Kentucky Derby Memories: Oral History with Jockey Eddie Arcaro

Eddie Arcaro: Courtesy Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries

The Nunn Center’s oral history interview with legendary jockey Eddie Arcaro has been recently uploaded to the Kentuckiana Digital Library.  Arcaro is considered by many as the greatest jockey in horse racing history being the only jockey to have won the Triple Crown twice.  Additionally, Arcaro started as a rider for Calumet Farm in 1934 which is in the news this week.  In honor of this year’s Kentucky Derby, I thought I would point you to two episodes of Saving Stories on WUKY that we recorded featuring Arcaro. 

Listen to the episodes:

Part 1 |   Part 2

If you want to hear the full interview, listen in on Eddie using our OHMS system for searching.

Link to the full interview

To access the rest of the Horse Industry in Kentucky Oral History Project online on the Kentuckiana Digital Library click here.  To read more about Arcaro, check out this article at ESPN.com. 

March Madness 2012: University of Kentucky Basketball

In celebration of the University of Kentucky’s appearance in the 2012 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, we are uploading the video created to raise awareness for the Big Blue Sports Archive initiative. Celebrate the tradition of Kentucky basketball with a celebration of oral history and archives.

Go Cats!

From Combat to Kentucky Oral History Project

The Nunn Center has produced an informational video about the From Combat to Kentucky Oral History Project.  From Combat to Kentucky: Interviews with Student Veterans is an award-winning oral history project that documents the stories of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan who are currently pursuing post-secondary education in Kentucky. The project features a web site,   http://www.c2ky.org  with student-veteran video interviews. These Kentuckians share their stories of military service and civilian life before and after war. The interviews highlight the difficult transition from military life to student life and illustrate the student veterans’ unique college experience.

Oral History Interview about December 8, 1941, the Day After Pearl Harbor

On the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Clark Field in the Philippines. The Nunn Center has an interview in its Colonel Arthur L. Kelly Veterans Oral History Collection with Morgan French about this day.  French served as a maintenance crew chief for the 192nd Tank Battalion, Company D. He participated in the delaying action in the Philippines, and describes the Japanese bombing of Clark Field, the subsequent battles, and the fall of Bataan. When the rest of the battalion surrendered, French and his maintenance section escaped to Corregidor. They were eventually captured by the Japanese at Fort Drum and taken to a prison camp in Cabanatuan. There, French was selected to go to Japan on a work detail. He recalls his “hell ship” voyage, prison camps in Tanagawa and Tsuruga, illness among the prisoners, and the prisoners’ work and acts of sabotage.  Check out his interview on the Kentuckiana Digital Library, it is quite moving.

An interview with Morgan French, July 25, 1985