TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORYOctober 15, 2022October 15, 2022Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky TweetsOctober 15, 1796, the Wilderness Road’s 1st written record is in an announcement in the Kentucky Gazette: “The Wilderness Road from Cumberland Gap to the settlements in Kentucky is now completed. Wagons loaded with a ton weight, may pass with ease, with four good horses.” Before that time, most people called the route either Kentucky Road or the road to the Holston settlements, depending upon travel direction. John Filson’s map, the old trail is called “The Road from the Old settle[ments] thro’ the great Wilderness.”Localtonians wishes a Happy Birthday to Ora Francis Porter born in Sugar Grove, Butler County, in 1879. She graduated from Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1901 to become Bowling Green’s first registered nurse. She retired in 1960.October 15, 1883, Marshal Ambrose Wilson, Sadieville Police Department, died while attempting to break up a disturbance at a local saloon. He had taken one of the men outside and was attempting to persuade him to go home when the man produced a gun and opened fire, striking Marshal Wilson three times.October 15, 1904, Kentucky State College (UK) beat Berea College 42-0 in Lexington. Coached by Fred Schacht in his first of two years, the team went 9-1 for the year. Coach Schacht’s tenure included a 15-4-1 record.Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to world-renowned jazz pianist Herman “Ivory” Chittison, born in Flemingsburg in 1908.Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Hindman native Carl D. Perkins born in 1912. Mr. Perkins attended Hindman High School, Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College), and U of L Law School. Congressman Perkins did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, where he was the only yes vote from Kentucky.October 15, 1915, Beach Comber stumbled out of the gate in a Latonia race, and threw his jockey, Louisville native Carl Goose to the ground where another horse stumbled over him. Carl, 22 years old, sustained a fractured skull, never regained consciousness, and died. Carl won the 1913 Kentucky Oaks aboard Cream. Carl used the last name Ganz, the German name for Goose because his brother also was a jockey and didn’t want people to confuse them. Carl’s brother Roscoe won the 1913 Kentucky Derby. After Carl’s death, Roscoe devoted his life to safety regulations to protect the jockeys and horses.Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Louisville native Guitarist Mickey Baker, born in 1925. In 1936, he entered an orphanage at 11 and ran away, traveling the U.S. The orphanage eventually quit looking for him, and at 16, he stayed in New York City. He washed dishes, hung out in the pool halls of 26th Street, and soon gave up working to become a full-time pool shark. Then, at 19, Baker decided to change his life and started playing music and created his signature riffs that helped push rhythm & blues into rock & roll.Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Elmer Whitaker, born at home in the Christopher section of Perry County in 1928. Elmer’s grandfather, Dr. Felix Wooten, graduated from Transylvania College, and his great-grandmother, Rebecca Feltner, was a Leslie County midwife. The Hazard coal operator and Kentucky banker also owned part of Hazard’s radio station WSGS. The station’s call letters represent the original owners’ names – Whitaker, Sparkman, Gorman, and Sturgill. Elmer Whitaker died in 2014.October 15, 1932, Policeman Blucher Soyars, Russellville Police Department, and Special Agent Frank Mather, of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, accidentally got shot and died during a case of mistaken identity.October 15, 1933, a dedication of Kentucky author James Lane Allen’s final gift to his hometown, the “Fountain of Youth” sculpture, took place at a 3 p.m. ceremony in Lexington’s Gratz Park.Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Keeneland, born on Thursday, October 15, 1936, at 1:53 p.m. At this time, a spotted pony carrying outrider Joe Moran stepped into the plowed dirt and led eight prancing thoroughbreds in the 1st post parade at Keeneland Racecourse. Royal Raiment won the $1,000 allowance for two-year-old fillies. John Jay Whitney owned the grey filly, J.W. Healy trained, and John Gilbert rode the winner. The 1st day featured seven races worth a total purse prize of $7,380, where 8,000 fans wagered $74,639.Kentucky Trivia: Paid attendance for the 1st nine-day fall meet totaled 25,337. The 1st year was a moderate success for the Keeneland Association. The financial statement for the year, however, revealed a net loss of $3.47.October 15, 1949, the Kentucky Wildcats shut-out their 4th team in a row by beating The Citadel 44-0 in Lexington. The Bear Bryant team had already shutout LSU (19), Ole Miss (47) and Georgia (25). They would finish the season 9-3 ranked 11th in the nation, losing to Santa Clara in the Orange Bowl.On Saturday, October 15, 1949, click to see the crowd of 11,446 people who watched the races at Keeneland’s Fall Meet. The grandstands were filled two hours before the 1st race.October 15, 1951, Army CPL Thomas O. Flower from Jefferson County, Army PFC William R. Liner from Jefferson County and Army PFC Harold E. Roark from LaRue County, all died in the Korean War.October 15, 1957, Chief of Police Willard Cash Milstead, Princeton Police Department, died by a man’s gunshot while he and another officer were placing a second suspect under arrest at the scene of a domestic disturbance. The other officer shot and killed the suspect.6:40 p.m. (CST), October 15, 1959, at 31,500 feet above the farming community of Hardinsburg, two U.S. Airforce aircraft collided. The collision generated an intense fireball seen 150 miles away in Cincinnati and Indiana and landed two miles from each other. The KC-135 landed near the farm of Mrs. Ruby Jones and Mr. Briscoll Thurman’s farmhouse. The main portion of the B-52 hit the ground near the Whitier Farm, with other significant wreckage on the Reason Sebastian Farm near the village of McQuady.October 15, 1960, Johnson County native Loretta Webb Lynn made her 1st appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.October 15, 1973, President Richard Nixon presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to Henderson native Gary L. Littrell for his actions in the Vietnam War.October 15, 1982, 12:01 a.m., UK basketball held their 1st practice of the year at Memorial Coliseum, named “midnight scrimmage.” An estimated 5,100 fans watched the team after participating in a shooting contest and a ticket raffle. NCAA rules prevented any practice before this day.October 15, 1991, UK A.D. C.M. Newton talked with NBA star Michael Jordan after the Chicago Bulls’ practice before their exhibition game. A crowd of 20,775, more than double the largest to see a pro game in Lexington, saw Jordan score 20 points in his 22 minutes during the 98-83 win over the Seattle.October 15, 2002, Governor P. Patton hired the same high-powered law firm President Bill Clinton used for his impeachment trial. Governor Patton needed representation in his mistress’s lawsuits.October 15, 2016, a Kentucky bred won the 32nd Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup by a head.October 15, 2019, roughly a year after Kentucky mandated Hepatitis A vaccinations for all students, a report stated that nearly 1/3 had not complied.On October 15, 2020, Governor A. Beshear stated the virus was “getting worse, not better” when he announced 20 deaths. From quarantine inside the mansion he claimed, “if people don’t start wearing a mask and practicing social distancing, we will continue to have days like this; we have to do better.” Meanwhile, in Washington, Dr. Fauci warned Americans to rethink their thanksgiving plans with family. In an interview later that day about herd immunity he stated, “the idea that a disease will stop spreading once nearly everybody has contracted it, is “total nonsense.”Positives: 1,260 / 84,195Deaths: 20 / 1,296 – 1st Death 3/16/2050&over: 1,259 / 49-30: 35 / 29&under: 2October 15, 2021, defense attorney Christopher Spedding successfully defended ex-UK Student Jacob Heil from reckless homicide. Jacob tragically killed 4-year-old Marco Shemwell with his car while leaving a UK football game in 2018. Heil’s blood alcohol content was .038; the legal limit for persons under 21 is .02.
