Storyteller brings historic jockey to life
Eddie Price, with his wife Mary and Beverly Cooper in front of an old photograph of Churchhill Downs during the Kentucky Humanities Chautauqua presentation held at the Goddard Bridge Museum.
To kick-off the Smithsonian Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America exhibit, that will take place next spring, the Fleming County Covered Bridge Museum hosted a Kentucky Chautauqua presentation.
The story of Roscoe Tarleton Goose was brought to life as Eddie Price presented his portrayal of the jockey who not only beat the odds of escaping a life of poverty, but also to win the Kentucky Derby in 1913.
Price grew up in western Kentucky and is an award-winning author. He’s a member of the Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau, and has recently joined the ranks as a professional storyteller.
When Price entered the room in full costume to portray Roscoe Tarleton Goose, he captured the attention of those in attendance as he retold the story of how the historic jockey started out so poor he and his brothers had to steal coal from the train cars to help keep the family warm.
Price’s portrayal of Roscoe Goose kept his audience captivated as he took them through winning the Derby and how he became a millionaire in later years.
“I’ve never been to the tracks in person, but today I felt like I was right there at the races watching Roscoe win the Derby. For anyone who didn’t get a chance to attend today’s event, they really missed out on some great story telling,” Jimmy Kegley said.
For Eddie, combining his love of writing and bringing history to life, was a perfect match for him, even though he was somewhat reserved.
“It’s funny because I am kind of an introvert really, but I enjoy getting in front of people to tell a story and especially watching the audience’s reactions to see if they find the story interesting,” Price said. “After my novel, Widder’s Landing, came out, I joined the Humanities Council and Speaker’s Bureau. I’m a retired school teacher and taught high school and college history for 36 years. After I retired, I started doing several historical programs and one day a lady from Cadiz called me to see if I could do a program for them. I said sure. I was writing down the information when she said, ‘don’t forget to bring your son.’ I told her I had two daughters, so I asked her what kind of program did she need me for. Well, when she told me she wanted my Abraham Lincoln program I knew she had me mistaken with someone else since I’m pretty short and don’t look anything like Abe Lincoln,” Price laughed.
Although the lady from Cadiz had called the wrong person, she had opened a door for Eddie to become a storyteller.
“That same lady did call back later and ask me to come down to Cadiz to do a program for her. That’s when I got to thinking if I were to do a program as a storyteller, what would I do. I started looking into famous Kentuckians and thought, well, one time someone asked me if I wanted to be a jockey when I was 15 but my mom said, “oh no, you will not do that.” So, I started looking up some famous jockeys and my wife Mary and I went to the Churchhill Downs Museum to do research. While we were there I discovered more about Roscoe Goose and the horse Donerail and decided, hey he’s from Kentucky I could portray him. There was an insurance agent in Lexington that had some old photographs of Roscoe and Donerail, and Roscoe had on his Derby silks, so I had an outfit made to look just like his and signed up for an audition. The process of becoming a professional storyteller is a bit complicated. My first audition was just 5 minutes, but I dressed in full costume and gave it a try. I told Mary that I may get picked but I may not be what they are looking for. I was called back for another 20-minute audition and this time they told me to STOP PACING.” Well, I was a school teacher and I had spent years pacing back and forth in the classroom, so I had to learn to break that habit. After I was accepted into the program I was sent for more training under the direction of Ed Smith. Ed gave me lots of tips and in my opinion, he is the storytelling guru,” Price said.
A good storyteller knows how to skillfully bring a character to life and make them seem so real the audience is transformed into a different time and place.
Eddie Price did not disappoint as his portrayal of a famous Kentucky jockey.
Sandra Cooper enjoyed the storytelling skills of Eddie Price and was delighted to get a signed copy of his Novel, Widder’s Landing. Photos by Lee Hawkins.
