Mill Springs to expand annual service

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May 21, 2008

By TRICIA NEAL, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Wed May 21, 2008, 08:55 PM EDT

The Mill Springs Battlefield Association is expanding its traditional Memorial Day schedule this year in the hopes that the community will become more involved — the way it used to be.

“We’re attempting to go back to an earlier time, when people got together and not only honored their deceased relatives and their service men and women, but they also interacted with each other and had picnics,” says MSBA Administrator Norrie Wake.

“We’re trying to create something like that — a day-long event that can be a special occasion for the whole community.”

Here is Monday’s schedule of events:

• 9 a.m. — Confederate memorial ceremony at Zollicoffer Park.

This ceremony, to honor the Confederate troops killed during the Battle of Mill Springs, is normally held on the afternoon of Memorial Day. However, this year, the event has been moved to an earlier time to allow room for other festivities. The short ceremony will include a flag ceremony, a rifle salute, and the reading of the names of many of the Confederate soldiers who died in the January 1862 battle.

Parking is available at Zollicoffer Park.

The park is located on Ky. 235, approximately one mile south of Nancy.

• 11 a.m. — Memorial Day ceremony at Mill Springs National Cemetery.

Expected to last less than an hour, this ceremony, which has been a tradition in Pulaski County for generations, will feature special guest speaker 1st Sgt. Alan L. Mayfield of the local National Guard.

“We’re trying to get some fresh blood into the program by allowing some younger veterans to participate,” Wake says.

“This will also allow the community to express appreciation to the (local National Guard) for its service.”

Other distinguished guests will be present, and Cub Scout Pack #727 of Nancy will participate in some of the activities. There will be a parade of veterans, singing of the National Anthem, a wreath laying ceremony, a flag ceremony, a rifle salute, and the playing of TAPS.

“It is always a very moving moment when that is done,” Wake said of the traditional TAPS trumpet solo, which will be performed this year by Dr. Roger Lane.

Visitors are welcome to park at the nearby Mill Springs Museum and Visitors Center, which is located immediately east of the cemetery on West Ky. 80 in Nancy.

• 11:45 a.m. — Picnic on the Patio.

Following the Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery, the community is encouraged to walk to the nearby Mill Springs Museum and Visitors Center for a picnic lunch.

Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks will be available for $5 per plate — or families can bring their own picnic lunches and share in the fellowship free of charge.

• 1 p.m. — “Combat on the Cumberland” grand opening at Mill Springs Museum and Visitors Center.

Visitors are welcome to walk inside the Mill Springs Museum at any time throughout the day. However, at 1 p.m., the organization’s newest exhibit, “Combat on the Cumberland,” will officially be unveiled.

The exhibit centers around the Battle of Mill Springs, and will feature artifacts found on the battlefield as well as those that have been donated by local residents through the years.

“We’ve been working on this exhibit since the first of the year,” Wake says.

“We’re very anxious for people to see it.”

There is a small charge to view the exhibit, however, Wake explains, visitors may purchase a “passport” for $4 which will allow them to return to the museum or to any other MSBA attraction free of charge for the rest of 2008.

• 2 p.m. — “Reenactment of 2007” DVD premiere at Mill Springs Museum and Visitors Center.

Those who are already at the museum might want to linger till 2 p.m. to catch the first showing of the Mill Springs Battlefield’s 2007 battle reenactment video.

The entire piece was filmed at the Mill Springs Battlefield in Nancy during the extravagant reenactment event last September. The program has been edited by videographer Ernie Martin.

There is no charge for this event.

• All day Sunday, May 25, and Monday, May 26 — “Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln” exhibit at Mill Springs Museum and Visitors Center.

The Kentucky Historical Society’s “Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln” exhibit will be available for public viewing outside the Mill Springs Museum. The exhibit, as its name implies, features the life of Kentucky’s own Abraham Lincoln. Admission to the exhibit is free.

•••

The Mill Springs Battlefield Association is gearing up for another celebration next weekend, Wake says.

The West-Metcalfe House will be officially opened to the public on Friday, May 30, at 11 a.m.

The recently restored home served as a hospital for retreating Confederate Army soldiers during the Civil War, and it was also Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s headquarters when he first arrived in the area.

The structure was restored with state funds.

The house is located in Wayne County, one mile south of Mill Springs on Old Mill Springs Road.

“This is another piece of the total battlefield corridor,” which spans western Pulaski County and part of Wayne County, Wake says.

Following the dedication of the home, a reception will be held at the Brown-Lanier House in Mill Springs, also in Wayne County. The Brown-Lanier House also played a role in Civil War history.

This event is also free of charge.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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