For more information:
• Bill Monroe Foundation, P.O. Box 429, Rosine, KY 42370

Bill Monroe Homestead

In Ohio County, Dave takes a look around the Bill Monroe Homestead in Rosine. At the time of this visit, a private foundation had been working to restore the place in tribute to the Father of Bluegrass Music. Kentucky Life had previously visited a few years back (Program 611), so this is a progress report of sorts. Foundation Executive Director Campbell Mercer shows Dave around and outlines the plans for the homestead and the larger Rosine Project, a plan to develop a “pilgrimage trail” bluegrass fans can follow to learn more about Monroe’s life and musical influences.

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For more information:
• Baker Curb Racing, 565 Brick Church Park Dr., Nashville, TN 37207, (615) 262-3277

Brewco Motorsports

Since this is a road show, what could be more fitting than a look at some cars? Of course, the ones built by Brewco Motorsports are hardly the kind you’ll find touring Kentucky’s backroads. This Muhlenberg County company made cars and sponsored teams for the NASCAR racing circuit. Owner Clarence Brewer Jr. tells us how he got into this fast-paced business and sport.

The Brewco operation was sold to Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing in 2007.

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For more information:
• Tradewater Pirates, 901 W. Arcadia Ave, P.O. Box 403, Dawson Springs, KY 42408, (270) 797-3616
• Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, 20781 Pennyrile Lodge Rd., Dawson Springs, KY 42408-9212, (270) 797-3421, reservations (800) 325-1711

Dawson Springs

Some gentler sports take the spotlight as we continue west into Hopkins County. In Dawson Springs, Dave and Sadie take in a baseball game featuring the semipro Tradewater Pirates. The name of the team honors both the Tradewater River, on which Dawson Springs is located, and the town’s days as the spring-training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early years of the 20th century. (See Kentucky Life Program 614 for more about Dawson Springs history.) Riverside Park, the Pirates’ restored home field, also recalls an earlier time with its all-wood grandstands.

While in the area, Dave also visits a museum, goes for a hike in Pennyrile Forest, and takes a canoe ride on the Tradewater.

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For more information:
• Newsom’s Old Mill Store, 208 East Main St., Princeton, KY 42445, (270) 365-2482

Newsom’s Old Mill Store

The next town along the road is Princeton, seat of Caldwell County. This crossroads town has seen more than its share of history, not always pleasant: It was on the route of the Trail of Tears, when the Eastern Cherokee were force-marched to reservations in Oklahoma. During the Civil War, Princeton and environs endured raids and destruction from both sides. And its location in the middle of the black patch tobacco-producing region brought violence in the early 1900s when farmers battled a purchasing monopoly. But today, all that history makes Princeton a fascinating place to visit—and makes a stop at the Adsmore Museum a must.

The town is still a center of commerce, too. Unlike many other small towns, Princeton has a thriving downtown that mixes new businesses with old. Our tour includes a stop at one of the oldest, Newsom’s Old Mill Store. This family business opened in 1917 and is now being operated by a third generation of Newsoms. Though no longer in the original location (a mill, circa 1850, that burned down in 1987), Newsom’s maintains an old-fashioned style of service and a “little bit of everything” country-store approach to inventory. One of the most consistently popular products, though, is the Newsom family’s homemade country hams.

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