Early in the spring of 2005, Charles Bertram, the Lexington Herald-Leader's
chief photographer, approached Dr. Thomas Clark with an idea: Would
he compile a list of the 10 places in Kentucky that he thought every
resident should visit, and write a story about them for the newspaper?
Clark died June 28, 2005, without finishing. Fortunately, Clark's widow, Loretta Gilliam Clark, retrieved the list from his desk. On Oct. 13, 2005, the Herald-Leader published "A historian's landmarks," featuring 11 places that Clark thought every Kentuckian should visit to gain an appreciation of the state. The story included Bertram's photographs of those places, plus text by staff writer Jim Warren, because Clark had not been able to do the writing.
The story and photos drew a strong response from readers. Many said they planned to visit all of the places Clark had chosen and learn more about their home state, even if it took years. A book based on Clark's favorite places was the next logical step, and it was put together over a few weeks in October and November.
Dr. Thomas Clark's Kentucky treasures
A historian's list of 11 places that shaped the state
About Cumberland Gap:
Cumberland Gap offered a passage through the seemingly impassable "wall" of
the Allegheny Mountains, which for generations had kept people from
venturing farther west. The Narrows, an opening through Pine Mountain
about 15 miles to the north, provided a path out of the mountains
into the open lands beyond.
Nobody knows the identity of the first white man to find Cumberland Gap. But Dr. Thomas Walker, who passed through the gap on April 13, 1750, and continued on to near the site of today's Barbourville, was the first to leave a record. Walker called it "Cave Gap" at first, then changed the name to Cumberland Gap, after the British Duke of Cumberland.
About Mammoth Cave:
As Mammoth Cave's fame grew in the 1800s, it gradually became a source
of national pride, something Kentuckians and other Americans could
brag about as being bigger and more spectacular than anything in
Europe. Mammoth Cave was authorized as a national park in 1926,
although it wasn't fully established until 1941. The United Nations
named the cave a World Heritage Site in 1981, and it became an
International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.
Environmentalists worry that the cave could become vulnerable to groundwater pollution and acid rain. But for now, Mammoth Cave remains one place in Kentucky that is like no other on Earth.
Readers shared their memories of Dr. Clark recently. Some excerpts:
"I met Dr. Clark just before Christmas 2003. It was on a Sunday afternoon and I was spending the afternoon with my grandmother. She had just bought one of Dr. Clark's books for someone on her Christmas list. She told me to be very quiet while she called the author of the book to see if, by chance, he would sign it for her. ,,, He said for us to come to his house that afternoon and he would be glad to sign the book. My grandmother was so excited. She told me to be very quiet and good when we got to his house. She said he was a very special man that had lived a long time. "When we got there I was very quiet and good. He signed the book for my grandmother. Then he wanted to talk to me! He acted like he didn't want us to leave right away. ... He ask(sic) me if I had a teddy bear. I said yes. Then he told me the history of teddy bears. "I will always remember that Sunday afternoon and the
history of teddy bears. "Thomas Clark came into our family and brought with him
fame. No one seemed to be impressed by our family pedigree
until we explained that we were related, by marriage, to Thomas
Clark. I remember early on I continued to call him Dr. Clark,
but he asked me to call him Tom. That lasted for about 30 seconds
because I could not get myself to call the venerable man by
his first name. Dr. Clark married a very fine lady in my Aunt
Loretta, and she married a very fine man." "He was one of the kindest, most considerate and caring
individuals I have ever known. He respected the worth and dignity
of every individual. He could talk to those in the ivory tower,
those in the halls of the legislature, as well as those in
humble houses at the head of the hollow, educated and non-educated
in a language they understand. Almost every person he ever
talked with will remember the time and place of their last
conversations with him." |
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