America 250:
This summer, we celebrate our nation ' s birthday here on Lake Cumberland
CHRISTOPHER HARRIS SEKYL Editor
For about four years, I lived in Philadelphia, Pa., only blocks away from Independence Hall. I ' d sit in the little park surrounding the building at night sometimes when it was still outside and just soak up the fact that I was only footsteps away from the place where our amazing nation was born in 1776, by an incredible group of thinkers the likes of which the world had never known— and still hasn ' t again.
Since that time, 250 years have passed, and in 2026, we ' re ready to celebrate the United States of America reaching a quarter-millennium in style. I wasn ' t alive for the big bicentennial celebration in 1976, so I ' m happy we ' ll get to have one big milestone birthday for my country in my lifetime— and in my hometown, we ' re calling it Lake Cumberland 250.
This issue commemorates that occasion— the line-up of activities starts in June— as well as serving as our annual " summer fun " edition. I ' ve prepared a story on Lake Cumberland 250 and all the various things the tourism minds in Pulaski County have cooked up for this summer. Our community is going big— that ' s the idea, the " Biggest Small Town Fourth of July Celebration in America." It will include a soap box derby, special deals and promotions from local businesses, Somernites Cruise, Burnside ' s Cole Park, and of course, the long-await opening of Horse Soldier Farms and an accompanying Professional Bull Riding event. Pulaski County will be the absolute place to be this Independence Day holiday period— not just in Kentucky, but maybe in the the whole heartland of America.
To go with that piece, we ' ve also got an exclusive Q & A with Scott Neil, co-founder and president of Horse Soldier Farms, which will put Somerset on Kentucky ' s famed " Bourbon Trail " of distilleries. Neil and Horse Soldier Bourbon played an essential role in making Pulaski ' s America 250 celebration the big blowout that it promises to be, and will continue to be an economic driver for this area for generations to come.
Some folks enjoy summer fun in the great outdoors; some prefer to cool off inside by listening to live music and enjoying a frosty beverage. We ' ve got stories for both kinds this month, with a feature on the Daniel Boone
National Forest, one of the great natural resources here in Pulaski County and this part of the state, as well as one on downtown Somerset ' s most eclectic nightspots The Makers Mill, a place to catch hot bands, play trivia, hang out with friends on the patio, or do a little shopping. Also, June is Men ' s Health Month, and so we have an interview with Dr. Jonathan Walrath of Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital on what men can do to ward off health problems, particularly as they get older. Speaking as a man in my 40s, it ' s important to learn more about the kind of changes your body goes through and the signs you need to watch out for. Dr. Walrath has good advice— good enough that it might just save your life. All that, plus a series of new features debuting this month, can be found in this issue. Back in those days outside Independence Hall, sometimes I felt like I could see the ghosts of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and all of our Founding Fathers moving around behind the windows, discussing and debating and planning and pontificating about the future of this great experiment they were going out on such a limb to create. I ' m sure it was scary. I ' m sure many scoffed. But our republic has stood the test of time so far, and we can only stand on the precipice of tomorrow and hope that it endures another 250 years, and beyond. In the famous words penned by the great Irving Berlin
— God bless America, land that I love.