Wednesday, August 09, 2000
Strange charm
Augusta embodies near-utopia
AUGUSTA, Ky. — Not every small town in Kentucky would appreciate a Carol Channing impersonator who is suspiciously, er ... tall.
But Augusta is different: a small town that accepts strangeness without sacrificing old-fashioned charm.
Forty miles from Cincinnati, Augusta cheerfully forgoes fast-food restaurants, cell-phone service, even a bridge across the Ohio. What it does have: A spirit of tolerance that dates to the 1800s, when it was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a bowling alley where the pins are still set by a person.
City folks love it.
They come from Cincinnati, Florence, Covington. They buy weekend homes, and soon enough they're opening stores, promoting the local historical society and wrangling favors from friends.
Some of those friends live in New York City, which brings us to Carol Channing.
A few weeks ago, “Carol” and six others entertained 200 people at a fund-raiser for the Augusta Regatta, an annual boat race.
It was surreal: First-rate cabaret in a small-town bar draped with Christmas lights, black plastic and paper stars. People kept taping the plastic back in place, lest the beer posters be exposed.
“Carol” — also known as Richard Skipper, professional impersonator — was resplendent in fake eyelashes and platinum wig. He/she sang and flirted with locals such as Stan Boster, a retired lawyer from Cincinnati.
“What do you do, Stan?” Carol asked.
“I farm.”
“Oh? What do you farm?”
“I farm ... farms,” said the flustered farmer. The audience roared.
Cabaret night was arranged by Ron Tunning, one of Augusta's newcomers. For years, he lived in Manhattan, the source of his cabaret connections. Then he returned to his native Northern Kentucky, bought property in Augusta and started an Internet business.
“I said, "Oh my God, this place is so beautiful,'” Mr. Tunning recalls. “There's no rudeness. People are so kind.”
At the same time, they don't pry. Tobacco farmers and factory workers co-exist with artists, gay couples and other city escapees. Nick and Nina Clooney, parents of The Sexiest Man Alive, live in Augusta, as does a Cuban-born former opera singer who runs an eatery called the Beehive.
“There's more and more coming every day,” says Mayor Wendell High, a native. “I think it's because of the type of people who are here in town.”
After a recent storm, everyone cleared the streets together. The Beehive lost part of its roof, and four people separately came back with tarps to throw over the hole.
Mr. High knows there is change ahead. He foresees, for instance, a future with that dreaded city import: zoning. But he hopes the neighborliness stays the same.
Ditto for Sheila Desimio of Hyde Park, whose husband, Chris, is a stockbroker. They tend a large vegetable garden in Augusta, and they're building a log cabin.
The town has an innocence, a Lake Wobegon quality, that isn't found in other river cities, Mrs. Desimio says.
She marvels, for instance, at its full-service gas station, one of only two in town.
“If you drive by, you might see (the attendant) sitting on his bench kind of half-asleep, like he's waiting for a customer,” she says. “It's so cute.”
Karen Samples is The Enquirer's Kentucky columnist. Her column appears on Sundays and Thursdays in The Kentucky Enquirer. She can be reached at 578-5584 or email
her at ksamples@enquirer.com
SAMPLES ARCHIVE
