Finally, goodbye to the Tracy Apartments

Finally it is happening. The Tracy Apartment building in Corbin is being demolished. It is a story that has gone on for decades.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

The structure was condemned in 2005 and our newspaper carried a story in 2010 that it would be demolished in the near future.

A “flaw” at the corner of the building started pulling away from the rest of the building and got worse over the years. There was no other option other than to demolish the building.

I don’t know of its original beginning, but I do know of its second life when it was renovated and opened again for occupancy in 1964.

The reason I know is because my new bride and I were one of the first to occupy the building after the renovation. It was nice enough in that it had new carpet, freshly painted walls, a new kitchen and several other improvements.

But it was still was an old building. The floors above us creaked every time a step was made. The building had three floors. We lived on the second floor. The guy above us wore boots and at night every time he would take off a boot there would be a loud “clunk” and we would then wait for the next one to drop.

It wasn’t just the boots that had us wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, the couple had a favorite song we heard over and over.

The only good thing I can say about our stay at the Tracy was that it was across the street from the studios of WCTT where I worked.

That was especially good because on Sunday mornings I had to sign the station on. Oh yes, I was there to greet the popular Luther Wallen every Sunday.

One of my favorite memories was when Luther was rehearsing his songs while Lester Root played the piano for him in an adjacent studio. I heard some loud shouting as Luther said, “Lester, you are not playing that right.” Lester countered by saying, “Luther you are not singing it right.”

Those Sunday morning were full of activities. The Phipps Family Singers would follow Luther and then a person from a local church would do the Sunday School lesson live.

A man named Connie Thomas had a religious program. I’ll never forget how he looked straight up at the corner of the ceiling while he spoke.

And then there was a tape recording of a show called the Honeybee Ramblers. I forget what they advertised but that same tape had been playing every Sunday morning for years.

After I had been at the station for a little while I asked the station manager how much they paid for the broadcast. He said he wasn’t sure and when he looked it up he found they only paid five dollars. That was the last of the Honeybee Ramblers.

It wasn’t long before we moved out of the Tracy and I was taken off the Sunday shift. But what a way to start your new job. I treasure the memories.