February 24, 2025
Clay County pot grower, 1987
J.C. Lawson posed in his marijuana patch on Sept. 15, 1987, near his home in Clay County. The day after a Herald-Leader story ran about Lawson, the state police destroyed hundreds of plants near his home. In the story, Lawson said he no longer sold his marijuana retail. All of it is sold to Ohio dealers for $1,200 a pound, he said. “A lot of the money in Clay County comes from pot.” Lawson said he is a good citizen who provides jobs for as many as 22 people. “There’s bad dope dealers and good dope dealers,” he said. In March 2008, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to grow more than 100 marijuana plants in Clay County in summer 2006. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in November 2008 and was released from prison in July 2013. Photo by J.D. VanHoose | Staff
Transylvania College coeds, 1958
Transylvania College coeds moved into Forrer Hall, the new women’s dormitory, in fall 1958. From front to back are Kitty Winkler, Ritchey Eldred, Betty Ann Snyder and Joy Stinnett. The young man is unidentified. Published in the Lexington Leader Oct. 2, 1958.
Swimming class at Douglass Park, 1944
A girls swimming class was held at the Douglass Park pool in July 1944. These girls, in that week’s Herald-Leader classes at Douglass pool, were learning to use their arms to pull themselves through the water. In the center, demonstrating the strokes, were lifeguard A.D. Burroughs, head instructor Lucian P. Garrett, lifeguard Morrison Jenkins and assistant instructor Leonard Mills Jr. Lexington city parks were segregated in the 1940s, and Douglass Park was for black residents. Published in the Lexington Leader August 3, 1944.
Nicklaus and Ali at Valhalla, 1996
Jack Nicklaus and Muhammad Ali posed for photographers on Aug. 8, 1996, during the 78th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Nicklaus, a five-time PGA champion and the designer of the course, missed the cut by a single stroke at age 56. Photo by Michelle Patterson | Staff
Storm approaches Valhalla Golf Club, 1996
Severe thunderstorms halted play on Aug. 8, 1996, at the 78th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Thunderstorms scattered thousands of fans and interrupted play for almost four hours. But the weather didn’t bother Kentucky native Kenny Perry, who took the first-round lead after sinking a 20-foot putt in the fading light as play was ended with 60 players still on the course. Photo by Michelle Patterson | Staff
PGA Championship, 1996
Kenny Perry, left, congratulated Mark Brooks after Brooks won the PGA Championship on Aug. 11, 1996, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Brooks beat Perry on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Perry, a Kentucky native, was discussing his own comeback with CBS commentators when Brooks tied him on the 18th hole. Photo by Michelle Patterson | Staff
President Clinton in Kentucky, 1998
Carroll County high school senior Jacqueline Jones turned toward President Clinton after introducing him at Carroll County High School in 1998. The President joked with Wendell Ford after Jones made a remark about the UK basketball team defeating Arkansas that year. President Clinton was in Kentucky to talk about reducing teen smoking, and he spoke at the school in Carrollton on April 9, 1998. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Scott County 4-H champion steer, 1946
Claire Ann Graves of Georgetown with her Hereford steer, which won the grand championship of the Scott County 4-H Club and F. F. A. Show on Oct. 11, 1946, in Georgetown. Published in the Lexington Herald October 12, 1946.
Henry Faulkner, 1977
Eccentric Lexington artist and poet Henry Faulkner with one of his paintings on March 30, 1977. Faulkner, a close friend of Tennessee Williams, was born in Eastern Kentucky in 1924. He moved to Lexington in 1956 and became well known for both his critically acclaimed paintings and his flamboyant lifestyle. Faulkner died in 1981. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
Meadowthorpe Recreation Center, 1958
Youngsters played with a bowling set in January 1958 at the new Meadowthorpe Recreation Center, sponsored by the County Playground and Recreation Board. Published in the Lexington Leader Jan. 21, 1958.
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