For several years, one of our editors and I developed the idea of an anthology entitled "Murder in Kentucky," a non-fiction collection that was designed to involve many county historical societies. When it became apparent that I was never going to generate sufficient interest and support for this project, I then tried to prevail upon local historian George Wolfford to write a book about Murder and Mayhem in Eastern Kentucky, and George has made some progress along those lines. However, it looks like someone has "stole our thunder."

Kevin McQueen, an instructor in the Department of English and Theatre at Eastern Kentucky University, just published "Murder In Old Kentucky: True Crime Stories From The Bluegrass," a book which details historical homicides that took place between 1826 and 1937. McQueen’s eighteen stories reflect excellent research and a clear, easy-to-read, often humorous writing style that makes this book a real "page turner." McQueen’s harvest of homicide and cornucopia of carnage includes an excellent and thorough study of "The Ashland Tragedy," the murder of three teenagers on the night of December 23, 1881.

Another story that may be especially interesting to local readers is "Murder on a College Campus," an episode that took place on the Berea College Campus in 1937. Opal Sturgell, an attractive sophomore from Lawrence County, was murdered by her former boyfriend, George Elmo Wells of Auxier in Floyd County, on the night of Sunday August 15, 1937. Wells disappeared immediately! A posse consisting of college students, lawmen, and local citizens combed the surrounding farms and forests, but Wells was never found. The statue of limitations on murder never expires, so George Elmo Wells is still a wanted man, but if he is still alive he is almost ninety years old.

"Murder In Old Kentucky" is enhanced by a fifteen page bibliography of McQueen’s sources for every story. This book is part of a large collection of regional books that focus on ghosts, murders, mysteries, and treasures. These books are available in the Jesse Stuart Foundation Bookstore at 1645 Winchester Avenue in downtown Ashland.

For more information, call (606) 326-1667 or visit our website: JSFBOOKS.COM.

Beginning with the Saturday after Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas Eve, the Jesse Stuart Foundation will be open on Saturdays from 10am - 2pm. If you cannot visit our stores or galleries during the week, we invite you to take advantage of our Saturday hours.

On Saturday, November 26th, local author Justine Felix Rutherford will be at the Jesse Stuart Foundation signing her two books: "Rough Lumber: Stories From Spurlock Creek" and "Wild Mustard: Flavorful Characters, Opinions, and Recipes from Spurlock Creek." The author will also provide samples of West Virginia Joy Cake, a recipe from "Wild Mustard."

Next year, I plan to publish a popular biography entitled "Jesse Stuart: A Photobiography." I’ll write a 50-100 page Introductory essay that outlines Stuart’s life. That will be followed by photographic "chapters" which will have little text, but numerous photos with thorough and informative cutlines. I invite my readers to submit photographs of Stuart for inclusion in this book. Please bring them in and Brett Nance will scan them and return the original to you right away. Please also bring as much information as you can about the photo: when it was taken, the names of the people in the photo, etc. Even if you don’t know dates and people, we’d still like to see your photos. If we include your photo in our forthcoming book, you’ll get a gift copy as a token of appreciation for your assistance.