Kentucky Horse Park Day Trip - August 19

I've been wanting to visit the Kentucky Horse Park for a number of years but this is the first time that I could go when we had a Young@Heart trip. I will admit that I was a bit concerned about the amount of walking for this one. I assumed it was something like a county or state fair. Perhaps this is the closest someone like me could come to describing the park layout. There were a lot of barns and other buildings, but no rides or outside vendors.

The park is really beautiful and is a great place to visit with your family, sometime. But - - - there is a lot of walking, if you want to really see the park. Of course, there are always places to sit and rest a spell, too.

This is the view at the main entrance and gift shop

As we entered the park the first thing to see is the main building where they sell the passes and have a gift shop. There is a huge mechanical horse. It seems to gallop on some kind of schedule but isn't working all the time. I guess even mechanical horses want a rest, now and then!

The first event that we did was to go to "The Big Barn" for a demonstration on harnessing the work horses. A young lady handled the harness parts very well and I was surprised about the weight. It was over 70 pounds. Remember, these work horses are for pulling things such as carriages and plows. They aren't normally ridden but harnessed to pull other things. The horse is the motor that pulls and also the brakes to stop the forward motion. The harness and collar are put on in a way that they can effectively allow the horse to stop.

Of course, the horses can pull a variety of wagons, carriages and farm implements.

There were other demonstrations and even various performance events to see. There is also a very nice museum about horses over the centuries. I didn't realize there is so much history concerning horses. Of course, they are mentioned in the Bible and were created at the beginning of our world. One could easily spend several hours in this very well laid out museum.

Following the tours and museum we had an opportunity to eat in their restaurant. They also have a smaller cafe. I was pleasantly surprised that the food and service were actually very good.

It's always good to tour with our people. One thing that makes is special is that so many of our people have talents that far exceed mine. Bill Speyer with Darlene were part of this group and Bill took an excellent video of the tour which he posted on YouTube to share. So, now you can see it, too! Just click below! Be sure to expand it to full-screen and turn on your sound.

Now. off we go to the gift shop. I like their taffy and Nancy likes the cups.

I'm tempted to call this, "Nancy Rides Off Into the Sunset"

Maybe that is because she enjoyed shopping in the gift shop. They have the normal things like model horses, carriages, candy and for Nancy and I, COFFEE CUPS!

August 2016 YAH Luncheon Program - Chuck Curran

This month we featured a couple of first time events for our luncheon program. Robert Rhodes sang a couple of Broadway musical songs and Chuck Curran shared from his experiences in politics.

However, to start, Grace Averitt and Nancy Jensen played the piano and organ for our prelude period. Grace went on to perform with and accompany Robert.

After our jokes (we use those to bring people in from the foyer) we introduced Robert Rhodes.

Robert is the newest member or our Pastoral staff at Washington Heights. He is the Pastor of Worship and Arts and is a recent graduate of Cedarville University and performed there frequently with the Jubilate Chorus and also in a number of musical plays. Some of you may have seen him in one of those musicals.

This month he performed pieces from two different musicals. First, was Beethoven’s Birthday (from Charlie Brown) and the second was Dream a Little Dream of Me.

Robert will do an entire musical program for us in October.

Following Robert’s music, we did our normal opening program with acknowledgements of birthdays and anniversaries and upcoming trips, etc.

Then, we brought Chuck Curran up to speak to us about the elections and the importance of our votes. Chuck is a long time resident of the Dayton area and has filled a number of political positions. Curran relocated to Dayton, Ohio in 1963 to handle government documents for the Dayton Public Library. He then worked as a Social Sciences teacher at Fairborn High School from 1963–65, and he worked as a Reference Librarian at Belmont High School from 1965-66. In 1966, Curran was hired as a Political Science instructor at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. He served as a Democrat on the city commission of Dayton, from 1970-79. He later served as the Democratic Ohio State Senator from 1979-83. In 1983, Charles began his first of 6 four-year terms as Montgomery County Commissioner (served 1983-2006). In 1996, Curran switched to the Republican Party. He continues to serve as Associate Professor of Political Science at Sinclair Community College.

As you can see Chuck served under both the Democrat and Republican parties. He brings a wealth of experience to his teaching position. After listening to him, I can readily see that he is an excellent teacher. His talk was informative and at times humorous and even spellbinding. I can honestly say that he taught me a few things about politics.

Thank you Chuck. I believe this is an important time in American History and therefore our votes are important. VOTE!

Unfortunately, our recorded audio did not work, except for the video. So, there is no recording of Chuck or of the Piano/Organ music.

Following Chuck we had a very nice picnic meal prepare by Lisa and her very capable volunteers.

Next Month, we will be entertained by the Music and Crazy antic of Spittin’ Image!