On The Road Again….Da What A Heck Tour…Day 89. Sun run…temps…low 90’s HHH. Greetings from Lexington KY. We spent the day riding rolling straight-a–ways (with a few unexpected sweeping twisties ) thru rich (literally and figuratively) green Kentucky horse country that led us to a few very interesting Roadside Americas such as…….the Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville. In 1959, at the age of 69, Colonel Harland Sanders and his wife, Claudia, moved from Southeastern Kentucky to Shelbyville. Prior to this, the Colonel had spent many years in Corbin, Kentucky, developing his now world-famous chicken recipe. His move to Shelbyville was prompted by the opening of Interstate 75 which bypassed Corbin and his restaurant. It was however, from this very building that Kentucky Fried Chicken grew into a world-wide organization. After selling KFC in 1964, neither the building nor the Sanders remained idle for long. Their knowledge of Southern Recipes and their natural leaning toward the restaurant business soon brought about the creation of this, the Claudia Sanders Dinner House . We decided to have lunch in the grand old Dinner House. Yes …Ken had chicken…no it was not the Colonel’s recipe, he sold that…and I had the most delicious white bean and ham soup, that came highly recommended, along with a pile of delicious corn muffins that kept showing up at our table! From there it was on to the Kentucky Vietnam War Memorial Sundial in Frankfort which consists of a 14-foot high steel sundial that stands at the center of a granite plaza. Its gnomon casts a shadow on the chiseled name of each fallen Kentucky Vietnam war veteran -- 1,103 of them -- on the anniversary of when they were killed. Kentuckys 23 MIAs are listed behind the sundial so its shadow never falls on their names. The unusual Memorial, to all 125,000 Kentuckians who served in the military from 1962-1975, was designed by architect/veteran Helm Roberts . We next found ourselves back in a cemetery, the Frankfort Cemetery to be exact, looking for the burial site of Daniel Boone…well…most of him that is! He appears to have ended up in two graves. Everyone agrees that Boone died at his sons home near Defiance, Missouri, in 1820. Everyone also agrees that he was buried nearby in Marthasville (about 14 mi. west), near the grave of his wife, Rebecca. But then the story gets muddled. The folks in Frankfort, Kentucky, would have you believe that Rebecca and Daniel were exhumed 25 years later and reinterred in Frankfort Cemetery. The marker in Marthasville mentions the re-interment, and in June of 2010, an official document filed by the Friends of Daniel Boones Burial Site in Missouri now concedes that some of Boones bones were dug up and moved to Kentucky, but only the large ones. His heart and brain remain where he was buried. Eeewww! At the suggestion of some nice Kentuckians that we met at Boone’s grave site, we also visited the gravesite of a Capt. John Jones of Texas. According to an article I found about Capt Jones…”few burials aroused as much public sympathy as did the 1870 re-interment of four innocent Confederate prisoners executed in reprisal for the murder of Union supporter Robert Graham of Peaks Mill. The men were political prisoner Thornton Lafferty, a 20-year old Maysville attorney Thomas Hunt, 42-year old Elijah Horton from Carter County, and Captain John Jones of Texas. And the monument of the Confederate soldier standing within a circle of graves that was erected 1892 represents James G. Crockett who lost a leg in defense of the South. We finished our day with a fly by photo of our last Roady…the former Martin Castle. Construction on the castle was started by Rex Martin and his wife Caroline in 1969, after they had returned from a trip to Europe and were inspired by the architecture and many famous buildings they had seen. The finished project was to have seven bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a fountain in the driveway, and a tennis court. In 1975, the Martins divorced and left the castle unfinished. Over the years, it became a popular oddity and roadside photo-op for tourists. It had been for sale for many years at a price rumored to be more than $3 million, and there had been talks that it would be turned into a medieval-themed restaurant or a museum. It is now owned by Thomas and Judith Post and is being used as a bed and breakfast while it is listed on the market for $30 million. If you’re interested in making an offer, Facebook me personally and I’ll be more than happy to pass your offer along to Tom and Judy!! Yeah right! Tomorrow……..Kentucky Horse Park
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 02:58:04 +0000
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