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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

June 20, 1778, Daniel Boone arrived back at Fort Boonesborough after being held captive for approximately five months by the Shawnee.  He made the brave escape from his capture when he became aware of their plan to attack Fort Boonesborough, and his arrival was critical in preparing for the violence.  After a few miles, Boone abandoned his horse and made the rest of the way on foot.  He covered over 160 miles in four days, eating only one meal and a bit of jerked venison en route.  For ten days, the fort was a beehive of activity.  The pioneers reinforced the main gates, stockades, and the posts between the outer cabins.  No attack came, but it did lead directly to the Great Siege of Fort Boonesborough in September.  A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest, 1770-1970 by Robert F. Collins; pg: 101

June 20, 1854, locals changed the name of the county seat of Perry County from Perry Court House to Hazard.  The new name came from Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

June 20, 1892, Del Mar Race Track in St. Louis, Missouri, became the 1st to conduct a meeting under electric lights.

June 20, 1914, Luke McLuke defeated two others to win the 46th Belmont Stakes, going 1 3/8 miles in 2:20 and earned $3,025 and a $250 plate.  Jockey Merritt Buxton carried 126 lbs. to win his only Triple Crown race.  James R. Keene bred the colt at Castleton Stud.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lawrenceburg native Anna Mac Clarke, born in 1919.

On June 20, 1923, the two-day Good Roads Tour began in Hazard, with 118 Lexingtonians conveying goodwill, good roads, and good cheer.  By the day’s end, the men had visited Haddix & Jackson (Breathitt County), Beattyville (Lee Cunty), Ravenna & Irvine (Estill County).  On day two, from Irvine, the special train went to Winchester, switched to the main line of the L&N Railroad, and headed to Lynch via East Bernstadt & London (Laurel County), Pineville & Middlesboro (Bell County), and Barbourville in Knox County.

June 20, 1925, Roger Ward Babson, an American entrepreneur, economist, and business theorist, predicted that the kitchen would become extinct in the average American home of the future and common cooking utensils would only be in antique shops.  He felt the new era with modern machinery would revolutionize housekeeping for women.

June 20, 1930, the U.S. House appropriated $5,325,000 for a “Drug Farm” in Fayette County.  They designated $5,000,000 for land and the remainder for preliminary work.  They snuck in $25,000 for Mammoth Cave.  The Senate voted next.

On June 20, 1931, the Dr. Thomas Walker State Shrine became part of the Kentucky Parks system after the American Legion and the Barbourville locals donated the 12-acre site.

January 20, 1950, Audubon Country Club, Owl Creek Country Club, Pastime Boat Club, Big Spring Golf Club, and other private Louisville clubs removed their slot machines overnight, at least temporarily, due to a feud between the Sherriff and County Judge.  Many establishments ignored the spat and continued to gamble without fearing repercussions.

June 20, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police taking a blood sample from an objecting motorist does not violate the federal constitution.  Justice Brennan explained that the tests were reasonable and “highly effective means of determining the degree to which a person is under the influence of alcohol.”

June 20, 1966, Army SSG Bobby Senters from Ashland died in the Vietnam War.

On June 20, 1967, the federal government arrested Kentuckian Muhammad Ali in Houston for refusing induction into the U.S. Armed Forces.

June 20, 1970, Army SGT Melvin N. Rutherford from Nicholasville and Army SP4 Billy R. Sargent from Williamsburg in Whitley County, died in the Vietnam War.

June 20, 1975, seventy-seven women arrived at Fort Knox to begin coed training, a 1st for the U.S. Army base.

June 20, 1980, the Federal Election Commission’s quarterly report stated that 60 Kentuckians had already given the maximum $1,000 donation to their favorite presidential candidate in the 1981 race.

On June 20, 1984, Pat Day set a Churchill Downs record for the most wins on a single card when he won seven of eight races in which he rode.  He had won five races at the track five times in the past 14 months.  Two other riders had brought home six winners, Jimmie Lee in 1907 and Steve Brooks in 1948, but no rider had ever posted seven wins.  Day lost only the 4th race, while aboard Hatchet Job, to a horse named Pat’s Rullah.  The record was tied in 2008 by Julien Leparoux.

On June 20, 1984, the U.S. Army exhumed Pulaski County native Brent Woods’s remains, an African American Buffalo Soldier.  A recipient of the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western U.S., he remained obscured mainly until 1982 when Lorraine Smith of Somerset started a campaign to mark Woods’ grave.  America gave him a full military funeral months later.  He rests in section A, grave 930 of Mill Springs National Cemetery in Nancy.

June 20, 1991, eight hundred coal companies allegedly tampered with coal dust samples intended to protect miners and received a record $6.5 million in fines.  In 1990, Kentucky mines earned $1.4 million in penalties, second behind WVA.

June 20, 1995, Churchill Downs announced they would conduct the nation’s 1st test of an in-home wagering system.  Kentucky was chosen because it was one state that already allowed betting by phone.  The Kentucky Racing Commission approved the partnership between Churchill and Tulsa-based On Demand Services with reservations about who would share the profits.  Alex Waldrop, chief counsel for the track stated, “We think this is the wave of the future.”

On June 20, 2000, the World Health Organization stated that America spent more per person on health care than any other country, yet it ranked 37th in quality of care.  Even though France and Italy ranked one and two, Japan reported the healthiest people.  Norway came in at 11, and Canada ranked 30th.

On June 20, 2000, presidential candidate V.P. Al Gore visited Lexington to propose a new retirement savings plan that allowed workers to invest for the future without disrupting their social security benefits.  Ex-governors John Brown, Martha Layne Collins, and Ed Breathitt attended the Heritage Hall event.  Gore shortened the campaign event to fly back to D.C. to break a tie in a hate crime senate bill.

On June 20, 2002, while the KSU regents fired another President, this one had been on the job for four years, in Frankfort, a small general store in Aurora (Marshall County) sold the winning powerball ticket; it was only worth $14 million.  Meanwhile, drivers on the nation’s busiest coal-haul road braked for a lesson on how to share the road with tractor-trailers in Louisa (Lawrence County).  The Kentucky Transportation Center claimed that even though almost all coal trucks were overweight running up and down the road, less than a third of all accidents were the fault of those truck drivers.

June 20, 2005, Milk is designated the official state drink of Kentucky.

Kentucky Trivia:  Kentucky is one of 20 states with milk as the official beverage even though we are not in the top 25 states in terms of milk production.  Many ask why not Bourbon?

June 20, 2005, The Kentucky Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ became the official theatre pipe organ of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

June 20, 2010, Governor S. Beshear sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education asking to become the 1st state to police themselves in regard to education standards.

June 20, 2014, members announced they would induct Larry Seiple into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.

June 20, 2018, while Franklin Circuit Judge Philip Shephard struck down Kentucky’s controversial new public pension law and told Governor M. Bevin he could not implement it, one of Kentucky’s oldest houses in Paris would be torn down unless someone bought it.  Revolutionary War Captain James Wright built his structure in 1791.

June 20, 2020, the 152nd Belmont Stakes started the 1st leg of the 2020 Triple Crown Series due to the coronavirus.  Tiz the Law, backed by Sackatoga Stable and Barclay Tagg, became the 1st New York-bred to win since Forester in 1882.  The winning connections campaigned the 1st New York-bred to win the Kentucky Derby in 2003.  The Derby ran in September and Preakness in October.

On Sunday, June 20, 2021, Father’s Day, Tennessee native James Comer had a great reason to tweet about baseball and his attractive family.  The future would bring many more similar tweets on the same subjects, and not on Father’s Day, not that there is anything wrong with that.  Where’s the beef?

Kentucky Trivia:  Out of the Commonwealth’s eight Congressmen, only three are native Kentuckians: Mitch (AL), Rand (TX), James (TN), Brett (AL), Morgan (KY), Thomas (WVA), Hal (KY), and Andy (KY).

June 20, 2022, Governor A. Beshear announced, as part of his Better Kentucky Plan, a historic investment of over $203 million to expand reliable and affordable high-speed internet to more than 34,000 Kentucky families and businesses across 35 counties. When the internet is not working, nobody is happy.

On June 20, 2022, the U.S. started administering the experimental COVID-19 vaccine to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  One mother told the press that once her son was fully vaccinated, he could go bowling and visit the children’s museum.

On June 20, 2023, for the first time in four years, Kentucky saw a decrease in drug overdose deaths, representing a 5% reduction since 2018.  Kentucky was one of only eight states that reported decreases of 100 or more deaths compared to 2021.  •  In 2020, there were 1,964 overdose deaths.  •  In 2021, there were 2,250 overdose deaths.  •  In 2022, there were 2,135 overdose deaths.  Addiction remains one of the most critical public health and safety issues facing the Commonwealth.

On June 20, 2023, the MIC’s utter contempt for accounting continued when it mocked the American people by announcing that an accounting error had caused it to overestimate the funding for ammunition, missiles, and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion.

On June 20, 2024, Governor A. Beshear continued to push healthcare for everyone, calling it a fundamental right.  The question is, will he do it in the presidential campaign?  It is a much better offering to the voters than snapshots of his picturesque family and wholesome soundbites.