Good morning, Florence!
Stories in the pulse today: Our first Wednesday Business Spotlight features Through A Mother’s Eyes. Florence announces leaf collection. A Halloween concert by the Florence Community Band. New events added to the community. A salt lick for the first people.
Here is what is happening in our community…
“Ask her why she does it, and she'll tell you it is more than just taking a picture.”
Table of Contents
WEDNESDAY BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Through A Mother’s Eyes
Rita Brock spent most of her nursing career in labor and delivery. That experience gave her a strong passion for mothers and babies. Now retired, she channels that passion into Through A Mother's Eyes, her home studio in Florence, where she photographs newborns, babies and families.
Rita prepares a newborn for a photo session.
Her own family photos are part of why this work matters so much to her. As her four children grew up, she was always the one holding the camera, which left the family pictures full of them and not much of her. Her kids eventually told her they didn't have many photos of their mom. What she learned is that children aren't looking for a perfect picture of their parents. They are simply looking for you.
Rita first started getting more serious about photography while standing on the sidelines of her daughter's high school football games. As the team's kicker and its only girl, her daughter needed Rita nearby whenever a female trainer wasn't available. Rita brought her camera along and fell in love with it. When her daughter moved away, Rita felt God leading her to turn the hobby into a business. That was 17 years ago. She built her business while still working as a nurse.
Sunflower setting at the Through A Mother’s Eyes studio
Today her work centers on newborn photography, which Rita says is a lot like labor and delivery, only "less messy." Sessions run about three hours in the morning, when babies are at their best. Before the session, parents choose their favorite sets from her online galleries. Every session is baby-led, which means Rita follows the baby's cues and never rushes or forces a pose. Parents usually receive their sneak peek pictures that evening or the morning after the session, and the full gallery follows within a couple of weeks. Rita also photographs sitters (babies old enough to sit up on their own), cake smashes, families and high school seniors. She was voted Best of Kentucky 2026 by Guide to Kentucky.
Newborn photo by Rita Brock - Through A Mother’s Eyes
Ask her why she does it, and she'll tell you it is more than just taking a picture. Rita wants you to have something you can keep forever. Most of all, she wants your session to be a cherished memory with your child.
How to reach Rita: Newborn spots can be booked as early as the second trimester. Once the baby arrives, Rita asks that you get in touch within a day or two of coming home from the hospital to set your session date. October is full, but she has room in November and December. Contact Rita by email at [email protected], message Through A Mother's Eyes on Facebook, or visit throughamotherseyes.net.
Are you interested in having your business in the spotlight? Email me at [email protected].
LOCAL NEWS
Florence Announces 2026 Leaf Collection Program Starting Oct. 19
Florence's 2026 leaf collection program runs Oct. 19 through Dec. 17. Residents should rake leaves into a row behind the curb, no more than four feet back, free of branches, plants and trash, and have them ready by 7 a.m. on their scheduled pickup day. Last year the city collected 142 tons of leaves across 81 loads, all composted or reused as fertilizer. Call 859 647 5416 for details.
Read More →
Florence Community Band Plays Free Halloween Concert Oct. 26
The Florence Community Band will present a free, family friendly Halloween concert Monday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Boone County Main Public Library, 1786 Burlington Pike in Burlington. The band will play festive Halloween themed music. Costumes are encouraged but optional, and the event is open to all ages.
Read More →
3 DAY WEATHER FORECAST
☀ Wednesday — 80° / 56° · Sunny
☀ Thursday — 78° / 50° · Sunny
☀ Friday — 75° / 53° · Sunny
📍 Source: weather.gov — Florence, KY 41042
READER’S ANSWER
What is your favorite fall treat?
Respond to this email with your answer.
Find out the answers next week.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Fall Clean Up Program
October 5 - October 11
Drop off unwanted debris at the Public Services Maintenance Facility at 7850 Tanners Lane, Florence, KY 41042
Mon - Fri…7am to 7pm
Sat - Sun…9am to 7pm
City of Florence Hosts Hoxworth Blood Drive on October 8
Hoxworth Blood Center is partnering with the City of Florence for a blood drive on Thursday, October 8, with two sessions: 11:00 a.m.–1:15 p.m. and 2:30–4:45 p.m. The donor bus will be parked at 8100 Ewing Blvd in Florence. Every donor receives a Hoxworth wearable blanket. Appointments encouraged — schedule online or call (513) 451-0910.
More Information →
Boone County Candidate Meet and Greet
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 5:00 to 7:00 PM
Main Library, Meeting Room A, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington, KY 41005
Adults can drop in to talk directly with candidates running for local, county, state and federal office. LINK NKY presents the event. Call 859 342 2665 for more information.
More Information →
Jared Maucotel Violin Concert
Friday, October 9
Main Library, 7 p.m.
Kick off the 250th anniversary celebrations with a patriotic violin concert. Don’t miss the chance to win a copy of 1776 by David McCullough!
More Information—>
Big Bone Lick Salt Festival Returns Oct. 16–18; Tickets on Sale Now
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site in Union is hosting its annual Salt Festival on October 16–18, with tickets now available for purchase online. The festival celebrates the site's natural and archaeological heritage through live demonstrations, guided tours, and educational programming at one of Kentucky's most significant Pleistocene fossil sites.
More Information →
St. Henry High School Craft Show
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Saint Henry's Athletic Complex (SHAC), 35 Cavalier Blvd, Florence, KY
The returning craft show features over 100 unique vendors, a photo op area, free kids face painting and raffle items. Additional parking with shuttle service is available at Boone County High School.
More Information →
Events at Boone County Extension
Tuesday, October 6 — WITS: Interactive Brain Workout
Tuesday, October 6 — Stitch a Stocking for Adults
Wednesday, October 7 — Medicare Basics
Wednesday, October 7 — Hike the Trails
Wednesday, October 7 — Sleep Smarts: Getting Better ZZZs
Thursday, October 8 — Introduction to Watercolor
Thursday, October 8 — Create A... (afternoon session)
Thursday, October 8 — Create A... (evening sessions)
Thursday, October 8 — Introduction to Forest Gardening
Friday, October 9 — Callery Pear Bounty Program
Tuesday, October 13 — WITS: Interactive Brain Workout
Wednesday, October 14 — Hike the Trails
Wednesday, October 14 — Sleep Smarts: Getting Better ZZZs
Wednesday, October 14 — 4-H Floral Design Club: October 2026
Thursday, October 15 — Create A... (afternoon session)
Thursday, October 15 — Create A... (evening sessions)
Friday, October 16 — Visual Journaling Series
Boone County Farmer’s Market
Date: Every Saturday through Oct 31.
Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: 1961 Burlington Pike, Burlington, KY 41005
Description: About 50 member farm families sell Northern Kentucky-grown produce, flowers and other items. Vendors may also set up on other days, and the market's Facebook page posts pop-ups.
More Info: Boone County Farmers Market
Get your event listed here. Contact me at robert@florencepulse.com to get your event featured in the Florence Pulse.
SPORTS
⚽ 🏈 🏐 📣 BCHS Varsity Sports Schedule — Oct. 5 – Oct. 9
Wed 10/7 — Girls Volleyball vs. Calvary Christian, 7 p.m. (home)
Thu 10/8 — Girls Volleyball vs. Newport, 5 p.m. (home)
Thu 10/8 — Boys Soccer at Villa Madonna Academy, 5:30 p.m. (away)
Thu 10/8 — Competitive Cheerleading at Scott, 7 p.m. (away)
Thu 10/8 — Boys Football at Scott, 7 p.m. (away)
BCHS Girls Soccer - October 5
BCHS…8
Dayton High School…0
BCHS Boys Soccer - October 6
BCHS…1
St. Henry…3
Judy's Crew Doubles Tournament
Florence Bowl is hosting the Judy's Crew doubles bowling tournament this October. Teams can enter on six dates: Saturday, October 10; Sunday, October 11; Saturday, October 17; Sunday, October 18; Saturday, October 24; and Sunday, October 25, 2026, with 10:00 AM and 12:15 PM start times available each day. Entry fee is $60 per team.
Location: Florence Bowl, 7500 Sussex Dr., Florence, KY 41042
Let us know about your sport results. Send to [email protected]
BOONE COUNTY HISTORY
First People | The Lick at the Center of Everything
We spent a week on Big Bone Lick because it earned one. But Big Bone Lick was not the only salt spring in this part of Kentucky, only the most famous. The region around what became Boone County was dotted with natural mineral springs, places where salt seeped up through deep limestone formations, and every one of those places was a gathering point.
Salt was not a condiment to the people who lived here. It was a necessity, for preserving food, for health, for the same reasons it had drawn the Ice Age animals before them. Native peoples had been extracting salt from these springs for generations, boiling down the spring water until only the mineral residue remained. In 1755, when Mary Draper Ingles escaped from her Shawnee and French captors at Big Bone Lick, she did so while they were in the middle of exactly that work, boiling water from the lick to make salt. The site was not a curiosity to them. It was a production facility.
The game drawn to the licks made them hunting grounds as well. Where the animals gathered, the hunters followed, and where the hunters came, camps were made, and where camps were made, patterns formed over time. Many of the trails worn into this landscape over centuries of movement between the river, the licks, and the villages would later become the routes that wagon roads followed, because the logic of a landscape does not change just because the people walking it do. Thursday, we look at what happened when the settlers arrived and those paths began to run in different directions.
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