Two Hendersonians Are Delegates to the 1864 Democratic Convention

Senator Lazarus Powell and John Y. Brown, both from Henderson were among the Kentucky delegation that attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August of 1864. They would nominate George McClellan of New Jersey  for President and George H. Pendleton for Vice President.

Kentucky's delegation had two opposing factions, Brown and Powell represented one faction and George Prentice and James Guthrie represented another. Both Guthrie and Powell appeared on the 1st Vice Presidential Ballot before the vote shifts. Guthrie actually received 65.5 votes, Powell received 32.5 and Pendleton received 55.5 and the remaining delegates were split between five other contenders. But after the 1st Ballot shifts Pendleton received all 226 votes.

Lincoln was not without ardent Kentucky supporters, Robert C. Breckinridge, Cassius M.Clay, and Joshua Speed were among them. But in the General Election in the fall Lincoln received 26,592 civilian votes to McClellan's 61,478. Lincoln received 1,205 Kentucky soldiers' votes and McClellan received 3,608.

McClellan - Pendleton Campaign of 1864

1864 Presidential Vote - McClellan carries one state 

Special thanks to Thomas D. Clark and his A History of Kentucky published in 1988.

On This Date - Henderson History

The History of Henderson County, Kentucky was still on my desk this morning. I decided to flip through the 1000+ pages and discovered there is a history section by date. Did you know on this date in in 1929 the city school board adopted a budget of $154,100 for the 1929 - 1930 school year, a figure slightly lower than the previous year's budget.

And on this date in 1954 the Henderson County Soil conservation District became official with the election of its first board of directors and approval of a work program. The following officers were elected:

• Frank Street - Chairman
• G.H. McMurtry - Secretary - Treasurer
• James McConathy - Vice Chairman
• George Crafton & Hugh Jones - Board Members

And on this date in 1974 the City-County Planning Commission approved a zoning change by the Henderson Golf & Country Club to allow a new clubhouse and golf course to be on their site on U.S. 60 East.

Special thanks to Frieda Dannheiser and Donald Hazelwoood for their History of Henderson County, published 1980.

Here it is! The Old Purple House

We bought the house, sight unseen, when we first moved back to Henderson in 1998. Even though my husband had never seen the house painted purple, if anyone asked where we lived, he always responded "the old purple house". He had never seen the house painted purple until I brought this picture home this week. I found the picture in the files at the Kentucky Historical Society. They included it in the filing for  the Alves Historical District Application. I actually think it looks pretty good purple. It may be a good thing I didn't have this picture when I was picking out paint last year for the house.

724 Center Street in the 1980's

Renderings - The project starts to feel real

I called Dennie Branson today and like him immediately. I learned that he used to own an Italianate house up the street next to the funeral home. Sadly, it has since been torn down. But he clearly understood old house issues. He was great. He knew exactly what to do.  I quickly realized that Horace & I would be out of town when Planning and Zoning met next, but Dennie was confident that he and Tim could handle it. And after talking to Dennie I was confident too.


Dennie said we needed actual pictures of the house and computer renderings of what the addition was going to look like. This is when the project really came alive. The renderings took the flat drawings and showed you what it might really look like. After three years of imagining the addition I got a real picture. Now I had to control my enthusiasm, after all, we didn't have the variance, we didn't have the financing and even if we had both it is getting awfully late in the year to start such a large project.

The portico and driveway really made the project. Those two elements to me pulled the project together. Without them I think the addition would feel incomplete. And the convenience of a driveway after 12 years of parking on the street would make me feel like we were living in a new house.

Tim tied the portico in to the house so that there were two permanent parking spaces plus a circular drive. You could park and walk into the new side entrance. The kitchen would only be steps away.



   

A Kitchen Designer?

So Tim says upfront I am not an interior designer. He says that you can call a custom cabinet shop and they will help you lay out a kitchen. But I have a client whose wife is a Certified Kitchen Designer, so I call her instead. Her name is Suzi Brock and she is in Tallahassee Florida. I contact her first through Linked In. And that's how our long distance relationship begins. I had contact Suzi several months earlier but I wasn't in any hurry so we really hadn't made any progress until I contact her again this month.

I now have a pretty solid idea of the space we have to work with and I have my dream list ready to share with anyone willing to listen. I have collected pictures from kitchen design magazines for nearly three years. I don't know what I can afford but I know what I want.

The wish list I share with Suzi is pretty long:

• Commercial Grade Stove;
• A warming oven;
• A double drawer dishwasher and maybe a regular dishwasher;
• Two Islands;
• Two sinks;
• Lots of storage; and
• A wine captain.

Horace and I want to work in the kitchen together, but we have very different styles and need distinct space. We want to entertain and have plenty of seating area around the kitchen islands. I want a pizza oven but know they are prohibitively expensive, but I have seen counter height gas logs that create the same look. I want a hood over the range and a maybe a pot rack.

I think after I have shared all this with Suzi we'll have a drawing that works in no time. But Suzi is a professional and she knows there is a lot more to it than a wish list. Suzi, like Tim, proves sometimes you just need a professional.

So Suzi sends me a list of questions for homework:

• How high will the ceilings be?
• Melodie's height _______________, right or left handed
• Horace's height ________________,  right or left handed
• Grocery shopping - daily, weekly basis, in bulk
• Do you know yet what material you will use on the floor?
• Any children/others living in the house?
• Any pets __________, if so, where are they fed and do you know of any specific provisions you want/need?
• Where do you intend to eat daily meals; do you want a table in the kitchen or is bar/island seating sufficient?
• What entrance will you use to bring in groceries?
• When entertaining do you have a sit down meal or buffet? 
• Are there any physical limitations or dietary needs to accommodate?
• Do you use the microwave for cooking or simply reheating?
• Do you do any specialty cooking: baking, canning, pasta making, etc, with special equipment that needs to be considered?
• Thinking of your current kitchen, previous kitchens you've worked in and any friends kitchens:  what did you like, what did you dislike?
• Do you like symmetry or asymmetry?
• You mentioned a private garden off the kitchen ~ will that be behind the house or through the double french doors off the family room?
• Do you like having a pot rack?

The questions seem simple, we'll have to wait and see if this is simple.

The Old Purple House

We bought this big, old house in 1998 sight unseen. We were moving from Paducah to Henderson. We rented our home in Paducah to a plant manager relocating to the area and we had to move within 60 days. We had looked at some properties but couldn't find anything big enough within our price range. I showed Horace, my husband, the ad for the auction. He said we didn't need an old house and left for work three counties away. I immediately called my Mother in Henderson and asked if she had seen it. No. But my Aunt went to the open house the weekend before so we immediately did a three way call. Aunt Mary said it was very big and in pretty good shape. Mom drove by the house and called me. She said I would remember the house, it was purple when I was a kid. She said its taupe now and I would love it. So we agreed that she would go to the auction that afternoon and call me.

Horace's last words before he left that morning was "Don't buy that house." So you can imagine my surprise when thru my Mom and a cell phone my low opening bid was the first and last bid. I couldn't believe it.

I immediately drove three counties away to tell Horace in person. As soon as he saw me, he said "You've been to that auction haven't you?" I said, "No I didn't go the auction, but I did buy the house". My excitement turned to fear when I realized what I had done. We had only been married 4 years, what if he hated the house. My son patted me on the back and said "Mom you said it would be ok". Unfortunately, as we drove to Henderson I wasn't sure.

We drove to Henderson that night. As we drove up to the house it was all lit up and the front light in the yard was on. I think one of the nicest things my husband ever said was "I think it's going to be alright." Whew! Fortunately Horace loved the house.

It's nearly twelve years later and sometimes I think Horace likes the house more than me. This is our home for life.

Old picture from the Kentucky Historical Society Files in Frankfort
circa 1970