First, in recent time, it was the 140-year-old Holland Opera House, followed quickly by the Phoenix Building, both gone … each making the center of downtown Hopkinsville appear a beautiful lady with missing teeth. Then, of all things, the TRAIN DEPOT. It was heartbreaking and those of us who have lived here our entire lives and care about the history of this place should thank God for Railmark Holdings Inc. because, without them, it would likely be on the list to become more rubble in the current “we can’t afford it” climate. But golly gee, we have an Aquatic Center and Splash pad which, if not ‘closed for repair’ will surely last as long as these historic buildings of Hopkinsville’s downtown!
I certainly couldn’t state that all younger generations care less about the history of their hometown; one of the Save the Webber letters was from a former student of my husband’s and daughter of a dear friend and former employer, Paul Turner, Esq., and I know there are others. I have, however, heard with my own ears in the past from more than a few younger ladies and gentlemen who then believed the Hopkinsville City Council was comprised of old people who didn’t care about providing fun things to do in Hopkinsville. That was then and it seems they and others have remedied that situation one or two council members at a time.
It’s hard to understand why our hometown can’t have and afford both: provide fun things to do while respecting the city’s downtown structures. I lived my first 11 years in a “holler” (sic) in North Christian County and know very well about “unable to afford;” but, sometimes the administration of Hopkinsville spends money for demolitions in amounts large enough to at least begin repair of historic properties that earned their keep long ago.
In my opinion, keeping these revered places of history in acceptable repair should be (and should have been) overseen regularly by someone in our administration who is placed in a position of doing just that. We’ve witnessed and felt enough of the erasing of tactile evidence of our history already. Some of us don’t need — or want more.
Cathy Denison,
Hopkinsville
