by the KET Millennium Fund.

Coming up on Kentucky Life, we'll introduce you to a Western Kentucky couple who provide forgotten U.S.

military veterans who have passed away the proper burial they deserve.

We'll explore the setting for this week's show, Fort Boonesborough in Richmond.

We'll look at the growing horror movie production community in Kentucky.

And we'll explore how a single city block in downtown Lexington has played a big role in the city's development.

All that's next on Kentucky Life.

[music playing] Hey folks, and welcome to Kentucky Life.

I'm your host, Chip Polston.

It's good to see you again.

As we continue to celebrate America's 250th birthday this season at places which have played a big role in Kentucky's development as a state, our travels today have brought us to Fort Boonesborough in Richmond.

In March and April of 1775, Daniel Boone and a group of trail cutters opened the first road into what was to become Kentucky when they carved out Boone Trace.

On April 1st, they set up a preliminary campsite at Sycamore Hollow near the shore of the Kentucky River.

Three weeks later, the settlers decided to build a permanent fort that originally stood about a half mile from this recreation of the site.

We'll learn more about the fort and what visitors can experience here a little later in our show.

But first, there is a heartbreaking trend that occurs from time to time in the funeral industry.

Someone passes away, their body is dropped off for cremation, and no one ever comes back to claim their remains.

They sit on a shelf.

But for one Western Kentucky couple, this story became personal when they realized some of those remains were of United States military veterans.

And through the Missing in America Project, they set out to make things right.

[music playing] Several years ago, Fred and Claudia Behnke attended a funeral where they saw a United States veteran laid to rest in a cardboard box.

Fred is a woodworker, and the experience led him to start making cremation urns that were then donated to veteran cemeteries.

From there, the couple discovered the Missing in America Project and learned about the phenomenon of remains going unclaimed at funeral homes.

Through the program, they work to identify remains belonging to veterans, which are then laid to rest with full military honors.

When you contact a funeral home, what are some of the first reactions you get?

Is it difficult to get in to do these types of searches?

Well, we both go into the funeral homes together, knock on the doors, and talk to them, ask them about unclaimed remains, things like this.

If they have them, and we inventory it, then Claudia takes it.

She does all the paperwork.

She sits at the computer, enters what she needs to enter.

She calls the Veterans Administration.

She'll recall them.

She keeps track of it, so it's up to date.

Some funeral homes jump at the chance to help.

Others aren't interested.

One that has been very willing to assist has been Haley McGinnis Funeral Home in Owensboro.

Of the 16 sets of remains the Behnkes have buried, seven of them have come from there.

Kamryn Logsdon of Haley McGinnis sees common threads in the stories among those who are unclaimed after cremation.

Most of the time, it's loved ones who don't have family present or families out of state, and they're not making the drive back to come get them or claim them, or all of their family has passed away.

Never married, never had kids, and they are the last ones left.

Once Claudia calls the Veterans Administration, she says that's where they do their magic to determine if the person is indeed a veteran.

From there, the couple builds the burial urns together.

They work like a well-oiled machine, or like a couple that has spent the last four decades together.

While building, they admit to wondering about the person for whom they're crafting a final resting place.

That's the mystery.

We don't ever know any of the back stories to it, unless the funeral home maybe happens to know something.

But generally, they're in the dark also, because some of them don't even know that that's a veteran.

Some of it is estranged family.

Some of it is they're homeless.

They're indigents.

They have no contact information.

And I think sometimes some of it may even be that Aunt Mary thought Uncle Leo had Grandpa, and neither of them had Grandpa, and so Grandpa's still sitting on the shelf.

The next part is the most personal for the Behnkes.

In order to take possession of the remains, they have to be legally declared next of kin.

Well, and it's really interesting, the funeral that we had, it was our first one, and to see the hearse drive up, it was like, “Oh, wow.” And you felt like they were your family.

At that first funeral the Behnkes put together, they wondered if anyone would show up, but more than 150 people came to pay respects.

And on a warm spring day in Hopkinsville at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery, another ceremony coordinated by the Behnkes was held.

Three veterans and a veteran's spouse were laid to rest that day with full military honors.

The very first thing I want to do before we even start this is to thank you all for coming out today.

We are going to be able to place these individuals with honor, and it's all because you guys took the time to come.

Everyone knows about the Mission in Action and POW program, where we go out to different countries and find the remains of veterans and bring them home.

But to have something here to find unclaimed veterans, it is great to have such a program.

The hearse bearing the remains was escorted into the cemetery by the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle organization that provides funeral escorts and flag lines for veterans.

As the urns were removed from the hearse, they were carried into the ceremony by an honor guard as the Patriot Guard lined the way.

Each veteran had a flag folded in their honor, presented to someone assigned to be a representative for the family.

The story of one of the vets laid to rest that day was especially poignant.

Captain George McCullough was a US Army Air Corps pilot in World War II.

Before he was buried, his ashes had sat on a shelf for 22 years, 3 months, and 17 days.

For our comrades-in-arms, Captain George McCullough, Seaman Apprentice Frank Golfinos Jr., and Private Richard Shirk, our nation bestows military honors.

In life, they honored the Flag, and in death, the Flag will honor them.

Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] Ready.

[guns cocking] Aim.

Fire.

[gunshots] These veterans, when they sign up, they ask for nothing more than to be buried with respect.

They offer to give up their life for our freedoms.

So if they're sitting on a shelf somewhere, they're not getting the respect that they're due.

They don't ask for anything but one thing.

And if they're willing to give up their life for it, it's the right thing to do.

[music playing] You've probably heard the adage, don't judge a book by its cover.

Well, that bit of wisdom really applies to our next story about horror filmmaking with Deep Roots in Kentucky.

From a studio-level player to do-it-yourself weekend warriors, a group of filmmakers here share more than just a passion for jump scares and bloodthirsty monsters.

[eerie music playing] [eerie music playing] The great thing about the horror genre is you can have everything mixed into a single horror film.

You can be in space, there can be a cowboy and all these things, and you can make it make sense.

Because with horror films, monsters, masked killers with a knife, those things are typically scary here, they're also scary elsewhere, so it transcends cultures.

I think horror is like riding a roller coaster.

It's like you get that kind of a thrill out of it.

It's like you watch horror movies with people and you see people putting their hands in front of their eyes or doing like this, they're still watching it.

And I think horror makes you want to see what's coming next.

Based in Owensboro, P.J.

and Eric are making names for themselves in the world of low-budget horror films.

And one of the first things they're going to tell you about is the unique community they've found in this genre.

So, the people that are into horror, it's like a big network of people that all already know each other because they all have the same likes, same dislikes.

We're this small group of people that not everybody else is into, so everybody just really gets along.

It's like a bunch of friends getting together that you've never even met.

You would think they would be these horrible people and they have like a seedy basement that they're making their movies in, but that's not it at all.

Every horror convention we've ever been to, it's some of the coolest, most down-to-earth, nicest people we've ever met.

A big part of the horror community is helping each other out, and that's true regardless of the budget level.

When P.J.

realized that Jeffrey Reddick, the creator of the $1 billion Final Destination horror franchise, was from Jackson, Kentucky, he didn't hesitate to reach out.

He's one of the coolest, most down-to-earth people.

He is not Hollywood at all.

Well, he did call me babe on the phone one day, which probably is kind of Hollywood.

But in terms of just sitting and talking, he's very generous with his time.

I do a lot of the business side of our company, so there's a lot of stuff with that that I'm not sure of what we're going to do, and we're getting bigger, so there's legalities and liabilities.

So, he's been a mentor of a person to go to and go, “What do I do here?

Can I do this?

Can we do that?” And Jeffrey Reddick's story seems like it was lifted directly from a Hollywood screenplay.

So, you may be wondering how a kid from Jackson, Kentucky, made it to Hollywood.

It's a pretty interesting story.

When I was 14, I was a huge horror fan.

I've always been a horror fan.

And when I was 14 years old, I saw the first Nightmare on Elm Street, and it blew my mind.

And I went home and I wrote a prequel idea, which is an origin story for Freddy Krueger.

Jeffrey sent his idea directly to the head of New Line Cinema.

Unfortunately, his story was returned because studios don't accept unsolicited materials.

But Jeffrey wasn't satisfied.

And then, I sent it back to him, and I said, “Look, sir, I spent $3 on your movies, so I think you can take five minutes to read my story.” And thankfully, he got back to me, and he was very encouraging.

He gave me some advice.

And from age 14 to 19, he stayed in touch with me.

And then at 19, Jeffrey started working at New Line.

Several years later, his story found its Hollywood ending when New Line produced his Final Destination script.

It was interesting that the studio that put out Nightmare on Elm Street, which has had such a huge impact on my life, is the same studio.

I worked there 11 years, actually, and they produced the first Final Destination and all the sequels.

Jeffrey is quick to credit the people who have helped him out along the way.

So, giving back has always been a top priority.

That's why he was proud to return to eastern Kentucky as a guest speaker for the SOAR Summit.

SOAR is an acronym for Shaping Our Appalachian Region, and his inspirational message was well received.

I mean, we all have gifts.

We're all special the way that we were brought up, the way that we view the world, our belief system.

Everything that we've been through in our lives makes each of us special and unique.

And I think that if we can find ways to, A, remember that, and B, tap into that if you have creative outlets.

[music playing] One of Jeffrey's first creative outlets was performing for family and friends, and his love for acting has come full circle with Eric and P.J.

While producing 13 Slays Till Christmas, P.J.

asked Jeffrey to do a cameo in the film.

Jeffrey jumped at the opportunity, and the rest is cinematic history.

Sent him 13 Slays when it was finished, and he immediately calls me back, and he was going on and on about how professional it looked, how incredible it looked.

He's like, “Dude, I know people out here making movies for $6 million that don't even look a fraction as good, or is a fraction of as much fun as what you guys just did with 13 Slays.

So, whatever you do next, count me in.” They had this new project coming up called New Fears Eve, and I said, “Well, I just want to part in it.” Like, I want to do.

I just want to get back into my acting bit.

And it was just fun to go down to Owensboro.

And he's such a talented guy, and he knows what he wants.

He just loves the genre.

He loves making movies, and Eric loves making movies.

But Jeffrey's contribution to New Fears Eve goes way beyond his time in front of the camera.

His producer credit is well earned.

Jeffrey is very much on board.

He wants to help.

He wants to be involved.

He was a huge part of the project.

He's been an integral part helping us get distribution of Cineverse.

He could have said, “Nah, you all, just a small time.

I don't want to help with you.” But he's helping us from LA.

Anytime we call, text, he's there for us.

So, we do that.

We've had people reach out to us that, “Man, I can't wait to be in film.

Can I work with you all?

I'll be a dead body.

I'll do anything.” And that's how we get our stuff done.

I mean, we've had a lot of people volunteer.

The helping hand isn't just for fellow filmmakers.

Eric and P.J.

continue giving back to their hometown, visiting local schools, and sharing some of the secrets of movie magic with the next generation of content creators.

And we go out there, and we tell them, like, “Look, you can't be afraid to fail, because one success is standing on the shoulders of, like, 1,000 failures.

So, there's no way that Eric and I would be able to do anything that we're doing today if we hadn't fallen flat on our face.

Remember where you were standing at.

And that's a message that resonates with anyone who's willing to take a chance on making a dream come true.

It's the heart behind the horror.

And filmmakers like Jeffrey, P.J., and Eric are keeping the spirit alive, one jump scare at a time.

[music playing] [music playing] [music playing] [music playing] We're having a great time here today at Fort Boonesborough State Park.

This is Jack Winburn.

He's the park manager.

Jack, thanks so much for letting us look around today.

Glad to be here.

So, what's the origin story of Fort Boonesborough?

How did all this come to be?

Well, the year is 1775.

A group of gentlemen out of North Carolina got the idea, a land speculation company, that they were going to create the 14th colony.

It would be named the Transylvania Colony.

They hired Daniel Boone, who was known to be an explorer and knowledgeable of Kentucky, to lead a party of axe men who would mark a trail to central Kentucky, where they hoped to establish the capital of their colony.

And fortunately, that all started right around the time of the beginning of the Revolutionary War, so the colony never really happened.

Right.

So, why this spot?

Why do you think Boone and his men picked this location?

Well, he had explored here before, so he knew about central Kentucky.

He knew that the Kentucky River below here had palisades, cliffs on both sides.

This is about as far as you could go and still be able to get across the river from one side to the other.

And there was a natural plain here where the buffalo and the natives had maybe burned it off or whatever and all, so it was a clearing already to start with, and he knew of it.

So this, where we are right now, is not the original location of where the fort actually stood.

Why is it not in that spot?

Well, the original site was down on the Kentucky River.

When the Corps of Engineers locked and dammed the river, it creased flooding.

And so it was moved up here when it was built in 1974 to get out of the floodplain.

So, the folks that lived there back in the day, what was a day-to-day life like for them?

It had to be pretty rough.

It had to be rough.

I mean, you were hunting firewood, cooking continuously, trying to find food, hunting, trapping, just surviving.

And they were all land speculators themselves to some degree, so they were all out marking off territory and land that they wanted to claim when this was settled.

So it was a hard lot.

So that was another question.

Who was it that really was here besides Boone and the original men that came here?

Who were the other folks that came and why did they want to come here?

Well, Daniel was here, other famous pioneers like Simon Kenton, Richard Calloway, Squire Boone, Daniel's brother, they all came here.

And it was a base station, more or less, to try to settle out in the area.

They all ultimately created their own little small stations and farms and things around.

And Boonesborough was just a spot to retreat to during times of danger from Native Americans.

So, given that, did they encounter a lot of Native Americans and have a lot of issues through here?

Yes, there were several.

In 1778, they had an 11-day siege where the fort was surrounded by a party of 400 Shawnee and a few other mixed tribes.

And it was led by some French and Canadian mercenaries working for the British government out of Detroit.

Well, it is a remarkable story, and we look forward to continuing to explore here.

Jack, thanks so much for letting us be here today.

We're glad to have you.

[music playing] Every city has a central location where townspeople know they can come together, attend events, and find friends.

It's a place where memories are made and where history exists.

At its beginning, Lexington would form its own public square, a block of land in the center of town with a courthouse for citizens to conduct legal business and a place for an open-air market.

Lexingtonians now come together at Tandy Square and celebrate today along with the history of yesterday.

[music playing] Lexington, Kentucky, was established in 1775 by explorers who first gathered around McConnell Springs in the middle of Fincastle County, the western edge of what was then the colony of Virginia.

These pioneers built a large fort, naming it Fort Lexington, after the recently fought battle of the Revolutionary War.

In 1780, they were ready to leave the fort and build a city.

A map was drawn up, dividing the surrounding land into plots for the founders to build new homes.

In the middle of this map, on Main Street, was a plot called the Public Square.

Here, the city fathers planned for a courthouse on the east half of the plot, and the west half would become a marketplace for citizens to bring crafts and agricultural goods to trade and sell.

The first public building on this Public Square was not a courthouse, but rather a schoolhouse, which would lead to a story etched into the city's history.

One day, schoolteacher John McKinney was confronted by a wildcat.

McKinney would actually wrestle this wildcat, and eventually, he killed it.

As this frontier city grew, Lexington would become known as the Athens of the West, home to the arts and sciences of Transylvania University.

The marketplace would take on an appropriately refined name, Cheapside, a name originating from one of London, England's largest marketplaces.

While an initial courthouse was built on the Public Square, it was replaced shortly after in 1806 with a large courthouse worthy of the Athens of the West, three stories high with a tower and a clock.

Courthouse litigations would draw large crowds to Cheapside, and the term Court Day was adopted for the main sales day.

One aspect that would dominate this marketplace was Lexington being at the center of Kentucky, and Kentucky was a slave state.

In the early 1800s, in addition to the trading of agricultural products, Cheapside became the center for the selling of enslaved people.

Lexington was one of the largest markets for the enslaved in the Upper South, so Courthouse Square is a place where enslaved individuals were sold constantly.

Slave sales would finally be outlawed in 1864, and Cheapside would return to being the center for Court Days.

In 1883, Lexington would replace the courthouse that was now over 75 years old.

One feature was added inside the new courthouse that drew great attention, Woman Triumphant, a statue sculpted by Kentuckian, Joel Hart.

Just 14 years later, this courthouse would catch fire, destroying Woman Triumphant as the roof collapsed.

A new courthouse would be built on the same location the city's forefathers had designed more than a century before.

Its ornate and decorative stonework was designed and constructed by a former slave turned architect, Henry A. Tandy.

Tandy's work was recognized throughout the bluegrass for his attention to detail.

During World War I, this new courthouse, along with Cheapside, would serve as a formation point for soldiers going off to Europe.

Court Days would end in 1921, but Cheapside continued to be the center of the city.

Initially, as automobiles were filling the streets of Lexington, the area was used as a parking lot, but city leaders chose to redesign Cheapside with grass, trees, and walkways.

It would become known as Cheapside Park.

Once again, townspeople had a place to gather.

Along with the rest of the country, citizens there would honor the memory of President Franklin Roosevelt when he died in 1945.

This public square became a forum for crowds to gather and listen to politicians.

In 1973, the city would begin a new market tradition, farmer's market, that would eventually find its home in Cheapside Park.

Through the turn of the century, this park would draw citizens for different reasons, many political and historical.

In 2017, a group of Lexingtonians would form a movement, Take Back Cheapside, in an effort to reimagine the former slave market as a place of inclusion and healing.

In 2021, the name of Cheapside Park would change.

It became Tandy Park, named after Henry Tandy, the formerly enslaved entrepreneur who was instrumental in the construction of the courthouse.

A covered pavilion was built that today enhances outdoor events that bring people downtown.

On Saturday mornings, you'll find crowds buying fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers at the farmer's market.

And on Thursday nights during the summer months, it's the home for music and the arts.

And all the while, Tandy Park connects the people of Lexington with the history of this public square.

Designed by the founders at the city's beginning, and now a place to gather together under the shadow of a courthouse with its beautiful stonework designed by a former slave.

[music playing] It's been great getting to explore Fort Boonesborough this week on our show as we continue to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

Now, if you've enjoyed our show, be sure to like the Kentucky Life Facebook page and subscribe to the KET YouTube channel for more of what we like to call Kentucky Life Extras, where you'll have access to lots of other great videos.

Until next time, I'll leave you with this moment.

I'm Chip Polston, cherishing this Kentucky life.

[music playing] [music playing] [music playing]