February 25, 2025
Tates Creek High School graduation, 1986
Tates Creek High School seniors listened to the school choir during commencement ceremonies on June 5, 1986, in Rupp Arena. This year’s Tates Creek High School graduation will be at 7 p.m. Friday in Rupp Arena. Do you recognize anyone in this photo? Click on the image and add a comment. Photo by Steven R. Nickerson | Staff
New county patrol officers, 1948
Three new Fayette County patrolmen, Thomas Shannon, Cecil White, and Richmond Taylor, appointed by County Judge W.E. Nicholas, beganduty in April 1948. Forty police recruits graduate Thursday, May 26, from the Lexington Police Training Academy It’s the largest class since 1998. Published in the Lexington Herald on April 20, 1948. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Fayette County courthouse, 1949
The Fayette County Courthouse in early June 1949. On Tusday, Lexington city officials announced several businesses that might lease space in the renovated courthouse when it reopens in the spring 2018. This photo was unpublished but was probably taken to help illustrate the city’s vote on an ordinance to lift the ban on parking on Main Street between the hours of 4:30 and 6 p.m. City commissioners voted four to one on June 2, 1949, to restore the parking after most of the businesses on Main Street signed a petition presented by the Chamber of Commerce in support of lifting the ban. After a 60-day trial, the merchants claimed the parking ban was hurting their businesses. The purpose of the ban had been to relieve traffic congestion during rush hour and had been supported by the Blue Grass Automobile Club and the Lexington Police Department. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Jimmy Buffett plays at UK’s Memorial Coliseum, 1977
Jimmy Buffett performed at the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum on Sept. 30, 1977. Buffett is known for his “island escapism” lifestyle tunes, and he has a devoted fan base known as “Parrotheads.” Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett played before 8,000 fans for a two-hour set at Memorial. Tickets for the show were $6 and $5. During the show, Buffett recalled the first time he played UK. It was at the student center grill, and he said he was a young entertainer trying to make ends meet on the “coffeehouse circuit.” Click here to read the review of the concert. On the same date that Buffett played on the UK campus, country singer Charley Pride performed at Rupp Arena. Photo by Mike Kearney | Staff. Published in the Lexington Herald on Oct. 3, 1977.
Adolph Rupp and Col. Harland Sanders, 1974
Former University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp, center, and Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders, right, cut a cake in observance of Lexington radio station WJMM’s first anniversary, July 25, 1974. Also participating in ceremonies in the gospel music tent at the Bluegrass Fair were the Rev. Jack Mortenson, the station owner, and Kay Chaney, assistant to the station manager. The radio station, a Christian teaching-talk station, has now served Lexington and surrounding communities for more than 40 years. At the time of this photo, Rupp was 72 and had been retired for two years. Sanders was 83 at the time of the photo, and it had been 10 years since he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey for $2 million. Published July 26, 1974, in the Lexington Leader. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
High Hope Steeplechase, 1988
Sandra Santoro looked over the High Hope Steeplechase program on May 1, 1988, at the Kentucky Horse Park. This year, the 48th High Hope Steeplechase returns to the Kentucky Horse Park on Sunday, with the gates opening at 11 a.m. Photo by Alan Lessig
Kentucky Stock Dog Open, 1979
Candy, owned by George L. Conboy of Wanatah, Ind., penned several sheep during the Kentucky Stock Dog Association’s Bluegrass National Open competition on June 10, 1979. Each dog must pen its own sheep without help from the handler. More than 62 owners and their sheep dogs competed in the 20th annual meet at Walnut Hill Farm on Newtown Pike. This year’s Bluegrass Classic Stockdog Trial runs through Sunday at the Kentucky Horse Park. Photo by Gary Landers | Staff
Barbaro’s catastrophic Preakness Stakes injury, 2006
Jockey Edgar Prado pulls up Barbaro after shortly after the start of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on May 20, 2006. Barbaro stumbled early, broke his right hind leg and was transported off the track by ambulance. The horse who captured hearts with his seven-length Kentucky Derby win two weeks earlier left an unprecedented trail of tears after his catastrophic injury early in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Despite the efforts of an esteemed veterinarian, the unrestricted financial backing of the horse’s owners and the outpouring of love from racing fans around the world, the injuries Barbaro suffered ultimately led to his euthanization eight months later. His ashes are buried at Churchill Downs, the site of his biggest victory. A bronze statue of the horse stands atop his remains. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
As the race continued, Jockey Edgar Prado steadied Barbaro shortly after the start of the Preakness Stakes on May 20, 2006. “I really can’t tell you what happened,” Prado said. “I heard a noise about 100 yards into the race and pulled him right up.” Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
Jockey Edgar Prado couldn’t watch as help arrived shortly after Barbaro broke down during the early stages of the Preakness Stakes on May 20, 2006. Photo by Matt Goins
Fans reacted while watching Barbaro struggle as he was loaded onto an ambulance after he broke his leg after the start of the Preakness Stakes on May 20, 2006. David Stephenson/Staff
Piedmont Airlines ticket counter at Blue Grass Field, 1974
Bill Heflin, working the Piedmont Airlines ticket counter at Blue Grass Field, Dec. 9, 1974. At the time of this photo, four major airlines flew out of Lexington: Allegheny, Delta, Eastern and Piedmont. Based on the arrivals and departures board behind him, the airline had service to and from Lexington to Greensboro, N.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Louisville; and Cincinnati. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff
Lexington post office female clerk, 1966
Suzanne E. Hudson helped a customer in the Lexington post office in September 1966. Hudson became the first female window clerk to work at the office since 1952. She was among 27 female employees, including two carriers, several clerks, and stenographers and secretaries. In 1960, there were only six women working at the post office. Photo by John C. Wyatt | Staff
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