2019 Weekend Intensive: Muhlenberg County
Our second 2019 Community Intensive welcomed a new community into the RUX network: Muhlenberg County! Our time in Muhlenberg County offered a deep dive to help members understand rural Western Kentucky. From panels on military service and the coal transition to thumbpicking in the park and boating on an area lake on a hot summer afternoon, our time in Muhlenberg was full of great storytelling.
To foster understanding of Kentucky’s relationship with the United States military, we stayed at the Wendell H. Ford Training Facility, the primary training facility for the Kentucky National Guard. We also heard from a panel of RUXers who are military veterans. Their personal journeys brought up many memories for many in the cohort, as most RUXers have, or had, a family member in the service.
After the panel, we headed to the Muhlenberg Music Museum, where we learned about the famous musicians and entertainers with roots in the area. After hearing more about "Mr. Peabody's coal train" we shared personal music-related stories and memories with fellow cohort members in a Story Circle.
The next morning began with an emotional panel and subsequent conversation about the human impacts of the coal transition across Eastern and Western Kentucky. Coal has a long and complicated history in our state, and this often contentious topic pulls on heart strings, as all Kentuckians have a vested interest in the history and future of coal in our Commonwealth.
Our next panel highlighted the revitalization of downtown Greenville. With much of Kentucky facing similar challenges with their historic downtowns, the energetic panel proved to be inspiring. That positive outlook carried us to Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church where the congregation prepared lunch to share with us during their homecoming weekend. Hearing from part of the Black community on how they keep the memories of their ancestors alive was a strong testimony to the power of place.
Muhlenberg County's sense of place is deeply tied to its music traditions, specifically the thumb-picking style of guitar playing. We were fortunate to visit the Merle Travis Center and Paradise Park, giving our visit to the Music Museum more context. A few amazing local thumb pickers shared songs with us while we relaxed in the park and enjoyed snow-cones from a local vendor. It was a wonderful and uniquely “RUX” experience! The evening wrapped up with a Farm-to-Fork dinner supporting the local FFA chapter.
Sunday gave birth to the RUX Armada! The cohort cruised down Lake Malone, compliments of several local boat owners. We even saw a few impromptu cliff jumps, and some RUXers drove a boat for the very first time thanks to the encouragement of State Representative Melinda Prunty. This time together gave us the chance to reflect on our experiences over the weekend before sharing a meal at Shady Cliff Restaurant and heading back to our home communities.
From the cohort: “There were elements of this weekend which were certainly Muhlenberg County's ‘best foot forward’ and also items highlighting their issues, but this event I felt presented a full picture with a lot of context.”
“Listening to Kareem, Travis, and Josh speak about their diverse military experiences was especially moving for me. I greatly appreciated how willing they were to share their perspectives with our group. Although my father served in WWII and my middle brother served in the Marines, I never heard from them the amount of emotional candor that our cohort members expressed. Nor can I say that I’ve heard that from any other military people with whom I’ve conversed. Perhaps this is because I haven’t asked the poignant questions that Sarah posed. If it seems fitting, I will now ask.”
Check out this video produced by Kertis Creative’s Ben Freedman and Chelsae Ketchum.