Mary Byron was waiting for her car to warm up in the parking lot of the mall where she worked on the night of her 21st birthday. She was about to head home to decorate the Christmas tree with her family. Instead she was shot to death by Donavan Harris, her former boyfriend.

Just a few weeks earlier, Harris was arrested for holding Mary hostage at gunpoint and assaulting her in the basement of her own home. He was released on bond, and less than a week later, Mary was dead.

This left the Mary's family, and the community, wondering if things could have been different if they had been notified of his release from jail. This case ultimately led to the creation of the victim notification service known today as VINE.

*Listener discretion advised*

Thanks to Christopher B. for recommending this case.

Thanks to Ms. Lillie for becoming a Patreon member!

Thanks to Neal for your donation and for hyping the show up while visiting local landmarks!

The 24-Hour Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-844-BESAFE1 (237-2331)

Follow the show on Instagram @kyhistory haunts or look it up on Facebook by typing the show name in the search bar. Send emails to kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com

Send mail to:

Kentucky History & Haunts

9115 Leesgate Rd, Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222

Dr. Britton was the first black woman in Kentucky to practice medicine... but there is so much more to her story! Born in Lexington in 1855, she grew up a free black citizen and went to private schools in Lexington, then Berea college. She studied medicine in Battle Creek, Michigan under Dr. Kellogg.

Dr. Britton helped open the Colored Orphans home in Lexington. She caused a stir at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. She protested the Separate Coach bill in the 1890s- her speech later published in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

She was a teacher, writer, doctor and activist.

*This episode briefly mentions suicide. Listener discretion is advised.

Let me know what you think of the episode by leaving a comment on Spotify or sending an email to kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com.

My mailing address is:

Jessie Bartholomew

9115 Leesgate Rd, Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222

I research, write, record and edit every episode. If you'd like to leave me a tip you can Venmo me, @kyhistoryhaunts

Links:

https://bereaky.gov/for-visitors/community-profile/history/

https://networks.h-net.org/node/2289/blog/ky-woman-suffrage/2574422/1887-speech-mary-e-britton-danville-woman-suffrage

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23384055?read-now=1&seq=11#page_scan_tab_contents

In the late 1830s, the owner of Mammoth Cave hoped to attract more tourists to the area. One of the key figures in making that happen was a slave named Stephen Bishop. Stephen became one of the most popular guides in the caves history, as well as a brave and savvy explorer, responsible for the expansion of the cave system with his discovery of several 'new' areas like the Bottomless Pit and Ruins of Karnak.

It was stipulated in his owners will that Stephen was to be emancipated seven years after the owners death, and he was finally free in 1856, but unfortunately his story does not have a happy ending.

There is so much more to be said about the role of slaves related to the early exploration and management of Mammoth Cave than what's covered in this episode. For further research, I recommend starting with the following-

*Legendary tour Guides who were Enslaved Americans

A National Council for the Social Studies Publication Number58 • January/February 2017

*Mammoth Cave, Slavery, and Kentucky: Overcoming the Chains that Bind

Susan Farmer Western Kentucky University,

*https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/travel/in-kentucky-a-family-at-the-center-of-the-earth.html

*https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/historyculture/african-american-history.htm

If you'd like to be pen pals, you'd like to send me holiday cards or some homemade jam, my mailing address is:

Jessie Bartholomew

9115 Leesgate Rd, Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222

Email kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com topic suggestions, feedback or corrections. Connect with the show on Instagram @kyhistoryhaunts and search Kentucky History & Haunts on Facebook. Leave a comment on this episode if you're listening on Spotify and let me know what you think!

Please leave a review or rating on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen!

Welcome to another installment of 'A Century Ago in Kentucky', where I share some of my favorite newspaper clippings from Kentucky newspapers in 1924. This episode includes stories of prisoners celebrating behind bars, while others are set free in time for the holidays, hundreds of gallons of wine are poured into the sewer by the Feds, plus fires and other accidents, burglars, crossword puzzles, and a special appearance by my great-grandfather!

This episode includes clippings from the Louisville Courier-Journal and The Lexington Herald-Leader.

This podcast is researched, written, recorded and produced by me, Jessie Bartholomew. To leave me a tip for a cup of coffee, use the following link:

https://account.venmo.com/u/kyhistoryhaunts

For more on crossword puzzles:

https://www.alieward.com/ologies/enigmatology

https://time.com/5811396/crossword-history/

In the 1840s, a doctor from Louisville purchased Mammoth Cave. One of his motives for purchasing the land was to conduct an experiment by inviting tuberculosis patients to live underground during the winter months to cure them.

It did not go well.

For more on this topic, check out THE PURSUIT OF HEALTH IN THE MAMMOTH CAVE, published in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 1971, by Stanley Sides & Harold Malloy.

Follow the show on Instagram @kyhistoryhaunts and find it on Facebook by searching Kentucky History & Haunts. For feedback, corrections and topic suggestions, email kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com

To buy Jessie a coffee for her work on this episode, you can Venmo @kyhistoryhaunts.

Thanks for listening!

On a cold January evening in 1925, after a long day of widening an entrance to a newly discovered cave, Floyd Collins lost his footing, knocked over his light, caused a shift in the tunnel and was pinned under a rock. Floyd was hopelessly stuck. Over the next two weeks, miners, geologists, engineers, family members and the Kentucky National Guard worked tirelessly to rescue Floyd. Floyd had passed by the time they reached him, but that wasn't the end of his story.

For more information on Floyd Collins, start here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tragedy-at-sand-cave.htm

And for photos of his second funeral service, go here:

https://westernkentuckyuniversity.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Collins%2C%20Floyd%2C%201887-1925

This is part one of a two part series about the Fall family. Part one discusses the life of Phillip Fall, preacher, teacher, Southern sympathizer. Phillip Fall made connections with major religious figures in Kentucky during the Reformation movement. One of Phillip's sons, William, would later have a son named Albert Fall, who holds the infamous title of being the first U.S. Cabinet member convicted of a felony. Part two will focus on the life of Albert Fall, Phillip's grandson, and let me tell you, it's a very different story.

Much of the research from part one was from the Phillip Fall biography written for the Kentucky Historical Society by P. Burnley and from therestorationmovement.com.

It is likely I made mistakes in this episode as I am not well versed in the topic of religion. If I need to make a correction, or you have a future topic suggestion, please email kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com

To buy Jessie a coffee for her work on this episode (remember, this is a one-woman show) you can send a tip through Paypal @kyhistoryhaunts or Venmo @kyhistoryhaunts

In the early 1990s, the Meade County police, Louisville police and Kentucky State police thought they had gotten it right when they arrested Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Clark for the murder of Louisville native Rhonda Sue Warford. It took decades and assistance from the Kentucky Innocence Project to right the wrongs made during the investigation and trial. Let me know what you think. You can send mail to my work address- 9115 Leesgate Rd Suite A, Louisville, KY, 40222.

Send me your address to get on my mailing list!

Send your feedback and topic suggestions to kyhistoryhaunts@gmail.com Connect with the show on Instagram @kyhistoryhaunts or search the show name on Facebook. Be sure to join the Facebook group- Kentucky History & Haunts & More. Please leave a rating or review if you haven't yet! Thanks!

Cozy up with your bayberry candles, your Hoppin' John, your whiskey and your black buns. It's time to discuss New Year's traditions. I'm making sure you know how to prepare your meals, who to invite into your home, and how to clean your furniture as we enter the new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!