Kentucky History & Haunts

Sarah Frances Price was a teenager during the Civil War. When the war came to an end, both her parents died, along with her brother. Then she was bedridden for a year with a mysterious ailment. When things finally started looking up, she became an accomplished researcher and published many works on native Kentucky plant and animal species.

Every seventeen years, Kentucky gets a visit from a new batch of periodical cicadas. They are loud, they are numerous, but they are generally not harmful, except to young trees and vineyards. You’ll come away from this episode armed with all kinds of great cicada fun facts. Enjoy!

Learn the eerie origins of ventriloquism, how it evolved into the modern form of entertainment it is today, and then enjoy an overview of the fascinating Vent Haven Museum started by W.S. Berger- now home to over 980 ‘figures’ plus oodles of other memorabilia. Check out venthaven.org to learn more and book your appointment.

It’s difficult to decipher which information about Nancy Green’s life is true. In this episode, I’ve tried to separate fact from fiction, while giving an overview of Green’s life and the racist stereotypes perpetuated by the flour companies who used her (and others after her) for their brand. For more on this topic check out The NY Times article ‘Nancy Green, Aunt Jemima- Overlooked’; the Medium a...

It was progressive. It was controversial. It was sometimes unethical. The advancements made at the US Public Service Hospital are often overshadowed by the highly questionable experiments conducted on volunteer inmates... experiments sometimes funded by the CIA as part of Operation MKULTRA. For more, find the air dates for KET’s Narcotic Farm documentary on the KET website. Also check out the Forb...

In 2008, Kevin Dunlap pretended to be interested in buying a home for sale in the Roaring Spring community. The owner let him in, where he proceeded to tie her up, rape her, leave her for dead, set the home on fire and murder her children. He was arrested and charged three days later, but an evaluation of his mental state brought up questions about his competency. For details on this case, see Dun...

While dueling has been out of style for quite some time in the state of Kentucky, public officials must still swear under oath before taking office that they’ve never participated in a duel or challenged anyone to fight one. Find out why in today’s episode. Be sure to check out the Smithsonian Magazine article ‘Duel!’; the PBS article ‘The History of Dueling in America’; and the fabulous article b...

This is a love story. That turns sad. And then violent. And then spoooooky. A woman fell in love with a man, but was forced into marrying someone else. Find out how she retaliates... Check out this story and more Kentucky mysteries in the book ‘Myths and Mysteries of Kentucky’ by Mimi O’Malley & Susan Sawyer

A person with a unique role in political history. I didn’t choose this guy because he was an exceptionally great guy, but because his series of roles was interesting and his life might make for a good tv show. This is the story of Montgomery Blair. For more on The Belknap Scandal check out historynet.com/belknap-scandal-fulcrum-disaster

So. Many. Firsts. This woman was not afraid to set records. I get so excited talking about her accomplishments. I hope you enjoy the story of Aviatrix Willa Brown as much as I enjoyed researching it. For more on some of the topics I cover in this episode check out ‘The Other Harlem’ on airspacemag.com. ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ on history.com and ‘Lieutenant Willa Brown- Aviatrix, Maker of Pilots’ by Tanj...

Mary Arvin was born in Henderson, Kentucky. She graduated from nursing school in Owensboro and then joined the Red Cross Harvard Base Unit #5 which was sent to France in 1917. She cared for patients throughout the war years and witnessed two German night raid bombings before coming home to Kentucky and being honored by all three major allied forces. This is the first installment of BADASS KENTUCKY...

Cholera was a real problem in the 1800s. We didn’t know where it came from or how to treat it. In Springfield, Kentucky, one slave stayed behind while his owner and several other people fled the area completely. He ran the businesses of those who left while caring for the sick and dying. Research comes from ‘It Happened in Kentucky’ by Mimi O’Malley, and The National Center for Biotechnology Infor...

In the late 1980s, a Louisville woman named Brenda Sue Schaefer went missing. For months, police and FBI were extremely frustrated. They knew who did it, but they didn’t have the evidence to prove it. After going cold for months, they finally got a break in the case. But what would normally be an ending to a tragic true crime story, would just be the beginning. Get ready to be frustrated! For deta...

In the late 1980s, a Louisville woman named Brenda Sue Schaefer went missing. For months, police and FBI were extremely frustrated. They knew who did it, but they didn’t have the evidence to prove it. After going cold for months, they finally got a break in the case. But what would normally be an ending to a tragic true crime story, would just be the beginning. Get ready to be frustrated! For deta...

In the late 1980s, a Louisville woman named Brenda Sue Schaefer went missing. For months, police and FBI were extremely frustrated. They knew who did it, but they didn’t have the evidence to prove it. After going cold for months, they finally got a break in the case. But what would normally be an ending to a tragic true crime story, would just be the beginning. Get ready to be frustrated! For deta...

Find out what happens to Belle and her Megowan St. mansion in part 2 of the Belle Brezing story. A great resource on Belle and the history, politics and economic revolution of Lexington is the book ‘Madam Belle: Sex, Money and Influence in a Southern Brothel’ by Maryjean Wall.

Belle Brezing had a difficult childhood and early life. The odds were definitely against her. But she managed to create a life so interesting and impactful we still consider her a Lexington Legend today. Find out how her life was intertwined with politics, economics, and of course the lucrative horse industry during the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. Be sure to check out the book ‘Madame Bel...

This episode will be tough to listen to. Both of these children were murdered before they even had a chance to really live. But their stories are every bit a part of Kentucky history as any other topic I’ve covered and touch an important point which is- if you suspect someone is abusing or neglecting a child, go with your gut and report it. To report in Kentucky, you can call the Kentucky Statewid...

Mastodons and stag moose and giant sloths, oh my! This story is actually a little sad but also fascinating and you will come away with some excellent fun facts for future use. Source material for this episode includes “It Happened in Kentucky- Remarkable Events That Shaped History” by Mimi O’Malley and ‘Pre-Historic Animals in Kentucky and the Ohio Valley’- R.B. Gilbert- Register of Kentucky State...

Louisville has toyed with the idea of bringing back commuter light rail. And some say the infrastructure is already there in Louisville. Here’s a brief history of streetcar and commuter rail transportation in Louisville and the surrounding region. For a great photo archive go to historiclouisville.weebly.com/interurban-elevated-rail.html. Other source material include ‘A Brief History of the Louis...

Find out the fate of Joseph Wendling. Check out Shawn M. Herron’s book ‘Louisville’s Alma Kellner Mystery” and please on behalf of this story go to www.stjohncenter.org/support-our-mission and donate to a wonderful cause. Thank you

If you missed part 1, go back to episode 22 and then come back to this one. In this episode, Captain Carney makes the journey home with his suspect, Joseph Wendling. From the book ‘Louisville’s Alma Kellner Mystery’ by Shawn M. Herron

Eight year old Alma Kellner vanished without a trace in Louisville, KY in December 1909. Her disappearance shocked the city and the way things played out afterwards are so bizarre, I’m sitting here talking about them over 100 years later. Thank you to Shawn M. Herron for doing SO much research and authoring the book ‘Louisville’s Alma Kellner Mystery.’ Much of this story takes place in St. John's...

Owls? Monkeys? Hallucinating drunks? Or did a group of tiny green men really land their UFO in Kelly, Kentucky on the night of August 21, 1955? Sources include ‘Mysterious Kentucky- The History, Mystery and Unexplained of the Bluegrass State’ by Barton M. Nunnelly; ‘Strange Kentucky Monsters’ by Michael Newton and history.com/news/little-green-men-origins

There is one woman on death row in the state of Kentucky. That woman is Virginia Caudill. She was convicted in 2000, along with her accomplice Johnathan Wayne Goforth. The strange thing about this is that we don’t truly know which one of them committed the murder. We do know that neither of them tried to stop it. So they both sit on death row, awaiting an execution date. Enjoying the show? Help a...