The story of the Tarascon Brothers, Louis and John, began as one of dreams, entrepreneurship, and commercial success. It ended in failure, financial ruin, and personal tragedy.
Category: Local History
The Louisville and Portland Railroad Company: Louisville’s First Transportation Token
To unravel the mystery of Louisville, Kentucky’s first transportation token you have to go back to the early 1830’s. Louisville developed into a major commercial center and river port because of its location above The Falls of the Ohio River. Boats were forced to stop, unload their cargo and then carry it around The Falls in order to continue their trip South. Portland, Kentucky grew up just South of The Falls because the lucrative transfer business provided the foundation for a strong economy.
Nardie’s Education Continues at Now-Defunct Black Trade School
We pick up Nardie’s story as he graduates from Shawnee High School in 1970 (“which was 75% white” at the time, he said). He capitalized on a phenomenal scholarship opportunity to go to the West Kentucky Technical College in Paducah, where he lived in a dorm with around 500 other students.
Schoppenhorst Chapel Continues to Serve Portland Community After 100 Years
Readers of the Portland Anchor know the value and importance of the monthly obituaries. The warmth and humanity that these brief articles convey goes a long way towards demonstrating the pulse of a neighborhood, the deep bonds of generations of families and the unique details and personality traits that made someone’s life special. “It’s hard to summarize someone’s life in such a small snippet,” said pastor Joey Hightower, who serves part time at the Legacy Funeral Center Schoppenhorst Chapel at 1832 West Market Street. “It’s like going back in time, and it’s amazing to be part of such a rich history and staple in community for more than 100 years,” Joey said.
Portland’s Grand St. Charles Hotel
The St. Charles Hotel was one of the most recognized landmarks of the old town of Portland. Located on the southwestern corner of Ferry Street (today’s 36th Street) and Second. Just two blocks from the busy Portland Wharf, it served visitors and travelers for many years in relative splendor.
So, What Was the Junk War Anyway? Following Up on The Portland Anchor’s First Stories.
Learn the story behind the Portland Anchor’s very first stories and see how one little newspaper fought for change in its neighborhood still visible 50 years later.
I REMEMBER: Fire Education in Portland (November, 1985)
In November of 1985, in order to try to put an end to arson attacks in the area, Portland was given $25,000 to put towards anti-arson programming. The Portland Fire Prevention Project, the Louisville Fire and Police Departments, the Arson Investigation Office, and the Boys and Girls Clubs, Inc gathered to devise a way to effectively put this money to use. Their plan? Recruit local children to keep their neighborhoods safe!
The Portland Gateway – A Short Story
All things have a beginning – – and so it was with the Portland Gateway sign and planting area at 22nd and Portland Avenue –
Ed “Nardie” White Shares Portland Memories
“Portland was a closed community in a big metropolitan city. When you think about Louisville, you think about it as a big metropolitan city. But Portland was a definite city that was a community of its own. You had a pocket on Short Street. You had a pocket at St. Xavier. Owen Alley up here…that was a pocket. Those were all Black families. So we lived in clusters all around Portland. We lived in this 20-block radius. I lived between 21st street to 29th Street, that was my core area where I lived, and everybody knew everybody from generations.”
The Portland Anchor’s Founding: Missions and Miracles
“Somehow, the dreams of many individuals and groups meshed with old fashioned determination and hard work and the infant newspaper was cranked out on a rickety, old printing press in the basement of the Salvation Army Boys’ Club.”