Today in Kentucky History - Localtonians

TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY
Kentucky Trivia

May 16, 1799, John Bradford, the Kentucky Gazette proprietor, announced that he would take payment for subscriptions: “corn, wheat, country made linen, linsey, sugar, whiskey, ash flooring and cured hams.” The Squire’s Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 24

On May 16, 1825, during the construction of the Grand Masonic Hall, General Lafayette, the last surviving major-general of the Revolutionary War, visited Lexington. Locals royally entertained Fayette County’s namesake with supper and ball in the partially-completed building on West Main Street. He stayed the night in Major John Keene’s mansion to complete his brief stay.

On May 16, 1861, Kentucky declared Civil War neutrality (69-29), the only state to do so. Governor Magoffin flatly refused President Lincoln’s call for troops to fight the seceded Southern states. The resolution prevented Kentucky from seceding and from becoming a battleground. Kentucky remained neutral until September 4, 1861. Magoffin lasted till August ’62, when legislators forced him out of office.

Tuesday, May 16, 1882, Apollo won the 8^th Kentucky Derby over 13 other starters, the largest field to date. An unnamed colt ran in the Derby, so he ran with his sire’s name, Pat Malloy. Green B. Morris trained, and B. Hurd guided Apollo home in 2:40 1/4 over a good track. The winning owners, Green B. Morris and James D. Patton received $4,560 for winning the 1 ½ mile test.

Friday, May 16, 1884, Buchanan won the 10^th Kentucky Derby. Nine went to post on a “good” track, finishing the mile and half in 2:40 1/4, including Bob Miles, who beat the flag and jumped into a two-length lead at the start. Isaac Burns Murphy won his 1^st of three Derbies on his 4^th try. Owners Samuel S. Brown and William Cottrill hired trainer William Bird to complete the winning connections who earned $3,990.

Kentucky Trivia: Samuel Brown owned Senorita Stock Farm near Lexington. Named for his favorite mare, the breeding farm’s land is today occupied by the Kentucky Horse Park. He took his father’s coal operations, added more, bought a fleet of barges, and a controlling interest in a railroad. He enjoyed racing and invested in Lexington’s Kentucky Association Track.

May 16, 1916, Chief of Police Edward H. Powell, Jefferson County Police Department, died by gunshot by the former police chief during an argument about an officer.

May 16, 1925, Flying Ebony won the 51^st Kentucky Derby in 2:07 3/5, over a sloppy track in the 1^st live broadcast by WHAS and also WGN in Chicago. Jockey Earl Sande won his 2^nd of three Derbies. Owner Gifford A. Cochran and trainer William B. Duke won their only one. The duo also won their only Preakness, which ran two weeks earlier, with another horse, Coventry.

Kentucky Trivia: Bill Corum 1^stcoined Run for the Roses at the 1925 Kentucky Derby. He succeeded Matt Winn as President of Churchill Downs for nine years.

May 16, 1929, Policeman Alonzo “Lon” Robinson, Pikeville Police Department, died by gunshot as he and a U.S. Deputy Marshal attempted to serve a search warrant on a man for possessing liquor at his home in the Happy Hollow area.

May 16, 1931, Chief of Police Thomas D. Martin, Stanford Police Department, died by a gunshot while serving an arrest warrant in Logantown for stealing chickens.

May 16, 1931, Twenty Grand won the 57^th Kentucky Derby for Mrs. Payne Whitney’s Greentree Stable in a new track record of 2:01 4/5. Trainer James Rowe, Jr. and jockey Charles Kurtsinger completed the winning connections and earned $52,350. Twenty Grand would race as a seven year old.

May 16, 1946, Police Officer Fred Pack, Louisa Police Department, died by a gunshot by the Police Chief as the result of a disagreement over an arrest.

May 16, 1951, Army PVT Archie J. Bowling from Hardin County died in the Korean War.

On May 16, 1955, Lexington’s first TV station, WLEX, held a premier program attended by about 150 guests. The program featured local programming like “Red Kirk and his Kentucky Korn Kutters” to officially open the station. The premiere started at 6:00 p.m. and lasted an hour and fifteen minutes: the day before, WLEX broadcast for the first time. WAVE in Louisville began broadcasting in 1948.

May 16, 1956, MGM announced that Clifford Montgomery’s car wreck would delay the filming of Raintree County in Danville by weeks. Elizabeth Taylor’s co-star received his injuries in Hollywood.

On May 16, 1962, Hunter Moody, one of Harness Racing’s greatest trainers, passed away in Lexington. He conditioned the Mighty Greyhound, Hamiltonian winner Mary Reynolds, and won the Kentucky Futurity seven times. His specialty was patching up horses with bad legs, and making outlaws manageable. “I’ve run a reform school for horses my whole life.”

May 16, 1968, Marine Corps CPL Charles R. Hendrix and Army PFC Henry J. Kirchner, both of Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

May 16, 1970, Army SGT David B. Magruder from Utica in Daviess County died in the Vietnam War.

May 16, 1970, Personality won the 95^th Preakness Stakes by a neck. The Maryland Jockey Club reported total attendance of 42,474. This was one of the highest attended races in 1970. Mrs. Ethel D. Jacobs, who had two entries, won her 1^st Preakness on her 5^th and last try.

May 16, 1975, Muhammad Ali (47-2) fought Ron Lyle (30-2-1) in the Las Vegas Convention Center. Lyle was a powerful opponent who had learned to box in prison. Ali fell behind early but finished strongly, nailing Lyle with a straight right in the 11^th round, dazing the big challenger. Ali then punished Lyle until the referee stopped the fight.

May 16, 1977, Patrolman Gwendolyn Ann Downs, Louisville Police Department, died by gunshot responding to a call at a restaurant.

May 16, 1980, Elvis Presley’s physician received an indictment for overprescribing drugs for the King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other patients.

On May 16, 1987, Alysheba, Alydar’s son, won the 112^th Preakness to complete two-thirds of the Triple Crown. Bet Twice won the Belmont and Ferdinand won HOY. Breeders’ Preston, Anita, and Patrick attended the race.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Greenville (Muhlenberg County) native and Hollywood actor Miles Heizer, born in 1994.

On May 16, 1997, Kentucky set six new records for cold weather in May.
Louisville’s 35 broke the 1959 record of 39.
Bowling Green reached 33 and broke the 1973 record of 39.
Up north, Covington came in at 32 breaking the 36 temp of 1959.
Jackson also came in at 32 breaking their old 1989 record of 41.
Lexington reached 33, the old 1894 record was 37.
Paducah warmed up to 36 degrees which broke the 1959 record of 39.

May 16, 2000, the National Historic Landmarks added the Labrot and Graham’s Old Oscar Pepper Distillery in Versailles.

On May 16, 2002, the state Supreme Court ruled 6-1 against the Temperance League (TL) and stated that the local-option votes in dry cities for alcohol sales in larger restaurants were constitutional. The TL claimed the law gave special privileges to large restaurants and discriminated against smaller ones.

May 16, 2006, Army SGT Santiago M. Halsel, 32, of Bowling Green, died of injuries from a bomb in Baghdad fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

May 16, 2007, Pikeville native Mark Reynolds made his MLB debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

May 16, 2009, Rachel Alexandra became the 1^st filly to win the Preakness in 85 years and the 1^st to win from the outside position.

On May 16, 2015, UK’s Spindletop Farm planted hemp for the 2^nd year as part of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Program. Last year’s test plots involved varieties used for fiber production. This year, UK agronomists tried out types of fiber, grains, and cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol, used for food and dietary supplements.

May 16, 2015, the Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky Center held an open house to celebrate its 25^th anniversary of rescuing and nursing injured hawks, owls, falcons, and vultures back to health.

On May 16, 2018, UK officials tried to fire a tenured professor because he made students buy his book, kept all the proceeds, and neglected to tell the administration. The move against the journalism professor, sanctioned in 2016 for inappropriate behavior, is nearly unprecedented in the last 50 years. In 2019, he stopped teaching and sued the University and a student.

On May 16, 2019, Secretary of State Allison Grimes stated that only 12.5% of Kentucky’s 3.4 million registered voters would vote in their primaries for governor and other state constitutional offices. However, it turned out that 20% of Kentuckians voted, a surprisingly high number.

On May 16, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced two new deaths in Kentucky, bringing the state’s total to 334. At the time, 58% of the deaths in Kentucky were residents of long-term facilities. The governor also announced the Kentucky State Park Systems would reopen on June 1, including Nationals Parks.

May 16, 2021, Fayette County held all their proms outdoors with masks “highly recommended” but not required. UK’s commencement ceremony included graduates for 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, the CDC announced that any vaccine mandates would come from local jurisdictions.

On May 16, 2022, Chief Deputy Sheriff Jody Wayne Cash, Calloway County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot in front of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in Benton. The prisoner asked for a smoke so three deputies escorted him outside. While smoking, the prisoner pulled out a concealed handgun.

On May 16, 2022, Matt Jones posted a Tennessee preacher who lost his mind on the pulpit.

The fact that this is said from a pulpit in Tennessee doesn’t make me angry, it makes me sad

Rhetoric like this hurts Christianity and ruins American politics.

Nothing about this glorifies God or brings people to Christ pic.twitter.com/phqvMtybrU
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 16, 2022

Locals headed to the primary polls on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Kentucky’s “Closed Primary” are for Donkeys and Elephants only, and they chose an Andy vs. Cameron November showdown.

Kentucky Trivia: 14 states discriminate with closed primaries. By November 2024 we had:
Republicans – 1,649,989 (46.8%)
Democrats – 1,499,567 (42.5% )
Independents – 376,624 (10.7%)

By May 16, 2024, locals had spotted wild pigs in at least 30 Kentucky counties. The elusive “gangs” have established populations in Ballard, Marshall, and Fulton Counties in the west, and parts of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Their numbers are increasing.

Please, don’t shoot the wild pigs. It only makes them more elusive.
Kentucky to ban hunting feral hogs.
By @liamniemeyer https://t.co/6kaNuj3mNV via @KYLantern
— Kentucky Lantern || bsky @kentuckylantern.com (@KYLantern) May 16, 2024