Category: Kincaid

TV in 1934? A Trip to the Chicago World’s Fair.

On By donlkincaidIn Brother, Kincaid, Mr. Burl's Writing1 Comment
By Weimer Pursell, silkscreen print by Neely Printing Co., Chicago – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress

From Daddy’s notes on the 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair:

What is Television? Who are you trying to kid? Projecting a picture and sound through the atmosphere? No, we believe this to be some kind of joke!  Well, let’s go in and see about this thing called television.

Five young Owingsville men, after hearing all the glowing remarks about the Chicago World’s Fair(also known as “A Century of Progress”), decided to journey to this big city. The young men were, Richart Brother, Bronson Snedegar, Burl Kincaid Jr., John H. Elliott, and Theodore Crouch. Theodore was older than the others and owned an automobile, so the other four supplied the gas and oil. Off and away they went to a week of fun and education. 
    
This was in 1934 which was in the heart of the so called “Great Depression.”  For those of you who do not remember that era, there was little money in the United States. Many families found themselves with every member unemployed. If you did not live during those years, there is no way that you can imagine what some fellas lived through.  

Upon entering the building which was built for the display of this new media called “television,” we were surprised at the shape of the auditorium or theatre (we did not know what to call it). The building was narrowly rectangular with a telecasting booth in one end and a large TV screen in the other. The large center section had seating much like movie theatres. Since it has been some 60 years since being privileged to witness a great electronic device being publicly born, the writer does not have much idea as to the number of seats. 

The young men were seated together and were anxious for the program to start. The announcer made some glowing remarks about the fair in general and TV in particular. A program was presented (do not remember much about it) but the presenters were concerned that the audience might think the whole thing could be a fake. To dispel any thought of the presentation on the screen being a fake, a person surveyed the audience and asked certain persons to go to the telecast booth. It seemed that he chose one person from each group. The writer was chosen from our group and got to be on television!

Daddy spoke of this trip often. He and others were only eighteen years old. He brought back the official book from the fair and we still have it.

His favorite area was the Little Town. It was an exhibit of everything small, with an entire home and its furnishings built on a small scale, but still big enough to enter and walk around.  ~ Don Kincaid

A participation card from the television exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair. Image courtesy of https://www.earlytelevision.org/chicago_1933_worlds_fair.html

For more information about the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933-1934, you can visit the following links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress

https://www.earlytelevision.org/chicago_1933_worlds_fair.html

Sleigh Riding

On By donlkincaidIn Kincaid, Old PicturesLeave a comment



Mr. Burl’s old sled.
It’s a Flexible Flyer and about 90 years old.  



This week, Don writes about the sleigh riding stories his father used to tell.  We wanted to get this up while the snow is still either on or fresh in our memories, and I would have done it sooner, but I’ve misplaced a bit of writing that Mr. Burl himself wrote about it.  When I do find it, I’ll update this post, but for now we’ll share what we remember him telling us.  

We often heard sleigh riding stories about Daddy and his friends. Even though he and his first cousin,R.W.,* were both hurt badly sledding, they absolutely loved it! The hill to Sharpsburg was in front of their houses and when they were kids it was not paved.  It was not only gravel, but also very crooked, and it wasn’t until the 80’s that the whiplash curve at the bottom was straightened and a new bridge was built over Prickley Ash stream. 

Because of the curve at the bottom, the boys would bail out before they got to it if possible. Many were injured because of the bail out and the barbed wire along the road. Daddy’s injuries caused him to miss six weeks of school. In his words, he “peeled the hide” off his shin all the way down to the ankle. A local doctor made a daily house call to check on him and to put Mercurochrome on it and change the bandages.

R.W. had a bad sleigh wreck as well.  He was badly injured and would eventually need surgery – surgery which he did not survive. His brother Dr. Owings Kincaid was there with him when he died at St. Joseph Infirmary in Louisville.

Daddy also loved telling about tying the sleds to some old car and being pulled around town. He always bragged that his sled was the only one to survive all the crashes. Our guess on its age is about 90 years old.  It was new about 1926 when Daddy was ten or so.  We still have the sled and it still goes fast! ~Don

A young R.W. with his father Reuben.
R.W.’s grave marker at the Owingsville Cemetery.
Owings Kincaid (back row on the far left) when he was a resident at Vanderbilt.  He would go on to have a very successful career at the Mayo Clinic.
Owings and Burl Kincaid, first cousins and life-long friends.  Both men (and R.W.) served in WWII.


Here is a link to Owings Kincaid’s obituary.  Somewhere we have correspondence between Mr. Burl and Owings (who remained close throughout their lives), and when we get to that we’ll share any items that might be of interest.

Old Pictures

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn Craycraft, Darnell, Goodpaster, Kincaid, Old Pictures3 Comments
Some old pictures you might like.  Please feel free to leave a comment, especially if you have information that might be of benefit to others doing historical or genealogical work!
May, Reuben, Sr., Jane, and Burl Sr. (Kincaid family), in front of what is now Marcelle Doggett’s home on East High Street in Owingsville.  You can see U.S. 60 on the far left and the steps and sidewalk in the background are still there.

 

Elliott Darnell, common Bath County ancestor of many.  Don and Bill Kincaid’s great, great grandfather. Born in 1810, married to Sarah Conyers, father of Thomas, Mildred, Josiah, John, Ruth, William, Isaac, Mary, and Martha.

 

Reuben W. Kincaid, Sr. in front of his store in Owingsville, Ky.  This store was located (I think) where the New Hope Clinic is now.  Lots of older folks remember getting ice cream from Uncle Ruby’s store.

 

Doris Darnell (Kincaid) and an unindentified woman in front of what was the old Owingsville school.

 

Jeff, Sallie, Doris, and Donovan Darnell and other women (in the photo on the right) who are unidentified.

 

Helen Craycraft Goodpaster, Ginger Karrick Kincaid (me), and Sherri Spencer Pergrem in Preston, Ky., 1968.