Are you a Kentucky Colonel? Preserve your legacy, get listed in the Kentucky Colonels Handbook last published in 1930.
Some believe that the Kentucky Colonel has a stereotype, which they do if you study the history of this iconic figure. The Kentucky Colonel evolved from Daniel Boone to the plantation owner and has continued to evolve to the goodwill ambassador. The highlight of course was during the 20th century when Col. Harland Sanders put on a white split tail coat and adorned his character with a goatee and moustache.
Today there are as many concepts and misconceptions about what a Kentucky colonel is exactly because there are so many in so many countries all around the world; however there are some general stereotypes that remain in our classic American imagination which gave prominence to the idea ranging from a frontiersman like Colonel Daniel Boone to master distillers like the famous Colonel James Edward Pepper and statesmen like Colonel Abraham Lincoln, who was actually an Illinois colonel from the Black Hawk War, that later in 1861 made 1,000 Kentucky Colonels (Honorary Officers) as part of a war strategy through Col. John Marshall Harlan. Or the type and style as seen on our homepage the Kentucky Colonel Model Initiation Team of the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose in 1914-Current.
The following is some of the content we are researching now for our website that will be linked from here. All of the foregoing topics are covered here or potentially discussed in our blog by Kentucky colonels.
In Common Law:
The recipient of the Kentucky Colonel Certificate (Commission) is received for being recognized by the Governor or the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky with the [HONORABLE] title that is conferred letters patent from the Commonwealth as a honorary commissioned officer for the state, a [Kentucky Colonel]. In common law a 'colonel' is the 'colonizer' or 'head of colony' inasmuch as the person implicity charged with creating or maintaining civil order and supporting a democratic government made from ourselves as pioneers and settlers. The colonel was the highest civil authority in Kentucky from 1774-1799. Colonels are authorized to appoint lieutenant-colonels and raise a civilian militia or company to promote the formation and maintenance of civil government. The power of the colonel remained in common law, while his role changed as colonels came and went, there were thousands of colonels known in Kentucky by 1921, today there are over 100,000-250,000 Kentucky colonels.
The term "Kentucky Colonel(s)" has been in nine precedential US court decisions, seven of them demonstrate the generic and descriptive use of the "idea" in United States Courts. Court Listener
In Customs:
Kentucky Colonels have been closely associated with many different customs in-law through the years, people have been received based on being a Kentucky colonel to Congress and U.S. Courts of Law on many occasions since the 1870s. Kentucky colonels in history are: known for being bibulous; known for making whiskey; often associated; known to be well-dressed; known to pronounce "sir" as "suh"; known for breeding horses, are known to receive their awards gracefully. Of course the list goes on... In Kentucky the corn is full of kernels and the colonels full of corn.
Colonels became known as honorable people because of their title and the conferrance of the term in being named as honorable with the title (commission) of "Kentucky Colonel" while honor may mean different things to some people, the basic rule is to protect, defend and promote the ideas of the state (its people, culture, history, morals and in general customs) with dignity and honor in particular to call yourself a Kentucky Colonel and carry the honor well.
Customarily it is said that Kentucky colonels are good storytellers, so it is a good idea to read some of the stories about Kentucky Colonels and the Kentucky Colonel on our Newspaper Archive and Chronicling America project. "American News" page.
In Diplomacy:
To use your title professionally nationally or internationally you need to have your title document notarized for national use by a notary public or apostilled by the Secretary of State for the country that you are using it in. If you do not plan to travel but want an apostilles certificate for your title get one for the Hague, Netherlands; the UN Headquarters in Geneva; or the City of London Corporation. When you have your apostilles send a postal letter to someone talking about your colonelcy and enclosing a copy of your apostille certificate. Apostille certificates can be acquired for just a few dollars if you do-it-yourself in-person or as much as $100-$300 by service companies and law firms.
In Duty:
Officially there are few duties required of a person who is commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel, even though it is an honorary title it is a real title that can be used by placing Col. before your name in writing instead of Mr., Ms. or Mrs. and identifying yourself as a "Kentucky Colonel". Legally as an "honorary officer" you are responsible to act and function to your best ability of the honor to perform similar to a high officer of the state, while understanding the history of the Kentucky Colonels and Colonelcy. World-wide Kentucky colonels are known, received and touted by the state as Kentucky's Goodwill Ambassadors.
In promoting the state and performing the duties of a colonel it is recommended that you understand the history, origins and stories about colonels.
In Etiquette:
In general Kentucky Colonels are supposed to be courteous, friendly, honorable, humble and strong-willed ladies and gentlemen with a steady ego and respectful nature.
In Letter Writing:
In common law a person who is acting as a colonel should inform the party that they are addressing that they are commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in their signature line of a well-formatted email or electronic PDF letter.
Kentucky Colonel Apparel:
Find out where to buy official and unofficial merchandise from third-parties recommended to impress your friends with your Kentucky colonelcy, including uniforms and period style clothing guidelines with photos, what today's Kentucky colonels should be wearing. Manufacturers and suppliers of hats, string ties, jackets, sunglasses, uniforms, insignia, badges, and other items will be discussed, send your links to us at: webmaster@colonels.net; our ideal is to connect you with suppliers that support our open-source platform and creative work.
Also see product reviews for merchandise from the Kentucky Colonels Shop produced by the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels in our blog.
Get Involved:
Emulate the image of the Kentucky Colonel as you see fit that projects a positive image of Kentucky culture, food, heritage, history, and ideas which brings prosperity to the commonwealth. You might want to browse the areas of interest in promoting the state informally through increasing tourism directly or indirectly which generates in-state out-of-state revenue. Often this may even use you projecting your own image as a Kentucky Colonel, within your business or with your friends as Kentucky Colonels locally or yourself as Col. Firstname Lastname.
You can do this through your business or as an individual freelancer; it should be known from the date of your commission that you began working honorarily as a commissioned officer, a Kentucky Colonel. We have already seen the term [Kentucky Colonel] applied to everything from bars, to barber shops, to corner stores, to organizations; but uniquely it is different when applied to a human [Person] or [Persons].
More To Do:
Start a new community project, a business, a club or apply for your new bank loan as [Col. Firstname Initial Lastname, Kentucky Colonel], many people view colonelcy with Kentucky in some states and places in higher esteem than a diploma, it is better in fact because it is "letters patent", as a colonel it allows you to do all things necessary to accomplish your mission, appoint lieutenant-colonels and other company officers. You might even want to start a local Kentucky Colonel travel agency, or a local club and send people to Kentucky? Or send things from Kentucky as a colonel like hundreds of people often do with postal correspondence. If you present yourself as a colonel you will be reciprocally recognized accordingly from the most important people.
Join an Organization:
Immediately when you become a Kentucky Colonel it is good to have a background news story behind it, what your award was for and provide some history behind the award for the news media. Use that news article to make a statement of what you plan to do now that you are a Kentucky colonel. They should be ready to say and call themselves a "Kentucky Colonel".
There are many terms used to describe and generically identify individuals with acts, causes, history, ideas, organizations, places and purpose. As a Kentucky colonel with letters patent, an individual commissioned honorary officer has the legitimate authority to use the state's official colors, flag, motto, seal and its symbols. A colonel is also empowered to use the ideas created and conceived by the state's governors and elected officials to represent the state when they are using their name and the honorable title of "Kentucky Colonel."