Good Monday morning,

It’s October 11, which means there are only 20 days remaining for our more than 23,000 new Frazier members to enjoy the museum at no cost. Yes, our free membership campaign is coming to a close.

If you first came to us through free membership that launched in October of 2020, it is my hope that we mean more to you now than before you joined the Frazier family. I’m excited to let you know that free membership will continue for all college students and need-based visitors. For everyone else, please consider a very affordable next step. Individuals can renew membership for just $20, families for just $50. The benefits are noteworthy!

Individual or Family Membership

Free admission for one year
Subscription to weekly Virtual Frazier Magazine email
10% discount on purchases in the Museum Store
50% discounted parking in the Frazier Museum parking lot
Smithsonian Affiliate Membership for $15
Discounted registration to Education camps

If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit as a free member, we encourage you to do so before October 31, 2021. We are building something very special here at the Frazier, and now that you are a part of it, we’d love to keep you in the Frazier family.

In this week’s Virtual Frazier Magazine, Heather Gotlib and Casey Harden get us in the Halloween spirit with a field trip, a family day, and a spooky artifact all celebrating the odd human tendency to make ourselves uncomfortable with affright.

There is a staff pick from Simon Meiners, opportunities from Megan Schanie, and resources on mental health from our Shelby Durbin. But first, Stephen Yates teams up with Limestone Branch Distillery whiskey ambassador Stephen Fante to demonstrate how to make a Kentucky Mule.

I hope you enjoy,

This Week in the Museum

Sippin’ With Stephen: Yellowstone Bourbon Kentucky Mules With Stephen Fante

The current edition of Sippin’ With Stephen has become Sippin’ With Stephens as I welcome my good friend Stephen Fante from Limestone Branch Distillery. Stephen is a Whiskey Ambassador and Executive Bourbon Steward at Limestone Branch Distillery and will give his unique perspective on why any planning of a visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® should include a visit to this historic Kentucky venue. We cover topics ranging from Limestone’s brands to its ties to the National Parks Conservation Association and the unique experience visitors take part in when they tour. Finally, in keeping with Sippin’ With Stephen tradition, Stephen will demonstrate how to make a Kentucky Mule utilizing Yellowstone Bourbon. The recipe is listed below.

Cheers!

Kentucky Mule

2 oz. Yellowstone
3/4 oz. ginger syrup
3/4 oz. sweet lime juice
3 – 4 dashes rhubarb bitters

Shake over ice. Pour into mule cup with fresh ice and top with Ale-8-One. Garnish with lime wedge.

West End Parks Projects, Part Three: Shawnee Learning Center and Parkland Plaza

There are so many exciting projects in the works for parks across West Louisville, we had to make it into a three-part series! On September 27, October 4, and October 11, Manager of Collection Impact Hayley Harlow Rankin will share what’s happening where and how you can get involved, two parks at a time. — Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Over the past year, Louisville Metro alongside non-profit organizations across our city have recognized the need, now more than ever, to invest our time and resources into revitalizing greenspaces in West End neighborhoods, places where community residents live, play, and grow. Especially during a pandemic, when the ability to spend time outside has become increasingly important to mental health, taking care of our parks so that every citizen has access to a safe, open space is essential.

Shawnee Learning Center, Shawnee Neighborhood

Design concept for the Shawnee Learning Center. Credit: Luckett & Farley.

One of Louisville’s three flagship parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the nineteenth century, Shawnee Park has been a pillar of West Louisville for many years. Stretching along the Ohio River, the park currently features a great lawn, a golf course, and a section of the Louisville Loop walking path.

The recent West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative has proposed a multi-million-dollar investment in Shawnee’s park infrastructure and the creation of “nearby nature” opportunities for children and families. Designed by the firm Luckett & Farley, the master plan outlines a two-story learning center that includes a climbing wall, classrooms, and gardens. You can read more about the firm’s specific design features here.

Logo of Wilderness Louisville. Credit: Wilderness Louisville.

Similar to the revitalization of Chickasaw Park, this initiative will support Wilderness Louisville’s ECHO programming to access nature through educational and recreational experiences. The combined effort from Louisville Metro and Wilderness Louisville ultimately aims to build a place that supports environmental education, career building, and the overall health and wellbeing of the Shawnee community. This upcoming project is especially exciting not only because it enhances the outdoor usage of Shawnee Park and encourages people of all ages to experience nature, but it also provides a place in which visitors will feel at home when they come to learn and gather.

Click here to take a virtual tour of the Shawnee Learning Center!

Parkland Plaza, Parkland Neighborhood

Design concept for the Parkland Plaza during the day. Credit: parklandplaza.com.

Design concept for the Parkland Plaza in the evening. Credit: parklandplaza.com.

Many of the West Louisville park initiatives mentioned in this series are projects currently in the funding and construction planning stages, but the Parkland Plaza stands out as one that has just broken ground. Two weeks ago, work began on Dumesnil Street to transform a formerly empty parking lot into a vibrant community gathering place for Parkland residents.

This greenspace will serve as cultural center with a stage and seating for outdoor performances. The plaza will also provide space for public art created by local artist Victor Sweatt, whose community art panels you can view in the Frazier’s current exhibit, West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation.

As a cultural center, this venue will support local programming that will largely come from 1200 LLC, an independent music agency founded by Councilman Jecorey Arthur. 1200 LLC is one of several partners who are making the Parkland Plaza a reality. The Parks and Recreation department provided partial funding, while the remaining funds have come from the Parkland Business & Development Association, TreesLouisville, and 1200 LLC.

The Parkland Plaza is a wonderful example of what a block of urban greenspace can become when community leaders come together and imagine something better. What was once an empty lot will now serve as a multi-use park that supports local businesses and celebrates the rich history of the area. Read more about the Parkland neighborhood and its notable people and stories at parklandplaza.com, where you can also subscribe to their newsletter for updates.

The Louisville Knot as Both Lesson and Landmark

Members of the Rotary Club of Louisville pose in front of The Louisville Knot, September 25, 2021. Credit: Rotary Club of Louisville. — Members of the Rotary Club of Louisville pose in front of *The Louisville Knot*, September 25, 2021. Credit: Rotary Club of Louisville.

Members of the Rotary Club of Louisville participate in a seasonal clean-up at The Louisville Knot, September 25, 2021. Credit: Rotary Club of Louisville. — Members of the Rotary Club of Louisville participate in a seasonal clean-up at *The Louisville Knot*, September 25, 2021. Credit: Rotary Club of Louisville.

Our exhibition West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation aims to bridge the divides in our community. As part of that effort, we’re looking at all ways that is happening. The Rotary Club has its own story to tell, taking the lead on a project that is diagonally across from the Frazier. — Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement

Constructed under the Ninth Street flyover ramps at West Main in downtown Louisville, a sculpted series of bright orange pipes and block lettering spell out our city’s familiar moniker. This organized sequence of rails, letterforms, and ‘gathering spaces’ cannot be overlooked due to its energy and stature — and must be seen and experienced in person to truly be appreciated. Spanning the entire width of the concrete roadways overhead (and within a few yards of the Frazier’s front door), The Louisville Knot conveys multiple ideas — the visual reminder of Louisville’s urban planning past, the ongoing work to reconnect downtown communities, and the active groups committed to seeing the damaging effects of the “Ninth Street Divide” rectified.

Among the many groups involved in bringing The Knot to Louisville, one key organization took the lead. After four years of planning and logistics, The Louisville Knot was installed in September 2019 through the dedicated efforts of members of the Rotary Club of Louisville, and championed by its project lead, Rotarian and businessman Greg Braun.

“We recognized this location in Louisville as the ideal site to reconstruct something memorable and meaningful,” Braun says — “and we drew inspiration from other cities where sculpture delivers a bold message.” Since its installation, The Louisville Knot has been recognized as one of the city’s newest must-experience sites.

From left, University of Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham, University of Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra, and Rotary Club of Louisville 2021 – 22 President Jean West. Credit: Rotary Club of Louisville.

Rotary Club of Louisville’s 2021 – 22 President, Jean West, is the first African American president in the organization’s 110 years. Every Thursday at noon, West hosts a “Rotary Riverside Chat” addressing new priorities of the club, welcoming diverse speakers, and empowering members across a broad range of backgrounds.

Just this past month, over forty members of the Rotary Club of Louisville gathered at Ninth and Main Streets to give the sculpture some seasonal maintenance — making repairs, pulling weeds, and adding new landscape mulch — recognizing this site as a place to pause, to take a photo, and to make the connection with fellow Louisvillians and visitors.

Louisville Area Cemeteries Hidden in Plain Sight

We go about our day-to-day lives, busy with schedules and work obligations, looking for the next best place to eat or seeing the next blockbuster movie — but we never really pay attention to what’s around us, or, better yet, what was here before us. If we really observe what’s around us, we’d see history hidden in plain sight. Our land and communities are rich with stories of individuals who were here before us, their voices often lost as generations progressed. During this month, I looked at a variety of cemeteries that are hidden in plain sight, giving a glimpse of those who conquered this land long ago.

Phillips-Durrett-Clark Cemetery, 1100 Trevilian Way, Louisville, Kentucky

The tiny cemetery known at the Phillips-Durrett-Clark cemetery can be found on the grounds of the Louisville Zoo. While enjoying the menagerie of animals, you can learn about our Kentucky history. When the land was purchased, and the zoo was built in 1969, the owners decided to leave the cemetery that was on the land and build the zoo around it. Only one marker in the cemetery remains, the resting place of Jenkins Phillips (1744 – 1822). Jenkins fought alongside President George Washington in the Revolutionary War, then surveyed much of Kentucky. The Louisville Zoo has a small stone wall around the graves and an iron arch over the entrance. They erected a monument in the 1990s to commemorate the families that are laid to rest in the unique place.

Burks Cemetery, 968 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, Kentucky

Tombstones and monuments in Burks Family Cemetery. Credit: Kathy V, Yelp.

While you might be swinging by Hobby Lobby or Home Dept on Breckenridge Lane as traditional weekend errands, you may not notice the large boxwood walls in the middle of the parking lot. These walls separate the busy shopping center from the Burks Family Cemetery. Prior to the construction of the shopping center, the Burks family owned a farm on the land and established a family cemetery. You can peek through the iron gate to see a handful of markers belonging to James Burks (c. 1767 – 1841), Matilda Burks (c. 1797 – 1853), Charles Burks (1834 – 1855), Samuel Burks (c. 1831 – 1851), and James “Jimmie” Burks (no dates provided). Research shows that Charles, Samuel, and Jimmie were all children of James and Matilda, a couple whose three additional children — John, Elizabeth, and Nannie — are not buried at the site.

Native American Burial Ground, 911 Grade Lane, Louisville, Kentucky

UPS chose Louisville to construct their Worldport distribution center, putting the city on the map for international shipping. While under construction, work was halted after a Native American burial ground was discovered. By law, the site was reported to the Kentucky Heritage Council, who provided assistance during the construction that followed. This area was studied and deemed sacred, so a fence was installed around the site. The burial ground is at the end of Ramp 4 in the center of Worldport distribution center.

Long Run Cemetery, Old Stage Coach Road, Eastwood, Kentucky

Modern grave marker for Abraham Linkhorn, grandfather of Abraham Lincoln, located at the traditional site of his cabin and death place, Long Run Baptist Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky, May 20, 2014. Credit: Nyttend.

In the Eastwood neighborhood on the eastern edge of Louisville, a fraction of a mile from the county line, there’s a quaint historic cemetery located off Flat Rock Road along Tater Run. It was on this site that President Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln (1738 – 1786), built a cabin. In 1786, Captain Lincoln was murdered while working in the fields near the cabin — an incident that was witnessed by his three sons, including Thomas Lincoln, future father of President Lincoln — and buried on the property. There is currently a memorial located at the church, as well as a historical marker from the Kentucky Historical Society.

Greenwood Cemetery, South 36th Street, Louisville, Kentucky

Entrance to Greenwood Cemetery, 2020. Credit: WDRB Media.

Greenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the Chickasaw neighborhood. This cemetery was officially opened in 1903 as a resting place for African American residents and veterans, although some of the gravestones predate 1903. Over the years, the cemetery ownership changed hands and the cemetery became very dilapidated. Grass was so overgrown, individuals couldn’t find the markers of their family members. This cemetery, like many other cemeteries in Louisville, is important to preserving African American history. An effort to restore the cemetery has continued for years, but is now spearheaded by the National Association for Black Veterans with support from the University of Louisville.

Spooky Saturday: Jack-o’-lantern Crafts, “Sleepy Hollow” Reading, and More

Don’t forget to mark your calendar! Saturday, October 30 is Spooky Saturday at the Frazier, which will be guaranteed fun for the whole family. It’s Halloween Eve, and we’ve been preparing for a day of chills and thrills — but mostly thrills! Activities include:

Spooky Scavenger Hunt
Creepy Artifacts Tour
Live performance of “The Raven”
The History of Jack-o’-lanterns Craft
Story Time: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

It’s the second-to-last day of your free membership, so don’t miss out!

Virtual Field Trips: Poe 2.0

Filming Poe 2.0 2.0 in the book nook in Cool Kentucky — Filming Poe 2.0 2.0 in the book nook in *Cool Kentucky*

When the Education Department was re-thinking how to work with schools in 2020, all we had was a laptop and the hope that we could reach students in a meaningful way. Historically, the Tales of Poe student matinee series was always the kickoff for our school year, so we brainstormed how we could harness the spooky energy of October virtually and engage school groups at the same time.

Thus, Poe 2.0 was born!

Filmed on a MacBook with a few PowerPoint slides, Poe 2.0 is the resource through which we reached over 9,000 students across the state of Kentucky last fall — some in areas we could only hope to serve in person because of distance!

Over the next few months, our technology and our editing skills improved, so we decided to amp up this first attempt at a virtual visit. We’ve been hard at work on what we’re jokingly referring to as Poe 2.0 2.0.

This field trip experience includes access to a “portal” through December 1, 2021, which includes an overview of American literature from the first indigenous poets and storytellers, through barrier-breaking Black poets in the Colonial era, to the Puritans and the creation of a body of literature that was considered “American.” We will then take a tour of the Frazier’s most haunting artifacts, which happen to have interesting connections to Poe’s life and times. Finally, Teaching Artist Brian West will do a live reading of “The Raven.” This program is already a hit — 3,000 students across the state have pre-registered!

If you are a teacher or parent interested in this experience for your school, email education@fraziermuseum.org for more information! This experience is FREE for Title I schools and only $200 for no maximum number of students or views for all other schools.

Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth and Family Programs

Staff Pick

Ten Memorable Quotes From Harlan County, U.S.A.

Demonstrators set fire to a print copy of a proposed labor contract, c. 1975. Screen grab of 1:35:51 in Harlan County, U.S.A. — Demonstrators set fire to a print copy of a proposed labor contract, c. 1975. Screen grab of 1:35:51 in *Harlan County, U.S.A.*

On October 15, 1976 — forty-five years ago this week — Harlan County, U.S.A. premiered at the New York Film Festival.

Directed and produced by New York native Barbara Kopple, the documentary chronicles the Brookside Strike of 1973, when coal miners at the Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky went on strike against Duke Power Company. The miners, supported by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), rejected the no-strike clause the owners insisted on putting in the proposed next contract.

Harlan County, U.S.A. would go on to win the 1976 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, the Academy Film Archive in conjunction with New York Women in Film & Television would restore it. It currently has a 100 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you haven’t watched the film, I highly recommend it. (You can watch the full film on YouTube.) Most of the topics it explores — poverty, class struggle, capital-labor conflict, dissent within unions, corruption among union leadership, state and mercenary violence, disinformation campaigns, hazardous working conditions, democracy in the workplace, unequal treatment under the law, the demise of organized labor — remain relevant in 2021, in Kentucky and the United States.

Here are ten quotes or bits of dialogue from the film viewers might find insightful, educational, or otherwise memorable.

One: Unnamed Miner’s Wife on What’s at Stake

(19:30) (Mother bathes daughter in a wash basin.) CHILD: I don’t want [inaudible] going to jail again. MOTHER: We went [to the picket lines] because the scabs were going to take your daddy’s job. When they sign the contract, daddy’s going to have hot running water and a big old bathtub.

Two: Unnamed Miner on Dangers of the Job

(29:22) MINER: (Protesting Duke outside the New York Stock Exchange.) Is your job real dangerous, though? NYPD OFFICER: (Shakes head.) Look at me. This is what I do. It’s a lot of b*******. MINER: (Gestures toward building across the street.) A lot of people don’t understand that that electricity burning over there, there’s somebody dying every day for it.

Three: Unnamed Miner on Harlan County Residents

(30:45) DUKE POWER COMPANY PRESIDENT CARL HORN: If there are questions on the content of my report to the stockholders, I’ll entertain those questions. MINER: How come you hire gun thugs to harass us around with? You’re saying there that the issue is for a “no strike clause.” Well, if we have a “no strike clause” in there, [Eastover Coal Company president] Norman Yarbrough could kick us off that hill and there wouldn’t be a thing we could do about it. But I tell you, we in Harlan County, all of our life, we’ve been kicked around, we’ve been put in jail, we’ve been shot at, we’ve had dynamite thrown at us. And then you don’t want us to have nothing. Well, I’ll tell you, Mr. Horn, I’m going to be standing right there on that picket line looking at you just as long as it takes. Thank you.

Four: Unnamed Miners on Race in the Mines

(37:57) MINER 1: Well, you couldn’t see your buddy on the other side of the car. We’d be covered — just black. Didn’t matter what color you came in at, we all looked the same when we came out. MINER 2: We was all brothers in there. MINER 1: That’s right. The whites looked like the blacks. There wasn’t any difference.

Five: Dr. Hawley Wells Jr. on Black Lung Disease

(39:40) ATTORNEY, BITUMINOUS COAL OPERATORS ASSOCIATION: We want to do the right thing about coal workers’ pneumoconiosis [black lung disease]. But we think the best-informed medical opinion will show you that it’s not true that the inhalation and retention of coal dust in the lungs necessarily results in any impairment of pulmonary function. On the contrary, only a relatively small portion of coal miners who have coal dust retained in the lungs have any resulting impairment of pulmonary function, much less disability. DR. HAWLEY WELLS JR.: (Holds up a leaf.) This is one of your brother’s lungs. (Rubs the lamina off the stalk.) And this is what it looks like at autopsy. This is why he died. That’s preventable.

Six: Jock Yablonski on UMWA President Tony Boyle

(41:47) JOSEPH “JOCK” YABLONSKI: Well the coal miners in this country are damn sick and tired of having a national president of its organization that’s in bed with the coal operators.

Seven: Sudie Crusenberry on Conflict Among the Miners’ Wives

(59:45) WOMAN 1: She’s not done nothing but cause trouble. WOMAN 2: You make me sick. WOMAN 1: Well you make me sick. WOMAN 1: They tell me that you’re running around with their husbands, you’re trying to take their husbands away from them. WOMAN 2: Well they told me you’re an alcoholic. SUDIE CRUSENBERRY: I don’t care who takes whose man, who lives with whose man, or what they do. If they take mine, they can have him. I’ll shed no tears. I’m not after a man, I’m after a contract.

Eight: Unnamed Miner on the Historical Stakes

(1:06:56) MAN: Men, women, and children all: It’s time to stand up and be counted. Don’t you go and be thrown back for 500 years.

Nine: Miners’ Wives on the Sheriff’s Order to Disperse

(1:14:50) PROTESTERS: (Obstructing public road to the mine while singing a traditional folk song.) We shall not be, we shall not be moved; we shall not be, we shall not be moved. Just like a tree that’s standing by the water, we shall not be moved.”

Ten: UMW Staff Bernie Aronson on the Non-indictment of Bill Bruner

(1:29:45) BERNIE ARONSON: The other thing we’re trying to do is investigate how the fix was put in here in Harlan. INTERVIEWER: What fix? BERNIE ARONSON: Well, it’s pretty clear that when a man commits murder, and the state police charges him, and witnesses say he fired on the man unprovoked, that a grand jury is duty-bound to indict him. But this grand jury was Harlan County, and it seemed like, despite the fact we had won a contract, not that much had changed here. It was just like in the old days.

Bridging the Divide

Free Suicide Prevention Trainings With NAMI Louisville

Logo of NAMI Louisville. Credit: NAMI Louisville.

Trigger warning: suicide.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the topic of mental health has gotten a great deal of national attention. All things considered, I was fortunate enough to participate in an informative opportunity hosted by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Louisville. The ninety-minute session was a QPR Suicide Prevention Training — an acronym whose initials stand for “Question, Persuade, Refer.” The resources shared served as great reminders of the role each of us plays in supporting the wellness and safety of fellow community members.

I could attempt to explain the relevance and core content of the training, but this excerpt from NAMI Louisville’s website sums it up nicely:

What is the importance of being QPR trained?

Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year, thousands of Americans, like you, are saying “Yes” to saving the life of a friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor.

KEY COMPONENTS COVERED IN TRAINING:

How to Question, Persuade, and Refer someone who may be suicidal
How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
The common causes of suicidal behavior
The warning signs of suicide
How to get help for someone in crisis

This training is free from now until the end of November, so register early to guarantee you get a spot in your preferred training time.

If you would like to better inform yourself about ways to support friends, relatives, and colleagues in crisis, click here to register for the ninety-minute training.

For more information about NAMI Louisville’s work and ways to get involved, visit its homepage.

To gain strategies for navigating mental health in the workplace, consider joining NAMI Louisville’s Stigma-Free Workplace Initiative.

Here at the Frazier, we are incredibly grateful for the work that NAMI Louisville does in our community. We look forward to future partnerships with this incredible organization.

Free Membership Ends November 1, Low Rates for Renewed Membership Announced, “Harlan County, U.S.A.” Turns 45, and More

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