ENTIRE TOWN, ESPECIALLY THE LADIES, GUSSIED UP FOR FDR VISIT

You can bet many a Henderson County gal was following The Gleaner's advice of September 30, 1920, and making a "lemon bleach: for her face.

After all, the handsome and debonair Franklin D. ROOSEVELT, Democratic candidate for U.S. vice president and a member of one of the country's most dynamic and prestigious families, was coming to Henderson.

The suggestion about the "lemon bleach" - said to "whiten and double beauty of skin" - appeared only a few inches from an eight-column announcement of ROOSEVELT'S impending visit.

With a photograph of the man who even then wore the small, rimless glasses that gave him such an aristocratic air, The Gleaner ad promised "2 Big Democratic Speeches Saturday, October 2nd" at the local Grand Theater at 1 p.m.

Scheduled to appear with FDR was Dave KINCHELOE, U.S. representative from the second district.

Interestingly, the announcement said that "The Ladies are Especially Invited."

Ladies or anyone else suffering a cold at that time and faced with the prospect of being too sick to attend the VIP visit were urged by another advertisement on that particular page to "Kill That Cold with Hill's Bromide Cascara Quinine."

The medication was said to work wonders for coughs and colds as well as "La Grippe." Neglected colds, the ad warned, "are dangerous."

That Gleaner page also noted the death of "highly respected citizen" Henry KERR, who had been hit by an automobile. His passing would make him one of the few leading townspeople to miss the FDR speech here.

Reprinted with permission.
Progress Edition, The Gleaner, Henderson, KY, Saturday, March 30, 1996
Written by Judy Jenkins