Kentucky Oral History Commission Announces Latest Grant Recipients

Administered by the Kentucky Historical Society, the Kentucky Oral History Commission grant program offers funding, equipment, and training grants to assist amateur or professional oral historians with oral history research projects on topics of particular significance to Kentucky. These grants encourage statewide participation in the collection and preservation of historically valuable interviews. Grants were recently awarded to the following organizations:

Project Grant

Widows' Narratives of Flood and Resilience in Letcher County, Kentucky

July-August 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods (FatCat96, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

In partnership with the Doty School, this project will document the stories of widowed women over age 80 who survived the 2022 flood in Letcher County. Many lived through multiple flooding events (1957, 1977, 2022) and carry memories from earlier generations flood experiences. This oral history project will tell of the impacts of flooding on their life and preserve these unique narratives of resilience. 

Transcription Grants

Kentucky Craft History & Education Association

The Kentucky Oral History Commission has awarded a transcription grant to the Kentucky Craft History and Education Association to transcribe the Natural Intelligence: Shining Across the State Oral History Project. These interviews highlight the importance of original creation in a world increasingly overrun with artificially generated content. This project continues the work of documenting Kentucky's craft history through over 100 oral history interviews in the Craft Luminary Project.

WRFL Broadcasting in KY

KOHC has awarded a transcription grant to transcribe the History of Broadcasting in Kentucky: Radio Free Lexington (WRFL) Oral History Project. This collection of 51 oral histories chronicles the beginnings of WRFL-FM, UK’s student-run radio station. WRFL was established in 1988 at the University of Kentucky as a free, alternative radio station. The station airs 24/7. Those interviewed for this project talk about their memories of the early days and their roles at the radio station, and their membership in a number of bands.