Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 14, 1804, Thomas Reed and John Carr, both Lexingtonians, met on the Field of Honor for an unknown reason.  Reed received a wound in the foot and Carr in the thigh after three rounds; however, none of their injuries caused alarm.  The Squire’ Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 26

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Casey native John Luther “Casey” Jones, born in 1863.  He sacrificed his life when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Mississippi to save others’ lives.

March 14, 1876, Belle Brezing gave birth to a daughter, Daisy May Kenney.  In May of that year, Belle’s mother died of cancer.  While at the funeral, her mother’s landlord padlocked the house leaving mother and baby homeless.

March 14, 1888, Kentucky’s longtime state treasurer, James William “Honest Dick” Tate, boarded a train in Frankfort.  He carried a secret plan and two large bags of silver and gold coins, later estimated at $100,000.  Whatever the plan was, it worked; no one saw him again.  Kentucky’s 4^th constitutional convention frequently cited his thievery as a reason to impose term limits.  Tate was born in Franklin County, and his place of death is unknown.

March 14, 1890, locals incorporated Middlesboro.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lamb native Cynthia May Carver, born in 1903 in Barren County.  Known professionally as Cousin Emmy, she played the banjo and fiddle and became a pioneering female star in the country music industry.

March 14, 1925, the boys’ Manuel basketball team defeated Winchester for the state basketball championship 44-10, while earlier in the day, Georgetown’s “Wonder Team” defeated Hart County 44-0.  UK hosted and operated the tournament and presented silver basketballs to both champions. Although Manuel won before, it was their 1^st silver basketball trophy, which started in 1924.

March 14, 1938, Patrolman Mose Hurt Littrell, Kentucky Highway Patrol, died near Short Creek in Grayson County.  Patrolman Littrell was off duty when he observed the car with several men drinking.  As he approached, one of them opened fire without saying a word.

March 14, 1945, two Kentucky Highway Patrol officers posed with some confiscated moonshine after federal agents raided a still at Fox Gap.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Henderson native Darrell Addison Posey, born in 1947.  An obituary described him as an “anthropologist who gave up scholarly detachment to fight for the rights of native peoples.

March 14, 1948, the legislature declared Jefferson Davis Day and Confederate Memorial Day a holiday to be observed on June 3.  It Happened Today in Kentucky History by Robert A. Powell, pg: 30

March 14, 1961, Louisville police arrested 177 out of 300 protestors in one of the “liveliest” days of protesting Kentucky had ever seen.  Many arrested included civil-rights movement leaders.  Police Chief Binder pulled Frank Stanley, Jr. from a protest outside a movie theater and took him to a police wagon.

March 14, 1965, Governor Ned Breathitt and 3,000 people marched in Louisville.  The gathering was one of many held throughout America to protest the murder of a white Unitarian minister in Selma, Alabama, a week earlier.   The day would later be known as Bloody Sunday.

March 14, 1967, Army CPL William F. Hogan, Jr. from Lexington died in the Vietnam War.

March 14, 1968, Army SP4 Donald E. Kidd from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

March 14, 1969, Navy PO1 Alvin T. Stahl from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

On March 14, 1973, the National Register of Historic Places accepted the Hunt–Morgan House, historically known as Hopemont.

March 14, 1975, Covington native Haven Gillespie died in Las Vegas.  In 1985, George Strait covered his “Right or Wrong” (written in 1921), scoring the ASCAP Country Music Award in the process.  Haven is best known for Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

March 14, 1976, Jockey Bill Shoemaker won his 7,000^th race.

March 14, 1978, Barbra Thornhill became the 165^th victim of the Beverly Hills fire, when she died nine months after the tragic night.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Paducah native George Wilson, born in 1981.  As the safety for the Buffalo Bills from 2004 to 2012; he won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2009 and 2011.

March 14, 1985, Kentucky dedicated 92 acres in Barren County adjacent to the Barren River Reservoir for the Brigadoon State Nature Preserve.  Locals added 88 acres several years later.  In 2010, they added four acres.  Today, 184 acres are protected.  A Brigadoon is an idyllic place that is unaffected by time or remote from reality.

March 14, 2008, the Federal Reserve held its 1^st emergency weekend meeting in 30 years.  They announced they would guarantee Bear Stearns’ bad loans three days later.  Ideally, they wanted JP Morgan to purchase Bear and prevent bankruptcy.

March 14, 2009, Rachel Alexandra won her 1^st graded stakes of the year in the $400,000 Fairgrounds Oaks (GII), in the slop, effortlessly.

March 14, 2010, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins helped UK defeat Mississippi State, 75-74, in overtime for Kentucky’s 26^th SEC Tournament title.

March 14, 2013, the 7^th horse under the care of Bob Baffert died suddenly.  Shortly after case #7 died suddenly at Hollywood Park, the equine medical director advised the CHRB to conduct an official investigation.

March 14, 2015, the GII $750,000 Rebel Stakes ran at Oaklawn Park.

March 14, 2018, Governor M. Bevin ignited fresh outrage against teachers.  During an interview on Campbellsville’s WVLC radio station, the governor called teachers, who opposed Senate Bill 1, selfish and ignorant, he didn’t stop there.  Even his friendly peers called him out.

March 14, 2019, the Toyota Georgetown plant announced they would start producing the Rav4 Crossover SUV Hybrid and the Lexus ES Hybrid.

March 14, 2022, public library advocates declared their opposition to Kentucky Senate Bill 167, which the senate passed and sent to the House.  The bill included spending cuts and possible censoring by handing control of the library boards to county-judge executives.  However, the senate at least removed a section abolishing all library boards across the state.