Country Music Month – Has the Music Changed Over the Years? Mike Tussey The Ashland Beacon     Many will tell you that the sound of country music has changed over these many years. You can believe it, it has.     To begin with, let’s go back 76 years to the 1950’s. Country music was loaded with sheer talent who in all honesty - really shaped the genre’s sound and legacy.     Legends such as Hank Williams and his Honky – Tonk hits - to the incredible voice of Patsy Cline,

Fall Home Invaders Lori Bowling Retired University of Kentucky Extension Agent For The Ashland Beacon As days get shorter and temperatures start falling, insects start looking for a warm, safe place to overwinter. The most common insects are box elder bugs, Asian lady beetles, brown marmorated stink bugs, and cluster flies. You may notice a large number of these insects starting to congregate on the south and west sides of your home. They are looking for any crack or crevice

Breaker Breaker 1-9 Mike Tussey The Ashland Beacon Once upon a time in America, we heard “Breaker! Breaker 1- 9! Got your ears on?” From then till now, you rarely hear the mention or memories of the beloved Citizen Band radio we came to know simply as “CB”. Sure, today we have our smart cell phones that virtually do everything for us which includes asking Seri anything at all. In seconds, you get your answer. It’s the 21st century and we expect things and we expect th

Historic Buildings and Institutions The Pulse of Our Lives Mike Tussey The Ashland Beacon Throughout our lives there have been places, people and events that we cherish and will never forget. Then, there are those that have little or no impact. My high school years were simply blasé to be honest. For me, I was what you could term a “mouse”. You know, seen - but never heard. I had little confidence that I could excel or even successfully finish anything I began. I was an a

Planting Bulbs for Spring Blooming By Lori Bowling (retired) University of Kentucky Extension Agent Now is the time to be ordering those spring flowering bulbs. Many garden centers will have a good selection of common spring bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and crocus, etc. If you are looking for something unusual or a specific color of bloom your best option would be to order from a mail order garden center such as Breck’s, Holland Bulb Farms, or K. van Bourgon

Garden Gossip With Lori Bowling (Retired) University of Kentucky Extension Agent Leaf Scorch on Landscape Plants The Ashland Beacon As the summer months move toward fall, some of your landscape trees, shrubs, and perennials may start to show browning along their leaf edges, as if they have been scorched by the heat of a fire. This condition is known as leaf scorch, and while it is not an infectious disease, it can cause your landscape to look unhealthy. We usually see this

Growing Greenup Pottery classes, like in Ghost? Anne Stephens The Ashland Beacon Are you curious about pottery? Does it make you think of a movie scene where a ghost visited someone at a pottery wheel? (haha – yes, that movie from 1990) Have you ever wanted to try throwing clay on a wheel or hand building with a quality clay to be glazed and fired? Do you know that Greenup County has a community teaching studio? Merging Rivers Pottery opened almost a year ago and is cur

In The Living Years Loren Hardin The Ashland Beacon This is part one of a series about Michael who was sixty years old when he enrolled in outpatient hospice services with end stage cirrhosis of the liver. Michael was an electrician by trade, and a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Michael is one of seven children and explained, “I’m two minutes older than my twin sister, Michelle, but she’s the one who taught me to always say

Growing Greenup Mother’s Day and Youth Development Anne Stephens I hope everyone had a Mother’s Day weekend full of smiles, hugs, and happy memories. In my family, we celebrate my mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day together because they are always close together. I have a terrific mom and I am glad that my family always gets together to enjoy special occasions with each other. We have a good time together and for that, I am thankful. Without the need to cite a reference

I’m A Server Loren Hardin The Ashland Beacon I’m revisiting my old friend, Doug, this week. Doug was sixty-seven years old when he enrolled in outpatient hospice services with end stage congestive heart failure. You may remember Doug’s previous column titled, “Your Sins Will Find You Out.” When Doug and his friend, Jerry, were six years old, they decided to play cowboy and round up all the cats in the neighborhood. Doug recounted, “We caught every cat we could find.

The Lost Colony Jarrod E. Stephens The Ashland Beacon May is celebrated as the month in which the first permanent English settlement in America was established in Jamestown, Virginia. May 14, 1607 marked a glorious day for the establishment of what would become America. If you only take a glance at the story then it sounds quite glamorous and exciting. However, when you dig deeper and discover the grueling struggles that the settlers faced, the story becomes a lot darker.

Growing Greenup: Home Gardening and Farmers Market Container Gardening Source: Jamie Dockery, UK Extension Horticulture Agent Not everyone has acreage or land where they can just dig in the soil. As long as you have a sunny spot, whether it be a balcony or parking lot, if you can get sunlight, you can grow flowers or vegetables in containers. It isn’t difficult. Just about any container will do, but the smaller the container, you will be m

Understand Lora Parsons The Ashland Beacon In the world of English Language Arts teachers, there are three recognized reasons for writing. One is writing to demonstrate learning where you show your teacher what you learned. The second is writing to communicate where your purpose is to inform or persuade an audience. And, the third is writing to learn where the writer is also the student figuring out what he or she thinks about a topic as they go through the process of wr

Your Sins Will Find You Out Loren Hardin The Ashland Beacon Doug was sixty-seven when he enrolled in outpatient hospice services with end-stage congestive heart failure. Doug is an interesting fellow. He is interested in world events. He keeps abreast of the news and is politically opinionated. He asks probing questions. We talked about the conflicts in the Middle East and Doug asked me if I thought it was a sign of the end times. He even asked me if I was afraid to die

Jesus Will Comfort You Loren Hardin The Ashland Beacon Wilma was in her late eighties when referred to hospice for renal failure. I could tell by the way she looked at me that her trust had to be earned. She admitted, "I’ve been alone and depressed much of my life. I’ve never had any real friends. I’ve always been a loner. When three or four people were together, I usually ended up sitting and saying nothing." Wilma was perplexing; lonely, but content. It jus

The Cumberland Gap Jarrod E. Stephens The Ashland Beacon If ever you travel across the Bluegrass State, you will quickly gain an understanding of how diverse our landscape truly is. Whether you visit the Bluegrass region, Western Coal Fields, Eastern Coal Fields, Knobs, Pennyrile or Jackson Purchase you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the natural scenery. While urban areas have sprung up over the centuries and farmland has sprawled across some areas, much of southeastern K

Growing Greenup Anne Stephens The Ashland Beacon Are there public spaces in your home community that are important to you? Do you take your children or grandchildren to a park to play? Do you like to walk in an area close to home where you feel safe and comfortable? Have you ever volunteered to help your community plan or maintain a public area? The following publication about placemaking is interesting because it guides you to think like a landscape architect and unders

Their Works Follow Them Loren Hardin This is part two of a two-part series about Jun and his wife, Pat. Jun enrolled in our outpatient hospice service with end-stage cancer. He was a veteran of the Korean Conflict and a retired postmaster. Jun was soft-spoken, gentle, and tender to the needs and hopes of others. Pat recounted, “He was always doing something for somebody, but you’d never know it.” Pat’s testimony reminds me of the exhortation of Christ Jesus; “

The Life of Lincoln Jarrod E. Stephens If you were to ask someone to name their favorite US President or one who was the most impactful while in office, a majority of the time the name Abraham Lincoln would rise to the top. Honest Abe left his mark on history not only for his leadership through the American Civil War but also with his hardworking spirit and honesty. Being a lifelong resident of Kentucky, I have always had an interest in Lincoln and how that he is the only

Growing Greenup Handcrafted Weekend Part 2 of 3 Anne Stephens If you are a weekly reader of this column, you know that last week started a three-part series about the Handcrafted Weekend event at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, sponsored by the Greenup County Tourism Commission and organized by the Community Arts program at the Greenup County Extension Service. This week, we will focus on some of the demonstrations and hands-on activities that you’ll find at the lodge on A