Kentucky’s Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project Goes Online
The Nunn Center has uploaded 87 oral history interviews from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Oral History Project featuring individuals associated with the Peace Corps with connections to Kentucky. Interviewees served in the Peace Corps from its inception in 1961 to the present. Volunteers discuss their experiences before, during, and after Peace Corps including their motivations for joining, the application process, training, living situations, difficulties, the job, relationships, coming home, and their impact on the host country and on their own lives. The online collection is accessible utilizing the OHMS system connecting searchable text to the corresponding moment in the audio. The online launch of the interviews corresponds with the publication of Voices from the Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Kentucky Volunteers by Angene Wilson and Jack Wilson with a foreword by Christopher J. Dodd. Published as part of University Press of Kentucky’s Kentucky Remembered: An Oral History Series, this book draws on powerful reflections from our collection.
“Remembering City Hall” Oral History Project on City Government in Kentucky Goes Online
Photo Courtesy Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries
The Louie B. Nunn Center For Oral History has recently begun the upload of the Remembering City Hall Oral History Project. This oral history project includes interviews with various city officials throughout Kentucky. Interviewees discuss their family, education, careers, experiences, and why they chose to serve in a public office. Other topics include the Kentucky League of Cities, the board’s policies, contributions to the community, and involvement in local economic development. The Kentucky League of Cities (KLC), an association of 370 cities throughout the Commonwealth, is based in Lexington, Kentucky. This organization provides the state with financial, legal, technical, and educational resources, and focuses on policy making, research, and development. To access these interviews go to the Kentuckiana Digital Library.
Horse Industry in Kentucky Oral History Project
The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History’s Horse Industry in Kentucky Oral History Project records the firsthand experiences and stories of people who work with horses in Kentucky. Our purpose has been to build a collection that represents the diversity of the equine community and fosters a better understanding of and appreciation for the historical, cultural, and economic significance of the horse to Kentucky. Project staff conducted interviews preserving the history of racing and non-racing breeds in the commonwealth, as well as the numerous and sometime unique occupations supporting the equine industry.
We formed an advisory board that included the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Equestrian Federation John Long and the First Lady of Kentucky Jane Beshear serving as an honorary chair. This board’s role was to assist with developing important partnerships as well as assisting in the process of identifying project interviewees. Initial project partners included:
•KEEP (Kentucky Equine Education Project)
•Kentucky Thoroughbred Association
•Kentucky Downs
•Keeneland Foundation
•Kentucky Derby Museum
•Kentucky Horse Park
As of the end of 2010 we have conducted more than 100 interviews statewide, 50 of which have been placed on the Kentuckiana Digital Library. Phase two of the project focuses on providing web access to the next 50 interviews and raising additional funding to conduct additional interviews that focus specifically on the thoroughbred industry and its importance to Kentucky. If you are interested in horses and equine history, check out these interviews online.
Buffalo Trace Distillery Oral History Project Launch
The Nunn Center is proud to unveil the Buffalo Trace Oral History Project, a joint effort of the Nunn Center and the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It is the first project in our Bourbon in Kentucky collection. The project consists of video interviews featuring two Buffalo Trace master distillers and many longtime employees, as well as descendants of Kentucky distilling icons like Pappy Van Winkle, Col. E.H. Taylor (Old Taylor) and Col. Albert Blanton (Blanton’s).
Watching the interviews gives you a unique opportunity to learn about the history of Buffalo Trace and the bourbon industry from the people who lived it. Check out the Buffalo Trace Oral History Project website and find full transcripts and searchable video interviews on the Kentuckiana Digital Library .
Buffalo Trace Distillery Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History
