For more information:
• Camp Hi-Ho, 3418 Frankfort Ave., Suite 365, Louisville, KY 40207, (502) 894-0006

Producer: Donna Ross

It’s Off to Camp We Go

Camp Hi-Ho

Karen Lawrence wasn’t content just to send her kids off to camp. Instead, she started her own camp, basing the program on advice from the real experts—her own children. Today, they run Camp Hi-Ho on their farm in Shelby County. Hi-Ho features no intensive training programs and no action-packed, scheduled-to-the-hilt days. Instead, city kids from nearby Louisville get the chance to run free, climb trees, catch fish, or just lie in the grass and watch the clouds float by.

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Producer: Gale Worth

All Dolled Up

Dollmaker Henrietta Calhoun

Like many other Eastern Kentuckians, Henrietta Calhoun has turned a traditional craft into a living. The Knott County woman painstakingly hand-crafts dolls known for their quality. Many of them can be seen (and purchased) at the Marie Stewart Crafts Shop at the Hindman Settlement.

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For more information:
• Woodford Reserve Distillery, 7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles, KY 40383, (859) 879-1812

Producer: Treg Ward

Inefficient and Proud of It

Labrot & Graham Distillery

Kentucky supplies around two-thirds of the distilled spirits produced in America. In order to keep up with demand, most of the state’s distillers are constantly looking for ways to increase productivity. But Labrot & Graham, in Woodford County, has bucked that trend for more than 200 years.

Founded in the 1790s by Elijah Pepper, L&G (now known as the Woodford Reserve Distillery for its signature product) is the only Kentucky distillery still using the traditional “pot still” method. Then each individual barrel is rolled to the aging room by hand. The methods are labor-intensive, producing one golden bottle at a time, but it’s a pace that suits Labrot & Graham just fine.

By the way, bourbon whiskey—a term invented in the early 19th century to distinguish Kentucky’s corn-based product from the rye whiskey produced in Pennsylvania—takes its name from nearby Bourbon County, not the other way around. As for the county, it was named by the Virginia legislature (Kentucky was a part of Virginia at the time) in honor of the French royal family.

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For more information:
• The Kentucky Derby Festival web site will keep you up to date on each year’s events.

Bonus Footage

During the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, just about everything that can be raced is raced somewhere in Louisville—from waiters to steamboats. But the balloon race has become a particular favorite of local residents and balloonists from around the world alike. Even the inflating of the balloons is an event: On the night before the race itself, crowds gather to watch “Balloon Glow.” As the credits roll on this edition of Kentucky Life, we share a few scenes from the 1998 edition of this fiery event.