As Voices of Elmwood enters its 18th season, organizers are releasing a book that captures the program’s earliest portrayals of Owensboro’s history.
Voices of Elmwood: The Early Years will feature the first 50 people presented during the cemetery tour between 2008 and 2012. The coffee-table volume expands on the five-minute monologues given during the live event, providing photographs, illustrations, and additional side stories.
Kathy Olson, managing editor of the project, said the book has been years in the making.
“It’s an idea that I had all the way back to 2008 and mentioned to Todd Reynolds at the time,” Olson said. “Even in the early years, we knew that there was a strong following for Voices of Elmwood. People are just so interested in the history of Owensboro. At the end of the day, they’re everyday stories. They’re our stories. This book really continues to bring those people back to life — and, in a way, the community as well.”
Olson said the book allows organizers to include much of the research that doesn’t make it into the scripts.
“Sometimes the scripts are two or three times as long as the end product, because you only have so much time,” she said. “You leave a lot on the table. This book tells you a whole lot more about each of the people, as much information as we can get.”
Preorders are being taken through M.T. Publishing Company Inc., which is printing a limited number of copies. Olson encouraged people to reserve their copy early.
“We will have an initial printing, and there will be extras, but there won’t be an infinite number of extras,” she said. “If people want it, it’s just better to order it now. It’s really quite a bargain as far as knowing more about the community and about life. It really is a look back through a little time tunnel.”
The project was a collaborative effort. Olson credited Reynolds, who served as the initial director, along with numerous researchers, script writers, actors, and others who helped shape the event in its early years. Current director Carolyn Greer, along with Aloma Dew and museum executive director Isaac Settle, also served on the book committee.
Organizers plan to continue publishing volumes covering subsequent years if the first book is well-received.
Copies can be reserved at bit.ly/voepreorder. Once published, they will also be available at the Owensboro Museum of Science and History, M.T. Publishing, and local stores.
For an additional cost, individuals can personalize their copy of the book with their own name or the name of a gift recipient.
