Owensboro, Kentucky

“When I get up in the morning, I thank God for the day,” Alma Montgomery says. “And then I get up and use it.” A consistent routine, positive attitude and deep-rooted faith: Alma says these are the secrets to living to age 101. Alma is very much alive. She walks a mile every day, has […]

Every weekday at 7:30 a.m. on the dot, Linda Sue Brown is dropped off at Puzzle Pieces adult daycare. And every afternoon she struggles with leaving. Puzzle Pieces is a non-profit organization that was started in 2012, and Amanda Owen, the executive director, describes Puzzle Pieces as a activity day care center that provides social […]

Sunlight dapples Robert “Bob” Roberts’ back as he jerks left, right, backwards and forwards, guiding his commercial-sized lawn mower over another strip of grass. His flannel overcoat is covered in grass clippings and his brow is dripping sweat. At 81 years old, Bob mows more than 30 lawns a week. “If I didn’t mow, I’d […]

It’s 9 p.m., and Shelly Shrum awakes from her nap. It’s time for work. Her husband and daughter are already asleep, and so Shelly’s night starts off quietly. But Shelly’s life has been far from quiet. She and her family live in a house on Cedar Street, nestled against the Daniel Pitino Shelter, a transitional […]

Outside, the early morning dew coats the grass. There is a bite to the October air over Owensboro, a reminder that winter is on its way. Inside, a father proudly rises before the sun in order to get his young daughter onto the school bus. Waking up early is hardly a sacrifice for Zaw Zaw, […]

At first glance, J.R.’s Market is a little slice of country life. Soda. Canned goods. Nails. Animal feed. To the people of Utica, it is more than a convenience store. Marriam Bell is the soul of the store; the customers, its heart. This is where the lives of families intersect. Children learn to walk across […]

It’s fast. It’s thrilling. It’s dangerous. It’s a way of life for JD Beach and Hayden Gillim. “It’s our full time job; that’s all we do,” JD says. JD has spent most of his life pursuing his dream of being a professional motorcycle racer. He started riding at age 4. “When I was 7, I […]

It was a normal morning for Ernie Sampson. The owner of Sampson Coal eased into his office chair, footsteps heavy after breakfast at the Cadillac Motel Restaurant: two eggs sunny side up, three strips of bacon, two biscuits with gravy, and water. Hold the ice. It would be about an hour until his employees arrived, […]

Fifty-nine years ago, Joe Elliott left home at age 15 and told his father he wouldn’t give him a dime for his land. Joe wanted his own farm, but he wanted to earn it. After working numerous jobs, Joe finally purchased his first plot in Philpot, Ky., in 1965. Today, Joe owns 400 of the […]

It is 7 a.m., and a golden sunrise paints the floor of a small, two-bedroom home where seven migrant workers shrug off sleep and head one mile down the road to Knott Farms LLC, a modest plot of 4,000 acres teeming with tobacco plants. “Without them, this farm would not survive,” says Donnie Knott, one […]

For decades, the Ohio River has served as the life blood of this river community but as commerce was redirected towards trucking, the downtown Owensboro community began a slow death. In recent years, a redevelopment effort of the water front has served to bring life and vitality to Owensboro. Thirteen primary and high school teachers […]

Eight years ago, four Californians found Diamond Lake Resort for sale on eBay for the second time. They were interested in the campground and RV park when it appeared on the website six years before that, but they didn’t buy it. They grew to regret that decision, so they jumped at the second chance – […]

An Owensboro staple since the early 1950s, the Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn is synonymous with world-famous barbecue and hospitable family friendly service. Moonlite started out as a tiny barbecue joint with only 30 seats, but has slowly evolved into an international operation and household name in the world of barbecue. Recognized by regional publications such as […]

Sunrise to moonrise gives witness to life clicking along in Owensboro through time- lapse photography. The city’s energy — new life mixed with old — reveals itself under clouds, stars and light.

Nikole Gross pours her heart into the coffee and the people she meets at The Crème Coffee House. “It’s like my second home,” says Nikole, a staff member of the downtown coffee house. “My heart is attached to the people of The Crème”. Through the storefront window, construction trucks helping to revitalize downtown fill the […]

Two barbers brought together by a past laden with inner conflicts find each other — and a harmonious partnership. Through grooming their customers, they are discovering their own serenity and purpose.

The smell of baked pepper chicken filled the air at Boulware Mission, a home for the homeless or the addicted. A laugh from Terry Walls, 59, drifted along with the aroma from the kitchen. “I really like being in the kitchen and showing some of the younger ones how to cook,” he said. Terry, a […]

Everybody in Owensboro has a “Butch story.” Intellectually, Butch Freels faces challenges, but his happy personality just makes everyone feel good. “He’s got that smile. . . he gets into your soul,” says one.

The innate need for humans to communicate – to network, develop relationships, grow and succeed – turns life into signals moving from senders to receivers. Communication breakdowns – differences in language, misunderstanding or lack of volume – can bring that life to a halt. Heidi Givens works to fix the signal when it doesn’t get […]

Drug Court often sends offenders to Dee’s Diner where Dee Harper offers jobs — and hope — to those struggling with addiction. Harper’s own son continues to fight for sobriety, but his mother holds on to her dreams for him.

Sister Fran Wilhelm starts each day with the rising sun. A cup of tea, a morning prayer, and a full day of work begins for the 84-year-old to whom age is but a number. A member of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, Sister Fran has dedicated her life to helping the Owensboro area’s […]

“Get away from the pain, all the hassle, the rat race, all the bad things in life. That is heaven to me,” says cancer patient Eugene Hampton. Hampton will hold on to his hopes and his vision of heaven until the end.

As Chris Hyland was growing up, his father encouraged him to follow his passion. One of seven sons, Chris was the only one who became a veterinarian like his dad. “My father came to Owensboro in the 1960s and I followed him to work at the Audubon Animal Hospital as often as I could,” Chris […]

Six young men mentored by Father Ed Bradley at Owensboro Catholic High School find a way to honor the deceased. They volunteer to be pallbearers for families who need their strength.

Sometimes when you’re sinking, the best you can do is hold on. Kim and Rob Sanders won’t let go.

Officer Sean Schlachter hardly ever uses his “Officer of the Year” parking spot in the lot at the Owensboro Police Department. “I’m just not into the notoriety of things,” he says. “That’s just not my style.” Officer Sean, as he’s affectionately known because of his tough-to-pronounce last name, won “Officer of the Year” in June […]

Eleven children live in Karen Glenn’s house. While they aren’t all tied by blood, the woman they all call Me-Maw is the tie that binds them together.

As the sun lowers earlier in the sky, and the leaves began to fall, many farming families start facing the same challenge — time with each other is scarce. Many times moms are turned into taxi services, carrying kids, food, and equipment to their designated places. Dads put in long hours in the field, sometimes […]

Many people overlook pennies on the ground. But for Pam Smith-Wright, these pennies are a special gift.

Before the sun rises each morning, the residents of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph convent are awake to attend morning Mass. Each resident is a former active and working nun. Now retired, the sisters range in age from their mid 70s to late 90s and spend their days on the vast land of […]

Jason Koger holds his children, holds his wife’s hands and holds on to a sense of normalcy in his life. But the challenges of living as a bilateral amputee are impossible to ignore — for both him and his wife, Jenny.

To Grant McDonald, owner of Norman McDonald’s Country Drive In, nothing is more important than family. Since Grant’s father Norman opened the restaurant in Philpot in 1964, just about every member of the McDonald family has spent time working behind the counter. Despite the family tradition, Grant has decided that he won’t be passing the […]

The kids at Sutton Elementary call him Mr. Knuckles. Friends and family call him Army Armstrong. Vietnam called him to war — and he’s still finding ways to deal with his emotions from the experience.

The folks who sleep at the Colonel House Motel aren’t just occupants – they’re residents. Motels are typically designed for temporary stays, but this particular establishment tends to bring in customers and keep them there. With some of the lowest rates in town, the Colonel House often attracts people in difficult states of transition. That’s […]

Abuse. Trauma. Violence. Terina Phillips knows first-hand what those words mean. She wants better for the child she’s trying to raise.

With the patience of a crouching tiger and the perseverance of a migrating bird, Velma Smith spends her days creating taxidermy replicas of wild animals: preserving them for generations to come. For 36 of her 62 years, she has worked in her shop, located only steps from her home in McLean County. Smith’s Wildlife Artistry […]

Matt is 55 and has struggled most of his life with addiction. However, he has found support at the homeless shelter and hope in his faith. But can he make it living on his own?

Down a narrow road shaded by rows of verdant, massive trees lies Reid’s Orchard, the only orchard within a two-hour radius. Around the autumn-colored grounds, John, Billy, Kathy, Valerie, and Katie Reid – and plenty of hired help – pick and process fresh apples during the busiest season of the year. During the long growing […]

Thirteen-year-old Zhauntez “T-Bird” Thornton has terminal brain cancer. His mother, BreAnne Harris, is determined to make the rest of his life as comfortable and happy as possible.

“We are nothing fancy or rich,” says Clint Tucker, “but in my eyes, I’m the richest man in the world because of my angels.” Ask anyone to describe Clint, 33, and he or she won’t talk about how easy his life is or how he is currently in the middle of a divorce. Instead, people […]

Dot and Riley Steitler got hitched 62 years ago. It hasn’t always been an easy road but one that always leads them back to each other. When marriage is a struggle, what makes it work?

John Edge, head coach of the Owensboro Catholic High School Aces, says students bemoan being stuck in school all day. He teases them after school with the same call down the hall: “All you people do is complain about being here, and as soon as you can you don’t leave.” That is the story of […]

Hal Miller is in the December of his life. The 90-year-old veteran continues an Owensboro tradition at Windy Hollow Restaurant, originally owned by his late twin brother.

Guillermo Uribe rides his tractor like a prince surveying his manor. Dressed in torn jeans, soiled by the earth and covered in skin bronzed by the sun, he oversees 20 men who never question his direction — men commanded with a noble benevolence. And Cecil Farms prospers under Uribe’s watchful care. Uribe can barely read […]

At Mr. Jim’s Beauty School, students practice the fine art of making the perfect cut. On hair, that is.

The Wills Animal Hospital is not just an emergency center for pets. It is an all-around animal care center that offers check-ups, baths and shots as well as surgery. “Every day is unique. Every day is something different,” said Dr. Teresa Wills, a veterinarian who owns the hospital with her husband Steve. The hospital opened […]

Married 64 years, Sallye and Bobby Pinkston are more devoted to each other now than they were the day they wed. They love their farm, their children, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren and their great-great grandchildren. Most of all, they love each other.

Tonya Robinson began nurturing and collecting animals when she was 7 years old. She spent her childhood on a dairy farm, learning how to care for animals of all kinds. In college, she bought land from her father and established her own farm. “It’s always been something that’s been part of our family tradition,” Tonya […]

James Goodall is a patriot. The retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant wants to make sure future generations understand sacrifice and service. That’s why you’ll find him restoring a tank, ceremoniously disposing of the American flag or traveling the Ohio River on the bow of a retired warship.

The heart of every restaurant is its kitchen. The muscle that powers Old Hickory Bar-B-Q is more than a room with stoves. The building itself is a furnace – two giant barbecue pits form the walls of the cinder block edifice. A long, heavy-duty grill sprouts from each side, slowly smoking hundreds of pounds of […]

While other kids her age sleep in, Annabelle Watts rises at the crack of dawn to rosin up her bow. The 11-year-old fiddler has a song in her heart and aims to share it.

He could have retired 10 years ago. Nearing 70, Steve Cooper could have packed up his clippers, hung up his smock and turned off the lights at his 9th Street barber shop, never looking back. But that’s not what he wants. “I do everything I want to do right now,” Steve says. “I can hardly […]

It’s 6 a.m. and everyone is up. Four women live here – Mary, Peggy, Patty and Kelly – and the conversation sounds just as it would in any happy family home. Mary Miller, 52, fills the role of house mother, offering reminders of the time and of sticking to the schedule. The routine is the […]

It creates life, movement and activity. It frames a community. It provides opportunity. It feeds the economy. It offers leisure, serenity and comfort. The Ohio River pumps life throughout Owensboro. Barges and tugboats constantly flow down the river carrying coal, grain, scrap metal and other products from port to port. Families peruse up and down […]

Sometimes he is an angel or a doctor, and at other times Superman or Santa Claus. But to the students and patients he interacts with, Ben the therapy dog is always a comforting presence. This 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel visits elementary schools and hospitals throughout Owensboro with his owner, Bonnie Nance. Their goal: bring […]

There have been few constants at Ken-Maur Farms over the past half decade. Most of the equipment is new. Several barns have been replaced. Fences that washed away in floods have been rebuilt. The workers, who once came from the neighborhood, now come from foreign countries. But three things are permanent: Jerry, Grady and Lynn […]

Rifles, pistols and ammunition mixed with light-hearted family bickering. And that’s a good thing. Whittaker Guns opened in 1988 out of owner Darrell Whittaker’s garage. After being injured while working for an oil company, Whittaker and his wife decided to try gun sales. Though they lived at a “dead-end street in the middle of nowhere,” […]

Hardwood floors, shelves filled with shoe heels and soles overflowing into workspace and onto errant zippers and straps all harken to decades passed. So does the grease and dirt covering work surfaces and floors. A bell rings, signaling the arrival of a car at the drive-through window. Don Raines, 62, owner and operator of Raines […]

“Mrs. Dr. Prof. Gunter” is scribbled on a poster of Johnny Depp in the Daviess County High School English classroom. “Mrs. Gunter is the best teacher ever!” is written on a yoga ball across the room. Senior pictures of students from years past are taped to the wall in a cluster right next to a […]