Dr. Ronald P. Rogers
CHIROPRACTOR
Support for your body's natural healing capabilities
270-384-5554
Click here for details
What's Going On
in Columbia?
see ColumbiaMagazine'sEvents List
Columbia Gas Dept.
GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL
Contact Numbers
24 hrs/ 365 days
270-384-2006 or 9-1-1
Call before you dig
Visit
ColumbiaMagazine's
Directory of Churches
Addresses, times,
phone numbers and more
for churches in Adair County
Find Great Stuff in
ColumbiaMagazine's
Classified Ads
Antiques, Help Wanted,
Autos, Real Estate,
Legal Notices, More...
|
|
Storytellers brought history to life at first ever MTS Festival
By Duane Bonifer
Area residents had the rare opportunity to hear from a Revolutionary War hero, a medical pioneer and one of the greatest American authors on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival.
Held at Lindsey Wilson University, the event featured seven speakers who celebrated the art of storytelling, local history and Mark Twain's ancestral ties to Columbia.
Twain was born in 1835 in Missouri as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but his mother, Jane Lampton Clemens, was born on June 18, 1803, in Columbia. She married John Marshall Clemens in May 1823 in Columbia. The couple moved to Tennessee before settling in Missouri in 1835.
The Mark Twain Storytelling Festival was the brainchild of students in Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock's arts administration class, who presented their idea for an annual cultural event for Columbia-Adair County to Columbia Mayor Pamela Hoots.
This story was posted on 2026-06-22 18:45:44
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
Robert Brock brought Mark Twain to life for MTS Festival
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Lindsey Wilson University theatre professor Robert Brock portrays Mark Twain at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson's V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain's Columbia roots.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Darlene Franklin Campbell as Jane Lampton Clemens
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Columbia resident Darlene Franklin Campbell tells the story of Columbia native Jane Lampton Clemens, the mother of Mark Twain, at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson University's V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Richard Phelps as Col. William Casey
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Columbia resident Richard Phelps depicts Col. William Casey, a Virginia native and Revolutionary War hero who led the first group of settlers into what is now Adair County. Casey was also Mark Twain's maternal great-grandfather.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Susan Bennett as Jane Todd Crawford
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Susan Bennett of Lexington, Kentucky, depicts medical pioneer Jane Todd Crawford at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson University's V.P. Henry Auditorium.
A Virginia native, Crawford was living in Green County, Kentucky, when she and her husband, Thomas, rode 60 miles on horseback to Danville, Kentucky, to allow Dr. Ephraim McDowell to perform the world's first successful ovariotomy on her on Christmas Day 1809.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Ray Mendenhall at Mark Twain Storytelling Festival
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Award-winning storyteller Ray Mendenhall of Versailles, Kentucky, opens with a song during his performance at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson University's V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain's Columbia roots.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Storyteller Mary Hamilton
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Author, folktale scholar and award-winning storyteller Mary Hamilton of Frankfort, Kentucky, tells the audience the story of a remarkable dog at the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson University's V.P. Henry Auditorium. The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain's Columbia roots.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Mike Watson tells history of the Field House for MTS Festival
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Standing in front of the Field House, Adair County native and historian Mike Watson wraps up the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival with a history of the Field House and the Lampton and Clemens families on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Located on Reed Street, the Field House was where John Marshall and Columbia native Jane Lampton Clemens lived after they were married in 1823.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Arts Admin students and Mayor Hoots
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Columbia Mayor Pamela Hoots, far right, was joined on Friday, June 19, 2026, in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall by the four Lindsey Wilson students whose arts administration class project led to the Mark Twain Storytelling Festival.
From left: Shiane Lussier '26 of Bremen, Kentucky; Leif Honaker '27 of Columbia; Gage Carnes '26 of Jamestown, Kentucky; Sabrina Ruiz '26 of Louisville, Kentucky; and Hoots.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Kayla Koerner emceed the MTS Festival
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
Adair County Elementary School teacher Kayla Koerner serves as emcee of the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival, held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Lindsey Wilson University's V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Reception kicked of Mark Twain Storytelling Festival
2026-06-22 - Columbia, KY - Photo courtesy Lindsey Wilson University.
A reception in the Lindsey Wilson University W.W. Slider Humanities Center on Friday June 19, 2025, kicked off the inaugural Mark Twain Storytelling Festival.
The event celebrated the art of storytelling, along with Mark Twain's Columbia roots.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
Welcoming folks to the Jane Lampton Chapter of DAR
2026-06-25 - Columbia, KY - Photo by Linda Waggener, ColumbiaMagazine.com.
Valerie Adams, at left, Lila Ford, and Melanie Wrensch, at right, welcomed folks to the Mark Twain Storytelling Festival Saturday on the porch of the LWU Administration building. They are sharing information about the Jane Lampton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and gave tickets for a basket of goodies from the DAR to be drawn at the event.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.
|
|
|
115 Jamestown St.
Columbia, KY.
270-384-2496
|
