Localtonians wish Bland W. Ballard, born in 1761, a happy birthday . Bland distinguished himself as a soldier, spy, and statesman. Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Ballard migrated to Kentucky at 18 (1779). He served as a scout for George Rogers Clark’s 1780 expedition into the Ohio country.
On October 16, 1800, Lexington organized the 1st Grand Lodge of Kentucky . Prominent Kentucky Masons included John C. Breckinridge, Cassius M. Clay, the Crittendens, John Hunt Morgan, Beriah Magoffin, Robert Worth Bingham, A.B. Chandler, George Rogers Clark, and Henry Clay, who was Grand Master from 1820-21. The main Lodge eventually moved to Louisville. The Squire’s Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 24
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Mercer County native John Bryan Bowman , born in 1824. Mr. Bowman founded Kentucky University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, known today as the University of Kentucky.
October 16, 1827, Scott County native Daniel Pope Cook passed away . Illinois named Cook County after him, where the city of Chicago resides.
October 16, 1876, the Baltimore Bridge Company began construction on High Bridge and finished on February 20, 1877, at a total cost of $404,856.58. For its new technology, the bridge became one of the most-studied structures of the late 19th century. The Kentucky River by William E. Ellis, pg 93.
On October 16, 1894, the Kentucky Union Railroad Company emerged as the Lexington & Eastern Railway (L&E). During the 1850s, speculators had proposed a railroad from Lexington southeast through the coalfields of Kentucky and onward to Bluefield, VA. Investors chartered The Kentucky Union Railway in 1854 years before the Civil War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Murray native Cleanth Brooks , born in 1906. An American literary critic and professor, Cleanth was the preeminent critic of Southern literature, writing classic texts on William Faulkner and other acclaimed writers. He also co-founded the influential journal The Southern Review with Robert Penn Warren.
October 16, 1909, Kentucky defeated Tennessee 17-0 in Lexington . The 7th game in the series set the record to 3-3-1.
October 16, 1913, Louisville native Ralph Waldo Rose passed away . A six-time Olympian in throwing events, he won medals in three games: 1904, 1908, and 1912. An impressive 6′ 5½” and 250 pounds, Rose was the 1st shot putter to break 50’, a world record he held from 1909 till 1925.
On October 16, 1916, McCracken County lynched two black males : Luther Durrett for alleged attempted rape and Brack Kinley for being part of a mob.
On October 16, 1948, sculptor Herbert Haseltine unveiled his statue of Man o’ War at Samuel Riddle’s Faraway Farm, Big Red’s original resting place . Herbert began in 1941 and would spend two hours a day for six months with the legend. He made three consecutive models, each progressively larger than the first. Made of bronze, the final sculptor has nine pieces and weighs 3,000 pounds. The statue came from New York two weeks before the unveiling, and Haseltine flew in from France.
October 16, 1958, Police Officer Stanley “Tex” Pitakos, Newport Police Department , died from a gunshot during a robbery in progress of a loan company. Other officers shot and killed the suspect.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Lexington native Tamara McKinney , born in 1962. She won four World Cup season titles, most notably the 1983 overall title, the last American woman title holder for a quarter century until Lindsey Vonn in 2008.
October 16, 1970, an officer in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) spoke at the Kentucky DAR chapter at Berea College . She claimed many people wanted to rewrite history, “the trend is toward multi-ethnic literature, and that more than 200 history books are being dropped and replaced by new books such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X at a cost to taxpayers of $1.6 million.”
On October 16, 1972, while some state hospitals began performing out patient surgeries , Govern W. Ford took his 1st step to overhaul the state government and created six new program cabinets. They included, Development, Transportation, Education and Arts, Human Resources, Consumer Protection and Regulation, and Safety and Justice.
October 16, 1976, the Wildcats defeated the LSU Tigers 21-7 . The Cats would go onto win the Peach Bowl under Coach F. Curci with All-Americans Warren Bryant, Art Still, and Derrick Ramsey.
October 16, 1979, Daniel Lee Hay of the Maysville Police Department , died from a gunshot while investigating a grocery store burglary. The suspect fled the store through an air duct. They captured, convicted, and sentenced the murderer to 40 years.
October 16, 1992, Governor B. Jones crossed the line and took the controversial step of bringing his top political fundraiser, Jack Hall, into the administration as a member of his inner circle and director of an obscure state agency. Hall raised $10 million for Jones.
October 16, 1993, the Wildcats defeated the Auburn Tigers 35-17 in Lexington . Curry’s Cats made it to the postseason but lost the Peach Bowl by one point to Clemson.
October 16, 1995, as the 1st Million Man March occurred in D.C., UPS put on an elaborate welcoming event on the Louisville airport runway to welcome its new Boeing 767 cargo freight liner. The one-of-a-kind plane would be followed by many more as part of UPS’s expansion. Even though UPS and FedEx continue to buy them, Boeing stopped making the 767 for passenger airlines.
On Friday, October 16, 2009, on a stage befitting a rock star, John Calipari got his first taste of a packed Rupp Arena and promised to return Kentucky basketball to “its rightful place at the top of the mountain.” The new Wildcats coach entered around 8:40 p.m. to “Go Big Blue” chants during Big Blue Madness. Then, he spent the next 15 minutes delivering a speech to a crowd that needed little convincing.
October 16, 2012, an Eastern Kentucky amateur astronomer observed a UFO that he described as “like two fluorescent bulbs, side by side, parallel, shining very brightly.” Months later, the government explained it as a test flight for a “solar-powered internet balloon.”
October 16, 2017, the U of L Athletics Board fired Rick Pitno amid the “pay to play” recruiting scandal.
On October 16, 2019, Governor M. Bevin went into attack mode in the 2nd debate when he called AG A. Beshear incompetent in understanding how the legislative process works. The polls had the race at a dead heat. Meanwhile, as D.C. prepared for impeachment, the warmongers from both parties, which represented 99% of the legislative body, condemned President D. Trump for pulling out of Syria and Turkey. In addition, Nancy Pelosi, walked out of a White House meeting in support of continual wars. President D. Trump stated after she walked out, “The U.S. has no business in the region.”
On October 16, 2020, Governor A. Beshear brought religion into his pleas when asking citizens to follow coronavirus protocols , “My faith tells me I have to treat my neighbor as myself, and that means I have to protect my neighbor if I know them or not.” As Kentucky reported the 3rd straight day of positive cases over 1,000, the number of hospital patients fell. The hysteria heightened when schools began permitting fewer students in class and people hunkered down in their homes. Meanwhile, the lockdowns fueled domestic violence, according to Greenhouse 17.
October 16, 2021, while struggling, short-staffed Kentucky restaurants offered limited menus , lawsuits piled up over the lockdown restrictions, and people suing for the right to take the Nobel prize-honored drug called ivermectin.
On October 16, 2022, Governor A. Beshear tooted his well-deserved horn about some good financial news for the Commonwealth.
Another Kentucky Sunrise
