February 13, 2025
First female engineering grad at the University of Kentucky, 1947
Margaret Ingalls, left, of Syracuse, N. Y., the first female graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, and the second female engineering grad in the United States, talked with Betty Peters, center, and Marie Kemper, who received their bachelor’s degrees in engineering, on Aug. 29, 1947. Ingall received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1916 and a master’s degree, also from UK, in 1919, and at that time, she had work for Carrier Engineering Corp. at Syracuse for more than 22 years. Peters would work for General Electric and Kemper for the National Advisory Commission for Aeronautical Engineering in Cleveland. Published in the Herald-Leader on Aug. 31, 1947. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Spalding’s Bakery, 1981
James Spalding held a tray of doughnuts at Spalding’s Bakery on March 27, 1981. The popular bakery known for its hand-cut, honey-glazed doughnuts has been a Lexington staple for more than eight decades. James Spalding retired after he was attacked by an armed robber in 2004. The bakery closed for a brief time but reopened on Winchester Road across from the Jif peanut butter factory in 2005. Today, James’ sister and her two daughters, two of her grandchildren, a nephew, and other relatives and employees bake fresh doughnuts and other items each day. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
Lafayette running backs, 1947
Lafayette High School football players, from left, Roy Walton, John Neal and Orin Morgan, on Nov. 1947. The three running backs were the main ground-gainers for the Generals that season, which finished the year 2-6. Walton would become head coach at his alma mater in 1958 at age 28. He spent the bulk of his coaching career at Tates Creek, with 219 victories in 26 years. He died in 2010, and the Commodores’ stadium is named in his honor. Click here to see an image from our archives of Walton coaching in 1980. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Children’s Palace, 1992
Children’s Palace, one of Lexington’s largest toy retailers, on the day it closed, Aug. 17, 1992. The 36,000-square-foot store in Regency Centre off Nicholasville Road was forced to close after a bankruptcy filing and a failed merger. As a result, Toys R Us in South Park Shopping Center became the only Lexington toy retailer comparable in size and selection. The retail space sat vacant for a year until Allied Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx moved in. Today, T.J. Maxx and a Michaels craft store occupy the spot. Photo by David Perry | Staff
First day of school, Cassidy Elementary, 1977
Cassidy Elementary School principal Dorothy Friend welcomed students on the first day of school on Aug. 29, 1977. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
School bus preparation, Fayette County, 2003
Mechanic Paul McKenzie changed a burned-out taillight on a Fayette County School bus that was discovered by driver Tommy Hall during a safety check on Aug. 12, 2003, at the Liberty Road school bus garage. Fayette County Public Schools bus drivers took their buses out Wednesday (morning and afternoon runs) in a dry run to go over their routes and bus stops in preparation for the following Monday’s first day of school. The Fayette County School district requires 24 hours of training annually. The dry run was part of the drivers’ training seminar that week. The 215 buses travel 15,000 miles daily. Fayette County schools’ 2017-18 school year begins Wednesday morning. Photo by David Perry | Staff
U.S. Narcotic Farm doctor, 1950
Dr. Harris Isbell examined barbiturates at the United States Narcotic Farm in April 1950. Dr. Isbell was the Addiction Research Center’s director from 1945 to 1962, a period that many people considered the lab’s golden age for new discoveries. The hospital, which was renamed the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital and is now known as the Federal Medical Center, was the first prison for drug addicts in the United States. Federal inmates and people who voluntarily were admitted were treated for drug abuse problems, with mostly experimental treatments. The complex today, off Leestown Road just past Masterson Station Park, is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This photo ran with one of a series of stories by Jack Lewyn in the Lexington Herald about the fight against drug addiction. The first story ran April 17, 1950. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Glen Campbell, UK-Arkansas basketball game, 1992
Singer Glen Campbell sang the National Anthem before the start of the Kentucky and Arkansas men’s basketball game on Jan. 25, 1992, in Rupp Arena. The Cats lost to the Razorbacks, 105-88. The game left Campbell with divided loyalties. He came as a guest of L.D. Gorman, a member of Kentucky’s Athletics Association board of directors, but he is a native of Delight, Ark. “I feel like the president at an Army-Navy game,” Campbell quipped. Campbell died Tuesday at age 81. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Jimmy Minton harvests potatoes in Mercer County, 1985
Jimmy Minton harvested potatoes from his garden on Curdsville Road in Mercer County on Aug. 12, 1985. Minton estimated that he’d get about 16 bushels of potatoes from his one-third-acre plot. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Sterling Barber Shop, Deweese Street, 1980
LeRoy H. Hope, owner and proprietor of Sterling Barber Shop on Deweese Street, await customers on July 18, 1980. Hope had been a barber on Deweese Street since 1933 and went to work at Sterling in 1939. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
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