The Bullitt County History Museum

It Happened in November

The following article by Charles Hartley originally appeared in The Pioneer News on 30 Nov 2020. It is archived here for your reading enjoyment.


We will be looking back 24, 50, 75, and 100 years to see what was being printed in The Pioneer News in 1996, 1970, 1945, and 1920 in the month of November.

1996 - 24 Years Ago.

The Bullitt Central Cougars ended their football season with a 59-0 victory over Atherton. They were led by senior running back Ronnie Winter who scored five touchdowns on 152 yards of offense. The second half began with a 48-yard drive that ended with Jack McGuire going 10 yards, quarterback J. T. Burden adding 14 yards to the end zone.


Scotty Richardson

The Bullitt East Chargers ended their season with a 14-6 victory over Taylor County. Eric Bentley scored their first touchdown on a nine yard run after quarterback Clifton Brunson and wide receiver Wayne Livers connected three times to move the ball down the field.

And the North Bullitt Eagles defeated Waggener 36-13 to win the district football championship, led by senior running back Kevin Crisp who collected 183 yards on 23 carries, and scored 5 times. Also contributing were Danny Bell with a 16 yard punt return, Jimmy Phillips who recovered a Waggener fumble on their 20 yard line, and Scotty Richardson who was pictured in the paper looking for a hole in the Waggener line as he rushed for 37 yards.


Olivia Korfhage


Bobby Darnell


Rodney Burress

The Eagles continued their winning ways with a 21-0 win over Woodford, followed by a 20-12 victory over Harrison County, before losing the regional final to Montgomery County 27-24.


Andrea Motsch

Olivia Korfhage, daughter of Paul and Andilyn Korfhage, and a member of the Bullitt East band, was the only Bullitt County student to be accepted by the Louisville Youth Orchestra.

Andrea Motsch was pictured in the "lock up" as part of the fund raiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Bobby Darnell was selected as Lion of the Year by the Mt. Washington Lion's Club. Darnell, who had served as both vice president and president of the club, had first become involved when the club sponsored a running event.


Ressor Newton

The Lebanon Junction High School Alumni Association was trying to raise money to provide a proper marker for the gravesite of a former coach, teacher, and school leader, Reesor Newton whose legacy at the school began in 1935. It appears that they were very successful.

Four Mt. Washington girls were performing with the Louisville Ballet during the holiday classic, The Nutcracker. They included Lori Moore and Morgan Hamilton of Old Mill Elementary, and Celeste and Elyse Bova of Mt. Washington Elementary.

Mike Mann's job as Commonwealth's Attorney was made a full-time position, and Rodney Burress became an assistant in that office following the resignation of Anne McAfee.


Brandon Tindle

Melissa Halbauer, daughter of Greg and Cindy Halbauer, was selected as Miss WinterFest at the Mount Washington WinterFest Pageant. Placing second and third were Devona Spears and Wendy Haight.

Patricia Baker was named Junior Miss Winterfest with second and third going to Amber Renee Davis and Brandy Wilkerson. Jennifer White was declared most photogenic in this category.

Brandon Tindle, a Bullitt East junior, captured the role of Buster in The Glass Christmas Tree, a production at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

And then we come to a remarkable lady. Marian McGee, daughter of William and Lizzie (Barnes) McGee, was born in November 1889. She married Clarence Porter in September 1910. He died in an automobile accident a mile south of the Salt River bridge on the Jackson Highway in April 1937, leaving her and her son William to run their grocery store. Fifty-nine years later, Lois Simmons of Pleasant Grove wished a belated birthday to Mrs. Marian Porter, then 107 years old!

1970 - 50 Years Ago.


Mrs. Zoye Major

Congratulations were in order for Mrs. Zoye Thompson Major who had been selected as Bullitt County's Teacher of the Year. She and her husband Monroe Major were fixtures in our schools for many years.

Mt. Washington turned out for a special day of recognition for Mr. J. E. Fisher, one of the community's "most loved citizens." There was a parade through town, followed by a banquet celebration at the high school. Among his accomplishment, Mr. Fisher was a charter member of the Mt. Washington Lions Club.

G. K. Bass of Mt. Washington wrote that Philip Moore and his wife Linda were the proud parents of a baby daughter they named Danielle. Moore had been stationed in the Phillippines before being transferred by the air force to Florida.

Clara Simmons of Pleasant Grove reported that Gilbert Nation and his wife were building a new home; that Mr. and Mrs. Jacky Holland entertained a host of people for Sunday dinner including her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Stallings, her brother Norman Stallings and his family, and a number of others.

Mrs. Bennie Cornett entertained the Breezeway Beauty Salon operators to a luncheon. The guests included Mrs. Beulah Maraman, Mrs. Darlene Maraman, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Russell, and Mrs. Mildred Ratliff.

The Hebron correspondent reported that the Bullitt County Saddle Club directors had their meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Bischoff. Also reported was the dinner meeting at Heritage House attended by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ball, Mrs. Hathaway Quick, and Miss Mary Cynthia Holsclaw.


Mr. and Mrs. Perry Gooch

Susie Cave of Lebanon Junction reported that Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Nalley's son-in-law, Sp/4 Charles Morgan was wounded in Vietnam, and transferred from a hospital in Japan to Ireland Hospital at Fort Knox.

The eight children, twenty-three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Gooch helped them celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary.


Hattie Mae Monroe

The "Ol Country Store" in Bardstown Junction owned by Mr. and Mrs. William B. Kennedy burned to the ground. The building had been about a century old.

The paper reported the death of Mrs. Hattie Mae Monroe. Mrs. Monroe, the former Hattie Mae Buckman, had been the school board treasurer for fifteen years. She was survived by her husband, Jerome Monroe, her brother J. D. "Jiggs" Buckman, and her sister Mrs. T. L. (Mary) Cook.

Miss Cora Ney Hardy, a missionary to Nigeria, was staying in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hardy while on furlough.

And the Bullitt Central Cafeteria staff were pictured during an open house. Included were Zelma Dever, Thelma Morrison, Ethel Armstrong, Margie Gentry, Doris Dawson, Nancy Stotts, Pearl Tracy, Tony McCamant, Mary Dell Meyer (manager), Opal Gibson, and Martha Ashbaugh.

1945 - 75 Years Ago.

In Mt. Washington news, Billy Bleemel and Geraldine Simpson were married at the bride's home. Attending were the bride's sister Louise, and the groom's brother Bernie. Geraldine was a daughter of Will Simpson; Billy was a son of Matt Bleemel.

In Lebanon Junction school news, we learn that the seniors elected an annual staff including Editor-in-Chief Fay Masden, Assistant Editor Virginia Sidebottom, Sports Editors Rita Hayden and Frank Booth, Advertising Managers Elsie Lamb and Margie Roller, Business Manager Alda Faye Thompson, and Photographers Barbara Masden and June Shane. Class editors were Helen Wise (12), Dorothy Sweat (11), Martha N. Masden (10), Virginia Sidebottom (9), Alden F. Thompson and Dorothy Sweat (7-8). Miss McKendree was their faculty advisor.

The following county officials were running unopposed in the November election: County Judge C. P. Bradbury, County Attorney Lindsay Ridgway, County Court Clerk T. L. Cook, Circuit Court Clerk Nancy Strange, County Tax Commissioner Clyde E. Roby, Sheriff Hobart L. Roby, and Coroner Tom Hibbs.

In the Personals column we read that James H. Hardy Jr. and Albert McAhron drove to Notre Dame at South Bend where McAhron enrolled as a student. We also learned that the little son of Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Napier broke his arm.

Six young people from Shepherdsville were injured in an automobile accident near Lawrenceburg. Alden Jones, the driver, was hospitalized with a fractured knee and cuts. Delores Robinson was there with a broken arm and cuts. Harold Boyd was at home with a broken arm; Charles Woods was in the hospital with a broken leg and injured feet; Marilyn Miller was there with a fractured jaw and arm; and Mary Shelton was at home with a possible shoulder fracture.

Lt. Lindsay Melton Wigginton arrived in California from the Pacific and phoned his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Wigginton of Mt. Washington with the news that he would be home soon for leave before being discharged. I see from other sources that Lt. Wigginton served as a pilot during both World War II and the Korean Conflict.

The Lebanon Junction correspondent identified three of the local servicemen who were returning home with their honorable discharges. They included Sgt J. F. Fowler, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fowler; James Snyder; and T-Sgt. Billie R. Coleman who brought with him his new wife, Pauline, a native of Iowa.

A week later the same correspondent named Billie Ben Jenkins, J. F. Sullivan, Billie Fowl, brothers Ben and Andrew Wise, and Horace Greenwell all as returning servicemen.

Happy reunions were taking place all over the county. In Mt. Washington, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Clark were excited to have their daughter Lt. Frances Clark and their son Milton Clark returning home. Milton had been in the Coast Guard aboard the USS William B. Black. Milton's civilian career was as a furniture and cabinet maker. Frances had been an army nurse, serving part of her time in London during the Blitz. After the service she would travel to California, and marry Kenneth Beach.

The big dairy and stock barn on O. H. Masden's place a half mile south of Shepherdsville was engulfed in flames on a Saturday night. The fire was discovered by Elnora Maraman and Joseph Bryant who spotting the fire on their way home, and they helped Mr. Masden get his livestock out of the burning barn. The rest was a total loss.

And August Schulz of Clermont was offering his farm of 346 acres for sale. Also known as the old Joe Taylor farm, it was located one mile east of Clermont. I wonder who bought it.

1920 - 100 Years Ago.

In the school news column we read, "Leola Owen, the little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Owens died last week of diphtheria at the home of her grandfather, J. C. Dickey. She was a pupil in the Greenbriar School and was a bright, sweet little girl."

In these days of COVID-19, we may still be grateful for the medical advances that protect us from scourges like diphtheria.

In other school news, Miss Willie May Ridgway, the popular young teacher at Oak Grove, introduced Domestic Art into her school which was enjoyed by both pupils and patrons.

This was the first election after the passage of the 19th Amendment, and the editor wrote, "At Belmont, Grandma Skaggs, age 98, cast her first vote!" This was likely Martha Skaggs, age 94, mother of Charley Skaggs who lived on Bolton Street.


Mary Ellen Barrall

Other elderly ladies casting their first vote were Mrs. Mary Ellen Barrall of Mt. Eden, Mrs. Martha Wells Rouse of Solitude, Mrs. Ellen Monroe, Mrs. Melissa Miller, and Mrs. Sallie Samuels.

Federal officers, with the assistance of Sheriff Croan and deputies, arrested J. H. Bolton, of near Cedar Grove, for running a moonshine still. They captured the still which they destroyed, with 85 gallons of mash. It was the first moonshine captured in Bullitt County since Prohibition began.

Walter Armstrong was seriously injured by having his clothes caught in a hay press. But for the quick thinking of George Osborne in shutting down the engine, Armstrong might have been killed. Although his injuries included several lacerations, he was back to work on the farm three days later.

A letter was received from Miss Ina Fern Foster, who was teaching school in Glendale, Arizona, bringing the good news she was rapidly improving in health and was hard at work every day. A local girl who taught school in the county for several years, she had moved to Arizona for her health. Sadly, we have to report that she died there the following year of pneumonia.


Mrs. Sarah O'Brien

The paper printed an extensive obituary for Mrs. Sarah Hardy O’Brien, widow of the late William O’Brien, and proprietor of the well known O’Brien Hotel of Shepherdsville, who died at her home the evening of November 9, after an illness of more than three weeks. After services at the Catholic Church conducted by Rev. Father Pitt, her remains were taken to Louisville and buried there in St. Louis Cemetery.

G. S. Patterson sold his Shepherdsville store and opened one in Louisville.

Bertie Coleman, Ophelia Coleman and T. C. Coleman posted a notice banning any hunting on their farm north of Shepherdsville near Gap-in-Knob.

Dr. Kerr was building a new drug store by his residence on Main Street in Shepherdsville.

Dr. Ridgway, Miss Willie May Ridgway, R. P. Smith, T. C. Carroll and Mrs. Carroll spent a Saturday at Lexington watching the great game between State and Centre College. Centre won that game 49-0.

Speaking of State College, we read that Elizabeth Weller, Mary Stallings, and Samuel T. Ridgway Jr, were attending there and progressing splendidly with their studies. Ridgway was trying out for the school basketball team. I hear he did all right at it too!


Matt & Wava

The Hebron correspondent wrote that "Mr. James Fegenbush, Mrs. Fegenbush, Mr. William Huber, all of Whitfield, and Miss Mary Cynthia Holsclaw were dinner guests Sunday of Dr. J. R. Holsclaw and Mrs. Holsclaw." You could always count on the name Holsclaw to appear somewhere in that column.

Due to ill health, J. W. Masden was selling his 150 acre farm located a mile from Belmont along the railroad.

And Wava Dickey and Matt Bleemel surprised their friends by going to Jeffersonville and being quietly married. I understand they reared quite a family.


Copyright 2020 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.


The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 13 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/happened/nov2020.html