James C. Claypool - Our Fellow Kentuckians: Rascals, Heroes and Just Plain Uncommon Folk

Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net

Copyright 2009 by James C. Claypool
All rights reserved

First published 2009
Second printing 2011
e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.299.5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Claypool, James C.
Our fellow Kentuckians : rascals, heroes and just plain uncommon folk / James C.
Claypool.
p. cm.
print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-648-0
1. Kentucky--Biography. 2. Kentucky--History. I. Title.
F450.C536 2009
920.0769--dc22
[B]
2009013929

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To Sharon

One of the distinct pleasures of writing a book involves the opportunity to thank those who have helped in its birth. Foremost, thanks should be given to my wife, Sharon Hayes Claypool, who proofed the manuscript and to whom this book is dedicated. Another proofreader, my talented granddaughter Allsun Kettles, is also to be thanked. Several individuals helped gather images. Dr. Paul Tenkotte, a historian and coeditor with me of the Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky (2009), helped transfer most of this books images to disc. Bill Marshall and Jason Flahardy, at the University of Kentucky Archives, graciously aided in obtaining several key images. George Clooneys publicist, Stan Rosenfield, provided that actors picture. Tony Tackett of the Country Music Highway Museum in Paintsville, Kentucky, provided the picture of Loretta Lynn. Lastly, I wish to thank John Wilkinson of The History Press for providing editorial support and Kathy Ferguson at the Kentucky Humanities Council in Lexington, Kentucky, for her support.

This book features brief sketches covering thirty-nine fascinating men and women, all of whom have ties to the Commonwealth of Kentucky either by birth, through family heritage or by having lived in Kentucky. It is an expansion of a talk that I deliver each year under the auspices of the Kentucky Humanities Council. Thirty-nine short vignettes are but a select sampling from the long list of names that could be considered to fall within the categories established by the title of this talk and now by the title of this book.

The individuals included were chosen to represent the widest set of demographics, and like a wine tasting, the sketches offered are meant to give readers a taste for more. Chronologically, the book begins with Christopher Gist, one of the early white explorers of the northernmost regions of Kentucky. Next there is Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, ranking first and second, respectively, among the famous frontier scouts and early settlers of Kentucky. Marine legend Captain Presley OBannon, the fearless pioneer woman Jane Crawford and statesman Henry Clay follow. Then there are Kit Carson and Jim Bowie, who affected the history of Americas West, and Presidents Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln, both of whom were born in Kentucky.

Cassius Marcellus Clay (The Lion of White Hall); Henry Stanberry, the architect of President Andrew Johnsons impeachment acquittal; and two of Americas colorful Wild West figures, Judge Roy Bean and Jack McCall, come next. Nancy Green, the first Aunt Jemima; Ralph Rose of Olympic fame; Boy Scouts founder Daniel Carter Beard; African American inventors Elijah McCoy and Garrett Morgan; and John T. Machine Gun Thompson add variety. Spelunker Floyd Collins and controversial creationist figure John Scopes shift the focus to well-publicized public dramas.

Alben Barkley and A.B. Happy Chandler provide political components, while jockey Eddie Arcaro brings the sport of thoroughbred horse racing to the mix. Prominence in the musical field is demonstrated by the life of Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music. The significant roles played by Kentuckians during World War II is represented by the lives of Admiral Husband Kimmel in command of U.S. Naval Forces during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Rose Will Monroe (Rosie the Riveter) and Franklin Sousley, a marine who helped raise the flag atop Mount Suribachi in 1945. The acting career of Victor Mature takes the reader to Hollywood and the fantasy land of the silver screen, and Loretta Lynns life story illustrates the determination it took for her to become the reigning queen of country music.

The final eight entries expand the readers horizons even further. Duncan Hines and Harland Sanders illustrate how two men based in Kentucky used their talents to spread the Commonwealth of Kentuckys name and image for hospitality, good food and good cooking worldwide. The life of Colonel Lelia Busler and her connection to the famous MASH unit that served in Korea offers several unique insights, as does the story of one of Kentuckys all-time high school basketball greats, King Kelly Coleman. Muhammad Ali stands alone, a seemingly simple man yet so complex. Helen Thomas, from Winchester, and Diane Sawyer, from Glasgow, shine brightly as highly acclaimed professional journalists. And last, but not least, there is George Clooney, in his own life or in the movies, the embodiment of all three categories included in the title of this booksometimes playing the part of a rascal, at times a hero, but, more often by his own choice, just a plain uncommon folk from Kentucky!

Thanks Mr. Gist, I could have drowned. Christopher Gistfrontier scout of Kentucky

Christopher Gist, a North Carolinian, is most commonly remembered for his groundbreaking explorations of the Kentucky and Ohio territorial frontiers during the early 1750s, but for Gist it was an act of heroism in rescuing a drowning twenty-one-year-old colonial officer from icy river waters that would have the most lasting historical impact. In 1750, Gist, a trained surveyor, was hired by the Ohio Land Company, which had acquired a grant for lands west of the Allegheny Mountains from the English king George II, to survey the companys vast new land tracts. Gist and a companion left Maryland in October 1750 and traveled down the Ohio River to near the mouth of the falls of the Ohio at present-day Louisville, Kentucky. They were turned back by a party of friendly Indians who warned them that there were hostile Indians in the area. A year later, Gist moved to Pennsylvania and, in 1753, because of his knowledge of the lands west of the Alleghenies, was hired to lead a mission ordering French troops to leave the disputed Ohio Territory that was initiated by Robert Dinwiddie, the lieutenant governor of the Virginia Colony. Dinwiddie chose Virginia colonial Major George Washington to deliver this ultimatum.

The expedition was undertaken in the dead of winter under miserable weather conditions. On the return, after Washington had completed his mission, an event took place that would affect significantly the course of American history. In a journal he was keeping, Washington recounts that upon coming to a frozen river there was no way to cross but by raft. He continues, The Rapidity of the Stream threw it [the raft] with so much violence against the Pole, that it jerked me out into ten Feet of Water. Gist, thrown into freezing waters beside Washington, dragged Washington to shore, thereby saving the life of the man destined to become the father of the future American nation.