind of wood we made from.

The only thing taller or straighter than us be the boards holding up the barracks at our backs.

Though most of our feats feel pigeon-toed and powerful sore from marching back and forth every day for what seemed like more miles than we walked to get here.

It take more than pride to stand still, these little hats not made for shade.

Soldiering ain't easy, but it sure beats the bloody leaves off a bondage.

Frank X Walker, my Danville, Kentucky native, poet, professor.

I had what I think is a non-traditional childhood I had what I think is a non-traditional childhood because of a couple of things.

The first one is that I had seven sisters growing up, and we didn't have a television in the house, you know, so I had to choose between those sisters or books.

And I chose books, and I hid from my sisters.

I would get flashlights and hide in closets and under beds.

And so, I feel like in a lot of ways I was raised by books.

You know, I became fairly literate early because of that particular situation.

And it changed my life.

Most of my published work is in poetry.

And even that poetry is divided into two categories, either historical poetry or traditional poetry.

The historical poetry centers around the Civil War, and its focus around the area of Camp Nelson, where two of my own ancestors were stationed.

Poets get to do something that historians aren't allowed to do, and that's be emotional.

And I think the emotional temperature and all the bells and whistles that you can use in poetry to make it more musical makes it more accessible and gives people an experience so that when they really get a poem, quite often they are moved.

And I think that's the best thing about the arts is when you combine things like music and lights and the ideal setting and costuming, all the things that poets have to create with words, if we can recreate that, we can insert power into a poem.

Even the way we read it, that really allows people to say, “You know, well, I really get it.” Load in nine times.

John Burnside, Company K, 124th Regiment, US Colored Troops.

Load, I wonder.

Handle cartridge, if I look down.

Tear cartridge, the business end.

Charge cartridge of my musket.

Ram cartridge, and see old Masa.

Return, rammer, standing there.

Prime, if I will hesitate.

Shoulder arms, or remember.

Ready, how many times?

Aim, he beat my wife.

Fire.

[gunfire] The word Appalachia came from trying to explain to myself something that happened in Lexington back in the early ‘90s.

In 1991, the dictionary definition of Appalachian said white residents of the mountainous region of Appalachia.

And that just stunned me.

And I thought, “Well, if that was the definition, what were you if you were not white and you lived in the same area?” I wrote this poem trying to figure it out.

At the very end of the poem, I used the word Affrilachian, took that to my writing group.

They immediately responded to the word.

And they were so excited by the word that by the end of the evening, this unnamed collective decided to name ourselves the Affrilachian Poets.

When I think about the Affrilachian poet model, you know, to give a voice to the voiceless and unmute the muted, it's more about thinking about the ideas of Kentucky and this idea that people of color don't exist here, and the idea that, you know, if you read the literature, you see an absence of people of color.

And it's in response to those absences that, you know, we decided that our collective goal made sense to contribute to that literature, to make sure people knew that not only were we here, that we were here and writing and producing scholarly work and creative work.

And that work was worth paying attention to.

And I think we also had a historical connection and commitment and recognized that we weren't the first people of color here, that we've always been here.

I learned today that Mama, being property, was Master's investment, that taken all together, the only thing more valuable than us was the land, that like the land, I, too, was property and also my mama's interest, same as her increase.

I was the bonus Master got for investing in my mama.

He liked investing so much, his wife say, my green eyes be interesting, by which I think she mean familiar.

I guess they had to sell Mama to profit, to save face, to compound his interest, but to multiply my loss.

Well, I hope that future generations of Affrilachian would say they have a story as well, and that man was a good example and that his work validates their own personal experience and that they feel better about themselves and their region.

If that happens, that's enough for me.

But if they go a step further and say, they also want to teach or write, then I'll be triply pleased that my efforts here were not in vain.

[music playing] Kentucky is known for music performed on string instruments.

We have a long history dating back generations of favorites such as the fiddle, the banjo or the mandolin being played in all sorts of settings.

But one stringed instrument you may not think of around here is the harp.

The Kentucky Harp Society is working to change that and to make the angelic instrument commonplace in the Commonwealth.

[music playing] My background with the harp started early when I was young.

I was like most kids forced to play piano.

And so, I didn't enjoy practicing.

But then, we had a harpist visit our church, and I stopped everything I was doing and just focused on the harp.

And it enthralled me.

I cannot remember what she looked like, what she played, how big her harp was.

I was just like, “I want to play that.” [music playing] When I first started playing the harp, When I first started playing the harp, I really didn't know anyone else that played.

I knew there were people, of course, that played the harp in the orchestra.

But I didn't know of anyone that played the smaller style, what we consider the folk harp or lever harp.

And I found out that there is a whole society in America dedicated to the harp.

So, the International Folk Harp Society does promote harp players of all levels and all ages to pursue this instrument, not as a career instrument, but as something for joy.

[music playing] So, when I saw everything that was being done with the International Society for Folk Harpers and Craftsmen to try to connect harpists and harpers around the world with what was going on, I was like, “I want to be part of this.” And so, I signed up to be part of that.

And I said, “Hey, is there a Kentucky chapter?"

Because I saw there was chapters for different states.

And they're like, “No, would you like to start one?” And I was like, “Oh, boy.” But I reached out to a few people, and I found that there was interest.

I've been trying to reach out to any of the other harpists harpists and harpers here in Kentucky.

And my mission is to make harps more attainable here in Kentucky.

In the not-so-distant past, like, to obtain a harp was a big layout of money right away.

And that limited people, but they have had breakthroughs in designing something that's lightweight, beautiful sound, and affordable.

[music playing] What I would like is for people to come into workshops and have people actually put their hands on the harp, be able to experience it.

If it's a one-time thing and they're like, “I've done that, I played the harp,” then that would make me happy.

If it's something that they're like, “You know, I think I'd like to try this out a little bit more."

I would love to be able to connect people, either I could teach them or I connect them with other teachers that are closer by.

The other thing we'd like to do is to help get harps in schools, to introduce this instrument to a new generation that can see it's not just something for angels on fluffy clouds to be playing.

It's not just something that is for those who have the money and the resources.

But it's something available to everybody.

When I saw the harp, I thought it would be a great therapeutic instrument.

And so I really devoted myself to learning it and have used it not only in my music therapy work but have extended it to have an ensemble, a harp ensemble, and to help others learn to play it and enjoy it.

[music playing] The harp in general is a very calm instrument.

It's soothing.

That's why it's used in harp therapy to reach people, to calm people down.

In the story about David playing the harp for Saul in the Bible, it wasn't just about him listening to music and enjoying a good time.

It was actually the sound of the harp and his ability to play the harp for him actually brought about healing and changed his mood.

Nowadays, we hear a lot about music therapy and we have more scientific backing for frequencies and what they do to the body and how music can really heal in different ways.

And I found the harp to be a great instrument in healthcare settings, hospitals.

My harp ensemble at one time, we played as a group in the hallway in a hospital where I was working at the time.

And the charge nurse came out and said, “We administered less pain medication during your hour that you are here than we normally do during that hour.” [chorus singing] After I had first encountered the harp, a couple of years later, I was in a freak accident, which ended up burning my hands really bad.

I had fourth-degree burns and had to have two plastic surgeries, two months in the hospital.

At one point, one of the doctors wanted to cut off my hands.

They ended up doing the best they could with plastic surgery, but my hands would still never be the same.

But I have the function, I had to do many years of physical therapy for it.

And then we moved to New York City, and I found this harp instructor.

And I went to her and said, “Can I even play the harp?” I didn't know if I could play the harp with what had gone on with my hands.

And she said, “Sure, we'll make the harp work for you.” And that was so freeing because there was other things I had to give up because of my hands being damaged.

And actually, the harp became like a physical therapy and something that that healed me even more and gave me the dexterity and the mobility that I needed for other things.

And so now when I play, that is something I give thanks for.

That every time I touch the strings of the harp, it was in praise that I could even do something with my hands, that I had come that far to be able to play and to make music.

[music playing] We've had a great time here today at Kincaid Lake State Park It's a great getaway spot if you're in the central or northern Kentucky region, so be sure to check it out.

Now, if you've enjoyed our show, be sure to like the Kentucky Life Facebook page or subscribe to the KET YouTube channel for more of what we like to call Kentucky Life Extras, where you'll have access to lots of other great videos.

Until next time, I'll leave you with this moment.

I'm Chip Polston, cherishing this Kentucky life.

[birds chirping] [music playing]