CABLE TELEVISION. The earliest cable television systems were in the form of community antenna television, which was created to bring distant television broadcasts to rural areas and smaller communities with reception problems during the early 1950s. The Maysville Community Television Tower Company first offered broadcasts from Cincinnati to its customers in 1953. In 1960 the Cable-Vision Company, owned and operated by Maysville radio station WFTM, expanded cable television in the Maysville region by carry ing TV stations from both Cincinnati and Lexington. The name changed to Limestone Cablevision in the late 1970s, and the ser vice area expanded to include neighboring Bracken and Robertson counties. Some suburban cities in Kenton Co. awarded cable franchises in the early 1970s, but owing to federal regulations, these systems were never installed, and the franchises were revoked. Cable television in the urban and suburban cities of Northern Kentucky became a reality with the Storer Cable franchise in the early 1980s. MetroVision cable served the city of Newport exclusively for a short period of time before Storer obtained its franchise. Premium movie ser vices such as Home Box Office (HBO) and an added number of television channels not available over off-air broadcasting were draws for cable television customers in Northern Kentucky. Between 1993 and 1999, reorganization and acquisitions brought name changes and new ownerships to Storer, which eventually led to the present Northern Kentucky cable franchise, Insight Communications Company. Insight enhanced cable reception and expanded programming with digital cable ser vice. In 2003 high definition television (HDTV) channels arrived as an option for customers, offering both local HDTV broadcasts and HDTV cable programming. Cable television features a number of public access programs such as Northern Kentucky Magazine, which was initially hosted by Richard “Dick” Von Hoene, then by Twana Thomas, and later by Nancy James. D&N Cable served Owen Co. until 2007, when an engineer living in Lexington purchased the franchise and renamed it Kentucky Ridge Country Communications (KRCC) to reflect the rolling landscape of the community. KRCC supports neighboring Liberty Communications for the rural cable customers in Gallatin Co. Insight Communications Company covers cable ser vices in Warsaw as well as Carrollton in Carroll Co. Personal cable systems became an alternative choice available to Northern Kentuckians in the early 1980s as large satellite television dishes were installed on private properties of many rural homes in the region. These early systems were
known as Television Receive Only (TVRO), or earth station receivers of satellite television broadcasts. The home TVRO systems were an alternative to community cable providers. By the mid-1990s, home satellite dish systems were digital and received higher-powered satellite television signals; therefore the size of the satellite dishes could be reduced to that of smaller off-air television antennas. Today it is common to see the smaller dishes mounted on homes in Northern Kentucky communities where cable television is also available. Allen, Randy. “Panel Picks Storer for Cable TV in Kenton, Boone,” KE, November 18, 1980, A1. Coff man, Joshua. “Cable Company Gets New Ownership, Looks to Go Digital,” Owenton NewsHerald, January 24, 2007, 1–2. Get with the Show! Storer Cable promotional flyer. Covington, Ky.: Storer Communications of Northern Kentucky, 1981. Hackett, Rosemary. “Cable TV Turned On in Newport,” KP, September 2, 1981, 10K. Kentucky Gateway Museum Center, vertical fi les, Maysville, Ky. Kreimer, Peggy. “InterMedia Cable Has New Owner,” KP, April 20, 1999, 7A. Nash, Francis M. Towers over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State. Lexington, Ky.: Host Communications, 1995. Reiter, John. “Cable TV Just ‘Flirting’ Now but Very Soon . . .” KP, January 27, 1979, 9K. “Storer to Have New Name,” KP, January 14, 1993, 3K.
John Schlipp
CADY, MARY L. MITCHELL (b. ca. 1834, Maysville, Ky.; d. September 27, 1888, Maysville, Ky.). Mason Co. native Mary Louise Mitchell, a poet, was the great-granddaughter of Jacob Boone, a cousin of Daniel Boone, who settled in Maysville in the late 1780s. The daughter of Andrew and Lavinia Degman Mitchell, she was well educated and by age 15 had developed a love for poetry. She contributed several pieces to the Louisville Journal, the Saturday Evening Post, Willis’ Home Journal, and her hometown newspapers, the Maysville Bulletin and the Maysville Eagle. On November 23, 1854, Mary wedded Jarvis Gladden Cady in Mason Co. In 1869 she published the poem “The Fabric of Life” in the Maysville Bulletin, extolling life’s good works as the key to salvation. In another poem, “Resignation,” she suggested that man simply place himself in God’s plan without resistance. The family moved to Covington during the early 1870s. Jarvis Cady died on July 31, 1875, at Maysville’s Central Hotel, from what appeared to be an overdose of opium. Between 1876 and 1882, Mary lived in Covington as the widowed mother of four children at 70 W. 10th St. Mary died in 1888 and was buried at the Maysville and Mason Co. Cemetery. Covington City Directories, 1876–1882. “Mary L. Mitchell Cady,” Biography Files, Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Ky. “Mr. J. G. Cady . . . ” CJ, July 31, 1875, 3.
CAIN, RODNEY “BIZ” (b. November 17, 1938, Independence, Ky.). Rodney “Biz” Cain is a busi-
nessman, a farmer, and an active community member. He graduated from Simon Kenton High School and the University of Kentucky. Cain married Jacqueline Malone, of Smiths Grove, in 1963, and they have three sons. He worked in the agricultural chemical industry for International Mineral and Chemicals until 1970. In the early 1970s, Cain founded Wiseway Plumbing, which sells light fi xtures, cabinets, and plumbing supplies; it grew from one store in Independence to six over the years. During this time he was a leader in the Homebuilders’ Association of Northern Kentucky and the Master Plumbers’ Association. He officially retired from Wiseway in the early 1990s and handed over control to his two eldest sons. Cain became chairman of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in 1988. He was also active for many years in the Tri County Economic Development Corporation (Northern Kentucky Tri-ED), the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Kentucky’s Pritchard Committee for Education. Cain served as a director of Boone State Bank beginning in the 1970s. After Fift h-Third Bank purchased this bank, he remained a member of the board until 1998. In 1990 he was one of the cofounders of the new Boone State Bank, which has moved into Kenton, Campbell, and Grant counties and is now known as the Bank of Kentucky. Cain is still a member of its board of directors. Cain began his political career by supporting several local Democratic candidates. He ran for a seat in the Kentucky senate in 1994 but was defeated by Gex Williams. In 1996 Governor Paul Patton chose Cain to be secretary of workforce development. He was at the forefront of the move to combine state technical schools with the University of Kentucky system of community colleges. In 1998 he was chosen by Patton to complete the term of Kenton Co. Republican judge-executive Clyde Middleton. His accomplishments included changing the process of appointing airport board members: they are now selected by the county judge. Cain lives on the farm where he was raised, Caintuckee Acres in Independence. “Cabinet Position for Cain,” KP, December 7, 1995, 1K. Cain, Charles. Interview by Deborah Kremer, January 25, 2005, Florence, Ky. Cain, Rodney “Biz.” Interview via email by Deborah Kremer, February 3, 2005. “Cain Pledges to Clean Up Bid Mess,” KP, March 9, 1998, 1K. “Cain’s Agenda,” KP, March 5, 1998, 4K. “A Job Well Done,” KP, January 1, 1999, 4K.
Deborah Kohl Kremer
CALDWELL, ALFRED M. (b. May 16, 1872, LeSage, W.Va.; d. August 7, 1948, Dayton, Ky.). Judge Alfred M. Caldwell was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Schlaegel Caldwell. He married Beulah Rich in 1897, and the couple had two children, a daughter and a son. In 1901 Alfred Caldwell entered politics and was elected Bellevue’s city attorney. As a private attorney, he incorporated many small communities in Campbell Co., such as