462 HORSE SHOE GARDENS The Media and Information Guide. Florence, Ky.: Turfway Racecourse, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2007
James C. Claypool
HORSESHOE GARDENS. The Horseshoe Gardens was an entertainment resort located along the Ohio River at the foot of Ward St. in Bellevue, Ky. Formerly known as the Riviera Beach and Dance Hall, and before that as the Queen City Beach, it was one of the various Campbell Co. beachfronts on that stretch of the river that helped the City of Cincinnati bring the national Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) convention to the region in 1898. Families of Civil War veterans rode streetcars to Bellevue and Dayton, Ky., to frolic on the naturally sandy beaches of the bend in the Ohio River, as the former soldiers reminisced at their convention in Cincinnati. After the Queen City Beach was sold in 1916, the new owners renovated it, building a lavish dance hall to entice customers on a year-round basis. It advertised a new maple floor that could accommodate 1,000 dancers. A radio bandstand system amplified the music throughout the hall. In 1928 Bellevue native Ed Rohrer purchased the business, by then called the Riviera Beach and Dance Hall, and changed its name to the Horseshoe Gardens. It sported a tropical-island theme and featured the most popu lar local and regional bands. A newspaper account at the time described it as “brilliance on the Ky. Shore of the Ohio River.” The dance pavilion offered performances by the Justin Huber Orchestra, Michael Hauer’s Orchestra, the Royal Kentuckians, the Nightingale Orchestra, Bob Ranier, Earl Arnold, Fats Waller, bluegrass singer Harry Willsy, the “Ky. Songbird” Norbert Rechtin, the Mills Brothers, Murray Horton and his band from WLW radio, and the like. The Horseshoe Gardens also had a large veranda and an outdoor dining area called the Starlight Terrace. Another attraction was the Crystal Floating Palace, a party area anchored to the dance pavilion that featured bright lights in the shape of a giant horseshoe. Customers could get a speedboat ride from the dock for 35 cents. Many special events were held at the Horseshoe Gardens, such as ballroom-dancing contests, concerts, a Bavarian villa, bathing-beauty contests, dinner dances, holiday dances, and Mardi Gras balls. Miss United States for 1932, Ludlow’s Anne Lee Patterson, led a parade of bathing-beauty winners at the resort one Sunday evening in April of that year. The Horseshoe Gardens remained a popular entertainment mecca until 1933. The Great Depression facilitated its demise, and the flood of 1937 destroyed any hopes of reviving the business. In 1955 a group of people who had regularly frequented the establishment formed the Horseshoe Gardens Alumni Association. They renewed friendships and cherished memories at an annual dance and dinner party. Reunions are no longer held, but the sentimental memory of the Horseshoe Gardens lingers on. The site is now the Bellevue Beach Park, which continues to be an im-
portant gathering place for community events and open-air summer concerts. “Miss United States in Style Parade,” KP, April 17, 1932, 8. Reis, Jim. “Beach Became Horseshoe Gardens,” KP, June 12, 2000, 4K. ———. “Cherished Dreams Linger in Memories of Youthful Years,” KP, May 22, 1995, 4K. ———. “One Peach of a Beach,” KP, June 12, 2000, 4K.
Robin Caraway
HORSFALL, WILLIAM H. (b. March 3, 1847, Alexandria, Ky.; d. October 22, 1922, Newport, Ky.). U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient William H. Horsfall was the second of six children of English-born Jonathan Horsfall and his wife Elizabeth, residents of Alexandria, Ky. By 1860 the family had moved to Newport, where William resided during his adult life. At age 14, he boarded the steamer Annie Laurie, which was heading for the Kanawha River in what was then Virginia. The young boy, who was small for his age at just four feet and three inches in height, arrived in Charleston, Va. (today W.Va.), and enlisted on January 1, 1862, in the Union Army’s Company G, 1st Kentucky U.S. Infantry, as a drummer. His uniforms and shoes were always too big for him, and he usually walked barefoot, causing blisters and infection throughout his term of ser vice in the military. He also suffered from knee calluses from carry ing the cumbersome snare drum. In combat situations, Horsfall used a sharpshooter’s 20pound rifle with a telescope for long-range sighting. He fought in the Battle of Shiloh at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., and at the battle of Stone River, near Murfreesboro, Tenn. On May 21, 1862, during the siege of Corinth, Miss., Capt. James T. Williamson was shot in the hip and lay helpless between the lines of fire as his unit retreated. Horsfall rested his rifle against a tree, stooped low, and ran to Williamson. The boy slowly dragged the heavier captain by the wrists, as bullets dug into the earth all around him. Finally they reached safety behind the reestablished skirmish line. Gen. William Rosecrans, commander of the Union division fighting there, complimented Horsfall for his bravery. Horsfall was captured on September 10, 1893, at Graysville, Ga., and was held prisoner at Andersonville Prison, Andersonville, Ga., until August 19, 1864. Then on March 1, 1865, he reenlisted in the Union Army in Company K, 4th Regiment, of the U.S. Veteran Volunteers, in Cincinnati. During this term of ser vice, Horsfall contracted a severe cold from exposure to the elements and sleeping on the ground. His untreated illness became progressively worse, though he stayed with his regiment until being discharged on March 1, 1866. For most of his adult life, Horsfall was a semi-invalid suffering from rheumatism and pain in his lungs, back, and limbs, as well as from heart disease. After the war he worked as a notary public; he also authored war poems, wrote music, and sang. Horsfall married Loretta Davis in 1871 and became the father of six children. He was the commander of the William Nelson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Newport. President Grover Cleveland
(1893–1897) awarded Horsfall the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor on August 9, 1895, for “most distinguished gallantry in action at Corinth, Miss., May 21, 1862.” Horsfall died in 1922 in his home at 218 W. Third St., Newport, at age 75. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery at Southgate in a GAR plot, where a Kentucky Historical Marker memorializes his bravery and courage. Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System. “William Horsfall.” www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ (accessed September 26, 2006). Fiore, C. A. Young Heroes of the Civil War. Unionville, N.Y.: Royal Works Press, 1932. Macon Co., Georgia. Andersonville National Cemetery and Historic Site. www.maconcountyga.org (accessed September 26, 2006). “War Veteran Dies,” KP, October 23, 1922, 3.
Garry A. Casson
HOSEA HOUSE. The Henry Hosea House, located at 901 York St., Newport, was renovated and donated by David and Marcia Hosea in 1992 to the Interchurch Organization as a memorial to David Hosea’s father and grandfather. The facility, a former VFW hall, now serves as a soup kitchen run by the Interchurch Organization, commonly known as ECHO, a nonprofit agency started by Sister Mary Dorgan, C.D.P., and other ministers and community members from Campbell Co. to help the poor and the homeless (see Homelessness and Homeless Shelters). ECHO officially began on April 19, 1991, serving about 30 meals a day at the fellowship hall of the First Church of the Nazarene, located at 830 York St. in Newport; since the move to the Henry Hosea House in 1992, ECHO serves an average of 150 meals each evening. In June 1997 ECHO expanded its meal ser vice to include weekends and to offer other direct ser vices, including a referral ser vice that connects guests with other social agencies. The foot clinic offers on-site care by trained nurses and doctors and provides new shoes and socks for clients. ECHO also provides blankets, fans, personalcare items, school supplies, and Thanksgiving food baskets. The Adopt a Family for Christmas program recruits businesses, churches, community groups, and families to purchase gifts and food for families that otherwise would not have a holiday. During the winter ECHO operates a program called HUGS, an acronym for Hats, Underwear, Gloves, and Socks. ECHO has four staff members but utilizes more than 400 volunteers at Hosea House throughout the year. The organization depends on the generosity of many agencies, individuals, organizations, and the community. “Her Kitchen Feeds Their Bodies; She Warms Their Spirits,” KP, April 14, 1993, 1–2KK. “Soup Kitchen Adds on Day—Hosea House Expands to Meet Need,” KE, January 15, 1995, B3.
Gabrielle Summe
HOSPITALS. The first hospital that operated in Northern Kentucky was the medical facility at the Newport Barracks, at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers in Newport. Two prominent