>> This week on Kentucky Life: learn more about the Moonlight Schools Program, an initiative started by Cora Wilson Stewart to combat adult illiteracy.

A combination of Sri Lankan and southern influences are hitting taste buds across Lexington, and visit the roadside attraction known as Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland.

All that and more coming up on Kentucky Life.

Hey everybody, and welcome to another exciting episode of Kentucky Life.

>> I'm your host, Chip Polston, and today we are visiting the absolutely spectacular Paramount Art Center here in Ashland.

Now, this beautiful theater was opened way back in 1931 and has maintained its status as a beautiful destination for people all across the region to catch a show and support the arts.

Now let's jump right into our first story.

In the early part of our country's history, our economy was heavily based on the family farm.

To help fill the labor needs of planting and harvesting seasons, parents would often have to pull their children out of school, resulting in high illiteracy rates throughout rural areas.

But in 1911, a young woman in Morehead, Kentucky, came up with an idea designed to attack adult illiteracy, a program that would be welcomed not only by the citizens of Rowan County, but one that would spread across the nation, a program known as Moonlight Schools.

>> Born in 1875, Cora Wilson Stewart of Morehead, Kentucky, would become a national leader in adult education, fighting adult illiteracy in rural areas with what would become known as the Moonlight Schools.

>> The idea of adult literacy was not new.

It had been ongoing in many large urban areas, particularly with the immigrant population and with urban people who needed or wanted to further their education.

But in rural areas, which made up a huge majority of the countryside, there was nothing like that available.

>> As a young girl, Stewart was introduced to adult illiteracy while following her father on his rounds as a doctor in Rowan County, watching him perform a much-needed, non-medical service.

>> He often was asked to read letters from peoples' children who worked away.

He was serving a great function.

Well as she grew in age, he turned some of that over to her.

So she would accompany him, and in those rounds, often read letters for people >> and help them pen a reply.

As she grew up, Cora became a teacher.

In the common setting of the time, she taught in a one-room schoolhouse, and once again found herself confronting adult illiteracy in the parents of her rural students.

She realized that to attack this issue, she must lead organizations and churches of her community on the benefits of educating these adults.

>> She ran for superintendent of schools here and was elected.

She was the first female superintendent of schools in Rowan County.

>> In 1911, Stewart looked at the one-room schools standing empty at night and came up with the idea of Moonlight Schools - evening classes to improve the reading and writing skills of rural Rowan countians.

She encouraged the children to recruit their parents to come to the first night.

>> You must tell your parent, your grandparent, your neighbors, any friends, anyone that you know about the Moonlight Schools.

And they anticipated about three students per school.

And since there were 50 schools in Rowan County, they were anticipating an audience of about 150.

So the night came, and the people came out, over 1200 people.

I think the actual number was 1,230 were registered that night in the public schools of Rowan County.

They were overwhelmed.

>> One important draw for these adults was the chance to learn how to sign their names.

>> Many rural people made a mark.

It was typically an "X" that had to be witnessed by someone.

And so the greatest achievement for some of them was to learn to sign their own name.

The students themselves were thrilled.

They were over the moon about the idea that they could learn to sign their name, they could learn to read a little bit, and if they persisted, they could learn to read their bibles.

There was so much that could be learned, they believed and hoped, in a short time.

>> And the name Moonlight Schools?

For these students, coming from the farms of Rowan County, Cora Wilson called upon nature to guide them home in the dark countryside.

The school sessions were scheduled during the two weeks of the waxing and waning of the full moon.

Her success with the program drew statewide attention of politicians from rural areas of Kentucky.

Moonlight Schools spread across the Commonwealth.

>> In our day, we've heard the phrase, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and that phrase meant a lot then.

And there was a common belief among educators that there was a certain point after which you couldn't learn, but Stewart didn't believe that.

She thought anyone could learn.

And so, in the Moonlight Schools, were people in their fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, and she used those students in particular to just demolish that mythology that there was some point at which an individual could not learn.

>> As the U.S. entered World War I, Stewart would see the problem of adult illiteracy as nationwide.

She helped the army with a new program to teach new enlistees how to read very important documents.

>> Not only would they not be able to communicate with their parents, they wouldn't be able to understand the training manuals that they would have to use in their military training.

General Pershing, in fact, was involved in a lot of the work that she did with soldiers.

>> After the war, Cora Wilson Stewart's work would lead her to the White House.

In President Herbert Hoover, she would find a valuable advocate who understood the value of this program to overcome illiteracy across the nation.

>> To extend adult education through the Moonlight Schools was a radical step, in reality.

Her impact on Kentucky history was huge, not only for what she did to the state, but what she exposed to the rest of the country, which was there's a massive amount of illiteracy in Kentucky, but guess what, neighbors?

It's also in your state.

It's everywhere.

And as Americans who care about the progress of this country, we must step forward, those of us who can, and do something about it.

>> We've so enjoyed our day here at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, and here to tell us more about the facility, this is David Miller.

He's the Marketing Director for the facility.

David, thanks so much for being here with us.

Yeah, it's great to have you all.

So the theater itself, the origins of this really go back to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Tell us about that.

>> Yeah, there's a few Paramount theaters around the nation, and that's no coincidence.

These were all buildings owned by Paramount Pictures, originally built in the late 1920s through the '30s, and operated as Paramount movie houses for a number of years before they became independent and transitioned into movie theaters that showed all sorts of movies.

And then after a while, a lot of them started being demolished.

And ours is kind of unique because a lot of these smaller towns got rid of their theaters.

And there was a group of concerned citizens that converted this from a movie theater into a performing arts center.

So now you might see a Seattle Paramount or a New York Paramount.

They had the same origin story as us, we just get to be nestled in Eastern Kentucky.

>> And congratulations to you all for having the foresight to preserve such a beautiful facility like this.

The history of the theater here has been important in a number of different areas, but the Judds in particular, very closely associated with the Ashland area.

And Naomi in particular had a really strong connection to the theater and this stage that we're on right now.

Talk about that.

>> Yeah, the Judds are someone that... Ashland was never far from their hearts.

So as they travel around, and at one point, Naomi even donated a pair of dance shoes that she used at a recital when she was a child here.

So to have international stars that grew up in this place, and they go out, they have these amazing careers, but they don't forget us, and >> they have these keepsakes that have always reminded them of this area.

It's a really special thing to have them gift some of that back to us.

And the fact that she danced on this actual stage as a kid, that's pretty remarkable.

The history of the theater also goes into a dance music craze in the 1990s with the Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart video.

Oh yeah.

Shot here.

It was amazing to go back and watch that and see the opening sequence at the front entrance there and everything.

But when he was here, he signed a poster to somebody very closely connected with the theater, Paramount Joe.

Talk about Paramount Joe and what happened when you all tried to take that poster down?

>> Yeah.

Well, like any self-respecting historic theater, we have a theater ghost, Paramount Joe.

It is said that he was a worker when the building was being constructed and through an accident, passed away in the construction of the Paramount, and still is with us enjoying shows and whatnot.

He's a friendly ghost, but does have his preferences, the Billy Ray poster.

Billy Ray is someone who very famously was very respectful of Joe, would talk to him while he's here, signed a poster to Joe.

And at some point, someone decided to move that poster out of their main lobby into a different room, and upon coming back into their room the next day, every other poster in the room was allegedly face down except for Billy Ray's.

So they took that as a sign to, "let's maybe go put this back in the box office where everyone can see it."

And that's where he stays today.

And that's where it is now.

You can see it when you first come in, because we caught it when we came in.

What does this theater, >> David, really mean to the community here?

What's the impetus towards making sure that this is here and the opportunities that it provides?

>> Everything from the history of this place, the design of it, this art deco theater, you don't expect that in eastern Kentucky in the heart of Appalachia, and for us to be able to provide traditional arts, performing arts, concerts, a lot of kids, their first and only exposure to performing arts is coming here.

People that go on to be Naomi Judds, start out getting to experience performing arts in Appalachia as a result of someone having the foresight to preserve this theater.

And so to this day, we still have a very strong education program.

We have thousands of kids that come through here.

I'm one of them.

I was thrilled to come back and work later, because I started coming to shows here as a child.

And so we see what we do, our concerts at night, it's great for our downtown and businesses, but there's also a pouring out into kids to grow into the arts later as well.

So >> it serves a lot of great functions that we're really proud of.

And it's an absolute gem.

I mean, it really is breathtaking when you first walk in.

And thank you so much for sharing it with us today.

Again, David Miller, Marketing Director here at the Paramount.

Good to see you.

Thanks for having me.

>> A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant set up for a limited engagement in alternating spaces.

Sam Fore started her first pop-up restaurant, Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites, as a tent outside of a local Lexington bar.

And as it turns out, her combination of Sri Lankan and Southern influences has a far-reaching appeal.

My >> name is Sam Fore.

I started a pop-up called Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites in 2016.

That has led me into a very crazy chef career that I did not see coming.

Ooh, look at that.

That's a pretty plate of hoppers.

The tent was the easiest way to invest in a restaurant business without sinking tens of thousands of dollars into it.

A lot of folks aren't really familiar with a pop-up restaurant concept.

Basically, I show up, I cook and I leave.

I really wanted to make the flavors of Sri Lanka accessible to everybody.

I didn't want people to see the word "curry" and get intimidated.

It's crazy how much interest people have had.

I was a Plate Magazine "Chef to Watch".

Then it was a recipe on the cover of Food and Wine, that kind of started the domino effect, honestly.

So now I basically get to travel around the country and cook, because there haven't been a lot of Sri Lankan chefs to do that.

And I have the very unique position of being the only one who blends Sri Lankan and southern flavors.

My home is equal part Sri Lanka and the Southern United States.

I mean, this is where I was raised.

Some of my southern-inspired dishes include curry brine short ribs, buttermilk fried chicken.

With everything I put into a chicken curry.

I do the deviled eggs with an egg curry base.

I have been able to do shrimp and grits that have been extremely successful.

I think it becomes a mission to push forth the flavors of my childhood, the ones that I know, so that I can kind of reflect on my own story and tell it through food.

There's moments where that sort of scent memory will hit, and you'll remember being in the middle of the markets.

Sri Lanka, I feel like is a great place for scent memories.

Between the markets, the fisherman by the sea, it's just... it's hard to describe it in a way that does it justice.

The spice trade was pretty critical to Sri Lanka's development.

It was a major port for Portugal, for the Netherlands, for England.

>> Instantly probably people think that they're going to have extremely spicy food, and there's heat, >> but there's no heat without purpose.

There's heat with flavor.

And I think of these big, bold flavors of coriander, cumin, the richness of coconut, the hit of lime, the really beautiful Sri Lankan spices, because that's what the island was known for.

And so I want to make sure that I do that reputation some justice.

I think the Sri Lankan table and the southern table are far more similar than people care to admit, because a lot of the best southern cooking is family tradition.

It's carrying that story, it's carrying that thread, but it's also realizing that your community is more than just your immediate family.

And I think that's a big tenant that both southerners and Sri Lankans embrace.

I was accustomed to regular gatherings for 40, but that's just how it was.

And that's how the community retained its connection with one another.

We're celebrating each others' achievements.

We're celebrating each others' big moments in life surrounded by food, because food is sharing, food is gathering, food is family, food is tradition.

I'm setting up pickups for decent-sized tomato pies, so that people can take them home for dinner and split all the proceeds evenly between Step-By-Step Lexington for Young Mothers and the Kentucky Reproductive Health Justice Network.

How many orange tomatoes?

I'll take 40 pounds of orange and red mixed up to make a bunch of pies.

I need a bunch of tomatoes and a bunch of onions.

So I made sure I called Ashley from Black Soil Kentucky.

>> It smells like it's tasty.

>> This is the thing, and that's how I pick all my produce.

And so that's why I trust Ashley to pick my produce.

It's the support of having Kentucky, not just for its people, but for its bounties.

I get to use local farmers.

I get my tomatoes from Cleaves and the Millers in Stanford, Kentucky.

I will take my own produce with me a lot of places, because I know I get the best stuff here.

A lot of people give me a lot of guff for living in Kentucky, and they can't understand why I love it here so much.

This is a place where I can be myself.

This is a place where I have gotten the affirmation that I need.

And that's the kind of reputation that I think Kentucky should have.

It's a place where possibility is the option that makes you want to make a home, and it makes you want to make that home better.

>> Roadside attractions have become few and far between here in Kentucky, and in today's busy world, folks just aren't as likely to stop and take these oddities in.

But our next story is looking to change that.

Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland is a roadside attraction in Calvert City with historic roots as an apple orchard, gas station, barber shop, and more.

But it now serves as home to more than 3000 toys and a vast collection of folk art.

Here we >> go.

We'll see what happens here.

Yee-haw.

Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland is kind of a bunch of junk put together, but the Apple Valley came from my grandparents.

My grandfather did have a country store here from roughly '31 to '64, it was a country store, a four-seat diner, a Gulf gas station from '39 to '64, and he also cut people's hair in there, but it was never officially a barbershop.

And then in '64 he passed away, so that more or less got closed up.

So that's where the Apple Valley comes from.

He did have an apple orchard here, he sold apples, apple cider, maybe a little bit of hard cider.

And then my grandma always wanted to come back to do something to the place.

So when I got 21, I ran away from home, went out to Denver for four years, then out to LA for 20 years to try to make it as an actor.

And while I was in LA, I started building model train layouts for like A-lister actors, producers, people like that, and I started seeing >> all these cool collections that no one else got to enjoy but them and a few close friends in there.

So I thought it was a waste of good stuff that everyone should be able to enjoy.

So one day it hit me that wouldn't it be kind of cool to have toys as the backdrop with trains running through it.

So I started collecting toys, and figured I come back here, put up a 100 by 140 building, this gigantic toy land, and I moved back here expecting to build this big toy land, but when I got back here, I found out this county - they thought a subdivision would be better on this property.

>> So my backers backed out, pulled their funds back, I got stuck here with no money and then got stuck with no money.

And my wife said, "Start Toyland in the garage, better than nothing."

And when I was out here working in Toyland at two in the morning, I got an angry neighbor.

Sheriff David owned the property.

Sheriff Dave told me I couldn't have abandoned vehicles or white appliances on the property.

I said, "If I put it together as art, would that be okay?".

And he goes, "I guess so."

So that next morning, the Hillbilly Garden aspect started.

I just called it junk art or whatever.

And when some of the media started showing up about it, they come ask me, "What is it called?"

And >> I'm a kid from the late '60's, so I liked hillbilly places, so I figured "hillbilly art" because hillbillies take "nothing" and make "something" out of it, and that's kind of what I'm doing is taking nothing and turning it into something else.

What I don't understand, cause I'm not a trained artist, and I think that's what makes you a folk artist, basically it means someone has no idea what they're doing, is doing art, that's never been officially trained in it.

>> So this is where my grandparents' original pump stood.

This is not his, but I turned this one into my miniature muffler man.

And he is nicely pumping gas into your car for you.

That's your raspberry tree, raspberry.

And then you guys might notice a lot of burnt trees around here.

Well the reason of that was, about a year ago, we had a UFO land on the property, and everyone wants a UFO to land on your property.

No you don't, cause when that sucker takes off, it burns your place down.

So this whole area got burned down recently.

This is the original three-way calling.

Original three-way calling, and then you guys might remember back in the old days, it did take us forever to text on these things.

Takes us so long to text, we have to talk on our phones, so the original three-way calling then leads us to this thing.

We do have the scoop.

We got the scoop, we got the dirt, we got the trash on you guys.

If not, we will dig up something about you.

>> And I do say bad dad jokes and bad puns because that way I have nothing to live up to.

So sorry to tell you they're bad.

So it's just stuff, and most people can't understand why people think like that, but that's the point.

Toyland is what I came back to originally do.

But this is not my Toyland, this is a drop in the bucket.

Roughly what you're seeing in this room is over... well, I quit counting at 3,500.

It's over 3,500 toys up in here.

And this is approximately about only 20% of my collection.

The toys on display here do actually date from the 1900s all the way to semi-present day.

I got them everywhere from trash cans, and then I found them in thrift stores.

We hit the flea markets every day, cause if you're an actor, you'll know you'll get some good pay here or there, and then you may not work again for another two or three months.

So you have a lot of time to hit the thrift stores, the flea markets, the yard sales.

And we have our weekly run that we do.

I just thought it'd be kind of cool cause I wanted to do something that people could enjoy on my grandparents' property.

And I just thought it'd be kind of cool to collect toys and try to include everyone's childhood, so they'd come in and reminisce about their childhood, cause I'm hoping your childhood was good, even if you played with rocks and sticks hopefully your childhood was good.

And yes, we have rocks and sticks in here too, we try to include everyone's childhood.

So it is basically collecting for that reason, because I was just looking for something to do with my grandparents' property and that's what the plans were.

>> I figured Kentucky does need its very own "thronehenge".

Then after a night of tacos it does become a ring of fire.

>> There's a lot of kids that do come here and are amazed at the imagination, people cannot believe that someone can think with that much imagination or that much weirdness, if that's what you want to say, because most people can't believe that I can see that in that and vice versa.

So it's supposed to create your imagination and then the toys are the same thing.

It's like to inspire your imagination.

And like I said, this will hopefully bring back your childhood memories so you can have a good time.

And the art's supposed to be a good time, too.

>> Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of Kentucky Life.

We have had an absolute blast sharing these stories with you and exploring the amazing Paramount Art Center.

If you ever get a chance and you're here in Ashland, be sure and check out a show here sometime.

Until then, we'll leave you with this moment.

I'm Chip Polston, cherishing this Kentucky Life.