Jackson Purchase Historical Society

Minutes from the Spring Meeting

President Dr. Bob Lochte called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m.
1) Approval of the minutes of the January 26, 2013 meeting
2) Secretary’s Report. In the absence of resigned Secretary Kate Reeves, Downing shared her minutes about the January meeting. Bobbitt moved, Ullrich seconded, approved as distributed.
3) Treasurer’s Report. Wells moved, Mathis moved, approved as distributed.
4) Journal Editor’s Report. Downing shared Sarah Strange’s email that the Journal will be finished upon President Lochte presenting his comments. She possibly could accept another article for the July publication and definitely for next year. Lochte encouraged Dr. Wesler to submit an article. The latter noted he promised Sarah an article about 10 years ago. So, that is a possibility. Hopefully Dr. Wesler will come through.
5) Discussion of elections. With all present officers willing to continue into 2013-2014, the officer slate is complete except for Secretary. Lochte asked how to proceed. Mathis noted the Bylaws allow appointment in case of a vacancy. Lochte will inquire about possible candidates.
6) Old Business
- Summer and Fall 2013 meeting plans.
- Summer 2013. The next meeting is scheduled for July 27, 2013, at the McCracken County Public Library. Lochte presented for consideration 3 possible programs. We could tour the Market House Theatre which has museum features. A couple of issues there are that his contact does not ordinarily work on Saturdays and there is a tour fee. A second approach is to have Nathan Lynn of the McCracken County Public Library to sing and also talk about pre-radio copies of music in the area. Another possibility is Irvin Cobb. Robertson promptly gave a brief biographical sketch of Cobb’s career. Urged by Lochte, Robertson and Bobbitt will cooperate to put together the July program about Cobb. Naturally that leaves us still with two future possibles.
- Fall 2013. That meeting will be at the Weldon Public Library in Martin, Saturday, November 2, 2013. Bobbitt explained the origins of the joint JPHS – West Tenneseee Historical Society meeting in Martin and the necessity of continuing that association. Downing just started to explain one of three topics by UTM Civil War historian Dr. David Coffey when Robertson suggested covering a Civil War “reign of terror” in Western Kentucky. Apparently Ullrich and Robertson disagree about that “reign.” Lochte encouraged the two fellows to put together the program for Martin, and they will. [Two other items Downing did not present for consideration by the UTM Civil War historian were an account about a Tennessee cavalryman and the forthcoming multi-volume Civil War Encyclopedia of which Coffey is an editor.]
- Membership recruitment. We definitely need more publicity about our programs and activities. A secretary can assist us along these lines. Other ideas are certainly welcome!
7) New Business.
- Docents for Wrather Musem. Presently there is no head for Wrather and future plans are uncertain. According to Ullrich, we should know more in May. We definitely have an interest in Wrather since it stores our Journal back issues. Maybe JPHS members in and around Murray could provide tours. Ullrich noted that the MSU History Department has a Public History program which might play a role. Wells will explore the matter.
- Old Cemetery Preservation Records. Betty Johnson expressed her interest in preservation of cemeteries and cemetery data and wondered about JPHS interest. Wells spoke about a Graves County survey. Ullrich contributed some information, too, perhaps about Calloway County. Lochte saw possibly there being a sort of sub-group of JPHS. They will explore.

Adjournment. The JPHS business session ended at 11:07 a.m. after a vote moved by Robertson and seconded by Ullrich.
Program. Dr. Kit Wesler of Murray State University presented his research about the Wickliffe Mounds. Several members toured the site at the reduced $3.00 made available by Carla Hildebrand.

Present: Marvin and Sandy Downing, Gil and Cathy Mathis, John Robertson, Dieter Ullrich, Bill and Jo Wells, Charles and Bobbitt, and unidentified local couple. Guest and former member Betty Johnson who paid her dues. Our speaker Dr. Kit Wesler of Murray State University.

The Spring Meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society will be held in Wickliffe at the City Hall on April 27. The doors to the meeting hall open at 10:00 a.m. and the meeting will begin at 10:30.

The speaker will be Kit W. Wesler, Professor of Archaeology at Murray State and former director of the Wickliffe Mounds Historic Site. Dr. Wesler’s presentation will be on his research and work at the Wickliffe Mounds for over the past two decades.

Members of the Society may take a tour of the Mounds following the meeting at a group rate of $3.00 per person. Dr. Wesler will lead the tour and take questions.

For directions or more information about the meeting please contact Bob Lochte at rlochte@murraystate.edu.

A door to history awaits you at the William Clark Market House Museum, Paducah’s award winning history museum. Celebrate Paducah’s history at the museum’s Gala Grand Opening this Saturday April 6th. Visitors will enjoy free admission and door prizes from Noon until 4:00 p.m. The museum is located on South Second Street of Market House Square in historic Downtown Paducah.

New exhibits for Spring/Summer 2013 include the “Bill Carson Coca-Cola Collection” and “Five Germans and an Irishman, the Many Flavors of Kirchhoff Bakery” exhibit.

The “Bill Carson Coca-Cola Collection” honors the longtime promoter of the Paducah bottling plant. Book author and Coca-Cola collectibles expert B.J. Summers will be available for questions from guests.

“Five Germans and an Irishman, the Many Flavors of Kirchhoff Bakery” exhibit features Kirchhoff’s Bakery.

Louis Kirchhoff will be on hand to answer questions about the bakery and his family heritage.

A restored 1930′s Kirchhoff panel wagon will be parked by the curb for photo opportunities. Mr. Kirchhoff will be passing out free wooden nickels to random visitors inside the Museum near the Kirchhoff exhibit good for cookies.

The Museum will have several Coca Cola items and free individual historic Coca Cola plant postcards for giveaways, and boxed historic Paducah note cards at $1.75 for a box of five and many Paducah souvenirs in the their gift shop.

Schoolteachers interested in group tours should contact the museum at 270-443-7759 or visit the museum website at www.markethousemuseum.com.

McCracken County Public Library’s next Evenings Upstairs program is on March 21st at 7 p.m. The program is titled “Explore Kentucky’s Diverse Fiddling Traditions.” John Harrod has been performing over forty years as he brings old music to new generations. Because of its location between major routes of western migration, Western Kentucky became a melting pot of culture in the 18th and 19th centuries. Harrod explores the region’s musical roots and gives a preview on this weeks WKMS Sounds Good radio program.

All shows are open to the public. For more information contact Bobbie Wrinkle at bwrinkle@mclib.net.

Kentucky and Tennessee: The Best of Neighbors

On December 6th at 7:00 p.m. Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham will discuss aspects of the shared history and other commonalities of Kentucky and Tennessee dating back to the creation of the two states. The program is free and will be held in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room of the McCracken County Public Library.

Cunningham is the author of seval books on regional history, including On Bended Knees, Castle, Children of Promise and Flames in the Wind. He was named the Robert Penn Warren Western Kentucky Writer of the Decade in 2011.

For more information about the program please contact Bobbie Wrinkle at 270-442-2510 ext. 119 or bwrinkle@mclib.net

The Cane Creek Cemetery in Ballard County will have an “Open Cemetery” event on Sunday, October 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours will begin at 2:15.

The cemetery is located on Slater Road (Hwy 1290) behind Cane Creek Church north of Wickliffe. The event will inform visitors on what can be done to care for neglected and forgotten cemeteries. Presentations will be made by Circuit Judge Timothy A. Langford and Judge Executive Vickie Viniard starting at 3:45.

George Bell, of John W. Bell Monument Works in Cairo, Illinois, will display tools that he uses to hand carve monuments. He will also recite the history of the Kurzcorder Company of Cairo which carved many of the historic monuments in the region during 1800’s.

On display will be photos of the cemetery’s cleanup efforts and demonstrations on how to safely clean old tombstones. Rubbing do’s and don’ts will be shared along with informative brochures from the Kentucky Historical Society on historic cemeteries in the Commonwealth.

Please check the Ballard County Cemetery Board Facebook page for updated information regarding the event. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and bring a lawn chair if you difficulty standing for long periods of time.

The Fall Meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society will be held in Martin, Tennesse on November 3rd at the Weldon Public Library, 100 Main Street, at 10 a.m. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m.

The featured speaker will be Richard Saunders, Interim Director of Library Services at the University of Tennesse at Martin. His presentation is titled “Race and Population Shifts in the Jackson Purchase and West Tennessee.” He is the author of Never Been Rich the Life and Work of a Southern Ruralist Writer, Harry Harrison Kroll and numerous articles on racial demographics, civil rights movements and the history of Mormonism in Utah.

For more information or directions please contact Marvin Downing at mdowning37@charter.net.

Bestselling author Jonathan Sarna will discuss his provocative new book When General Grant Expelled the Jews at the McCraken County Public Library on November 15, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

The book examines the profound and still relevant questions regarding the document known as General Orders Number 11, a footnote to Civil War history.

Dr. Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and Chief Historian of the new National Museum of American Jewish History.

Dubbed by the Forward newspaper in 2004 as one of America’s fifty most influential American Jews, he was Chief Historian for the 350th commemoration of the American Jewish community, and is recognized as a leading commentator on American Jewish history, religion and life. In 2009, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Sarna has written, edited, or co-edited more than twenty books, including the new Jews and the Civil War: A Reader and A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew. He is best known for the acclaimed American Judaism: A History. Winner of the Jewish Book Council’s “Jewish Book of the Year Award” in 2004, it has been praised as being “the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil.”

For more information contact Bobbie Wrinkle at 270-442-2510 ext. 119 or bwrinkle@mclib.net.

Civil War Days at Columbus-Belomont State Park will occur from October 12th to October 14th. The weekend will include battle reenactments, living history and encampments. Friday will be “education day”. Schools, scouts, youth groups and clubs are encouraged to schedule field trips. Battles will be held Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. There will be a Ghost Walk on Friday evening and a Civil War Ball on Saturday night. Morning religious services and a memorial ceremony at Columbus Cemetery will occur on Sunday. Sutlers and food vendors will be on site to serve the needs of the reenactors and visiting guests. Entertainment featuring Rick Revel and The 52nd Regimental String Band will perform both Saturday and Sunday.

For more information and pre-registration contact the Columbus-Belomont State Park Park Office at 270-677-2327 or by email at cindy.lynch@ky.gov

The event is sponsored by Columbus-Belmont State Park, Hickman County Judge Executive/Fiscal Court and the Civil War Days Committee.

Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site will host a ceremony Thursday, August 23, to acknowledge the reburial of excavated remains and restoration of the burial mound. The 10 a.m. program will include officials from the Chickasaw Nation and the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet.

Wickliffe Mounds is an archaeological site of a Native American village of the Mississippian culture. The site was first excavated in the 1930s by a private owner, revealing numerous burials that were placed on public view.

Murray State University took over the site in 1983 and sponsored archaeological field schools and scientific research under the direction of a professional archaeologist, Dr. Kit Wesler.

In 1991, after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the remains were taken from public view and the cemetery exhibit was updated with new interpretive information, including replicas of a few burials. Forensic studies of the remains were performed and consultations with Native Americans began.

In 2004, the site was transferred to the Kentucky Department of Parks and became a state historic site. The remains were kept in a secure area until consultations with Native American tribes, archaeologists and further documentation could be completed.

The Chickasaw Nation has been working with Wickliffe Mounds representatives, Kentucky State Parks, other Native American tribes, archaeologists from Murray State University and the Kentucky Heritage Council for some time on an agreement for a reburial of the remains.

“It is gratifying to reach this agreement, because we have a solemn responsibility to see that our ancestors are treated with the respect they deserve,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby.

The cemetery mound project included a reburial of the Native American remains and reconstruction of the original burial mound. The Chickasaw Nation, a federally recognized tribe that has taken the leading role in consultations with Wickliffe Mounds and Kentucky State Parks, oversaw the reburial in June 2011. Wesler, of the Department of Geosciences, Murray State University, provided the archaeological support.

The park continues to develop new interpretive information to tell the story of the Mississippian people who occupied the site at Wickliffe Mounds nearly a thousand years ago, creating an educational park for all visitors to experience today.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which will include the Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe. Marcheta Sparrow, secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet; Elaine Walker, commissioner of the Department of Parks; and Jefferson Keel, Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, are scheduled to attend, along with the staff and volunteers of Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site.

The August 23 ceremony and museum admission are free of charge.

Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site has a museum, welcome center, gift shop, picnic area and walking trail and is located at 94 Green St. in Wickliffe, on the Mississippi River’s Great River Road National Scenic Byway. The park is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 270-335-3681 or email wickliffemounds@ky.gov. Please visit their website at www.parks.ky.gov .