Celebrating Women's History Month Brenda Plummer

As a “keeper of the past” Brenda Plummer has spent much of her time devoted to collecting historical memorabilia, an interest she credits to her love for books.

“Looking back, I’m sure that my love of history is intertwined with my love of reading.

Early on, I remember going to the Bookmobile or our school library at Ewing and finding the first biographies of famous people in history. My favorite author in grade school was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read all of the “Little House” books, over and over. Her descriptions of living in a sod house or in a little cabin, the day to day chores and the interaction between Laura, her family and her neighbors and school mates was always an interest to me. Perhaps the defining moments of my love of history came in seventh grade, when I had Kentucky History, taught by Mr. Wayne Lewis at Ewing. We not only studied about the history of the state, but were able to take field trips to many of the sites of which we had read: Ft. Boonesboro, Ft. Harrod, Danville, My Old Kentucky Home, Frankfort, Cumberland Falls and Cumberland Gap; Ashland, home of Henry Clay; White Hall, home of Cassius Clay, etc. During my seventh grade year, we also performed a play about Kentucky History. I can still remember seeing the blood (ketchup) oozing from a white man’s head as the Indian scalped him (using a wig of course!) Mr. Lewis also incorporated history of the surrounding area as we learned of the last battle of the Revolution (at Blue Licks), the reason for the name Battle Run, and the people in the area who fought in the Civil War, among other things. That love of history continued with Mr. Lewis teaching American History and Current Events in eighth grade and Mrs. Ramey (now Mrs. Wiggington) teaching American History in High School. Mrs. Ramey brought fun into the classroom, playing games to help us remember facts, and encouraging our creative sides by having groups convey the important events of a given decade by using music, skits, etc …,” Brenda said.

Brenda also discovered that family members could tell wonderful stories about the people they knew in their time and to attend an auction was another place to glean nuggets of information.

“I always loved hearing stories from my parents and other relatives about our “kin” and the areas where they grew up. I loved going to auctions, especially farm and estate auctions. I would stand at the tool wagon and ask questions about certain items and ultimately someone who had knowledge of its name and use would share with me. Neighbors and friends who had gathered at the auction would reminisce about the people who lived in the area or about various events that had happened close by. It was also at auctions that I began to see items that told stories about our communities. Old calendars with names of stores that no longer existed; post card pictures of what our towns looked like in the past; old newspapers with names and events long past. The more I saw of these things, the more I wanted to know,” Brenda said.

One of the best ways to keep our history from fading into the past, came about when Fleming County was blessed to have a local museum; a place where Brenda feels very much at home.

“I have always felt that our county has a rich history which needs to be remembered and celebrated! When the chance to actually have a county museum became a possibility, I wanted to help do what I could. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in ten years. I continue to enjoy learning about people, and places and events in our county, our state and our nation. I think that history is important to our future. It shows us what works and what doesn’t. It gives us a place to start and a way of measuring how far we have come. It also gives us a sense of belonging and an identity to a certain family or a certain group; at least it has for me.”

Without our local historians, we would have no keepers of the past.