| Program 711 |  |
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For more information: Producer, videographer, audio, editor: Ernie Lee Martin |
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Ring Dem Bells Berea College Carillon Our first stop for this episode might leave a ringing in your ears—but we don’t think you’ll mind too much. It’s a visit to the campus of Berea College in southern Madison County, where you can hear the music of the bells: a carillon atop Draper Tower that is Kentucky’s largest such instrument. Played like an organ, as John Courter demonstrates in this segment, the carillon produces music on stationary bells bolted to steel frames inside the tower. Cast from bronze by the Verdin company of Cincinnati, who also cast the World Peace Bell in Newport, the bells of Berea weigh from 18 pounds to more than a ton. Berea College had housed a smaller set of chimes and bells in a different campus building for some time. The carillon project was first proposed in the 1970s; installation and dedication took place in the summer of 2000. One unusual feature of the Berea carillon is an especially large listening room, where as many as 25 people can gather to get a truly intimate view of the carillon’s workings—not to mention a powerful listening experience. Courter gives regular concerts at 5:00 pm on weekdays; call ahead to make sure. |
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For more information: Producer: Cheryl Beckley |
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Up from the Ashes Old Talbott Tavern Abraham Lincoln (and family) slept there. Members of a royal entourage once painted murals in an upstairs hallway. And Jesse James himself is said to be responsible for the bullet holes in some of the faded paintings. In 1998, all that history nearly went up in smoke when the Old Talbott Tavern in Nelson County suffered a devastating fire. But a “New Old Talbott” bed-and-breakfast has risen from the ashes, incorporating as much of the original structure and as many of the historical treasures as could be salvaged. So travelers through Bardstown can once again disembark at the site of the first “western” stagecoach stop—established in the days when Kentucky really was America’s western frontier—and sleep where princes and presidents have stayed. Owners John and Betty Kelly are the guides for this tour of some of the Talbott’s history, the disastrous aftermath of the fire, and the long restoration process. |
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For more information:
Producer, videographer: Dave Shuffett |
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A Town on the Edge Elkhorn City On the edge of Kentucky, that is. Postcard-pretty Elkhorn City is in Pike County on the Virginia border, almost as far east as you can go and still be in Kentucky. It also happens to be the jumping-off point for the outdoor adventures to be found in Breaks Interstate Park—although jumping off is not really advised, since the Breaks of the Big Sandy is the deepest canyon this side of the Mississippi. On this visit, host Dave Shuffett tours both Elkhorn City, which combines small-town charm with a wealth of businesses catering to kayakers and other adventurers, and the scenic beauty surrounding it. |
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