Kentucky Legends: Abe, Dwight and Old Joe Clark

A tall guy wearing a stove pipe hat, a singer wearing jeans with the legs all shredded to pieces and an old feller with a banjo slung over his shoulder. It sounds like the beginning of one of those "three guys walk into a bar" jokes. In reality you'll run into each of these gentlemen as you travel the back roads of southeastern Kentucky and you've probably guessed by now that the guy in the stove pipe hat is none other than Abraham Lincoln, our nation's 16th president. The guy in the ratty jeans? That would be country music star and actor Dwight Yoakam. Poke around a little bit in this part of Kentucky and you'll meet both of these native sons and other colorful characters like our third mystery man, Old Joe Clark. Exploring this part of the world is easy nowadays but it wasn't always that way. As you zoom around from one southeastern Kentucky attraction to another you might want to send a little silent thank you to Daniel Boone!

At the very bottom of Kentucky where the state borders both Tennessee and Virginia is the Cumberland Gap, a natural passageway through the Cumberland Mountains range of the Appalachian Mountains. The thick forest and rough terrain here used to be impassable until about 230-years ago when Daniel Boone widened the pathway, famously blazing the Wilderness Road through the mountain pass and making it feasible for settlers to make their way to all points west. Today many come to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park to visit Pinnacle Overlook, a cliff-side scenic viewpoint where you can peer down at what Boone had to deal with. From the overlook's vantage point you can see for miles and it's easy to start mapping out your own "wilderness road" while you're gazing down into the gap. In order to meet the first (and best known) legend waiting along the way, though, you'll need to go back down the mountain and cross just over the state line into the small town of Harrogate, Tennessee.

Harrogate is home to Lincoln Memorial University which is in turn home to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum. The museum has an extensive collection of Lincoln memorabilia including such items as the cane he was carrying the night he was assassinated in Ford's Theater and the tea set that the Lincolns used in their home in Springfield. Lincoln's story is of course intertwined with the story of the Civil War and much of the exhibit focuses on that conflict. Amongst the thousands of pieces on display there is one that is most stunning---a sculpture of the president that's so lifelike that you feel like you're actually face to face with the Great Emancipator!

Back in Kentucky and north of the Cumberland Gap is where the music starts. If you take just a cursory glance as you enter the sleepy village of Renfro Valley you'll miss the town's musical significance. But there are two very impressive music-related venues here; the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center. This is also where you'll meet our two other Kentucky legends. Mr. Tattered Denim himself, Dwight Yoakam, was just inducted into the hall in 2008 and you'll see one of his outfits---ripped jeans, scuffed boots and his trademark hat---as soon as you enter the display area. Lots of other famous Kentucky-born country artists are celebrated here too, among them the Judds, Sam Bush, John Conlee and Crystal Gayle. But honors also go to Kentuckians who made it big in other genres such as jazz greats Les McCann and Lionel Hampton, folk singer Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary, gospel singer Dottie Rambo and versatile vocalist Florence Henderson. The walls are of course covered with beautiful guitars, mandolins, fiddles and the like while countless display cases feature personal items from the stars. 

To hear some live music all you have to do is head to the nearby Renfro Valley Entertainment Center where almost every weekend they have some type of pickin' party---a barn dance, a jamboree, a "gatherin'" or a gospel jubilee. The center also hosts big name concerts with old-time stars like Ray Price and Mel Tillis as well as contemporary acts like Cherryholmes and the Renegades of Southern Rock. There's also lots of memorabilia at the Entertainment Center from when the studio there hosted a weekly barn dance program that was broadcast on the CBS radio network in the '50s. If you're a music lover don't plan on breezing through Renfro Valley; you'll need a whole day or at least an afternoon to fully enjoy what's going on here. Oh, and Old Joe Clark, our last legend? Well, he's passed on now but he's still one of the most beloved personalities in Renfro Valley. Joe was a longtime performer at Renfro's weekly barn dance (and a vet of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry) who was as quick with a joke as he was with a banjo lick. Renfro's tribute to Old Joe includes a nice statue at the Entertainment Center.

Southeastern Kentucky is also very famous for its folk artistry and while there are artist studios throughout the area, the city of Berea is the epicenter for local talent. A huge amount of art and craftwork is on display and for sale at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea; here you can find pieces of just about every discipline; wood carvings, glass work and metal sculptures galore line the floor. Some are definitely fine art while others are folksier and whimsical and this is an amazing place to at least window-shop. A similar but smaller must-see venue is the Berea College Log House Craft Gallery. Everything in the gallery is made by Berea College students and again there is fine art along with practical craft items like a selection of corn bristle brooms. 

Berea is also home to the pottery studio of Jeff Enge and Sarah Culbreth called Tater Knob. If you get to Tater Knob at the right time you can see the pottery being made, decorated and fired but their extensive shop is worth a visit anytime. Tater Knob is a bit out in the woods but if you want unique work made with pride in Kentucky then this is another mandatory stop. The couple doesn't make trinkets; their crockery is fine (but affordable and functional) art. 

Musicians will want to stop in at the downtown Berea woodworking shop of Warren A. May. May has a variety of his hand-crafted items on sale in the shop but his specialty is dulcimers. May's workshop takes up one corner of the room and patrons can often watch him at work there. And if you ask, May will take one of his finished dulcimers off the display rack behind him and play a little tune for you. He might even sing. Did I say that Old Joe Clark was our last legend? Well that was a bit of a Kentucky fib. May and plenty of others you'll meet in southeast Kentucky fit the description---they just don't know it yet.

To plan your trip visit: www.tourseky.com or call 1-877-TOUR-SEKY

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