TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORYMay 28, 2021May 28, 2021Thank You For VisitingSunday, May 28, 1775, Boonesborough hosted the first recorded public worship service in Kentucky. The Reverend John Lyth, an Episcopalian clergyman, conducted the Anglican Church service. The service closed the first legislative session west of the Alleghany Mountains: “The Transylvania Convention.”On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The act relocated all tribes to “Indian Territory” west of the Mississippi River. The terms allowed the Native Americans to stay in their homes if they gave up all their tribal claims and agreed to become U.S. citizens.May 28, 1861, under direction from President Lincoln and after Kentucky declared neutrality, the federal government set up the Military Department of Kentucky, north of Louisville, encompassing an area within 100 miles of the Ohio River. A native Kentuckian, Major Robert Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame, was given command.Friday, May 28, 1875, Tom Ochiltree wins the 3rd Preakness. Owner J.F. Chamberlin won $1,900. L. Hughes guides the winner home over a slow track going 1 ½ miles. Tom Ochiltree finished 7th in the Belmont.Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Newport native Andy Kirk, born in 1898. Andy was a jazz saxophonist and tubist who led the Twelve Clouds of Joy, a band popular during the swing era.May 28, 1933, Deputy Sheriff Morgan Pelfrey, Breathitt County Sheriff’s Office, was shot and killed while attempting to remove a drunk man from a large memorial service at a cemetery in War Creek.May 28, 1937, less than one month before her 18th birthday, Anna Mac Clarke was awarded a diploma from Lawrenceburg High School, which at the time was referred to as the “Colored High School.”Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to the “King of Honkytonk” Jenkins native Gary Stewart, born in 1944 in Letcher County.May 28, 1951, Army PFC Walter Toler from Rowan County died in the Korean War.May 28, 1952, Marine Corps SSGT Rollins M. Bryant from Manse in Garrard County died in the Korean War.May 28, 1964, Kentucky State Police Officers, Trooper Elmer Mobley and Trooper Cecil Uzzle were killed when their patrol car crashed into several large rocks that had fallen into the roadway in heavy fog.May 28, 1966, City Marshal James Strong, Jr., Corydon Police Department, was shot and killed as he arrived at the scene of a domestic disturbance call that resulted in a shoot-out.May 28, 1968, Army SFC George N. Walker from Adolphus in Allen County and Marine Corps LCPL Charles E. Ward from Pineville in Bell County died in the Vietnam War.Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Harrodsburg native Sicily Yoder, born in 1969. Sicily was an Indie author who published close to 100 Amish romance novels and cookbooks from 2004 – 2014.May 28, 1970, Army CPL Robert R. Berning from Highland Heights in Campbell County died in the Vietnam War.May 28, 1970, the submarine USS Daniel Boone (SSBN-629) just before noon, collided with the M/V Philippine President Quezon during a high-speed run off near Cape Henry, Va. She immediately returned to the shipyard and remained there for approximately the next four months.PH1 VARNEY, USNMay 28, 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club burned to the ground the night John Davidson was to perform. It was beyond a sellout house. One hundred and sixty-five people died. An estimated 2,600 people escaped, but the death toll was the highest of any disaster in Greater Cincinnati history, man-made or natural. The fire was a key reason why standards nationwide are now so much more stringent.May 28, 1980, the federal government notified Governor John Y. Brown Jr. that they would cut off $140 million in federal aid to four Kentucky Counties unless they set up mandatory auto-exhaust inspection programs. The counties include Jefferson, Boone, Campbell and Kenton.May 28, 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of Illinois, regarding a dispute between Kentucky and Illinois over their Ohio River boundary, by reaffirming the original boundary set in 1792. The initial boundary line is “the low watermark on the northern shore of the Ohio River. Historically, Kentucky has asserted ownership of the entire river up to the Illinois bank. Illinois argued that the low watermark differs by 100 feet because of river damming and shoreline erosion. Illinois is now in control of the river’s 100 feet, significant for riverboat gambling, emergency services taxes on buildings that jut into the river from the Illinois side. Illinois fishermen started the dispute by refusing to buy Kentucky fishing licenses.May 28, 2001, the federal government reported Paducah’s uranium plant and their sister facility in Ohio were by far the U.S.’s largest industrial emitters of a chemical that eats through the Earth’s ozone layer, CFC-114.May 28, 2007, the Creation Museum, located in Petersburg, opened. The museum promotes a Young Earth Creationist (YEC) explanation of the origin of the universe based on a literal interpretation of the book Genesis.May 28, 2019, Louisville native Will Smith made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers.May 28, 2020, Lexington high school graduates drive through the Kentucky Horse Park in an unprecedented commencement event. Meanwhile, Governor A. Beshear announces two weeks of declining coronavirus cases and deaths, with totals of 9,184 and 409, respectively.Kentucky Trivia: Kentucky’s population of 4,467,673 ranks 26th in the U.S., behind Louisiana and ahead of Oregon.
