An Evening at the Kentuckiana Digital Library

Historical documents, images, and more

A few minutes ago, I had to pull myself away from the Kentuckiana Digital Library (KDL) so I can write in my blog and go to bed!

The KDL is just one section of The Kentucky Virtual Library, an immense resource for research in and about Kentucky. I don't pretend to know everything that can be found in and through the Kentucky Virtual Library. I do know that you can search, get the name of a book and its library, and have your local library arrange an interlibrary-loan.

The KDL has a lot of old photographs, books, and newspapers online. For example, I found a little book from 1915 that gives a proud overview of Christian County, Kentucky (where I live.) The entire text of William Henry Perrin's histories of Christian and Trigg Counties is also available there.

I learned a bit about the WPA work done around here in the Depression from some of the images of Christian County. Besides building roads and bridges, they operated a stone quarry that provided the materials. The images also include views of the coal mines in the northern part of the county in the early years of the century, a few farming photos from that era, and a number of photos of the long-gone Bethel College in Hopkinsville.

Since we live on the east side of Christian County with the Jefferson Davis Monument in the greater circles of our neighborhood, I was interested in the 1929 images of the newly completed monument. The one that shows a vintage automobile approaching Fairview is my favorite.

The Todd County photos (next county to the east) raised a question in my mind that will now have to be answered. What has become of the Gray and Blue State Park that appears in over a dozen photographs?

A hotel, lodge, traveler's rest hall, and more are shown in the photos of the Gray and Blue State Park. The park was transferred in 1936 to the National Park Service according to one of the captions. The only modern-day evidence I can find of the park's existence is the address of a church: "2273 Blue and Gray Park Road." I'm planning a drive down that road to see what I can see.

If you appreciate old-time photographs, newspapers, books, etc., there are wonders to behold at this website. I hope you'll pay a visit.

An Election Worker's Day

Providing a fair and honest election to my precinct

Yesterday, I was an election worker in Kentucky's General Election. My day began when the alarm rang at 4:15 AM. I left the house at 5:15 AM and drove a couple of miles to the local church that is the polling place for our precinct. Other workers arrived at about the same time, and we got the voting machines ready to go, tables arranged, sample ballots posted, and "Vote Here" signs installed outside.

At 6:00 a.m., we had our first voters. The next 12 hours went by fairly quickly, with a steady stream of people passing through. Usually, we had only one or two voters at a time, but at times, we had up to a dozen people waiting to vote. In all, about 1/3 of the registered voters in our precinct cast a ballot.

Due to a shortage of election workers, we had a three-person crew. We are supposed to have four workers -- clerk, Republican judge, Democrat judge, and sheriff. Since we didn't have a sheriff, we had to share that job between us.

Voter registration irregularities

We did have a few registration irregularities. We had several people who had moved from the precinct but had not changed their registration to their new precinct. It's illegal for them to vote in a precinct where they don't live, so we had to fill out paperwork for them and send them to their proper polling place.

In another case, a wife was listed as a legal voter in the book, but the husband was not listed, even though he had voted and resided in the precinct for years, just as his wife has. The county clerk allowed him to vote, but it required some phone calls and paperwork. The man was irritated and I understand why, but it certainly wasn't our fault.

In another case, a voter was incorrectly listed so we couldn't find his name. After a phone call to the County Clerk's office, we learned that he was listed with his middle name as his last name and his last name as his first name. He was able to vote under his incorrectly-listed name, and he filled out a new voter registration card to change his name so it will be correct next time (we hope.)

Problems with voting

An elderly gentleman requested the old voting machine. He couldn't hear very well. When he came out of the booth, we election workers didn't think that we had heard the bell on his machine ring (indicating that his vote was cast.) He asserted that he wouldn't have heard the bell if it did ring, but he had certainly pushed the "Vote" button. We commented that the lights next to the names on the screen were still flashing which indicated his vote was not complete. He insisted again that he had voted (!) so we didn't press the issue further. However, we don't think that his vote was recorded.

Workers aren't allowed to enter the booth with the voter, so it's hard to determine exactly what the problem is in some cases. One of the last voters of the day used the new voting machine and somehow managed to press buttons in a sequence that looped him back through the ballot several times. We tried to talk him through it from outside the booth. When the ballot has been successfully cast and the votes recorded, a success message and the American flag are displayed on the screen. He finally got that screen, but he was not satisfied that his vote had been counted.

Each of these incidents had to be recorded on the Sheriff's report, and some of them happened while we were pretty busy with voters, so it would have been good to have that fourth worker. Our precinct was one of several that did not have a full crew. I don't know why they can't find enough election workers. Is it the long day?

Following correct election procedures

Some voters seemed a bit miffed that they had to show an ID, but that's the rule unless an election worker will sign that he/she personally knows the person's identity.

I felt that all the election workers at our precinct were following regulations and procedures as best we could. We were going by the book. No one was trying to stretch or bend the rules or influence the voters. We were doing our best to provide a fair and honest election to the residents of our precinct.

After the polls were closed at 6:00 p.m., it took us about half an hour to print out the tapes on the machines, close them and shut them down, and pack up all the election materials. Then the other judge and I had to take the tapes, the memory units from the machines, and the voter books and other papers to the County Clerk's office.

One thing I learned is that it might be a good idea to check your voter registration at the courthouse once in a while, even if you've been voting regularly and haven't made any changes of address.

It was a long and tiring day, but it was good to participate in the exercise of democracy. I enjoyed it.

Related:
KY Poll Worker Charged With Assault -- Wow!
Fun, Civic Duty Cited as Reasons to Work the Polls -- Local election worker has served for 25 years.
Sheriff Called In to Solve Oak Grove Poll Problem -- Election workers coped with an inhospitable polling place elsewhere in my county. Check out the mayor's statement in the last paragraph. What an idiot. I hope the voters realize that he's messing with their voting rights, not just with the election workers who happened to be assigned there.

Safe and Secure from All Alarms

Skittles and her can

Skittles is such an intense little cat. When she decides she likes some particular place to sleep, she sleeps there fervently and often. Some of the places she favors are a little odd. For example, she's always been fond of sleeping in the trash can.

Recently, she took a liking to the little rug in front of the kitchen range. That didn't work out too well because people stepped on her all the time. One night, as I tried to stop stepping on her and she screeched in protest, I almost fell into a pot of hot soup.

Something had to be done. I had a big, empty, popcorn tin so I put an old towel in the bottom of it and set it in front of the range. She jumped right in, curled up, and took a long nap. I guess it reminded her of the trash can.

Since then, Skittles has been spending a lot of time sleeping in her popcorn can. She loves it, and it amuses me to have her there now that I don't have to worry about stepping on her.

Today, after I broke a glass in the kitchen, I vacuumed to clean up any splinters I might have missed with the broom. Usually, Skittles would have to leave the room while the vacuum was running. She's always very careful not to get caught in close quarters with that noisy monster.

But today, she felt so secure in her popcorn can that she didn't have to leave, not even when I vacuumed her rug. After several minutes of noisy vacuuming, I passed her can again, and she was half-asleep.

As I put up the vacuum cleaner, words from an old hymn came to mind -- "Safe and secure from all alarms." That's a phrase from the chorus of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," a hymn we sang in the country churches I attended as a child. If you're not familiar with it, you can read and hear it at Cyberhymnal.

Related:
Another midi of this hymn
And a piano midi version
And one more version

Rock County, NE, Centennial Book on eBay

I want it, but I'm not going to bid any more.

eBay is selling a copy of Rock County Nebraska Centennial, 1888-1898. I have run the bid up to $74.29 on the darned thing, but someone has bid more. I'd love to have it, but $73.29 is my top bid. (Don't ask me why that's the magic number, but it is.)

It will be interesting to see how much it brings. My readers from Rock County may be surprised how much their centennial books are worth, if they are fortunate enough to own one.

I would be tempted to bid higher, but I'm getting ready to spend a small fortune on the accompanist's editions of the new hymnbook and liturgy for church. Unfortunately, that's going to deplete my library budget.

(I should add, for those who may be puzzled: I grew up in Rock County, Nebraska. I would know/know-of many of the people who are mentioned in the book.)

Update:

The final price for the Rock County Centennial book on eBay was $74.29.

The same book is currently selling at AbeBooks for $175.00.

A Fine Old Building on Hopkinsville's Main Street

A brief history of an 1890s commercial building in Hopkinsville, Kentucky

F. A. Yost Building in Hopkinsville, KY

In 1894, a handsome brick building was constructed on the northeast corner of 10th and Main in Hopkinsville. It was originally occupied by The Racket, a firm that advertised itself in period publications simply as "The Big Store."

Years of Yosts

By 1897, according to Meacham's City Directory of Hopkinsville, Kentucky of that year, The Racket had moved. It was in business selling "everything" at 214-216 South Main. F.A. Yost & Co. had opened a harness and saddlery store in the Racket's former location, 207 South Main.

At that time, Forbes & Bro. Hardware & Farm Machinery was the next building south, just across 10th Street. The J. H. Anderson clothing and shoe store was directly across Main Street to the west.

A 1906 photo postcard of this section of Main Street appears in Postcard History Series: Hopkinsville, by William T. Turner and Donna K. Stone (Arcadia Publishing, Charleston SC, 2006.) It shows streets full of buggies and wagons, and sidewalks crowded with shoppers. The ladies and girls are wearing long dresses, and every man, woman and child is wearing a head covering of some sort. The sign on the Yost building reads, "Buggies. F.A. Yost Co."

Soon thereafter, around 1910, the Cayce-Yost partnership was formed. As time went by and business flourished, the Cayce-Yost Hardware Store took over F.A. Yost's saddle and harness shop. The Cayce-Yost Department Store occupied the building just to the north of the hardware store, and the Cayce-Yost Farm Store was located a few doors down the street to the south. A furniture store was located in the upper floors of another nearby building.

In a linen postcard of the 1940s (below,) Cayce Yost Hardware is located in the third building from right. (Note the distinctive round window at the top of the building.) I bought this postcard on eBay. This same card appears in Postcard History Series: Hopkinsville where it is dated "c. 1946."

End of the Cayce-Yost era

The last of the Cayce-Yost stores closed out completely in the early 1990s. We had only recently moved to Hopkinsville. I remember their close-out sale, the only time I was ever in any of the stores.

Apparently the Cayce Yost Hardware Store moved to a different location or closed not long after the picture postcard above was printed. The Kentucky New Era (subscription required) reports that Jim Noland’s Western Auto Store used the building from 1951 to 1980, and Bartholomew's Restaurant was in the building from 1982-1997. Several other restaurants have followed in recent years.

The Yost building today

Currently, a restaurant called "Timmons" is located on the first two floors of the Yost building. In the photo at right, you can see some diners at tables in the lower windows. The ground floor could be called a basement, I suppose. It's a couple of steps down from street level. The first floor is a few steps up.

The second floor has a banquet room, and the proprietors of the Timmons establishment, David and Michelle Norris, live on the top floor of the building.

The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Before the Timmons opened, a good deal of maintenance was done on the building, including replacement of all the windows on the 10th Street side of the building (all those you see in the photo at the top of this post.) Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Norris, for doing that.