Kentucky Life

The family-run Cox Hardware store in Rockcastle County, which celebrated 100 years in business in 2007; metal artist Ken Roberts; and Henry's Ark, an eclectic petting zoo/farm in Oldham County where the animals roam free.

The Luci Center, a therapeutic riding center that uses horses to help people with disabilities; model plane enthusiasts; artist Virginia Petty, who makes her own paper out of various types of pulp; and scenery from Kentucky Ridge State Forest.

A Menifee County family whose passion for making sorghum has spanned generations; multi-talented performer Angela Bartley, a bugler for the Kentucky Derby Museum who is also an aviation and Latin dance instructor and a Chautauqua performer; and slam poetry in Bowling Green.

Skeeter Davis, a native of Dry Ridge who became one of country music's greatest singers by the mid-1950s; the great segregation-era basketball teams of Louisville Central and Lexington Dunbar; and scenes from a reenactment of the Civil War Battle of Perryville.

In a special edition of Kentucky Life, host Dave Shuffett explores the life and career of Kentucky's most famous native son. Learn about the many Kentucky people and places that profoundly influenced Lincoln with stops at his birthplace and boyhood home, the Mary Todd Lincoln House in Lexington, the Louisville home of close friend Joshua Speed, and other sites.

The annual Redbud Quilt Festival at Union College, which draws professional and amateur quilters from across the country; Green County dog trainer Bill Matney at work; and a look at the early days of women's basketball in Kentucky.

The Jesse Stuart Foundation, a small nonprofit in Ashland, continues the legacy of the acclaimed author, educator, and conservationist. Judy Geagley of Tollesboro crafts teddy bears that are sold at high-end stores in New York, Chicago, and Beverly Hills. WKU, students and their hand-built robots compete in the Kentucky FIRST Lego League Competition.

The restored Yew Dell Gardens, the former private estate of renowned nurseryman Theodore Klein, now an arboretum and plant research center; artist Tom Pfannerstill, who gets his inspiration from trash; and Frankfort Habilitation, which provides work experience and job training for people with developmental disabilities.

Lane Linnenkohl of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission takes host Dave Shuffett out to explore Three Ponds, the only Kentucky nature preserve that borders the Mississippi River. Dave also takes some treasures to the visiting Antiques Roadshow in Louisville and introduces a tour of Cub Run Cave in Hart County.

Broadbent Hams in Cadiz, a family-run business dating back decades, has produced more Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion hams than any other producer. Happy Jack Pumpkin and Produce Farm, a former tobacco farm in Franklin County, has embraced agritourism. And the Our Mims Retirement Haven provides care for former broodmares.

In Murray, crowds gather each year to celebrate the reopening of the local Dairy Queen. The Red River Historical Museum, housed in a former bank in Clay City, tells stories of milling, logging, and other industries in the region. And the award-winning "green" visitors' center and treetop walkway at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest.

The incredibly rare Short's goldenrod is protected at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park. Louisville artist Carole Jackson-Powell paints big, beautiful murals. And at the end of the Labor Day weekend, dogs get their day in Lexington's Woodland Park pool at the annual Dog Paddle benefit.

Woody, an intrepid dachshund who stars in a series of children's books written by his "mom," Leigh Anne Florence; professional women's league Hall of Fame baseball player Pat Scott; and cooking with Kentucky culinary legend Bob Perry.

The Bluegrass Youth Ballet and its creator, Adalhi Aranda Corn, share creativity, artistry, and Mexican culture with students and the community through dance as well as other forms of artistic expression. Woodford County's Bluegrass Animal Rehabilitation and Hyperbaric Center is setting new standards in animal medical care.

Artist Sam McKinney, a figurative freelance painter and sculptor, lives in one of his own works: a log house with a connecting studio that he built himself. Fiddlers Paul David Smith, Roger Cooper, Jesse Wells, and Michael Garvin perform at the J.P. Fraley Mountain Music Gatherin' at Carter Caves State Park.

Cleaning up Pulaski County's Saltpeter Pit, a cave that is home to Kentucky's largest colony of endangered Rafinesque's big-eared bats; nationally known bagpipe and tin whistle player Skip Cleavinger, who has performed with more than 30 symphony orchestras; and the Portland Museum in west Louisville.

The Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, owned and operated by the Kennon family for 45 years; a nostalgic visit to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill with Shaker descendants and former residents, several of whom work as staff at the property; and former attorney Beverly Hayden, who left that career to become a photographer.

Artist-decorated birdhouses at the Lexington Arboretum; Bellevue's Woodrow Carpenter, the 90-something founder of the only glass enamel manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere; and the musical legacy of J.P. and Annadeene Fraley, who founded the Mountain Music Gatherin' held every September at Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill.

Three segments produced by college students from around the state: Civil War reenactors at the site of the Battle of Mill Springs; how Kelley Farms has moved away from tobacco farming by growing strawberries and pumpkins and creating a corn maze; and the themed weekends of the Highland Renaissance Festival, held every summer in Eminence, including "Masquerade," "Celtic," and "Scotland the Brave."

Chef Bob Perry, director of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food Systems Initiative, makes a four-course dinner with more than 20 Kentucky products. Bob and Judy Peak channel their passion for bluebirds into volunteer work for the Land Between the Lakes Association. And craftsman Eric Scholtens sees potential furniture in tree limbs.

Meet Butch and Jo Bramel, whose 1861 Greek Revival home houses a garden center/landscaping business. At the Thoroughbred Center, a 240-acre facility with 1,000 stalls, visit the barns, watch morning workouts, and learn about auctions. Chrisman Mill Vineyard owners Chris and Denise Nelson explain how their passion for winemaking grew into a vineyard.

Michler's Florist, one of the oldest florists in Kentucky and a Lexington tradition for more than 100 years; the Snug Hollow Farm and Country Inn, a bed-and-breakfast nestled on 300 acres of land between the mountains of Red Lick Valley in Irvine; and sculptor Marie-Elena Ottman, whose clay sculptures are inspired by her homeland of Panama.

A taste of the "World's Largest Apple Pie," made each fall during the Casey County Apple Festival; a ride on the Liberty Belle, a historic B-17 airplane; jazz pianist Beegie Adair, who has accompanied many legendary performers and recorded 24 CDs; and a look back at the University of Kentucky's Fabulous Five basketball team.

A look at sculptor David Rogers' Big Bug Exhibit at the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden; glassblower Michelle Weston sees the possibilities in the color and fluidity of a material most think is fragile; and meet singer Jordan Leigh, a Kentucky teenager who has performed with Dolly Parton at the Grand Ole Opry and on CBS.

Take a ride on the Old Anderson Ferry, the last ferry business serving northern Kentucky; eat at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, an eclectic restaurant located in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood; and author and photographer Tom Barnes and Pine Mountain Settlement School's Ben Begley talk about a threatened species of wildflowers, Lady's Slipper Orchids.

A look at the sport of geocaching, which uses a player's wits and GPS devices to find items hidden by other participants; meet 15-year-old Rossi Clark, a master fiddler-in-training learning to keep traditional mountain music alive; and the majestic Gotland ponies - a Swedish breed considered to be at risk by the Equus Survival Trust.

A look at the film career of Kentucky actor Warren Oates; Northern Kentucky hosts the prestigious world-wide WUSV Schutzhund competition that tests the abilities of German Shepherd dogs in tracking, protection, and obedience; and Dave visits the Mill Springs Battlefield and Museum to gain a better understanding of Kentucky's role in the Civil War.

Grand Master fiddle champ Daniel Carwile and his wife, Amy, entertain audiences from the Grand Ole Opry to England; retirement from the U.S. Forest Service led Bill Brumm to become a noted stained glass artist; and Dave travels to Berea to meet heirloom tomato grower Bill Best and UK College of Agriculture's Bob Perry, who whips up tomato salad and BLTs with Bill's produce.

Visit Hofbrauhaus Newport, a biergarden and restaurant that would be at home on Germany's Rhine River; artist Lisa Williamson, whose work has been displayed at the Smithsonian, returns to her home in Martin County to rediscover her childhood inspirations and tend her homestead; wolves and other creatures find sanctuary at Wolf Run Wildlife Refuge.

Civil War re-enactors skirmish in the hills of Pike County; as more family owned farms in Kentucky call it quits, one Warren County farmer has turned to agri-tourism to carry on the family legacy; a memorial worthy of the great racehorse John Henry takes shape as artists and fans collaborate on a tribute to the inspiring equine; and more Paw Pals.

The music of singer/guitarist Jose Rivera brings the joyful sounds of Mexico to Central Kentucky; the Equine Conservancy considers a horse hidden in the hills of eastern Kentucky for over a century to be "critical;" a retired community of nuns in Loretto keeps an active farm and art gallery, and conducts tours and retreats.