A little history of the City of Newport KY

[dan_bgblue]

I knew Newport had a bad reputation, but did not know much of the background. This will not be news to the locals, but to an outlander like me, it is an interesting read.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/h...=pocket-newtab

[PedroDaGr8]

Great article Dan. I knew it used to be the prostitution hub of KY (didn't realize it went back to the civil war); the rest was totally new to me.

[UKFlounder]

Some people still say Newport’s worst mistake was cleaning up all the stuff going on. How much bigger would it be if tgey had not? It has fallen to the 2nd biggest city just in the county for the first time ever. 😁

I volunteer at a local history organization and a few weeks ago, we received a donation of some date books from a man who was a police officer on Newport from the 1940s through the 70s. The books we got were from 1958 - 1962 when the stuff with Ratterman took place. (And this guy apparently had a reputation of honesty and was on the Committee of 500 to help clean up crime, but that is from his obituary, so TIFWIW.)

They include a bunch of stuff in it, some mundane (we went bowling tonight, etc) but do include some nice tidbits. On one day his note was something like “the chief told me I will be part of very secret duty tomorrow.”

The next day he wrote “I woke up and a friend told me that news about the raid we’re going on is all through town. The newspaper and media are talking about it. SOME SECRET!!!!!” You could feel the frustration through his words.

He mentioned other specific raids. During some of the Ratterman ongoing, his only words every day for a week or so were “Special Duty, Ratterman case,” and nothing else.

He also mentioned Screw Andrews, one of the big name gamblers of that era and I remember one entry that talked about them finding 800 something dollars in confiscated slot machines and noted that “funds go to the policemen and firemen’s fund.”

I really need to go read through the entire books, but the pages I read are pretty neat looks at that era.

Look up “Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire” sometime. It was a horrible tragedy and rumors of mob responsibility for it still abound. It was just south of Newport.

[CitizenBBN]

Oh the supper club fire is infamous, I remember it well. I did an estate for some of the family that was involved in the ownership of it several years ago.

[dan_bgblue]

That was the Southwire lawsuit fire wasn't it?

[MickintheHam]

Ratterman was an analyst on the NBC American Football league broadcasts when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time in Newport when I was at UK. It was a crazy place. My best friend lived in Ft. Thomas. His next door neighbor owned the Pink Pony Pub in Newport. All I can say is it was an amazing place. The neighbor sponsored my buddy’s little league baseball team. No advertising was allowed. But they were called the Ponies and wore pink uniforms... nine ten and eleven year old kids. Such was life in Northern Ky. Miss all the fun we had there.

We were at the Beverly Hills night club the Saturday before it burned to see Natalie Cole. The place rivaled anything in Vegas at the time. The following Saturday it burned just before a John Davidson performance. The accounts of how people were trapped in the place haunt me to this day.

[UKFlounder]

I think so Dan. I know there was a major lawsuit about the drywall inside the building

As they recovered bodies from Be early Hills and took them to the Ft Thomas armory for identification, the only vehicles to keep them cool were used, but unfortunately had “Kroger Meats” plastered all over the outside of them. It did not tKe long for them to find sheets to cover up the signage in the truck...

I met one guy whose sister was a nurse at the time and she told hi. The smell of all those corpses in the armory was just awful.

My parents and many others I know went to the prom there

[MickintheHam]

Flounder, is Dixie Chili still in business? I used to go to their old place. It was a late night haunt after an evening on the town in Cincy or Newport.

[dan_bgblue]

Is this the one you seek Mick?

[UKFlounder]

Dixie Chili is still there

It snuck into a picture I took last spring

Attachment 9014

[suncat05]

I applied for and was offered a job with the Newport P.D. in the spring of 1980.
And then I told my folks........after a long heart-to-heart with my Dad, I declined the job offer.
Seems my Dad knew some folks up there, former 'business associates' of his Dad, my grandfather, and my Dad was NOT keen on the idea of me working there.
I was young and dumb back then, and my Dad was not a big talker about such things, but he named some names and told me about business back in the "old days". After listening to Dad lay it all out for me, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and that being in Newport would not be a good move for me to make.

[suncat05]

Speaking of Dixie Chili, I went online and ordered a 6 pack of chili from them . So, thanks for the info, Mick, Flounder, and dan! 👍

[MickintheHam]

Is this the one you seek Mick?

Indeed it is!!!

[MickintheHam]

Dixie Chili is still there

It snuck into a picture I took last spring

Attachment 9014

No history of Newport is complete without Dixie Chili.

[blueboss]

A buddy of mine and I went on a Christmas Eve shopping trip to Cincinnati more than several years ago. Our plan was to hit some stores that we didn’t have in Louisville to get our girlfriends some unique last minute gifts.

The trip turned into a legendary event that I won’t go into great detail about, but we ended up in Newport later that evening.

All I’ll say is this. You haven’t lived until you’ve spent Christmas Eve in Newport Ky. Much later that evening when we made it home, had we not been bearing gifts we would have needed new girlfriends.


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[MickintheHam]

Speaking of Dixie Chili, I went online and ordered a 6 pack of chili from them . So, thanks for the info, Mick, Flounder, and dan! ��

Oh, I didn't mean to imply Dixie Chili was good. It was just the only place in Newport to eat at 3am.

[UKFlounder]

The more things change...


https://www.wlwt.com/article/newport...817061?src=app