Wednesday, May 16, 2012

www.caseynews.net

8 – The Casey County News, Liberty, Kentucky

Fred’s Finest

By Fred BurkhardThe Casey County News

FOCUS ON THE PAST

photo submitted/MARVIN DOUGLAS

Railroad GangThe Southern Railroad Section Gang posed for a photo in the late 1920s. Seated, from left, are Clay Litteral, Crit Spears, George Rigney, Roe Estes,Atha Bradshaw and Tommy Leach. Standing, Pat Carrigan (Supervisor), Glanville Carman, Tom Hicks (Foreman), George Austin, W.T. Douglas,Hayden Sims, Ezra Taylor, John Seward, Millard Lane, Linas Stephens, Boyd Durham, Charlie Privatt, John Daily, and Melvin Frederick.

10 YEARS AGOMay 15, 2002

U.S. Senator Mitch Mc-Connell and his wife, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, visited Casey County and were guests of honor at a cookout given by T.M. and Betty Lou Weddle.

Casey County celebrated its “Home Grown Success” as two native sons gave the keynote addresses at the Liberty-Casey County Chamber of Commerce banquet. Donald Durham and Ronald Carmicle were those honored.

Casey County was among 20 Kentucky counties added to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s list for disaster assistance.

E.C. and Edna Penning-ton celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Richard Allen Durham graduated from Somerset Technical College with an associate degree in indus-trial electronics.

Chelsea Atwood was one of only three high school students in the state who were serving as pages in the Kentucky Senate during the legislative session.

Boneless chicken breast was $1.77 per pound; Tony’s 12-inch frozen pizza was two for $4; and a quart of Kraft Miracle Whip was $1.88 at Food Center.

Obituaries: Georgia Ruth Hayes Allen, 79; Naomi Re-tha McGuire, 54; Joan Grey Coffey Crabtree, 68; Anna Pearl Murphy, 100.

20 YEARS AGOMay 13, 1992

Casey County High School was in search of mobile units to handle over-crowding conditions at the 30-year old facility. Site-based council members asked the Board of Educa-tion to consider buying at least three.

David McAnelly was hired by the Liberty City Council as city attorney.

Work was progressing on the bridge on the connector road between U.S. 127 and Ky. 70 East, the “longest and tallest bridge in Casey County.”

The Liberty Police De-partment was investigating vandalism at Casey County High School where graffi ti and obscenities were spray painted on the exterior brick.

Campbellsville College presented “Excellence in Teaching” awards to Sandra Wolford, LuAnn Byrd, and Shirley Coffman.

Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Pen-nington Sr. celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Jackie R. Mondie, Master Chief Petty Offi cer of the Force Military Sealift Com-mand, retired after 30 years of service with the United States Navy.

Cottonelle bath tissue was 79 cents for a four-roll pack-age; bananas were 29 cents per pound; and chicken leg quarters were 19 cents per pound at Save-A-Lot.

Obituaries: Ruby Fights Whited, 79; Ellsworth Mar-tin, 75.

30 YEARS AGOMay 12, 1982

A group of approximately 150 students walked out of Casey County High School and marched to downtown Liberty to protest the fi r-ing of two head coaches, head football coach Randall Akers and head girls’ bas-ketball coach David Sears. Greg Scholl was hired to re-place Sears and applications were being taken for a new head football coach. Phil Williams, head boys’ bas-ketball coach was rehired.

The Casey County Board of Education voted to elimi-nate two music positions on the elementary school level.

Karin R. Smith was named a 1982 U.S. National Award winner in band by the U.S. Achievement Acad-emy. Doug Eads was also named a winner in speech and drama by the same or-ganization.

Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hudson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Dora Mae Roberts was promoted to Specialist Fourth Class in the U. S. Army Reserve.

The Casey County Arts and Crafts Guild was hold-ing its fi rst “show and sale” of hand-crafted items made by Casey County artists. The event was to be held at the Casey County Public Library.

Dawn dish liquid was

$1.19 for a 22-ounce bottle; Hyde Park peanut butter was $2.69 for a 28-ounce jar; and Right Guard deodorant was $2.29 for a fi ve-ounce can at Pic-Pac.

Obituaries: Oscar Rue Lane, 78; Dillery Emaline Wood Clements, 79; Joseph C. Wethington, 79;

Hobert Goodin, 72; Edna Fletcher Petrey, 76; Dovie Thelma Payne, 74; Manie Alice Estes, 86; Ellen Hig-gins, 88.

40 YEARS AGOMay 18, 1972

The Liberty eighth grade class would be the last to use the old school building which was scheduled for demolition during the sum-mer. It was 45 years old.

Deborah Lee Bolt was named treasurer of Centre College Student Congress. She would be a senior at Centre in the coming year.

Harold Wethington caught a rock bass out of Lake Cumberland that weighed 30 pounds.

Greg Price was valedicto-rian and Karen Watson was salutatorian of the graduat-ing class at Casey County High School.

A hail storm about a mile wide took a sweep through the county and part of Adair County, complete-ly destroying all gardens and fi eld crops, and doing some damage to buildings. It ran through Bethelridge and limited itself from the Bethelridge Methodist Church to the Crossroads.

The Columbia Gulf Trans-mission Co. on Possum Trot held a one-day fi re control training school for fi remen from Liberty, Stanford, Columbia, Danville, and Campbellsville. Those from Liberty were Cleo Lawhorn, Ray Bryant, Millard Allen, Glenn Wilson, Willie Bow-mer, and Jesse Carmicle.

“Love Object,’ “Rio Lobo,’ and “The Great White Hope” were playing at the Green River Drive-In. The Kentuckian was closed for the summer.

Fireside vanilla wa-fers were 45 cents for two one-pound boxes; whole trimmed fryers were 29 cents per pound; and six cans of Checker pop were 55 cents at Frederick & Godbey in Yosemite.

Obituaries: Clarence Es-till Belden, 52; Mabel Wes-ley, no age given; Oscar Martin, 77.

50 YEARS AGOMay 17, 1962

An addition to the Rural

Secondary Road program in Casey County would in-clude the construction of the Clementsville-Atterson Road, which was to be post-ed for bids.

Rep. Gene Siler visited in Liberty and said Liberty was justifi ed in asking for a new post offi ce building and more parking space.

The Fiscal Court ordered the county attorney and the county judge to fi le judg-ments against those owing accounts at the Casey Coun-ty War Memorial Hospital. This came about after the hospital manager presented the court with 17 pages of unpaid accounts, some dat-ing back as far as 1957.

County Jailer Chester Bernard said there were 20 prisoners in the jail and urged “these good boys to be careful and not get locked up” because the jail was packed, hot, and not a pleasant place in which to live at that moment.

Dr. Herman Ellis, associ-ate professor of economics at the University of Ken-tucky, won a one-month “Fellowship in Economics in Action” and would study at the Case Institute of Tech-

nology in Cleveland. Dr. Ellis was a native of Kidds Store.

Joyce Simpson of the Middleburg Graded School was champion county spell-er. Carolyn Hatter of Garrett Elementary School was sec-ond and Glendolyn Mason was third.

Don Scanlon said the district Croquet Tourna-ment would be held in Lib-erty. State fi nals would be in Jamestown.

“Morgan the Pirate,” “Ride Out For Vengeance,” “The Mountain Road,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” and “Cry For Happy” were showing at the Green River Drive-In. “The Hangman,” “House of Fright,” “Sum-mer and Smoke,” and “I’d Climb the Highest Moun-tain” were showing at the Kentuckian.

Tomatoes were 49 cents for three pounds; Richtex shortening was 49 cents for a three-pound can; and Folger’s Coffee was 65 cents for a one-pound can at A&D Super Market.

Obituaries: Lucille Wall, 51; Virgie Green Beard, 77; Albert Estill Cain, 63; George W. Allen, 77; Lorene Barnett Marshall, 39.

Originally published in the May 11, 1972 issue of The

Casey County News.When they start tearing

down the old Liberty school in the next week or so, we can truthfully say, there goes a bit of our efforts.

The building was started in late spring 1928. The concrete for the foundation was made from creek gravel. It was mixed on board fl ats with four men turning it on two of these fl ats. It was carried to the walls in galvanized buckets. Not even a wheelbarrow was used.

The labor was unskilled, about as unskilled as it could come. The water for the con-crete was hauled on a wagon in barrels from the river. We hauled it, driving old Kate and Mandy, which belonged to Ed Foster. It was dipped from the river in buckets and poured into the barrels.

There was considerable free labor by men who worked af-ter hours or sometimes during the day. The old building had burned the year before. It would probably be diffi cult to fi nd la-

borers, both paid and free, likethose today.

Maybe somebody shouldhave posted a sign over thefront door saying, “Throughthese portals have gone someof the world’s fi nest men andwomen.”

Editor’s Note: As space al-lows, The Casey County Newswill reprint some of the columns,stories and editorials written bythe late Fred Burkhard, formerPublisher/Editor of The CaseyCounty News. Stories may beslightly edited.

Editorial: Old Liberty School