Hemp Highway of Kentucky

12/23/2025

This 8 postcard set, "In Kentucky H**p Fields" that was issued locally in Danville, hashtag , by pharmacy owner, and photographer T. P. Curry. The cards were offered in a small booklet in 1907. (I do not own the book and have only seen it offered in E-Bay once) Curry, from nearby Harrodsburg, graduated from Centre College in Danville, before opening his shop.
Photography was starting to open up as a hobby for many people with innovation of the Kodak 1888 the first camera to utilize reel film. The first photo postcards were not too far behind. Curry probably was a Kodak affiliate or distributor. (Research on Curry is in process).
The gentleman in the picture is "Uncle Ben, The H**p Breaker." There is something in these pictures I believe is very telling. I think perhaps the narrative is expressed earnestly, without the overt motive of some of the previous cards I shared.
Having dispensed with the intro, let's dive in. The series presents h**p in various stages: from idyllic scenes of where "h**p meets the water," and calm vistas of h**p in orderly shocks in the field to images of hard labor, the labor of black men, cutting h**p and breaking out the fiber. Uncle Ben breaking h**p stalks as burning hurds, smoldering near his feet, keep him warm in the brisk late fall-early winter weather. And finally to the end of the day, when the weigh up, where the fruits of a man's hard day's labor is entrusted to the man reading the scale.
These photographs also appear in Plymouth Cordage Products "The Story of Rope" a promotional book that first appeared in increments through their product bulletins in the early 1900s. **p

12/09/2025

More **p Postcards from my collection. These three depict the workers in the field. Harvesting h**p was back breaking work. Even as machines started to offer automated processes for harvesting and breaking h**p, Kentucky still primarily employed manual labor. Kentucky h**p production in the 1900s was generally small crop agriculture. By 1916 to***co had surpassed h**p as Kentucky's leading cash crop. However, family farms still devoted a few acres to h**p production, and Kentucky h**p dealers continued to supply government contracts and private twine mills. Because the vast majority of h**p in Kentucky was broken in the field, the transportation tax component of the Ma*****na Tax Act did not apply, leaving Kentucky producers and dealers in a unique position.

12/07/2025

Ha

Watch us.

12/06/2025

Some of the postcards I have collected depicting the Kentucky h**p industry. There is a narrative told in the postcards. Two of these cards are the same base picture, with a different caption and some different color schemes in the hand painted outfits. A third seems to have been taken at the same time of the same subjects.
These cards were all printed and some of them mailed between 1908-1911. It is NOT a coincidence that these images appeared at approximately the same time as Kentucky's first "Uncle Tom's Cabin" laws were enacted (1906 in Lexington, KY), banning public performances of Uncle Tom's Cabin and other entertainments that depicted slavery unfavorably. (although technically written to ban performances that stirred racial animosity, these laws were only selectively enforced. Screenings of "Birth of a Nation" or other performances that adhered to the accepted racial caste at the time were not considered problematic and were allowed to proceed.) It is my contention that during an era where racial segregation was becoming more codified legally, these images served as an "advertisement" of sorts. Notice the change in caption on the 3 cards featuring 3 workman. "Cutting h**p in Kentucky", "H**p cutting in Old Kentucky" and "In a Southern H**p Field" are captions advertising a "return to normalcy." "Old Kentucky" in 1910? "In a Southern H**p Field" is sold as both a "Florida" and "North Carolina" Souvenir, yet neither state was known for growing h**p in 1910 or 1860 for that matter.
Some of these cards have notes on the back. Some of the correspondence is pretty ordinary and at least 1 example is sorta eye opening. I have collected close to 2 dozen postcards. So, this will be a project I share over the next few weeks. Part of research for my hashtag on hashtag **p and Kentucky culture.

07/23/2025

Finally, a working title for the new book, submission date for proposal targeted for July 30.

Stop Blowing Smoke: Exposing Industrial Myths and the Conspiracy to Outlaw H**p

Yeah, I am gunning for Herer and Conrad.

**p **plife

03/01/2025

I have been invited to present at the Kentucky NORML 2025 Kentucky Cannabis Conference in Frankfort later this month March 14. Thank you to Lauren Bratcher and Matthew Bratcher for including me in this event again this year. Kentucky is kicked off its medical ma*****na program in 2025 and turn out is expected to be significant.
My presentation will be about a topic dominating our industry the Cannabis Civil War "H**p Vs. Ma*****na A Plant Divided Against Itself Cannot Thrive". As the life destroying, bone crushing gears that were the incarceration industry come to a screeching halt, Kentuckians now have two "markets" from which to choose: a "medical ma*****na" market dispensing plant and plant derived medicine to card carrying patients afflicted with 1 of 7 "qualifying conditions" and an "industrial h**p" market in search of an identity.
How has language been used to define and fight the government's war on cannabis. How have the definitions of "h**p" and "ma*****na" morphed over time and why? Why is the current Cannabis Civil War unsustainable? This presentation may not answer every question, but will provide a solid understanding of the linguistic changes that have taken place and why. It only makes sense to talk sense from a historical border state. **p *****na

02/22/2025

A stream of consciousness riff on bu****it, the hashtag **p hashtag water bottle. This is one of my favorite memes. Not because it's educational or factual, but because it's pure propaganda. It simultaneously appeals to our desire to reduce our negative environmental impact on the planet while maintaining our current conspicuous consumption lifestyle. "Dig, it sure would be cool if I could just toss my single use pop/water bottle out the window and it turned back into h**p, man."
Technically, the text does not say "water" or "pop" bottle, but the image on day 1 does. For all intents and purposes it is a blow molded single use bottle. Is that picture day 1 after the bottle has been molded? Or, is that day 1 after the bottle has been opened and its contents consumed? Think about a bottled beverage in your home or at work. Has one been there for more than 28 days? What do you buy in bottles that has no chance of being stored longer than 28 days?
You want the container holding your beverage to offer a long shelf life. You don't want to worry about the bottle breaking down before you consume its contents. And the bottle does not know when it is done being used. "Maybe there's an additive." If there are, how safe are they?
Polyethylene terephthalate or (PET) is a resin in the polyester family commonly used for plastic beverage containers. It was chosen for its high strength to weight ratio, ability to keep goods fresh until consumed and its durability. In an emergency freight loads of single use water bottles can be drop shipped from a long term storage warehouse to emergency site. PET can be fabricated from either alpha cellulose or petroleum feedstocks. Making PET from alpha cellulose is more costly and less efficient than using petroleum based polymer chains. H**p based PET would cost much more than current raw materials. (the bottle makes up pennies of the price of bottled pop) "But h**p plastic would biodegrade in 80 days." NO! PAY ATTENTION! Even if you wanted the PET bottle to breakdown that quickly, changing the feedstock for the finished plastic resin DOES NOT change the properties of that material. PET is PET regardless of what it is made from... it is chemistry. PET is a molecule with a chemical structure. Polymer chains refined from crude oil are then further refined and compounded with other chemicals into PET. Likewise, alpha cellulose can be chemically treated and combined with acids and plasticizers to form PET. While the process is using cellulose longer and more expensive the end results are the same. That h**p plastic "water bottle" is gonna be around a lot longer than 80 days. And yes, I got the receipts for this rant...close to being done with the "formal" rant. hashtag

12/29/2024

In 1908 T.P. Curry and Sons of Danville, KY released a set of 8 postcards entitled "In Kentucky H**p Fields". I own one of the post cards (Breaking) and have located 4 others in the Kentucky Historical Society archives. I am searching for cards 1-3 as part of a research project for an article of book chapter.
Curry also provided the images for the Plymouth Products Company publication "The Story of Rope" and I believe the images were also reproduced in the Plymouth Products Bulletin around the same time (I did not bookmark it, drat)
Postcards were introduced and were immediately popular around the turn of the 20th century. They tell a very deliberate narrative and my goal is to discuss that popular narrative and image. Aside from documenting an actual moment, what are the messages.
**p

12/23/2024

H**p Holidays y'all... this would be great made with Victory H**p h**p hearts **p

Siemieniotka is a very old Silesian h**p soup that has been traditionally served as a part of the Christmas Eve dinner in Silesian households for ages. Also known as konopiołka, from the Polish siemię konopne, meaning h**p seeds, this soup is prepared with boiled and crushed h**p seeds which are c...

12/20/2024

I collect postcards the feature Kentucky H**p 1900-1945... I found this on EBay tonight. A horse named Bold H**p who was sired by Indian H**p... not a Kentucky horse or I would get it.
That said I am looking for Kentucky H**p Postcards with a special interest in an 8 card series "In Kentucky H**p Fields" published by T. P. Curry and Sons Danville, KY 1908. Anyone has a line or knows of a better place to look than EBay, please gimme a shout... **p

11/21/2024

A plant divided against itself cannot grow.

What Is In a Name?

09/19/2024

Which is your preferred method when forced to use the rancid toilets at work? For me, it has to be number 8.