100 YEARS AGO — 1919

Last night, the Gentry Brothers show arrived in Danville on a special train composed of 16 cars. The size of their main tent will hold about 3,400 more people than the last time the show was in town several years ago. One of the greatest attractions will be the singing of Miss Fern Ross, the Prima Donna of the White Top, who will give selections in the ring surrounded with birds and doves and mounted on a horse, the birds joining in the chorus of each song. Other attractions will be the acting monkeys, three female elephants that play music and a game of baseball in the ring, a 16-piece military band and 54 dogs doing tricks.

Many drivers in Danville are apparently speed mad. They totally disregard the speed ordinance which is violated almost every minute on Main Street, while on many side streets, machines are driven at a speed of 30 to 40 mph. The editor of this newspaper will personally put $25 toward a fund to buy a motorcycle with a speedometer attached to be used by police to run down the speed demons. If anyone else wants to add to the fund they can call the newspaper office. When a sufficient amount is raised, the motorcycle will be bought and offered to the city.

Will P. Caldwell has decided to take charge of the large farm out on the Lebanon Road, belonging to his father, J.B. Caldwell. Many of our readers know Will was the road engineer in several counties in Kentucky. When war was declared, Will enlisted in the Army and was sent overseas. His parents and other family members are genuinely happy that he decided to come home and take charge of the family farm.

The Kentucky Federal Reserve District is getting a large supply of hand grenade banks which the War Savings Organization Division will distribute to school children of Kentucky. The plan is to allow children to use the grenade bank to save pennies and dimes, while he is accumulating enough to buy War Savings Stamps. The hand grenades, which are the highest development of the time honored weapon, are transformed into thrift agencies by clearing out the explosive chamber cutting a slot through shrapnel casting, which is the body of the grenade, and substituting a removable screw for the base of the casting. The grenade bank will hold 100 pennies or 100 dimes. Across the face of the grenade bank appears the words “Buy W.S.S.”

75 YEARS AGO — 1944

Post-war recreational plans for Danville’s children and young people was the subject of an address to members of the Kiwanis Club. Charles Grow, of the Kentucky School for the Deaf said the community should make plans now for a well-rounded recreational program to become effective as soon as possible after the war. Among the projects being discussed is a youth recreation center, a playground at the Bate School and the construction of a municipal building that would include a basketball floor.

Charles Benton Leverett, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. B.H. Leverett of Georgia, formerly of Junction City, has signed up with the Atlanta Crackers Baseball League and will start his spring training in March at Kingsport.

A Danville man was fined $100 in court when he was tried for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages. He was arrested on Ky. 150 between Danville and Stanford where it was said he was speeding to Louisville. He was driving an Army truck hauling gas tanks for Ford, Bacon, Davis and Company of Tennessee. It is reported that he lost seven of the tanks, three of which were recovered, in his wild ride. Any person who finds the gas tanks is requested to return them promptly to the Danville Chief of Police.

Kindergarten schools in Danville were ordered closed by the Boyle Board of Health due to the current case of infantile paralysis in town. It was also voted to forbid all traveling shows, such as circuses and carnivals to operate within Boyle County during August and September.

50 YEARS AGO — 1969

Mayor Eben Henson announced that the City of Danville will be a participant in a 14-county regional project dealing with solid waste disposal. Henson said because of a federal grant, each jurisdiction would save a considerable amount of money by not having to operate its own land fill site and maintain equipment for the proper disposal of trash and garbage.

Winners of the individual classes of the pet show at the Danville-Boyle County Fair and Horse Show were, Elizabeth Reed, Liz Martin, Nita Speakes, Jack Caldwell, Elizabeth Caldwell and Donna Youngman.

The Whirlpool Corporation, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, has announced plans to build a new $3,000,000 manufacturing plant in Danville. It is one of the largest appliance manufacturers in the country. The announcement was made at Old Crow Inn. The new facility will be located on a 46-acre tract facing the new bypass. Manufacturing is to begin in the fall of 1970 with about 200 employees. Full production is scheduled for mid-1971 with about 500 employees.

The 95-member Danville Admiral Marching Band will train for the fall schedule of public appearances at General Butler State Park in Carrollton. The band, under the direction of William Gravely, will rehearse competitive, show and parade routines. The group will also find itself in a cabin competition with bands from Henry County, North Hardin and Pleasure Ridge Park. The winning cabin from both the boys and girls cabins will receive a trophy at the end of the week. Both of these awards were won by the Marching Admirals last year.

25 YEARS AGO — 1994

The new Holiday Inn Express has opened. The new hotel features 62 guest rooms, an indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna and a complimentary breakfast bar. The original Holiday Inn has been converted into a Days Inn.

With the recent hiring of Kent Mann as assistant superintendent and principal of Kentucky School for the Deaf, another Danville school is searching for a principal.

At Boyle Middle School, recently named principal Alex Stevens and teacher Lee Ann Divine are putting finishing touches on a program they hope will increase student attendance in the upcoming school year. Local businesses are being asked to provide discounts to the students as incentives for them to do well in school and improve their attendance.