Jeffersonville Then and Now....Part I

Old Jeffersonville High School

With all the growth and construction currently going on and watching Jeffersonville become a bustling little City it also has some of us older residents reflecting back on days of yore...Having resided here all of my 60+ years I have seen huge changes over the years...From a sleepy little river town to a busy extension of the  Louisville- Kentuckiana area....quite a change indeed...





Just a few of my earliest memories of downtown Jeff and surrounding area (which was small then) as the city limits ended around Springdale Dr. going out Hwy. 62...


Anyone remember the Brown Derby Restaurant circa 1960 ??? I believe it stood where First Federal S&L sits today on Court Ave.....It burned down around 1960 which was a big event in old Jeff...across the street  on Court and Wall was Murphy and Cloyd's drugstore with an old time ice cream and soda bar...Further down was the old Citizens'Trust Bank bldg. corner of  Court and Spring (which still stands) and across the street which later came Clark Co. bank was Leist's drugstore...

A&W Root Beer Hwy  

Spring St. late 50's early 60's had the LeRose movie theater, of course Schimpf's candy, a J.C. Penneys, Ehringer's Appliances a pool hall (name ???) Country Cottage restaurant (where Ann's on the River is now) Third Base Tavern (the original) and several other small bars..House of James beauty college,.and of course the famous Trolley Inn facing the river off Spring  across the street from the Trolley was a flea bag motel (name ??? may have been Riverside Hotel)... The water and electric co.s had buildings on Spring as well....and there was a fire station on a the corner of Spring and Court ...

Other memories of downtown  a taxi cab station (yellow Cab) on that little island on Court just down from Spring...The A&P Grocery where Old Towne Grocery is today a bus station on Court just down from the courthouse ...a much smaller quaint old courthouse and jail...Jeffersonville High school was downtown until the late 60's I believe and the Jeff Fieldhouse was always packed on basketball game night to watch the Red Devils play The Jeff fieldhouse hosted many large sectionals in the 50's and 60's as well....

Warder Park

Lerose Theater

A big event in old Jeffersonville was around 1964 or 65 when then president Lyndon B. Johnson came to town for the opening of at the time (new) Jeffersonville post office which remains today...a huge crowd flooded Court Ave. to hear LBJ dedicate the new post office,,, In either 1967 or 68 Robert (Bobby) Kennedy visited Youngstown shopping center on a campaign stop in his presidential bid that end in his assassination...

Youngstown shopping center was probably the earliest dedicated shopping area in this area. Early on it included Krogers, Taylor's drugstore, Woolworth's, Bacon's, Everfresh Bakery and a National food store ....later on it would include Cotton Wood's sporting goods, Keith's clothing a S&H green stamp store a bowling alley Youngstown lanes (where New Washington Bank is today.)

Youngstown Shopping center (early)

This is the first part of a series the BatBlog is putting together about old Jeffersonville up thru today. Hopefully readers can contribute some things either I don't remember or overlooked ...any contribution is welcomed. These are many childhood memories so dates , locations and names could be mistaken..Already I have been contacted by a gentleman in Scottsdale Arizona who grew up in this area and worked at the Texaco gas station across from the Youngstown shopping center on Hwy. 62 in the early 50's (see picture)...

Looking forward to any contributions from other old timers like RiverFox and other readers...

Clark Co. Bobbleheads

Bobblehead dolls are popular promotional and fund raising tools .With the well documented financial woes of Clark Co. becoming more dire with the on going lawsuits The BatBlog  has come up with a possible solution...Clark Co. Bobbleheads featuring various political figures of the county... Sold at a premium price this could help alleviate our financial problems ...Get your orders in early...Supplies may be limited...

BY REQUEST :

The Story That Won't Go Away...

Just back from vacation and got word this story is still in the news... a story by the way that broke first on the "Award Winning" BatBlog. While The BatBlog has always trusted and appreciated Co. commissioner  Rick Stephenson ,a lot of questions still go unanswered. on this issue...

Though there was supposedly a gag order on this settlement it appears that Larry "Canman" Wilder has gotten a copy of the alleged letter that triggered the payout of $100,000 to former probation officer Susan Knoebel. Wilder questions the payment when no legal action was set in place and wonders why his client former Judge Jerry Jacobi wasn't questioned on the details of the settlement since Ms. Knoebel worked for and was fired by Judge Jacobi during the drug court fiasco...

WHAS channel 11 also brings up the question about the Clark Co. commissioner's attorney Lisa Glickfield  also representing the recipient Ms. Knoebel ...

Questions The BatBlog has...

1. If a gag order was in place how did "CanMan" Wilder not only release the details but also have a copy of the letter allegedly sent by Knoebel ???  Since there is apparently no pending legal suit ...Why is "Canman"even involved ???

2. Did  Glickfield file a conflict of interest paper or is there any written documentation filed that she no longer represents Knoebel  ???  which is common procedure to follow....

3. Who legally advised the commissioners to hand over the Ms. Knoebel's letter to the insurance company ??? Since there was NO notice of tort filed...

4. Who is the insurance company for the County and who is the agent of record ???

5. Wasn't there a special prosecutor investigating Ms. Knaebel's actions in the drug court cases. What were his findings in regards to her actions ???  If I remember right her actions were being questioned as  possibly criminal in nature initially...
Commissioner Stephenson stated earlier that the uproar was political in nature....which it may well be...The thing is in a high profile case like this complete transparency is important to the public. While the insurance company can pay out their money as they see fit...tax money paid for this insurance and tax dollars will also pay for the raise in premiums that are sure to come from this Drug court fiasco...The public remains with more questions than answers ...which is unfortunate...

Transparency In Clark Co. Government ???

Several  readers have e-mailed The BatBlog wondering about the executive session scheduled by the Clark Co. commissioners and the Co. council concerning THE MISSING FUNDS from the C.C. Probation Office as reported exclusively here by the BatBlog.

County taxpayers are wondering about the results of the "closed to the public" executive session. Even though this is probably the worst kept secret in history as far the "missing funds" and the reason and people involved. Nonetheless,  The BatBlog has heard of no official word from any government official on the details of the private session.

We do have sources within government that on the promise of anonymity have said The BatBlog was right on target with their initial investigation. It would be refreshing though if someone in an official capacity would confirm or deny the details of the reported session.

 Several county officials read and participate here, notably Commissioner Rick Stephens and councilman Kevin Vissing. Hopefully they will weigh in on this issue in the name of Transparency and in the spending of tax dollars by the good citizens of Clark Co....

Anyone ???

More Downtown Jeff Development

New plans for old home, several restaurants coming to base of Big Four

Where's The Deed Moe ???

Looks like city councilman Ed "Moe" Zastawny got a little testy about the lost deed to the Woerhle soccer complex in Jeffersonville.  Moe declared "Don't go to the press and say it's kind of not there or that's not been done."

Well sorry Moe but it  I'SNT there and it HASN'T been done as recorded in the city's Recording office where it's SUPPOSED to be. The City Clerk doesn't have the deed either.


The BatBlog isn't declaring any kind of a  conspiracy theory here as former council attorney Scott Lewis has come up with a copy of the missing deed. The BatBlog is merely pointing out the incompetency of the former Parks Authority/ City Council  led by Moe himself  who championed  the soccer complex. The deal that brought the glitzy, very expensive soccer complex to Jeff is being looked into by the NEW Parks Authority board...which is checking out the deals made by the former board that was  the City council before an ordinance separated the duties away from the council.

It appears that the deal with  (Clark Co, Soccer Assoc.) where CCSA will receive all revenue from concessions may not be in the best interests of local taxpayers. It seems rather strange that a deal would be worked where  a city owned property gets NONE of the revenue generated by it's own soccer complex. That's just one part of the self serving deal that brought an unneeded, over priced complex that Moe and his minions crammed down Jeffersonville taxpayer's throats. Fortunately for us taxpayers the current City council has changed the possibly illegal position of the former Park's Authority and the council being one and the same entity...

Meanwhile.... Moe Where's the Deed ??? Have you looked in your pocket ???

Is "The Donald" Imploding ???

As this year's presidential race and campaigns continue, it appears Donald Trump's bid and  "The Donald" himself may be imploding. Not intent on discussing the issues Trump is alienating  his fellow, well respected Republican's , war veteran's, and undecided voters and even his supporters are having second thoughts. Which isn't the path to victory by any stretch of the imagination.

  Anyone who  mildly disagrees or criticizes Trump becomes the target of his venom. Even a father of a fallen war hero drew his wrath after he criticized Trump at the Dem. national convention. His displays of anger over minor issues prove he has neither the temperament, self control or intelligence to be President of the U.S.

  One thing any successful politician will tell you is that developing a thick skin to criticism is essential to the success of  being an effective leader. It appears that Trump  can't be impervious to the even the slightest of critics, A successful leader must listen  to those closest to him as well as others with constructive criticism. Trumps super ego and narcissistic personality  won't allow him to take advice from even the most respected members of his own party, which are abandoning his campaign in large numbers and in some cases the GOP party itself.

  The election has a long way to go but without a complete reversal of temperament which appears impossible for "The Donald"  as his campaign is verging on implosion .

Link to Newsweek article on Trump CLICK HERE