AUGUSTA — A man who lobbied to beautify Augusta has died. Innkeeper and former Augusta Mayor Louis Habermehl died Thursday following a lengthy illness.
As innkeeper at the Parkview Country Inn Bed and Breakfast, Habermehl was synonymous with the inn and Augusta to visitors, said Phil Rice.
“He was really an elegant person who personified the inn and people associate the inn with Louis,” Rice said.
“Louis was at the Parkview when Mack Wallace owned it after the flood, before we bought it, and all together for 10-12 years,” said Shirley Mohrfield, co-owner of the inn. “He helped us redecorate and everything he worked with he beautified.”
A fixture of the city he loved, Habermehl is credited for a post 1997 flood rebirth of the city and a force behind progress and tourism efforts, friends said.
Habermehl was Augusta mayor July 1, 1992 – Dec. 31, 1998.
“He was the right person (as mayor) in place after the 1997 flood. He was good for Augusta and dedicated to beautification of the city,” said Augusta Police Chief Greg Cummins who had known Habermehl since the two attended rival high schools, Habermehl at Augusta High School and Cummins at Bracken County High School.
“We are just a few years apart and I am proud to have known him as a friend. He was also a good mayor to work for,” Cummins said.
Habermehl got into the hearts of those who knew him and was like a part of the family, said Miss America 2000 Heather French Henry; the shoes she wore as Miss America are encased in a display in the lobby of the Parkview Inn.
“Sometimes (husband) Steve would tell me he was going to walk the dog and I would find him talking in the park with Louis until 2 a.m. I still don’t know how we are going to tell our girls he is gone. They cherished Louis,” she said.
Henry and her husband, former Kentucky Lt. Gov. Steve Henry credit Habermehl with interesting them in acquiring the Rosemary Clooney house, which has become the Rosemary Clooney House Museum.
“Without Louis there probably would not have been a Rosemary Clooney House Museum,” Steve Henry said. “He knew of Heather’s interest in returning to the area and personally ushered us through the house when it came up that the family may be selling it.”
Habermehl often guided visitors through the museum and was a key figure in decorating the house, Heather Henry said.
“He picked out the wallpaper and even the carpets,” she said.
Habermehl had a way of pushing for Augusta to be all it could be.
“The downtown look from the street lights to the stop signs are all special features of Augusta which continue to attract interest for visitors,” Steve Henry said. “He is the reason Dr. Thomas Clark, when he was creating the places to visit in Kentucky before you die, named Augusta number 8. Louis put Augusta on the map.”
“It is hard to imagine him not there; his hand print is on so many things in Augusta. He touched many people,” Heather Henry said.
Until his illness interfered, Habermehl continued to work at the Parkview Inn and attended Augusta Council meetings as a spectator. After losing one leg to his illness, Habermehl could often be seen as he made his way up the city hall stairs to council meetings on a regular basis.
Metcalfe-Hennessey Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 276.
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