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By Aaron Vance, Class of 2017
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| Aaron Vance |
Although we had forgotten to place a donut in the hand of the Thinker outside of Grawemeyer (as many previous classes of Scholars had done) our trip had just taken off without a hitch. No sooner had we found ourselves on I-64 bound to Frankfort, did Dr. Kleber look back to ask us who would be playing the part of Gov. William Goebel in our dramatic reenactment of his assassination. To say we didn’t know of the thespian that was Dr. John Kleber would be correct and in line with the other facts and treasures that you can find nestled in this Commonwealth or in her history books.
We would first arrive at the Kentucky Historical Society’s Museum and engage ourselves in the exhibits and history of Kentucky until we ventured down to the Old Capitol where the aforementioned reenactment was to occur. As we came up the path and past the statue of Goebel, an old interest was reignited as I recalled him from a personal study of Kentucky’s history. Never known to be the most gracious nor most crass political figure in America, Goebel found much rebuke after winning a corrupt election. But, nonetheless his assassination outside of the Old Capitol would be another oddity to establish Kentucky’s well-deserved reputation as the Un-Commonwealth that it is. (Needless to say I volunteered to be Goebel in a role that only could be surmounted by Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln. I fell as Dr. Kleber recounted the assassin’s bullet hitting me, only to be left there as the others entered the Capitol…)
But, this would only be one of our many stops on this trip as we traversed the capital city. We went to many of the same spots I frequented this past summer working as an intern in the Capitol, to some of the even more obscure places that only could have been located by someone with an even more intense love of this place, such as Dr. Kleber. From Poor Richard’s stacks to the Kentucky Military Museum, to Daniel Boone’s grave, a revival was procured for me personally. As we posed for the usual class picture on the hill overlooking the city at Boone’s grave, the grandeur of what is Kentucky was refreshing as I was embarking on 4 more years on her soil.
For the fact that the McConnell Program is only open to the residents of Kentucky, I am very appreciative. Some of the prescribed literature of the program has already captured the meaning of what it is to be a Kentuckian, and what the citizens of this pseudo-peninsular, weather pattern defying, oblong shape (that many Kentuckians love to create with their hand upon meeting another to figure out where they are from), with a history all it’s own, kind of commonwealth. And the people of this place recognize it, because Lord knows if you call it a state you degrade it to what many Kentuckians would consider a fate worse than being Tennessee (or even worse, Indiana). This is my Commonwealth along with the other 8 Scholars in my class, and I am thankful and beyond grateful for the opportunity to learn more about Kentucky, to be captured in another one of Dr. Kleber’s stories of her, and even to be able to enjoy her with those who mean just as much. Because we all know, “Heaven is a Kentucky kind of place.”
Aaron Vance is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying History, Political Science and Anthropology.