By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
I’m both excited and a little nervous about speaking on September 8 at the opening session of the 1926 Alice Lloyd College Fall Convocation Series. The location is in Knott County’s Pippa Passes, and I’m told the audience number is planned to be about 500, including the whole student body and faculty. That’s enough to scare the bejabbers out of a guy who, as a child, got severe stage fright just doing a simple student book report at Grant’s Lick Elementary School.
My general talk is called “Shining Light on Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes,” but the school requested that I focus the talk on Eastern Kentuckians to better relate to their students, most who are from the region. I agreed, and that set me to perusing the five volumes of my book series to see who would meet that qualification. Turns out, there are many, and having a passion for this mountainous area of Kentucky and its people, I thought I’d share here brief mentions of some of the ones I’ll discuss at Alice Lloyd College:
• Charles Whitaker, Johnson County. Called “The Can Man,” Charles braved weather and sometimes public scorn while gathering tin cans from roadsides and parking lots to recycle for money—which he promptly donated to a local private Christian school.
• John Rosenberg, Floyd County. Before John and his wife came to Prestonsburg in 1970 to lead in helping thousands of poor people to get legal aid for civil litigation cases, he had already lived an inspiring life. His family came to America from Germany after surviving the Holocaust. John became a renowned civil rights lawyer in the 1960s, being a part of some of the most important cases in the country’s history.
• Jamie Vaught, Bell County. As an overcomer of severe hearing loss, taught college business and accounting at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College for 33 years. Along with teaching, he is a successful author.
• Judy Sizemore, Clay County. A dynamic advocate for the arts in Kentucky, she formerly directed the Kentucky Arts Council and has worked with classroom teachers and authored the audio driving tour, “More Than Music: A Heritage Driving Tour of Eastern Kentucky,” narrated by Ricky Skaggs.
• Jane Stephenson, Madison County. Established New Opportunity School for Eastern Kentucky women to “provide under-resourced Appalachian and Kentucky women with the tools to grow in self-knowledge, build confidence, and access resources to improve their financial, educational, and personal circumstances.”
• Sue Sword, Floyd County. Served as long-time fund-raising star for the Christian Appalachian Project, an organization providing “nutritious food, clothing, home repair, elderly services, and other services to children, their families, and seniors who are suffering.”
• Shad Baker, Letcher County. Instrumental in establishing the Pine Mountain Scenic Trail starting at the Kentucky-Virginia border.
• Leigh Anne Stephens, Perry County. A former district judge in Perry County, Leigh Anne is an overcomer and one with a big heart. Always concerned about young people in her community after seeing some in her court, she established a summer camp in 2008 called Camp Promise
• Irma Gall and Peggy Kemner, Knox County. The two women met up in the late 1950s while doing missionary work in Leslie County. They decided to join together and use their skills, Irma as a teacher and Peggy as a nurse and midwife, to help those living in poverty in the community of Stinking Creek in Knox County over five decades.
• Jim Lyon Sr., Greenup County. Born with severe physical limitations, having two stubs for arms, a stub for a leg, and the other leg being malformed, he became a high achiever and a well-respected member of his Raceland community as a judge and community servant.
• Mike “Mountain Santa” Howard, Harlan County. For over four decades until his death in 2018, this resident from Wallins Creek, in Harlan County, led in giving away toys, as many as 3000 to 4000 in a year, to poor children in the area. Mike, a devout Christian, drew many volunteers to the annual project and raised money for the toys through roadblock fundraisers and donations. His family has continued the project, and it appears to be thriving.
• Marlana Van Hoose, Johnson County. Born with cytomegalovirus and unable to see, uses her singing talent to inspire audiences all around Kentucky and well beyond. She may be most noted for singing America’s National Anthem before major sporting events.
• Kevin Gunderson, Boyd County. In 1980, was shot and paralyzed as a policeman investigating a domestic support case. Though being wheelchair-bound, he served terms as an Ashland city and later became mayor.
The Eastern Kentucky heroes mentioned here are a sampling, and only ones I’ve featured in my book series. They are contemporary figures. As most of us know, the region is replete with heroic figures from the past, not the least being those who served America in World War I and II, along with the state’s early pioneers who braved dangerous times to settle our land.
This region of the state definitely has its difficult challenges, but from my personal experience, has some of the most noble, caring people found anywhere. I can’t wait to emphasize such at Alice Lloyd College.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist, and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.”