Todd County Standard - Kentucky Press Association

GUTHRIE
RICH PAST; LOOKING TOWARD FUTURE
BY CATHERINE DARNELL
TODD COUNTY STANDARD
Guthrie has always been
home to many routes to get
travelers from one side of
town to the other, but since
its beginning, it has never
been a place you could just
pass through.
Founded in 1879 and
named for John James
Guthrie, former president of
the L&N Railroad, the grid
of tracks was busy until the
wane of railroad, with many
lines going north-south and
east-west, along with highways
79 and 41.
In his book, “And I’ll
Throw in the Socks, The
Memoirs of a Kentucky
Store Keeper,” William M.
Jenkins Jr. shares the memories
of his father who ran a
dry-goods store there for
many years. Jenkins Sr.
recounts the days in the first
part of the 20th Century
when Guthrie was known as
“Little Chicago,” a time
when railroad employees,
salesmen and, occasionally,
some shady characters who
might also be a railman or
salesman, frequented the
lively town. There was a lot
for preachers to talk about in
their Sunday morning sermons.
Before anyone ever heard
of a big box store, the town
was the Saturday evening
destination for city and country
folks to do some shopping
and have fun.
“This was my stomping
grounds from 1948 to the
early 50s,” said Margie
Miller of Adams, Tenn., who
is a regular diner at the
Senior Citizens lunches on
the second and fourth
L&N Railroad Museum pays tribute to Guthrie’s railroad town heritage.
Fridays of the month. “Five
of us girls liked to come here
and dance and go to the
movies.”
Today, liquor is gone (but
talk is it will soon be resurrected),
the movie house
long closed, many of the
storefronts abandoned or
demolished, but there is still
life in the old girl yet. (The
old hand-painted sign on the
side of one of the brick
buildings says so: “Coca
Cola 5 Cents Relieves
Fatigue.”)
Much of that life is at
Guthrie Hardware Store,
known as Boogie’s Place,
where locals and natives
gather at various times to
talk about politics, the
weather, Kentucky basketball
and what’s going on in
Guthrie, says proprietor
Boogie Oliver.
“We sell people hardware,”
he said with a mischievous
smile. “We put up
hardware.” But mostly they
talk, he says. The place
opens about 7, after Boogie
has sat on an outside bench
and waved at everybody that
needs waving to, which is
everybody. Then begins the
morning loafing session,
which adjourns about 9, he
says. The afternoon session
(often, the same people)
meanders in about 2 and
they leave at 3, give or take.
Regulars include Bobby Paul
Covington, Howard Reid
Dorris, E.L. Warren, Bobby
Dean Bagby, Kay Bagby
(also known as Miss Lassie),
Eddie Allison, Billy Cook
Webb, Shelton Meriwether,
Mayor Scott Marshall when
he has any time off from his
two jobs, and Elaine and Bill
Longhurst, who own
Longhurst’s Grocery across
the street, another Guthrie
institution. Bill Longhurst
goes back to his store if he
sees a customer coming and
is there at lunch to serve his
famous bologna sandwiches
done the right way—slice of
bologna, white bread and
mustard.
“It’s like Mayberry,” said
Longhurst. “Back and
forth.”
It’s not as if any of these
people spend their time resting
on their laurels in mismatched
chairs at a hardware
store. These are also
people who show up at city
council meetings, organize
or help organize town
events and apply for grant
money to help maintain and
revitalize the town.
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