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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

November 25, 1813, Kentucky’s 1st permanent state capitol building burned down.  The first floor held the state auditor, treasurer, and public printer.  The second floor housed the House of Representatives, committee rooms, and courtrooms.  The Senate and Secretary of State resided on the third floor.  The next permanent capital was built on the same site and also burned down.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Garrard County native Carrie Amelia Moore Nation, born in 1846.  As an adult, she had an imposing physical presence and used it to crusade against liquor, claiming she was on a God-inspired mission to destroy bars.

November 25, 1891, Centre College beat Central University (Richmond) 22-6 in Nicholasville.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Greenup native Clinton Cyrus “Hawk” Thomas, born in 1896.  A professional outfielder and 2nd baseman in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1938, he earned the nickname “Hawk” for his sharp-eyed hitting and center field skills.  Thomas played for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Columbus Buckeyes, Detroit Stars, Hilldale Club, Bacharach Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, New York Harlem Stars, Indianapolis ABCs, New York Black Yankees, Newark Eagles, and Philadelphia Stars.

November 25, 1915, Kentucky defeated Tennessee 6-0 in Lexington.  The Wildcats lead the series 7-5-1.

November 25, 1920, Madeline McDowell Breckinridge passed away.  The great-granddaughter of Henry Clay and a cousin to Kentucky suffragist Laura Clay was born in Franklin County.  In 1872, at age ten, she moved to Clay’s Ashland Estate and lived there until a short time after her 1898 marriage to Desha Breckinridge, the editor of the Lexington Herald.  Madeline, a tireless social reformer who spent her entire adult life in service to others, made her contributions while battling tuberculosis which she lost her foot to.  Her early social reform work focused on children where she fought for child labor laws, schools, playgrounds, and hospitals.  The women’s suffrage movement, in part, promoted her social programs.

November 25, 1925, Kentucky beat Tennessee for the 2nd year in a row, which brought the series record to 10-8-3 in the Cats’ favor.  Then, for the 1st time, Kentucky players rolled out a blue beer barrel with the words “Ice Water” painted over it to avoid promoting alcohol during the Prohibition Era.  The barrel became one of the most famous and unique prizes in college football rivalry games.  The tradition ended in 1988.

November 25, 1933, Detective William D. Wood, Louisville Police Department, died from a gunshot while on an undercover narcotics operation on 7th Street near Walnut.

November 25, 1948, Lexington held “Kid Day” on East Main Street to welcome Santa Claus.  From Kid Day came Lexington’s annual Christmas Parade.

November 25, 1953, four days after Kentucky beat Tennessee for the 1st time in 18 years, a Volunteer kidnapped the beer barrel from Memorial Coliseum.  The Lexington Herald received a phone call, “this is the Vol Phantom, and we have just stolen the Beer Barrel.  The guy in the equipment room must be deaf because we took it from right under his nose.”

November 25, 1950, Army CPL Edward Finley from Clay County died fighting in the Korean War.

November 25, 1952, Army PFC Clyde Allen Jr. from Robertson County died fighting in the Korean War.

November 25, 1960, the long struggle for public ownership of all the land inside Mammoth Cave National Park’s boundaries ended successfully when Great Onyx Cave sold for $365,000, bringing the total acres for the park just below 52,000 acres.

Kentucky Trivia:  Crystal (200 acres) and Great Onyx (220 acres) Caves were the last privately owned tracks inside the national park’s boundaries and their inclusion had been sought for 20 years.  Today Mammoth Cave is 52,880 acres.

On November 25, 1961, Coach Collier Blanton coached his last game as head coach for the Wildcats, losing to Tennessee 16-26.  Blanton beat the Volunteers five times, lost twice, and tied them once.

November 25, 1963, the Brent Spence Bridge opened.  This double-decker, cantilevered truss bridge carries Interstates 71 & 75 across the Ohio River between Covington and Cincinnati.

November 25, 1968, Marine Corps PFC Raymond B. McKinney from Covington and Air Force COL Joseph C. Morrison from Lexington died fighting in the Vietnam War.

November 25, 1969, Marine Corps CPL Marvin A. Voelker Jr. from Louisville died fighting in the Vietnam War.

November 25, 1971, Air Force MAJ Robert B. Swenck from Louisville died fighting in the Vietnam War.

November 25, 1979, Louisville lost to Rutgers 7-31 for Head Coach Vince Gibson’s last game.  Coach Gibson ended his five-year career with Louisville at 23-25-1.

On November 25, 1980, TVA told the Kentucky Special Solar Energy Advisory Committee they wanted to build three solar homes in Bowling Green, Scottsville, and Glasgow.

November 25, 1985, struggling tobacco farmers were disappointed as cigarette companies refused to bid much more than minimum prices on the first day of the 1985-86 burley market.

November 25, 1985, former Democratic State Chairman, Sonny Hunt, told former governor Julian Carroll that he and other prominent Democrats did not want him to run again for governor.  They did not want to dredge up his past.  Hunt referred to the two years he spent in prison for government corruption while in Carroll’s administration.

November 25, 1995, Churchill Downs ended their meet with executives publically fretting over the on-track attendance decline.  Figures showed an 8% decline since 1993, and that was with a Breeders’ Cup Day, which inflated numbers.  The increase of simulcasting was a blessing and small curse.

November 25, 2000, real estate agent Karen Kirchdorfer demonstrated how the internet offers virtual tours and slide shows to cut down on the leg work of buying a home.  

November 25, 2010, Jefferson County locals banded together to help clean Floyds Fork by starting a lawsuit.  Future Fund wanted to bring Floyds Fork back to compliance with federal water quality standards for recreation and aquatic life.

November 25, 2016, another Kentucky bred won the GI $500,000 Clark Handicap Stakes at Churchill.  The Clark first ran in 1875.

November 25, 2016, in forty Kroger stores across Kentucky, people had an opportunity to enter a lottery for a chance to buy a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle.  Two hundred fifty lucky individuals won.

November 25, 2017, Churchill Downs hosted the GII $200,00 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes for 2-year-olds.  The winner also received valuable Kentucky Derby points.

November 25, 2017, Louisville beat Kentucky 44-17 in Lexington.  The overall series became tied for the 1st time with 15 wins each.

November 25, 2018, Mike Sanford’s tenure as Western Kentucky’s head football coach ended after just two seasons with a 9-16 overall record.

On November 25, 2019, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter stated in an interview that “he had 40 Papa John’s Pizzas in 30 days, and it was not the same pizza and the day of reckoning will come for the company leaders that betrayed him.”  Twitter erupted over the interview.

November 25, 2020, Governor A. Beshear made a last-ditch plea for Kentuckians to avoid large family gatherings for Thanksgiving; he then announced 2,690 positive cases*,17 new deaths*, with 1,658 in the hospital.  The governor, ”We believe it’s people getting tested, and if they test negative, they think they can have a big Thanksgiving.  I hope that’s not the case.  A single negative test can’t guarantee a safe Thanksgiving.”  In other words, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

*  The state added 718 new cases and 9 deaths after the governor made his daily announcement.  The final tally for November 25 is below.

Positives:  3,408 / 166,139
Deaths:  26 / 1,835 – 1st Death 3/16/20
50&over: 1,788 / 49-30: 44 / 29&under: 3