| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Larry Smith, boy radio announcer: The Corner Drug phase LOCAL HISTORY By Ed Waggener Larry Smith, the WAVE FM 92.7 news anchor, South Central Kentucky historian, and photography collector, has a photo of the old Corner Drugs building in downtown Historic Greensburg, KY, which tells the story of a big part of his life. He remembers, following graduation from Summersville Elementary School, located in Green County's second largest town, and continuing his education at Greensburg Elementary. "After school," he said, "we'd race across the Foot Bridge to see who could get to the Corner Drug Store first." It was a marvelous place, he said. It was the main gathering place for school kids. "They had a big Coke fountain," Larry says. That was right in the middle of Double Cola territory, but the owner was never arrested for treason. "Double Cola was served," Larry said. "It was the drink of choice, but the fountain was a Coke fixture," The fountain bar was lined with old bar stools, he remembers. "There was nothing quite like food there," he said. "You could get the best chili dogs you ever ate. Washed down with a Dub," he said. "That was a feast."Jerry Collings was the owner. "Had a 'g' in it. That was unusual," he said. His son later bought him out, and ran the store until closing it, within the past few months; now the building is occupied by a flower shop, he said. The drug store had a juke box, which pounded out the favorites of the day for a nickel a play. And kids jammed the booths, often three to a bench. "There was a whole lot of kissing going on in there," Larry said, though, he admits, "Passion never quite reached the level it did at the drive-in in Summersville. The drive-in had helped his popularity at Greensburg. As projectionist there, he was held in high esteem among the townies, who often didn't give Summersvillians the credit they deserved.. The building holds even more memories for Larry. In the Court Street level office of the Greensburg Record-Herald he was taught a majority of what he knows about newspapering by the Kentucky rural newspaper icon, Walt Gorin. "He taught me how to do it all," Larry said. "I took pictures at the PTO for a dollar a picture. I wrote police stories. And I worked in production. Even wrapped singles to mail to Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago and other out-of-county addresses." But a bigger attraction was on top of the hill But the biggest attraction for Smith was on high over Greensburg, where the powerful transmitter for WGRK was located at the summit of Buckner Hill."While I was Greensburg Elementary," Larry said, "I started hanging out at the radio station. Believe it or not, I could make it from GES to the top of Buckner Hill in about 20 minutes. I was in good shape," he said. "Still am," he admits despite his characteristic modesty. Fortified mid journey by a stop in the Corner Drug, an afternoon early supper of a Double Cola and a wienie with chili, Buckner Hill was no challenge at all for the ambitious teen. For those unfamiliar with Buckner Hill, it's Greensburg's answer to the downtown hills of Charleston, WV, or Manchester, KY. If you have a front wheel drive car, you don't want to go up it with too much weight in the trunk, lest your car rear up, loses drive wheel contact, and you careen backerds down the hill. It can be a downright scary experience to the unitiated. "That's where I spent my time, at the radio station," he said. "When the rest of the kids went on field trips, I'd break away and trot up Buckner Hill to the radio station." WGRK was to later be the site of Smith's earliest broadcast triumphs. "When I was the main announcer on the station," he says, "we were the top radio station in South Central Kentucky." It's a big part of his early success in a career which took him to new heights at WTCO in Campbellsville, WHAS, in it's pre-Clear Channel homogenization days, and finally to the ultimate pinnacle of broadcasting, as the popular announcer at WHVE, the WAVE FM 92.7, just west of Sano, Kentucky, just east of the continental dialect divide at the second Russell Creek Bridge on Road Eighty. It was a great time to be a kid in Greensburg, a great time to be a Green Countian, Larry says. "Downtown was complete then. You could live your whole life on the Square and never need a car to go to the picture show, go to church, get all the education you could ever need in life, get married, and go to work and never get out of a four square mile area. Great restaurants experiences were available, including A. Ennis' lunch counter, now famous for it's "slaw burger, fries and bottle of Ski's." For it's 2:00am chili bought after the drive-closed. For it's Dubs and hamburgers and the front door that was never,/i> locked, and of course " There were hardware stores, bikes at Woodson Lewis, Western Auto, and Firestone. Car dealerships with Fords, Chevys, Pontiacs, and International trucks. Tractors of all kinds. Gas stations. Even grocery stores. "John Durham had all anybody needed," Smith recalls. "You didn't have to go to Kroger or the A&P. It was all right there," he said. "All in downtown Greensburg, KY, in walking distance of everything." And it all centered around the spiritual center of the town, The old corner drug store, now, for a time, in another phase, not as a drug store. But Historic Downtown Greensburg, with it's history, its Mayor Lisle leadership, its links to Larry Smith, Abraham Lincoln, and Dave Shuffett, , is undergoing a dramatic renaissance, which, Smith hopes, would one day give the kids of a future generation the same opportunities for childhood happiness and for success that Summersville and Greensburg gave him. This story was posted on 2008-05-28 09:40:48
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. (AD) - Many Reunion organizing efforts are also advertised in our REUNIONS category in our CM Classifeds. These are posted at a very low cost. See RATES & TERMS
More articles from topic Local History:
Genealogy: Ancestor fought with command of Robert E. Lee Feedback to Wants to hear from Burton-Bryant kin Feedback: Memories of Uncle Pete, Aunt Jane's store Feedback: Youngest Grandchild recalls Mr. McQueary at his store Feedback: Thanks to Jason Harmon for Pete McQueary picture Vignette from Christine, KY: Pete McQueary History note: Jesse James shot 126 years, 2 days ago Just About the Smartest Dog of All Times: Old Raymond Good news: Let us prepare the fatted country ham! Ms. Jane Fiegle, historical preservation specialist to be at ACPL View even more articles in topic Local History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
