House Democratic Leader Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg climbed the steps in the Old Capitol in Frankfort with Charlotte Ellis, his chief of staff, on Jan. 6, 1998, during the opening day of the General Assembly. As the 20th century drew to a close, lawmakers decided to meet in the same building where legislators gathered at the start of the century. Wearing buckskin britches and coonskin caps, Stumbo and about a dozen fellow Eastern Kentucky Democrats referred to themselves as “the Mountain Caucus.” The group wore the pioneer garb, borrowed from a Central Kentucky theater troupe, to symbolize a feeling that Eastern Kentucky has been left behind by the rest of the state and the lawmakers’ determination to get more money that session for their region’s needs. The 2016 General Assembly opens Tuesday, Jan. 5, with Stumbo beginning his seventh year as speaker of the House. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff