Todd County Standard - Kentucky Press Association

Continued from Page 30
involving the destuction of
tobacco, vigilantism and outright
violence led to trouble in
Todd. Men wearing black masks
and white scarves who came to
be known as the Night Riders
boarded the coach at
Bradshaw’s Switch the same
night the tobacco factory in
Elkton was blown up as collateral
damage of the Black Patch
Wars, an event that made the
international news.
WHIPPOORWILL
It’s the name of a creek
almost everyone has fished in,
cooled off in or floated on at
some point. A community
about five miles northeast of
Elkton, it is plentiful with
wildlife; in The Early Settlement
of Todd County: Sketches by
Urban Ewing and Kennedy
Family History, there’s a recount
of wolves roaming the area in
1827.
PINCHEM (PENCHEM)
Of course everyone knows the
area for its well-stocked tack
shop appropriately situated near
Trenton horse country. People
also say there used to be a
bunch of bootleggers in town
operating out of a dilapidated
building, and to let them know
you wanted some of their finest,
you had to literally“Pinch‘em”—
hence the name.
Four Amish families settled
there in 1958 from Virginia.
Through word-of-mouth, they
enticed others to follow, enriching
Todd County with businesses
such as bakeries, furniture stores,
quilting and farm machinery
shops.
Pity the poor school bus riders
through the years who yelled
“Pinchem,”when they came
upon the community. Everybody
took leave to pinch the arms of
people around them. At least it
was that way in the ‘60s. Let’s
hope that custom is long-forgotten.
HERMAN
Herman has witnessed miracles
and near misses.
Seven miles from Guthrie,
the community was the site of
another old-fashioned camp
meeting. The first stirrings of
revival began in 1873-74 at what
was probably called the Parsons
Camp Meeting. The Methodists
were so inspired that the
Herman Camp Meeting in 1907-
08 covered five acres and lasted
two weeks, with some families
staying in shelters or tents so
they wouldn’t have to make
what was then an arduous trip
home each night.
As the railroad once made
three trips daily and one on
Sunday through the town, the
near-miss miracle in Herman’s
history is the Dec. 7, 1902 train
derailment with not one injury.
LIBERTY
It’s really the south end of
Allegre, but Liberty has seen
more independent days. Settled
primarily by members of Liberty
Church, the community was
served by Woodland School
until the great consolidation
that sent kids to Allegre proper.
DAYSVILLE
Todd County has had its share
of famous folk, but Daysville
illustrates the area’s modern
brush with celebrity. Five miles
east of Elkton, the town can
boast promoting the early
careers of artists such as Garth
Brooks—possibly country
music’s Poet Laureate for the
1990s. Business began there as
early as 1833 when a Mr. Day
opened a store there.
What drew such artists as
Trisha Yearwood and Tracy
Lawrence—who candidly credits
his visits to Daysville as his big
break—was Libby’s Steakhouse,
a sort of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge
for Todd County, where biggername
singers, as well as those
just beginning to climb the
rungs of fame, could take the
mic.
Owner and operator Libby
Knight of Russellville ran
Southern Beef and the steakhouse
and promoted country
music through the famous“Live
at Libby’s”radio show beginning
in 1984. Knight died in 2004,
and while Libby’s is an empty
building today, no one—least of
all the singers whose careers got
a boost there—will forget the
music of those days in Daysville.
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701 West Main Street
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Todd County Standard DISCOVER TODD COUNTY 31