Survey Says ...

Now, shame on you, Dr. Oz, labeling our little town nestled deep in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, as "unhappy". Have you been here? Did you take a survey of town folks? Out of those town folks you would have found doctors, lawyers, and other professionals who graduated from Hazard High School, went off to College, came back to make their living in this "unhappy" surrounding. You would have also found professionals who sought this "unhappy" little town to settle in to practice their different trades. You would hear stories about how The Dukes of Hazzard loved this "unhappy" town so much they kept coming back. Why, guess what? When my children were young, The Dick Clark Show came to this "unhappy" place. I could go on and on really but what's the use.

I was born in this "unhappy" place, got married, went to CA to be with my husband while he served his country, and it was there I got highly educated in adultery, drunkenness, murder, etc. All the things I was taught to shun was very prominent in CA in that time frame known as the Fifties. Yep, I wrote back home and told my folks what I had seen and they told me to take the first air flight out of that "modern day evil place". Dr. Oz, I saw a side of living that my sleepy little "unhappy" town in KY could not hold a light to.

However, I did find something good. There was an Owl Drugstore nearby and I would go down there to get a soda time and again. I would ask for a "cherry coke" and honestly, they asked me to tell them how to make it and they would...but, from behind the prescription counter, this voice came forth, "Hey, I know how to make cherry cokes...and with this the voice came to life when this fine man came to the counter and asked me where I was from. I told him Hazard, Kentucky...he threw back his head and laughed, "Oh, I know where you are from. I know that area well." With this said and my mind in a tizzy because I didn't know anyone would know where Hazard was. He went on to tell me the names of all the little towns up and down Perry County, i.e., Duane, Blue Diamond, Jeff, Typo, on and on. I was thrilled because I had found someone that knew my home territory.

I asked him if he were a native of our county and he told me no but that he had worked in his younger days for the Jewel Tea Coffee Company and they gave him the route he had spouted out to me. He must have made enough selling coffee to these "unhappy" people in Hazard and surrounding little villages to buy into one of the chain drugstores. Everytime I look at my Jewel Tea dishes that I have collected through the years (and they are highly sought after) I think of this man, and thought of him again when I read the Dr. Oz segment.

So, you see, Dr. Oz you have judged a little town as "unhappy". I betcha a poll would find you more happy people in that area than unhappy. You could have gone around Hazard and been surprised at what you could find that would fall on the other side of this coin. I am proud to say that Hazard High School offered me an education that most people meeting me thinks I was a member of the higher learning clan. I know times in Hazard have changed and I don't live there anymore but my heart is still there and I get rilled up when I hear it talked about. The younger generation coming up there might be disgruntled for some reason or another but it appears most of them always find themselves coming back to "the mountains". Why, because the people are true, what you see is what you get, no facades which is a way of life in CA if it has not changed. Hazard and Harlan Kentucky are well known from sea to shining sea.

Just to tell you, Dr. Oz, I don't watch your show and I bet your watching audience has fallen, or has it?

A few days ago I talked with a family from a large city. They stated that Hazard was the most friendly city that they had been in. To me this sounded good. They stated that all through the area that they had never met such accommodating people. This makes me feel good and makes my chest swell out to know that our people are so well thought of. 1961

First Moon Shot From Hazard

I get such a kick out of reading Roscoe's quips that I found myself this morning reading his Red Longhandles again and I giggled out loud as I remembered so vividly one of Roscoe's friends who lived near us who would, like all the others, put their longhandles away when Spring came and they would start wearing their nightshirts. Yep, the old men would don nightshirts that hit them about the knee with slits on both sides, and even some of them, who were bald, would add a nightcap to this sleeping attire. Uncle Matt was famous for his nightshirt and nightcap at our house.

Back to the neighbor who always went to bed at the first sign of darkness creeping in. We children would play tag under the street lights until the call to come in sounded. Well, one evening we were playing tag and running up and down the holler, and one hid near this neighbor's porch, running up on it for a short period, knocking over one of the porch chairs. The lights went on inside and here came the neighbor, and his wife, right behind him, to see what all the "racket" was about. Not knowing that the chair had been pushed over, here he belted out of the screen door, and mind you, the street light, haloed him real good, he stood out, and while we were all huddled around the street light he fell over the fallen chair. Well, what a sight to behold!!! Young eyes were glued as this poor feller's nightshirt flew up his back and there he was in the street light's gleam, butt naked, lying there yelling for his wife to "kiver me up, kiver me up, for these hellcats have done seen my a__, Lordy, Lordy, hurry..." She tried to "kiver" him up but we had all seen "sich a horrible sight for young eyes". Giggling we all parted and went home. You might say this was the beginning of streaking. Yep, old man Campbell "mooned" us that night and that was one sight not easily forgotten. To this day, I can recall it with a giggle.

Old Time Gadgets

With November comes the cold temperatures and many of you have been hunting for the long handles during this spell. Believe me, I was one of them. I started a little late, I tramped the town over, couldn't find any to fit. Maybe I was a little too particular. I wanted a modern version of them, without the flap and all the buttons. Finally, after two trips, Rusty over at Watsons said, "I believe I have a red suit that will fit you." I said, "I don't care what the color is....pink or what have you, if it will keep me warm." Now I am the proud owner of one pair of red drawers. I have heard of them all my life, never did think I would have a pair. By granny, they feel good, so good I wanted to sleep in them. You know how it is, I am not the only one in my household, my wife says no to that. I can remember when these kinds of garments was as popular during the night as they were in the day time. Since times have changed so much with all the modern gadgets, such as steam heat, gas heat, insulated houses, I can see why some of the old time gadgets have gone out of style. I will still say I like my long handles regardless of what color. 1962

I was watching Dancin' With The Stars tonight and my daughter said, "what would Auntie say if she were here and saw these scanty outfits and the throwing of legs, etc?" At that I left the here and now and my mind went racing back to that night on Liberty Street in the 60's when we all were sitting around our tv watching the Glen Campbell Show. I forget who the dancer was but my Auntie and Granny had sat down to watch the show with us. Bear in mind they were not tv watchers and it was "of the devil".

The ballet dancers were great and they faded back a little and he picked her up above his head and in pure form there she was giving it her all; Granny about fainted as she said, "Lordy, Lordy, Laura, have you ever seen sich a sight, she's pite-nite naked, dancin' round in her "shimmey shirt and drawers". Auntie started squirming and her mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. My young daughter (who is now 55) thought Auntie was having a "fit". About that time he brought her down and lifted her back up and put his hand in under her to obtain a good stance and all Hell broke lose at 109 Liberty Street. Auntie jumped up, grabbed Granny, all the time letting me have it, "Idy, turn that devil machine off, not fit for youngans or old folks" Granny chimed in, "Idy, never saw sich vulgar dancing in my life, why she was half naked and that twern't enuf for that feller, he had to grab her by her crotch and lift her above his head again....mercy, mercy, land sakes a-live, them youngans don't need to see sich as that, turn it off, turn it off...hey, Matt, put yore foot through that thang right now." Uncle Matt just laughed and kept on puffing on his pipe. Honest, I liked to have never calmed them down to listen to what they really saw. Bless their hearts they were in golden years both of them and I think this was the first show they had seen and I look back with their eyes and it must have been nerve-racking to them.

Anyhow, that was then and this is now and they would have both passed clean out I am sure to see some of the costumes and dancers of this day and time. They are both long gone but their reaction to their first ballet dance we will never forget.

60 Years Ago

The Grand Vue Drive In Theater opened on October 22, 1949, under the management of J. C. Amusement Company, a partnership of Gene Combs and Dick Johnson. This was before television found its way to eastern Kentucky.

“Blue Lagoon," a 1st run Technicolor movie starring Jene Simmons, was the first feature shown at the Grand Vue, which was located on the Combs Road in the Airport Gardens section of Perry County. The price of admission was 49 cents for adults, children were admitted free, and the lot held a capacity of 300 autos. At that time, there were only a few residents in the area, no hospital, schools, or businesses. The Grand Vue was the first of its kind in the Hazard area.

The 1957 flood, which got two feet over the top of the concession stand at the Grand Vue, brought about a lot of changes. The screen was enlarged for Cinemascope to 60 x 80 feet, to make it the largest in eastern Kentucky. Also, the sound system was converted to stereo and the lot was enlarged to handle 500 vehicles.

When the screen was first erected, the J.C. Amusement Company received a bit of static from the federal Aeronautics Association in Washington. The screen supposedly interfered with the flight traffic pattern of the nearby airport. The Grand Vue owners were told to tear down the screen. In arguing that the screen offered no obstruction, Dick Johnson told the Federal folks, “If they (the pilots) fly into it and that doesn’t kill them, we will.” The controversy soon died down and business went on as usual.

In 1957 - Kenneth Zimmerman took over as manager and maintained the position until his retirement in the spring of 1975. His wife, Goldie, put in her share of the work wherever needed. In the earlier years, this job was handled by co-owner Gene Combs, Ken’s brother-in-law, and, the concession stand was operated by Gene’s wife, Katie.

According to Gene Combs, who bought out his partner, Dick Johnson, in the mid-60’s, Hazard's Grand Vue was the first drive-in this part of the country to play first-run movies. One of the first major features was “Samson and Delilah.” Traffic was backed up for several miles in each direction – as far as the Colonial Club on one end and past Combs on the other end – with people waiting to get in to see this film.

Other popular movies included: “The Ten Commandments,” which ran for five days; Walt Disney’s “The Shaggy Dog,” and “Gone With The Wind,” which ran several different times over the years. In the early '70s “Walking Tall,” drew a huge crowd.

On one occasion, a nearby auto accident knocked out a power pole that affected only the sound system at the drive-in. However, this caused no alarm, nor refunds because the film happened to be a silent one, Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights.”

The Grand Vue offered the people a form of entertainment other than movies. Country music and western celebrities of the day came to Hazard to perform from the top of the concession stand. Among those bringing their stage shows to the Grand Vue were: Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Mack Brown, Lash LaRue, Don Red Barry, the Carter Family, featuring June Carter Cash and Mother Maybelle, and the Carter Brothers. One Flatt & Scruggs show, which was taped by the NBC network drew 1,500 people. The Ink Spots, the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Actor - Fuzzy Knight, Smiley Burnett and Tim Holt also made personal appearances.

The Grand Vue owners were also community minded. They offered their facilities to the Perry County Ministerial Association and the public for the purpose of Easter Sunrise Services for many years. The annual fireworks display was an event people looked forward to each 4th of July. Some will remember their "dusk to dawn" shows when the public was treated to five different movies. Then there was a period where the drive-in was used as a race track for go-carts on weekends, known as the Grand Vue Speedway.

Every Walt Disney film ever produced was shown "first run" at the Grand Vue. Surprisingly, Disney films were the most expensive to obtain. One in particular, “The Shaggy Dog,” proved to be the most expensive of all because the distributors forced theaters to charge 50 cents for children and required 50 per cent of the gate.

The end of an era came in 1977 when the Grand Vue Drive Theater ended its long run of nearly 30 years. The fence, marquee, concession stand, screen, playground and speakers were all dismantled to make way for progress. The Grand Vue Plaza Shopping Center would be built here.In recounting his memories of the Grand Vue’s performance, Gene Combs stated that they, the management, “enjoyed seeing so many people and made a lot of acquaintances and friends over the years.” They employed an average of ten people during each of the March 1 – November 1 seasons. The employee of the longest tenure was Mrs. Emily Emeurer, who was the concession stand cashier for over 20 years.When the Grand Vue opened in 1949, the price of admission was 49 cents. Rising costs and inflation forced them to to increase the price of admission to $2.00 by the 1970s. Children under 12 were still admitted free.The last movies ever shown at the Grand Vue Drive In were seen on March 13th 1977, a double billing – Clint Eastwood starring in “Hang ‘em High,” and Max Baer’s production of “Ode to Billy Joe.”

"Evening Fellers"

It was around 1950 and I was in High School. Everyone was wondering what they were going to dress up as to go here and there for Halloween. Hazard's Main Street always was the place to go and see everyone. Honestly, it reminded me of the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue. Well, I was determined to really have a good one lined up for this one. Mom dressed up like an old Hobo, Dad was dressed up like a fine young lady, and me, well, I had to hide to get myself ready for my surprise.

My good friend and I were hatching up an idea that had been circling in our brains for a day or two and we figured Halloween would be the night to carry this plot out. You see, her Dad had been visiting The Wheel that sat on the corner of Main Street, an eyesore for the community, most would say, and my Dad had admonished me, "don't you walk by that place, cross the street, and when you get by that honky-tonk then you can recross and continue on your way." Well, I didn't listen to him at all and I was determined to show him how wrong he was about just walking by this place of business. So, I did, and guess what, a fight had commenced inside and it sounded like all Hell had broken loose. My heart raced and I started to cross the street and as I did someone inside threw a pepper shaker at someone leaving and it hit me square in the head. After a long I told you so conversation I promised never to pass that place again.

I did not, always crossed over by Ishmael Stacy's Gas Station, but the more I thought of this place and the things I had heard about its reputation, the more I was intrigued by it all. In talking with my friend, she and I decided to dress up that night and try our hand at getting inside this awful place of ill repute. We were just teens, "skeered" stiff really, but wanting to see what there was about this place that made it bear the name of a place of ill repute. We knew we had to look much older and decided we could not do that as girls so we dressed up like two old men, ragged but clean old men, with pipes, mustaches, the works, along with two hats that I slipped out of the house belonging to Uncle Matt. We looked good, and passed the test when we walked down our street and were greeted with "Evening fellers".

Off to The Wheel we went. Needless to say things were abuzzing inside, and we were lucky because the smoke filled room gave us a good curtain to pull off getting in and out without any trouble. We sat down at a booth near the door so we could run and the waitress came and took our order, two root beers with lots of ice. Looking at us with a funny frown, she headed to get our order. She walked right up to this nice looking dude, who looked like he had just stepped out of a magazine, got a little too close for my friend because, you see, that was her Pop. She was telling him something because she pointed at us and we knew something was in the air. My friend was ready to high tale it out the door when guess what???? Coming through that door was my Mom and Pop dressed as I stated above. The smoke was like a thick fog coming in off of the ocean, and we could tell they were looking for someone because this was not the place they would be either. I heard my mother in a deep voice that she could do, "Lookin' fer two teens who are out of place in this establishment, have you seen anyone like that?" They didn't get the chance to find us because on a whiff of the smoke we got lost in the haze and made it to the door. Both of us considered ourselves very lucky because we would have gotten a good whomping for entering this "evil place".

This is not all. We were standing down the street toward Reda's Grocery and I saw my half sister who was working at the A & P coming down the street. She was going to catch the train for her ride home to Jeff. My Mom and Pop siddled up to her and my Mom put her arm around her and said, "How about a date, you good looking thing?" My sister who had no idea who this was hauled off and belted my Mom knocking her back and Pop caught her. What a surprise when my half-sister discovered that she had just knocked her Mom out, almost anyhow. Apologies brought tears and then tears turned to laughter and that Halloween night went down in history for us. Now, where could this have happened but in Hazard Ky on a cold October Halloween night?