Bonnie Strassell - Owen County Historical Society

It seemed to be just another old wooden spoon, yet the tiny cracks that traversed the worn handle added to the spoon’s character and emphasized the wood’s rich hues.
The wooden spoon had served generations of Owen countians, and despite its age, was poised as if ready to stir a pot of simmering soup or scrape out the last remains of fried potatoes from an iron skillet.
Wooden spoons were a necessary part of Kentucky frontier life.

They stood side by side in a long row. Many looked similar but each carried features that were unique. Several were over 100-years-old, and yet their appearance was as vibrant as the younger ones.
Although today they have been replaced by advanced technology, their stories remain and are engrafted into history.
In the 1800s, men from several different countries were working on an invention to transmit the sound of the voice over wire.
The gentleman credited as the inventor of the first practical telephone was Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell. 

Someone once said, “God pours life into death and death into life without a drop being spilled.”
In rural Owen County, the loss of a loved one is accepted as part of everyday life.
Author and storyteller Charlotte Ann Kemper Atchison described the days of mourning experienced by early Owen County families.
Charlotte grew up on Bucks Run and wrote of the times in her childhood when a deceased family member was washed and dressed in his or her finest, and placed in the parlor for viewing.

The designs varied but the purpose was uniform – defense of the Kentucky railway system during the Civil War. Block houses which could hold up to 20 men were constructed by the Union along train tacks that traversed the Bluegrass.
These were manned by federal soldiers whose job it was to thwart Confederate raids designed to interfere with northern supply routes.
Author and historian Charles Bogart was the guest speaker last week at the historical society meeting, and using Power Point, he illustrated the construction of these fortifications.