Nelle Gooch Travelstead

Nelle Blye Gooch was born in Louisville, KY, on May 27, 1888 as the only daughter of Benona Coleman Gooch and William Junius Gooch, a democratic politician and member of the Board of Regents of Western State Normal School (1911-15). In the earliest years of her life she would travel to California, New York, Michigan, and Oregon before the family permanently settled in Franklin, Kentucky. She began attending school at the age of nine and graduated from Potter College for Young Ladies, established in 1889, when she was seventeen years old. Her education continued at Peabody College in Nashville and then at Western, where she received her A.B. degree in Education in 1932. She also attended New York University, and the Hollis Dann School of Music. In 1938, she would complete the requirements for an M.A. degree from Columbia University.

Mrs. Travelstead grew up in the small town of Franklin, Kentucky. Nelle married Conley Chester Travelstead at the age of 18 on December 31, 1906. The two would have two sons, Will in 1909 and Chester in 1911, before Mr. Travelstead left in 1912 and Nelle became a single mother to two young boys. After her parents’ passing, Nelle faced tough times when investments fell through, creditors called, and the estate was sold, leaving her with only $27.00, her mother’s china, and her father’s chest of silverware. Now an orphan, a separated woman, and the mother of two small children, she faced a daunting task for a young woman, particularly at this time of no social programs and no family to assist her. However, she would quickly prove herself quite capable of meeting all challenges coming her way.

In 1914, Nelle moved to Bowling Green to begin a position as a library assistant in the Normal School’s library. The library at this time was located in the old dining room of Potter Hall. Mrs. Travelstead received a promotion to the Department of Physical Education in 1915, and a small salary increase of $10.00 in recognition of this achievement. Soon following, she was asked to begin teaching Music for public school teachers that same year. This would be the beginning of a teaching career that would span over forty years. Mrs. Travelstead would prove a very effective and challenging teacher, whose training, methods, and encouragement met the highest standards. She expected the best from all her pupils, even those who were failing. She would also be a field representative for President Henry Cherry and the new State Normal School. She was sent to areas all over the state including Ashland, Louisa, Inez, Paintsville, Hyden, and Manchester in one week and then on to Edmonton, Jamestown, Tompkinsville, Columbia, Liberty and Albany the following week. Nelle helped Western become one of the largest teachers’ colleges in the country. Mrs. Travelstead would become synonymous with the history of Western, an integral part of the college almost from its inception, and one of longest tenured faculty to ever work at Western Kentucky University.

Mrs. Travelstead became Head of the Music Education Department in 1929. She loved teaching and her music, writing in her diary that she could not sleep well at night “for her mind and spirit could not rest, for there were melodies in my mind all the time.” As passionate as she was about music though, her children, at all times, remained at the top of her priority list. She first attended to their physical and spiritual needs and then provided, even with her limited resources, excellent educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities, such as a trip to see the visiting president Woodrow Wilson and summer camps at Mammoth Cave. She often brightened their hard financial times by finding ways to do something special or completely out of the ordinary. Her sons would never forget the many good times with their young mother. She was a woman who would not settle for the expected or the average.

As her children matured, she began to reach out more and more to the larger community. She held many leadership roles in Bowling Green and Warren County charities, clubs, organizations and functions. While her roles, awards, and duties could fill a small book, a few shall be mentioned below. Mrs. Travelstead organized the Warren County War Mothers, which served sandwiches, fruit, and cookies to passing servicemen who stopped in Bowling Green or who were on the incoming Hospital trains. The club, under Nelle, would boast the largest enrollment in Kentucky, and would be push for the erection of a war memorial for Bowling Green’s soldiers. She also organized a Boys Club for the poorest residents of Bowling Green and was recognized as the first woman in the nation to start such a club. She also served on the Salvation Army Board and the Warren County Tuberculosis Association. In 1942, she initiated the Feeding Project, a program created to feed undernourished children of the community. Nelle quickly garnered support from the Nutrition Council, the Red Cross, the Homemakers’ Clubs, and the Bowling Green Woman’s Defense Council to fund the program. The group provided a hot noon meal to needy school children in the Warren County System. In addition, the children were provided with lessons on cleanliness, manners, and good citizenship. The project in its entirety was privately funded and completely under the headship of Mrs. Travelstead. She was very involved in activities, which promoted her love of music and educational opportunities for all. She was elected President of the local chapter of A. A. U. W., (American Association of University Women) in 1957. The group had a local membership of over fifty women who were graduates from schools of education, library science, and English. She additionally served in the U.S.O. Canteen organization, Women’s Music Club, 20th Century Literary Club, Cedar Grove Homemakers Club, Women’s Glee Club, League of Women Voters, Woman’s Federated Clubs, Junior Chorus, and as a teacher of the Women’s Bible Class at the First Christian Church. She was also honored posthumously by a nomination to the Music Educators National Conference Roll of Honor, which recognized the outstanding service she had given to music education in Kentucky, and an induction into the WKU Music Wall of Fame in 1998.

Nelle Gooch Travelstead is well described as tireless in all areas of her life. A seemingly superhuman at times , Mrs. Travelstead would better her community, help those in need, and raise two fine men who went on to follow in their mother’s footsteps. Will Gooch Travelstead became an engineer and businessman who owned Travelstead Construction Company in Baltimore, Maryland. He was involved in the construction of many projects such as the World Trade Center building and was also the subcontractor for the construction of Cape Kennedy. Chester Coleman Travelstead would become Provost of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and a leader in the areas of education and social equality. His lists of awards, accomplishments and leadership roles are too numerous to list.

After a long, prolific life, Mrs. Travelstead passed away on June 19, 1974. To honor her memory, the Nelle Gooch Travelstead Scholarship Fund was established in November of 1974 by Mrs. Carolyn Lippo, a 1957 graduate of WKU and a former student of Travelstead’s. Through this fund, Mrs. Travelstead is forever remembered as an outstanding member of the WKU Department of Music faculty from 1914-58, a strong mother, and a beloved teacher.