Bridging the Divide: March on Frankfort: The 60th Anniversary graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

As we commemorate MLK day, this federal holiday marking Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the Frazier History Museum is rolling out a program about a monumental day in our state’s history: March 5, 1964. Around 10,000 people marched on Frankfort, Kentucky, to hear Dr. King speak, as well as baseball player Jackie Robinson.

When it became apparent that a law banning discrimination in public accommodations in Kentucky wasn’t going to pass the legislature in Frankfort, Frank Stanley Jr., the editor of the Black-owned Louisville Defender newspaper, began planning an event.

This year is the sixtieth anniversary of that march. To mark the occasion, the Frazier, the Louisville Metro Government Office of Equity, and the Courier Journal are partnering for a special free program on February 22 at 6 p.m.—and you’re invited.

March on Frankfort: The 60th Anniversary will feature many key players who marched that day, helped organize the efforts, and took part in sit-ins to protest the discrimination of African Americans.

Rev. Louis Newby will talk about his close encounter with Dr. King that day. His picture with Dr. King is a treasured memory.

John Johnson was a young man and the state chairman of the NAACP. He’ll discuss his role then and now with bringing about change.

We certainly aren’t finished.

As Rev. Newby has said, “I want young people now to build on what we have started and keep it going.” He goes on to say Dr. King stated it well: “I may not get there with you, but it’s coming.”

Click here to register and read about so many special guests who will join us on February 22. The list keeps on growing, and we hope you will be on it.

Also in our holiday edition of Frazier Weekly, Megan Schanie shares the legacy of Graves County, Kentucky, artist Ellis Wilson, who said “so much to paint; so little time.” We have something new at the Frazier for Corvette lovers, we explain why our Boone family Bible needs to “rest,” and we wish a fond farewell to another hero.

This Week in the Museum

Curator’s Corner: Evolution of the Chevrolet Corvette, 1953–Present

Thanks to our partnership with the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Warren County, we are excited to have added a new interactive next to the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette C6 on display in our Cool Kentucky exhibition. In this new touch screen, you can now flip through and see images of all models of Corvettes produced since 1953 and read about the evolution of the Corvette. Our contract preparator Lucas Keown built the display—and he happens to be a pretty big gearhead. We asked him to give Frazier Weekly readers a crash course in the Corvette’s evolving design.—Amanda Briede, Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Muscle cars and burning rubber are as much a staple of America as baseball and apple pie. One car, the Chevrolet Corvette, helped pave the way for American muscle cars—and it remains one of the top players today. This staple has utilized powerful V-8 engines and an easily distinguishable body shape, known best by its dramatically long hood and pronounced wheel arches. The shape is so distinguishable that even most non-car people can identify the profile of a Corvette.

Over the seventy-year heritage of the Corvette, its design has been an obvious point of focus. Noticing the European sports cars American GIs brought home in the years following World War 2, GM’s designers set about to create the all-American two-seater sports car. GM designed the Corvette C1 (1953–62) largely using parts from vehicles already in production to keep costs down. This proved to limit the Corvette’s potential in the American sports car market, and a redesign followed soon after in 1956. The new C1s included the classic scalloped sides and all-new powered windows, plus a series of performance upgrades, quickly boosting interest in the new Corvette.

Soon after the success of their first two-seater sports car, GM introduced a new generation of Corvette in 1963, inspired heavily by a C1 “Q Corvette” concept. The C2, also known as the “Sting Ray,” introduced updated performance and styling geared directly towards the racing community. After continuously developing the C2 for the next four years, GM again prepared a new evolution of the Corvette, debuting the C3 in 1968. This newer, sportier model offered an updated body shape while continuing to build on the performance capabilities of the prior two generations. The C3 is recognizable by its flared fenders and pointed front end. Later in this generation, GM moved production from St. Louis, Missouri, to our own backyard: Bowling Green, Kentucky. This is where GM has produced Corvettes ever since.

Showing its age after fourteen years in production, the C3 was eventually retired in 1983. The replacement C4 would be a total redesign from the previous success. Featuring improved handling, a sleeker body, and Corvette’s first digital LCD speedometer, the C4 had a modern appearance while maintaining the recognizable Corvette image. This generation would go on to sell for the next twelve years, being replaced in 1996 with the even more cutting-edge C5.

While the shift from C3 to C4 was a bottom-top redesign, the revisions made in the 1996 C5 completely changed the car. GM added more power and performance upgrades and adapted the exterior to be more aerodynamic. The C5 is easily recognizable by its longer wheelbase, steeper front-end curves, and lack of hard angles as seen on the C4 and C3. This huge design revision was such a success that it was continued into the next generation in 2005, the C6. The changes included new “fixed” headlights, which replaced the standard flip-up lights, as well as an upgraded interior and slightly more passenger room.

After fifty years of development, GM saw the public opinion of Corvette evolve each generation. Fearing the Corvette would become stale, GM designed the C7 with a goal of appealing to a younger audience, adding new performance upgrades, and bringing back some of the sharper angles missing in the previous two generations. This generation, debuted in 2014, rejuvenated excitement for Corvette just in time for their most substantial adaptation yet. The C8 mid-engine layout, as opposed to the front-engine layout used since 1953, featured a massive handling improvement, a completely redesigned body and interior, as well as drivetrain technology typically reserved for supercars. The interior was refocused to be almost entirely driver-centric, with its screens and console positioned ergonomically to the driver.

Over the eight generations and seventy years of the Corvette’s heritage, it has seen as many drastic changes as any other legendary automotive name in the industry. But even though the backdrop and demands of the automotive world have shifted throughout its history, these shifts have allowed the Corvette name to mature and earn the heritage it now carries.

Details of all eight generations of the Corvette can be found on the new informational display by the Corvette portion of the Cool Kentucky exhibition. Here you can read more about the history of Corvette’s legacy and view our 2007 Corvette C6, on loan from the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

Museum Shop: Corvette Puzzle and Toy Cars

Discover the pride of America’s sports car, crafted with precision in Bowling Green, Kentucky! Celebrate its iconic journey since 1953 by piecing together over eight generations of Corvettes in a challenging puzzle, or indulge your passion by collecting three miniature Corvettes. Find these product in the Frazier’s Museum Shop the next time you visit!

Celebrate Our Legacy, Become a Member

From the Collections: Boone Family Bible to Come Off Display Next Week

Have you ever spotted a small “item temporarily removed” label in a museum exhibition and wondered why the object had to be removed? There are reasons we do that. For us here at the Frazier, one reason is that the object in question needs time to rest. It needs space out of the light for preservation purposes. Some materials are more sensitive than others, making it important to not have them out on view all the time.

One such item in our collection that is sensitive and very important to our Commonwealth exhibition is the Boone family Bible. While we keep the light levels low on the piece to make sure it can spend more time out, it still needs some time to rest from the light. That’s why we will remove the object on Tuesday, January 23, for a few weeks. We will put it back on display in early April.

So come on down this week to see it while it’s still on display!

Another World War II Hero is Gone . . .

Veterans who attended the Frazier’s Saluting our Veterans: The 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor program, December 7, 2021. Credit: Honor Flight Bluegrass.

I have been fortunate enough in my time at the Frazier to meet many amazing folks who have been participants in our programs. But how lucky was I to meet twenty-six World War II heroes for our program December 7, 2021, program commemorating the eightieth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They are members of the Greatest Generation who personified sacrifice.

Since our program, since that group picture was taken, several of the participants have passed away. And just last week, I received word that yet another member of that group had died.

Herb Raderer died recently at ninety-eight years old. If you met Herb, you know he radiated life and his death came as a surprise—even considering his age.

It was just six days after our program in 2021 that Herb’s 103-year-old brother Art passed away. Herb and Art, along with a third brother Richard, all served in World War II. Richard passed away many years ago.

We are losing about 130 of these heroes each day. Only about 120,000 WWII veterans in the US—of whom about 1,600 live in Kentucky—are still with us.

If you are lucky enough to meet one of these heroes, make sure to thank them. And salute them.

I salute you, Herb.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

20th Anniversary Photo: Pearl Harbor Exhibition, 2016

On October 25, 2016, the Frazier opened an exhibition called A Morning that Changed the World: Personal Stories of Pearl Harbor. Pictured here are two visitors touring the opening of the exhibition, which transitions from a space simulating ordinary life on December 6, 1941, to the newspaper columns and newsreels that capture the chaotic events of the following day’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

Frazier and IWRBR’s Inaugural Lights on Main a Win for the Kiddos

In looking back at our inaugural Lights on Main exhibition in partnership with I Would Rather be Reading, you don’t have to look hard to find the winners.

First of all, on behalf of the Frazier, I would like to thank Ashley Dearinger and Allison Ogle for bringing IWRBR’s incredible holiday display to 829 West Main Street. With the exhibition indoors in 2023, it allowed sponsors to really lean in to the designs. Those innovative designs provided Frazier visitors with a super-cool and brand new holiday experience in downtown Louisville.

And how about those visitors? The numbers are in, and we now know 13,264 people had the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition, many of them at no cost, thanks to free day sponsorships from Derby City Gaming Downtown and Walmart.

I also want to thank Morgan Hancock and Bourbon with Heart for starting and ending our 2023 with Frazier Museum projects. After Barrels of Heart in February, it was Morgan who introduced me to I Would Rather be Reading. And finally, thanks to all the community partners who sponsored trees. Because of your efforts, the big winners are the kiddos!

That’s right, the number of young people supported by I Would Rather be Reading and the Frazier’s Education Fund is growing and will continue to grow throughout 2024, until we do it all again this coming December. And don’t worry folks, there will be a next year—and I fully expect it to be bigger and better than 2023’s debut effort.

To everyone involved, a heartfelt thanks!

Off the Snead Shelves: A Journey in Color: The Art of Ellis Wilson

In the Literary Kentucky section of the museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, there’s a selection of books by and about Kentucky figures stored on Snead Iron Works bookcases. In Frazier Weekly’s Off the Snead Shelves series, staff members spotlight different books from the collection.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Even though I’m surrounded by stories of amazing Kentuckians every day during my work at the Frazier, I’d never heard the name of Kentucky artist Ellis Wilson until I attended a social studies conference at the Kentucky Historical Society this past summer.

When I looked up some of his paintings afterwards, I was immediately drawn in by his style and choice of subject matter. Born in Mayfield, Graves County, in 1899, Ellis showed talent and determination from a young age. Due to segregation laws, few art schools accepted Black students, but Ellis persisted and eventually landed a position at the Art Institute of Chicago. He moved to New York after completing his degree and became part of the thriving arts community of the Harlem Renaissance—later becoming one of the first African American artists to be awarded a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship.

Wilson’s art has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the country, including in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and even right here in Louisville at the Speed Art Museum.

Kentucky author Jayne Moore Waldrop shares Wilson’s story in her children’s book A Journey in Color. A native of western Kentucky, Waldrop discovered Ellis Wilson and his remarkable work through a retrospective exhibit of his art organized by the curators at the Clara M. Eagle Gallery at Murray State University in 2000. We are excited to incorporate the book, and Wilson’s artwork, into upcoming educational programming here at the Frazier!

In another twist of fate, I recently discovered that not one, but two, Frazier Museum staff members are from Mayfield, as well. King of camps Zach Bramel in the education department and grant writing superstar Kent Klarer both grew up in the area! Zach recently informed me that Mayfield has also produced another talented artist, Helen LaFrance. There must be something in the water! I can’t wait to find out more.

To learn more about Ellis Wilson and his work, you can view the KET documentary titled Ellis Wilson: So Much to Paint or read The Art of Ellis Wilson, which University of Kentucky Press published in 2000.

If you’d like to alert us of another talented artist from Kentucky history, please email education@fraziermuseum.org.

History All Around Us

On this Date: Louisville Snowstorm, January 16–17, 1994

Aerial view of Louisville following the historic snowstorm, c. January 17, 1994. Credit: Mary Ann Gerth, *Courier Journal*.

It’s music that WHAS-TV played during snow closings back in the day—and sometimes today. Do you know the name of it?

“Bellavia” by Chuck Mangione for the win. That song was played on blast in January 1994.

Do you remember why? Do you remember the historic snowfall I’m talking about?

Three inches per hour adding up to nearly sixteen inches of snow that virtually shut this city down. Truckers and cars stranded on interstates, people walking to where they needed to go!

Take a look at this retrospective from WHAS-TV’s Doug Proffitt.

Doug and I were among the few who were able to make it to work that day and begin hours of non-stop TV coverage. Truth be told, Doug ran off the roadway and a trucker brought him the rest of the way!

Doug has asked me to join him this week at my old stomping grounds of WHAS-TV to reminisce about it. It will air on the anniversary date of that snowfall, Wednesday, January 17.

As I talked about some of those memories here at the Frazier, one of my colleagues, partnership manager Leslie Anderson, showed me a picture of her and her older sister during that time: a four-and-a-half-year-old Leslie in their snow fort in Middletown. How cool is that?

As we count down to that famed anniversary, I’m okay with some snow. But please don’t bring enough to cue up “Bellavia.”

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Bridging the Divide

Join Us February 18 for Program on Newburg Matriarch Eliza Tevis

I love this textile created by artist Irene Mudd. It’s on loan to us from the Filson Historical Society and now part of an exhibit at the Frazier that students at the University of Louisville curated.

The artwork portrays Eliza Tevis, and what I love about it is you see her, yet you don’t.

As far as we know there are no pictures of Tevis, who helped establish what is now the community of Newburg in South Louisville.

Thanks to her descendants, we continue to learn more about the woman who was emancipated and influenced the first African American settlement in Jefferson County outside Louisville.

Click here to get your tickets and learn more about our program in partnership with the Louisville Historical League.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

1964 March on Frankfort Program, Daniel Boone Family Bible, Rachel Platt on 1994 Louisville Snowstorm, and More

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Frazier’s 20th Anniversary, Night at the Museum Announced, Geronimo Objects in Founder’s Gallery, and More