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100 years ago: Fairgrounds sold for $2,000

Early November in 1915: Elections and other sports, a huge truck body, and the sale of the Fair Grounds

By Jim

Politics, Kentucky's only sanctioned blood sport, dominated the front page of the November 3, 1915 News, published on Wednesday that week instead of Tuesday in order to present readers with results of the election held on November 2nd. Probably to no one's surprise, the Republican candidates swept the county. Stated the staunchly Democratic paper, "The result is gracefully accepted by the Democrats, and everybody will move along in the even tenor of their way."

The outcomes of the statewide races were more mixed, but at press time, both sides claimed a 10,000 vote victory in the gubernatorial contest. However, with the smoke cleared and the last hanging chad examined a few days later, Democrat Augustus O. Stanley held the lead.

Within the corporate limits of Columbia, Messrs. T.E. Jeffries, G.M. Stevenson, G.R. Reed, A.O. Taylor, and Sam Lewis drew the highest vote counts for seats on the city council, and O.P. Willis won the race for town marshal "by a large majority."


Several Adair Countians living or traveling abroad (outside the county, that is) came home to cast their suffrage. Those making a trek to exercise their franchise included Byron Montgomery, then working in Chicago, J.E. Flowers. L.O. Taylor, from Frankfort, M. Cravens, Paul Hughes, Albia Eubank, Dr. O.P. Miller, Paul Waggener, Judge Rollin Hurt, serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and James Garnett, whose four-year term as Kentucky's Attorney General would end about five weeks later.

On the sports front, the afternoon of Saturday, October 30, 1915 saw a sizeable crowd assembled on Arbor Vitae Hill to watch the Lindsey Wilson football team take to the field for only the second time ever. Those in attendance for this contest with the lads of Bardstown came away "delighted by some of the most daring exciting plays that the game affords," albeit one sourpuss, the newspaper's correspondent for the Rugby community, grumped, "It seems to me like it a very dangerous game."

The paper reported that "long runs and forward passes featured in the playing of both sides," and the account, if taken sans salt, strongly implies each side constantly flirted with the opponent's goal line, "only to be stopped by the last man defending the goal." However, near the start of the third quarter of play, Jim Lewis of the Lindsey eleven "made an eighty-five yard run dodging practically all of the Bardstown players." On the next play, big Dave Dulworth, the pride of Camp Knox, "bucked the ball through the line, scattering the opponents like a bomb shell."

By the time the clock ran down, the home team had put 37 points on the board to Bardstown's seven, and the Lindsey footballers were half way toward a perfect 4-0 record their first season on the gridiron and outscoring their opponents 189-7 in that long ago campaign.

In sports news from the school on another hill, the Columbia High basketball team, after suffering a defeat at the hands of the Jamestown quintet some days earlier, took on the Montpelier five in Columbia. "The game was played without any discord, at the conclusion to score stood 57 to ten in favor of the home team." Quipped the reporter for the "Graded and High School Notes" column, "The High School team ball found the basket more easily than in the Jamestown game."

In other news, the Columbia Column Co. had recently constructed for and delivered unto the Rapid Transit Co., also of Columbia, a ginormous truck body, "which will be placed on a White chassis and used in hauling merchandise from Campbellsville to Columbia." with an estimated capacity of twelve tons, it was "probably the largest body of it's kind ever built in the state." Mr. Jo E. Flowers of the Column Co., "an expert mechanic," was in charge of construction.

On Saturday night, October 30th, Miss Mary Hughes entertained 24 of her closest friends with a Hallowe'en party at the home of her father, E.H. Hughes. "The guests were met at the door by ghosts and signs were posted as to their proceedings. Contests, fortune telling, and refreshments followed." Among the guests were Allen Eubank, Frances Reed, Coninna Breeding, and Ruth Hynes, and those assisting Miss Hughes in entertaining were May Stults, Ella Walker, Jennye McFarland, Kate Gill, and Mary Lucy Lowe, as well as her brother, Paul Hughes.

The Adair Fiscal Court, having recent received several pieces of road equipment, decided on a prudent course of action for its immediate use. Rather than tackle road building head on with the advent of winter just weeks ahead, the Court agreed to take the steps of "quarrying rock, grading and completing the road from the town limits to Russell Creek." Upon completion of that short section, "the Court will meet, inspect the road, and ascertain the cost before proceeding farther." Mr. Upton Grider was in charge of quarrying the rock and Mr. George Stults was to superintend the actual construction.

And finally, "The Fair Grounds, embracing about eleven acres of land, amphitheater, etc., was sold to the highest bidder last Monday. Mr. J.H. Young became the purchaser, the price being $2,000."


This story was posted on 2015-11-01 07:47:19
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