"Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire" by Ron Elliott

I had SOME familiarity with the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, but not much.  It really happened before my time, but I have spent a lot of days roughly in the area where it occurred.

I was pretty excited to pick up the book, "Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire" by Ron Elliott.  Most of the volume seems to be the story of Wayne Dammert, who worked there for years before the fire AND he was there the night of the actual burning.  The fire took the lives of 167 people.

Wayne's story is interesting even before the club's most notable moment, as he rubs elbows with various celebrities and interesting characters who stop by the club.  He meets his future wife there as she works as a dancer.

Of course, the heart of the book involves hearing Wayne's first hand account of what he was doing before, during and after the club burned.

Author Ron Elliott also includes the stories of others at the end of the book.  Various Beverly Hills workers, patrons, and family members tell about their involvement, and how the fire affected them.

I am WAY late on getting around to reading this one...  It came out in the mid 90s....  But I am glad that I got around to it!

Bobby Mackeys in Wilder Kentucky

Not too long ago I went with some friends to Bobby Mackey's!  I have driven by it a number of times but this was my first time actually going in.

Bobby Mackey's Bar has been on pretty much every show ever about ghosts and haunted places.  I remember hearing about it back before haunted places became so trendy.

Anyway, some friends found out that you can do a "private ghost tour" of the place on Sundays when it is not functioning as a bar.  This sounded pretty cool!

I wasn't exactly sure how this would work out (my friend called to set things up) but we arrived at Bobby Mackey's, and we met with Laura, who guided us on our tour.  This was kind of a tour/investigation of the site.  Laura took us around to the various areas, and told us about the building's history and reports of ghostly activity.  She then allowed time for us to investigate.  We weren't really prepared for an investigation (I just brought my camera) so Laura let us use an EMF detector.

We ended up spending a lot of time in the main bar area, near the well in the basement, and in the wall of faces room.  In these areas, we sat silently and listened for anything that might sound out of the ordinary.

Did we see or hear anything?  No, not at all, but it was a lot of fun trying to!

Laura did tell us about a few experiences she had.  In general, Laura seemed pretty skeptical which I thought was good.  She seemed to be someone who wanted solid evidence.  I appreciated that.  I have been on other walks where every noise, shadow and smell is credited to the supernatural.

Even though we have no scary stories from our time at Bobby Mackey's, we had fun.  It was a unique experience exploring the site and it was entertaining hearing about the characters who have been there- including one who lived on site for some time.  The building had been through a lot, even before Bobby Mackey took over in the 70s.  This is a good, creepy place.

Laura did let us know that much of the legend associated with the bar is questionable at best.  The origins of some of the stories you may have heard are hard to trace.  There is probably no real connection to the murder of Pearl Bryan.

Still, gambling and other illegal activity did occur here long ago.  We also learned about the time the building was used as a morgue.

AND I like how the tours are set up.  While we were there, we had the place to ourselves, and we were allowed to explore pretty leisurely.  With Laura as our guide, we were given a rare amount of freedom during our 2 hour visit.

http://www.bobbymackey.com/paranormal.html

Suspension Bridge, Cincinnati, Ohio

Bethlehem KY Post Office

We took a little road trip through parts of Kentucky and Indiana right before Christmas. We stopped at post offices in Bethlehem Kentucky, Bethlehem Indiana, and Santa Claus Indiana just to get postmarks from these festive areas!

ALL were great! Susan Leopold, the Postmaster at the Bethlehem Kentucky PO was VERY cool! We felt more like we were in a friends home than at a post office. I absolutely love small town post offices with friendly postmasters.

They have a living nativity right across the street from the post office too. I will have to catch this next year.

I did get one letter postmarked with both Bethlehem (Indiana and Kentucky) postmarks. Check that out!

Mokka and the Sunset Bar and Grill- Newport

Newport is becoming my hang out area of choice these days! I am really enjoying the Levee and the few blocks around it!

So, we stopped at Mokka recently on a Saturday. For $12 they had a steak, crab, green beans, and potato deal! Check out the picture! This included a VERY nice salad and bread (not pictured). The restaurant was clean, and everyone in my party enjoyed what we had. Two of us had the steak deal, and two had chicken fingers and fries.

The location is convenient, the place itself is cozy, and I love the local art on the walls!

Seriously, I am conservative with my restaurant endorsements on this site, but this place deserves a plug. We thought the $12 deal was a GREAT value.

mokasunset.com

Newport Gangster Tour

Recently, I took yet another tour offered by the American Legacy tours people.

I took their Gangsters tour and again had a great time! You really get your money's worth on these tours. This one clocked in at over 2 hours! There was about a 30 minute presentation in the piano bar, and then a very nice walk around town.

Unlike some ghost tours I have been on, this tour has a very authentic creepiness to it. Having sites pointed out where hits took place is much more disturbing than seeing a spot where a "psychic" felt something.

Some of the stories involved members of the Rat Pack, Gangsters, and an adult entertainment establishment that employed girls... and some girly men.

The trip included a stop at the Northern Kentucky Gambling Museum too, which was pretty cool.

Our tour guides (dressed in gangster gear and telling gangster related jokes the entire time) did their researched and shot of puns at every opportunity. They knew their facts and mentioned researching financial records, interviewing people who had been at the establishments mentioned, etc.

I know these tours are seasonal, and I think their season is coming to an end, but make sure you take this tour next year.

americanlegacytours.com

Ohio River and Bridges connecting Kentucky and Ohio

Newport, KY

Newport has grown on me. I love the area near the Aquarium. Even going out a bit, there are some nice shops. I have eaten at several nice non-chain restaurants here.

Here are a couple of photos I took recently showing the vibrancy of the area. I am sure I will talk more about Newport soon!

Newport Kentucky Ghost Walk

Northern Kentucky has so much going on! I don't think that a lot of people realize that it is just as happening as some of the other major areas in the state. It can easily compete with Louisville.

There is a group in the area now that is doing some really cool walking tours in the Newport and downtown Cincinnati area.

We went with some friends last year on the "Newport is Haunted" tour. We had a lot of fun. Our guide was a great story teller. Check out their site:

americanlegacytours.com

I will have more on their underground Cincinnati tour soon!

Cowboy Mouth at the Southgate House in Newport

Cowboy Mouth has been around for a long time. They have been doing their thing for about 2 decades, but play with more energy than any band ever.

Which makes me wonder why it took me this long to catch them live.

Let me back up a little. I used to go to a lot of concerts. I have easily been to over a couple hundred. When I lived in Cleveland, it wasn't uncommon to go to several a week.

I no longer live in an area like Cleveland, and I simply don't go to concerts like I used to. Like everyone else in the world, I am getting older. I like getting to bed at an early hour. I enjoy getting my rest.

AND, after going to so many concerts, I have come to have high expectations. If you are a concert veteran, you know what I am talking about. You want to leave every show knowing that its great to be alive. You want to feel something supernatural. You expect some magic.

I felt that after this show.

I read that Cowboy Mouth would be doing a show in Newport, which is a very convenient location for me. I really haven't made much of an effort to hit a concert anywhere lately, but I figured catching Cowboy Mouth would be worth it.

I am glad I did.

On the Cowboy Mouth website, there is a great quote from Cake Magazine about the band. It says, "on a bad night they'll tear the roof off the joint, and on a good night, they'll save your soul."

I feel a need to go out among the unconverted to tell them about Cowboy Mouth.

Fred LeBlanc is easily one of the most exciting musicians to watch anywhere. He is rocking out on the drums while simultaneously acting as the perfect singing front man. If he were only a drummer or singer, you would leave his show talking about how he was an amazing vocalist or drummer. It is literally unreal the way he plays and sings.

Cowboy Mouth took the stage at about 10, and played until midnight to a very nice and enthusiastic crown at the Southgate House.

Maybe 10 minutes into the show, Fred left the stage (while the rest of the band played) to walk to the balcony to playfully scold the two or so people not up and dancing. Everyone in the venue was up and screaming the entire time. I have never been to a show where every single person got involved like this. Even if you weren't familiar with the songs, you could feel Fred's energy, and you could appreciate what the band was giving to the audience. You were compelled to give it back to them.

The band invited a young girl (11 or 12) up on stake to play drums with them. It was very cool.

After the show, the band stuck around to sign CDs and chat with fans. The band was great, and to be honest, I was personally so blown away I did not know what to say to them.

The band talked to everyone as if they were old friends. Fred actually thanked me for coming out, and also told me that he hoped I would enjoy the new album I bought at the merch table. The bands appreciation for their fans is obvious.

Cowboy Mouth does not take advantage of their fans in any way. T-shirts were a very reasonable $15, and their new CD was a very affordable $10. Most bands around would easily ask for more. Oh, and tickets to the show were $15 in advance, $18 at the door. For about $40 you could get in, and leave with a CD and shirt. You can't buy a ticket to most shows now for that price.

Let me also say that I am so happy to have caught Cowboy Mouth at the GREAT Southgate House. This is a very cozy venue. The staff was cool and friendly and I didn't see any concert goer hassled at all. It was hot outside, but it was very cool inside (it felt like the AC was on, which is a rarity for a concert hall).

I am looking forward to seeing more shows at the Southgate House and I am looking forward to seeing more Cowboy Mouth!

One last thing. As I mentioned, there were some kids at the show which was nice! The ballroom was non-smoking, and a friendly vibe was going on. Sure, it is Cowboy Mouth (you can expect a few four letter words) but the atmosphere was family friendly. I did feel bad for the kids in one way though. They are young, and they will, at some point in their lives, go out to see other bands. I fear they are going to feel some serious disappointment whenever they see another band. Their concert going bar has been set high.

Northern Kentucky River Monsters

I was able to check out the Northern Kentucky River Monsters a few days ago!


I am really happy that some indoor football action is going on in the state. Check out my other blog for some old articles on the Lexington Horsemen.


Speaking of the Lexington Horsemen (also known as the Kentucky Horsemen) there are some former Horsemen players on the River Monsters team!


Jared Lorenzen (who spent time with the New York Giants in the NFL) was going to be the teams GM. Somehow, he has found his way back on the field!

The Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights is great too. It has a very new, clean feel to it. It felt like a small stadium, almost custom built for arena style football. I like this place.


I did see some weird things. The cheer leading team is called "The Bait." Seriously. I did not make that up. In fact, I wish they hadn't made that up.

Their mascot looks like the Swamp Thing. Check out the picture. Also, I did not see the mascot interacting with fans. Then again, it is a scary looking mascot.

Get out and see this team! They are putting on a great show, with seats as cheap as $7. Parking was easy too!

Oh, and their merch was very reasonable. They weren't trying to rip anyone off with shirt prices from $10-$15. I bought 3.

Again, it takes a lot to put a pro team like this together, find a venue, and players. PLEASE get out and support this team!

Postcard: Holiday Inn of Cincinnati Riverfront

Holiday Inn in Covington.

Creation Museum- Petersburg, KY

The Creation Museum near Cincinnati is overwhelming. They have several theaters, robot dinosaurs, fossils and a petting zoo. Their planetarium was dizzying.

I know the place is a bit controversial, so I will let these few photos speak for themselves. I would not want my blog to be a place for debating religious thought- there are other venues for that. Still this place is an interesting place, and it is in Kentucky.

I will allow a very small bit of self disclosure on this one. My visit to the museum was with some very dear friends, with whom my opinion on this topic differs greatly.