Don Estep

Do you know that your driver’s license has expired? My answer was “no” to the clerk at city hall. I may have read that they no longer send out cards reminding you that it is time to renew your license, but if I did I forgot about it. Hey, I’m 77 and I forget things and I never look at my driver’s license. For people my age we need to be reminded. It just so happened that my wife and I were changing our license from our address in Henderson when I found out about the expiration. It happened on the last day of my grace period which meant I...

A word of advice to those who have lived their entire life in their hometown and plan to move after retirement. It can be difficult as well as rewarding. I know because my wife and I moved from Corbin to Henderson, Ky. two years ago to assist our daughter who was giving birth to a third child. She had two daughters at that time, ages four and two. The first year we spent about ten hours a day taking care of the baby and the two little ones. While we enjoyed it to the maximum, it was about too much for people of our ages. The second year, when the...

The Highway Beautification Act signed in 1965 is being challenged and Lady Bird Johnson would be highly offended if she were alive. As I was entering I-75 at the south Corbin interchange recently on my way south for a vacation I remarked to my wife about the condition of some of the billboards there. One was falling apart and a couple of others were blank. That started me to notice billboards along our route. I saw many others in disrepair and many with no message on them. There are a few locally that are blank and are an eyesore. The companies that own them should paste some public service ad...

I don’t bowl. If I tried to lift a bowling ball my arm would probably fall off. But I am sad to hear about the closing of Forest Lanes. The many groups and individuals who were league bowlers are going to miss it more than me. I don’t know the circumstances that has led to the closing of the bowling alley, but somehow I hope somebody can come to the rescue of those who bowl. Forest Lanes has been the host for several state bowling tournaments that brought hundreds of visitors and thousands of dollars to the area. The bowling alley has been a great asset to the area also as...

Like several of you, I was there for the first NIBROC Festival. A contest had been held to name the festival and Corbin spelled backwards was chosen. The carnival rides were located on a lot at 7th and Main Streets. The festival was mostly a hometown affair until the downtown businesses left for shopping centers. The early years were fun. Most employees of the downtown stores participated in various ways, such as dressing up in yesteryear’s clothing to men growing beards. It seems like everybody was involved. The sidewalks were crowded with merchandise for sale. Windows were decorated to blend with various themes. During the day there was always a crowd...

I have never understood why people get so worked up and emotional when the word annexation is brought up. They have more reaction than a bull does to a red cape or a Republican being asked to vote for Hillary. Some people get angry and combative. I am not saying that the people who showed up to oppose an effort by the city of Corbin to annex some roads in west Corbin area acted that way, but they did show up in big numbers on July 7 … 36 of them, to oppose any move by the city to take in that land. I don’t understand this at all because nobody...

The Kentucky Press Association makes available student interns during the summer to its members. We have had several interns at the News Journal. This year we are fortunate to have Candice Garcia from Corbin. She is a student at Eastern Kentucky University. I was a student intern 56 years ago at WHAS-TV in Louisville. It was prior to my senior year at the University of Kentucky and it was a giant step for a boy from Corbin to be out on his own in the big city. My anxiety was high as I drove my father’s Ford Falcon to work the first day at the Courier-Journal building at Sixth and Broadway....

Now that we have had our fill of hot dogs, hamburgers and watermelon during the July 4th holiday weekend, it brings to mind a time when I could never get enough watermelon. They seemed to taste better back then. I argue with my wife that those seedless melons she brings home don’t compare with those back then. She tells me that I think everything was better then. A few years ago I submitted the following story to a book publisher and it was published, along with others stories from the area. My adventure happened about this time of the year. On a hot summer day in the 1950’s, before air conditioning was...

Years ago, when I was Chairman of the Corbin Tourism Commission, I signed a letter that was sent to Mayor Amos Miller telling him that the Commission had voted to give 75 percent of its restaurant tax money to the city for the purpose of reducing the debt on the new Arena. Without that money the Arena could not have been built. I wish we had included a provision that would have given tourism a voice in its operation. Tourism had discussed the idea of hiring a director that would oversee tourism’s operation and manage the Arena. I made several contacts with successful arena managers and received some good resumes....

The most important item is first in this week’s column. I want to wish my wife Judy a great day on our 52nd wedding anniversary! It was on this day, June 1, 1964 when we said our vows. After three wonderful children and four out-of–this-world grandchildren we are still happily married. I was 24 years old (one of my crazy sisters said I was too young to get married) and Judy was my child bride. My friend Bill Crook said he didn’t know if I was going to marry her or adopt her. Judy had just graduated from high school and I had finished college. I am very lucky. Judy is as...