For more information:
• Loretta Lynn’s Web site

Producer: Tom Thurman
Videographer: John Breslin
Audio: Brent Abshear
Editor: Dan Taulbee

Loretta Lynn

The Girl From Butcher Holler

Kentucky is home to Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe as well as the Everly Brothers, but no one holds a place in our hearts quite like Loretta Lynn.

From her humble roots in Butcher Hollow all the way to the stage of the Grand Ol’ Opry, Ms. Lynn has come to represent the very essence of country music. For over half a century now, both as a singer and a songwriter, she has charted new territory while always remaining true to her Kentucky roots.

We visited recently with Ms. Lynn at Renfro Valley. She spoke with us about her love of country music, her childhood and early career, and her Kentucky roots. We also talked to one of her biggest fans, Kentucky author Silas House, who recalled the day he went to see Coal Miner’s Daughter, the Academy Award-winning film based on Lynn’s autobiography.

For more information:
• The Bluegrass Heritage Museum, 217 S. Main St., Winchester, Ky. 40391 (859) 745-1358

Producer: Valerie Trimble
Videographer: Prentice Walker
Audio: Noel Depp
Editor: Jim Piston
Lighting: Don Dean

Bluegrass Heritage Museum

County Chronicles

Next we’re off to Clark County to explore the history of the Bluegrass region. The Bluegrass Heritage Museum in Winchester is dedicated to explaining and exhibiting important elements of Clark County’s past.

The museum’s artifacts range in date from the 1700s to the early 1900s. Museum director Sandy Stults takes us on a tour through military, agriculture, and other exhibits.

Clark County veterans are honored in the military gallery, which has one area dedicated to the memory of Harold G. Epperson, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. The agriculture room presents exhibits on the raising of cattle, sheep, turkey, hemp, and tobacco.

The museum is housed in a Romanesque Revival home that used to be the Guerrant medical clinic. The Guerrant Foundation donated the building for use as a museum in 2000. The doctors from the clinic are remembered in the museum’s Guerrant Room.

For more information: Frankfort Avenue Business Association

Producer: Dave Shuffett
Videographer: John Schroering
Audio: Roger Tremaine, Chuck Burgess
Editor: Dan Taulbee

Downtown—Frankfort Avenue in Louisville

“Downtown” is a new segment this season on Kentucky Life. This week we visit Louisville’s Frankfort Avenue, an aging corridor that recently underwent a facelift. Now a lively commercial zone, Frankfort Avenue is an example of new urbanism, which promotes walkable neighborhoods where a variety of housing and businesses thrive.

Stretching from the Ohio River to St. Matthews, Frankfort Avenue is surrounded by residential areas, including Butchertown, Crescent Hill, and Clifton Heights. The neighborhood is big on social celebrations, celebrating the holidays with parades and communitywide festivities.

Many vibrant and diverse businesses find their home here. Among them are the Crescent Hill Gallery, Carmichael’s Bookstore, the Mary T. Meagher Natatorium, Ray Parrella’s Family Italian Restaurant, and Heine Brothers’ Coffee. Trolleys run on the last Friday of each month for F.A.T. Friday Hops, which promote the eclectic mix of galleries, shops and restaurants.

For more information:
• Little Pegasus Pastures, 10013 Fern Creek Road, Louisville, Ky. 40291 (502) 239-8273
• American Miniature Horse Association

Producer: Cheryl Beckley
Videographers: Jesse Smith, Matthew Hornbeck

Little Pegasus Pastures Mini Horses

Hobby Horses

We meet some little horses with big attitudes at Little Pegasus Pastures. Ed and Patty Birchler got into miniature horses hoping to find an activity for their entire family. It’s gone beyond their wildest dreams to include a national reserve champion and more that 30 minis on their five-acre horse farm in western Jefferson County.

The Birchlers purchased the land back in 1986 and then discovered miniature horses on a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park. Miniature horses, the result of nearly 400 years of selective breeding, stand no taller than 38 inches at the withers.

Raising and showing minis became a family passion that has inspired the next generation: Now the Birchler grandchildren have begun showing the horses.