This week, maybe more so than others, I’ve been reminded how fortunate I am to have such good connections to the community that I cover as a journalist. This has been on my mind recently for a couple of reasons.
First because I got to engage with several readers who took up my challenge to try their hand at the Hoptown trivia quiz we delivered to y’all in last weekend’s Sunday Brew.
So let’s get right to that. Here are the questions, and the answers (in bold type) to our quiz.
Word on Hoptown
- Middle Age warriors and modern feminist icons gather here. Roundtable Park at Hopkinsville Community College
- The teacher was weary of the rivalry between Hoptown and County. She told her students, “It’s time for some peace. Park your attitudes and let’s all be friends.” Peace Park
- They used to sell candy downtown for a penny. Royal Crown Colas were only a nickel. Pennyroyal
- Go get the pilot. Rocky and Bullwinkle want to fly out to Hopkinsville tonight! Pilot Rock
- Thoroughbred trainer Larry Jones was running out of time. “Get my horse! Shoe him now for the big race today,” he said. Horseshoe (the city’s oldest restaurant)
- It’s a summer holiday. Burgers for everyone, said Mom. Holiday Burgers (the town’s oldest diner)
- Don’t complain about the blistering hot Kentucky sun. Flowers love it. Sunflower (our favorite brand for corn meal mix)
- Sometimes young lovers go to Ferrell’s for midnight cheeseburgers and chili. Younglove (the street that runs from Lewis Street to South Vine Street)
- Never forget to “Do or Die” for … Attucks High
- A psychic, a trailblazing journalist, a tailor and baseball legends of old all endure at this location. Founders Square
- This young royal was a hostess to moving pictures. Princess Theater
- From barbers and bent fenders to porters and stouts, this building has seen plenty. Hopkinsville Brewing Co.
No one scored 100% on the first try, but some of our readers got very close.
Happy Higgins came through with the first response and had nine out of 12 answers correct. And he was followed by Carolyn Haddock (11 correct), Brenda Lile (11 correct), Gloria Young (10 correct) and Lynn Shepherd (10 correct).
The one question that most of our readers missed was No. 10: “A psychic, a trailblazing journalist, a tailor and baseball legends of old all endure at this location.”
When I wrote that question, I was trying to get readers to think of Founders Square downtown, where Dean of Black journalists Ted Poston has a Kentucky Historical Society marker, and where a large mural preserves the history of several Hopkinsville people and institutions. Among them are psychic Edgar Cayce, tailor Ned Turner, who invented the belt vest suspender, and the original Hoptown Hoppers baseball players, of the early 20th century.
But as several readers noted with other good answers to this question, there are more places in town where these historic figures “endure,” including at the Pennyroyal Area Museum and the public library.
Thanks to everyone who responded to the quiz by emailing me. Y’all made my email much more enjoyable than I sometimes find it.
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This column first appeared in the Sunday Brew, an email newsletter from Hoptown Chronicle. Each week, the Brew reflects on deeply local topics that matter to all of us who share an interest in Hopkinsville. Like what you see here? Join the mailing list and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each Sunday.
And now back to the second reason that I took stock this week of Hoptown Chronicle’s connection to the community.
This week engagement editor Julia Hunter and I have been working with a Christian County High School student who thinks she might want to study journalism in college. Aly Adler is a senior, and she came to our attention thanks to a mentoring program called Mental Mapping in the local public high schools. It’s run by two volunteers — Wynn Radford and Angie Major — who counsel students about their opportunities after high school and what they need to do to pursue their goals.
Wynn asked me to speak with Aly. When I met her, I learned that she’d never had an opportunity to write a news article. Her school doesn’t have a newspaper. (Which is a shame — maybe the district will see about filling this gap when the new consolidated high school opens in a couple of years.)
It didn’t take Aly long to come up with a story idea she wanted to pitch to Hoptown Chronicle. She was curious about the fact that most of the newer businesses in downtown Hopkinsville are owned and run by women. And since March is Women’s History Month, her topic was timely. Aly and I shared a byline on the story, and we published it this morning.
If you happen to know Aly and see her around town, give her some feedback on the story. We are pleased to have her as a contributor. If she wants to pursue more stories about Hopkinsville, we’ll do our best to help her.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
