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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

June 29, 1852, Henry Clay died of tuberculosis in Washington, D.C., at 75, while serving as a U.S. Senator.  Befitting Clay’s status as one of the most respected and influential political figures of his time, they placed his body in the Capitol Rotunda, making him the 1st person in American history to lie in state.  Impressive ceremonies took place in D.C., New York, and other cities, and on July 10, Clay’s body traveled back to his Ashland Estate for the last time.  Upon arriving home, Clay’s body remained overnight while Lucretia kept watch.  The following day, the funeral procession left Ashland after a memorial service on the front lawn.  Black draped the storefronts on Main Street along the way, and all businesses in Lexington closed.  The traffic stood still, and a calm silence appeared as the procession passed through town and into the Lexington Cemetery.  Locals erected the massive monument in 1857.

By Calstanhope

June 29, 1910, Lieutenant Conrad Frank, Ashland Police Department, died from a gunshot while he and other officers raided an establishment selling illegal liquor at 15th Street and Front Street.

On June 29, 1935, Lexington started negotiations to buy a hanger between $2,000 and $14,000 for the airport on Newton Pike.  The privately-owned hanger came from an airfield outside Cincinnati.  Meanwhile, UK bought a large tobacco warehouse boarding campus at the same time they announced a record enrollment for summer school with 1,716 for the 5-week 1st term.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Keno Don Hugo Rosa, simply known as Don Rosa, born in 1951.

June 29, 1958, Deputy Sheriff Millard Brock, Leslie County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot as he and another deputy conducted a traffic stop at Jack’s Creek, near the Leslie-Clay County line.

June 29, 1959, Constable Henry Clay Jones, Jr., Bell County Constable’s Office, died from a gunshot in Middlesboro by a hotel owner who was upset about an ongoing investigation.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Owensboro native Jeff Jones, born in 1960.

June 29, 1968, jockey Eddie Delahoussaye won his 1st race, at Evangeline Downs, aboard Brown Shill.

June 29, 1968, Gamely, Princessnesian, and Desert Law, all owned by William Haggin Perry and trained by Jim Maloney, finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Hollywood Park’s Vanity Handicap.  The richest race ever run at Hollywood Park exclusively for fillies and mares, grossed $79,650, with the Perry powerhouse collecting $72,150 for the 1-2-3 finish.

June 29, 1969, Army WO1 Harrell S. Mefford from Irvine in Estill County died in the Vietnam War.

June 29, 1971, Army CPL Harry T. Walton, Jr. from Lexington died in the Vietnam War.

June 29, 1971, state investigators threw out all test scores for Bell County students after they found too many irregularities, the 1st time the state sanctioned an entire county over test administration.  State officials stopped short of calling it cheating.

On June 30, 1972, after much controversy around “age,” Coach A. Rupp resigned from the University of Kentucky (UK).  In March, the Athletic Association Board and President Otis Singletary stood together and assured everyone that Coach A. Rupp would follow the school’s established retirement policy and retire as mandated.

June 29, 1975, Jessamine County Architect Sarah Tate discussed her plans to build a home with a solar heating system.  She had issues to resolve, like installing a blower to move the heat and what to do on rainy days.  Sarah also acknowledged the installation price tag, but she hoped to save money in the long run.

June 29, 1978, the Rolling Stones played Rupp Arena, the 1st Rupp concert with no reserved seating. Tickets cost $8, $9, and $10.  On the day of the show, ticket scalpers, who had expected a windfall of fans, found out tickets were going for $3, $1, and even for free.  The Stones arrived at Rupp at 8:20 p.m., went onstage at 10:10, jumped into their limousines at 11:45, and headed for the airport.  There was no encore.

June 29, 1983, jockey Angel Cordero Jr. won his 5,000th career race, aboard Another Rodger, in Belmont’s 9th; the 4th rider in history, behind John Longden, Bill Shoemaker, and Laffit Pincay Jr., to hit the mark.

June 29, 1983, President R. Regan visited Louisville to speak to the National Leadership Conference of the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America.

June 29, 1987, Donald James, a 55-year-old executive at Brown-Foreman, received 20 years in prison for killing a man while driving drunk.  Two friends asked if he would like a ride home; he declined both times.  A Jefferson County courtroom handed down its stiffest penalty for an alcohol-related traffic fatality.

June 29, 1991, Mammoth Cave started a two-day celebration in honor of their 50th anniversary as a National Park.

Kentucky Trivia:  Enslaved people completed most of the early mapping in Mammoth Cave, including freed slave Stephen Bishop.  He and several other family members rest near the cave entrance in the Old Guide’s Cemetery.  The onsite cemetery holds not only their remains but also those of several Tuberculosis (TB) patients that passed there.  For a short time, in the early 19th century, TB patients lived in the caves hoping that the environment would help heal their lungs.

June 29, 2000, Louisville Slugger Field unveiled a statue of Pee Wee Reese.  The bronze statue depicts the throw to 1st base that clinched victory for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955 World Championship game.

On June 29, 2004, as Governor E. Fletcher opened up prisons for corporate profit, his administration fired three workers’ insurance regulators after Kentucky’s largest workers’ compensation carrier went belly up.  The Commissioner of Workers’ Claims resigned in protest over the firings and Fletcher’s lack of interest in the AIK Corp.

June 29, 2004, the FDA reappointed Lexington gynecologist W. David Hagar, well known for being against abortion and premarital sex, to the influential Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee.  Over 25,000 people asked President Bush no to do it.  The FDA appointed Dr. Hagar in December 2002 over much controversy.  Meanwhile, the MIC captured Saddam Hussein and made an example of him.

June 29, 2007, Governor E. Fletcher personally selected road projects to reward political allies according to the #2 official in the Kentucky Department of Highways.  When #2 made the statement, he was negotiating a plea deal of a felony perjury charge.

June 29, 2008, Kenny Perry won his 2nd Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan, by one stroke over Woody Austin and Bubba Watson to earn $900,000 and become the oldest winner at 47.  He began the final round tied for 5th place, three shots back.  Kenny won for the 1st time in 2001 and earned $558,000.

June 29, 2009, Bernie Madoff received 150 years for America’s largest Ponzi scheme.

June 29, 2012, Kentucky baked at 105 degrees, two degrees higher than the day before when Louisville set a record for the hottest day in June.

June 29, 2018, Governor M. Bevin’s effort to reshape Kentucky’s Medicaid program came to an end when a federal judge blocked his plan to require some people to meet strict new requirements, including working, volunteering, or paying to get health coverage.

June 29, 2019, a record number of faith groups joined Lexington’s Pride Festival.  The gathering had about 200 vendors, and a record 20 of them were with religious groups.

On June 29, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced 117 new cases and two deaths from coronavirus.  One individual passed at 67, and the other 83.  Robertson County reported one positive case, which meant all 120 counties reported positive cases.

June 29, 2020, Dr. A. Fauci, “The best we’ve ever done is measles, which is 97% to 98% effective.  Um, oh, that would be wonderful if we get there.  I don’t think we will.  I would settle for 70%, 75% effective vaccine.  Cause that would bring you to that level of would be herd immunity level.”  When asked whether herd immunity would be reached if only 70% to 75% of Americans would get vaccinated, Fauci said it was “unlikely.”  Fauci was also optimistic the experimental vaccine would be available early 2021.

June 29, 2021, more than 40 million Americans sat in the crosshairs of a triple-digit heat wave, as some locations soared over 120 degrees as records fell across the West.  Seven states declared heat warnings for human health.

June 29, 2022, Lexington Ok’d a new professional soccer franchise and a stadium off Newton Pike.  The club broke ground on a different site the following year off the I-75 Athens-Boonesboro exit.  Meanwhile, Parkette Drive Inn, Lexington’s oldest and most nostalgic restaurant, closed.

June 29, 2023, President J. Biden Sat down for a rare interview, this time with MSNBC.  In 100 years, only Nixon and Reagan held fewer news conferences.  On his 2023 Ireland trip, President Biden abandoned the decades-old tradition of holding a news conference while abroad.  In April, Columbia’s President met with Mr. Biden, but the two did not hold a news conference together, another practice of his predecessors that Mr. Biden has frequently skipped. After the meeting, Mr. Petro took questions from reporters — alone — at microphones in front of the West Wing.

On June 29, 2023, 170 new Kentucky laws took effect that Frankfort passed for the session that ended in March. The Top Five included: 1. No More Gray Machines, 2. Sports Betting, 3. Delta-8 Regulations, 4. Ban on gender-affirming care for trans, and 5. Fentanyl Testing Strips Allowed.