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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

August 29, 1820, Governor John Adair took the oath of office to become Kentucky’s 8th governor.  He is the only Kentucky governor born in South Carolina.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Kentucky’s 29th governor, Raywick native James Proctor Knott, born in 1830 in Madison County.  After serving as governor, he moved to Missouri to be their Attorney General.  Still, he resigned rather than swear an oath of allegiance to the federal government, just before the outbreak of the Civil War.

On August 29, 1862, the Battle of Richmond began.  The Confederates won their most decisive and complete victory of the entire war in Kentucky’s 2nd largest Civil War battle.  The battle occurred in and around today’s Army Bluegrass Depot pitting Union General “Bull” Nelson against General E. Smith.  The way north to Lexington and Frankfort opened up.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Buell Kazee, born at the foot of Burton Fork in Magoffin County, in 1900.

On August 29, 1901, the Danville Advocate published “Delightful Visit To The Sage Of Glen Lil,” the home of Simon Bolivar Buckner, Kentucky’s 30th governor from 1887-91.  Authored by famed artist W.T. Wood, he declared, “The chief feature of this otherwise charming house, when completed, will be the new pool, fifty feet from the door, with two jets of water spouting to a vast height, fish playing in it and Mrs. B. swimming in it, as she declared her intention of doing.”

August 29, 1924, William E. Railey, curator of the Kentucky Historical Society, showed off the “century-old stairway the convict built,” one of the most popular “exhibits” in the Old Capitol.  Railey explained Gideon Shryock designed the “lock balance” stairs, which convicts helped build.  One did such a great job; Gideon helped gain his freedom.  The free man went on to build a similar staircase in NJ.

Kentucky Trivia:  The stairway is unique because Shryock designed it so that the keystone rock at the top, if moved 1/10 of an inch, would cause the stairway to fall because each step is supported by the step above it.

August 29, 1924, Governor W. J. Fields called Robert W. Bingham, a politician, judge, C-J publisher, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1933 to 1937, and alleged wife murderer, a carpetbagger from North Carolina.

On August 29, 1935, the Keeneland Association purchased 147.5 acres of Fayette County farmland from Jack Keene.  The sale included Jack’s limestone barn and his track.  Keene received $130,000 in cash and $10,000 in Keeneland stock.

August 29, 1951, Army PFC Thomas F. Moore, Jr. from Harrison County died in the Korean War.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Mayfield native David Boaz, born in 1953.  The V.P. of the Cato Institute also authored Libertarianism: A Primer, published in 1997.

August 29, 1964, Sheriff Warren C. Campbell, Sr., Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after being assaulted by a group of men at a local bar after making an arrest.

August 29, 1965, astronauts Cooper and Conrad returned from their record-shattering 3,338,200 mile flight that took seven days, 22 hours, and 55 minutes aboard Gemini 5 Spaceship.  President L. Johnson called them soon after their Atlantic Ocean splashdown, 655 miles from Cape Kennedy.

August 29, 1973, Patrolman Louis William Myers, Marion Police Department, suffered a fatal heart attack following a foot pursuit of an escaped convict.

August 29, 1976, Patrolman Mark Wynnfield Hines, Jefferson County Police Department, died in an automobile accident while pursuing a vehicle.

August 29, 1976, Patrolman Michael Eugene Williams, Salyersville Police Department, died from a gunshot wound while arresting a deputy sheriff’s brother-in-law.  The suspect shot him in the back while being escorted out of the building.

August 29, 1983, five men escaped from the Shelby County jail.  Police captured two and the next day Louisville police shot the 3rd one dead.  They caught the last two, days later.

On August 29, 1985, in a protest reminiscent of the 60s, Morehead State University students boycotted classes while they took to the streets to support their president.  The students also overwhelmingly approved a referendum to add one more year to President Herb Reinhard’s contract, which the regents refused to do.

August 29, 1988, the annual Green-Gray Sweep against marijuana continued as the Kentucky State Police and National Guardsmen confiscated plants in rural Owsley County.  They found 175 plants in one hollow from a helicopter, which they chopped and burned.

August 29, 1997, scientists said the deaths of six Western Kentuckians residents resulted from eating squirrel brains.  Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare variant of mad cow disease.

Kentucky Trivia:  In the 19th-century big game animals such as bison, elk, and deer began to disappear due to habitat loss and unrestricted hunting.  “With other game animals in short supply, squirrels became the primary source of wild meat,” claims Dave Baker, editor of Kentucky Afield magazine.  Squirrel was often one of the main ingredients in the popular slow-cooked dish burgoo, cooked in a big iron pot and served with cornbread at family or community gatherings in the region.

August 29, 1998, former Governor John Y. Brown Jr. married his 2nd beauty queen.  Brown, 64 married a former Miss. Kentucky, Jill Louise Roach, 38, in an evening ceremony at his Cave Hill estate.  Lee Bailey enjoyed the festivities along with 99 other guests.  They divorced in 2003.

August 29, 1998, the GI $750,000 Travers Stakes is another Keeneland graduate exacta.

August 29, 2000, amid the cloak-and-dagger drama, Kentucky indicted Shane Ragland for the 1994 murder of Trent DiGiuro.  Prosecutors used Shane’s girlfriend as their big break when she informed the police he admitted to the murder to her at the Lexington Airport bar.

August 29, 2005, Governor E. Fletcher granted pardons to his nine indicted administration officials and issued a blanket pardon for “any and all persons who have committed, or may be accused of committing, any offense” concerning the investigation.  Fletcher did not pardon himself.  The next day, Fletcher testified before the grand jury but refused to answer any questions.

August 29, 2006, Marine CPL Christopher T. Warndorf, 21, of Burlington, died in Iraq fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

August 29, 2009, Shadwell sponsored the GI $1,000,000 Travers Stakes with a Kentucky bred picking up the $600,000 for 1st place.

On August 29, 2010, locals learned the largest pension fund for state workers was considered one of the most troubled public employee pension funds in the country.  Administrators had to cash out investments each month to pay benefits.  The Kentucky Employees Retirement System, which covers 84,000 retirees, faced a $6 billion shortfall.

On August 29, 2014, Jesse Benton, an American political operative and convicted felon, resigned as campaign manager for Mitch McConnell.  Days earlier, a grand jury indicted him on charges that he concealed buying an Iowa politician.  Benton is closely associated with the Paul family, having served as a campaign manager for both Ron Paul and Rand Paul.  He is married to Ron Paul’s granddaughter.

August 29, 2015, another upset in the graveyard occurred in the GI $1,600,000 Travers Stakes.

As of August 29, 2019, not a single coal company formed in Kentucky within the past five years had posted a bond required by state law to protect miners’ wages if the company suddenly shuts down.  In addition, officials in Governor M. Bevin’s administration urged lawmakers in 2018 to pass a bill that would have eliminated the requirement.

August 29, 2020, two Louisville bars sued Governor A. Beshear for coronavirus emergency orders they describe as “contradictory, ludicrous, arbitrary, and discriminatory.  Plaintiffs are and continue to be irreparably harmed in that they cannot do business and comply with the requirements, without operating at a loss,” the lawsuit read.

As of August 29, 2021, Pike County became at least the 15th Kentucky school district to close due to a coronavirus surge.  Last school year, communities had unlimited days for virtual learning.  In 2020 lawmakers, concerned about an extended shutdown, passed a law that allowed only ten non-traditional instruction days for the 2021-22 term without being made up.  Some school districts shut down anyway, saying they had to stop the spread.  Other school districts quarantined hundreds of students instead of closing.

On August 29, 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, exasperatedly called on Americans to please stop ingesting a horse dewormer drug to treat and prevent COVID-19, stating there’s “no evidence whatsoever” that the medication works.  Legacy media collaborated to knock the award-winning medicine as a favor for their top sponsor, Pfizer.

An August 29, 2022, Governor A. Beshear tweeted:
✅Created nearly 8,500 jobs in 2022 alone
✅Record-shattering year when it comes to our economy!
✅Lowest unemployment rate in our history for four straight months
✅Highest annual growth rate in 31 years
✅Record rainy day fund balance of $2.7 billion

August 29, 2023, Thomas Massie posted information on a bill close to his heart.