KENTUCKY HERB ASSOCIATION MEETING

Saturday, August 14, 2010

 10:00a.m. Central Daylight Time

Madisonville, Kentucky

Cost for Tour & Meal - $15.00

Please send reservation check by August 1st to

Pennyroyal Herb Club

c/o Jean Merrell

582 East Broadway

Madisonville, KY  42431

The Pennyroyal Herb Club of Western Kentucky invites you to a Historic House & Garden Tour in THE BEST TOWN ON EARTH – Madisonville, KY – on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 10:00a.m. Central Time.  Spend one day or enjoy an extended weekend of activities nearby.

DIRECTIONS:  Take Pennyrile Parkway Exit 42.  Follow Highway 70 West into downtown.  Meet at the first site which is one block past the courthouse.

Each Historical Tour Site will have a speaker/tour guide to relate its interesting facts:

#1.  THE BEST TOWN ON EARTH SIGN – For many years, travelers have known Madisonville by the nickname, “The Best Town on Earth,” from signs over the highway at each end of town.  Incidents have knocked the originals down, but a replica of the “The Best Town on Earth” sign now stands downtown on Main Street to welcome visitors.

(You will want to bring your camera and, like other visitors, take pictures under the sign.)

#2.  MONTPELIER FAÇADE – Across from the sign, visitors can see a life-size façade of Montpelier, James Madison’s plantation home in Virginia – a fitting tribute because Madisonville was named in honor of U.S. President James Madison in 1807.

#3.  HAMMACK-MOORE HOUSE – Close by is a historic house that was erected in 1895 and for many years was the residence of Dr. Hammack, a local physician, and later of his daughter, Keil & J.B. Moore.  It has been remodeled into a popular Bed & Breakfast.

#4.  RUBY LAFFOON LOG CABIN – One block away is the restored birthplace of Ruby Laffoon, former governor of Kentucky.  Tour the inside of the historic two-room cabin that features 1800s furnishings.

#5.  LOG CABIN HERB GARDEN – At the back door of the Laffoon Log Cabin, the Pennyroyal Herb Club maintains an herb garden containing herbs that would have been used when the home was an active homestead.  A kitchen garden, a medicine garden and a household garden are full of herbs used in the 1800s.

#6.  MUNN’S HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE – A short drive takes us to this 1800s school, one of the remaining two-room schools in the area.  Built in 1879, it is a museum in itself because it is a replica of an early schoolroom with furnishings of the time when the school was used.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the meeting place for the Pennyroyal Herb Club.  (Have your picture taken sitting in one of the old desks, behind the teacher’s desk, or next to the pot-bellied stove.)  CRAFTS OF THE 1800s – Hand-made arts & crafts:  Basket-making, Hand-made Soaps, Quilts, Spinning, Sewing, etc. on display at the school.

LUNCH:  Food-Sharing Thyme – Saturday, the Pennyroyal Herb Club members will provide a salad buffet with many recipes taken from their recent recipe booklet, SOUP~N~SALAD THYME.  Lunch will  be at the Ruby House, an 1896 house that is on the National Register of Historical Places.  Tour and meal - $15.00  SEND RESERVATION CHECKS BY AUGUST 1ST TO:  PENNYROYAL HERB CLUB, c/o JEAN MERRELL, 582 EAST BROADWAY, MADISONVILLE, KY  42431.

#7.  A HISTORIC SAMPLER GARDEN – A short drive takes us to a beautiful historic home and garden rich in family memories.  The plants, trees, herbs and flowers that have been gathered for the site have been hand-pieced into an organized pattern that reflects a formal garden setting.  Personal mementos from family and friends fill the garden with unique character.  It is one of the largest gardens in the area.  You won’t want to miss it!  (Take pictures under the numerous trailing plants or in one of the many gazebos.)

TRAVEL INFORMATION:  Madisonville is 200 miles from Lexington (4 hr drive) or

150 miles from Louisville (3 hr drive).

OTHER AREA ACTIVITIES FOR WEEKENDERS:

  *Friday Night Live…a free music fest in downtown Madisonville every second Friday night (night before the tour)

  *My Old Kentucky Home/Stephen Foster Story Play – in Bardstown, KY (about half-way to Madisonville)

  *West Kentucky Botanical Garden in Owensboro, KY…40 miles northeast

  *Famous Moonlight Inn BBQ – Owensboro

  *Bluegrass in the Park (on Ohio River) Free BG Fest Friday & Saturday night music in Henderson…40 miles north

  *John James Audubon State Park…Henderson