For more information:
• Bon Ton Mini Mart, 2036 Madison St., Henderson, Ky. 42420, phone 270-826-1207

Producer: Matt Grimm
Audio: Roger Tremaine

Today's Special—Bon Ton Mini Mart

People come from miles around for the fried chicken at the Bon Ton Mini Mart in Henderson. The mouth-watering recipe has earned these folks kudos from Gourmet Magazine, NPR, and the New York Times. The secret? A powerful cayenne pepper and garlic spice marinade.

Bon Ton has been serving up its signature chicken for more than 15 years. The restaurant, located in a former convenience store, is nondescript on the outside and decorated with chicken figurines on the inside. The real star is a plate of fried chicken, biscuits, and french fries. Desserts like banana pudding and Kool-Aid pie top off the experience. Dave Shuffett pays a visit.

For more information:
• Brown-Pusey House, 128 North Main St., Elizabethtown, Ky. 42701

Producer: Jim Piston

Historical Marker 1505—Brown-Pusey House

It's known as the Brown-Pusey House now, but let's go back to the time when this Georgian mansion was a boardinghouse run by "Aunt Beck" Hill.

The year is 1851 and a crowd is gathered to hear the beautiful voice of famed Swedish opera star Jenny Lind. The woman known worldwide as the Swedish Nightingale was in Kentucky as part of her American tour.

Jump ahead to 1871. Gen. George Armstrong Custer is stationed in Elizabethtown with the Seventh Cavalry. The federal government was sending troops to towns throughout the South at the time to control the influence of the Ku Klux Klan and to break up illegal distilleries. Custer wrote that he enjoyed the old-fashioned hotel and its "quaint" landlady.

Aunt Beck is long gone, but her old boardinghouse still serves the community. Thanks to Dr. William Allen Pusey and Dr. Alfred Brown Pusey, Aunt Beck's great-nephews, the home was restored and given to the city in 1923 for a community house and library.

For more information:
• Bobby Mackey's Music World, 4 Licking Pike, Wilder, Ky. 41071-2911, phone: 859-431-5588

Producer/Videographer: Frank Simkonis
Audio: Brent Abshear
Editor: Kelly Campbell

Bobby Mackey's Music World

Wilder Nights

It's a country music dance hall, but there's much more than guitar strumming, line dancing and karaoke going on here. Bobby Mackey's Music World, located south of Covington minutes from Cincinnati, is known as the most haunted nightclub in the world.

Country music star Bobby Mackey bought the old warehouse and turned it into a dance hall in 1976. Tales of ghostly encounters since then have led to starring roles for the nightclub in tours of the paranormal, books and movies.

What happened here that makes people so uneasy? It probably began in the 1800s, when the building was used as a slaughterhouse. A woman's dead body was found nearby in 1896, two men were hanged for the crime, and the spooky legend was born. Over the years, dozens of eerie, sometimes grisly tales about the slaughterhouse-turned-nightclub have been told: ghosts on the attack, mysterious cold spots, the jukebox playing on its own, spirits seen through the haze of cigarette smoke. We pay a visit to this haunted nightspot to see it all for ourselves.

Producer/Videographer: Dave Shuffett
Editor: Dan Taulbee

Our Town—Crab Orchard

This small town in eastern Lincoln County was an early pioneer settlement, located at the end of Logan's Trace of the famed Wilderness Road. This historic William Whitley House, believed to be among the first brick houses west of the Alleghenies, is located nearby.

Most old-timers know Crab Orchard for its mineral springs. The town was a popular summer retreat for tourists seeking the comfort and restorative benefits of the springs. Crab Orchard Salts, produced by evaporating the mineral water in kettles, were sold as a medical remedy. Crab Orchard Springs reportedly hosted nearly 400-500 guests each day—rivaling the town's current population of 800-plus.

For more information:
• Putnam Stadium Restoration Foundation on Facebook

Producer/Editor: Rob Elliott
Videographer: John Schroering

Ashland's Putnam Stadium

Home Field Advantage

Putnam Stadium has been home to Ashland Tomcat football for decades. Built during the Depression by the Works Progress Administration, it is the only stadium recognized as a Kentucky Historical Society landmark. A source of community pride for Ashland, the stadium has hosted countless football games, graduations and other events.

We talk with Bun Wilson, who played the inaugural game at the stadium's opening in 1937. He reminisces about the construction of the stadium and the experience of playing there on opening night.

As the stadium's 75th anniversary approaches in 2012, Tomcat fans recognize that Putnam Stadium is in need of renovation. The stadium renovation committee is trying to raise $5 million for the project—a far cry from the $6,500 it cost to build in the 1930s. It is hoped that future Tomcat fans will enjoy all the fruits of a 21st century renovation— enclosed seating, artificial turf, and new lighting—while preserving the traditions begun on this gridiron landmark.