Frankfort, KY - The Kentucky Historical Society will dedicate a historical highway marker in honor of the late Homer Ledford on Saturday, May 31, at 11 a.m. ET. The marker is located on College Street on the grounds of College Park in Winchester.
Featured special guests for the dedication include Mayor Ed Burtner of Winchester, the Rev. James Williams IV of the First United Methodist Church, Judge Ray Corns, and Colista Ledford, Homer Ledford's widow, among others. The dedication will also feature special music from the Backroom Blue Grass Band.
Homer Ledford (1927-2006) was a master craftsman, musician, and teacher. Born in Tennessee, he attended Berea College and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. Ledford founded the Cabin Creek Band in 1976 and led it for 30 years entertaining on four continents and performing for five governors of Kentucky. Ledford also crafted thousands of musical instruments. His banjos, violins, guitars, mandolins, and dulcimers are sought by musicians worldwide. The Smithsonian Institution houses three of his creations- a fretless banjo, an Appalachian dulcimer, and a dulcitar, which he copyrighted. Ledford played 13 instruments during his life as a musician.
The Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program, administered by the Kentucky Historical Society in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, commemorates historical sites, events, and personalities throughout the commonwealth.
Through the program, the wealth of history which is Kentucky's past is made accessible to the public as they travel along the state's roadways on markers which stimulate an interest in the history of local communities. The markers are on-the-spot history lessons that add drama and interest to the countryside for native Kentuckians as well as tourists.
The goal of the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program is to connect events and personalities with their place, to bring the past to life, and to increase the awareness of what we owe to those who came before us. The subjects of the more than 1900 markers in Kentucky are varied. There are markers that tell of a duel of honor, a seven-year-old boy who served as a drummer in the Revolutionary War, and the 1937 Ohio River flood. Others highlight Moonlight Schools that were established to combat illiteracy, an Indian academy, and the first state-supported school for the hearing-impaired in the U.S.
Applications are currently being accepted for markers until October 1; fifteen applications will be approved after the October 1 deadline. Prospective applicants can download the Kentucky Historical Highway Marker application from the Kentucky Historical Society Web site. For more information about the program, contact Becky Vittetow, Kentucky Historical Highway Marker Program Coordinator, at 502-564-1792, ext. 4474.
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An agency of the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, 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, the Kentucky Military History Museum, and its headquarters, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Since 1999, the thirty-million- dollar Center has welcomed more than one million visitors. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the Web site.