Kentucky Looks Crazy on “The Daily Show” Segment

My evening nightcap is usually The Daily Show on Comedy Central. It is a comical/satirical take on the news, often pointing out the insane and untenable positions maintained by our politicians.

Last night, a segment on nullification featured two Kentucky politicians: State Sen. Damon Thayer (R) and LaRue County Judge/Executive Tommy Turner (D).

Nullification is a legal doctrine typically marked by a state’s attempt to void a federal law within the state’s boundaries. The concept has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on multiple occasions, yet Kentucky legislators (e.g., Thayer) are seeking to nullify provisions of Obamacare in Kentucky. LaRue County, however, seeks to nullify Kentucky’s nullification. If all of this were legal, the Affordable Care Act would presumably be void in 119 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.

Sound crazy? Well, the producers at The Daily Show certainly thought so. Here’s the video:

Sunday School Class at Historic Church #TBT

Do you recognize this week’s #ThrowbackThursday? I got a few complaints about last week’s picture being just too easy. Clue: the picture if of a Sunday school class. And I’m looking for location and identity of the church.

Hopefully, I’ve upped my game with this week’s photo. But Lexington knows her history… Let’s hear it in the comments!

Short and Upper Streets, ca. 1898

A number of people recognized last week’s #ThrowbackThursday as being at the corner of Lexington’s Short and Upper Streets. Cropped from the original picture were St. Paul’s Catholic Church and Cheapside, as I figured those made for too easy of clues.

Still, many recognized the long gone parapet atop the extant Northern Bank Building (home of Parlay Social).

Also remaining on the blog between Market and Upper is the old First National Bank building with its iconic arched entryway at 215 West Short.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s #Throwback Thursday!

The George H. Bowman House is Gone but Not Forgotten

Bowman House - Lexington, Ky.
Bowman House – Lexington, Ky.

Earlier this spring, I spotted a sign in front of 4145 Harrodsburg Road indicating that a zoning request for the parcel would be from R-1D to R-1T. I rode onto the property, site of an abandoned home, to investigate further.

As it turns out, the residence was the George H. Bowman House, a ca. 1860 Greek Gothic Revival according to the Kentucky Historic Resources Survey conducted on the property in 1979.

Site Layout of Bowman House
Layout of Bowman House (Source: Resources Inventory)

Property owners, according to early county maps, identify the owner in 1891 as John McMeekin who was the son of Jeremiah McMeekin. The elder was a butcher who had purchased Helm Place in 1873.

The owner in 1871 was J. S. Burrier, originally of Jessamine County, who acquired the home and 165 acres that year. He was married to Alice Craig, daughter of Lewis and Martha (Bryant) Craig.

It is believed that George H. Bowman constructed this house ca. 1860, though he remained only a few years. After inheriting Helm Place from his father, pioneer Abraham Bowman, George H. was forced to sell much of his inheritance to satisfy a gambling debt.

A. J. Reed took advantage of the younger Bowman’s misfortune and acquired the Helm Place property in 1859. It is believed that our subject house was built for George’s occupancy after the liquidation of Helm Place. Within the decade, George H. Bowman had passed away and his children divided and sold their father’s property.

Back to the present. The zoning change mentioned permitted the demolition of the Bowman House and the erection of four townhouse units in its place. It is worth noting, however, that the data relied on in the Map Amendment Request (MAR) included inaccurate data from the Fayette County PVA office.

The existing house was build in 1940, according to PVA records. Unfortunately, since the grant of the previous zone change (and prior to the purchase by the applicant) the house has fallen into a state of disrepair. There are structural issues relating to the foundation. Also contents and mechanical systems of the house have been torn out by unknown persons. Exterior decay issues are present. For all these reasons, it is impossible to preserve the house. (MARV 2013-3 Amd.pdf)

Interior of Bowman House
Interior of Bowman House. Impossible to repair?

I truly doubt that preservation was an impossibility. Impracticable, perhaps. But not impossible. Several additional references existed in the MAR to the “1940 house.”

I have heard that the sitting PVA has plans to update historical property data to correct errors such as the one that may or may not have altered the decisions surrounding the Bowman House. In either event, this is a worthy cause and would be an excellent step forward by the Property Value Administrator and his staff.

I was glad to have snapped these pictures before the old Bowman House was demolished. (I’m assuming demolition has occurred – any updates to the project?)

Demolition of a Farmhouse: Nicholasville’s 603 West Maple

603 West Maple Street – Nicholasville, Ky.

The evidence is not in dispute: home ownership results in stronger communities and homeowners are more likely to improve their properties than are renters (or landlords). But in communities across Kentucky and the country, some below-median income homeowners simply cannot afford to make necessary (and expensive) repairs to upgrade their homes to meet current code.

Map of Nicholasville’s CDBG Sites
Source: Kriss Lowry, Project Manager

Last summer, Nicholasville was awarded a community development block grant (CDBG). This is a federally funded grant through the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Nicholasville’s scattered-site housing project is underway including upgrades to several owner-occupied single-family homes where eligibility criteria is met. Eligible properties must need at least $25,000 in qualified repairs. Admittedly, it is more ‘cost effective’ to demolish and build rather than rehab some houses.

But what considerations occur when one of the eligible properties is an older, potentially ‘historic’, property?

One such property was located at 603 West Maple Street – a couple blocks to the west of the Nicholasville Historic District, an area listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The existing 603 is believed to have been constructed about 90-95 years ago, thus ca. 1920. In 1920, the population of Nicholasville was just in excess of 2,700 which is less than one-tenth of the city’s 2010 population.

The home was a simple farmhouse: one-and-a-half story wood frame. Atop a full 8′ concrete basement is an 896 square foot first floor and 640 sq. ft. on the second. A covered porch spans the length of the house’s front. Although the wood frame structure is simple in design, it was emblematic of the region’s farmhouse architecture from the period. Furthermore, 603 added character to the streetscape of West Maple Street.

Even so, the City determined that the property is not historic. As such, demolish of the 90+ year old 603 occurred earlier this spring. Presently, a new single story for the existing homeowner is under construction. A rendering of the new 603 appears below.

Front Elevation of the proposed 603 West Maple
Source: Kriss Lowry, Project Manager.

Immediately noticeable is the absence of both the full length front porch and the second story dormer window, both of which added much character to 603 and to the neighborhood. The non-descript, vinyl-clad single-story replacement lacks character or interest and it is unlikely to survive nearly a century as did its predecessor.

The need to provide affordable housing is without question, but that need must be balanced with the the preservation of a community’s fabric. The same is true of economic growth and other governmental projects. On a federal level, all projects receiving federal funds must undergo a section 106 review to determine if alternatives exist which would be more suitable to historic preservation. To my knowledge, no analogous requirement exists on the state level.

When an older building, however, cannot be salvaged it is imperative that we document the loss as best as possible. Additionally, parts of an older structure can be reclaimed for future use in the replacement structure or in other properties. Solid wood doors, windows, and flooring are just a few examples. Companies exists solely for the purpose of salvaging these historic resources and non-profits like Habitat for Humanity have ReStores which make these items available.

For historic preservationists, not every battle can be won. And it seems many properties, like 603, are not even part of the fight. But it is always worth saving what we can when we can.

Sources: HUD (Linking HP to CDBG);  Jessamine-Journal; Jessamine PVA; Kriss Lowry (project bidproject floorplans, project guidelines,

This Just Happened, a weekly roundup

Good bye, deSha’s. [Herald-Leader]

Nicholasville Christian Church – 1 of 5
churches in the proposed H-1 overlay.
NCC supported H-1 designation.

Despite the best efforts of historic-minded people, Nicholasville failed to create a H-1 zoning overlay for its downtown commercial core [Jessamine Journal]

Geography isn’t the strong suit of the New York Times. Their Kentucky correction was spotted. [RiverCity News]

Will graduates of the joint MBA program of UK and UL be Cats or Cardinals fans? [BizLex]

Think the home of the Kentucky Derby is massive? The oversized facility Churchill Downs is planning to expand. Again. [Courier Journal]

Downtown Paris businesses unite to establish the Paris Antiques and Gallery District. Oui! [KYForward]

Remember Helen Thomas, Dean of the White House Press Corps and Native Kentuckian

President Ford with reporters, including Helen Thomas. Photo: Library of Congress.

Several years ago, I picked up a copy of the book “Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President” which was a collection of “wit and wisdom” from Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps.

On Saturday, Helen Thomas died at the age of 92.

She was a remarkable woman who was known to colleagues and presidents alike as just “Helen.”

Reading one of her books helped me to better understand both her perspective and her position in U.S. history.

When Helen Thomas began her journalism career at United Press in 1943, the United States was in the middle of fighting World War II.

As a female, however, she was relegated to writing on homemaking and “women’s issues.”

It was not until 1960 that she was promoted to covering the campaign of John F. Kennedy. He won the presidency and Helen was assigned by her bureau to the White House Press Corps.

Here she remained after the Kennedy assassination and through the administration of Lyndon Baines Johnson.

She travelled with the press corps on President Nixon’s trip to China in 1972.

During part of the administration of Gerald Ford, Helen served as president of the White House Correspondents Association. It was only a dozen years earlier that the same organization barred females from attending its annual correspondents’ dinner; now a woman led the organization.

When Jimmy Carter was president, Helen Thomas was there.

And there she remained during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and into the first years of President Obama’s first term.

Her “ringside seat” to more than a half-century of American history gave her such a unique perspective.

Her front row seat in the White House briefing room also gave her the position to speak for those without a voice and to ask the questions which no one else would ask.

She believed this to be her mission and lamented that most journalists did not follow suit.

She was bipartisan in her pointedness and tough questions. She described George W. Bush as the “worst president in American history.”

And she found Barack Obama’s transparency with the press to be worse than that of Nixon’s.

And though 10 Presidents struggled to satisfactorily answer Helen’s questions, she was quick to restore a lost tradition at the end of each presidential briefing by simply saying, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

Of course, the fact I learned from “Thanks for the Memories” which I love most about Helen Thomas has nothing to do with what she did.

Rather, it is where she was born. In 1920, Helen was born right here in Kentucky — Winchester, to be precise.

To paraphrase this great Kentuckian who broke glass ceilings and asked the tough questions: “Thank you, Helen.”

This column originally appeared in the Jessamine Journal
It should not be republished without permission.

Inactive Fourth Street Church has Multiple Denominations in its History

St. Andrews Episcopal Mission Church – Lexington, Ky.

A carriage factory on West Fourth Street served as a house of worship for Lexington’s black population from the time Br. Thomas Phillips and his former master, John Brand, opened the Antioch Christian Church in April 1851. Brother Phillips departed this world in 1859, but his congregation continued to grow. In 1874, the old carriage factory was torn down and the congregation built a structure of its own.

One of the most impressive church buildings built for Lexington’s black community immediately following the Civil War, the structure was a simple brick three-bay church with a simple rose window above the inscription, “… the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26, KJV)

In only a few short years, though, the Antioch (Colored) Christian Church found it necessary to find larger quarters and they relocated to a newly constructed church on Second Street. Thereafter, that church would move again (to Constitution Avenue) but would remain known as the (East) Second Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The old Fourth Street house of worship would not remain empty for long. Thomas Underwood Dudley, the second Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, sought to expand the reach of his Episcopal Church. Overcoming many racist, segregationist views as well as the ghost of his own past as a Confederate veteran, Bishop Dudley pursued an integrated church: “God hath made of one blood all nations of men.”

The Episcopal diocese constructed a new church in the 1950s, but the mission founded by Dudley remained active until that point. Today, the old church structure is inactive and is used by its present owners for storage.

Sources: East Second Street History; NRHP

“Old Blue” Gave Tours at the University of Kentucky in British Style

Passengers Boarding “Old Blue” at the University of Kentucky, ca. 1976. Photo: UKY

In the UK – the United Kingdom that is – the red double decker bus is ubiquitous. In a city the size of London’s it has long been twice as efficient to carry two sets of passengers stacked on top of one another as part of transit planning.

On our side of the pond, we’ve long eschewed the monarchy (though you’d have been hard pressed to know it yesterday with the birth of the new prince) as well as the double-decker bus and the cabby.

The 1953 model double-decker, however, found popularity in a different UK years ago. The University of Kentucky, that is.

And “Old Blue” is the answer to last week’s #ThrowbackThursday.

Owned by the Alumni Association, the double-decker with signage guiding passengers to the Picadilly Circus actually transported campus visitors around campus and alumni to home football games.

Of course, when the bus was acquired in 1974 it was stripped of its traditional red hue and replaced with a blue befitting the University of Kentucky. Her maiden voyage through campus was on September 16, 1974.

Whatever happened to Old Blue? Well, an article by Don White reveals the tale but suffice it to say she has been mothballed for the time being in Lawrenceburg.

The winner from last week’s #TBT was none other than the University of Kentucky herself: