Cora Emma Combs Washington, 85, died Wednesday; funeral to be at Midway Christian Church on Monday

A prominent Midway citizen and a leader of its African American community has passed. Cora Emma Combs Washington, 85, died Wednesday, Dec. 28.

She was an elder of historic Second Christian Church and the widow of Jerome E. Washington. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by two children, Janice Collins and George Anna "Did" Campbell. Survivors include her daughter, Brenda Jackson; grandchildren Yolanda Collins, Juanita Collins, Jerome "J. W." Collins, Ayana Dixon and Jeremy Campbell; great-grandchildren Jasmine Collins, Maya Dixon, Alexa Dixon and Caramia Collins; and special friends, Mrs. William Clark and Dr. and Mrs. Norman Fisher.

"She was always so interested in the children in Midway," Dee Dee Roach said in a comment on the Midway Musings Facebook page. "She was a very special lady who told wonderful stories of Midway's past."

City Council Member Dan Roller wrote, "We went to a picnic at Historic Second Christian Church one time and Mrs. Washington was waiting in her car, near the tables with food. She said, 'If you are looking for my pies, I don't put them out until after people start eating, otherwise they skip the food and go straight for my pies.' We will miss that wonderful smile!"

Wilda Willis Caudle wrote, "The bakers in God's Heavenly bakery will get first hand instructions on making mouthwatering from scratch butterscotch pies. Rest in peace, Ms. Cora Emma. You have more than earned the golden rocking chair in your heavenly mansion."

Funeral services will be held at noon Monday, Jan. 2 at Midway Christian Church, 123 E. Bruen St., with visitation from 11 a.m. to noon. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens, with O.L. Hughes & Sons Mortuary of Lexington in charge of arrangements.

Organist for 78 years at New Union Christian Church dies at 97

Martha Jane Stone at her organ in 2009. (H-L photo by Tom Eblen)

By Tom Eblen
Lexington Herald-Leader

Martha Jane Stone became the organist at New Union Christian Church when she was a freshman at Transylvania University in 1938, and she stuck with it until shortly before her death Wednesday at age 97.

Stone, who also played cello for decades in several Lexington orchestras and taught music at Transylvania for 33 years, died at Baptist Health Lexington two days after major surgery, said the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, pastor of the church on Old Frankfort Pike at Browns Mill Road.

Kemper tried to get Stone listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-serving church organist, but she couldn’t find enough documents to prove her 78-year tenure. Many records were lost when the church’s former building was demolished in 1962.

Stone had been a member of the small, 182-year-old congregation longer than anyone else, Kemper said, having been there through two buildings, three organs and five ministers.

“Martha Jane lived a remarkable life filled with music and friendships,” Kemper said. “She was an excellent music educator, continuing to teach me — her one-time piano student at Transylvania — music theory nearly every Sunday as we went over the hymns together. We will miss her greatly.”

Stone grew up in Owensboro, Paducah and Pineville before moving with her family in 1933 to the Lexington house where she lived the rest of her life. She never married.

Stone graduated from Transylvania University with a degree in music and mathematics, which she said caused her to mistakenly get a draft notice after World War II began. Few women studied math in those days, she said, so the Army had put the names of all math majors into the Selective Service System.

Stone earned a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1949 and later studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She taught piano and organ at Transylvania from 1947 to 1980.
Stone played cello with several local orchestras, including the UK Radio Orchestra in the mid-1940s and the old Lexington Symphony, before spending 42 years with the Lexington Philharmonic, where she performed on both cello and keyboards.

Stone’s funeral will be Jan. 3 at 1 p.m., with visitation beginning at 11 a.m., at the church. Burial will be at Lexington Cemetery.

Lighting restorer moves to Midway, where he had trade

A wide variety of lights hangs in Setzer's Chandelier and Restoration Shop. (Photos by Claire Johnson)

Alex Hein moved his shop from Lexington and renamed it.

By Claire Johnson
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Restoring antiques to their original form is nothing new for Alex Hein, owner of Setzer’s Chandelier and Restoration Shop, which opened Nov. 1 at 120 E. Main St.

In fact, reviving household antiques is more like a family tradition for Hein, since his family has been in the antique business for as long as he can remember.

Hein said most people might know him from his business, previously named Mirror and Brassworks and located in Lexington, where he is from. He lives in Cynthiana, but chose Midway as the best location for his shop.

A customer had pointed out an open space in Midway in the summer, and Hein took the opportunity to revive his shop with a new location and a new name.

“I have been in business for twenty years doing this. I’ve had a lot of customers in this town,” Hein said. “And honestly, I just really like the town.” His new location allows for people to get in and out of town easily to pickup and drop off items, he said.

The shop opened Nov. 1 and is decorated for Christmas.

A great location and love for the town were not the only reasons Hein made his move. “There’s a lot of older generations [in Midway] that deal with brass, copper, and silver and that have it to restore,” he said. “Some of the horse farms here I do a lot of work for, and generally because Midway is so historic.”

One of his most memorable restorations was on the historic 1850s John Graham House near Midway, featured in the May/June 2011 edition of Sophisticated Living Magazine. The owner of the house at the time, Kim Morris, said Hein is one of the few people who are passionate about what they do.

“His restoration knowledge and experience has found him in a niche that needed to be filled.” Morris said, “We are lucky to have a specialty business like his available to us in our community.”

Hein no longer does mirrors but still works with brass.

Hein said he has done work on many of the historic houses in Midway over the last 10 years.

Eric and Ellen Gregory of South Winter Street hired Hein for a large project on her great grandparents’ historic house in Metcalfe County, untouched since 1909.

“In the attic, we found all of the original gas lights.” Eric Gregory said. “We took one to him when he was over in Lexington and his eyes lit up.” He said they were so blown away that he could restore them, they decided to bring Hein dozens more. “He’s a true craftsman,” Gregory said. “With his level of excellence for a fair price, you just keep coming back.”

Hein said he can restore and fix chandeliers, as well as any type of lighting or rewiring a customer may need. The shop also sells restored, antique fixtures, lighting and antique fireplace accessories.

In conjunction with the move to Midway, Hein said he wanted to change the name of the company completely. “I don’t do anything with mirrors anymore and I haven’t in a long time,” he said, “so I wanted to change the name totally.” The new name, “Setzer,” is German for setting prices or a market inspector.

Since people in the community already know of his work, Hein said he has already seen a good response from the town. Some new clients have even brought items in for him to restore or fix.

“Midway is such a town of renaissance and craft and artists,” Gregory said. “I think he’ll be appreciated here.”

Hein’s reason for repairing antiques is simple according to him: He just enjoys it. “You can take stuff that looks like it should be thrown in the trash and make it look like a million bucks.”

Woman's Club recognizes top Christmas decorations

The Midway Woman's Club has announced the winners of its 12th annual House Decorating Contest, judged on the night of Dec. 16. The judges were Debra Shockley, Amanda Glass, Katie Vandegrift and Sara Hicks. Pictures of the winners will be posted here as they become available. Several photos, especially the night views, are much better enlarged. To view a larger version of each photograph, click on the image.

Best Yard, 219 Cottage Grove

Most Fun, 103 Carriage Lane

Best Overall Design: 232 West Higgins Street

Best Daytime Display: 238 West Stephens Street

Best Christmas Spirit: 548 South Winter Street

Best Front Door: 412 Mill Road

Best Traditional Decorations: 251 West Cross Street

Most Whimsical Lights, 138 Cottage Grove

Special 2016 12th Anniversary MWC Holiday Décor Judging Award, 102 Cottage Grove

Other winners were: Most Animated Lights, 222 E. Stephens St.; Best Wreath, 408 Merrywood Dr.; Most Creative Lights, 106 Cottage Grove; Best Indoor Tree, City Hall, 101 E. Main; Best Business, Mezzo, 131 E. Main; Best Outdoor Treet, 120 E. Higgins St.; Best Porch, 221 Johnson St.; Best for Spirit of Woodford County, 105 Circle Dr. (off West Stephens, past the cemetery).

Mayor recaps 2016, month by month, mostly in rhyme

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway

Every December, while we’re winding down another year, we tend to reflect on our most recent trip around the sun as we decompress and re-energize for a new one. In that same vein, I thought I’d do a month-by-month rundown of what happened in the City of Midway this past year, with help from the archives of the Midway Messenger and old copies of The Woodford Sun. So here it is, “The Year in Midway” in 150 words or less:

January: Midway Renaissance re-ups, MLK service unites us.
February: Chocolate Stroll downtown, American Howa breaks ground.
March: Midway’s “Calendar Girls” wows, Mezzo waters mouths.
April: Volunteers plant 200 trees, Brown-Forman to house whiskey.
May: Francisco’s Farm a success, Midway U. goes co-ed.
June: For the Penns a celebration, Midsummer Nights, no TIF after all at Midway Station.
July: State closes Weisenberger span, council ok’s the sidewalk plan.
August: Lakeshore Learning bringing 300 jobs; new trails at the park for all to walk.
September: FallFestival holds its 42nd, university enrollment in the right direction.
October: Leaves don’t yet fall due to strangely warm weather, a new footbridge ties the city together.
November: Parks Board meets for the first time, Santa arrives on the railroad line.
December: Midway Merchants hold a planning meeting, awards are given for lights in the city.

Seems to me like a pretty good year, so season’s greetings and a happy new year!

Midway Station plants and new convenience store boost chances for hotel in Midway, mayor and EDA chair say

By Claire Johnson

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

With construction scheduled to start in April for Woodford County’s first modern hotel, a Holiday Inn Express in Versailles, Midway and county officials have high hopes for a hotel in Midway.

Plat of Green Gables development with one potential hotel site marked;
another is across the interstate (Click on the image for a larger version)

Two potential sites are currently available in Midway, according to Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and John Soper, chairman of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority. One, on a plat already approved by zoning officials, is between Interstate 64 and the Shell convenience store in the Green Gables development on Leestown Road. The second site could be north of the interstate at Midway Station, according to Vandegrift, who prefers this site.

The prospects for a Midway hotel are improving because Midway Station is getting its first large-scale industries and a convenience store, developed by Dennis Anderson of Lexington, who has an option on the unsold parts of Midway station and is the developer of Green Gables.

Soper said, “When a hotel is looking to build a site, they want gasoline and food next to them. It is also industrial-based. Industry brings people in for the week, tourists come on the weekend.”

Soper said Anderson has had a potential investor look at both sites. “It didn’t pass the mustard, so to speak,” Soper said, referring to the investor’s decision not to build.

Soper and Vandegrift said the investor did not physically visit Midway, but relied on the internet, and Vandegrift said “The hotel chain did a feasibility study to see if Midway would be a good choice” but it probably did not show enough residential homes in Midway, which has a population of about 1,700 compared to 9,000 in Versailles.

“They have more rooftops, so there’s more chance of succeeding with more residents nearby,” Vandegrift said.

Midway City Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher said she thinks Midway should have gotten a hotel before Versailles, and so does Vandegrift.

“I was surprised too,” Vandegrift said. “Our proximity to I-64 is more ideal to a hotel.” The Bluegrass Parkway is not nearly as travelled as much as the interstate, he said.

Soper said the jobs Midway Station is about to receive will boost the chances for a hotel. American Howa Kentucky Inc. will provide at least 54 jobs and Lakeshore Learning Materials has promised 262 in return for state and local incentives.

“When these two plants get up and running,” Soper said, “I think we have a real good shot at landing a hotel.”

Vandegrift, a former restaurateur on Main Street, said it is “crazy” that Midway does not have a hotel already. He agreed the two plants will increase the likelihood, but he also said if investors actually visit Midway, they will see it as a good investment.

“We already have a good amount of people that visit for the day, but would stay if they had a place to stay,” Vandegrift said. “We just need to get them [investors] here on the ground to see that.”

If Midway received a hotel, downtown businesses would benefit the most, according to Vandegrift.

The mayor said he thinks Midway would see a significant increase in tourism if a hotel were added.

“I’m not holding my breath we will get one soon,” he said, “but I’m very hopeful.”

The Holiday Inn Express in Versailles is set to open in the late fall of 2017, according to Soper.

The hotel will have 82 rooms, more than doubling the number of rooms subject to the “bed tax” levied by the county tourism commission. Those rooms are all at bed and breakfasts, and generate revenue of about $10,000 a year for tourism promotion, much less than adjoining counties.

Northside Elementary madrigal dinner is Thursday and Friday; tickets are still available for the second night

The Northside cafeteria has been decorated like a castle for the dinners. (Photo provided by Erin Casimir)

By Evan Merrill
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

This time of year, many schools offer some sort of musical performance or Christmas play to involve students. Northside Elementary School in Midway takes a different approach.

Under the leadership of music teacher Erin Casimir, the school will be hosting its second annual madrigal dinner, with a cappella singing by students, Thursday and Friday nights.

Casimir said she came up with the idea as she sought a program for the children that could also be an effective fundraiser.

“The idea for the program came about as a ‘revival’ of sorts from a program that I participated in while in elementary school,” Casimir said in an email.

About 80 students in the fourth and fifth grade will participate in the event. Casimir said they will be servers for the two-day event, beginning Thursday evening, as well as a “royal court” of students who auditioned for parts.

Casimir said the production is a very special event due to the high level of production for such young children.

The food will be provided by the school district’s food services, and the event will raise funds for the school’s music department. Casimir and the school have decorated the cafeteria as a castle, reflecting madrigal singing’s roots in the Renaissance.

“It is a big night, as it is such a huge production it is not your typical ‘elementary Christmas program,’” Casimir wrote. “With the meal, drama, comedy, and music it incorporates so much more than just singing some songs. The kids really take ownership in the serving process and making the guests feel welcome.”

The two-day event will seat an average of 125 people a night. Tickets are still available for Friday night: $12 for adults and $6 for students 3-12. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 16. For ticket inquiries contact Erin.casimir@woodford.kyschools.us.