Tag: JJ

Art is winning in Lexington and Nicholasville

Lexington’s First National Bank (aka Fayette National Bank) Building
and Future 21c Museum and Hotel (Photo: Author)

In early June, the city council approved final terms on the 21c Museum and Hotel which will occupy that city’s oldest skyscraper, the Fayette National Bank Building. Since the approval, construction has been moving along in the historic structure.

Originating in Louisville, 21c already has locations in Louisville, Cincinnati, and in Bentonville, Arkansas. The fourth location will be in Durham, North Carolina, and Lexington will be the brand’s fifth. Construction has already begun to rehabilitate the Lexington landmark for its future purpose.

A 21c hotel, however, is far more than a place to rest one’s head.

The modern, award-winning hotels are well-regarded for the art museums at each location which are free and open to the public.

During the council debate on the matter, Lexington’s elected leaders heard from some constituents who don’t approve of the art that will be on display. Too risque. Too provocative. Too sexual, they argue.

But the project was still approved. Lexington’s leaders approved of the downtown development that would bring jobs, a proven hotel, and a collection of art (albeit controversial at times) to its Main Street.

But what is art?

It is defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

Emotional power? Surely those objecting to 21c’s art have a strong emotional response to seeing it (or perhaps just hearing of it). It so moved them that they sought to take an active step in democracy by speaking to their elected leaders.

Have you been dramatically moved by a piece of art?

Perhaps it was a painting or a song or a sculpture or a book. Irrespective of form, art can carry us to new heights, can overcome our emotions and can make us dream new dreams.

It is a good thing that art won on Lexington’s Main Street.

Nicholasville’s First Gallery Walk in June 2014 (Photo: Author)

And it is a great thing that art won on Nicholasville’s Main Street in early June, as well.

At the close of business on June 6, the Polvino Family Art Center opened its doors. And with it came throngs of people for Nicholasville’s first gallery walk.

Twelve spots along Main Street saw artists showcasing their work and people filling sidewalks. Four restaurants along Main Street — Euro’s, the Nicholasville Cafe, Brewer’s, and Simi’s — each were open for evening dining.

It was so exciting to see all of the people walking along our downtown streets on a beautiful evening while patronizing our locally owned businesses.

When our Main Street’s streetscape was torn up several years ago for a beautification process, our community suffered. But I believe that through the years and through that pain, we are emerging as a better community.

I tip my hat to Constance Grayson and all of those involved in having the vision and the drive to turn that vision into a reality. The Creative Art League of Jessamine County has grown so much over the past few years and it has so much more potential!

I am excited about future gallery walks and the energy and beauty that they bring to Main Street, Nicholasville.

The next Gallery Walk along Nicholasville’s historic Main Street will be on August 8 from 5:00 to 8:00.

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Post by A Better Nicholasville.

A version of this column originally appeared in the Jessamine Journal on June 11, 2014. It should not be republished without permission.

Excited for California Chrome … and a Triple Crown?

California Chrome Wins the Preakness. Photo: Jay Baker.

Will history be made this Saturday?

We will find out with the 146th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown is a peculiarity in sports. In college sports, we cheer on the Wildcats. Most of us have at least a preferred NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL team, if we aren’t a rabid fan of one or more.

But horse racing is different. A young foal is born and three years later is at the pinnacle of its racing career. The following year, a new set of horses are ready to race. One could draw similarities here to the new crop of players in each of Calipari’s freshman classes, but each of those basketball players wears on the front of their jerseys the real source of our pride: KENTUCKY.

There isn’t the same sort of common ‘team’ interest in horse racing.

So on the first Saturday of May, we watched as California Chrome galloped ahead of his competition. The favorite to win under the twin spires of Churchill Downs did so by one and three-quarters lengths.

Immediately, we rallied around that chestnut horse who hadn’t set hoof in Kentucky until just a few days before the Derby.

And we cheered California Chrome to a win across the finish line some one and a half lengths ahead of second-place finisher Ride On Curlin when he competed in the Preakness Stakes two weeks after the Derby.

With two legs of the Triple Crown won, things got interesting. I don’t know about you, but when a horse wins both the Derby and the Preakness, then I really look forward to the Belmont. Three weeks seems too long.

California Chrome is the 34th to have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown. Since 2000, we’ve seen War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, Big Brown, and I’ll Have Another in the same position. But all of these have come up short at the track in Belmont, New York. In fact, I’ve never seen a Triple Crown winner. The last one occurred before I was born.

In the 1970s, three horses won the Triple Crown. And their names roll off your tongue. Secretariat. Seattle Slew. Affirmed. They join the eight other horses who have won each of these three prestigious races.

The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the three races comprising the Triple Crown. It was first run in 1867. The newest race is the Kentucky Derby, which was first won in 1875. The term “Triple Crown” did not exist until a writer with the Daily Racing Form coined the term in 1930.

And today we look back on a 35-year drought with no Triple Crown winner, the longest drought in history. Will we have a new Triple Crown winner in California Chrome?

Or am I just California dreaming’?

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

Transportation Options Coming to a Small Town Near You

Historic Marker for Jessamine County at Courthouse – Nicholasville, Ky.

A thread seemed to weave a common message through last week’s Jessamine Journal.

New transportation options — both real and proposed — seem to be on the horizon.

“City supports proposal for bike/pedestrian connector path.”

And an advertisement for Lextran’s new park and ride into Lexington from two stops within Jessamine County. (Route times are available here.)

Walking, bicycling, and public transit each contribute to what Jeff Speck refers to as the “General Theory of Walkability.”

Speck is a city planner who lives in Washington, D.C. His studies have focused on cities, but he uses that term to include towns and villages. Nicholasville and Wilmore would both the definition.

Because of my interest in changing the way I get around, I attended his lecture in Frankfort last Thursday. The lecture was part of a historic preservation series by a state organization and was held in coordination with the annual conference for Main Street coordinators. I was glad to see at least one other local, Magistrate George Dean, in attendance.

A walk, according to Speck, must satisfy four conditions: it must be useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting. Consider Nicholasville’s Main Street. Recent streetscape improvements have made walking both safer, more comfortable, and more interesting. But useful?

Well, perhaps. One living close to Main Street could walk to the dry cleaner or the bank or the drugstore. Dinner can be had at Euro or Simmie’s.

An address on West Oak Street gets a WalkScore of 43. (WalkScore.com is a website that calculates walkability based on distance as the crow flies from certain desirable amenities like schools, parks, dining, and shopping.) The average score in Nicholasville is 28; in Wilmore, it is 51.

Those living near Kimberly Square might technically have the highest scores (55) in Nicholasville with walkable access to Kroger and many other shops, but the lack of sidewalks and bike lanes render walking or biking less desirable.

This is the idea behind the proposed bike/pedestrian path which would provide “a safe and integrated bike and pedestrian trail system that would allow residents to ride or walk to school form neighborhoods in Jessamine County.”

This project simply must go forward. And across both the city and the county, we need more projects like this. It is important for many reasons.

Walkable areas make economic sense, are healthier for citizens and are better for the environment. Each of these particulars could fill this page, but let me touch on a highlight for each as discussed during Speck’s lecture.

Economics: Realtors salivate here. Increased WalkScores have been shown to increase real estate values from between $500 and $3000 per point. For local government, that can mean increased tax revenues without increasing taxes.

Health: Our children will love shorter lives than we will. We are the first generation of Americans to make that awful claim. More useful walks (to school or the store) provide physical activity that directly correlates with reductions in obesity, asthma, and inattentiveness/hyperactivity issues.

Environment: Converting your light bulbs to CFL and driving a Prius are only drops in the bucket when compared to living in (and taking advantage of) a place that is walkable.

Nicholasville and Jessamine County could be on the precipice of significant growth that increases not just our numbers, but our quality of life. Connectedness within our community, and with improved transit to Lexington, offer tremendous potential that could improve our health and our daily lives.

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

Camp Nelson is an American Treasure

On March 3, 1865, Congress emancipated all the wives and children of the United States Colored Troops who had not been previously emancipated from the bondage of slavery. This occurred following a public outcry when 102 family members of American soldiers died after being expelled from Camp Nelson in Jessamine County, Kentucky.

Slaves had sought refuge at Camp Nelson where men joined the Union army and their families found temporary refuge. Nearly 24,000 African-Americans enlisted at Camp Nelson to join the army and, if they survived, attain their freedom. Federal policy only allowed free blacks or those with their owners’ permission to enlist. That is, until the policy changed at Camp Nelson.

These two stories are significant to our national historic fabric. They contribute to what makes our nation the land of the free and the home of the brave. And they were the focus, along with historic archeology, of the listing of Camp Nelson as a National Historic Landmark.

Dr. Stephen McBride, the Director of Interpretation and Archeology at Camp Nelson, told these two stories to those assembled on Saturday for the Celebration of History and Archaeology at Camp Nelson. The main event was the unveiling of the plaque identifying the Camp Nelson Historic and Archeological District as possessing “national significance as one of the nation’s largest recruitment and training centers for African-American soldiers during the American Civil War and as the site of a large refugee camp for women and children who were escaping slavery and seeking freedom.”

The designation as a National Historic Landmark is hugely significant.

Nationwide, there are only about 2,500 NHLs representing fewer than 3% of properties included in the National Register of Historic Place. (A National Register listing is a sign of a significant historic resource and is, of itself, not easily attainable).

Kentucky is a leader in designating its historic sites for inclusion on the National Register. Only New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio have more listings. Of the 3,300 Kentucky sites included on the National Register, only 32 are designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Jessamine County has 72 sites included on the National Register, but Camp Nelson is our only National Historic Landmark.

In other words, this is a big deal! And that’s because each of those two stories at the beginning of this column was a big deal.

Most news articles about the plaque unveiling won’t tell more of those stories than the plaque itself reveals. Instead, news accounts will discuss the politicians who were in attendance and the words that were said on Saturday.

But the significance of this site and of this designation were best told by an unnamed sergeant in the U.S. Colored Troops: “It used to be five hundred miles to get to Canada from Lexington, but now it is only eighteen miles! Camp Nelson is now our Canada.”

In September of last year, I wrote about the historic acreage in southern Jessamine County that was commandeered by the Union troops during the Civil War. The headline read that “Camp Nelson is a Jessamine County treasure.”

That was an understatement. Camp Nelson is a National Historic Landmark. It is an American treasure.

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

Raise Mine Ebenezer.

Ebenezer Church – 

The Bible tells us that “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, ‘The Lord helped us to this very point.’” (1 Samuel 7:12, CEB).

The Israelites took the moment to turn again from disobedience finding restoration in God.

Robert Robinson penned the words of the traditional hymn “Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing” in 1758. It, too, referenced Ebenezer:

Here I raise mine Ebenezer
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.

In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens told the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge. The 1843 novel found the miserly Ebenezer begging for the opportunity to re-embrace life.

Whether from the Old Testament, the hymnist, or Dickens, the word Ebenezer conjures up a recognition of our need to be restored so that we can fully embrace life.

There is another reference to Ebenezer even closer to home in rural Jessamine County. A log meeting house constructed in the mid-1790s and there met a congregation identified as the Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

The founding minister was Adam Rankin who was a circuit-riding minister based in Lexington. Some believe his home, which was relocated to Lexington’s Mill Street several decades ago but remains standing, is the oldest in Lexington. It was Rankin who began many of the Presbyterian congregations in central Kentucky. Among them are Pisgah and Glenn’s Creek in Woodford County and Mount Zion (now First Presbyterian) in Fayette County.

The long lens of history has found Rankin to have been a disagreeable fellow. In 1789, he rode by horseback from Kentucky to a denominational convention in Philadelphia. There, he fought against the use of modern, contemporary hymns in worship. For Rankin, the worst offense was Isaac Watts’ enthusiastic “Joy to the World.”

Ultimately, Rankin would be permanently suspended from the ministry. He experienced his own restoration, however, as the first president of Miami University in Ohio.
Before then Rankin served as Ebenezer’s minister until 1803 whereafter he was replaced by Rev. Robert Bishop.

In the same year, the old log meeting house was replaced by a stone church which stands today as the oldest such structure in Jessamine County.

The ensuing decades took its toll on the congregation and the building was abandoned in 1883. Once abandoned, the toll was taken on the structure as the roof collapsed and several of the walls had fallen.

But the story doesn’t end there. For there is restoration for this Ebenezer, too.

In 1953, an organization was formed to care for the cemetery, a few thousand dollars was spent by the Ebenezer Cemetery Association to install a new roof, new windows, shutters and restore “the design of the old building as closely as possible.”

The old structure remains cared for a half century later. According to the 1983 application to the National Register of Historic Places, the Ebenezer Church is the only remaining stone church in Jessamine County and the oldest religious structure in the county dating from the settlement period.

The prophet Samuel took a stone and set it up and named it Ebenezer. Here, in Jessamine County, our own Ebenezer still stands thanks to those who gave it the opportunity to do so.

It is a tranquil, country church surrounded by the headstones of those who once worshipped here.

Though Ebenezer’s doors remain closed most of the year, one can easily find restorative peace in this place. There are many such places in our county. But as for Ebenezer — there’s just something about that name.

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

Kentucky a leader among States

Kentucky State Capitol – Frankfort, Ky.

Though I’m not a native, I love Kentucky.

Her terrain, her people, and her culture make her one of the Union’s most spectacular states. Unfortunately, we have historically ranked near the bottom in other important metrics such as health, economics, and education.

So when Kentucky is heralded as a model for something done right, we should accept the compliment with gratitude and take pride in a job well done.

Politics aside, we should be taking pride in the fact that Kentucky is being heralded by politician and prognosticator alike for kynect.ky.gov.

That is Kentucky’s healthcare exchange website created under the Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare).

Among those breathing the words “Kentucky” and “success” (without the word “basketball”) in the same sentence have included those at the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.

Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville indicated President Obama’s pride in the Commonwealth, “The president said … the place that has done best is Kentucky.”

So while Washington’s healthcare.gov was haphazardly unveiled with only limited testing, Kentucky’s website was smartly created with sigificant testing along with utilizing a simpler website design less likely to cause headaches.

It worked. A simple website design was needed because many Kentuckians do not have high-speed Internet, a problem that plagues many rural parts of the country. Kentucky considered this fact, though it seems that the federal website ignored this factor.

Of course, many can’t seem to put politics aside and just be proud of the Commonwealth’s achievement.

The Republicans — five Congressmen and two Senators — sent by Kentuckians to Washington have derided Obamacare at every opportunity along with the federal government’s healthcare.gov.

They have, however, been largely silent on Kentucky’s own success story.

I understand the politics at play, but I cannot accept partisanship over pride when it comes to the Commonwealth.

I’d suggest Sens. McConnell and Paul and Reps. Barr, Guthrie, Massie, Rogers, and Whitfield each issue a statement along these lines: “Though personally opposed to Obamacare, I commend the ingenuity and hard work involved in creating Kentucky’s website. The country should look to states like Kentucky for leadership, not Washington.”

That would be a strong message of democracy in action, of federalism, and of conservative values while still expressing a “job well done” mentality. It’s the kind of statesmanship that is missing in Washington.

Instead of taking that approach, Sen. Paul prophesied the failure of Obamacare over the weekend because it was a government-created solution.

“I think government is inherently inept, because they don’t work on a profit motive,” Paul said.

While Sen. Paul may believe government to be inherently inept, it is disturbing to follow his logic.

Consider the following which don’t operate “on a profit motive”: churches, charities, aid relief organizations, non-profits.

While specific organizations may have flaws, the non-profit motive does not make an organization “inherently inept.”

Sen. Paul, an ophthalmologist, is known to provide pro bono eye surgeries to Kentuckians during Congressional recesses. And he should be commended for giving back to needy Kentuckians.

But using the Senator’s own logic, would he suggest that his performance during a pro bono surgery is inept simply because it is being provided without a profit motive?

Of course, he wouldn’t. I’m sure that Dr. Paul takes great care in each surgery he performs. I’m sure he always does his very best.

Yet so do churches, charities, aid relief organizations, non-profits. And yes, even governments.

So take heed of these Kentucky lessons. To do your best, to accept a compliment with gratitude, and to take pride in a job well done.

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

A Kentucky Jack-O-Lantern and the History of Halloween

And now, the History of Halloween as it originally appeared in yesterday’s Jessamine Journal:

Like any modern holiday, Halloween has an ancient history. First influenced by Gaelic paganism, the holiday took on Christian significance over time.

The Gaelic festival of Samhain, held at the end of October was to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. During this time, spirits and fairies could more easily enter our world so people left for them both food and drink. Either imitation or disguise from these spirits prompted many to wear costumes and visit neighbors seeking small morsels of food.

Sound familiar?

And in 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration of All Saints’ Day from mid-summer to Nov. 1. On the church calendar, Nov. 2 is All Souls’ Day.

These solemn, or hallowed, days had by the 12th century become holy days of obligation in prayer for the souls of all who had died.

But in Ireland and the other old Gaelic countries, the old tradition of Samhain lingered on the eve of these hallowed days. And so the term ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ evolved into ‘Halloween’.

When Europeans first came to America, they did not bring Halloween celebrations with them. The English who established the early colonies were Puritans who did not recognize — but largely opposed — Halloween.

(Remember the Salem Witch Trials? Suffice it to say that the Puritans weren’t fond of anything even remotely linked to paganism.)

But decades later, the Irish began to immigrate to the United States and with them they brought their traditions. Among these was the celebration of Halloween. With the celebration came visits from door-to-door in costume in exchange for treats and carved pumpkins to ward off evil spirits.

Like so many of our holidays, Halloween has its roots in both paganism and early Christianity with a hearty dose of American capitalism.

Yes, Halloween is big money in America. Second only to Christmas, more money is spent on Halloween (candy, decorations, costumes, etc.) each year than any other holiday on the calendar. It is estimated that the economic impact of Halloween is around $5 billion.

That’s a lot of Reese’s pieces.

At our church, we celebrated Halloween last Sunday evening with a trunk-or-treat where the kids dressed up and went from tailgate to tailgate to collect candy from fellow parishioners before we had a costume contest and ate supper together. A lot of good fun.

And tonight, my family will walk down Nicholasville’s Main Street as we see friends in the community doling out candy or receiving the same, all in costume. It will be, as it’s called, a Spooky Time on Main.

Whether it be witches or ghouls or goblins or, given our current obsession, zombies, the costumes are sure to give fright. Unless dressing up as a ninja or princess or doctor or other more subdued character is the costume of choice.

I think one of my favorite aspects of Halloween mirrors an aspect of the old Samhain simply because the holiday marks the onset of the long darkness of winter. Cabin fever will soon begin as our sense of community dissipates during the cold months of winter; we simply don’t see our neighbors as much when it is cold.

Until spring, our front porches sit largely barren. Our lawns won’t need mowing.

Our opportunities to see one another suffer a natural decline during the cold months.

So Halloween offers that last chance to visit with friends before the onset of winter.

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

Cold Weather and the Woolly Worm (Festival)

Cold, snow-covered Greenup County, Kentucky (Photo: the Author)

Heavier coats are coming out as temperatures drop. The annual rite of passage is upon us as the only thing falling faster than the leaves is the mercury on the thermometer.

I wasn’t particularly pleased when I saw the forecast for the week when I looked on Sunday.

Thirty degrees?

But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. Should I? I’ve witnessed the warning signs. Falling leaves. Yellow school buses. Football games and basketball practices.

I should have seen it coming, yet every year I am caught off guard by the onset of winter. I’m guessing I’m not the only one?

So what kind of winter is in store for us?

My father, a native of western Ohio, swears by the venerable Farmer’s Almanac which is a fairly decent indicator for long-range forecasting. On the map published in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Kentucky is treated as the southernmost midwestern state where the forecast is “biting cold & snowy.” Of course, the Rocky Top of Tennessee and the majority of the southeast is simply “chilly & wet.”

Kentucky has been described both as midwestern and as southern, making finding our commonwealth on a map of U.S. regions challenging. And while the cartographer may struggle, it is equally troublesome to reconcile Kentucky’s status as a midwestern state such as Wisconsin and Michigan as it is to find sufficient similarity with Florida.

For generations, Kentucky has been a border state in every sense of the word. During the Civil War, she was represented by a star on the banners of both the Union and the Confederate States. And it remains difficult to categorize her today.

Like so many in Appalachia, we’ve developed our own methods. In communities along the mountain chain, including a significant number in Kentucky, people have looked to something more native in determining the forecast for the upcoming season — the woolly worm.

At about two inches in length, the woolly worm is easily recognizable by the soft black and cinnamon bristles covering its body. The body is divided into 13 segments with each thought to represent a week of winter; each brown segment is thought to reveal a mild week of winter while black segments are indicative of harsher weather.
So what does the woolly worm say is in store? Well, we’ll just have to wait to find out.

That’s because Kentucky’s woolly worms won’t issue their forecast until the 26th Annual Woolly Worm Festival which will be this weekend in Beattyville.

Beattyville is the seat of Lee County and is nestled between the North Fork and South Fork rivers. This confluence creates the headwaters of the Kentucky River.

The small town counts fewer than 2,000 residents, yet its ranks swell each autumn when the woolly worms race, the parade is held, and live entertainment fills the air.

The woolly worm festival in Beattyville is a lot of fun and, if you haven’t been before, it is worth going. Plus, there’s the added benefit of knowing the forecast for the next 13 weeks.

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


With permission of The Jessamine Journal, this post also appeared on The Revivalist.

Keene Springs Inn enjoys rich history

Keene Springs Inn – Keene, Ky.

The restaurant operated by Debbie Wheeler in the old Keene Springs Inn was recently profiled in the Jessamine Journal. And while my mouth watered for some of Wheeler’s fried chicken and green beans, I thought more of the history behind this grand locale.

By 1794, Manoah Singleton had established a grist mill near the crossing of a buffalo trace known as Shawnee Run Road and the Cave Spring Fork of Clear Creek.

At that time, Shawnee Run Road was considered the most direct route between Lexington and Harrodsburg; it is now known in the county as Keene-Troy Pike.

The community of Keene was laid out in 1813, though it was known first as Liberty. Patriotic fervor in the first decades of the 19th century created a laundry list of communities bearing that name. The result was confusion.

The original and extant Liberty, Ky., is the seat of Casey County. It was founded in 1806.

When Jessamine County laid out its Liberty, it must have soon become apparent that Casey County already had a town bearing the name so the people here renamed their community North Liberty.

Quite appropriate given the geographic bearings of Jessamine and Casey counties.

But along came those in Pike County who in 1822 debated whether their seat should be Piketon, now known as Pikeville, or Liberty.

As the debate raged in Pike County, those in Morgan County thought ‘Liberty’ would be a fitting name for a city.

Those in Morgan County believed Pike Countians would use Liberty, so they established West Liberty which remains the county seat. Pike County opted for Piketon and the end result was a geographic conundrum.

The town of West Liberty (located in Morgan County) lies approximately 100 miles east of Liberty (located in Casey County).

Fortunately, Jessamine County stayed out of the fray. So much so that when a post office was to be established in North Liberty in 1830, we got out of the ‘Liberty’ business altogether. Postmaster Ephraim Carter named his new post office after his hometown of Keene, N.H.

The state legislature authorized Keene’s incorporation in 1844. Four years later, white sulphur water was discovered in the nearby springs.

Of the water, the dean of Transylvania Medical College, Dr. Robert Peter, said it was “incomparably the best medical water on this continent … eminently adapted to the cure of every species of Indigestion, Liver Complaint, Scrofula, Cutaneous Affections, Mercurial Disease, a variety of nervous diseases and nearly all diseases that are usually denominated chronic.”

It is no wonder, then, that when the cholera epidemic hit Lexington in 1849 that those able to flee the city did so. And they came to and stayed at the Keene Springs Hotel.

Wrote Bennett H. Young in his 1898 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky, “during the prevalence of cholera, in Lexington, about this time, a large number of people came to Keene and lived during the panic, occasioned by this disease in Lexington and surrounding towns” staying in “a very nice hotel.”

A very nice hotel indeed. In fact, it was owned by Mason Singleton who was the grandson of the pioneer who first settled the community.

Popularity for the hotel, however, declined and Singleton was forced to sell by 1857. It was purchased by Alfred McTyre who operated the facility for a decade before selling it to Fielding S. Wilson in 1868.

And for 145 years, the historic property has remained in the hands of the Wilson family.

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

Magistrates Don’t Take Elixir in Jessamine County


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

A salesman comes to town offering a magical elixir with the promise to cure your many ailments. If you take the elixir, the salesman suggests that your congestion will be alleviated and your joints won’t hurt as much.

Jessamine Co. Couurthouse

And while the price might seem a little high, your improved overall health will lead to better days ahead.
At least that’s what the salesman would have you believe.

But the elixir is untested and the salesman can’t really explain yet how it works or precisely how it should be taken. Both precise dosing requirements and application directions seem to be a mystery. Is it a topical or something which should be taken orally?

As for the side effects? We don’t know about those either.

Oh, and as for that seemingly high price? The salesman will let you know the final cost after you’ve ordered.

The question begged, would you take the elixir on the promise of improved vitality?

Or would you wait until more information is known? How about waiting until experts can better explain the side effects? Do you want better dosing and application instructions?

The three governments in Jessamine County have each voted on the magic elixir and the two city commissions, those of Nicholasville and Wilmore, have each voted to go ahead and take the elixir.

The elixir in this analogy is, of course, the proposed 13 mile connector between Nicholasville and Interstate 75. I’ve previously penned my thoughts on the I-75 Connector, but this column isn’t being written to reprise those earlier writings.

Instead, I wanted to pause for a moment and look at the decision making of those in local government and how these elected leaders have examined this issue that will forever affect Jessamine County and her people.

The balance of the column can be read on the Jessamine Journal’s website. For those interested in reading more on my thoughts on the I-75 Connector, below are links to my previous columns on the subject: