Another fan from GoodReads

This one must have slipped past me last year until I was taking a look at IHIK in Google Books. A common theme from readers, especially born and raised in Kentucky, is the fact that there were some things about one's home state they didn't know about. "I learned a lot about my home state that I never knew and refreshed my memory on some things I'd forgotten." Well said.

2nd edition

Yep, the second edition of IHIK with 2 new chapters is now in the works and hopefully released in early 2011. All of the favorites will still be there, so not to fret over loosing Jenny Wiley.

Speaking of Jenny Wiley, I'm working on another title titled More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Kentucky Women (same publisher, Globe Pequot Press). This title will feature little-known Kentucky women who made state, national and international contributions. All of these women were born before 1900. Looking forward to presenting 2 books for the Kentucky Book Festival in late 2011!

IHIK's Carol Sutton

Received an email and phone call (no less) yesterday from Charles Whaley, the husband of Carol Sutton. Carol Sutton was the Louisville Courier Journal's first female managing editor who co-won Time Magazine's 1975 People of the Year award. He and her daughters enjoyed the chapter highlighted in IHIK of Carol's tenure at C-J. Charles was an education editor but is enjoying a happy retirement at age 80 as a freelance theatre reviewer.

Louisville Courier Journal book review

Four years after publication, a book review in the Courier-Journal. No notice that it would appear, but a welcome surprise no less! Only problem is they have the book price incorrect; it's $9.95, not $29.95. Actually this should be an enticement to go out and buy a copy!

IHIK now on Twitter

Ah ha! It Happened in Kentucky blog is now on Twitter! Only took me an hour or so, but you should be able to following any blog posts now on Twitter.

Pick up a copy at Mint Julep tours

Looking for an fast read about some of the more unusual events in Kentucky's history? Or perhaps you have visitors who want to know more about Kentucky before you ehad off to the distilleries, museums or hrose farms. It Happened in Kentucky is now sold in the shop of Mint Julep Tours, located in the Galt House West, Rivue Tower. Want a unique birthday, anniversary or special occasion gift? Then let owners Sean and Lisa Higgins take you on a tour of the best Kentucky has to offer. Don't forget a copy of IHIK before you leave!

IHIK warms the heart of former Cincinnati Post editor

Amazing how "Kentuckians by spirit" can be worth more than an entire publishing marketing department. An old college roommate of mine from UD (that's University of Dayton, not Detroit) has been graciously spreading the word about IHIK to her friends and family. In fact, I probably owe Michelle an agent fee. However, she emailed me today to let me know that, in roundabout way, the former city editor of the Cincinnati Post has read IHIK and has rekindled some fond Bluegrass memories.

She writes, "I wanted to pass this info on to you. I have a friend here in Austin that is from Cleveland and went to Ohio State. Her name is Cindy and her roommate (Cheryl) at Ohio State is from Cincy. I was telling Cindy about your book and she bought it for her rommate's father. The father was the City Editor of the Cincinnati Post. He was born in Kentucky. He was very pleased to receive your book. You made an old man very happy and took him back to his younger days. He also wrote a book himself. The title is "Whippoorwills Only Sing at Night" - by James L. Adams."

Getting Ready for Ryder Cup! September 17-20

The saleswoman at the Shelbyville Road Borders said they were selling out of local history books two weeks ago in anticipation of the upcoming Ryder Cup! Yep, this may be a bigger weekend for Kentucky history books than I would ever have thought! Might as well join the hoopla...I'll be conducting an author signing starting Wednesday, Sept. 17-20 outside the Mint Julep Tours shop on the 3rd floor of the Galt House West tower. Looking forward to introducing all those out-of-towners (and some Louisvillians) to a little Bluegrass oddities and unusual events. Nothing finer than sitting on a Mint Julep Tour bus reading IHIK with a snifter of bourbon in your hand traversing the Bluegrass horse country!

Heading to Mint Julep Tours

Greetings all,

Today, I head to sign books at Louisville's Mint Julep Tours in downtown Louisville. Run by the affable couple Lisa and Sean Higgins, this new tour company debuted this past March and has already been featured in the Courier Journal's September 2nd Business section. Mint Julep Tours offers trips to locale Louisville distilleries and cooperages (where whiskey barrels are made) to "out-of-the-Ville" bourbon trails and horse farms. This will be the first time I've conducted an author signing on a tour but hopefully may lead to bigger and better endeavors. If you want to contact Mint Julep Tours, call 445-858 or (800) 986-8779.

Next stop: Western Kentucky Book Expo

I'll be on the road to the western half of the state to showoff It Happened in Kentucky at the 4th Annual Western Kentucky Book Expo held tomorrow, Saturday, October 27, at the John A. Arnold Convention Center in Sturgis, Kentucky. This event, sponsored by Scripps Howard and Barnes & Noble, will feature more than 100 authors, including Jacquelyn Mitchard & Sena Jeter Naslund. The Western Kentucky Book Expo proceeds benefit the Union County Advocate’s Newspapers In Education Program, which provides free newspapers for use in the classroom to all schools in our county, as well as to the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Academy.

Now for the nitty-gritty: admission is free. Doors open at 9 a.m. and authors will be signing books and meeting the public until 4 p.m. Sturgis is located on U.S. Hwy. 60, 35 miles south of Henderson, Ky. and 45 miles south of Evansville, Indiana.

See you at KATH on October 6

Hope to see all the state's history teachers at the KATH (Kentucky Association of Teachers of History) conference this weekend at UK's Student Center. I'll be exhibiting IHIK during Saturday's morning session until lunch at 12:45. The theme for this year's 32nd annual conference is Bridging Communities of Learning: The Meaning and Purposes of History.

Developmental English: Additional thoughts about IHIK

This blog contains many IHIK exercises for elementary and secondary school library media specialists and social studies teachers to supplement their coursework. However, IHIK has also drawn admirers teaching community college or adult education developmental English.

"I picked up your book at Border's yesterday and will read it over break. Congratulations again! The book may work as a supplementary text to my course packet. I would have 3 or 4 assignments in which the students read an article I chose. We would have class discussion and choices of 3 writing topics suggested by the chapter. In ENC 090, I tell my students to NOT do research, so the writing topics would be personal narratives or reflections. For example, if it was about Jane Todd Crawford and Ephraim McDowell, I might ask them to write about a time they remember going to a clinic or hospital for an immunization, to deliver a baby, have a broken arm set, etc.

I also would do 1 or 2 assignments in which the student would choose a chapter rather than read one I picked. "Imagine yourself as a contemporary of _____ (the most important person in the chapter). Based on the chapter and nothing else, describe what you think might be a typical day in your life. Give as many details as you can -- about dress, food, housing, leisure time, work, etc. If you met ______, what do you think you would have talked about?"

Best wishes for the holidays!"

Nancy Gall-Clayton
EES Instructor for JCPS Adult and Continuing Education
Jefferson Community & Technical College Humanities Adjunct in Developmental Writing
Louisville, KY

25th Anniversary of the Kentucky Book Festival

My 'table mates" were Mark Schweizer, author of liturgical mystery series: The Soprano Wore Falsettos, The Alto Wore Tweed, The Baritone wore Chiffon and The Tenor Wore Tapshoes. Sandra Tooley (aka S.D. Tooley and Lee Driver) is a mystery writer featuring her Chase Dagger series which include Nothing Else Matters, Full Moon-Bloody Moon and her newest young adult book, The Skull.

With over 3,000 attendees, the aisle were packed full. The biggest draw included actress Patricia Neal (actually she wheeled down the aisle right in front of our table), Robert Hicks, Bobbie Ann Mason and even former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins. All in all, the event was superb and accomodations were excellent.

See you at the Kentucky Book Fair!

Looking forward to meeting you at the 25th annual Kentucky Book Fair on November 11 at the Frankfort Convention Center. This event supports over 200 authors many of us new to this statewide venue. Stop by between 9-4:30 to pickup an autographed copy for yourself, your library, or school! A big kudos belongs to Connie Crowe who has done a wonderful job assembling this year's event!

IHIK integrates into the proposed 2006 Kentucky Combined Curriculum

Although the language of the Program of Studies and Core Content for Assessment version 4.1 is final, the Kentucky Department of Education's Combined Curriculum Document will remain in draft form until the following revisions have been implemented. Nonetheless, IHIK chapters fulfill this draft version for 4, 5, and high school.

SS-4-CS-S-1: 4th grade students will develop an understanding of the nature of culture:
1) explore and compare cultural elements (e.g., beliefs, traditions, languages, skills, literature, the arts) of diverse groups (e.g., Native Americans and early settlers) in the early settlement of Kentucky
2) examine the influences/contributions of diverse groups in Kentucky

SS-5-CS-S-3: 5th grade
1) Students will describe conflicts that occurred among and between diverse groups (e.g., Native Americans and the early Explorers, Native Americans and the Colonists, the British Government and the English Colonists, Native Americans and the U.S. Government) during the settlement of the United States
2) Explain the causes of these conflicts and the outcomes

SS-H-Ge-S-3: High School
Students will describe movement and settlement patterns in the modern world (1500 A.D. to present) and United States (Reconstruction to present):
1) analyze the causes of movement and settlement (e.g., famines, military conflicts, climate, economic opportunity) and their impacts in different places and at different times in history

It Happened In Kentucky Supports Kentucky Social Studies Curriculum Standards

How?

"History is the interpretation of events, people, ideas, and their interaction over time. In order for students to understand the present and make plans for their future, they must understand the past." The K-12 Teaching Learning Center presents objectives of the state's social studies standards. "Academic Expectation 2.20: Students understand, analyze, and interpret historical events, conditions, trends, and issues to develop historical perspective. The study of history at this level includes U.S. History to Reconstruction and World History to 1500. The history of the United States is a chronicle of a diverse people and the nation they formed."

Kentucky Social Studies Standards 5.1 History is Interpretive: History is an account of human activities that is interpretive in nature.
SS-M-5.1.1 Different perspectives (e.g., gender, race,region, ethnic group, nationality, age, economic status, religion, politics) result in different interpretations of historical events.
SS-M-5.1.2 Primary sources, secondary sources,artifacts, and time lines are essential tools in the study and interpretation of history.
SS-M-5.1.3 History is a series of connected events shaped by multiple cause-and-effect relationships, tying the past to the present.

Kentucky Social Studies Standards 5.2 History of the United States:
SS-M-5.2.1 America's diverse society began with the "great convergence" of European, African, and Native American people beginning in the late 15th century.
SS-M-5.2.2 The ideals of equality and personal liberty (rise of individual rights, economic freedom, colonial governments, religious diversity, Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States), as developed during the colonial period, were motivations for the American Revolution and proved instrumental in forging a new nation.
SS-M-5.2.3 The growth of democracy and geographic expansion were significant in American history (e.g., Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, impact on Native Americans, early industrialization, early women's rights movement).
SS-M-5.2.4 Political, social, economic, and cultural differences (e.g., slavery, tariffs, industrialism vs. agrarianism, federal vs. states' rights) among sections of the U.S. resulted in the American Civil War.

Kentucky Social Studies Standards 5.3 World History:
SS-M-5.3.5 The Age of Exploration produced extensive contact among isolated cultures and brought about massive political, economic, and social changes.

Middle School Social Studies & History Teachers

It Happened In Kentucky chapters are written with young adult readers in mind. However, intergrating new books into school curriculum sounds easier than actuality. Ideally, patterning useful assignments which expand student critical thinking skills and discourage plagiarism is what educators strive for. Challenging students of all learning abilities is another ambition.

The Kentucky Department of Education notes in its core content for state social studies assessment that "middle level social studies uses the five strands of social studies (historical perspective, geography, economics, government and civics, and culture and society) in an integrated program which focuses on a different grade-level context each year."

With this in mind, I'm presenting a list of potential class assignments for social studies and history teachers based on chapters within It Happened In Kentucky.

• Newspaper article- Students assume the role of a newspaper reporter interviewing refugees from Camp Nelson (A Civil War Refugees' Expulsion from Camp Nelson- 1864); revivalists attending the Cane Ridge Revival (1801); or residents who lived through the Asiatic cholera epidemic (Asiatic Cholera find A Hero- 1833).
• Resume and cover letter- Draft a resume and subsequent cover letter for Daniel Boone (Battle of Boonesborough-1778) or Carol Sutton (Kentucky Journalist Named Woman of the Year- 1976)
• Editorial to a newspaper or magazine- Students draft an of-ed newspaper piece whether for or against state neutrality (A Governor Strives for Neutrality-1861)
• Mock trial- Students present general rules of evidence and procedure, an explanation of the basic facts, and brief statements for each witness (Delia Webster's Excursion on the Underground Railroad-1844). The 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Lake and McHenry Counties in Illinois website offers useful tips for teachers arranging mock trials classroom presentations.
• A Day In the Life Of....Students draft an essay in the first person about the epidemic or expulsion of disease, new invention, new discovery, or adventure (Frontier Abdominal Surgery-1809; The Creation of the Louisville Slugger-1884; Jenny Wiley's Indian Captivity-1789; The Opening of Louisville Municipal College-1931)
• Trip Itinerary- Students compile sites of importance, money exchange, special events and present in a PowerPoint presentation (Discovery of Mastodon Graveyard-1729; The Expedition of Dr. Thomas Walker-1750)

For more advanced students:

• Business prospectus- As an eighteenth century surveyor, students present a business prospectus to the Transylvania Land Company for settlement in the Northwest Territory (The Expedition of Dr. Thomas Walker-1750; Battle of Boonesborough-1778; The Establishment of the Pleasant Hill Shaker Colony-1808). The prospectus should include the purpose of the land company including goals, advantages to stakeholders, plan for development, long term goals, timeframe for exploration, costs, marketing to perspective settlers, risks and potential new markets, qualifications of leaders, outside legislative agencies required for permission to travel, current knowledge of the unexplored area of interest and a summary of how this new venture will influence the market.
• Emergency Crisis Management Plan- Students, taking the role of an emergency planner, submit a crisis management plan (Louisville Tornado and the Founding of the South's First Free Children's Hospital-1890; Devastating Drought-1930; Floodwaters Submerge Louisville-1937). Emergency plans would include pre and post event communications, counseling for victims, contact with appropriate agencies (environmental, labor, insurance), fire and police efforts, evacuation routes, schools, hospitals, chamber of commerce, emergency shelters, lockdown, emergency shelters, plans to reach those not easily accessible, and recording events into a permanent record.

Addition to Kentucky history books

The most recent addition to the growing list of Kentucky state history books is It Happened In Kentucky by Mimi O'Malley. What sets this title apart from the rest is the fact that it is not a comprehensive encyclopedia of the state, but a fascinating look at little or unknown events which shaped the Bluegrass State's colorful history. Chapters are enjoyable for popular reading or for use as an ancillary piece for social studies curriculum. Amazon.com notes, "These twenty-three fun, easy-to-read events reveal the history of Kentucky from the discovery of mastadon bones to daring slave escapes to the making of the famous Louisville Slugger to a tale of corruption in the horseracing world." (ISBN-13: 978-0-7627-3853-3; ISBN-10: 0-7627-3853-7)