White Cane Awareness Day, 1937 Great Flood Comic, Herrington Lake Monster, and More
Tomorrow is White Cane Awareness Day, which emphasizes the rights and mobility of blind and low-vision individuals. To mark the occasion, we want to highlight one of our recent partners: GoodMaps, an indoor navigational app for the visually impaired.
Bringing GoodMaps into the Frazier was a key step in making everyone feel welcome at the museum. Every day, we take the steps to think about what visitors and guests need to have the best museum experience. We are taking action to reach more people and meet them where they are. GoodMaps is part of this action. We are learning from the people they serve how to serve others better. We are asking questions and making changes, so everyone feels that the Frazier is a place for them. Accessibility work is important and there is still much work to be done to accomplish all our goals. We appreciate those community members whose input has helped the Frazier become a better and more inclusive place for everyone.
To get a sense of how the app works, check out this travel log GoodMaps filmed at the Frazier earlier this year.
In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, GoodMaps CEO Theresa Reno-Weber explains how the app is revolutionizing indoor wayfinding and accessibility.
After that, Sarah Jemerson shares a powerful comic about the Great Flood of 1937, Megan Schanie announces a winter program for homeschool families, and Simon Meiners gets the backstory on Venezuelan-American pop singer Asly Toro, who filmed her latest music video in Louisville’s Cathedral of the Assumption. Jason Berkowitz gives us the skinny on the Herrington Lake Monster, Janine Caufield shares the history of Caufield’s Novelty, and Rachel Platt previews the upcoming Montgomery County Court Day in Mt. Sterling.
Thank you for reading!
Casey Harden
Sr. Director of Engagement
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
How GoodMaps is Revolutionizing Indoor Wayfinding and Accessibility
Rendering of a GoodMaps user. Credit: GoodMaps.
Rendering of the GoodMaps app. Credit: GoodMaps.
At GoodMaps, we are revolutionizing indoor wayfinding by focusing on accessibility and inclusion. Our innovative infrastructure-free platform combines machine learning, computer vision, and augmented reality to provide highly accurate, real-time, turn-by-turn directions. With audio, text, visual, and haptic feedback, as well as options for stair-free routing and language customization, GoodMaps supports independence for everyone. So, whether you’re blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, have limited mobility, are neurodivergent, or don’t speak the language, GoodMaps can make navigating indoors easier, regardless of your needs.
The importance of inclusive navigation cannot be overstated. For many, navigating complex environments can be challenging and often requires assistance from others. GoodMaps offers a sense of autonomy, empowering users to explore indoors with confidence and independence. This type of freedom is crucial as it makes public spaces more welcoming and accessible for all.
Since its launch in 2019 through a partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind, GoodMaps has grown significantly, making a difference globally at venues in North America, Europe, and Australia. For example:
At Portland International Airport (PDX), travelers can now independently find their gates, restrooms, and dining options.
Network Rail, the UK’s largest rail operator, has implemented our technology to enhance access in busy train stations.
Washington, DC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library now offers a smoother experience for all visitors with GoodMaps.
The Frazier History Museum in Louisville—GoodMaps’s hometown—has also adopted our technology, augmenting the exhibition experience digitally by including audio descriptions and interactions to create a rich and compelling experience for all guests.
In conjunction with White Cane Awareness Day, celebrated annually on October 15, GoodMaps’s mission is particularly poignant. White Cane Awareness Day emphasizes the rights and mobility of blind and low-vision individuals, making our work integral to the ongoing conversation about independence and access. Our technology supports the broader movement for inclusive public spaces, thus enabling individuals—including those who use white canes to navigate—greater ease and confidence when finding their way.
Theresa Reno-Weber
CEO, GoodMaps
Guest Contributor
Frazier Adds Comic About Louisville’s 1937 Great Flood to Exhibition
Aerial view of flooding in Louisville, Kentucky, January 25, 1937. Photographer unknown. Credit: US National Archives and Records Administration.
Comic panel of “Won’t be Licked! The Great ’37 Flood in Louisville” by Daniel W. Zettwoch. Appears on page 99 of Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book Four, published by Ink & Duotone, 2007. Credit: Dan Zettwoch, Ink & Duotone.
When I began drafting this article about the Great Flood of 1937, I couldn’t have foreseen the unprecedented flooding Storm Boris would cause in Central Europe, or the catastrophic effects Hurricanes Helene and Milton would cause here in the US. The story I showcase in the article is one about resilience after disaster, and about neighbors coming together and doing what they can to help each other. If you’d like to see what you can do to help relief and recovery efforts for the unprecedented flooding at home and abroad, please consider following the links to these aid organizations: Appalachian Helene Response Fund, Mountain Projects, Polish Red Cross, accepting international donations through this link; or Polish Humanitarian Action, accepting international donations through this link.
If you’re into comic books or want to learn more about Louisville’s history, I have a story to recommend that’s anything but a dry read.
In his comic “Won’t be Licked! The Great ’37 Flood in Louisville,” Dan Zettwoch, a Louisville-born cartoonist and printmaker now based in St. Louis, chronicles his grandfather’s odyssey through the neighborhoods of Louisville during the historic January 1937 flood. Dan’s grandfather, then a high school senior delivering newspapers, rowed through the flooded streets in an improvised boat after the Ohio River crested fifty-seven feet and left seventy percent of Louisville underwater.
Zettwoch used historical sources and his grandfather’s own account to illustrate people on rooftops awaiting rescue, Louisville landmarks half-submerged underwater, and feats of engineering like the whiskey barrel pontoon bridge that allowed safe passage between the flooded streets downtown and the drier Highlands neighborhood. “Won’t be Licked!” is a story as much as it is a snapshot of the city and its inhabitants at the time of the Great Flood.
At the Frazier, we have our own window into that time. Open until January 6, our temporary exhibition Flashback: Louisville Media Through the Years features coverage of the 1937 Flood. Visitors can listen as a 1930s Zenith console radio plays a WHAS broadcast Louisvillians would have heard during the flood or read a “Flood Edition” Courier Journal newspaper like the one Dan Zettwoch’s grandfather might have been delivering during his adventure.
If you’re more interested in reading Dan Zettwoch’s comic, you can find it at the Frazier, too. “Won’t be Licked!” was featured in the now out-of-print comic anthologies Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book Four and The Best American Comics 2007. You can now find the former title available on display on the Snead bookcases in the Literary Kentucky section of our Cool Kentucky exhibition. The next time you visit the museum, please take a moment to appreciate this story of the Great Flood.
Sarah Jemerson
Education & Engagement Lead
Frazier to Host Winter Program for Homeschool Families December 12
Lights on Main Winterfest Homeschool Day graphic.
Calling all homeschool families! The Frazier education team is excited to announce our Lights on Main Winterfest Homeschool Day. Taking place on Thursday, December 12, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., the program aligns with our winter exhibition Lights on Main, including three floors full of trees decorated by community partners, organizations, and individuals.
Students will enjoy a tree scavenger hunt, an interactive craft and activity session, and a puppet show highlighting the life and work of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Families are invited to bring a sack lunch and utilize our first-floor classroom to enjoy lunch after the program and continue their exploration of the museum, if they wish.
The cost is $10 per student, with one free adult per family.
Spaces are limited and reservations are required. Learn more and sign up here!
Have questions? Feel free to reach out to education@fraziermuseum.org.
Megan Schanie
Sr. Manager of Educational Programs
Venezuelan-American Pop Artist Asly Toro Featured in Frazier’s 120 Exhibit
Still from the music video for “Mami” by Asly Toro. Filmed in Louisville’s Cathedral of the Assumption and directed by Donovan Martin, the video was released August 7, 2024.
Today is the penultimate day of Hispanic Heritage Month—celebrated each year from September 15 to October 15.
To mark the occasion, I’m spotlighting one of the Hispanic Kentuckians represented in the Frazier Museum: Asly Toro.
Born and raised in Venezuela, Asly grew up dancing salsa with her mom and singing the Bee Gees with her dad. At five, she made her TV debut on ¿Cuánto Vale el Show?, a talent competition like America’s Got Talent. In 2013, she moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she now records Latin pop music.
Her 2024 single “Mami” is about being in love with a bandit and seeking advice from her mother.
She filmed the music video in Louisville’s Cathedral of the Assumption. She says she chose the Cathedral because it reminds her of her South American roots.
On March 15, 2024, Asly attended the opening of the Frazier’s 120: Cool Kentucky Counties exhibit. You can find Asly’s song “Mami”—along with hundreds of other unique Kentucky songs, stories, and videos—in the exhibit.
For more information, watch our recent Instagram post or Asly’s “Mami” music video.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Museum Shop: Kentuxican Hot Sauce
Kentuxican hot sauce sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop.
One of our shop’s favorite products blends Mexican tradition with Kentucky flair, using a family recipe and a splash of Bourbon for a tasty twist. We encourage everyone to give Kentuxican hot sauce a try—available in the Museum Shop!
Lesser-known Legends of Kentucky: Herrington Lake Monster, 1925–Present
Each week this October, we’re publishing an article in “Lesser-known Legends of Kentucky,” a spOoky series written by my dear colleague, Jason Boo-kowitz. This week, Jason sheds lights on a creature rumored to lurk in the deepest waters of the Commonwealth: Herrington Lake. Did damming the Dix River spawn a cryptid that damns our troubled souls?—Slimin’ Monsters, Communications & Research Specialist
Herrington Lake in Mercer and Garrard Counties, Kentucky, c. 2006. Credit: Joshinatorky, Wikimedia Commons.
Illustration of Herrington Lake Monster. Credit: Lakehouse Brands.
Part pig, part eel, the Herrington Lake Monster is ALL terror to those who encounter the strange creature. Said to lurk in the depths of its namesake, Herrington Lake, this lesser-known cryptid possesses a fifteen-feet long eel-like body, a curly tail, and a pig’s snout. With a maximum depth of 249 feet, Herrington Lake is the deepest lake in Kentucky—offering ample room for both monster and legend to grow over the years. The lake, itself, is a fascinating story in its own right. Created in 1925, Herrington Lake resulted from the damming of Dix River in an effort to generate hydroelectric power for the surrounding region. Since the lake’s formation, residents of nearby Mercer, Garrard, and Boyle Counties have spoken in hushed whispers regarding the legendary critter—some accounts noting not just its massive size, but also its incredible speed.
However, the most famous sightings come not from locals, but instead, from Lawrence S. Thompson, a classics professor at the University of Kentucky. Mr. Thompson claimed to have seen the Herrington Lake Monster on several occasions during the early 1970s, each time noting its snout, its eel-like body, and its rather large hump. Dismissing suggestions that he had merely observed floating debris, he was quoted as saying, “The thing I saw made very definite movements; the water made ripples around its snout and tail.”
Since then, sightings of the Eel-Pig have persisted, yet none have been as detailed or as persuasive as Thompson’s. Nonetheless, the Herrington Lake Monster continues to capture the imagination of legend seekers, cryptid hunters, and the simply curious. Several theories for the cryptid’s existence have been suggested over the years. Some argue the creature is most likely a misidentified Alligator gar, a shark, or a giant catfish. Indeed, locals have reportedly seen catfish as large as small buses in the 2,300-acre lake—undoubtedly just as terrifying as the Herrington Lake Monster. Others contend the creature must be a displaced alligator, having traveled up the Mississippi River and down the Kentucky River before settling in Herrington Lake. Perhaps the most outlandish theory is that the Herrington Lake Monster is, in fact, a prehistoric animal similar to a dinosaur. At one time residing in limestone caves located deep underground, the creature is theorized to have been drawn to the surface during the lake’s construction.
Whatever your opinion on the existence of the creature, one thing is undeniably true: its home is breathtaking. The massive lake is a natural wonder for the Commonwealth and a fabulous destination for those looking to enjoy nature with a pinch of the unknown. As for the Herrington Lake Monster, it may not be the most famous legend in Kentucky, but it is certainly one of the strangest.
Jason Berkowitz
Stories in Mind Facilitator
History of Caufield’s Novelty, 1915–Present
Exterior of Caufield’s Novelty at 1006 West Main Street in Louisville, 1987. Credit: Caufield’s Novelty.
In 1987, Caufield’s Novelty moved to its current location at 1006 West Main Street. As a Louisvillian born the following year, I’ve shopped there as long as I can remember! My mom brought me in the 1990s for Tin Man face paint. Now, as a Frazier employee, I can walk there on my lunch break—if I need a gag gift for a white elephant party or a fake cigarette for our 1920s-themed speakeasy. Since October is always hopping at Caufield’s, we’ve asked owner Janine Caufield to share the history of this beloved local business.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
Hearse at Caufield’s Novelty, c. 2024.
Staff and friends model costumes at Caufield’s Novelty, c. 2024.
Caufield’s Novelty is the oldest family-owned and -operated costume and novelty business in the United States. Keran S. Caufield Sr. entered the novelty business through a circuitous route. An Irish immigrant, Caufield opened a photography studio in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1915. Business was good and there were usually a few people waiting their turn in the studio’s outer office. Caufield, using the $25 he had received in an accident settlement, bought some magic tricks and practical jokes to sell in the busy waiting room as patrons waited for their photos to be developed. Soon, the novelty business outpaced the photography business and he put away his camera and opened Caufield’s Novelties in 1920.
The store’s magic tricks, practical jokes, and toys sold well even through the Depression. While novelties were not something people had to have, they were inexpensive and lighthearted and the local public continued to purchase them, despite the hard times. Soon, Caufield’s expanded their inventory by offering seasonal decorations and costumes.
Caufield’s has sold Halloween costumes, masks, and decorations since the 1930s. Back then, the holiday was mostly for kids. However, in the 1970s, Halloween began to surge in popularity for adults as well as children. Adults got in on the fun by hosting Halloween parties and decorating their yards instead of just putting out a jack-o-lantern. That is when Caufield’s became “the place” for everything you could need for the holiday.
In the 1990s, costumes and Halloween décor began to get more and more elaborate. Today, Caufield’s purchases from hundreds of vendors to bring the community the best selection and most popular items around. Offering a wide selection of costumes, décor, makeup, costume accessories, and novelty items beyond the traditional Halloween season, we aim to provide a very unique shopping experience year-round.
Trending costumes every year tend to reflect what’s happening in the news or the release of new movies or TV shows. This year’s hot commodities include Beetlejuice, Art the Terrifier, Ghostface, Deadpool, Wolverine, Minions, Ghostbuster, and the Descendants.
Janine Caufield
Owner, Caufield’s Novelty
Guest Contributor
Highlights of 120: Montgomery County: Court Day
120: Cool KY Counties graphic.
As I get older, I find myself using the phrase “back in the day” a whole lot more! And it fits perfectly today with Kentucky’s oldest festival, which will take place October 18–21 in downtown Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County. The festival spans several days now, but “back in the day” it was just one day, called Court Day. To learn more about how it got its name and the history behind it, keep on reading. The story is part of our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
October Court Days in Mount Sterling, early 1900s. Credit: Mount Sterling Tourism.
Kentucky’s oldest running festival began in 1794. It is held every third Monday in October and the weekend prior, throughout historic downtown Mount Sterling, Montgomery County. Early Mount Sterling was the trading center for a vast part of Eastern Kentucky. It was the site of several prominent hotels, taverns, and theaters. They served as meeting places, entertainment sites, and stagecoach stops and mail depositories for post riders.
October Court Days started when the Kentucky General Assembly decided each county should meet once a month to hold court. This day quickly became an annual trading day where people came from miles around to buy, sell, and trade. And it still is today. Visitors from all over the world enjoy the ultimate shopping adventure. Visitors can find handmade crafts, antiques, tools, collectibles, and of course country ham sandwiches. Mount Sterling delights in this long-standing tradition, bringing thousands of people from all parts of the country to gather for the event.
Bridging the Divide
Poet Frank X Walker Reads from New Book Load in Nine Times at Frazier
Frank X Walker speaks during a program at the Frazier, October 8, 2024.
From left, Simon Meiners, Amanda Briede, Steve Phan, Rachel Platt, and Frank X Walker pose after Frank’s book signing at the Frazier, October 8, 2024.
It’s always an unforgettable and an impactful evening when poet Frank X Walker comes to your museum. Especially when it’s a special reading from his new book of poetry, and that reading takes place in your gallery with objects from the Civil War. His new book Load in Nine Times reimagines the experience of Black Civil War soldiers, including his own ancestors, who enlisted in the Union army in exchange for emancipation. The stories center on the United States Colored Troops, who found themselves at Camp Nelson in Nicholasville, Jessamine County, Kentucky. Steve Phan, the chief of interpretation, education, and visitor services from Camp Nelson National Monument, also joined us to share that important history. Our curator Amanda Briede discussed the historic photos and artifacts that inspired Walker’s poetry. One person who attended wrote me: “Please know how much we wish every person in Louisville could have been there—but most of all, HOW DO WE GET THIS INFORMATION INTO SCHOOLS?” Just to let you know, we have a plan for that. In the meantime, you can start learning more by purchasing his new book at this link.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
