Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

The best audience is one that is intelligent, well-educated, and a little drunk.  Alben W. Barkley

August 12-14, 1782, a war party consisting of Captain Caldwell, Simon Girty, Shawnee, and Wyandot Warriors of about 300 strong came into Kentucky.  Small detachments dispersed to several forts, but the main body went on to Hoy’s Station.  At Hoy’s Station, the war party captured Captain William Hoy’s son and another boy.  The pioneers pursued the war party but got ambushed; Hoy and the remaining men retreated, leaving the dead and wounded.  The remaining men returned to the fort to await re-enforcements from Lexington.  The war party had the fort under attack until nightfall, killing five to six more settlers.  Then, finally, they demanded that the fort surrender; when they refused, the war party feasted on their cattle and vegetables and then left.

August 12, 1881, Covington native Thomas Shaw served in the 9^th Cavalry Regiment.  On that day, he participated in the Battle of Carrizo Canyon in New Mexico pursuing Nana and his band of Apache Warriors.  For his actions during the engagement, Shaw received the Medal of Honor nine years later.

August 12, 1882, the 1^st mule-drawn streetcars made their debut on the streets of Lexington.  Thirty mules and 15 small wooden cars utilized nine miles of track.  The streetcars needed an extra mule when ascending the South Broadway hill.
The Squire’ Sketches of Lexington by J. Winston Coleman, Jr.; pg: 61

August 12, 1889, Spencer County native Bill Anderson made his MLB debut for the Louisville Colonels.

August 12, 1898, Patrolman Joseph J. Heffernan, Louisville Police Department, succumbed to a gunshot wound to the liver received two days earlier while attempting to arrest two burglars.

August 12, 1899, fire swept through the 2^nd Eclipse Park in Louisville.  It was said to have started by a lightning strike.

August 12, 1917, Patrolman William F. Romaine, Paducah Police Department, died after confronting a group of men creating a disturbance.

August 12, 1944, the four runways built by the U.S. Government for war training, officially opened as an airport, known today as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

August 12, 1949, Congress approved one gold medal in recognition of V.P. Alben Barkley.  Copies in bronze would be available to purchase.  The Treasury Secretary would determine the emblems, devices, and inscriptions for the mint to strike.

August 12, 1950, Army CPL John J. Aspden from Jefferson County, Army PFC Bob T. Amis from Perry County, Army PFC Carlis E. High from Bracken County, Army CPL Arvis F. Roy from Casey County, and Army CPL Charles K. Williams from Knott County, died in the Korean War.

August 12, 1952, Marine Corps PFC Johnny Kilburn from Avawam from Perry County and Army SFC Otis E. Ward from Harlan County died in the Korean War.

August 12, 1958, Shelbyville native Augustus Owsley Stanley I died, the 38^th governor and 26^th Class II Senator.

August 12, 1962, the dramatic production of The Book of Job began their 4^th season at Pine Mountain State Park near Pineville.

August 12, 1969, Marine Corps LCPL Harvey A. Peay from Drakesboro in Muhlenberg County and Army SP4 Marion L. Zipp from Elsmere in Kenton County, died in the Vietnam War.

August 12, 1971 the U.S. National Register of Historic Places added the Mary Todd Lincoln Home to their list.

August 12, 1972, the state prevented a local businessman from building a carnival-like amusement park atop a cliff that overlooked the Cumberland Falls State Park.  The entrepreneur stated he would spend every dollar he had to fight the decision.

On August 12, 1984, baseball elected Ekron native Pee Wee Reese into their Hall of Fame.  His primary team was the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing shortstop as team captain.  However, his most significant action on a baseball field may have been before a game.  In 1947, the Dodgers visited Cincinnati, and the fans and opposing players were getting on rookie Jackie Robinson.  Reese calmly walked over to Robinson, put his arm around his teammate’s shoulder, and chatted.  The gesture was a critical moment in both Robinson’s career and African Americans’ acceptance in baseball and American society.

On August 12, 1989, Florida officials asked the Netherlands to extradite the drug dealer who set up the 300-kilo Columbine cocaine deal that Andrew Thronton piloted and perished on 9/11/85.

August 12, 1995, a Kentucky bred paid $87.50 for a $2.00 ticket when she won the GI $200,000 Alabama Stakes at the Spa.

August 12, 2015, the Phil Simms Exhibit opened on the 1^st floor of the Springfield Opera House in Washington County.  The two-time Super Bowl champion and one-time Super Bowl MVP attended.

Kentucky Trivia: During the 1979 draft, the Giants picked Phil Simms, forcing the San Francisco 49ers to go with their second choice: Joe Montana.

August 12, 2017, a Kentucky bred won the GI $201,035 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar.

On August 12, 2019, Yum! Brands announced David Gibbs would replace Greg Creed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  In 2019, David made over $13 million.  In 2020 he earned over $10 million and donated over $900,000 to ease his employees’ coronavirus hardships.  In 2021, he rewarded himself handsomely for his generosity and got paid $27 million.  Talk about a dog and pony show but remember, don’t hate the player; hate the game.

Kentucky Trivia:  Yum! Brands operates on an extremely high median worker-to-CEO pay ratio, an embarrassing: 2,108:1.  The wage for the median employees is $13,082.  Yum notes that 90% of the employees are part-time and at least 50% have been employed less than a year.  A significant stockholder, SOC Investment Group, tried to get David’s gaudy 2021 salary stopped through SEC filings.

August 12, 2020, Governor A. Beshear announced a single-day record for positive cases (1,163) and seven deaths; all deaths over 50 years of age.  Many private Kentucky schools balked at the governor and planned to open their doors for in-person learning.  Meanwhile, Churchill Downs eliminated all general admission and infield seating and required the 27,000 lucky fans to wear masks for the September 5^th Kentucky Derby.

Positives:  1,163 / 36,945
Deaths:  7 / 790
50&over: 766 / 49-30: 23 / 29&under: 1
Coronavirus deaths are counted if a deceased person tested positive, regardless of the cause.

On August 12, 2021, the drive to increase vaccination rates zeroed in on children.  Kentucky’s largest newspapers focused on how many children tested positive and how the children entering hospitals faced obesity and/or immune problems.  Both papers also persuaded children 12 and older to get vaccinated.  One newspaper mentioned two deaths under 19 had occurred since early 2020.  The papers gave no details, but Kentucky Public Health said one child was under ten and one was between 10 and 19.  The WSJ stated on July 8, “Children are at extremely slim risk of dying from coronavirus, and the latest studies show the threat might be even lower than previously thought.”