Kenton Library Archives

09/04/2026

The Ohio River has carried more than just boats and commerce—it has carried mysteries, disasters, hauntings, and unforgettable characters.

Join us Friday, October 16 at 6 PM at Ludlow Memorial Park for an evening of spooky stories and fascinating history, as special guest storytellers Micha O’Connor, Greg Hand, Sean Andres, and Molly Wellmann share some of the stranger tales from along the Ohio River. I’ll be your MC for the evening!

And yes… there will be a COSTUME CONTEST!
Come dressed in your best Halloween costume and see if you can take home the prize! 👻

Bring a chair, bring a friend, and come prepared for an evening of history, mystery, and a little bit of the macabre.

Registration is required!

09/04/2026

Nearly 100 years ago today, The Kentucky Post reported on a Kentucky-born federal prohibition agent who found himself at the center of a deadly confrontation in Washington State.

William H. Kinniard, a 24-year-old native of Lancaster, Kentucky, had earned the nickname “Boy Dry Officer” while working as an assistant dry chief for Kentucky and Tennessee. By 1926, he was in charge of the federal prohibition office in Tacoma, Washington.

Kinniard and two other federal agents, along with a minister, were charged with murder following the shooting death of alleged moonshiner Emil Matsumoto near Orting, Washington. The agents claimed they had exchanged gunfire with Matsumoto, while a witness said Matsumoto had been shot in the back.

Despite the serious charges, Kinniard received the support of his superior officer, and the district's prohibition administrator declared that the killing had been “unavoidable and justified.”

A Kentucky boy had gone west to enforce Prohibition—and found himself facing a murder charge.

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

Stories from the Rugby School Class of 1905

Sprigg Case Ebbert
by Elaine Kuhn

Sprigg Ebbert was born in Covington, Kentucky on November 15, 1888, to George Dorsey and Lelia (Collins) Ebbert. Sprigg was the youngest of three children, with his sisters Louise and Rachel preceding him. The family lived in a large home at 640 Sanford Street in Covington, which was built by their maternal grandfather, Dewitt C. Collins. In 1893, tragedy struck the Ebbert family. While on business in New York City, Sprigg’s father succumbed to peritonitis brought about by a chronic bout of cholera. Mr. Ebbert’s body was returned to Northern Kentucky, and he was buried in Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell. In 1900, the family remained at the Sanford Street residence, though Mrs. Ebbert operated the home as a boarding house.
Sprigg entered the Rugby School in 1903 and was well regarded by staff and his fellow students. After graduating from The Rugby, Sprigg entered Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, before transferring and graduating from the University of Kentucky with a focus on mechanical and electrical engineering. One of his collegiate experiences was that he officiated a basketball game between Central University and Kentucky in 1908. After graduation, Ebbert became associated with the General Electric Company. In 1915, Mr. Ebbert married Elizabeth Douglass Julian of Lexington. The couple had one son, Edward. By 1920, the couple had relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where Sprigg worked as a sales associate. In 1925, Sprigg cofounded Ebbert & Kirkman Company, an industrial distributor and scale specialist business. Sprigg retired to Clearwater, Florida, in 1956. He and his family had wintered there since 1900. He was active in civic groups including the Kiwanis, the Theta Pi fraternity, and served as an elder of the Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church. Sprigg died in Tampa, Florida, on November 6, 1959. His remains were interred in Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater. His wife joined him in 1977 and rests at his side.

09/01/2026

Kentucky has lost one of its greatest voices. Wendell Berry, the celebrated poet, novelist, essayist, farmer, and advocate for the land, died Monday at his home in Port Royal at the age of 92.

Through more than four decades of writing, and through over 40 books, Berry reminded us of the importance of place, community, nature, and the stories rooted in the land around us. His words made Kentucky not simply a setting, but a character, and his influence reached far beyond the Commonwealth.

What is your favorite work of Wendell Berry? Comment below.

08/31/2026

Books We Love
“What My Heart Wants to Tell.”
Review by Briegh Soto

Heirlooms are precious items that are passed down for generations to come. Heirlooms can be photographs, jewelry, clocks, clothes, household items, or items that hold value. However, what if you didn’t have such items for heirlooms, you only had your stories and memories. That is “What My Heart Wants To Tell” this book is a memoir for Verna Mae Slone grandchildren and future generations. This memoir is based on Mrs. Slone and her legacy of her father Isom B. "Kitteneye" Slone. Mrs. Slone didn’t want the memories of her father passing with her. Mrs. Slone wanted to find a way that her grandchildren and future generations could learn about her father and family history. Verna Mae Slone was born October 9, 1914, to Isom B. "Kitteneye" Slone and Sarah Jane Owens. Sarah died 6 weeks after Verna Mae was born. Verna Mae was raised mostly by her siblings. Verna Mae later married Willie Slone and they had five sons. As time moved forward, the mountains of Appalachian also moved with Verna Mae in Knott County, Kentucky. The simple life was soon starting to become busy. The past was starting to slip away with the changes of coal mining coming to an end. The means of what made the little Appalachian town home was soon starting to become modernized. Verna Mae lived to be 94 years old and saw many changes through her life. Verna Mae began writing her memories down, the stories of her father, her family, and her traditions she began. Verna Mae was my Great-Great Aunt. My great- Grandmother Irene Slone was Verna Mae niece. I never got to meet Verna Mae, but my great-grandmother made sure I knew who she was and her stories. I never really understood the importance of those stories until my great-grandmother passed away in 2019. Reading Verna Maes book and seeing the realness of family, faith, and love. The stories that Verna Mae wrote in “What My Heart Wants To Tell” is more then just stories they are her memories and events she lived and passed down for future generations to read. This book is the Heirloom that was based down in my family and an Heirloom that I am proud to share.

08/28/2026

100 years ago, on August 28, 1926, The Kentucky Post introduced readers to Master Sergeant Josiah L. Mash of Ft. Thomas with a headline that sounds almost like advice from a modern life coach: “Live Your Own Life,” Says Veteran.

Mash enlisted in 1898 during the Spanish-American War and went on to serve at military posts across the country. During World War I, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and served with the 37th Division in France, participating in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and later the Ypres-Lys offensive in Belgium.
He returned home in 1919 and was discharged from the Army, but civilian life apparently didn't suit him. In 1924, he reenlisted and returned to Ft. Thomas with the 10th Infantry.

By 1926, Mash was preparing for his final discharge. He expected to find employment in Cincinnati and make his home somewhere in Northern Kentucky or southern Ohio.

And his advice?
“Stand on your own feet and live your own life. Pursue contentment, not dollars."

Not bad advice for 1926—or 2026.

08/26/2026

Class of 1905 Rugby High School, Covington, KY

Gertrude Magdalen Schleutker
By Deborah Wesley

Gertrude Magdalen Schleutker was born March 4, 1888, to John F. and Amelia “Emma” L. Deglow Schleutker, in Covington, KY. Gertrude’s father became a successful businessman; however, he suffered from tuberculosis and died in 1902 at the age of 44 years when Gertrude was only 4 years old. Gertrude had two sisters, Hazel and Elsie and her strong matriarch mother raised her three girls, never remarrying. Gertrude spoke both German and English and became an accomplished piano player. After graduation she studied an additional year at Nelson College, in PA, and then at the New England Conservatory in Boston. She married Wilbur “Bill” H. Kaiser in 1910 in Covington. Bill began working in sales, moving into management at Chester Park, and then at Coney Island for 23 years. Gertrude and Bill had three children: Kenton Deglow, a son, and two daughters, Jane Clare and Alyce.

Gertrude's maternal grandpa, Herman R. Deglow was a founding member of the Covington German Pioneer Society, began the first tannery (6th & Scott Streets) and first flour mill in Covington. He was Director of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Co. and the German National Bank, besides being the President of St. Paul’s German Protestant Congregation. In 1918 due to WWI prejudice against Germans in the U.S., Gertrude and Bill chose to change their last name from Kaiser to Harmon. Gertrude and her sisters, and her family, lived many years together on their land on Buttermilk Pike. In 1948 they sold 60 acres for the “Kenton Vetville,” for war veterans and their families.

In her life, Gertrude loved socializing, music, playing cards, and cooking German meals. Sadly, her husband passed of heart disease in 1953, and her sister, Elsie, died in 1956. Gertrude’s mother lived 100 years, dying in 1962, though she told people she was 82 because that’s the age she said she quit counting! Gertrude’s sister, Hazel had been devoted to their mom to the end, married late, and lived 97 years! Gertrude relocated to Florida to spend the last 9 years of her life with her son. She died in 1967 at 78 years of age and was buried in Highland Cemetery, Ft. Mitchell, KY, near family.