Lots to see in Kentucky ~ July 26, 2001

David Heiller

Our family spent a few days in Kentucky two weeks ago. It was an interesting experience. It’s hard to come to any conclusions about a state after only four days, so call these impressions very preliminary.

Roger, Maria, David, Cindy and Noah walking in Kentucky.

A land of tobacco. A lot of people smoke in Kentucky. I saw more smokers in four days than I have in the last year, and that is not an exaggeration. In Somerset, where we stayed, there was a drive-through store for discount cigarettes.

I can only imagine using that. A tinny voice mumbles through a speaker, “May I take your order, please?”

The man says, “Yeah, I’d like a carton of Winston, a pack of Red Man Chaw, and two Swisher Sweets for dessert.”

“Honey,” his wife says in a reminding tone.

“Oh yeah, a pack of Virginia Slims for the missus.”

“Daddy!” comes a voice from the back seat.

“All right,” the old man sighs. Then he says into the microphone, “And a tin of Copenhagen, mint flavored.”

“Would you like to super-size that?” the speaker voice squawks.

“No thanks,” the man answers.

“Drive up to the second window, please.”

One reason a lot of people smoke could be that many folks raise tobacco. We saw hundreds of fields of tobacco while driving the back roads. Some were big, like fields of corn around here. Others were as small as your potato patch.

I asked a local guy if people raised their own tobacco to smoke. He said no, the tobacco we saw was planted by people who had licenses to grow and sell it, to help supplement their income.

My theory is that if you or your neighbors grow tobacco, you might be more likely to use tobacco. People in Minnesota eat a lot of dairy products partly because their friends and neighbors are dairy farmers. We live in a culture that encourages people to “get milk.” Kentucky has a tobacco culture. I always look for the Real Seal on dairy products. I didn’t see any equivalent to the Real Seal for tobacco, unless it was the one that warned about cancer and heart disease.

Lots of religion. There were churches everywhere. The radio was full of religious programming, gospel music, and earnest preachers. I didn’t listen to it much, but one man caught my attention when he told of the “eels of the world.” I thought he was giving an ad about an aquarium until I realized he meant the “ills” of the world.

Related to that was the sale of alcohol, or lack of it. The county we stayed in, Pulaski, was a dry county. You could not buy an alcoholic beverage in the entire county, at least not legally. I wouldn’t bet against someone having a still in the hills. We went to a music festival, and the announcers would periodically remind us, almost with a wink, that we were in a dry county. It was obvious that some of the people at the festival had crossed the county line.

Cheap gas and lots of logging. We saw gasoline as low as $1.12 per gallon. Minnesota could learn something from Kentucky in that department. Why is gas 20 cents more per gallon a thousand miles to the north?

The timber industry is big. We saw a lot of lumber yards, sawmills, and many trucks hauling logs. The hills and mountains are thick with hardwood trees.

There are many horse farms and horses. We drove past numerous homes with huge fields bordered by split rail fences and sprinkled with beautiful horses.

The natural bridge in Natural bridge state park, Kentucky.

The mountains were impressive. We spent a day and a night at Natural Bridge State Park. It is named after a place where wind and water have worn a hole in the mountain big enough to dive a train through. It’s a huge span that gives the park its name. People can walk across it. We rode up to it in a ski lift, which really offered some spectacular views. I got up earlier that morning and walked up to it, 3/4 of a mile. The trail was steep but very well maintained. It was foggy and damp, and I kept expecting to meet a grizzled mountain man at every corner, guarding his aforementioned moonshine factory.

When I got to the natural bridge, I couldn’t see much. Then the mist slowly lifted, revealing mountains and valleys as far as my eyes could strain. It looked so dense and wild. I thought how it must be an isolated life in the mountains, at least in the old days before modern roads and transportation. I bet people that grow up in those mountains have a hard time leaving them. They hold so much power and pull.

Maria and Malika at Natural Bridge State Park.

The award for most catchy cafe name in

Kentucky went to the “Chat and Chew.” That prompted a catchy name contest in the car. My favorite: “Gag and Gossip.”

We only saw a small slice of Kentucky, and only for a short period. But it was an interesting visit, smoke and all.