From the World War I Centennial News Podcast
Updates From The States:
Kentucky's Filson Historical Society
In September 21st's WW1 Centennial News Podcast, Episode 90, Jana Meyer and Jim Pritchard of Louisville's Filson Historical Society discussed Kentucky and WW1 with host Theo Mayer. The following is a transcript of the interview:
Theo Mayer: This week in our Updates From The States, we're headed first to the Bluegrass State, Kentucky, to learn about Kentucky in World War I. we're joined by Jana Meyer, Associate Curator of Collections and Jim Pritchard, Manuscript Cataloger from the Filson Historical Society. Welcome to both of you.
Jana Meyer: Thank you.
Jim Pritchard: Good to be with you.
Theo Mayer: Let's start with a bit of context. Could you introduce us to the Filson Historical Society? What's its genesis? What's the society's goal and mission?
Jana Meyer: The Filson is located in Louisville, Kentucky and we are primarily a research library and archive. We were founded in 1884 by a group of Louisvillians who loved history and they would get together and present on different historical topics. They also started collecting materials and so our materials are related to the history of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley Region and we've been collecting since 1864. We're the state's largest private historical society.
Theo Mayer: How did the Filson Historical Society get involved in the commemoration of World War I?
Jim Pritchard: We network with other historical organizations in the state and decided to create some exhibits on the Centennial of the declaration of war. Mainly, we've sort of focused on the Greater Louisville area and of course other agencies like the Kentucky Historical Society and the state capital also have had programs as well as the Department of Military Affairs and the Governor Centennial Commission.
Jana Meyer: We've actually done four different rotating exhibits through the past year and a half at the Filson.
Louisville is the home of the Filson Historical Society, the largest such organization in the state of Kentucky
Theo Mayer: All right, let's get into the story of Kentucky at World War I. What was the state like in 1916? What was its role in the war effort?
Jim Pritchard: Well, Kentucky was a predominantly rural state at that time. Louisville was the largest urban center with cities like Lexington and Covington across river from Cincinnati and not too far behind in population. Of course, in terms of industry, coalfields in Eastern Kentucky and the Green River Country in Western Kentucky were well underway. You might say we had one foot in the progressive era and another foot in the discord and violence that plagued the state after the Civil War right up to the early years of the 20th century. Our governor was assassinated in the capital in 1900 and it almost led to a kind of mini-Civil War in the state. Kentuckians were divided in many ways as to whether to enter the war or not.
The Filson, pictured here, is involved in Commemoration events honoring the history of Kentucky's involvement in the Great War
Jana Meyer: Kentucky had a very diverse population, including a large German and Irish immigrant population in Louisville and the Northern Kentucky Region and so a lot of these individuals favored neutrality.
Jim Pritchard: We also had Henry Watterson, outspoken editor of The Louisville Courier-Journal, one of the nation's leading newspapers. When the war was declared, he penned the famous editorial, "To Hell with the Hapsburg and Hophenzollerns."
Jana Meyer: The National Press didn't really cover World War I very much and Watterson was the exception to that. Watterson became very passionate about the war when Belgium was invaded and actually penned two Pulitzer Prize-winning articles in 1917 right when the United States entered the war.
Theo Mayer: Kentucky is also the home of Fort Knox. Is that in your region?
Jim Pritchard: Yes, it's not too far south of Louisville. Camp Knox, as it was known during the First World War, was an artillery training facility. Over a 125,000 men went through basic training here before they were assigned to regular US Army Units and shipped overseas and were filtered into other units once they reached France.
Jana Meyer: Pershing actually considered Kentuckians to be some of his best soldiers.
Jim Pritchard: Yes, we had our own Sergeant York who is also from Appalachia. Sergeant Willie Sandlin of Hyden, Kentucky was awarded a Medal of Honor for wiping out three German machine gun nests during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and of course a lot of other Kentuckians received awards. A nurse, Mary Arvin, was decorated by both the French and British Governments for remaining at her post at a field hospital which was under aerial bombardment.
Theo Mayer: Do you know what other commemorative projects are ongoing in the state? Do you know what the commemorative plans are for the Armistice?
Jim Pritchard: I'm not sure at this point exactly how the state will round out the Centennial. I'm sure there will be some type of Armistice Day commemorative program.
Jana Meyer: We actually started celebrating Armistice several days earlier because Louisvillians heard a fire alarm bell ringing and they thought it was the end of the war so we started celebrating in Louisville on November 7th. They knew the end of the war was coming and so we kept celebrating through the 11th when The Armistice was actually signed.
Jim Pritchard: Some of the things that we've recently had in the past- Sergeant Sandlin was reinterred a veteran cemetery in his hometown in May and reburied with honors, and of course at the Kentucky State Fair, there was a huge World War I exhibit, sort of an interactive trench warfare display that got a lot of attention.
Sergeant Willie Sandlin, a Kentucky native, earned the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Theo Mayer: Now, what do you think is the most interesting WW1-related project the Filson Historical Society has undertaken?
Jana Meyer: One that I really enjoyed was an exhibit on a Kentuckian named Jack Speed. He was an amateur photographer and he took his camera with him when he was sent abroad to fight in France and took some amazing photographs. World War I is interesting because it's actually the first war where you do you have soldiers taking cameras with them into the field.
Jim Pritchard: We also had a really good exhibit prior to that. Actually, I think this was our first exhibit, "Called to Arms." One of the interesting things about that is that we worked very hard to represent the entire community. I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of local men who lost their lives with the Harlem Hellfighters. They were Kentuckians but entered that New York unit as replacements.
Theo Mayer: It seems like everyone who starts to dig into the stories strikes gold. The stories are just wonderful. Thank you both for coming on the show.
Jim Pritchard: You're very welcome.
Jana Meyer: Thanks for having us.
Jim Pritchard: Thanks for having us.
Theo Mayer: Jana Meyer and Jim Pritchard are from the Filson Historical Society in Kentucky. Learn more about the Society and The Centennial of World War I in Kentucky by visiting the links in the podcast notes.