Colonial Secrets, Co-op Scholarships, Plant Power, And More
Colonial secrets, in fiction and fact
Electric co-op group offers scholarships
Colonial secrets, in fiction and fact
Eastern Kentucky native Laura Frantz credits her grandmother as being the catalyst for her fascination with Kentucky history. Her readers will discover what 1779 Kentucky settlement life was like in The Colonel’s Lady (Revell, $14.99), an emotional romance filled with hardship, espionage, faithfulness, and forgiveness.
The story centers around genteel spinster Roxanna Rowan, who has just arrived at Fort Endeavor, deep within the Kentucky Territory, searching for her officer father and a new life. When Colonel Cassius McLinn informs Roxanna that her father has died, she accepts the scrivener position once held by her father. Before long, Roxanna discovers secrets that her father uncovered shortly before his death, and must determine who she can trust with this information. After learning of McLinn’s promise to her dying father to care for her, Roxanna must also decide if the handsome McLinn’s attentions are born from obligation or something more.
Frantz’s love of history seems to span well beyond the textbook facts of battles and struggles to tame the wild frontier. On her blog, www.laurafrantz.net, she shares her findings on women’s 18th-century fashions and includes some photos of reproduction items, claiming this as her “between chapters and scene breaks” hobby.
Some interesting facts Frantz found:
• George Washington wore underwear, unlike most men, and ordered his from a tailor in London.
• Colonial women among the gentry sometimes took hours to dress, then changed several times a day for tea, dinner, or riding.
• The preferred color for colonial wedding gowns was yellow.
Her research also shows that most women of that era had an average waistline of 31 inches, though the constricting bone stays underneath gave the appearance of a much tinier figure.
“Add a shift, several petticoats, some stockings and garters, and then top it with a dress, and you are still not done,” Frantz says. “In one collection of ball gowns I’ve been perusing, the dresses are over 200 years old and the only defect on most are the sweat stains beneath the arms. Try dancing for hours on end without deodorant, in a crowded ballroom, lit by heat-inducing candles, and no air conditioning in 90-degree summer temps. Now you have the idea of what it was like being a colonial belle.”
—Penny Woods
Air is drawn into your home from low areas, so inspect your foundation for potential air-infiltration points. Fixing these leaks makes a bigger impact on your electric bill than sealing doors and windows. Caulk all cracks and gaps around your home, including spaces around wires for telephone, electrical, cable, and gas lines, water spigots, and dryer vents.
Wag more, bark less.
A grassroots community revitalization campaign in western Kentucky is spreading.
“Let’s Paint the Town!” originated in Princeton and is now in Fulton and its twin city, South Fulton, Tennessee. The area towns facing manufacturing layoffs, factory closures, and downsizing of a historically large railroad presence were suffering a slow decline. The new project has transformed their downtowns into attractive business districts.
“America is literally fighting for its economic survival,” says Jeff Campbell, project manager. “We have restored and renovated 46 buildings in our communities without a single dollar of government money. Our building owners bought the paint, volunteers provided the labor, and other supplies came from community-wide donations. We’ve seen several new businesses open their doors since we began.”
Let’s Paint the Town, Twin Cities! is a documentary produced by Samuel Koltinsky with Marvo Entertainment Group that will air seven times on KET stations during February. Check local listings for times and dates.
Find additional info www.marvoentertainmentgroup.com.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers was given the 2011 Distinguished Rural Kentuckian Award from the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives late last year. The recognition has been given annually since 1982 to honor people who have improved the quality of life in Kentucky. In addition to chairing the House Appropriations Committee, Rogers has helped create flood-control projects, promoted regional tourism, spearheaded beautification and drug abuse reduction initiatives, and supported construction of The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.
Editorial
Rural electric cooperatives have established a record of service to millions of people. Electric power has done more to alleviate the hardships of rural people than any other thing. It has meant comfortable homes for the elderly and the infirmed, light for school children to study by, labor saving devices for the rural homemaker. Electric power warms the rural dweller in winter, cools him in summer, washes his clothes, and preserves his food. It makes his home a bright and cheerful place when the shades of night tip-toe across hill and meadow.
A sobering statistic in this country is that 5,500 dogs are killed in shelters every day. But artist Mark Barone is trying to change that. Barone is currently in the process of painting the portraits of 5,500 killed shelter dogs; when finished, the exhibition, named An Act of Dog, will represent the number of dogs killed in one day. Corporate and individual sponsorships of these paintings will be donated to shelters that are known as no-kill facilities. Read about Barone and his paintings in the current Creature Comforts column: go to www.KentuckyLiving.com and click on Kentucky Showcase on the left side of the page.
Electric co-op group offers scholarships
Women in Rural Electrification (Kentucky W.I.R.E.) is taking applications for $1,000 scholarships. The scholarships are open to any eligible student whose family is served by a Kentucky electric cooperative and has at least 60 hours of credits at a Kentucky college or university by the start of the fall term. W.I.R.E. will award at least three scholarships. The deadline for application is May 7. For an application form, go to www.kaec.org and click on the link at the bottom of the New Info box, or call your local electric cooperative or the Kentucky Living office at (502) 451-2430.
