Random Thoughts on Friday: Bank Robbery in Berea

 Yesterday, there was a bank robbery in Berea Kentucky.  I have had a lot to say about the great small town, and the college, half an hour south of Lexington.  I spent several years of my life there.  I still go there frequently- in fact, I was there just a couple of weeks ago having a beverage at Just Love Coffee which is a few steps from the bank that was robbed.

AND, two people were murdered during the robbery.

I was glad to hear that a man is in custody, but what an absolute tragedy for Berea and those two families.

Mothman.... in Berea Kentucky

You know I love Berea Kentucky....  and Mothman.

Not too long ago we were walking our dogs in Berea, and I saw this sign- featuring the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant West Virginia.
 

1962 Boone Tavern Brochure Berea Kentucky

I found a brocure, and some other ephemera from a 1962 visit to Boone Tavern!

Dona Maria's Tamales Berea Kentucky 2023

There is a great new Mexican Restaurant in Berea- Dona Maria's Tamales!

Just Love Coffee Berea Kentucky 2023

I was so happy to see one of my favorite small coffee chains, Just Love Coffee, taking over the old Mario's Pizza location in Berea!

Spoonbread Festival Berea Kentucky September 2023

We were lucky enough to spend a little bit of time at this years Spoonbread Festival in Berea!

Apollo Pizza Berea Kentucky

Apollo Pizza in Berea!  Make sure you give them a try!

Boone Tavern Berea College Kentucky Then and Now 2022

I put up another video on youtube recently of my old school, Berea College, and I peppered in some old postcards and photos to do a bit of a "Then and Now" comparison.

I mostly left Boone Tavern out because I thought it deserved a video all to itself.

As I mention in the video, I worked here some while attending Berea College in the 90s.  I would meet my future wife while working here...  and she spent all four of her Berea years working at the Tavern.

We still go down often, and we try to get a room there for a weekend every year or two, just because.

So, check out this video of my recent trip to Boone Tavern, along with some older images of the hotel/restaurant that has been there for well over a century!

Berea College Then and Now 2022

I have talked a lot on this blog about my love of Berea College in Berea Kentucky.  I have made many posts about it.  And, I spent a good chunk of the 90s there...

Well, we were back on campus recently and I made another video.  I added in some images of old photos and old postcards to do a bit of a "Then and Now" kind of thing.

I will be putting up a similar one that is Just Boone Tavern.

I do feel like the campus changes, but it changes very slowly.

I always think that, if someone hadn't been on campus for several decades and then they just showed up, it would still be an easy campus to recognize.

Berea Kentucky Crafts Festival 2022

 I made a brief video of the Crafts Festival in Berea Kentucky this year!

Native Bagel, Berea Kentucky

I wanted to take a quick moment to give a thumbs up to Native Bagel in Berea Kentucky.  Owned and operated by fellow Berea alum Michael Startzman, this cozy little bagel/lunch/coffee place is right across the street from my favorite antique mall in the state, and its a very brief walk from campus.

 

Battle of Richmond Kentucky January 2021

 

Check out the video I posted on youtube recently covering the Battle of Richmond Kentucky!  I used a very well written issue of the old magazine "Blue and Gray" as a reference.  

The tour is a lot of fun, and its near one of my all time favorite towns- Berea!

So, grab some Purdy's coffee, and stop at Papaleno's for lunch as you enjoy seeing some hidden historic sites!

Berea College, Berea Kentucky, June 2020

So...  Here is another video I posted on you tube about Berea College!  I made this one recently, and I hope you like it.  Again, my youtube videos are posted under "jimerado".

Random thoughts on Friday

 So, we have gotten in to a habit, as the whole coronavirus thing has limited our socialization.  Our habit involves driving to Richmond once a week.  We stop and get Purdy's Coffee in Richmond.  They have 2 locations and the one with a drive through has kept that part of the business up and running through all of this.

I have said it before...  I love their coffee.  They are doing it right and you can tell!  They know how to make and serve good, fresh coffee!

Their downtown coffee shop is about the most cozy place to set and enjoy coffee around.  It is probably my favorite coffee shop, and I have been to a lot of coffee shops!

Its been nice getting their coffee at their drive through at this time.  It is a real treat right now.  We have been getting our coffee, then driving to Berea and walking around the town and campus.  It is a very pleasant ritual for us.

Oh, and the friendly staff at Purdy's has been writing kind and appreciated messages on our cups lately!  How sweet is that?

So, skip the chain places and support this great little local independent shop!

Berea KY during the Coronavirus Shut Down

You know I have talked AT LENGTH about how much I love Berea Kentucky.  It is easily one of my favorite places around.  I went to college there, met my wife there, and I just love going there whenever I can.  Its a nice little town.

So, with all of the restrictions going on right now, we thought it might be nice to go to Berea and just walk around.

The college seems to stay the same a lot, but there is also a lot of change too.  Buildings are getting remodeled and rebuilt....  BUT, the overall vibe of the campus never changes.

During my time at Berea, I lived in three different men's dorms- Blue Ridge, Bingham and Danforth.  Blue Ridge was a freshmen dorm when I was there.  It was pretty much the dorm farthest away from all of the class buildings.  It was kind of the one dorm no one wanted to live in.  I have heard rumors, for years, that it was going to be taken down at some point.  Well, over the last several years, Blue Ridge has remained standing.  The other two dorms I lived in have been totally redone.  Technically they are still there, but they are not the same places I once lived in.


My wife spent most of her college years in Kettering Residence Hall.  Well....  see the photo of the empty area with the crane in the background?  Well, that is where Kettering used to be.  It was kind of sad seeing this.

The campus was dead.  All of the students were sent home, I think in March, so there weren't a lot of people around.  The landscape looked great though ,we were glad to see things are still being kept up.

We did see a lot of signs posted in campus buildings and at local businesses showing that places were closed for now.  The local church had a large sign out front talking about their Sunday services being online.

Oh, we did see some cool campus bikes around!  Not sure what the whole story is on that, but we saw a lot of these blue bikes everywhere!  I know when I was going to Berea, bikes got stolen a lot.  Hopefully these bikes are sticking around.

We did notice something else that was sad.  Warren A. May's dulcimer shop is gone!  That place had been there forever, and it was just sad seeing the store vacant!  There was a sign that Warren will still be making and selling his dulcimers online.

We were glad to see a sign up that said Papaleno's Pizza was doing carry out.  If you live in Lexington, or if you have never been to Berea, you should visit, because its a great town.  BUT, coming down to just get some pizza at Papaleno's justifies a trip.

I know Robie Books is closed right now, but they are doing some mail order.  They are great people, I am sure if you are looking for something special you can call or email them still.  I am looking forward to the day that I can go back in and browse though.  I always have great finds there.

Oh, as we drove to Berea, we did stop by one of my all time favorite coffee shops- Richmond's Purdy's.  Purdy's has great coffee, and the place is owned and ran by great people.  Their drive through at their newer location was open, so I got a great cup to sip on as we walked around Berea!

Playing With Fire (After Frankenstein) performed at the Berea College Jelkyl Theater

 So.... just the other day we were walking around the Berea campus....  showing a friend who did not go there around.  I've mentioned before that my wife and I met while attending Berea College, and we love the place.  We get back there at least once a month just to enjoy the nice area.

Anyway, we saw a promo poster up promoting the upcoming (at the time) play "Playing with Fire (After Frankenstein)" which would be performed at Jelkyl Theater Building on campus.  This sounded like a great way to spend an October evening!

A couple of weeks later we found ourselves driving back to Berea.  It was an attractive night and just a nice time for getting back.

We got our $8 each alumni tickets at the will call.  A half an hour before the 8pm start time the seating area opened and the crowd of mostly students made their way to seats.

It is funny to me when I am around Berea students.  My friend and fellow Berea Grad Eric Hardin always says that its like the students there now just found our old clothes at a thrift shop.  Flannels, jeans, basic t-shirts (still, my personal daily uniform when I can wear it) are the norm.  Berea students aren't as concerned about fashion as others.  Scrappers and underdogs.  They are there to make the most of their education and college experience.  They don't care about flashing a designer name brand around.

There was a cool, layered with stairs stage set up.  It was, in ways, basic, but perfect for the play.  A VERY small cast of 6 put on a heck of a show.  There was Victor, and his monster.  Two other actors played the main characters in flashback.  There was a professor and Victor's love interest.

Creation, love, mortality and other themes you might expect are discussed and pondered.  The play got deep, but was still VERY accessible.  The play definitely kept your attention.

The play was very well done and any of the young actors would, in my opinion, be able to pull off the same character on a bigger, more professional stage if they wanted.  They all sold believably.

After the play kids talked and mingled outside of the theater.  My wife and I strolled around campus, remembering our time there....  ending a perfect evening in Berea.

Berea's First Century 1855-1955 by Elisabeth S. Peck

I picked up this great book for a few bucks at a local shop.  I thought the great cover alone was worth the price. 

"Berea's First Century 1855-1955" by Elisabeth S. Peck was a pleasant book to read while hanging out on campus again.  It does give a VERY detailed description of John G. Fee's early days in the area.  It tells about his and others struggles VERY early on as they set the school up.

I knew a lot of the story, which most students and alumni know....  but this book really completed the story in my mind.

Berea Coffee and Tea

During the 90s, it was very hard and rare to leave campus for the weekend.  I had a pretty tight group of friends, and we would all hang out at Berea Coffee and Tea on Friday nights.

We would usually get together at food service, and then we would make our way over to this nice little coffee shop.  We would always have at least a group of 5 or 6, but sometimes, we would have around 20 people hanging out there.  It was a lot of fun.

I still stop by when I am in town.  The place has been updated but it still has a cool, college vibe.

Dinner at Boone Tavern in Berea Kentucky

While staying at Boone Tavern we did enjoy dinner there one evening.  Of course we had some great spoonbread.  We had a nice seat by a window as the sun went down.

I saw burgoo on the menu so I had to order some.  It was very meaty and not as sweet as the stuff I grew up on.  In my opinion, you can only get real burgoo in the Owensboro area.  Still, this was tasty.

I had salmon and my wife had steak.  We both loved our meals.  Our meats were placed on top of green beans and potatoes.  As we would expect, this was a really special meal.

We shared a pumpkin cheesecake with an espresso bean crust that was a very nice way to end our meal.  The dessert seemed a little out of season but we were super excited to see it on the menu.

The kids working there now wear nice black uniforms that are very different from what we wore when we were students working at the Tavern.  For the boys, a white shirt, white jacket, black pants and black bow tie were standard.  The girls wore burgundy dresses.