Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

You want an Open title by your name. To finally get it, even though it’s a Senior Open, I still regard it as a very high honor.  Kenny Perry

On August 10, 1810, the Great Cherokee Children Massacre took place at Yahoo Falls in southeast Kentucky, nestled in the Big South Fork, right outside Whitley City.  John Sevier’s Cherokee fighters, who operated under the U.S. War Department’s authority, massacred women and children gathered under the falls.

August 10, 1827, Matthew Harris Jouett passed away in his home in Lexington, he came home to pass.  Jouett was unable to make a living in Kentucky, and from 1817 until his death, he spent winters in New Orleans, Natchez, and other southern cities along the Mississippi River, painting portraits of notable citizens.

August 10, 1881, Cynthiana native Orville Hickman Browning died.  A U.S. Senator from Illinois and the 9^th U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Orville attended Augusta College in Augusta.

August 10, 1886, John W. Stevenson, Kentucky’s 25^th governor, our 18^th Class II U.S. Senator and a U.S. Representative, died in Covington.

August 10, 1900, Night Policeman James T. Martin, Carrollton Police Department, died from a gunshot while enforcing a city livestock ordinance prohibiting livestock from going at large.

August 10, 1951, Marine Corps SSGT, Leonard H. Hughes from Benham in Harlan County died in the Korean War.

August 10, 1952, Marine Corps PFC Charles W. Parrish from Cynthiana died in the Korean War.

August 10, 1954, Sir Gordon Richards retired as a jockey with a record 4,870 wins.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Elizabethtown native Kenny Perry, born in 1960.  Kenny won 14 PGA tour events.

August 10, 1962, Mrs. Mary Montgomery Beam, 86, widow of Col. James B. Beam, founder of the James B. Beam Distillery, died at her home in Bardstown.

August 10, 1968, Marine Corps PFC James E. Marshall from Lexington and Marine Corps PFC Franklin Renfro, Jr. from Richmond, died in the Vietnam War.

August 10, 1970, the curious turned out to watch the Army remove, by rail, deadly nerve gas rockets, encased in 113 concrete and steel vaults, in Madison County.

August 10, 1972, a newly devised Bureau of Mines system for ranking safety conditions rated 49 Kentucky coal mines – almost all of them small operations – among the 70 least safe in the U.S.  Only 11 coal mines had “best” safety ratings.

August 10, 1981, Kentucky winemakers, a spirited but struggling group, made their first appearance at the Kentucky State Fair, holding a wine tasting session.  Their next appearance would be the state legislature to seek financial help for the new industry.

Kentucky Trivia:  More than half the wine produced in Kentucky comes from fruit and berries other than grapes.  In fact, the #1 seller in Kentucky is blackberry wine.

August 10, 1987, in 15 minutes, a Jefferson grand jury decided not to bring charges against a Crescent Hill man who fired an arrow into the neck of a man who was stealing a car stereo.

August 10, 1990, Southeast Coal Company, Kentucky’s largest family owned coal company told its 820 employees that they would be laid off in October.

August 10, 1995, the Commonwealth announced Wilmer S. “Bill” Cody as the state’s new Education Commissioner in Falls of Rough, at the Rough River Resort State Park.

August 10, 1996, it would take an entry and teamwork to bring about one of the most legendary upsets in racing history.  Del Mar’s GI $1,000,000 Pacific Classic set up well for Cigar to equal Citation’s modern-day record of 16 straight victories.

August 10, 2007, the three lawyers charged with bilking clients out of $46 million in Kentucky’s fen-phen case went to court to argue for a delay in their trial.  By afternoon, the greedy crooks were in jail meeting Bubba.

August 10, 2011, Governor S. Beshear stepped up to the plate and questioned a major merger between Louisville and Lexington hospitals.  Louisville’s University Hospital had a “public mission” to serve the poor and if that stopped under the merger, it would not be approved.

August 10, 2013, the 1^st horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years (Horse of the Year, Champion Older Male, and Champion Male Turf Horse in 2012 and 2013), won the $500,000 GI Fourstardave Handicap.

August 10, 2013, Garrard County native Jody Payne died.  He is best known as the longtime guitarist in Willie Nelson’s band, The Family.

August 10, 2019, a Kentucky bred crossed the finish line 1^st in Saratoga’s GI $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap.

August 10, 2019, officials reported Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide.

August 10, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced 275 new coronavirus cases to total 35,254, along with two new deaths, ages 60 and 98.  He then gave the go-ahead for bars and restaurants to reopen at 50% capacity; however, they had to close at 11:00 p.m.  In addition, the governor asked all schools to postpone in-person learning until September 28.  Meanwhile, uncertainty plagued the country as Americans continued to stay in their respective holes while they became more divided with less hope.

Kentucky Stat:  More than 1,964 Kentuckians died from drug overdoses in 2020, a 49% increase from the 1,316 overdose deaths for 2019.

August 10, 2021, the governor mandated masks in schools as the coronavirus “surged.”  He reported 2,500 new cases, the heaviest one-day total since January.  The Team Kentucky Website declared seven people died on this day but did not break down the deaths by age.