Ghosts of Sue Bennett College

In the 19th century, Kentuckian Sue Bennett was a teacher and social activist who sought to improve education in impoverished rural areas. She and her sister Belle Bennett (not to be confused with the vaudeville actress of the same name) raised $40,000 - a considerable sum of money in the late 1800s! - to found their own school. Sue died before the project was completed, and Belle opened it in London, KY in 1897, calling it the Sue Bennett Memorial School in her sister's honor.

After a century of success, Sue Bennett College was forced to close down in 1997. For reasons that are somewhat opaque to me, the Federal Government rescinded their funding, on which they had come to completely depend. Oprah Winfrey tried to intercede by calling attention to the school's plight on her TV show, but it was to no avail. Sue Bennett College joined the graveyard of defunct Kentucky colleges like Southeastern Christian College (Winchester), Bethel College (Hopkinsville), Lees College (Jackson), Lexington Baptist College (Lexington), Urania College (Glasgow), Pleasant J. Potter College, (Bowling Green), and Cedar Bluff College (Woodburn).


The buildings are still there, however. Some have been repurposed but the ghosts of the school remain. According to the Shadowlands: "They say the dorms and the theater are haunted and that Belle Bennett roams the halls all night playing the piano’s turning off and on lights and watching people sleep that still stay there if you go in your sure to find something." (misspelling and typos retained from original source).

Meanwhile, Theresa says: "a former student also shared information on a suicide that ocurred on the 2nd floor of Helm Hall. The apparition of the young lady who hung herself in that dorm is reported to have been seen more often than Belle." (I'm not sure how anyone would know whether the ghost in question is Belle or the suicide victim or someone else entirely, but there you have it.)

The biggest ghost haunting Laurel County seems to be that of the college itself. Many locals are still lamenting its passing, and hoping that some sort of higher education institution might form and put these college buildings back on track to their intended purpose.

Prisoner Escapes During Bathroom Break

A manhunt is underway in Laurel County tonight for 50-year-old Ricky Allen, who escaped from the courthouse by asking the judge for time to talk to his lawyer alone. Once they were in chambers, Allen then told his attorney that he needed to use the rest room - and he never came back.

Allen had been facing two dozen charges of theft and burglary in London, and was expected to plead guilty.

Carl Hurley Lane

Kentucky comedian Carl Hurley now has a street named after him in London, KY.

The former Eastern Kentucky University professor, perhaps best known for his best-selling book We Weren't Poor - We Just Didn't Have Any Money, recently had "Carl Hurley Lane" dedicated in his honor, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of Weaver's Hot Dogs on London's Main Street.

Hurley, who was born in East Bernstadt, is world renowned for his gentle, easygoing rural storytelling style, an example of which can be seen on YouTube by clicking here. He's been a regular on the Grand Ole Opry and Renfro Valley, and is currently finding popularity with a whole new younger audience on XM Satellite Radio.

World's Largest Skillet

It may not look a whole lot like a skillet (they have a detachable handle that they put on it for photo-ops) but it certainly counts as one - and man, is the chicken dee-lish. I haven't been to London's annual World Chicken Festival lately and probably won't make it there this year either, but I miss it greatly. Next year. It's there that you'll find this amazing monument to man's devotion to fried birds.

The World Chicken Festival was originally held in Corbin, but they moved it to nearby London as the event grew and became far bigger than anyone dreamed. There's plenty of flea-market vendors, musical acts, and other entertainments, but the real centerpiece of the Festival to me is the World's Largest Skillet. Who can say it isn't beautiful?

It's 10 feet 6 inches in diameter, and it weighs 700 pounds. It can cook 885 quarters of chicken at one time, and requires 300 gallons of peanut oil to do so. They also use approximately 375 pounds of flour, 75 pounds of salt, 30 pounds of pepper, and 30 pounds of paprika. On average, 8,000 pieces of chicken are prepared each year on the giant skillet.

Former Lawrenceburg mayor and Harland Sanders lookalike Colonel Bob Thompson (seen below at the Derby) is a regular guest at the Festival.


(photo of the superskillet is by Daveblog.)

White Castle Wedding in Laurel County

As Billy Idol sorta-almost said, "It's a nice day for a White Castle Wedding".

On Saturday, March 21, a couple who met and fell in love at the White Castle in London, KY, tied the knot in that same restaurant.

According to the Corbin Times-Tribune, "The White Castle closed its dining room Saturday morning and employees transformed the fast-food booths into a candle-lit reception area. Sun streamed in through the restaurant’s windows as the drive-thru window was briefly shutdown so that the smiling bride could make her way down the aisle and exchange vows with the man she loves".

Their cake was shaped like a giant White Castle burger, realistic down to details like onions made of frosting. White Castle burgers, fries and chicken rings were also served at the wedding reception.

Bride and groom were seen bolting hurriedly for the restrooms about 30 minutes later. (Okay, I made that part up.)

Space Debris in Southern Kentucky?

According to WKYT-TV last night:

27 NEWSFIRST started receiving phone calls tonight telling us a loud boom, or series of booms were heard this evening in Southern Kentucky. So we called emergency officals, to find out what is going on.

Brian Reams of the Laurel county EMS tells us they've had calls from Jackson to London, about a loud boom. He says there are no reports of any injuries or damage.

In the last little bit, Reams says he's been told by the state police in London that according to the FAA, the boom is from falling debris, coming from two satellites that collided in space. The debris re-entering the atmosphere caused the loud boom, and then burned up before hitting earth. Reams says it could have covered a 500 mile area.

I just checked and sure enough, there was a collision between two satellites in space, but it was last Tuesday.

So, if the FAA has indeed advised the police that pieces of satellites are raining on Kentucky, shouldn't that be considerable cause for alarm? It's a bit weird that this news story is more concerned with the 'boom' sound rather than the fact that chunks of hot metal are apparently falling on us, and I don't necessarily accept the assurance that they're all burning up before they reach the ground.

If anyone finds any burnt metal they believe to be a piece of the space debris, let me know! I'd be very interested in examining it.

Dairy Dart

Continuing our ongoing obsession with the state of Kentucky's rapidly vanishing old retro diners, hamburger stands, and ice cream stands, the Dairy Dart in London has always been a favorite. While all their wares are worthy, it's their banana malt shake that gets me to make a special trip all the way out there.

Not sure what the Dairy Dart's history is. Any local old-timers out there have memories of it from way back in the day?


The Dairy Dart is located at 1255 S Main St, London, KY.

The Silver Diner

The older you get and the more things change, the more stuff gets complicated. I find I'm gradually turning into one of those old codgers who, when asked directions, tell you "we-e-llll, you go down what used to be called Walnut Street, then take a right at what used to be Grimplemeyer's Florist, and then you'll see the vacant lot where the old Fonebone Building used to be."

Back in the day, there was Cain's Diner in downtown Richmond, across from where the old post office used to be on Water Street, see.

Meanwhile, in Laurel County, we had the fine, fine, super-fine establishment known as the Silver Diner in London, KY (see first photo). The Silver Diner was always a favorite retro-eatery of ours, and was featured on our old site for years. Sadly, I hear tell that The Silver Diner of London has closed its doors.

But this morning it was brought to my attention that Cain's Diner is under new management yet again (for like the third time - Cain himself passed on years ago) and has now changed its name to, yes, you guessed it, the Silver Diner (see second photo). As if all of this isn't confusing enough, the MySpace page for this new incarnation of Cain's/Silver Diner is called Mama Carol's Diner. It's baffling, it's mystifying, it's more than one man can stomach.

Just prior to starting this blog entry, I made a phone call out to this diner car once called Cain's and now called Silver and maybe also called Mama Carol's, to try to sort out the tangled strands of factoids like spaghetti in the chili. Unfortunately, I was told by whoever answered the phone that they were too busy to talk. And that's fair enough. If I was a businessman in a hurry at their lunch counter, I'd be sayin' "get off the raprod and bring me my damn pancakes, lady" myself.

I look forward to trying the grub at this new improved version of the diner and if you've eaten there lately yourself, send us a report!

Dogpatch Trading Post

Those who were appalled by my soapboaxing on the Li'l Abner Motel entry, rejoice: I'll be brief on this one. It's simply another cherished (by me) example of those good ol' days when the hillbilly meme ruled the world.

Since 1950, this wacky barn in London, KY has been home to the most god-awful gag gifts and hillbilly tourist tack imaginable, bless its pea-pickin' heart. Named after the locale in which the hillbilly comic strip Li'l Abner is set, the Dog Patch Trading Post is still the #1 purveyor of Americana-flavored delightful crap such as coal sculptures, ersatz Native American "dream catchers", Elvis posters, Confederate Flags, weird shot glasses, faux-rustic furniture, and a parking lot full of bizarre concrete lawn ornaments for sale (which in itself is worth the drive). There are lots of interesting Outsider-Art wood sculptures and totem poles. You can also have your picture taken with your head protruding from a hilariously crude painted hillbilly body.

We love the Dogpatch Trading Post. You will too. You'll come for the John Deere lunchboxes, you'll stay for the country ham.

Or, you can visit them on the web at dogpatchtradingpost.com.

Branch Davidians in Kentucky

Do you remember the controversial religious group known as the Branch Davidians? After the tragic events of the U.S. Government's botched raid on the Koresh Compound in Waco, TX, the Branch Davidians moved their base of operations to Kentucky, believe it or not.

This online church directory lists them: Branch Davidians/Church of the Seven Seals/Hidden Manna, PO Box 2166, London, KY, 40741. It also provides their web address, http://www.branchdavidian.com.

According to the sporadically truthy Wikipedia, the Hidden Manna Branch Davidians believe that David Koresh will come back from the dead and return to his flock in the year 2012. The article also notes that they originally had set the date to August 6, 2000, then moved it to October 20, and now have postponed it yet again, this time to 2012.

The sect's beliefs are complex, and though I've read their entire eleven-chapter book, I can't really say I'm able to make heads or tails of it. Their doctrine, which utilizes some Apocryphal texts like the Book of Esdras, have an almost quantum-physics-like mindset. They state that our lives are an illusion operating on more than one timeline, and that our current perceived reality is one that is currently being "replayed" like an old tape. I quote from Chapter One:

"Since our world has already been destroyed by a comet's impact at the end of this world's first timeline, it means everything that existed or exists is being reproduced in God's universal mind. There are many almost simultaneous replays of our generation taking place in the mind of God. Throughout these replays, the people with a righteous spirit dwelling in their minds are being saved. If a person experiences a traumatic death, the mind of God may still manifest that person in a ghost state.

This person may or may not realize they are dead. However, by reminding the mind of God that this ghost (or ghosts) should not be among the manifested living, the ghost generally disappears (becomes unconscious). A medium may be able to recall a spirit/ghost from the mind of God. This is particularly true if the medium knows the name of the spirit/ghost and is located near the area where the person was killed - since the proximity to the area of death creates a better connection to God's memory concerning the deceased individual. In reality, the deceased and the living are all dead, except the so-called living are playing an active part in the mind of God, just as they played in the first timeline. The many Christian religions erroneously believe that manifestations of the dead are demons/fallen angels. Obviously, Christendom is not taking into consideration Isaiah 8:19, Revelation 6:9-11 or the many replays taking place according to Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10.

All events of the past and present, and many replays of these events, are all taking place in the one mind of Elohiym. Sometimes, an event of a past generation, which took place at a location, may bleed/ghost into the same location in the present generation. This is likened to watching a channel on television while another channel can sometimes faintly be seen mixing with the present channel that is being watched."

Interestingly, an image of Comet Hale-Bopp appears on the cover graphic for their book. Hale-Bopp was, you might recall, of great importance to another alternative religion called Heaven's Gate. Both Koresh and Heaven's Gate placed great symbolic significance on the mysterious "lampstands" mentioned in Exodus and Revelation.