EGBERT, HARRY, BRIGADIER GENERAL 295
carried a floor-by-floor description of the house, and it was opened for touring by the general public. Readers voted on the person they wanted to win the house. At the start of the contest, most people voted for themselves or family members. Soon, however, only a top few people among the vote-getters were left in the race, and on September 18, 1927, it was announced that Mrs. George Ficke had won the “Dream-a-Way” house, located at 2 Lyndale Rd. The Fickes had 12 children and lived in the house until Mr. Ficke’s death in 1944. A few years after the house contest, on May 4, 1930, Lionel Flying Field opened in Edgewood on an 11-acre tract of land along Dudley Pk. The field derived its name from Lionel Stephenson, a professional in aviation and aeronautics. Expectations were that this airport would be the largest in Northern Kentucky, owing to its proximity to Summit Hills Golf Course. The flying field played an important role in community celebrations and was used as an attraction to lure people into the city of Edgewood to live. In 1948 Judge Rodney G. Bryson, Kenton Circuit Court, signed an order to create the new sixthclass City of Edgewood. About 375 people resided in Edgewood, an area of about one-half square mile, situated along Dudley Pk. Soon the Edgewood Police Department was created, mainly to help handle growing traffic problems. The Sanfordtown and Community Volunteer Fire Department was created in 1955. The original location of the station was on present-day Horsebranch Rd., but as the community grew, a new location was discussed for the station. On May 13, 1959, a new station opened on the top of Dudley Hill, on land that Carl Foltz donated. The name of the fire department was changed in 1961 to the Southern Hills Volunteer Fire Department, and a life squad division was added in 1970. A new addition was built in 1977, which allowed for the closure of the original Sanfordtown branch. In 1962 Covington, a neighboring Kenton Co. city, proposed the annexation of Edgewood. Two other cities, Summit Hills Heights and Pius Heights, bordered the Edgewood area. To combat Covington’s annexation attempt, the cities of Edgewood, Summit Hills Heights, and Pius Heights voted to merge into one city. In 1968 the new fourth-class City of Edgewood was formed through the merger of the three communities. However, Covington continued the battle for annexation. Finally, the annexation law of Kentucky was changed. The new law allowed the people to be affected by a proposed annexation to vote on the issue. In order to defeat an annexation, 75 percent of the voters would have to object to the proposal. When the Edgewood votes were counted, 89 percent of the voters opposed the annexation. Thus, after more than 17 years, the threat of annexation was put to rest. A park located off Timber Ridge Rd. in Edgewood still carries the name Victory Park, to celebrate the victory over Covington’s annexation attempt. As Edgewood’s population increased, the citizens began to address community needs. Neighborhood watch programs against crime were es-
tablished, and the potential for commercial development was explored. Edgewood wanted to make a land exchange with the City of Fort Wright: Edgewood would acquire from Fort Wright an area consisting of 40 homes in the Winding Trails Subdivision that were accessible only through Edgewood, and Edgewood would release territory along Old Horsebranch Rd. to Fort Wright. The swap was made. In 1981 plans were approved to address the needs for the expansion of the police force, better city maintenance, and a new city building. A new two-story city building was constructed adjacent to the Southern Hills Fire Department and contained the council chambers and the offices of the city administrator, the city clerk, the mayor, and the police department. In October 1989 Edgewood residents were concerned about the proposed development of a new 20-acre city park that was going to be located along Dudley Pk. Their concerns related to increased traffic in the city and to the rear entrance to the park, near Poke Away Ln. Although the city tried to address the concerns, the park property was purchased for $900,000. Today, the park, known as President’s Park, displays information about the presidents of the United States. Brief histories of the presidents line the walkway into the park. The shelters are named after U.S. presidents, and the smaller of the baseball fields is named Lincoln. The larger field was to be named Washington, but, as the mayor of the city explained, “a gentleman who lived in the city, Robert E. Snow, came to us and said that he would donate some money so that his grandchildren would have a place to play baseball, so we named it after him, Snow Field.” The Millennium Clock at the park’s entrance has become a landmark for the city. The first school in the Edgewood area was started in Sanfordtown in 1843. As the Edgewood community grew, there was a need for more schools. Today, there are two public elementary schools, a public middle school, a public vocational school, a public high school, and a technical college in Edgewood. In addition, the St. Pius X Catholic Church parish campus along Dudley Pk. contains an elementary school, along with a convent, a rectory, and church buildings. The modern St. Elizabeth Medical Center South in Edgewood, a fullservice hospital, offers many ser vices in both inpatient and outpatient care. As the Edgewood community continued to grow, the city realized it needed a new city building and a new firehouse. On May 20, 2006, the city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and offered public tours of the new facilities. As of the 2000 census, Edgewood had 9,400 residents. City of Edgewood. www.edgewoodky.gov (accessed June 17, 2006). “Died,” LVR, June 22, 1844, 2. “Mrs. George Ficke Winner of Dream-a-Way Home,” KP, September 18, 1927, 1. “New Buildings to Open for Inspection,” KP, August 27, 1937, 2. “Pius Heights 27th City in Kenton,” KP, July 31, 1965, 6K.
Reis, Jim. “City Talks May Change Borders,” KP, March 14, 1981, 4K. ———. “Promotion Was a Dream,” KP, May 29, 1995, 4K. U.S. Census Bureau. “American Fact Finder. Data Set. Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1) 100-Percent Data. Custom Table.” www.census.gov (accessed June 17, 2006). Weakley, Mrs. Calvin S. “A Drive out Madison Pike.” Papers of the Christopher Gist Historical Society (1953–1954): 49–56. Workum, Bert. “Annex Decision End of Beginning,” KP, May 19, 1979, 1.
Steven D. Jaeger
EDWARDS, TRACEY DENISE (b. 1965). Singer and television host Tracey Edwards is the adopted daughter of Wilson Edwards, a Boone Co. jailer who lived with his family beneath the county jail. The family, including two girls and a boy, helped to cook for the inmates and clean at the jail. When Wilson was killed in an automobile accident in 1979, his wife, Ruth, became Boone Co.’s first female jailer. Tracey Edwards says her colorful personality is a direct result of her unconventional upbringing. She sang to the prisoners, calling them a captive audience. She liked the attention she received and moved into a television and singing career. A 1982 Conner High School graduate, Edwards attended Northern Kentucky University at Highland Heights, where she received a scholarship for her acting and singing abilities. Edwards appeared regularly on cable television’s Home Shopping Network’s America store from 1998 to 2004. She also hosted on two other shopping networks’ shows. She has performed in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival sponsored by HBO and was a guest show host for Pure Country on the Oxygen Network. Edwards produced and was a cohost of The Hunt USA, which combined traveling and shopping, and co-hosted Daytime, a morning talk show on a Tampa, Fla., NBC affi liate. She also has released a Christmas compact disk and a disk entitled Songs I Like to Sing. Warner, Jennifer S. Boone County: From Mastodons to the Millennium. Burlington, Ky.: Boone Co. Bicentennial Book Committee, 1998.
Nancy J. Tretter
EGBERT, HARRY, BRIGADIER GENERAL (b. 1839, Philadelphia, Pa.; d. March 26, 1899, Malinta, Philippines). As a lieutenant colonel during the Spanish-American War (see National Guard, Spanish-American War), Harry Egbert commanded the 6th Infantry Regiment, which was based at Fort Thomas. On the south face of the Fort Thomas Military Reservation water tower, there is a bronze plaque honoring him. In 1861 Egbert was commissioned a 1st lieutenant in the 12th Infantry Regiment. He served with the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War; he was wounded twice and ended the war with the rank of captain. After the war, he served in South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and on the American western frontier. Between 1870 and 1890, he took part in the Indian wars of the West