Latest news with #Messenger-Inquirer
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Throwback Thursday — Celebrating 150 Years of the Messenger-Inquirer: Lake spent more than a decade as M-I photographer
Editor's Note: The Messenger-Inquirer is starting a new feature series called Throwback Thursday: Celebrating 150 years of the Messenger-Inquirer. The series will feature former newspaper employees, retired community leaders and anyone else who either helped produce the paper or made the news headlines on a frequent basis through the years. Allen Lake spent more than a decade, spanning the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, as a photographer for the Messenger-Inquirer, shooting news, sports and even food illustrations for feature sections. Lake's early love for photography came from his father who had a passion for taking nature and landscape photos. 'He was a biology teacher so he was very interested (in nature),' Lake said. 'We would travel to Canada and Florida; we were always on the go. …This was in the 1960s so the gulf of Florida wasn't developed at all. We would camp out on the beach. …It was always an opportunity to take pictures. So my dad started teaching me about photography when I was just a kid, and then I picked it up.' It would be in the military where Lake would further his photography skills. After high school, Lake said he joined the U.S. Air Force and became part of the air reconnaissance team that worked in mobile photo labs near the runways. 'This was obviously back in the era — pre-digital — so it was all film,' he said. 'We would get these massive pieces of film on rolls but the images were like 10 (foot) by 10 (foot) — the quality was off the charts. …It was just one more step in me learning photography.' After leaving the military, Lake enrolled at Morehead State University where he would receive a master's of arts degree. While there, Lake said he was part of the yearbook staff, taking photos throughout the semesters to help fill it. 'We would document for the yearbooks and they were massive projects,' he said. 'During that time, I started plugging into publication here and there to get my work published.' That would eventually lead Lake into newspapers after college. Lake's first newspaper job was around 1980-81 with the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville. It's where he would hone his news photography skills. 'I had learned the technical part of it and I grew up in a dark room,' he said. 'I had learned how to what we call push film — that's getting into darker areas and still have images. But the key more than that was learning ideas and the ways to compose an image. …Your objective is to tell a story because so often, in the newspaper, you only have one image, especially if it's breaking news.' And with Fort Campbell within the Kentucky New Era's coverage area, Lake said he spent a lot of time covering the military base. '…I went to Alaska with them and a winter warfare training; it was 60-below zero — all that kind of stuff. It seemed I was always with them,' Lake said. It was Lake's time with the New Era that prepared him for when he joined the Messenger-Inquirer staff around 1984. Lake said a memory that stands out to him was his ability to take aerial photos for the Messenger-Inquirer in a time way before drone technology. 'I had access to an airplane anytime I wanted it,' Lake said. 'I didn't even have to check with the editor; all I had to do was go shooting down the road as fast as I could to the airport, grab a pilot and plane and I was gone,' he said. During his time at the Messenger-Inquirer, Lake found himself covering U.S. presidents, capturing a joyful moment of future NBA player Rex Chapman and climbing to the top of the Blue Bridge for a perspective no one had seen before. Lake's creative side also had him coming up with ideas for the newspaper's Food Page. He recalled one photo shoot that involved a live snake eating a piece of fruit. 'The idea was to try to take photography to another level and yet tell a story,' Lake said. '…I remember going to a news photographers conference and their objective was the hardcore (news). And it's not that I didn't cover the hardcore … I did. But there's more than just the hardcore. For me to get into food photography, and to see how far you could take it and the different creating things you could do with it, was a blast.' Lake would leave newspaper in the mid-1990s to start his photography business. Lake, who is now 70, still maintains his photography business while also teaching college classes such as ceramics, photography and art history part time at local and regional colleges. 'It was such a neat and powerful experience,' said Lake about his time at the Messenger-Inquirer. '…Honestly, after about six or seven months later, I regretted leaving. …There were a lot of creative people there. It was a good group.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wonder Whip adding second location
After 70 years at what's now 2434 Kentucky 144, Wonder Whip is adding a second location at 2600 Frederica, the former location of Bowen Tire. Seth Woodward, who bought the historic drive-in a decade ago, said, 'When we made the decision to resuscitate the restaurant almost 10 years ago on a wing and a prayer, we were simply hoping to keep the Wonder Whip legacy alive for future generations to enjoy. What ended up happening completely surpassed our wildest expectations. None of this would be possible without the incredible support of our community, which makes us so excited to see some new faces and make some new friends on Frederica.' He said, 'We are making a big investment in Owensboro. We are hoping to inject some vibrancy and new vitality into that area. We expect to hire approximately 50 people including management.' People interested in working at the new restaurant can go to Woodward said construction is underway. All design and construction work is being performed by local companies, he said. Woodward said the new restaurant will be configured similar to the existing location with walk-up service, drive-thru service and a lot of outdoor seating. The menu and pricing will also be the same. But Woodward said 'at least in the beginning, the menu at the new location may be streamlined a bit.' The new location could open this summer, he said. Woodward was on vacation in Wyoming in August 2015, when he heard that the Wonder Whip had closed after 60 years in business. 'I was shocked and genuinely sad that another piece of our history and culture could be permanently lost,' he said at the time. 'I ate a fair amount of food there when I was younger,' Woodward said. 'I'm an East End guy who wanted to bring it back.' So, he bought the iconic 840-square-foot restaurant and reopened it in early 2016. 'This place is a landmark, a part of the community,' Woodward said earlier. 'I couldn't believe it when I saw that it had closed. If I was from out of town or even the other side of town, I might not have bought it. But it's important to me. And it's worked out well.' A legal notice in the June 14, 1955, Messenger-Inquirer announced that Wyndall's Wonder Whip had filed an application for a county permit to sell ice cream, soft drinks and sandwiches. On July 1, 1955, E.A. Nonweiller, D. Wyndall Smith and John T. Rutledge filed incorporation papers with the state. The top seller on the menu is still the Wonderburger — a quarter-pound hamburger on a toasted five-inch bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and pickle cooked on an old-fashion flat top grill. Shakes are in second place followed by ice cream. Woodward didn't start out planning to operate a restaurant. Woodward got his degree in mechanical engineering and worked for a while at the Mitsubishi automotive plant in Normal, Illinois. 'But I decided I didn't want to be a mechanical engineer,' he said. 'So I came home and got into business.'
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Five years ago, the world turned upside down
It was March 2020. We were looking for an economic boom in Daviess County. New building projects, big conventions, more sports tournaments. And then, we started hearing about a deadly coronavirus that started in China and was sweeping the world. Could it happen here? Then, on March 13, a 63-year-old Henderson woman became the first person diagnosed with coronavirus in the region. And our world changed. Everything was put on hold. The Messenger-Inquirer sent reporters home to work until it was over. A few weeks, we thought. But it was May 2021 before we returned to the office. Those first few weeks, we didn't know what to expect. Would it be like one of those movies about viruses killing people in the streets? Soon, shortages were popping up everywhere. We began hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The pandemic fear had really reached us on March 1, 2020, when masks began flying off local shelves as we began stocking up in case the pandemic that was sweeping the world reached us. The first case reached Kentucky on March 6 — in Lexington. By March 9, sanitizer was in short supply all over the country. Two days later, nursing homes had stopped allowing visitors to come in. On March 11, the governor asked churches to go online and not have in-person services. And schools closed for what they said would be three weeks. We thought we'd have the virus under control by then. But it was months before kids sat in the classroom again. Sports, conventions and festivals were being called off. On March 13, Owensboro Health restricted visitation for fear of spreading the disease. Three days later, restaurants and bars closed. Hotels saw bookings plummet. Child-care centers closed. And the primary election was postponed until June. On March 17, gyms and movie theaters closed. Hundreds lost their jobs. By March 20, we had five cases in Daviess County. Three days later, Owensboro Health saw its first patient with COVID-19. Local distilleries started making hand sanitizer. Funerals were limited to a small number of mourners and drive-through visitation. We reserved the Owensboro Convention Center for an overflow of patients from the hospital. Fortunately, that was never needed. Some said wear masks. Some said don't wear masks. We were afraid to touch anything away from home. And we learned to stay 6 feet apart, bump elbows or just wave. By 2021, we had vaccinations for COVID-19. Some were glad to get them. Some fought against them. That light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be getting closer. And then, we learned about variants. Greek words like Delta and Omicron. Things got worse again and we got booster shots in the fall. And there's a new booster every year now. By June 2023, the state reported that 39,485 Daviess Countians had had the virus. And 472 had died. We've come a long way in the past five years. Here's hoping that's the last pandemic. But it probably won't be. Keith Lawrence, klawrence@
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
M-I takes home KPA awards
The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer took third place overall in the Daily 2 Division this past weekend in the Kentucky Press Association's annual Newspaper Excellence in Kentucky contest. The awards were handed out during the KPA's winter convention in Lexington. The Lexington Herald-Leader took first and the Louisville Courier Journal took second in the Daily 2 division that features the state's largest newspapers competing against each other in multiple categories. Executive Editor Don Wilkins said the Messenger-Inquirer hasn't entered the competition in years, but he decided that the newspaper needed to get back involved in the competition. 'For me, the KPA competition helps us see what we're doing right and what we can improve upon,' Wilkins said. 'There's a lot of good journalism being done by newspapers throughout the state, and I believe we're among them. And so I want to showcase what our journalists — news, sports and photo — are doing in this community to the rest of the state.' The newspaper's staff won multiple individual awards that were announced during the KPA's Friday night banquet. Sportswriter Mark Mathis won first place for Best Sports Column, photographer Greg Eans took second and third place in Best General News Picture, Alan Warren took third place in Best Feature Photo and the Messenger-Inquirer staff placed second in the Best Editorial Writer category. Wilkins said he witnesses every day the hard work that the news, sports and photography staff put into being the watchdogs of the community. 'It makes me proud that we have journalists who are committed to providing fair and accurate reporting for Daviess County and our surrounding region,' Wilkins said. 'It's the reason why the Messenger-Inquirer has been here for 150 years and counting.'
