Kentucky Serendipity

Lucy Lou, Retired Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Dies 13 September 2018

We, and the rest of the “press” are saddened to report the death of Lucy Lou, retired mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, on September 10, 2018. Even if she was a dog.

Or maybe because she was.

The citizenry of Rabbit Hash are a bit … well, whimsical.

Lucy Lou was their mayor from 2008 to 2016 when she voluntarily stepped down to raise money to rebuild the historic general store which was ravaged by fire. She was Rabbit Hash’s first female mayor but the third canine mayor. According to her Facebook page, Lucy Lou was 12 years old at the time of her death.

Probably the first thing which pops into people’s minds upon hearing the news is the question, “A dog for a mayor?”

Rabbit Hash is an unincorporated town near the Ohio River in Boone County Kentucky, with a population of just over 300 persons. The primary attraction is the Rabbit Hash General Store, built circa 1831. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 2, 1989; at the time it was regarded as “the best known and best preserved country store in Kentucky”.

In the 1990s the town decided to use the election of a “mayor” as a fundraiser for the Rabbit Hash Historical Society. Since the town is unincorporated it does not have any official or recognized government, therefore the office of mayor is only an honorary title and could be sold if the citizenry felt so inclined. The election was simple — one dollar donated equaled one vote. One loving (perhaps doting) pet owner thought, “Why not vote for my dog?” and did so. Thus Goofy Borneman-Calhoun, won the election to a four-year term and was inaugurated in 1998. Sadly he died in office in July 2001, aged 16.

Goofy was the first in a line of canine mayors, and Rabbit Hash has become well know for this predilection for furry, four-legged public servants. There are worse ways for a town to express itself. Rest in peace, Lucy Lou, you were a great ambassador.