Why did the chicken cross the state border?
To get to the other side, so that it doesn’t end up as the official picnic food of Kentucky.
Huh?
Gov. Steve Beshear signed a bill on April 7 designating the Kentucky Fried Chicken original recipe as the “official” picnic food of the Bluegrass State.
This bill joined a bevy of other odd bits of legislation that legislators introduced in the session that ends today.
Some lawmakers want the city of Somerset named the official car cruise capital of the state.
If you cruised in a Corvette, some lawmakers think you should be driving the official state sports car.
The driver might listen to some music on the way, and if they popped in a Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra compact disc, those people are listening to what one lawmaker wants to make the official chamber orchestra of the commonwealth.
And for some relaxation after the cruising, how about a game of cornhole? It might become the official state game.
Each year, legislators in the House and the Senate propose hundreds of bills dealing with anything from teacher retirements to animal licenses. However, every once in a while “fun bills” come along, such as those that create state symbols, emblems and “official” designations.
So far, Kentucky lawmakers have passed 41 such bills, including the KFC bill, an official state silverware pattern, the official state outdoor musical and the official state drink (milk).
The bills don’t receive a high priority nor do they require a lot of debate.
Most past unchallenged, said Rep. C.B. Embry, R-Morgantown, who sponsored the Corvette bill.
“It’s just a fun thing and all states do this,” he said. “We (Kentucky) might be a little more into it than others but it helps identify our state and something that we’re proud of.”
The Little Red Corvette Bill
Embry proposed a bill in the House that would designate Corvette as the official sports car of Kentucky. He decided to use sports car in the title as not to offend other carmakers in Kentucky, such as Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Co. By including the word “sports,” he eliminated any controversy because “no other sports car manufactured in Kentucky compares with Corvette,” he said.
Embry lives only 18 miles from Bowling Green, which is home to the world’s only Corvette manufacturing plant. He wanted to recognize and honor General Motors Co. for locating its plant in Kentucky, and the managers and the employees for contributing to the state.
“They are among the best people in the community,” he said. “We are going through rough economic times now, and the museum – one of the biggest tourist attractions – means a lot to the plant and the community.”
Despite his efforts, Embry doesn’t think the Corvette will become the official sports car of Kentucky, at least not this time around, he said.
The Cruise-Through-Somerset Bill
The roar of car engines reached another legislator’s ears, prompting him to propose a bill designating Somerset, as the official car cruise capital of the commonwealth. Sen. Vernie McGaha, R-Russell Springs, proposed this bill mostly because of Somernites Cruise, one of the largest monthly car cruise events in the United States.
Last year, Somernites attracted an average of 1,100 participants per cruise and thousands of spectators, said Randy Calhoun, president of the Somernites Cruise team.
“We appreciate all the work that has been put into passing this bill,” he said. “They’ve done a tremendous job in supporting this crew and helping us do our jobs. If it’s passed, it will be recognition for our city, for having trust and faith in us to put on something like this.”
Calhoun said the idea of Somernites started when he and a couple of other guys went to the city hall and asked for a car cruise. Now in its eighth season, every fourth Saturday from April to October, Somerset shuts down 20 to 25 blocks for eight hours. The night before each cruise, the local Wal-Mart store hosts a block party with food, music and games for children and 200 to 300 cruise-car participants.
The Sounds of Bowling Green Bills
If Bowling Green doesn’t become the home of the official sports car, it might become the home of the official chamber orchestra and the oldest continuously operating professional symphony orchestra in the commonwealth.
Speaker of the House Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, proposed both bills.
House Bill 359 would designate the Bowling Green Western Symphony Orchestra as the oldest in the state. The symphony orchestra was formed in 1908 as the Normal School Orchestra. During the past 100 years, the orchestra’s membership has grown to include not only university students and faculty but musicians from surrounding regions as well.
HB 219 would designate the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra as the official state chamber orchestra. Since its creation in 2000, the chamber orchestra has done many things to enrich the music education and culture of Kentucky including helping create Bowling Green String Academy and many other educational programs, Richards said.
The ideas for the bills came from community organizers who felt that this designation could help the orchestras and get their name out beyond the Bowling Green community, Richards said.
“I strongly support the chamber orchestra and filed this bill to help promote it around the state,” he said. “I believe this is the best way I can help the chamber and make more people aware of its great gifts.”
Jeffrey A. Reed, founder, music director and conductor of the chamber orchestra said the culture of a city makes that city great, not roads and other infrastructural things. The designation would bring honor and recognition to the orchestra and the city of Bowling Green.
“We can buy all the ads in the world, but they just don’t work as well as that third-party endorsement,” he said. “People who have never heard of the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra might take a closer look upon hearing of the designation.”
The One-Handed Sport Bill
You can call it corn toss, bean-bag toss or even baggo, but if Rep. Bill Farmer, R-Lexington, gets his way, the state’s “official” will be “cornhole.”
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Farmer came up with the idea for this bill after he saw the game played at University of Kentucky tailgating parties, block parties and festivals all over the state.
“It’s kind of uniquely Kentucky,” he said.
On March 20, Lexington’s Mayor, Jim Newberry, and Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner, Richie Farmer, announced the addition of cornhole to the Bluegrass State Games. The nonprofit program promotes amateur athletics across the commonwealth and hosts summer athletic events throughout Central Kentucky, stated the organization’s Web site. cornhole joined 30 other sports including cycling, disc golf, lacrosse and sailing.
Rick Hatcher, executive director of the Bluegrass State Games, said the decision to add cornhole came because of its growing popularity.
“It’s one of those hobbies that horseshoe was 20 to 40 years ago,” he said. “Now that popularity of that has gone down, cornhole is picking up-and it’s portable. You have to take advantage of this kind of popularity.”
The American Cornhole Association reports that the game has gained popularity throughout the world, especially with the help of military personnel. The association helps promote the game and helps establish guidelines for equipment and tournaments.
The Col. Sanders-goes-to-picnic Bill
Blackberries may be the official fruit of Kentucky and milk the official drink, but the menu isn’t complete without the main course.
Not to worry, because Rep. Charles Siler, R-Williamsburg, proposed the bill that made KFC’s original recipe fried chicken the official picnic food of the commonwealth. HB 331 stated that Col. Harland Sanders first cooked his original chicken recipe in 1940 in his Corbin restaurant. Since then, the recipe has been sold in more than 11,000 KFC restaurants in more than 80 countries and territories throughout the world.
“It’s not a tongue-in-cheek action,” Siler told the Kentucky Enquirer. “It has economic considerations both for the state of Kentucky and for the city of Corbin, and I’m sure the company sees value in it as well.”
Siler may see value in the new state symbol, but People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn’t. The organization stands by its claim that chickens served in KFC restaurants are tortured and abused.
“If the state legislature moves forward with this one, then they should change Kentucky’s state bird from the cardinal to the debeaked, crippled, scalded, diseased, dead chicken,” PETA vice president Bruce Friedrich told the Kentucky Enquirer earlier this year.
The Meat and Veggies Bill
Burgoo could also be added to the official state food menu if Rep. Jim Glenn’s, D-Owensboro, bill passes through legislation.
The dish, originally from the Middle East, has been prepared on American land since the early 1700s. Initially, burgoo consisted of squirrel meat and vegetables such as onions, carrots and potatoes, Glenn said. Nowadays, the dish retains most of its primary ingredients except for squirrel meat, now traded for chicken or lamb.
Glenn said that designating burgoo as the state dish could not only benefit restaurants but church organizations as well, which depend on burgoo sales during fundraisers. Burgoo also plays a big role in Owensboro’s International Bar-B-Q Festival, which serves more than 1,500 gallons of burgoo each year.
“It’s not a fly by the night dish,” Glenn said. “It has been served in Kentucky for 300 years. I’ve tried to explain to them that burgoo is about economic development, not just to name a dish to be cute.”
Richards said that state symbols help define the essence of the Commonwealth.
“‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ for example, immediately evokes memories of the state in a way no other song can,” he said. “Our state horse-the thoroughbred-does the same.”
Despite the effort, Rep. Mike Cherry, chairman of the House State Government Committee, told Courier-Journal earlier this year that he doesn’t plan on allowing any votes on “naming” bills pending in the legislation. If he allowed the voting on one, he would have to allow it on all 10 and that would be silly, he said.
“Besides, if I passed one of them, one of you guys would write a story about all the important things we haven’t done, but we still have time to do this,” Cherry said.
Reach Dunja Zdero at news@chherald.com.
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