Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to La Grange native Jack Retherford Starkey, born in 1922. Better known as Buddy Pepper, the pianist, songwriter, arranger, and actor wrote several songs for Universal Pictures.
April 21, 1931, Guard William Moneymaker, Kentucky Department of Corrections, died by an inmate with a hatchet.
April 21, 1939, the Jackson County Deputy Sheriff hit John Y. Brown, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, in the jaw. Brown went to McKee to represent two Union organizers arrested by Sheriff Pence. The charges included “banding and confederating, driving drunk, carrying concealed deadly weapons, and illegally transporting liquor.” Mr. Brown said a near free-for-all happened in the County Judge’s office and ended with “about eight deputy sheriffs pointing guns at me.” Sheriff Pence, a coal operator, owned a fleet of coal trucks, and arrested the organizers, however, he was not in the brawl. The Sheriff went missing a few days after the arrest. Brown lost the election.
On April 21, 1943, Ocean Wave won the Blue Grass Stakes at Churchill Downs. But, unfortunately, the colt did not enter the Derby three weeks later when Count Fleet won.
April 21, 1950, Governor Earl Clemments predicted Kentucky would break last year’s record tourism numbers. In 1949, 1,408,000 people registered in state parks, and tourists spent $228,000,000.
April 21, 1951, Army PVT Clarence R. Grogan from Calloway County died in the Korean War.
On April 21, 1952, Lexington seized and destroyed thirteen slot machines at several American Legion lodges. Meanwhile, 2,000 slot machines stayed in limbo after the F.B.I. seized them in Eastern Kentucky.
April 21, 1953, Air Force A2C James A. Elliott from Louisville died in the Korean War.
April 21, 1956, Elvis Presley had his 1st #1 hit with Heartbreak Hotel.
April 21, 1958, Gertrude Morris spoke at the annual meeting of Planned Parenthood in Lexington’s Phoenix Hotel. She informed the audience that contraception by a pill would soon be possible.
April 21, 1961, police arrested 21 African-Americans for picketing six Louisville downtown eating establishments for three and a half hours. They sat in the restaurants, refused service, and told to leave each one.
April 21, 1963, the thermometer reached a record 85.9 degrees at 4:30 p.m., breaking a 72-year-old record of 85.5 in 1891.
On April 21, 1965, 22 of 36 horses on the Manchester Farm in Lexington died after a two-story barn caught fire. Owner Duval Headley estimated the loss at $750,000.
April 21, 1970, Army SGT Gary A. Schoborg from Covington in Kenton County died in the Vietnam War.
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Robert Allen Riggle Jr., born in 1970.
April 21, 1971, the U.S. Bureau of Mines reported that Kentucky again topped the list with the most coal miner deaths for the 1st quarter of 1971, 17 out of 57.
April 21, 1978, Betty Ford told the world she was an alcoholic.
April 21, 1980, the U.S. Forest Service did some control burning on four acres in the Daniel Boone National Forest to make the area more attractive to the red-cockaded woodpecker.
By Lance Cpl. Matthew K. HackerApril 21, 1983, federal agents raided Jimmy Lambert’s two homes and Arnold Kirkpatrick’s former residence at Spendthrift Farm. The dynasty had ended.
April 21, 1985, Governor Martha Layne Collins visited Panama with U.S. Congressmen and Generals to see firsthand the 12 Kentucky guardsmen involved in the “Blazing Trials” training exercise that built local roads.
April 21, 1990, Racing Hall of Famer Go for Wand won the Ashland Stakes 11 days after taking the Beaumont Stakes. Keeneland offered its 1st simulcast race during a live card, the Arkansas Derby (G2). The 1-5 Go for Wand lost the Kentucky Oaks 13 days later.
April 21, 1993, the government’s key witness, former lobbyist John W. “Jay” Spurrier III, testified about behind-the-scenes legislative maneuvering. The prosecutors laid the groundwork to show how former House Speaker Don Blandford sold his influence for $1,500.
April 21, 1998, Churchill Downs Inc. finalized the purchase of Ellis Park Racetrack in Henderson. After changing hands a few times, Churchill bought it back in September 2022.
April 21, 2000, Governor P. Patton changed his mind and signed a bill into law that would significantly increase state legislators’ pensions. Patton stated earlier he would veto the measure because it was snuck in at the last minute and had no discussion.
April 21, 2001, Mark Smith from Lexington caught a state record Gold Eye weighing 2 lbs. 64ozs. in the Kentucky River.
By MzajacApril 21, 2013, Country Music Television launched its Guntucky series. The show follows a Bullitt County family that owns the Knob Creek Gun Range.
On April 21, 2014, Kentucky used 438,000 tons of salt and spent $68 million to keep the roads clear and safe for travelers, about 1.5 times the average amount. In addition, the recorded 31 snow and ice events used 2,000 employees and 1,065 snow plows. The most expensive winter came 2010-11 when we spent $74 million and used 450,000 tons of salt.
On April 21, 2015, Franklin County indicted nine people for stealing $100,000 in bourbon. Officials recovered 18 barrels from Wild Turkey in Anderson County and Buffalo Trace in Frankfort. The case received national attention in 2013 when 195 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle went missing.
April 21, 2016, Prince died at age 57.
April 21, 2018, Santa Anita hosted the GII $200,345 Kona Gold Stakes for three-year-olds and upward going six-and-one-half furlongs on the dirt. A Kentucky bred and Keeneland graduate won $120,000.
April 21, 2019, the 2017 agriculture census showed more women and young people were farming in Kentucky. Small and larger corporate farms increased; however, fewer middle-size farms stopped existing. The overall value of the state economy topped $5.7 billion, up $5 billion from 2012.
April 21, 2021, Kentucky reported that several state workers cheated the unemployment system during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and received over $116,000 while working full-time. Kentucky’s had an inadequate unemployment system for the pandemic, and this theft added insult to injury. Meanwhile, the governor continued his hard push for the experimental vaccine, “This virus isn’t going away. We have to come together to stop it. We have the power to stop this pandemic now, and the way we can do that is getting vaccinated.”
April 21, 2022, Governor A. Beshear, through Twitter, announced four steps to move medical cannabis forward in the commonwealth. If the General Assembly finally approves it in 2024, the pension crisis may be the driving force.