On July 5 and 6, an opportunity is offered to everyone to give to the new hospital, located on North Fifth Street, formerly Dr. Montgomery’s Sanitarium, any of the following things: dishes; salts and peppers; tumblers; small teapots; a silence cloth; a kitchen table; kitchen chairs; coal buckets; comfortable rockers; roll chair; ice box; screens; small pillows; needles thread, pins, safety pins, cotton tape and a razor; cotton blankets; clean rags; set of sad irons; and an ironing board.
Eight perfectly fresh quarts of good old Kentucky whiskey were poured into a gutter in front of Beazley’s livery stable in Stanford by Chief of Police B.D. Carter and his deputy, John Meeks. The wasting of this large amount of snake medicine was done on orders of Police Judge John Menefee Jr. The booze was taken from Taylor Lackey, who frequently has been caught selling this stuff. Quite a large crowd thronged about as the deed was done and several men begged the officers to pour a little in their hats but without success.
75 years ago — 1937
The Rev. James Edwards and Mrs. Lula Edwards observed their 55th wedding anniversary at their home in Parksville. The Rev. Edwards is better known as the “marrying parson.” He is also the county coroner, but is better known for his record of having officiated at the weddings of 4,628 couples. His intention is to make the total 5,000 before he ceases activity. In addition, he has baptised 2,025 people during the course of his 53 years as a minister, and was instrumental in the erection of nine churches in Boyle, Casey, Mercer and surrounding counties.
A combination gasoline station and roadside inn will be opened July 5 by William Edmiston and Evan Coleman on the Harrodsburg Road at the Danville city limits. The property is owned by Mrs. John Hughes of Harrodsburg, who is leasing it to the men. Patrons of the place will select the name of the inn, and the person providing the most appropriate name will be given an electric fan. The inn will sell ice cream, soft drinks, sandwiches and later will stock country hams. Plans also call for stocking antiques in the future.
The radio station WSM Barn Dance unit, which broadcasts every Saturday night on the “Grand Ole Opry” programs, will make an appearance at Perryville High School, under the sponsorship of Perryville and Parksville chapters of the Future Farmers of America in conjunction with the Danville Kiwanis Club. Included among the performers will be the Lakeland Sisters, Mary and Ann, who have toured the country in vaudeville troupes; and Robert Lynn, guitar player and comedian. Admission will be 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.
50 years ago — 1962
Constitution Square purchased several items at the recent estate auction of furniture from Arcadia, the historic residence which Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky, built for a son in Lincoln County. Constitution Square bought a chair of Gov. Shelby’s for $130 and a “mammy” bench for $130, as well as several other small items. Articles sold at Arcadia brought in excess of $10,000. High-priced was a portrait of Gov. Shelby purchased for $2,500 and a cherry poster bed went for $375. Many Shelby heirs purchased pieces of fine antique dressers, chairs, a chess table, and a butler’s desk. An old Kentucky rifle sold for $80, and a saddlebag for $40. All articles sold well and generally brought more than they would have in a routine sale because of their historic value and the sentimental interest of the heirs and friends of the Shelbys. Arcadia and its grounds sold earlier for $119,000. Now Arcadia, the old Shelby home associated so closely with the area history of Kentucky, is no more!
Mrs. Logan Caldwell was elected a member of the Board of Trustees of Ephraim McDowell Memorial Hospital. She is the first woman to serve on the board in the hospital’s history, but a new policy approved by the trustees will provide that one of the trustees, at all times, will be a representative of the Women’s Auxiliary of the hospital. P.H. Best, president of the board, said the group values the auxiliary’s contributions over the years and that the trustees think “it is a fine idea to have one of the actively interested women of the community serving on the board at all times.”
25 years ago — 1987
The city of Liberty is without a mayor and three key office personnel. City Hall is operating on a limited basis after two office workers resigned and a third one was laid off, the day Malcolm Wolford stepped down as mayor. The workers apparently left their jobs because of Wolford’s resignation earlier this month, saying he could not work with the City County and citing health problems. The council had rejected Wolford’s 1987-88 budget and would not go along with a payroll tax he proposed.
At a speed of about five miles a year, the Japanese beetles are continuing their westward migration across the area, leaving a trail of chewed up corn silks, half-eaten gardens and frustrated crop growers in their wake. Garrard County serves as a good example of the beetle’s migration pattern. It was five years ago that the pests entered eastern Garrard County from Madison County. After taking two years to move to the eastern edge of the county, Garrard’s beetle infestation has decreased noticeably this year. Boyle, Lincoln, Mercer and Casey counties are still experiencing heavy infestation this year. Currently the entire eastern half of Kentucky is part of the beetle area.
