On his way (literally)

In June, the City of Beckley, West Virginia, named a street after longtime superintendent Johnny Kincaid. The street is the back road that leads to the Historic Black Knight Golf Course’s maintenance shed, which now reads: “Johnny Kincaid Way.” Kincaid has worked at the course for 50 years, which was what sparked the idea.

“A co-worker said Johnny had mentioned to this southern gentleman in conversation one day that this year will make 50,” Historic Black Knight director of golf Micah Davis says. “It was the gentleman that first suggested that we name the maintenance building after him. We talked about it a little bit and I talked to my boss and the problem was a building can come and go. Things can happen with a building: a fire can take a building down in a heartbeat and it’s gone. And I said, ‘Why don’t we just name the street then?’ Funny enough, Johnny always said he wishes that street had a name. So, in case he wanted to order Uber Eats, he can give them an address. It didn’t have a name at all before, it’s not like it was renamed.”

Beckley director of parks and recreation Leslie Baker says: “It’s something we do in the city, not very often, only for people who really have been very active in the community or noteworthy like a politician.”

To read more about Johnny Kincaid and his 50(!) years at Historic Black Knight Golf Course, check out The Ballad of Johnny Kincaid in the September issue of the magazine or online now.

The decision was not hard after Davis mentioned the idea to Baker. “It just seemed appropriate, it really did,” she says. “This is a road that he has traveled every day of his working life and how fitting it would be to name it in honor of him.” Baker adds that the mayor, council and other city officials supported the naming.

The city purchased the course in 2018. Kincaid is now a permanent part of the property, although he says, “I told them when I leave, it’s going with me.”

Kincaid says has been trying to get the street named for 20 or 25 years — though not necessarily for himself. He just wanted any name. Kincaid appreciates what the city did, adding that he originally wanted to name the street “Billy Capps Strap” in honor of Black Knight’s former golf professional.

“I didn’t think they’d actually ever do anything like that,” he says, “but the city has been real good to me since they took over.”

Jacob Hansen is a Northeast Ohio-based writer who recently participated in Golf Course Industry's summer internship program.