March 19, 2025
Black Friday shopping, 1998
Dillard’s in Fayette Mall saw long lines before its doors opened at 9 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, 1998. Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu | Staff
Thanksgiving, 1985
Sandra Ashley-Johnson, with her daughter, Leah, prepared a turkey for Thanksgiving on Nov. 24, 1985. Photo by Tom Woods | Staff
“Hey Vern,” it’s Jim Varney, 1984
Actor and comedian Jim Varney in February 1984. Varney made “KnowhutImean?” part of our pop culture chatter as fast-talking bumpkin Ernest P. Worrell. Before those days, the Lexington native was a regular on Bluegrass stages, including Studio Players and Pioneer Playhouse. With his ‘Hey Vern’ character Ernest P. Worrell, he was featured in an extensive series of regional ads in the 1980s that eventually made Ernest a national presence and provided financial stability for Varney after years of getting by in standup comedy, stage roles and TV character acting. A heavy smoker, Varney died of lung cancer at age 50 on Feb. 10, 2000. By then, he had parlayed his homegrown persona into success on the big screen with Ernest Goes to Jail, and Ernest Scared Stupid, and into roles including Jed Clampett in the big-screen version of The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of the slinky dog in Toy Story. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
South Park Cinema 6, 1988
Moviegoers lined up outside the South Park Cinema 6 on Aug. 17, 1988, to buy tickets for that night’s movies: Die Hard, Coming to America, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cocktail, Tucker, and Clean and Sober. The movie theater was in the back of the South Park Shopping Center off Nicholasville Road. It later became a discount theater before closing in 2007. Photo by Michael Malone | Staff
Phoenix Hotel demolition, 1981
A wrecking ball brought down part of the Phoenix Hotel on Nov. 17, 1981, in Lexington. The Phoenix was demolished in 1981 and 1982 by Wallace Wilkinson, who had planned to build the World Coal Center skyscraper on the site. It was never built, and the site eventually became the Park Plaza Apartments and Phoenix Park. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Catholic Church of the Annunciation, 1989
Phillip Quinn of Lexington, a self-employed steeplejack, worked to repair the cross on top of the steeple of the Catholic Church of the Annunciation in Paris. Published Nov. 9, 1989. Photo by Clay Owen
EKU’s Roy Kidd and Fred Harvey, 1984
Eastern Kentucky University coach Roy Kidd with linebacker Fred Harvey on Oct. 10, 1984. Harvey was a four-year starter for the Colonels and was named a first-team All-American his senior season. EKU’s all-time leading tackler with 503 tackles, Harvey was a two-time OVC defensive player of the year in 1984 and 1986. Eastern travels to play Florida on Friday in The Swamp. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Corbin football, 1983
Corbin High School football coach Larry “Cotton” Adams checked out a play with his team during practice in September 1983. Adams played for Corbin in the early 1960s and was an assistant for 13 seasons before being named head coach in 1981. His 14-year record was 114-46, highlighted by a Class 2A state championship in 1982 and a runner-up finish in 1990. The 2014 Redhounds take on Central in the third round of the Class 3A playoffs on Friday. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Davis Bottom, 1980
Bill Huddleston, left, and his sister Elizabeth Wardle, right, lived next door to each other in Davis Bottom in 1980. At the time they were paying $85 a month in rent in the low-income community tucked between South Broadway and West High Street. In 2006, the 29 homes in Davis Bottom were torn down to make way for the Newtown Pike extension. On Thursday, after eight years of work on the infrastructure, the first of 14 affordable-housing units for families displaced by the project were dedicated. The development is called Davis Park View. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
Downtown Georgetown, 1976
Downtown Georgetown, with a view down East Main Street, on Oct. 26, 1976. Photo by Shelia Richardson | Staff
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Kentucky.com news feed
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