Alice Rogers, Director of Public Relations & Marketing

(502) 564-1792, ext. 4476

alice.rogers@ky.gov

http://history.ky.gov

FRANKFORT, Ky. (December 3, 2004) – The expiring calendar year has been an exciting time for the Kentucky Historical Society and its museums, libraries and programs. Among the agency’s accomplishments:

§                the acquisition of the Calk Collection,  an early Kentucky pioneer collection (including a journal kept  by William Calk during his 1775 trek to Kentucky and an original plat of Boonesborough), and the Woodburn Farm Collection, a 2000-volume library that provides a comprehensive record of the famous Woodford County farm’s operation;

§                the expansion of operating hours so that the KHS library and museums are all open on Saturdays and Sundays;

§                the presentation of “Unfinished Business:  School Desegregation in Kentucky,” a symposium held March 30, 2004, at KHS to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, featuring Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of the plaintiff, Rev. Oliver Brown;

§                the reception of the Society’s third Teaching American History grant ($1 million) from the U.S. Department of Education to provide three years of immersive professional development for selected teachers in southeast Kentucky;

§                the publishing of a special, centennial issue of The Register in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of what is now the only scholarly journal devoted strictly to Kentucky history;

§                the opening of  three museum exhibits—The Softer Side of Hard Times:  Kentucky Depression-era Quilts (April 17 - August 29, 2004, at the Kentucky History Center),  Into the Wild Blue Yonder:  The Kentucky Air National Guard (opened September 10, 2004, at the Kentucky Military History Museum),  and A River Runs Through Us: The Rivers of Kentucky (opened November 5, 2004, at the Kentucky History Center, and will run through December 31, 2005);

§                the reception of a $75,000 Saving America’s Treasures grant to restore nine historic paintings in the Old State Capitol;

§                the initiation and implementation of Society-produced videoconferencing programs for schools in statewide partnership with the Kentucky Tele-Linking Network, funded through a Learning Opportunities Grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services;

§                the Oral History Association’s 2004 Elizabeth Mason Project Award given to the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project. The award, given for projects with budgets over $6,000, recognizes this joint venture of the Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Oral History Commission.

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The Kentucky Historical Society, since 1836, has provided connections to the past, perspective on the present, and inspiration for the future.  KHS operates the Old State Capitol, Kentucky Military History Museum and its five-year-old headquarters, the Kentucky History Center.   Since 1999, the thirty-million-dollar History Center has welcomed almost one-million visitors.   For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the Web at http://history.ky.gov or call (502) 564-1792.