Twas The Night Before Christmas In Kentucky

A classic Christmas story featuring all the magic of Santa combined with the magic of your favorite city, state, or country. It's the night before Christmas and you're nestled snug in your bed. Your stocking is hung by the chimney with care--will Santa visit your house? Follow Santa's journey in this magical retelling of a Christmas classic starring the locations and landmarks that make the place where you live special!

“A gigantic gift full of literary goodies . . . holiday stories poems, songs and essays, there should be something for anyone who opens this package.” —Kentucky Monthly A celebration of holiday poetry, fiction, essays, recipes, and songs by more than sixty of the Bluegrass state’s finest writers. Gathered here are writings from some of the legendary voices of Kentucky—and the nation—as well as original Christmas stories and poetry from some of the state’s emerging talents. Among the contributors to this handsome collection are Kentucky’s visionaries, storytellers, historians, singers, cooks, children’s authors, and poets, including all five Kentucky Poet Laureates. A delight for anyone interested in Kentucky literature, history, or traditions, A Kentucky Christmas promises to be a wonderful holiday gift, a treasured family keepsake, and a necessary addition for libraries and for personal collections. “This book could accurately be called ‘A Kentucky Christmas Tree,’ since it is a structure with various good-sized branches, all hung or draped with bits of holiday cheer.”—Appalachian Center Newsletter “Celebrates Kentucky traditions from the first Christmas on the Falls of the Ohio to settlement days along the Cumberland to Appalachian country store windows on Christmas Eve.”—Floyd County Times “This cornucopia of a book will appeal to all who count the season as the best time of the year.”—Southern Living “This book will become a holiday classic.”—Suite101.com

Take a holiday trip to Kentucky! As each of the twelve days of Christmas pass, VERY unusual gifts from around the state pile up. Lucky readers are in for a wild countdown!

A collection of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, most not previously anthologized, ranging in theme from the nostalgic to examinations of the dysfunctional side of the Christmas season.

An in-depth look at the life of the influential University of Kentucky basketball coach and his legacy. Known as the “Man in the Brown Suit” and the “Baron of the Bluegrass,” Adolph Rupp (1901–1977) is a towering figure in the history of college athletics. In Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball, historian James Duane Bolin goes beyond the wins and losses to present the fullest account of Rupp’s life to date based on more than one-hundred interviews with Rupp, his assistant coaches, former players, University of Kentucky presidents and faculty members, and his admirers and critics, as well as court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and other archival materials. His teams won four NCAA championships (1948, 1949, 1951, and 1958), the 1946 National Invitation Tournament title, and twenty-seven Southeastern Conference regular season titles. Rupp’s influence on the game of college basketball and his impact on Kentucky culture are both much broader than his impressive record on the court. Bolin covers Rupp’s early years?from his rural upbringing in a German Mennonite family in Halstead, Kansas, through his undergraduate years at the University of Kansas playing on teams coached by Phog Allen and taking classes with James Naismith, the inventor of basketball?to his success at Kentucky. This revealing portrait of a pivotal figure in American sports also exposes how college basketball changed, for better or worse, in the twentieth century. Praise for Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball “This detailed and richly researched biography is written in a clear and engaging manner that reflects the work of a historian at the top of his game. Bolin is definitely fully engaged with Adolph Rupp’s multi-faceted life and has demonstrated his mastery of his wide-ranging sources. An excellent book!” —Richard O. Davies, Distinguished Profess or History, Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno “An incisive analysis of Adolph Rupp’s role in creating the Big Blue Nation . . . . An unvarnished and well-sourced examination of a flawed human being . . . . A must-read for any true Kentucky fan.” —Roberta Schultz, WVXU Radio Cincinnati

It's Halloween night, and creatures and critters from near and far are starting to gather outside the front door. And now here comes a whole army of monsters, on broomsticks, buses, and bikes, all clamoring in the darkness. What is it they want? Are they coming for you? A delightfully spooky Halloween adventure featuring iconic locations and landmarks from your favorite city, state, or country.

A bibliography of the poem "The night before Christmas."

This volume is an encyclopedia of country music performers who have used comedy as a central component of their presentation. Loyal Jones offers a conversational and informative biographical sketch of each performer, often including a sample of the musician's humor, a recording history, and amusing anecdotal tidbits. In an entertaining style, Jones covers performers throughout the twentieth century, from such early stars of vaudeville and radio barn dances as the Skillet Lickers and the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, to regulars on Hee Haw and the Grand Old Opry, continuing to current comedians such as the Austin Lounge Lizards, Ray Stevens, and Jeff Foxworthy.