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Education Cabinet
Dr. Clark's contribution to Kentucky's archives remembered
“Kentucky lost the ‘Father of the Archives’ when Dr. Thomas Clark died yesterday,” said James A. Nelson, the state librarian and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) for nearly 25 years. “No one has shown more passion for preserving our history than Dr. Clark. He taught us that our heritage is worth saving and passing down to future generations.”
Dr. Clark laid the foundation of the state’s archival system when he appealed to Gov. A.B. “Happy” Chandler to save thousands of important historical state documents from being destroyed to make room for offices in Frankfort in the 1930s. He had them transferred to the University of Kentucky where he began cataloging them.
“The thought of him rushing over to Frankfort in his pajamas when Gov. Happy Chandler came into office to stop the dump trucks from hauling off records is an image that stick’s in my mind of Dr. Clark. He faithfully served on the state Archives and Records Commission, representing the University of Kentucky, for many years. In this responsibility, he seldom missed a meeting and his voice on the disposition of the record of this state was always strong, intelligent and respected,” said Nelson.
Dr. Clark lobbied 10 successive governors for a building designed to house the state’s archival holdings. Gov. Julian Carroll allocated the funds for a combined library and archival facility in Frankfort that was dedicated in 1982. The KDLA headquarters was named the Clark-Cooper building in honor of Dr. Clark and prominent Hazard banker Vernon Cooper, who also was a champion of Kentucky’s library system. One of Dr. Clark’s top priorities in recent years was to build an extension to this facility to accommodate the growing volume of records not anticipated 23 years ago.
“Dr. Clark had a 75-year love affair with Kentucky that never waned. He wrote about her, talked about her and preserved her memories with passion and enthusiasm,” Nelson said.
The author of more than 30 books chronicling Kentucky’s history, Dr. Clark was a perennial favorite at the annual Kentucky Book Fair, which is co-sponsored by KDLA. “He was enormously popular to a broad range of Kentuckians as demonstrated each year at the Kentucky Book Fair. It was always easy to find where he was signing his books; just look for the longest line,” Nelson said.
In 1990, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a resolution naming Dr. Clark as Kentucky’s Historian Laureate for life, the only person in the state’s history to receive the honor.
Nelson said, “Dr. Clark was not only a remarkable scholar and renaissance figure influencing the course of our state, he was also a good friend and mentor for me and many like me who seek to make this a better place to live and raise our families.”
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KDLA provides grants, technical assistance and direct services to libraries, archival repositories and public agencies throughout Kentucky. In addition, it offers reference, research and specialized information services from Frankfort. For more information about KDLA services and two essays about Dr. Clark’s life and contributions to KDLA, go to www.kdla.ky.gov.
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