By Scott White
When I attended Woodford County High School in the mid-1970s, Midway was this exotic town on the way to Georgetown surrounded by wealthy horse farms with a railroad running through the middle of it. Kids went to Midway Elementary School, and it was not until junior high (now middle school) that they joined with everyone else from the county. Midway kids had their own tribe. They never saw themselves as WoFoCoians – they were Midway Proud!
Though only eight miles away, Midway definitely is not Versailles – it is unique from every other part of the county. Sure, we share many things in common. But, not everything. Midway is much more equine-centered. It has long been on the map of “foodies” with its dining destinations like Holly Hill Inn, Gibson’s, Heirloom and Goose and Gander, and others before them. It is famous for its historic downtown with a distinctive shopping corridor and longstanding bed and breakfasts. It hosts well-known annual events like the Midway Fall Festival and Bourbon and Blues Fest. It had its own independent school system until consolidation in the late 1960s and is the only Woodford County school to win a state high school championship back in 1937, that is still on a road sign as you enter from Leestown Pike or Wiesenberger Mill Road. Heck, WCHS has only been to two Sweet 16s with the most recent this past season.
It is also home to the only university in the county, Midway University which competes at high levels in both men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics and will have a football team this fall. Midway U is already gaining status in a number of academic disciplines under the visionary leadership of President John Marsden.
We here at the Sun appreciate its uniqueness too. You will read reports in these pages on city council meetings, local business news and events, and various issues unique to Midway like the recent conditional use permit application denial involving a distillery. Even so, we are committed to providing a Midway-specific news source for Midway residents and businesses, but that is also available to the entirety of Woodford County and the region.
This is nothing new. From 1875 until 1942, the Lindsay family published the Bluegrass Clipper in Midway. The digitized archival copies are at both the University of Kentucky and the Woodford County Historical Society. Marla Carroll, the Sun’s design editor, selects stories from the Clipper each week which appears on page two . .. just look beside this column. You cannot imagine the number of folks who tell us how much they enjoy this window back into Midway and Woodford County’s history.
More recently, following a conversation between former long-time Midway Mayor Tom Bozarth and Al Cross, the director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, the online newspaper Midway Messenger was begun in 2008. As described by Al, though an online and non-commercial publication, the Messenger’s purpose was to offer a real-world journalism experience for UK students as well as to serve the people of Midway. In 2022, the Sun took over the Messenger from UK while still offering to use a UK journalism student as an intern and to mix in stories from the Sun staff as well.
Since last fall, we had to put the Messenger on pause as we adjusted to the loss of our publisher, Whit Chandler, in January 2022, and then the departure of editor John McGary in December to WEKU news. John was responsible for managing the Messenger content (you can still hear John’s excellent journalism on 88.9 FM - his reports appear usually during the 4 to 7 p.m. time period). In fact, until two weeks ago, the most recent news post on the Messenger was from September 2022.
That now is behind us, and we are BACK! The Midway Messenger is current and updated numerous times during the week. We will continue to focus its content on Midway stories, news, sports, community events and issues. We will also be offering advertising opportunities for businesses, educational institutions, community organizations, and non-profits. These rates will soon be set and advertisers will have the option to advertise in the print edition of the Sun as well as the Messenger with a discounted up-charge. You can expect to hear more from us as we get around to visit folks.
If you know about some news, or a person we should write a feature on, or an issue that needs looking into, please reach out to me at scott@woodfordsun.com.
In the meantime, bookmark as a favorite the Midway Messenger and keep current with what’s happening and shaking in Midway! Find it here at: https://midwayky.blogspot.com.
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