walkLEX: A.B. "Happy" Chandler Medical Center Celebrates Kentucky

Pavilion A of the Chandler Medical Center - Lexington, Ky.

If you've driven down South Limestone/Nicholasville Rd in the past couple years, you know of this towering medical facility on the south side of UK's campus. The growing UK Healthcare has constructed a twelve story structure consisting of a four-story pedestal under two eight-story towers. Though not fully opened, a number of units have moved from the old Chandler Medical Center to this new facility.

NoD: Georgetown Community Airport's AirFest

Kentucky Air National Guard C-130 - Georgetown, Ky.

The history of Georgetown's community airport began in 1987 when the airport board had only $500 dollars. Seven years later, a 4,000 foot runway opened with a single hangar and no income. When last year's World Equestrian Games was on the horizon, the Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport underwent a $4 million renovation which involved the construction of a beautiful terminal, expanded hanger options and a longer runway.

NoD: Oregon is a place inside Kentucky. Huh?

Landing at Oregon, Kentucky

When you think of Oregon, you probably conjure up an image of a western state with beautiful panoramas of the Pacific Ocean and the towering Cascade Mountains through which the Columbia River cut its own gorge.

Well, I've got a different image that I recognize on hearing the word. A winding, descending country road headed toward the river with animals - wild turkey among them - not afraid to explore this road less travelled. At its end, a river as quiet as the boat landing it passes. It is here I pause to savor the silence, the quiet, the peace.

walkLEX: Commonwealth Stadium Upgrades Facilities; Downgrades On-Field Play

An Upgraded Commonwealth Stadium - Lexington, Ky.

Yes, it is a difficult time to be a Kentucky football fan. This is not an opportunity for Louisville fans to gloat, either, as both teams sit at 2-4. A recent Herald-Leader article points to Kentucky's statewide battle against New Mexico's FBS teams for the worst statewide college football landscape. What an honor.

But at least UK fans can enjoy a few facility upgrades in the technology department over at Commonwealth Stadium. And with the team's lack of on-the-field success, tickets should be very easy to come by.

NoD: Old Family Graveyard Not So Rural Anymore

Aaron Farra Family Graveyard - Nicholasville, Ky.

As Kentucky's landscape changes, old farmhouses and barns are often torn down. The same goes for churches, post offices and general stores. Entire communities are consumed by an ever-growing suburbia.  But what of the cemeteries?

In Kentucky, state law charges cities and towns with preserving burial grounds within the city limits. A perfect example is in Nicholasville where local ordinances about a decade old mandate specific treatment in cases of cemeteries within areas of development. In February 2003, the Aaron Farra Family Graveyard was removed from its original location.

walkLEX: #OccupyLexKY at 20 Days

A Small Crowd of #OccupyLexKY Protestors - Lexington, Ky.

One one end of the block that is home to Lexington's main Chase Bank branch is a replica statue of the Flying Horse of Gansu. A gift from the Chinese government to the people of Lexington, the original statue dates to the Han dynasty some 200 years BCE. The donor, China, is not well-known for allowing public speech (see, inter alia, Tienanmen Square). But we aren't in China.

So at the other end of the block are a group of individuals protesting corporate greed and the control of wealth and power in the concentrated few. I walked past the protestors when they first appeared on September 29 and contemplated writing this post, but decided against it. I thought at most it could be a #kernel post. But now the Occupiers have been standing sentry on behalf of the "99%" for 20 days. Day or night, rain or shine. They've upped themselves to a #walkLEX post as they've become a fixture of downtown for the time being.

walkLEX: Bodley-Bullock House Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

Bodley-Bullock House - Lexington, Ky.

Built for Mayor Pindell, the house at 200 North Market Street was sold yet inhabited to Col. Thomas Bodley. Bodley came to Lexington a hero of the War of 1812, was clerk of the court when he admitted Henry Clay to the practice of law, and greeted Gen. LaFayette on the Marquis' 1825 arrival to Lexington, but Bodley would lose this three-story Federal style townhouse to his mortgagee, the Bank of the United States, during the financial Panic of 1819.

The Federal townhouse took a Greek Revival appearance later in the 19th century as other owners added a Doric entrance porch and two-story portico to the northern side of the house which faces the garden.

During the Civil War, the house was occupied at different times by both Union and Confederate troops.

In 1912, the house was purchased for $11,000 by Dr.Waller O. Bullock and his wife, Minnie. Dr. Bullock was the co-founder of the Lexington Clinic which remains one of Lexington's top healthcare providers, but it is "Miss Minnie" whose story continues to be a part of the home's history. (She also played a great role in Lexington's civic and cultural history.)

Miss Minnie passed in 1970 leaving the home in trust to Transylvania University and the property has been maintained since by the Junior League of Lexington. But Miss Minnie remains in the house.

Are you a Kick Ass Kaintuckeean?

After they launched, I profiled Kentucky for Kentucky - mainly because their logo is awesome. (It says that we've been "A Kickass Commonwealth Since 1792." Well, it turns out the guys at KY4KY endeavor to promote Kentucky in more ways than their Facebook page.

It is a long shot, but the guys at KY4KY are trying to raise $3.5 million in pledges to create a 30 second spot that would air during the 2012 Super Bowl. I could write it, but they've put together a video to give you an idea of what's up:

 

Did you watch that? A great marketing idea from a couple of great Kaintuckeeans! 

Wouldn't it be awesome to see a commercial during the Super Bowl that promoted our awesome, er, kick-ass Commonwealth? So do your part! And hurry! They've only got about 3 weeks left until their self imposed deadline. And if you pledge but the group doesn't raise the requisite $3.5million, then you don't pay a dime! Win/Win!

walkLEX: Northside is a Tale of Two Cities

Ross Avenue - Lexington, Ky.

Hampton Court - Lexington, Ky.

Upon my first study of Northside, I learned that the expansive neighborhood is a tale of two cities. Large and opulent homes occupied the high ground while smaller, inexpensive homes filled in the lower elevations between. I wrote:

It has been noted that both the black urban clusters and the predominately white suburbs were both developed off of the major roadways, yet the former occupied the valleys between the more-elevated suburb.

And I noticed this division on a recent walk. Consider Hampton Court and Ross Avenue. These two parallel streets between Third and Fourth Streets appear as a Dickensian Tale of Two Cities.

walkLEX: A Transylvanian Tomb and the Legends of Constantine Rafinesque

The Tomb of Constantine Rafinesque - Lexington, Ky.

No, it is not Dracula. Although Bram Stoker may be impressed with the story of the man entombed under Transylvania University's Old Morrison.

Born in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul, Turkey) in 1783, Constantine Rafinesque immigrated to the United States in 1802. Here, he met a number of young botanists and began to collect his specimens. In 1804, while travelling in the Virginia-Maryland area he met President Jefferson. It was suggested, but never realized, that Rafinesque should join Lewis and Clark on their famed expedition. Whether he was rejected or declined an offer, Rafinesque returned to Europe with his specimens and settled in Palermo, Sicily.

In 1815, he returned to the United States and continued to work diligently in the fields of biology and zoology. He came to the Athens of the West (Lexington) and its famed institution (Transylvania) as a professor of botany in 1819. Throughout his career, Rafinesque published the binomial names of over 6,700 species of flora and fauna, but he was never recognized during his life for his work. Perhaps it was because he was a little too eccentric for anyone's taste.

NoD: Boy Scouts Began in Pulaski County

Historic Marker - Burnside, Ky.

Two years before the Boy Scouts of America organized in the United States, Mrs. Myra Greeno Bass gathered a troop of 15 Pulaski County boys in 1908. Utilizing British scout literature, she guided the boys in hiking and camping. A Kentucky roadside historic marker (#1007) on U.S. 27 in Burnside reminds travelers of this great contribution:

Before Boy Scouts of America was organized, 1910, a troop of 15 had been formed here, spring of 1908, by Mrs. Myra Greeno Bass. Using the official handbook of English scouting, she guided them hiking and camping, like scouting today. Known as Eagle Troop, Horace Smith was troop leader. Insignia was a red bandanna around neck. Reputed the first American Boy Scout Troop.

walkLEX: The Kissing Tree @Transy

The Kissing Tree (Transylvania University) - Lexington, Ky.

Near the Haupt Humanities Building on the campus of Transylvania University stands a white ash tree believed to be about 265 years old making it forty years older than the college and almost fifty years older than our Commonwealth. Its moniker - "The Kissing Tree" - also dates to years ago when social mores and taboos were quite different.

kernel: The Painting of Lexington's Town Drunk, King Solomon

A town drunk so famed that they made a painting of him? Why, yes!

Painting of King Solomon - Bodley Bullock House - Lexington, Ky.

Hanging in the Bodley-Bullock House in Lexington is this painting of William "King" Solomon, the town drunk who buried the dead of the city following the cholera epidemic of 1833 previously profiled by NRK on The Elkhorn Vale. The painter was Samuel M. Wilson.

walkLEX: Remembering Smiley Pete

Smiley Pete Plaque - Lexington, Ky.

The dog's grin resembled a human smile and so he was given the name "Smiley." During the mid-twentieth century, downtown Lexington had a roving landmark. Smiley Pete.

Of course, his other nicknames gave a more perceptive look at what Smiley was really up to. Magnificent Mooch. Canine Con Man. Panhandling Pooch. Yes, Smiley Pete new how to work it.

NoD: Grayson Lake and the Kitchen-Horton House

Grayson Lake - Carter County, Ky.

Named for the Carter County seat, Grayson Lake was formed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1964 from their formation of an earth and rock dam on the Little Sandy River. Now, almost 75 miles of shoreline in Carter and Elliott counties surround this beautiful lake of approximately 1,500 acres.

Filled with bluegill, bass, catfish, crappie, and trout, the lake is very popular with local anglers. But history has its tale at Grayson Lake as well. Whenever I visit an Army Corps manmade lake, I'm reminded of the scenes from O Brother, Where Art Thou? when the valley is flooded saving George Clooney et al. from the gallows  (Youtube) as well as the following scene where he opines on the New South being hooked up to the grid (Youtube). Surely, much in the flooded valley of Grayson Lake was lost when the waters rose in the mid 1960s.

walkLEX: Thomas Hunt Morgan House

Thomas Hunt Morgan House - Lexington, Ky.

Today, we all know that sex is determined by XX or XY chromosomes. But did you know that the man who discovered this scientific truth was born and raised in Lexington? Thomas Hunt Morgan, the "Father of Modern Genetics," was born in 1866 at Hopemont but was raised in his parent's home on the other side of the block. Through his father's lineage, Thomas was related to the best families in central Kentucky. A great-grandfather on his mother's side, Francis Scott Key, penned the words to the Star Spangled Banner. 

While living in this two-story Victorian, a young Thomas began to show his interest in biology and naturalism as he gathered birds, birds' eggs and fossils.  By the age of 16, he was enrolled at the State College, later the U. of Kentucky, from which he would graduate as the valedictorian in 1886. The Lexington Transcript reported on April 8, 1886 that "Thomas Hunt Morgan, son of Capt. Charleton H. Morgan, was awarded valedictory of class at State College." It would not be long before Thomas Hunt Morgan would escape the long shadow of his father - a Confederate veteran - and bring another chapter to the Hunt-Morgan family.

NoD: Salyersville Bank

Salyersville Bank Building - Salyersville, Ky.

One building in downtown Salyersville stands out: the Salyersville Bank at the corner of Church (KY 7) and Maple (US 460). An impressive two-story limestone structure in the Beaux Arts style constructed by Italian craftsmen who arrived in eastern Kentucky during a coal boom in the early twentieth century. Built in 1912, the Salyersville Bank anchored Salyersville's growth.