Buggy Kid in Kentucky 14 September 2019
Posted by KentuckySerendipity in News, People.add a comment
Kentucky is the place of many significant first events, and to the list we can now add that Kentucky is the first place where a toddler helped discover a new species of insect. I can’t say much about this story without infringing on copyrighted news stores, so I’ll just give the gist and interested readers can click on one of the links for details. In a nutshell: Laura Sullivan-Beckers is planting flowers and her daughter, Sylvie, helps by watering them. However, she accidentally over-waters and some insects float up. The mother investigates and later it is determined that the insects are a new species. Since Sylvie was two years old at the time of the watering, I wager that she is the youngest person ever to co-discover a new species. Are you listening, Guiness Book of World Records? Here are links to news stories with details and photos:
- Kentucky Today: MSU professor, daughter uncover new insect species
- Insider Louisville: Murray State biology professor discovers new insect species with help from her toddler
- Good Morning, America: Mom and daughter discover new bug species when daughter over-waters flower garden (with video)
Lucy Lou, Retired Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Dies 13 September 2018
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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.
A (Nearly) Forgotten Disaster 14 August 2018
Posted by KentuckySerendipity in Book Reviews, News.add a comment
I have a friend in Arkansas who is an avid reader, as am I. We often send books to one another. His reading tastes overlap but are not identical to mine, and often he sends a book which I would I would not choose for myself. His taste in literature is quite good so I generally enjoy the volumes he sends. Recently I received Let Us Build Us a City: Eleven Lost Towns by Donald Harington, and I found it a most interesting book. The author combines a travelogue with history, biography, cultural studies, and a bit of romance.
Mr. Harington, through his assistant, a high school teacher, takes the reader on a journey through Arkansas to visit eleven “cities” — settlements which include the word City in their name but which fail to live up to the title. Each place was founded with the hope and expectation that it would become an important center of urban life. Some did flourish for a time but all eventually declined and some have effectively disappeared. At each the reader is treated to geographical information, history of the settlement, and stories from current inhabitants. Some the of the information is interesting only to people of the area, but much of it has broader appeal.
One interesting tidbit I gleaned from the book is that many of the early immigrants to Arkansas came from Kentucky. I knew that many early Kentucky settlers moved further west due to business failures or the desire to find a less settled place to live. Daniel Boone was one — he fell on hard times financially in Kentucky so he went to Missouri which at that time was part of Spanish Louisiana. However, I was unaware of the tide of immigrants linking Kentucky to Arkansas.
A more interesting item in the book is a partially fictionalized account of the sinking of Sultana on the Mississippi river on April 27, 1865. Most Americans are unaware of the event. This is surprising because the sinking of the Sultana was the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history. I do not recall ever having heard of the Sultana in a history class.
The Sultana was a steamboat operating on the Mississippi River in support of the cotton trade. When the Civil War ended on May 13, 1865, the South released Union prisoners held in Southern states. Many of the prisoners were taken to a camp near Vicksburg, Mississippi to await transport to the North. The U.S. government paid steamboat operators to transport released prisoners. The captain of the Sultana agreed to transport 1,400 prisoners. The Sultana’s legal capacity was 375 but prisoners were loaded on the boat until no more would fit. When the boat left Vicksburg it was vastly overloaded with 1,961 paroled prisoners, 22 guards from the 58th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 70 paying cabin passengers, and 85 crew members.
The Sultana had a problem with a leaking boiler which had been hastily dealt with by means of a temporary patch. The overloaded boat left Vicksburg on the night of April 24, 1865, with a boiler which needed a major repair. The boat steamed upriver and reached Memphis about 7:00 PM on April 26. At Memphis the crew unloaded sugar and took on a new load of coal, and then continued northward. About 2:00 AM the Sultana was seven miles north of Memphis when her three boilers exploded.
The explosion killed some people and threw others into the river. The boat started burning and many passengers jumped into the river. The Mississippi River was swollen with spring rain and the water was cold. Some people drowned and others died of hypothermia. Fortunately there were several boats nearby which rescued many passengers. The injured were taken to Memphis which had many hospitals at the time due to being captured by the North and turned into a supply and recuperation city. Without the nearby boats and the medical facilities in Memphis the death toll would have been higher. As it was 1,184 people perished in the disaster. (For comparison, an estimated 1,517 people died on the Titanic.)
The disaster of the Sultana is nearly forgotten. Wikipedia has an article on the sinking. From time to time a national magazine or newspaper will print an article, for example the Smithsonian or the Washington Post. There is also a Sultana museum, but still most Americans are unaware of this major event in U.S. history.
Kentucky Serendipity 