The 10 most redneck towns in Kentucky.
- Thread starter Robcatt24
- Start date
No Wally-World in Pineville. Noetown? Meh, perhaps. I lived out there for a few months way back when. Probably changed a lot since then.
Isn't that Marathon station in Hager Hill??? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
AlohaCat
Paintsville and Johnson County is the least RN area in the mountains. I believe they had a phone company, gas and water company, and a sewer system before many cities in Central Kentucky.
It still has a great golf course that's almost 90 years old. Great schools and fantastic people.
Where I went to high school had rednecks but not like some of the nearby schools. I swear to God this is a true story and I still remember it to this day and have told it many times.
I was sitting in English class and we were working on some writing entries. One of these rednecks in my class who I knew well was a football player and was talking to a female friend of his about his girlfriend issues since she had just broken up with him that weekend. He said and I kid you not, this is accurate, "I was going to kill myself but going to wait until after football season just in case we go to state."
He didn't laugh. It was no joke. I was the only one who looked up in amazement while the girl he was talking to shook her head in agreement like that was absolutely a normal thing to say.
They didn't go to state and he didn't kill himself. Jerk totally went back on his word.
I was sitting in English class and we were working on some writing entries. One of these rednecks in my class who I knew well was a football player and was talking to a female friend of his about his girlfriend issues since she had just broken up with him that weekend. He said and I kid you not, this is accurate, "I was going to kill myself but going to wait until after football season just in case we go to state."
He didn't laugh. It was no joke. I was the only one who looked up in amazement while the girl he was talking to shook her head in agreement like that was absolutely a normal thing to say.
They didn't go to state and he didn't kill himself. Jerk totally went back on his word.
You can't hold out on us like that. We're all dying to know: did they go to state?
I edited it to add in but no they didn't go to state and he didn't kill himself but he's still obsessed with high school football after all these years.
Still wish he would have went to state and then offed himself just so the story would have been way better.
Aloha Diceman!!!
Still kicking it!!!
Working hard for da money!!! How about you and yours? You still going to Asia?
Hicatfan aka AlohaCat
Yes but it's great fertilizer and saves on water. Stay green BBUK. Haha
Yes there is a Marathon at Hager Hill. I typed wrong, it's an Exxon at the Ramp B station. It's where you turn out Rt. 40 toward the old stockyard beside the bus garage.
Yes. Hickman is very likely THE most redneck town in Kentucky. Legit Mississippi river town. Legit delta culture. Geographically and culturally the most southern part of the state. Row crop farming in the area flat for miles on end. Flooded woodlands to give the Duck Commander a hard-on year round. Not to say there isn't a mix of rolling terrain, but nothing of the likes of central or eastern parts of the state. Rough little town. Booze in the county (Fulton) is almost a requirement. Nearest big city is Memphis. Very different part of Kentucky.
@Chuckinden @starchief5 and any other Bell County or Harlan County folks.
Here's an interesting blast from the past published by the Washington Post on November 22, 1979: "Bootleg Booze and Politics Still a Traditional Mix in the Gap". Y'all may recognize some names in the report, especially Mag Bailey. Heh, pretty cool.
Here's an interesting blast from the past published by the Washington Post on November 22, 1979: "Bootleg Booze and Politics Still a Traditional Mix in the Gap". Y'all may recognize some names in the report, especially Mag Bailey. Heh, pretty cool.
Not much has changed since 1979. Harlan, Middlesboro and Pineville are still dry, but London and Corbin have gone "moist".
So true. Every year, there's talk about changing laws in Middlesboro, but nothing ever happens. I guess some bootleggers need to pass away before anything happens.
On the other hand, a couple communities in Letcher County have gone wet big-time. Heh, 2 craft beer bars and a distillery are now located in Whitesburg. Oh, and a winery in Seco.
Bootleggers obviously want counties to be dry. Who the bootleggers were was common knowledge.There was a wet-dry election back about 1960. Votes were bought everywhere. I told DS (you ought to know who DS is) my mother was going to vote wet but if he paid me $5 I wouldn't drive her to the polling place. He gave me the $5. She would not have voted anyway.
Stumbling across moonshine stills in the mountains was not uncommon. It was sometimes scary because you thought you might get shot.
Last edited:
Similar in Raywick except it wasn't moonshine, it was pot. And if you were caught there it was almost gauranteed you would get shot. There were parts of the county you simply didn't go at certain times of the year. Alot has changed over the years but Raywick is still holding on. Go up there with the wrong intentions and you may return with an extra hole.
Great story, chief. Ha ha, thanks for the perspective.
I know who exactly you are talking about and I believe he's in his mid 80s now, still around, and still pulls lots of strings in Middlesboro.
He has been eyeball deep in everything underhanded in Mboro since the 1950s. Has he ever done any time?
Very true, according to all I've heard. I'm unsure if he ever served time. He pulled a stint in the USAF sometime in the late 40s or early 50s and he was also a friend of my father in-law, who passed away in 1994.
He married my first cousin and they had a child together but I don't think they were together all that long. I remember he rode a big Harley back in the 50s. His younger brother was closer to my age.
I left Mboro in 1962. Didn't go back much after that. Couple of times a year. Have lived on the West Coast since 1976 and hardly went back at all. I didn't get to witness its downhill slide. Spent some time back there a couple of years ago.
Last edited:
Wow, that's wild hearing about the old days. We all call him "Big-D" . He's got lots of money and power. My former sister in-law's sister was married to him for about 20 years. She's about 30 years younger than him and still very attractive.
I've realistically been away since 1980, but returned to the area again in 1989-90 when I took a short break from the service. Because of my daughter and other relatives, I get back once or twice yearly. My mom still owns a house there on Old Pineville Rd near where the tannery was located.
Have you ever heard about the Noetown Reunion? They started it about 20 years ago, but had the last one in 2014. Once a year many of the people from Noetown who had moved away came back for a big reunion held at the armory. Several hundred would show up and it was a pretty big deal I'm told. I finally attended in 2013. Got to see lots of people I hadn't seen since high school. But so many attendees died off over the years or got too old that they finally ended it (although there were a hundred or more there when I was there). Although all my family is buried there I doubt I will ever go back. No close family members there are still living.
Corbin is actually "wet".
I believe London is having a vote to go "wet" sometime in January.
I heard about the reunion and nearly attended in 2013, but there was a date conflict, so I could not make the trip. Glad you were able to attend. Sounds like a good time.
You know, chief, I truly enjoy talking with you and Chuck about old SE KY. Great stuff! Ha ha, makes my day! I also lived briefly in Harlan Co. with a relative while working out there.
Well, I just read a shocker. three months after the fact.
Middlesboro voted YES to go "moist" on September 15. Good news, indeed. Baby steps, folks. Baby steps.