April 20, 2024
Before the Kentucky-Kansas game, 1950
Two of the nation’s top college basketball programs, head coaches and big men posed for a picture the day before Kentucky played Kansas in Memorial Coliseum in December 1950. From left, Clyde Lovellette, Kansas’ 6-9 center, Kansas Coach Phog Allen, Kentucky Coach Adolph Rupp and Bill Spivey, Kentucky’s 7-foot center. The quartet got together Dec. 15, 1950, at Memorial Coliseum, where both teams worked out before their game the next day. Kentucky dominated Kansas and won 68-39. Spivey had a game-high 22 points while Lovellette was the only Jayhawk in double figures with 10 points. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Napping on the burley, 1951
Joyce Ann Carroll took a nap on a basket of burley while waiting for her father’s tobacco to be sold at a Lexington warehouse on Jan. 3, 1951. The second half of the 1950-51 Lexington loose-leaf auction season began in five local warehouses. Published in the Lexington Leader on Jan. 3, 1951. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
St. Martin’s Villiage home construction, 1964
This is one of 42 new houses in St. Martin’s Village, off Georgetown Road, which was being developed by Fister-Seeberger Builders in February 1964. The houses were being readied for occupancy within 60 days. They ranged in price from $11,950 to $16,800. The houses were the first to be built in St. Martin’s Village since Fister-Seeberger built 206 other houses in the area between 1955 and 1960. Published in the Lexington Herald on Feb. 2, 1964. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Phoenix Hotel addition, 1951
Three to four feet of water collected in the basement site of what was to become the Phoenix Hotel’s new nine-story addition at of Main Street and Limestone in January 1951. The addition replaced the hotel’s old four-story section on that site. This view is from Vine Street looking toward Main Street. Businesses shown on Main Street, from left to right, include the White Spot Restaurant at 103 East Main, Roberts Credit Jewelers at 105 East Main, Phillips Shoe Co. at 109 East Main, and the Ben Snyder department store at 113 East Main. Published in the Lexington Herald on Jan. 5, 1951. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Sky-high light bulb change, 1986
Paul Fletcher worked from a ladder truck to replace a high-intensity light bulb on a parking lot light at Hardee’s restaurant Jan. 20, 1986, on the Avenue of Champions. Fletcher worked for the Smithers Sign Co. Papa John’s Pizza now occupies the space where Hardee’s was. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Fayette County clerk’s office, 1952
The line for automobile stickers stretched out the second-floor door of the Fayette County clerk’s office, above, and spilled into the first-floor lobby of the Fayette County courthouse, below), on Feb. 29, 1952. The following day, March 1, was the first day that drivers had to have a 1952 license sticker in their windshield signifying that their 1951 plate was good in 1952. Kentucky was one of 21 states that used the stickers rather than make new plates. It was part of an effort to conserve metal. If you were found after March 1 driving without the sticker, the fine ranged from $10 to $100. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Ski Butler, 1985
Skiers prepared to take to the slopes at Ski Butler in the General Butler State Resort Park on the first weekend of skiing, Jan. 12, 1985. The park, in Carroll County near Carrollton, the county seat, once operated as Kentucky’s first and only ski resort. It opened in 1982 but was forced to shut down in the mid-’90s because of difficulty maintaining snow and other problems. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Attorney Gatewood Galbraith, 1978
Kentucky attorney Gatewood Galbraith on April 4, 1978, a year after he graduated from University Kentucky law school. Galbraith, an iconic Kentucky political figure and perennial candidate who won many hearts but never enough votes, died in 2012, just two months after running his fifth campaign for governor. Although widely popular for his wit and unconventional stances, Galbraith’s political life was led outside of Democratic and Republican party machinery, which meant he nearly always trailed in fundraising totals. In addition to his five unsuccessful runs for governor, Galbraith made failed bids for agriculture commissioner, U.S. representative and attorney general. Between campaigns, Galbraith worked independently as a criminal defense attorney, and he often quipped that “losing statewide elections doesn’t pay worth a damn.” Known universally by his first name, Gatewood was a recognizable figure in Lexington and statewide, partly because of his imposing height and signature fedora, and partly because of his outspoken proposals to legalize marijuana and outlaw mountaintop-removal coal mining. Jan. 23, 2016, would have been his 69th birthday. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
E. Martin Jessee, 1969
Former Herald-Leader photographer E. Martin Jessee, photographed by Leader chief photographer John C. Wyatt at the University of Kentucky men’s basketball game against Miami of Ohio in Memorial Coliseum, Dec. 29, 1969. Jessee was probably the most well-known news photographer in Lexington during his 40-year career. He was a sharp dresser, raced to news scenes in a Cadillac or Lincoln, was very competitive, aggressive when he needed to be, and the main thing was: He always got the shot. He loved breaking news and sports, especially the Kentucky Derby and UK basketball. This blog wishes to recognize Jessee as the Kentukcy News Photographers Association begins its annual meeting today at the Hyatt. Jessee retired in 1984, a year before the association was formed. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
Early snowfall, 1945
Pete Brucato cleaned snow off his car in front of Wilson Machinery and Supply Co., 139 North Mill Street, after Lexington received four and a half inches on Dec. 5, 1945. Published in the Lexington Leader on Dec. 6, 1945. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
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