Presidents have been visiting Kentucky since 1819 arriving by horseback, carriage, train, steamboat, bus and airplane. Whether it was for campaigning, fundraising or attending a horse race, the commonwealth has welcomed the commander in chief with celebrations nearly 130 times throughout the years. Beginning with James Monroe who visited Kentucky for almost a month, the Bluegrass has been a regular stop for Presidents conducting the nation’s business.
Join author and historian Wayne Onkst, Wednesday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. as he chronicles these political encounters in the virtual NKY History Hour presentation, “When the President Visited Kentucky.”
Register and participate in the free virtual presentation by Behringer-Crawford Museum online.
Information on how to connect to the Zoom session will be sent after registration. The event will also be streamed live on BCM’s Facebook page. All recordings of past episodes can be viewed at www.bcmuseum.org.
Wayne Onkst is the retired State Librarian and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. A lifelong lover of books and reading, he took his first job at the age of 16 in the Laurel County Public Library. After obtaining degrees in history and library science from the University of Kentucky, he was a librarian at the Kenton County Public Library for 27 years, serving as Director of the Library from 1999-2006. In 2006, he was appointed State Librarian and Commissioner and served until 2015.
He has authored two books: Buffalo Trails to the 21st Century: a History of Erlanger, Ky. and Presidential Visits to Kentucky 1819-2017. Wayne and his wife, Debbie, are residents of Erlanger, Kentucky. They have two sons and three granddaughters.
NKY History Hour programs take place every other Wednesday evening and are currently free to the public but may become a BCM members-only benefit in the future. To support NKY History Hour and access many other entertaining and thought-provoking programs for free, join BCM today.
Behringer-Crawford Museum