He killed the Doughboy
We lived in Jamestown Kentucky for three years around 1980. In the middle of the traffic circle on the courthouse square (yes, they have a circular square), the American Legion had a statue of the Doughboy, the First World War infantryman, erected on a pedestal in 1937. The other day a drunk driver speeding down one of the approaches to the traffic circle hit the steps at the edge of the raised circle and launched his pick-up truck through the air straight at the statue. He was high enough in the air to clear the pedestal, but destroyed the bronze statue before coming to rest at the far edge of the circle. He now is resting in jail. The Doughboy fought a valiant fight and the yellow paint of the truck on his bayonet suggests he inflicted a severe wound before succumbing to his injuries.
The Dreamsicle is an ice cream bar covered in orange sherbet, and a fond memory of my childhood. I don't believe I've had one since I was a kid, but I saw a box of these delights (though they weren't called Dreamcicles) in the freezer section of the grocery the other day, and brought it home with me. Today my wife and I decided to have one. It tasted so good we had a second one and even thought about a third. That seemed a bit much though and we resisted.
When we first move here the old court house in the middle of our square town square was a bright white. Quite picturesque I thought. Now it seems it's on the National Registry of Historic Structures and they spent a basketful of money blasting the many year's accumulation of paint from the original red brick, repairing and painting window frames, remortering areas and the like. Supposedly it now looks like it did when it was first built in the mid eighteen hundreds. We have a brand new, state of the art court house on one of the corners of the square where they hold traffic and criminal court, but they still hold fiscal court in the old building. At least for now it also holds the Sheriff's department, the license branch, all the deeds for the county, and a couple of other bureaucracies, but I understand the Sheriff's department is soon to move to another location. There is a large lawn around the old court house with walkways, benches (liars benches?), and a lot of mature trees. It's an inviting place to sit in the shade on warm summer days, and the various events and festivals held here center around the square. Care for a fried apple turnover?
The Dreamsicle is an ice cream bar covered in orange sherbet, and a fond memory of my childhood. I don't believe I've had one since I was a kid, but I saw a box of these delights (though they weren't called Dreamcicles) in the freezer section of the grocery the other day, and brought it home with me. Today my wife and I decided to have one. It tasted so good we had a second one and even thought about a third. That seemed a bit much though and we resisted.
When we first move here the old court house in the middle of our square town square was a bright white. Quite picturesque I thought. Now it seems it's on the National Registry of Historic Structures and they spent a basketful of money blasting the many year's accumulation of paint from the original red brick, repairing and painting window frames, remortering areas and the like. Supposedly it now looks like it did when it was first built in the mid eighteen hundreds. We have a brand new, state of the art court house on one of the corners of the square where they hold traffic and criminal court, but they still hold fiscal court in the old building. At least for now it also holds the Sheriff's department, the license branch, all the deeds for the county, and a couple of other bureaucracies, but I understand the Sheriff's department is soon to move to another location. There is a large lawn around the old court house with walkways, benches (liars benches?), and a lot of mature trees. It's an inviting place to sit in the shade on warm summer days, and the various events and festivals held here center around the square. Care for a fried apple turnover?
posted by Fish-2 at 1:17 PM
6 Comments:
Wouldn't you know it. Last surviving WWI vets die off, and they start going after the statues!
Your town sounds like a Norman Rockwell painting, Fish!
We've been tied to the railroad and the river around here so long we think it normal to be hemmed in by both with only 2 small roads to get in or out of town. Well, 3 if you want swim across the river.
It sure cuts down on the through traffic! :-)
BB, this is just carrying the anti-war thing too far.
AGT, sounds like our friends in Nevada. Their town has one paved road, and one dirt track. There is a picturesque quality to the old town square.
I wonder if they can repair the Doughboy statue? If not, perhaps they can commission someone to make another one? I hope so!
Don't get me started on drunk drivers. BAH!
I'm enchanted - by your description. You should write the ads for the visitors bureau.
Gayle, yes the Doughboy can be repaired. The thing I saw on it said it would cost $18,000 and the town didn't have that extra in the budget. Having managed an art bronze foundry for a few years I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out why it would cost anywhere near that much. If I had the equipment available I could do it myself in 3-4 days, and supplies shouldn't be more than a hundred dollars.
Pamela, I'll drink to that. (sorry). I would write for them, but a professional procrastinator is usually fired before they get anything done.
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