THE FABULOUS ’50sKENTUCKY NEW ERA SPECIAL RUN

WITH THE MUSEUMS OF HISTORIC HOPKINSVILLE-CHRISTIAN COUNTYWednesday, June 21, 2017 Kentucky New Era Est. 1869

POLICE PROBE ALLEGED RAIDBY LITTLE MEN IN SPACE-SHIP

EDITOR’S NOTE: Articles in this special section are presented as they were originally written, although some have been edited for space. Stories may depict racial prejudices that were then common in our area. These characterizations were and are wrong and do not represent the views of today’s Kentucky New Era or the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County.

KELLY FARMHOUSE OCCUPANTS SAY THEY DID

BATTLE WITH STRANGE CREW

BULLETS SAID TO HAVE NO EFFECT ON VISITORS

Lucky Sutton (left) holds a gun while looking up at the spot where an alien invader allegedly sat on his roof. In the doorway is Billy Ray Taylor, who said hishair was pulled by one of the little men on the roof.

Inquiring Reporter

Local Residents Left Gog-Eyed Over Flying Saucer Reports

Happy Days in Hopkinsville

1950s: A Nostalgic Decade

Members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce hand out chances to win a 1956 Ford at Ninth and Main streets. Melvin Douglas Duke wonthe car in a drawing held on Aug. 11, 1956 at the Pennyroyal Fair.

Happy days arehere again! Thisdecade of juke-

boxes, hot rods, bobbysocks, and lettersweatersfills uswithnostal-gia. Wewant topaytributeto thisbaby-boom-ing erathattook us from worldwar to civil rights.Kentucky New Era

archives provided thecontent for this jour-ney back in time. Thearticles chosen are of-fered verbatim and pro-vide a peek into the pastof this community.From aliens to floods toschool integration, thelanguage and reactions

are all straight from the1950s – a decade thatshaped our communityand our nation in pro-found ways.If this special section

brings back memoriesfor you, we hope youwill join us tomorrownight at 6:30 p.m. at theSilo for “Dinner at theDrive-In: A Journeythrough the 1950s.” TheMuseums and the Pen-nyroyal Arts Councilhave come togetheragain this year for afundraiser that cele-brates this iconicdecade. A diner-inspiredmeal (complete with icecream sundaes and rootbeer floats), tunes fromthe jukebox, memora-bilia from all 7 localhigh schools, a bit ofhistory from WilliamT. Turner, and a movieon the outdoor bigscreen will combine tomake for a swell time.

TOYOTA of HOPKINSVILLE -Proud to be an active part of the Hopkinsville community!

www.ToyotaOfHopkinsville.com4395 Fort Campbell Blvd.

(270) 886-9099

Aug. 22, 1955 — All kinds of inves-tigations were going on today inconnection with the bizarre sto-

ry of how a space-ship carrying 12 to 15little men landed in the Kelly commu-nity early last night and battled occu-pants of a farmhouse.Most official of the probes was report-

edly being staged by the air force.More than a dozen state, county, and

city officers from Christian and Hop-kins counties went to the scene between11 p.m. and midnight and remaineduntil after 2 a.m. without seeing any-thing either to prove or disprove thestory about the ship and its occupants.The farmhouse is located on the Old

Madisonville Road about eight milesnorth of Hopkinsville. The property isoccupied by Cecil (Lucky) Sutton, oneof those who reported experiencing lastnight’s phenomena.There were some 10 or 12 persons at

the house, including several children,but investigating officers were not ableto determine exactly how many ofthose present actually claimed to haveseen any of the little men from thespace ship.Only other person whom officers

quoted directly was identified as BillyRay Taylor. One account said Taylorwas a visitor from Pennsylvania, whichrecently had a similar report of a spaceship. Neither Sutton nor Taylor was athome when officers returned to thescene this morning.The story broke around 11 o’clock last

night when two cars, one bearing aPennsylvania license drove up to Hop-kinsville’s police headquarters. Officersthen at the station said the two autoscontained at least five adults and severalchildren. All appeared highly excited.Spokesmen for the crowd told of

how something resembling a spaceship or flying saucer had landed at theback of their house near Kelly and 12or 15 men, who appeared to be about 4feet tall, had got out of the ship andcome up to the house and done battlewith the occupants.“We need help,” one of the men said,

“we’ve been fighting them for nearlyfour hours.”

(Continued on Page 2)

Invasion of ‘Little Men’ Just Monkey Business, Rumor ClaimsAug. 24, 1955 — One story could conceivably

throw some light on the Kelly confusion, officers ad-mitted today. There were reports that one of a num-ber of circus trucks passing through Hopkinsvillelate Sunday stopped about eight miles north oftown, and some of the monkeys were allowed out oftheir cages to exercise in a field beside Highway 41A.This tip is based on some semblance of fact. King

Circus did travel through Hopkinsville Sunday, com-ing here after a show in Springfield, Tenn. The routefrom here was west on Highway 68, not north on 41,however.Officers admitted it was as good explanation for

the little men yet advanced — unless the Lankfordfarmhouse was actually visited by creatures from an-other world.

Alissa Keller n

Aug. 23, 1955 — News re-ports of a space ship sup-posedly landing near Kel-

ly Sunday night and the battlewith 10-15 little green men haveleft local residents gog-eyed overthe strange weird story.Reaction ran something like this:Mrs. Alice Pyle, Dawson Springs

Road: “It certainly is a mystery. Ithas made me begin to wonder, es-pecially with all those reports offlying saucers and the like in thenews lately. There musts be some-thing to the Kelly report, all right.”David Lander, LaFayette: “That

story sounds preposterous. I be-lieve one thing just led to anotheruntil the present story wasevolved. I would suggest a career

as short story writers. Hop-kinsville always manages to get onthe map, in one way or the other.”Mrs. T. M. Herndon, 2313 South

Virginia Street: “The story israther hard to imagine. I tend tothink that one of the secret ex-periments of the government isconnected to this incident insome way. Paul Barnes, moving to Hop-

kinsville: “Those boys were justpranking with the women. As forrecent flying saucer reports, Ithink the people are seeing things.You know, the Bible states thatthere will be signs of differentkinds. And I think those flyingsaucer reports are one of thosesigns.”

Four city police, Chief RussellGreenwell, T. C. Gross, DorrisFrancis, and Gray Salter, drove tothe scene to see about the “littlemen.” By radio, contact wasmade with State Troopers R. N.Ferguson Jr. and G.W. Riley andDeputy Sheriff George Batts, allof whom joined the motorcade toKelly in their own vehicles. FourMP’s also went.The radio discussions also

brought two Hopkins Countydeputy sheriffs and at least threestate troopers from the station atMadisonville.First arrivers found the scene

deserted. The two cars whichhad brought the report to Hop-kinsville did not return to theKelly farm until after officershad arrived and looked the situ-ation over.Officers reported they found no

tracks of “little men,” nor wasthere any mark indicating any-

thing had landed at the describedspot behind the house. There wasa hole in the screen at the windowthrough which occupants said ashot had been fired at one of thestrange little men.Both Chief Greenwell and

Deputy Sheriff Batts said they gotapproximately this story from thestill terrified and excited Suttonand Taylor families:About 7 p.m. one of the men

went out of the house to get abucket of water. He saw whatlooked like a flying saucer comeover the trees and land in a fieldat a point about a city block be-hind the house. There was no ex-plosion, only a semi-hissingsound, and the watcher returnedto the house with the bucket ofwater.A short time later somebody re-

ported some little men with bigheads and long arms were ap-proaching the house. The menwere described as having hugeeyes and hands out of proportionto their small bodies. The visitorswere wearing what looked to be

metal plate.The men got their guns, a shot-

gun for Sutton and a .22 calibertarget pistol for Taylor. By and byone of the little men pressed hisface against the window and theshotgun was fired through thewindow. The face disappeared.The men decided to go outside

and see if the visitor had been hit.Taylor was in front and when heemerged from the front door, ahuge hand reached down from thelow roof above the door andgrabbed him by the hair. Hepulled away and the two menwent on out of the house.One of the strange little men

was in a nearby tree, another ontop of the house. A blast from Sut-ton’s shotgun knocked anotherone of the men down but he didnot appear hurt. He disappearedin the darkness.Taylor reportedly opened fire

on other members of the invadingparty, also with little effect. Thebattle went on for some time.When the occupants of the housesaw their chance, they jumped

into their cars and drove to Hop-kinsville for help.Deputy Sheriff Batts said the

men told him that in all they firedup about four boxes of .22 pistolshells. The officer quoted a neigh-bor saying he heard shooting overat the Suttons but distinguishedonly about four shots and mistookthem for fire-crackers.Officers who visited the scene

during last night’s excitementwere reluctant to express anyopinion today in regard to the re-ported invasion of Kelly. All offi-cials appeared to agree that therewas no drinking involved.Only outspoken comment came

from Frank Dudas, city police desksergeant, who was not on duty lastnight and has not visited the sceneso far. He said, “I think the wholestory is entirely possible.”Sergeant Dudas was one of two

city policemen who reported see-ing three flying saucers early onemorning last summer. He said, “Iknow I saw them. If I saw them,the Kelly story certainly could betrue.”

2 Wednesday, June 21, 2017 | THE 1950S | www.kentuckynewera.com

1950S IN TIMEJan. 6, 1950: Winter storm cuts

off communications and closesschools in area.March 10, 1950: A displaced

Latvian family makes their homein Christian County.April 1, 1950: For the first

time, the 1950 census counts apopulation in the United Statesover 150 million people. April 14, 1950: U.S. designates

Camp Campbell as a permanentmilitary installation and thename changes to Fort Campbell.April 17, 1950: Twenty-nine

students and sponsors from HHSreturn from a trip to New YorkCity.June 25, 1950: The Korean War

begins its 3-year conflict. Twodays later, the United States AirForce and Navy are ordered in byPresident Truman.Jan. 6, 1951: The old portion

and gymnasium of CroftonSchool is destroyed by fire.Feb. 27, 1951: The 22nd

Amendment, establishing termlimits for President, is ratified.July 16, 1951: The Catcher in

the Rye is published by J. D.Salinger and invigorates the re-bellious youth of the period.Sept. 13, 1951: Bethel College

opens as a co-educational insti-tution with nine men attendingclasses at the school formerly forwomen. Oct. 15, 1951: The situation

comedy I Love Lucy premieres onCBS.January 14, 1952: The Today

Show debuts on NBC.Feb. 16, 1952: African Ameri-

can attorney, poet, and philoso-pher Claybron Merriweather dies.He remembers local charities –the American Red Cross, Com-munity Chest, and SalvationArmy – in his will.Oct. 28, 1952: The federal

grand jury at Paducah issues a re-port following investigations ofvice activity within the Hop-kinsville police department. Thechief of police and six police offi-cers were suspended the follow-ing day – pending local investi-gation.Sept. 9, 1952: Dorris James is

named Hopkinsville Fire Chief.Oct. 1, 1952: City of Hop-

kinsville officially annexes landfor the first time in 40 years.Nov. 1, 1952: Administration

of the Clarksville Base, betterknown as the “Bird Cage,” trans-fers from the Air Force to theNavy.Nov. 4, 1952: General Dwight

D. Eisenhower is elected U.S.President. Nov. 5, 1952: The city votes to

change city government from acommission form to a council-manic form.Dec. 22, 1952: A special grand

jury in Christian County Court is-sues 17 indictments against 11individuals as a result of investi-gations because of the federalgrand jury report.March 12, 1953: Gov.

Lawrence Wetherby appoints 12-man city council. The council issworn in the following day.March 25, 1953: The Pioneers,

Inc., a civic group organized forthe purpose of promoting, ad-vancing, and stimulating social,cultural, and civic interest inHopkinsville, is incorporated.July 27, 1953: Fighting ceases

in the Korean War. North Korea,South Korea, the United States,and the Republic of China signan armistice agreement.Oct. 30, 1953: The Cold War

continues when President Eisen-hower approves a top secret doc-ument stating that the U.S. nu-clear arsenal must be expandedto combat the communist threataround the world.Dec. 30, 1953: The first color

televisions go on sale.Feb. 23, 1954: The first large

scale vaccination of childrenagainst polio begins in Pitts-burgh, Pennsylvania.May 17, 1954: Racial segrega-

tion in public schools is declaredunconstitutional by the UnitedStates Supreme Court in Brownvs. the Board of Education. July 9, 1955: Rock and roll mu-

sic enters the mainstream when"Rock Around the Clock" by BillHaley & His Comets tops the Bill-board pop charts.

POLICE PROBE— Continued From Page One

November 18, 1957 — Most major highwayarteries leading into Hopkinsville were closedtoday as heavy rainfall sent scores of streamsand Little River flooding over their banks.State police said the only major highways

remaining open to traffic early this afternoonwere the Nashville and Clarksville Roads.High water had halted vehicular traffic on

US-41N, US-68 east and west of Hopkinsville,and the Dawson Springs, Princeton, andGreenville roads.Police said attempts were being made to pro-

vide detours for traffic on many of the floodedhighways.One of the first major traffic arteries to be

closed by high water was the Cadiz Road. Re-ports indicated small streams overflowingtheir banks had flooded the highway in atleast two main locations — near ShilohChurch and near the Henry Hayes residence.Some of the eastbound traffic on Cadiz Roadwas being routed at Gracey via Ky 117 (the oldrailroad bed).Flood waters closed US41N in at least two

points between here and Crofton. State high-way department spokesmen said traffic washalted at Little River Bridge on North MainStreet and at “Billy Goat” Hill, just north ofthe city.Traffic also was halted between Hop-

kinsville and these nearby towns: Elkton,Dawson Springs, Greenville, and Princeton.Little River left its banks at the bridge just

west of Cadiz, halting traffic at this spot. Statehighway department officials said motoristswere being detoured over the recently con-structed Ollie James highway just west ofCadiz to avoid the section at Little Riverbridge.Jim Tuggle, Cadiz merchant, said several

families had been evacuated from the low-lying area at the Cadiz Little River bridge.Elkton also was hit by flood conditions. Elk

Fork had left its bank at the east Elkton citylimits and was threatening at noon to halt alltraffic on US-68 at this point. Reports also in-dicated that a storage building on the Elktoncity square collapsed this morning. No onewas reported injured. Trigg County school superintendent Roy

McDonald ordered all schools dismissed at

noon. No decision had been reached early thisafternoon about conducting school tomorrow.Bus service into Hopkinsville was halted in

some cases and was running 2 to 4 hours be-hind schedule on other trips.As waters left the Little River banks at Hop-

kinsville, 28 prisoners were moved from thecity workhouse to the hold-over at the policeheadquarters. Equipment from the city streetdepartment also as moved from its garage onFifth Street.

Gov Calls Militia To Aid In EvacuationNovember 18, 1957 — Governor A. B. Chan-

dler today ordered out local National Guardforces to aid in the evacuation of families inthis area as Christian County was faced withits worst threat in 20 years.At 2 p.m. more than five inches of rain had

fallen on the Hopkinsville area in 48 hours,sending the Little River and all other smallstreams in the area out of their banks.The high waters split Hopkinsville in half,

doused its business district, flooded its powerand water facilities, and disrupted trans-portation and communications to the outside.The city’s business district was under its

heaviest load of flood water since 1949, andeven that mark was in danger early this after-noon as the rains continued to fall.Also badly hit by rain storms was Fort

Campbell. The military reservation had hadclose to five inches of rain by early afternoonand many roads on the fort were impassible.The rainfall here at noon today had reached

5.28 inches since the steady downpoursstarted early Sunday morning. Aggravated bymore than four inches last mid-week, LittleRiver started leaving its banks in the businessdistrict, via storm sewers, this morning.At noon the water had reached the Ninth

and Main intersection and steady climbing to-ward the 1949 highwater mark just east of thePrincess Theatre. In the ’37 flood the waterclimbed all the way to Ninth and VirginiaStreets.The local chapter of the Red Cross was mak-

ing preparations to find lodging for those per-sons stranded by the flash flood. This includedlocal residents who have been chased fromtheir homes, and any tourists or transientsthat might become stranded in the city.It was estimated that between 50 and 60 fam-

ilies had been forced to leave their homes byearly afternoon, and the steady rise ofstreams in the area at that time threatenedmany others.

The precipitation started in innocentenough fashion about 2 a.m. Sunday. Only .13inches fell during the next five hours. But inthe ensuing 24 hours (by 7 a.m. today) anotherthree inches had fallen.The downpours continued through the

morning hours and by early afternoon an ad-ditional 2.15 inches had fallen.Newell Smith, government weather ob-

server here, said the recent rains brought to12.43 the number of inches of precipitationmeasured here this month. The figure is be-lieved to be an all-time record for November.

Near Flood Tragedies AvertedNov. 19, 1957 — The flood of November 18,

1957, is less than 24 hours old but many talesof harrowing moments will be related far andwide for many a day to come – and some of thetales may even get stretched a little by thetellers and re-tellers.One such story will inevitably be that of the

Iowa couple, who, through some misunder-standing, attempted to drive their car throughthe flooded area along Ninth Street around 3o’clock yesterday afternoon.Mr. and Mrs. Roy Lemoine of Ames, Iowa,

headed east on the street and got about 25yards east of the Ninth Street bridge beforethe car gave way to the swift current of LittleRiver. It stopped a short distance away withwater to the car windows.The couple was rescued by boat after an on-

looker alerted rescuers of the Lemoinepredicament.Another flood story which might be forgot-

ten, but not soon by a local policeman, hap-pened on West Seventh Street.City patrolman Frank Dudas, wearing knee

boots, was walking along the sidewalk cov-ered by about five inches of water when hesuddenly dropped in the ground. He kept fromgoing under water by bracing himself withhis elbows. It seems the cover to a sidewalk manhole

had been forced off by the rising water, leav-ing it open and concealed by the flooding river.It was the manhole he dropped into.He related that he first thought it was a

break in the pavement caused by an under-wash. It was difficult for him to free himselffrom the hole because of the down-tow of thesewer on his boots. He escaped uninjured-butshaken a bit.These are but a few of the tales to be told of

the 1957 Hopkinsville flood.

MOST MAJOR ARTERIES UNDERHIGH WATER AS POLICE ATTEMPT

TO PROVIDE DETOURS

City Nearly Isolated In Greatest Flood In Decades

Flood waters completely submerged the intersection of 9th and Main streets during the disaster on November 18, 1957. Looking north on Main Street, a car sits almost completelyunder water as a row boat travels through the streets.

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March 12, 1953 — A 12-man citycouncil that contains none of thecitizens recognized as the leadersin last year’s fight to change Hop-kinsville from a commission to acouncilmanic form of govern-ment was named this afternoonby Governor Lawrence Wetherby.The city for the next eight

months will be operated by agroup that includes 10 white andtwo colored citizens.The men named today by Gov-

ernor Wetherby include: WallaceHenderson, Latham Avenue;Chester Porta, Alumni Avenue;Ira Thompson, East 18th Street; R.Clyde King, East Seventh St; F. E.Whitney, East First St; Leslie Rig-gins, Cleveland Avenue; HowardLebkuecher, Central Avenue,William Snorton, East Younglove;Edward D. Moseley, Bryan Street;F. C. Cull, Walnut Street; Jake J.Sabel, South Main St.; Ray O. Mil-likin, Latham Avenue.Not all of the men appointed

today have been contacted andagreed officially to serve. How-ever, it is believed virtually allhave indicated a willingness to acton the council, if named.Only three of the 12 men ap-

pointed by the governor were onthe list of “willing” citizens an-nounced last Oct. 22 by the Citi-

zens Committee just before theNovember showdown on the citygovernment issue. At the time thecommittee published a list of 56persons who stated they wouldserve if the change in form ofgovernment was approved andthey were named to the council.Only men named by the gover-

nor whose names were on the 56-man list were Mr. Sabel and thetwo colored appointees.Mayor A. S. Koon, who will re-

tain his office and work with thenew council, said this afternoonhe plans to contact the appointeesat once to try to arrange to havethem sworn in as soon as possible. “We’ll want to get some kind of

a temporary organization up andworking at once,” the mayor said.“We must have a solid body desig-nated to sign checks and okeybills.”Mayor Koon indicated the city

will risk losing the employees of

the street department unless hearranges to meet with the streetdepartment payroll that was duelast Saturday. There is also someother pressing business.The mayor said he would like to

have the first get-together withthe new councilmen Friday night,but he is not certain whether themeeting can be effected this soon.If not, the initial session willprobably come the first of nextweek.

www.kentuckynewera.com | THE 1950S | Wednesday, June 21, 2017 3

1950S IN TIMEJuly 17, 1955: Disneyland opens

in Anaheim, California.July 20, 1955: Emma Wilson’s

Under One Roof, a novel aboutgrowing up in and around Hop-kinsville at the turn of the century,is pushed into its second printing.July 22, 1955: Williams Chevro-

let opens.Aug. 21, 1955: Hopkinsville Po-

lice respond to calls of a battle withextraterrestrial beings on the Sut-ton farm in Kelly.Sept. 4, 1955: Morningside

School opens.Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks, an

African American seamstress, refus-es to give up her seat on the bus toa white man, prompting a boycottthat would lead to the declarationthat bus segregation laws were un-constitutional by a federal court. Jan. 15, 1956:“Rebel Without a

Cause” debuts at the AlhambraTheatre.June 29, 1956: The interstate

highway system begins with thesigning of the Federal-Aid HighwayAct.July 30, 1956: "In God We Trust"

is adopted as national motto.Sept. 9, 1956: Elvis Presley per-

forms on The Ed Sullivan Show anddraws a record 82.6% of the nation-al tv audience. It was the most-watched broadcast of the decade.Sept. 21, 1956: The 101st Air-

borne Division is formally reactivat-ed at Fort Campbell.Sept. 25, 1956: The first

transatlantic telephone cable be-gins operation.March 11, 1957: The Attucks

Wolves win the KHSAL champi-onship for the second time in tenyears. Sept. 24, 1957: The President or-

ders the 101st Airborne Divisionfrom Fort Campbell to Little Rock,Arkansas to protect African Ameri-can students during the desegrega-tion of Little Rock Central HighSchool.Sept. 9, 1957: The Civil Rights

Act of 1957, primarily a votingrights bill, becomes the first civilrights legislation enacted by Con-gress since ReconstructionOct. 4, 1957: Soviets launch

Sputnik; "space race" beginsNov. 15, 1957: Highway 41A

opens as a four-lane highway be-tween Hopkinsville and Fort Camp-bell.Nov. 18, 1957: A flash flood

strikes Hopkinsville causing one ofthe most disastrous floods in thecity’s history. Jan. 26, 1958 : The last service is

held at Ninth Street ChristianChurch. The church was demol-ished in 1958 after the congrega-tion moved to Morningside Drive atWalnut Street. Jan. 31, 1958: Explorer I, the first

U.S. space satellite, is launched bythe Army at Cape Canaveral. July 29, 1958: NASA forms as the

U.S. begins ramping up efforts toexplore spaceSept. 4, 1958: Hopkinsville’s city

schools officially desegregate as 3African American children attendpreviously all-white Belmont andWest Side elementary schools. Jan. 7, 1959: The United States

recognizes the new Cuban govern-ment under rebel leader Fidel Cas-tro. Feb. 22, 1959: The Daytona 500

is run for the first time with Lee Pet-ty taking the first checkered flag.Feb. 25, 1959: Jordan Furniture

Co., located on the corner of Eighthand Main streets, is gutted by fire.March 4, 1959 : Belmont Ele-

mentary School burns, destroying14 classrooms, a gymnasium, an au-ditorium, and the cafeteria. Localchurches were used for classroomsuntil the new school was complet-ed in 1960.March 5, 1959: Officials of the In-

dian Hills Development Companyannounce the construction of a 16-lane bowling alley.Aug. 21, 1959: Alaska and

Hawaii become the 49th and 50thU.S. states.Sept. 1, 1959: The Christian

County Board of Education (sepa-rate from the city school system)adopts a voluntary integration poli-cy to begin in the 1960-61 schoolyear.Sept. 9, 1959: Christian County

High School opens. Prior to the1959-60 school year, five highschools operated in the county:Crofton, Lacy, Pembroke, SinkingFork, and South Christian.

12 Democrats Appointed To Initial City CouncilNO CURRENT CITY

LEADERS APPOINTED;MAYOR CALLS MEETING

Members of Hopkinsville’s first city council pose for a photo following their first session March 13, 1953, a day after being appointed byKentucky Governor Lawrence Wetherby. They are (from left) Jake Sabel in rear, Ray Millikin in front; Leslie Riggins in rear, Wallace Hen-derson in front; R. Clyde King in rear, Edward Moseley in front; Mayor A. S. Koon; William Snorton in rear, Ira Thompson in front; HowardLebkuecher in rear, Chester Porta in front; F. E. Whitney in rear, F. C. Cull in front and City Attorney W. H. Southall to the right in the rear.

Sept. 4, 1958 — Previouslyall-white West Side Schoolhad two negro children en-rolled and Belmont had oneas the Hopkinsville publicschool system opened its1958-59 session in quiet buthistory-making fashiontoday.The appearance of the

small negro children, allthree brought by theirmothers, was in accord withthe announced desegrega-tion policy of the Hop-kinsville school board,which permits any studentof the first three grades toattend the school in his dis-trict.Formally enrolled at West

Side were second-graderDonald Daniel Dennis andthird-grader Paul Thomas,his brother. The boys are thesons of Mrs. Rosa Lee Den-nis, an army widow livingat 406 Elm Street.The Negro child at Bel-

mont is first-grader LindaMcHenry, daughter of Mr.and Mrs. Louis P. McHenryof Cedar Street. The fatheris a Hopkinsville attorney.The McHenry family has

two other children of schoolage, one in the fourth gradeand the other in the fifth.They attend Booker T.Washington, an all-Negroschool, and have no inten-tion of transferring to Bel-mont, their mother saidtoday. Mrs. McHenry said her

daughter is being sent toBelmont because she wantsto go there and because theschool is much closer thanBooker Washington. Themother express the hope thepublicity over being thefirst Negro at Belmontwould not cause the child tochange her mind.In pointing out that the

older children will continueto attend Booker Washing-ton, Mrs. McHenry said thefamily planned to abide bythe school board’s an-nounced desegregationplan.The Dennis children al-

most enrolled at West Sidelast September. Lloyd Seay,West Side principal, saidtheir mother talked withhim before the opening ofthe 1957-58 session and indi-cated she planned to sendthem to West Side ratherthan across town to BookerWashington. The enroll-ment plan was apparently

called off at the last minuteand the boys went to BookerWashington last year.The little boys’ father was

killed during the fighting inKorea, the mother toldschool officials.West Side’s second grade

teacher, Mrs. Walter Joslin,Jr., who enrolled the smallerDennis boy, said the motherwas accompanied by bothchildren when she came tothe second grade classroomfor enrollment. The motherleft the second grader there,then took the older to thethird grade enrollment.Mrs. Joslin said there

were about five white moth-ers and one father who hadbrought their own second-graders and were on handwhen Daniel enrolled.As for the other children

in the second grade, Mrs.Joslin said, “They didn’tseem to notice the little boywas enrolling.”Children spent only a few

minutes at the city schoolsfor today’s enrollment buta full day is planned for to-morrow, when the city sys-tem winds up its bob-tailedopening week session.Both Principal Seay of

West Side and PrincipalClaude Hightower of Bel-mont said there were no in-cidents today and addedthat no trouble is antici-pated.The appearance of three

Negro children at whiteschools marked the firsttime colored students haveenrolled with whites in thecity’s long public schoolhistory. West Side School issome 45 years old. Belmontis an off-shoot of old ClayStreet School, the city’sfirst public elementaryschool.

Hopkinsville First InSchool Desegregation

Integration GoesSmoothlySept. 5, 1958 — Racial inte-

gration proceeded smoothlywithout a hitch today in theHopkinsville public schoolsystem.Three Negro students at-

tend their first full day ofclasses in two previously all-white elementary schools. Principals at West Side and

Belmont schools said no inci-dents occurred as the stu-dents arrived this morningfor classes, accompanied bytheir mothers.

Students from each of the five county high schools to be consolidated at the new Christian County HighSchool prepare to enter the modernistic school for registration. They are (from left) Johnny Walker, Lacy,a senior; Ellen Clark, Pembroke, a senior; Helen Wilson, Sinking Fork, a junior; Shirley Lanier, Crofton, asophomore and Andy Buhler, South Christian, a senior and president of the school’s FFA chapter.

New School Will Have Broad CurriculumAug. 21, 1959 — Students at the new

Christian County High School openingnext month will be offered the broadestcourse of study every provided by thecounty school system.Principal Clovis W. Wallis said the ex-

panded curriculum will include threeforeign languages, physics, courses inhigher mathematics, and additionalclasses in commerce and social sci-ences.Wallis outlined the curriculum to be

available at the central high school inannouncing plans today for a pre-regis-tration program at the new school onWednesday.All students who will be attending the

school this fall and did not participatein the pre-registration session lastspring should report the school anytimebetween 8 am and 5pm Wednesday. Wal-lis said this registration was necessaryto complete class schedules.Students who registered last spring

need not report again, the principal ex-plained. Some 600 pupils are expected to

attend the new school, although onlysome 530 registered last spring.

4 Of 6 Grade Schools Open TodaySeptember 4, 1955 — Morningside

School, housed in the first entirely newelementary school the city has built insome 40 years, opened today by regis-tering 318 students, some 33 more thanhad been expected for its first session.The school, located at the intersection

of Morningside Drive with the exten-sion of Walnut Street, was built to takethe pressure off old Virginia StreetSchool which had an overflow studentbody of 500 last year. Despite the send-ing of part of its students to Morning-side, Virginia Street still had a fullhouse today, registering more pupilsthan had been anticipated.The two southside schools, Morning-

side and Virginia Street, had 109 morestudents between them today than lastspring’s educational survey indicatedthe pair would have this September.

March 11, 1957 — TheAttucks Wolves are theNegro high school basket-ball champions of Ken-tucky today followingtheir 62-59 conquest ofParis Western in the fi-nals of the KHSAL Tour-nament at FrankfortSaturday night.It marks the second

time in the past 10 yearsthat the Wolfpack haspicked up the marbles atthe state chase. Their lastchampionship was turnedin 1947, during the heydayof James Torian.In addition to annexing

team honors, Attucks also

placed two men on the all-state squad. They weresenior center James Hop-kins and junior guardFrank Maypray. The Wolves were pre-

sented the Andrew Brightmemorial trophy whichcan be permanently re-tained by the team win-ning it three consecutiveyears. The two all-state selec-

tions, Hopkins andMaypray, paced the Wolf-pack in its championshipbid Saturday night. Hop-kins tossed in 27 points inthe triumph and Mayprayadded 18.

The contest was closethroughout, with eachteam enjoying the lead atvarious stages. The clubssaw the lead exchangehands several times dur-ing the first two periodsbefore the half finallyended in a 31-31 deadlock.Attucks managed to get

the best of the closely con-tested third period to gointo the final frame with a2-point advantage. The win was the 25th

triumph of the campaignfor the Wolves againstonly four losses. Pariswent into the contest witha 30-4 mark.

Attucks Crowned State Champs; Defeat Paris

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4 Wednesday, June 21, 2017 | THE 1950S | www.kentuckynewera.com

The photographs in this spe-cial section highlight Chris-tian County life in the 1950s.Pictures were gathered fromlocal high school yearbooks,the collection of William T.Turner, and from original

Kentucky New Era issues. Wehope that these images helprecall fond memories of the

Fabulous ‘50s. (Right) Austin Peay State Col-lege’s Governettes march upMain Street during the annu-

al Christmas and Tobac-coland Parade. The paradewas a favorite holiday event

and featured elaboratefloats, marching bands andmajorettes, and the crown-ing of Miss Tobaccoland.

(Above) The Lacy Wildcats basketball squad, 1953-54.(Left) James Dean’s iconic film Rebel Without a Cause debuted at the Alhambra Theatre on January 15, 1956. See it again on the big screen at “Dinnerat the Drive-In: A Journey through the 1950s” this Thursday, June 22 at The Silo.

(Above) A garland-bedeckedMain Street bustles with holi-day traffic in this c. 1956 pho-

tograph.(Right) The Kiwanis baseballteam finished tied for firstplace with the Elks team inthe 1955 Christian County

Little League. Pictured, fromleft, front row: Mike Baldree,Don Harris, Danny Heltsley,Joe Allen, Tommy Winders,

Richard Keller, Tommy Owen;back row: Don Bilyeau, Wil-

ford Turner, Wallace Roberts,Charlie Hudson, Kendall

Litchfield, and Earl Black. BudHudson, in the back, man-

aged the team.(Below, right) HopkinsvilleHigh School offered a widevariety of extracurricular

clubs and activities for stu-dents in the 1950s. Picturedhere are members of the Am-

ateur Radio Club from theschool’s 1955 yearbook. Oth-er clubs included the Conser-vation Club, Record PlayersClub, Handicrafts Club, Cur-rent Events Club, and Out-

door Life Club, just to name afew.

(Below) Don Atwood, sixthgrader at Virginia Street

School, directs traffic in frontof the school.

Santa Claus makes his grand entrance aboard an 11th Airborne chopperfor the 1953 Christmas parade.

Attucks High School students ride in their 1959 homecoming parade.

Located on Dawson Springs Road, the Golden Ice Cream Parlor was a fa-vorite hangout for teens who attended the County schools.

(Above) Students andteachers at South Chris-tian School enjoy a coldCoca-Cola together. Theschool, which housedgrades 1-12 until the fallof 1959, would consoli-date with high schools atCrofton, Lacy, Pembroke,and Sinking Fork to formChristian County HighSchool. (Left) The Acme Sign Co.installs a new neon sign atFirst City Bank on the cor-ner of 9th and Mainstreets.