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.

BGAD's Spaced-out Insignia

Here's a good shot of the Blue Grass Army Depot's logo, as it actually appears at their front gates. Click to enlarge.

In the foreground we have a depiction of what would appear to be Daniel Boone. Daniel Boone, of course, is a symbol of the pioneer. And what is the literal definition of being a pioneer? Leading the way in exploring unknown territory. Behind Boone's image we have a backdrop depicting a rocketship in space! The implications of this juxtaposition seem clearly to point to space exploration.

Coincidence? Possibly. But consider that much of the Depot houses private research facilities for the major NASA contractor Raytheon, as well as entities called Serv-Air and E-Systems, which are both also tentacles of Raytheon under different names.

The corporate watchdog group CorpWatch had this to say about E-Systems:

One of Raytheon's more secretive subsidiaries is E-Systems, whose major clients have historically been the CIA and other spy agencies like the National Security Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office. An unnamed Congressional aide told the Washington Post once that the company was ''virtually indistinguishable'' from the agencies it serves. ''Congress will ask for a briefing from E- Systems and the (CIA) program manager shows up,'' the aide is quoted as saying. ''Sometimes he gives the briefing. They're interchangeable.''

E-Systems is also the creator of the "Doomsday Plane", which would be the U.S. President's escape vehicle in the event of a nuclear attack, and double as a temporary airborne command post for the Pentagon and the White House.

It's also rather odd that there's a very prominent star on the image of Kentucky. Now, you'd think the purpose of said star would be to denote the location of the Depot... but the star's location isn't even close. Maybe the insignia designer took a drastic liberty with it, since Daniel Boone's figure is obscuring the actual location of the Depot? Why not just design it another way then?? The star seems to be on Lee County (which, according to rumor, was the location of a 1980's CIA psych-op installation - which may or may not still exist).

If anyone is able to recognize what, if any, specific star background area is shown in the logo, please let us know. (I wouldn't think that any specific constellations or actual star patterns would be depicted, but then again, I once read some conspiracy article that found some sort of arcane significance in the stars on NASA's insignia. I forget what now, though.)


Oh, and hey, did you know that Raytheon means ""light from the gods"?

The Maverick Club

The Maverick Club is a country-and-western nightclub on the outskirts of Richmond, KY, well known to locals as a local nightlife institution.

Many, many years ago, the Maverick was a pretty rough place by all accounts. When Jerry Lee Lewis played here in the late 1960s, he placed a wall of chickenwire between himself and the audience to protect himself from flying beer bottles, just like The Blues Brothers.

We've heard from a former employee that the place is haunted and that is it's not a happy haunting. We've also heard a story that in the 70s, someone was murdered in the club after closing time by someone he knew named Clarence, and that this Clarence left the stabbed man in the walk-in freezer to die as he went about robbing the place. But, as the story has it, the poor unfortunate fellow managed to write his murderer's name in his own blood on the wall inside the freezer. As the story goes, this, along with circumstantial evidence, was enough to convict the murderer. We'd love to get more details and verification on this story if anyone's got the scoop.

The Maverick of today, however, has been under new ownership since 2005 and is a much safer, comfier and cooler place to be, with national acts such as Confederate Railroad, David Allan Coe and T. Graham Brown. Check out their website and drop on in next time you're in Richmond. They're on 1507 East Main Street as you're headed out of town towards the Depot.

Photo above: The Maverick today. Below: The Maverick, back in the day.

The Blue Grass Army Depot

The Blue Grass Army Depot is located in Madison County, KY and is well known for being a storage facility for nerve gas. Each year they release free calendars to local citizens, as part of a public relations drive to show everyone "We're really just a simple ammo dump, and there's nothing to fear. Just ignore the Black Helicopters and UFOs. Really. Trust us."

Back in the early 90s, when I ran an antiques business from Richmond and Berea, I had a series of conversations with an eccentric old fellow (who will go unnamed here), who used to tell me a great deal of tall tales and unsubstantiated rumors about what was going on in the Depot. How he could possibly know this information, he refused to say. I do know he served in Vietnam, but that's the only military connection I ever gleaned for certain about him.

Among his grandiose claims were:

1. Alien technology recovered from a crashed alien spacecraft was being reverse-engineered and used in experimental aircraft being tested at the Depot.

2. He said he had it on authority from people he trusted, that the alien spacecraft was stored, at least at some point in time, underground at the Depot. Why Kentucky?, I asked. "They wouldn't keep it where everyone expects it", he said.

3.All manner of cutting-edge secret aircraft are tested at the Depot, including the Stealth Bomber, and many others that no one's ever heard of. He mentioned one such secret plane in particular, one that was completely invisible because its hull acted as both a camera and a monitor, projecting what was on one side of the plane to the other side, no matter what angle you were facing the plane from.

4.He said that the Depot was the military's main headquarters for Chemical Warfare, and that the first Gulf War was practically run from within the Depot.

He made a great many other wild claims, but these are the ones that are most relevant to our field of study here. At the time, I didn't take anything this person said too seriously. He didn't look or act like the type of guy you'd expect to have security clearance anyplace. He was pretty much drunk a large percentage of the time, too. But I often thought back to the bizarre "truths" he'd confided to me, especially when seeing UFOs in the area and hearing other talk about the UFOs they'd seen.

But gradually, I began to find out that at least some of what I had been told was true. The Blue Grass Army Depot is the main source for the Department of Defense's chemical weapons, according to information found right on their own web sites.

I considered his "invisible plane" story to be the most outlandish detail of all, even more so than the alien story. Then I found out years later that such an aircraft does exist, with a technology called "Electrochromatic Panels", which have been researched extensively by respected journalist Norio Hayakawa.

The more we learn about the Blue Grass Depot, the more questions arise. One thing is for certain, and that is they are not just a simple army ammo dump.


Were one to compile an exhaustive list of all UFO sightings in the Kentucky area (and more specifically, the Depot area), it would be massive enough for a site all its own. But UFOs do not get reported around here much anymore, even though they're seen on an almost nightly basis. It's something the locals have grown accustomed to, much like people near Area 51. One gentleman who resides within sight of the depot made that connection himself, saying "I guess you could say this is like the Area 51 of the South."

The types of UFO reported run the gamut of all the traditional variants: saucer-shaped, cigar-shaped, triangular, mystery lights, etc. Unmarked Black Helicopters are also a recurring sight, almost daily, in the area. They are frequently seen coming in and out of the depot, even in broad daylight. Some seem to be coming or going in the general direction of Fort Campbell, or sometimes the nearby Madison County Airport. Some are very advanced and of unknown make, others appear to be Blackhawks or "Little Birds".

There have also been numerous reports of the Stealth Bomber being seen in Kentucky, especially around the northern border near Cincinnati.


Above photo: note the charming bomb motif at the Depot's Operation Golden Cargo checkpoint.

Accusation of Dog Molestation Leads to Murder

Originally gleaned from News of the Weird:

In 1994 in East Bernstadt, KY, one Jimmy Humfleet was charged with the murder of his own uncle, Samuel Humfleet.

According to the local sheriff, Jimmy confessed to the murder and said he did it because he caught Samuel having sex with one of the two pit bulls belonging to the owner of the trailer in which they had been partying. Earlier that evening, Jimmy had called 911 twice to report the alleged dog-molestation.

A deputy arriving on the crime scene was attacked by the dog, which was foaming at the mouth. The deputy was forced to shoot and kill it.

An autopsy on Samuel turned up no dog hairs or other evidence of molestation.

Lynn's Paradise Cafe

Sort of like a Cracker Barrel for Louisville hipsters, Lynn's Paradise Cafe combines a freaky gift shop with a wackily festooned restaurant that looks like it was decorated by the same folks who did Pee-wee's Playhouse.

The gloriously tacky Lynn's style may be off-putting for some who cannot abide kitsch, but me, I love the place. Check 'em out next time you're in the 'ville - they're at 984 Barret Avenue in the Highlands.


For more pics and info about Lynn's, consult your copy of Weird Kentucky.

Henry Earl Goes to Rehab?

Here's an update for those of you still following Henry Earl's exploits after Jimmy Kimmel and the Internet made him, in the words of the Lexington Herald-Leader's Brandon Ortiz, "the most famous homeless man in America".

On Thursday, October 16, Henry had his umpteenth court hearing for a public drunkenness charge, but this time things went a little differently. Henry, who last held a job in 1969, has a pro bono lawyer now named Stephen Gray McFayden, who reportedly is trying to get Henry into rehab at The Hope Center in Lexington.

Read the full story here.

Black Helicopters in Kentucky

You may not be aware that the "black helicopters" of X-Files lore are indeed real, and that they're based in Kentucky, of all places.

You can spot all the black unmarked copters you want at the 160th Spec-Ops Aviation Regiment (SOAR) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Their craft, known as "Little Birds" (but they look more like Little Bugs to me) use a specially-formulated CARC paint which protects from chemical attacks but is also non-radar reflective to help them do whatever it is they're doing out there.

(Wait a minute - did I say "protects from chemical attacks"? What kind of chemical attacks are they expecting, anyway? What the heck are they doing out there?)

The copters are used for all manner of covert purposes related to Special Operations, which can cover quite a lot - and most of it we're not supposed to know about.


The motto of the 160th is "Death waits in the Dark", and their insignia is the grim reaper riding a pale horse with wings.

You can see some interesting video footage of these "Little Birds" at the Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum, and there's even a real one - a CARC-painted McDonnell-Douglas AH-6 Cayuse, to be exact - on display, hanging from the ceiling. There's also a huge exhibit devoted to Ft.Campbell's important role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, some captured Nazi souvenirs from World War II, and a rare (one of only four left in the world) CG-4 Waco Cargo Glider, which visitors can actually climb into.

Even if you couldn't care less about seeing the Cigarette-Smoking Man's unmarked helicopters, visiting the Pratt Museum is highly recommended. Enter the Fort through Gate 4 and have your ID ready. Closed Sundays.

Meanwhile, black helicopters can also be seen buzzing across the state, and especially in and out of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County, often to a helipad very close to the road. The photo above is a black helicopter zipping across the sky above Brodhead, KY.

The Catalina Motel

Oh lordy lordy lordy. If this motel could talk.

Well, if any motel could talk, you'd have enough bizarre and poignant anecdotes about the human condition than you could stomach... but this motel is something special. The drapes, the carpet, the pool, the pillows, the towels, they all radiate a certain mythic resonance. And I mean that in a good way.

Someday I'll file a report divulging all I have learned in my years of research in this wondrously retro commercial lodging facility (as well as The Glyndon Hotel, among others), but it'll have to come later in life when I release my epic multi-volume tell-all autobiography Transmissions From Agent J. But now just ain't the time and this blog ain't the place.

Like life on the streets, though, the Catalina's life on the sheets isn't all romance. In 1997, Steven Lee Fox was murdered here by Aaron Leaf Rivers, who didn't plead guilty to it until 2007, the case being officially unsolved until then.

As part of a plea agreement, Rivers was transferred to a state prison in Kentucky from the super-maximum Red Onion State Prison in Virginia, where he was already serving a 35-year sentence. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Rivers' long criminal record includes six persistent felony offender counts, two robbery charges, assault, burglary and theft by unlawful taking, arson, possession of a fake ID, and mailing fake anthrax to former Governor Paul Patton.

Also according to the Herald-Leader, this drama unfolded in room 208. And the motel is located at 208 West New Circle Road. Numerologists among us, you may now go apoplectic.



Anyone have old-school postcards and pictures of the Catalina in its 50's heyday? Tip me if you can hip me.

Anthropomorphic Barbershop

This barbershop in Richmond has a face. And at night, after a round of drinks at the Maverick Club, it talks to us in a voice only we can hear. For real, dog.

Wigwam Village

Not to be confused with the Wig Wam Restaurant, Wigwam Village is one of Kentucky's most famed and enduring examples of 20th century mimetic architecture. Each motel room unit is a separate stone teepee, as well as the main office building. Amazingly, even though this tourist trap of a bygone era was originally built in 1937, it still stands today and hasn't been torn down by blasé land developers.

The main teepee is made up of 38 tons of concrete, 13 tons of steel, and stands 52 feet high. Used to have a restaurant back in the day, but sadly that's been long gone for decades. They do still have quite a thriving and wacky gift shop though.

Of the seven original Wigwam Villages, only three remain today. The other two are out West, in Arizona and California.

Does anyone out there own any memorabilia from the Wigwam Village, specifically the Kentucky one? Pictured below is a postcard from the now-vanished Florida one:


Wigwam Village is located at 601 North Dixie Highway, Cave City, KY. Call (270) 773-3381 to make reservations.

Casino industry calls for Kentucky boycott

As previously reported here, Governor Steve Beshear is spearheading a drive to confiscate internet domain names from gambling websites (even ones in other countries) because it is claimed they violate Kentucky law.

This idea, to anyone who has even the most basic clue how the internet works, is barking mad. A Kentucky judge cannot take over a Costa Rican website for violating Kentucky gambling laws any more than an Iranian judge can hijack an American swimsuit site for violating Iranian modesty laws.

Predictably enough, people are not taking this lying down and are now unfortunately calling for a boycott of Kentucky products, especially relating to the racing industry. Needless to say, we at Unusual Kentucky do not support such a boycott, but I can certainly see why a lot of people are ticked off at our Governor right now. I saw this rant today on Online Casino Advisory site:

"We call upon our friends and competitors in the casino news industry to help us reach the public with this call to boycott. If the Poker Players Alliance can get its members to refuse Kentucky products, especially gambling ones, that will send a message to Beshear. If the PPA can get protesters to carry signs in front of Churchill Downs, that would be a public display of our united anger.

If you are a resident of Kentucky, buy your lottery tickets across state borders, or online from another state. If you attend Kentucky tracks, drive to Indiana or other states featuring full racinos. If you live near the state border, buy groceries and cigarettes outside Kentucky."

I don't wish to see our state's economy damaged or hampered in any way, and I call upon Gov. Beshear to please get help and seek the counsel of experts who understand Internet law. This insane scheme to censor websites and confiscate their domain names is doomed to fail, but in the meantime it's obviously going to hurt Kentucky's economy, which we especially don't need at this time when the nation's economy is at an all time low. I also call upon the Democratic Party of Kentucky to quietly take Mr. Beshear aside and attempt to talk some sense into him, before his massive mistake takes the entire party down.