[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Hello, and welcome to Kentucky Life.

I'm your host, Doug Flynn.

And today I'm visiting the beautiful city of Ashland.

I'm going to spend the day wandering Central Park, the crown jewel of the park system that sits on 47 acres in the center of the city.

This picturesque plot was established in 1900 and its canopy is a prize of over 1100 trees that have provided shade and shelter to visitors for the past century.

I'm going to enjoy a little bit of that shade for now, and you can enjoy this first story.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> So, Julia Perry is a composer that was born in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky.

She died in 1979 and in her life, she was a singer.

She was a conductor and she wrote incredible music.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> She wrote opera, she wrote symphony.

She wrote chamber music and she was quite accomplished in her life.

She won several Guggenheim fellowships.

She studied at Westminster Choir College, but yet her music is not as well known as perhaps it should be given the incredible talent that she had and the music that she wrote.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] She had incredible success that many American composers, regardless of gender or race, just did not have.

It was when, a little bit later in her life, when she had multiple strokes and it impacted her ability to write where she just was kind of quickly forgotten and neglected.

And so when I think of the story of Julia Perry, I think that yes, her gender is important.

Her race is important, but also as a person with a disability that also had a huge impact on her life and career.

And it's really the intersection of all of those different identities and influences that ultimately, I think, led to where her career went and how her career ended.

>> The Julia just had that gift and she knew it.

Her family knew it.

She was growing up in a time of severe Jim Crow laws.

Wasn't supposed to have any of this happen for her, but she had talent.

People recognized that talent here at the Lyric Theater and the music that the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra will play, we are welcoming Julia back home after nearly a hundred years.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> So the Stabat Mater, as a Latin text is about the moment where Jesus is on the cross and Mary is with him in those final moments.

And then I think artistically, her music is incredible and there's such a depth and beauty and ferocious energy and development of themes.

And there's everything there that you think of when you think of great music.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] There are four values that are very important to Lex Phil, and they are excellence, innovation, collaboration, and accessibility.

And when we see that right up the street from where we are, there was born this incredible composer who had this amazing career and wrote great music.

It is absolutely our responsibility to contribute to sharing that music, celebrating that music, getting it out there in the community.

The story of Julia Perry has inspired us as an organization to really think deeply about how do we continue this work?

How do we continue to celebrate her and her life?

We all can do our part to share great music with our community.

>> This little field behind me makes me feel right at home.

Baseball's been a favorite pastime in Ashland since 1939.

And this ballpark has seen many players on their way to the major leagues.

Well, I'm going to see my way over to the pond and you can see what story we have up next.

>> I think that the human species are innately explorers.

We've always wanted to explore what's beyond the horizon.

And it's just a part of our DNA, >> I think.

>> The Space Height Center is a research and development and education facility primarily focused on small spacecraft, the design operation fabrication, small spacecraft and deep space mission operations.

>> I've heard it said around here that we can do everything from concept to build to tracking.

The only thing we can't do is launch on our own.

>> We're an early adopter of the CubeSat form factor of small satellite technology.

The idea that CubeSat has revolutionized small satellite technology.

CubeSat >> has kind of evolved.

And all of the infrastructure and development has been geared towards earth orbiting.

Lunar IceCube is sort of in the first generation of interplanetary cube >> sets.

The Lunar IceCube mission is a NASA mission, but Morehead State is the lead on it.

We built the spacecraft here and NASA's going to launch it on the maiden voyage of the most powerful rocket ever built.

Lunar IceCube is going to orbit the moon for the better part of six months and map the distribution of water.

We're trying to figure out where the water is, how much of it is there, and how it moves around the surface.

And the idea is that when we return to the moon, we're going to stay.

>> If you went to a company to try to design this, it would probably take 40 or 50 professional engineers to do such things.

We don't have that many professional staff.

There are very, very few programs that get students involved as much as we do, because we really need to.

We really try to work together as a team and we bring the students into that team and they get to work with the NASA folks.

>> We've had just about everybody here that works in the building has worked on Lunar IceCube at some point or another in some way, shape or form.

>> I've had 21 year old students that have literally had their fingerprints on orbit around >> the planet earth.

So, that's kind of a cool aspect of the program.

So I've worked on the ground station side of things, but I was also part of the thermal paint team for Lunar IceCube as well.

I took a class for Solidworks and the next thing I know I'm part of helping out with the Lunar IceCube SolidWorks file, making a 3D model.

>> I've done a little bit of CAD work for it, modeling the wires in it.

And I'm an operator of the radio antenna that we are going to use to track it.

We >> will be tracking a Lunar IceCube throughout its cruise phase into its science phase into an inevitable crater on the moon.

>> We have a big dish up on the hill, a nine story antenna, which is now referred to as NASA's deep space station 17, that we track and command spacecraft for NASA and for other organizations.

>> This is actually a really huge deal.

We're on that same network with all the other guys that talk to all the space probes that NASA has launched in a deep space.

>> The students are involved in pointing the dish, setting up the track for the dish to track the satellites, and then making sure that the data's flowing correctly to NASA.

>> All of the projects that are here, the 21 meter dish really set it apart with its actual commitment to doing stuff as in tracking actual satellites and building satellites.

Very cool and interesting stuff that you don't get to see at a lot at other colleges.

>> Just the opportunities to work with the deep space network.

There's nowhere else that I would be able to be this hands on in such an awesome project.

>> There aren't many programs really out there that deal with this level of detail and give students the hands on.

You almost have to change the mindset from, okay, I have an assignment due on Friday.

Oh, I owe my NASA representative >> a document on Friday.

And there are days I wake up and I'm like, wow, this is really what I'm doing today.

Things that I handle orbiting the moon.

And then while it's doing that, I'm going to be tracking it and sending commands and receiving data.

It's really mind blowing sometimes.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Ashland is settled right along the Ohio river, neatly nestled in the tri-state area, boarding West Virginia and Ohio.

This region has been a draw for people dating back thousands of years and remnants of past inhabitants still remain.

You can even see reminders in the shape of mounds scattered in Central Park.

I'm going to explore another historical structure nearby.

And here's a story for you to explore.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Quilted >> Valor is a national nonprofit organization.

>> It started in 2003 by Catherine Roberts.

Her son was deployed and she was looking for a way to recognize his service, I believe.

But one night she had a dream and there was a soldier sitting on the side of the bed in despair.

And then just like in a movie, the curtain closed >> and he appeared again and the fear and despair was gone and there was a quilt wrapped around him.

So the message was quilts equal healing.

And that was the seed that planted the Quilts of Valor.

Stiller Clutcher opened a quilting shop in Georgetown, Bird Song Quilting.

And she invited me to come and learn about Quilts of Valor.

I knew nothing about Quilts of Valor, but it involved quilting and veterans.

And so I was curious to find out more about it.

>> Nancy Cann at the time was our state coordinator, and I knew her through the shop because she taught classes, quilting classes, at Bird Song.

And so she became interested in it.

And the very first thing she asked me to attend state conference in her place >> for one day at Paducha.

And it was all new to me, this conference room full of people who spent a lot of their time making quilts for veterans.

And they had a presentation that day and I was just sold from that time on.

So I came back and let Nancy know that as a shop we would be involved with the project >> In 2015, I had been taking classes at the shop and also going to the guild meetings and they started talking about the Quilts of Valor group and they were in need of volunteers and quilts to be made.

And I think in early 2016 is when I made my first Quilts of Valor quilt.

The Quilts of Valor group is an important group to me.

My entire family, mine and my husbands in fact, have a prevalence of military service for generations and many still serving.

So for me, it's my way of giving back to honor my family members who have served and given the ultimate sacrifice, something I myself wasn't able to do.

>> I was in the air wing and I was a crew chief on a helicopter.

So we flew all over the place and got to see things that probably ground troops, wouldn't see from the air.

So, Okinawa was pretty nice, and from there it was kind of like a home base.

From there we went to Korea, we went to Japan, we went to the Philippines, we went all over Asia.

I'm a member of the Marine Corps league and the American Legion.

And there's quite a few vets within the last two months that received their Quilts of Valor.

So they're pretty excited about it as well.

I think it's fantastic because it's an all volunteer organization and they serve veterans and sometimes the veterans are in need, and that quilt really, really helps them to feel wanted again, and feel good about life.

So I think it's a fantastic organization.

>> I was in for eight years and I was an E-6, Photographers Mate First Class.

You know, it wasn't easy, but [MUSIC] I loved it.

It was an amazing adventure.

And the ship, the ports, that the Sixth Fleet Admiral went to were amazing, but the life on the ship, it changed me forever.

The only place I had ever been really genuinely thanked for my service was in Israel.

And when I came back, nobody cheered and welcomed me back.

I just can't believe that the group of women that >> are >> finding a way to show appreciation to veterans.

>> One of the most moving that everyone was able to experience at the presentation was that one of our local presentations, one of the veterans after we wrapped him with his quilt, he said, may I speak?

And we've never had veterans before ask to speak.

But this was a Vietnam veteran.

And he wanted everyone to know that this was the first time that he had been thanked for his service.

>> I'm often so surprised and overwhelmed by their emotional response.

And in turn, it makes me have an emotional response, but they're very grateful for their quilt and for the acknowledgement of their service.

I feel like Quilts of Valor is often people my age and older, >> but we're fortunate to have a few young people, younger people, who are really interested and that's going to be important for us as we get a little older that we show the younger generation of quilters, and there are a lot of them, the importance of using their talents to honor these veterans.

[MUSIC] >> Well, back in 1786, a scotch Irish family settled their homestead in this area and named it Poage Landing.

As the iron industries expanded, so did the community and the new urban development was named Ashland.

The name was a suggestion from a stockholder of the Kentucky Iron Coal and Manufacturing Company.

And the inspiration was Henry Clay's esteemed estate in Lexington.

Well, now I am inspired to see what else this park has to offer.

And you can check out this next segment [MUSIC] When it comes to food, the Appalachian region is best known for recipes that make the most out of being simple.

Dishes like stack cakes, soup beans, and cornbread, chicken and dumplings, >> and fried cabbage all use very few ingredients.

But when made right are a filling and delicious way to feed a crowd.

Appalachia extends across 13 states, including Eastern Kentucky and most of West Virginia, but a couple hundred miles outside the region, people are getting a little taste of Appalachia with a modern twist at Hickory and Oak restaurant in Bowling Green.

Chef owner, Josh Polling has deep ties to Appalachia.

One of those ties is his grandfather who grew up on a farm in West Virginia, and who Josh says is one of his biggest cooking inspirations.

>> So many of the things that inspire me started at my grandfather's farm in West Virginia.

They lived very agrarian lives.

I mean, you went out to the garden, you picked heads of cabbage, and because of that, most of the food tends to be really, really simple, but really, really fresh too.

And I learned the importance of canning and preserving because my grandfather, he did that.

That's how they lived.

And so when you needed green beans, you went down to the cellar and you got a can of green beans and that's how you cooked.

It wasn't flashy.

It wasn't cool.

That was his life.

>> While Hickory and Oak serves a wide variety of food from wood fired steaks to pasta, to deep Southern and Asian inspired dishes, many recipes take the Appalachian foods Josh grew up with and add a unique elevated twist.

>> There's so many things I cook, the foundation of them started there.

My grandfather, he was a huge hunter, and so anytime he killed a deer, it was down in my grandfather's cellar in a five gallon bucket.

It's not refrigerated or anything because it's cured.

And so that was the safety aspect to make sure it didn't go bad, but it also imparted this incredible flavor.

And so we do a dish here, it's a Denver steak.

We dry age at 30 days, then we grill it, serve it with mashed potatoes and a fried egg.

And so it's a play on steak and eggs like my grandfather ate, but it's a very elevated version of that.

In addition to that, pepperoni rolls are the dish in West Virginia.

You've got to have it.

So we house bake fakasha.

We cure coppa.

Add us some heritage breed hogs down the road.

We do some broken barrato on there and we serve it with a pepper relish.

So it's a pepperoni roll.

It's just my version of a pepperoni roll.

And then so many of the coal miners were Italians.

So I love dishes like spaghetti and meatballs and rigatoni and meatballs, things like that are so basic, but for me, feeds the soul.

Definitely.

>> Josh says that his goal for the restaurant is to make food approachable and fun, but more importantly, to treat everyone who walks in with kindness and respect.

All those principles, he says are rooted in the time he spent with his grandfather in Appalachia.

>> I wish my grandpa could see the restaurant, not because of the food necessarily, but how happy everybody is here, how we treat people, realizing that it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, just treat people the right way.

And I think all of that started in West Virginia.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Central Park actually used to serve as a horse racing track up until about 1923.

And right around that time, another track opened up just down the river.

Almost a forgotten piece of Kentucky history, Raceland residents still have traces of a track that once drew thousands of horse racing fans to their community.

[MUSIC] >> This story is an important one, in that it is a part of our heritage.

And as people pass on, that history is lost unless we pass that history on to future generations.

Well, >> when I first started with the Raceland Police Department in 1984, I had no idea there was a race track, anything about the race track, and you go off to training and everything and everything on your uniforms says City of Raceland.

So people say, well, what is that?

You got a race track there, cars, horses, what?

So you know, no.

Well, why you called Raceland for?

Say, we really don't know.

So I decided to start digging.

>> Construction started in 1922, when a fifth track was to be built in Kentucky.

John Keen was looking at some different areas and he actually wanted to put it in Boyd County, but he surprised everybody and bought 350 acres in Green County and then started construction right outside of >> a little town, it was then known as Chinnville.

Completed in 1924, this new track was called Raceland and it was heralded as the most modern track in America and drew crowds from around the world.

>> So the excitement all around the country was, it was abound.

And I don't think that just happened by chance.

I think that Jack Keen and the others knew what they were doing.

They had built this and then they were able to promote it because they had it.

It wasn't just something that they were trying to get people here to make a buck.

They wanted you to come here to have a great experience and be able to really enjoy your time here and come back.

It >> had special trains that ran from Columbus, Cincinnati, Charleston, Lexington, and Louisville.

>> Traffic would be backed up on race day, all the way from miles.

It was six miles probably to Ashland.

It was backed up that far.

>> It was rated as one of the best tracks in the world.

It had running water in the barns and the buildings before the town did.

>> And it was called the million dollar oval by the developers because of the amount of money that was poured into that facility.

>> July and August was the main racing period for Raceland.

And one of the reasons everybody liked Raceland was because it had a very sandy track.

So you could get a big downpour and shortly afterwards, the track would still be ready for the horses to run on.

>> They could race right away, because the sand would take >> and draw all of it up.

>> Whereas other places they had clay and it'd take a long time for the track to dry.

>> The race track proved so successful its first year, the town of Chinnville petitioned to change its name to Raceland, to minimize confusion at the post office as the city began to grow.

>> At its peak day 27,000 people had participated in viewing races.

On average about 15,000 per race.

>> You know, when you were bringing in 24,000 people, 15 to 24,000 people a day, your area's going grow and it was growing back then.

Things were really taking off.

And then like I said, the track went down, the depression hit and kind of killed the area.

>> But the biggest misconception was that the Great Depression took it out, but that wasn't the case.

The case was that the State of Kentucky had this fee.

It was a $2,500 per day fee in order to operate the track.

>> On July the 25th of 1928, the state put an injunction, a $50,000 fine on them.

>> It ended up in a situation where they couldn't make their mortgage payments on the track.

And so the bank came in and foreclosed, and that was, in '29, the end of the track itself.

>> The grandstand and building materials were sold off and now a highway and neighborhood run through its footprint.

The site was commemorated in 2004 with a historical marker and Raceland's residents have their eye on preserving the past.

>> People need to know the history of their community.

You know, just like me.

I had no idea how big of attraction this was.

[MUSIC] >> Well, it's been a lovely, lovely day and I'm so glad to have spent this time at Central Park in Ashland.

I'll leave you with this moment and I'll see you next time.

I'm Doug Flynn enjoying life, Kentucky life.

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