It felt like family.

It was brothers in basketball coming together at the Frazier History Museum to pay tribute to their Coach in front of a packed house decked out in red and black. But Coach Denny Crum was so much more than that to them. He was also their mentor, their teacher, and even a father figure to many of them.

He taught them some of the most important lessons of their lives, but he also apparently gave them the freedom to learn many on their own.

We invited members of the University of Louisville’s 1980 and 1986 championship teams, along with others through the years, to celebrate Coach Crum and their time together. It was a program planned months ago, and unfortunately, because of recent health battles, Coach Crum and his wife Susan couldn’t attend in person. However, they did watch the program from home on a link we provided them.

The players, and even Assistant Coach Wade Houston, looked into the camera of our video feed and spoke to Coach Crum. Some of the stories were funny, taking shots at each other about who was Coach Crum’s favorite. We got to hear behind-the-scenes stories, personal stories of how Coach Crum came into their homes, their lives, and eventually their hearts.

Darrell Griffith said one thing that really hit home to me, because it was about home, and how many players of Coach Crum’s made Louisville their forever home, wanting to stay close to the program and each other. What a tribute.

Remember, Crum was from California, but he made Louisville his home. His wife Susan provided a written statement that said “your passion and love for U of L is always what kept him here.”

Passion, love, and home: we felt it all in one special night that ended with players holding up a rolled up program—a signature of Coach Crum. If you’d like to watch the program, click here. If you’d like to see pictures from the event, click here.

And speaking of home, Jeff Brohm is coming home. It was quite a week for U of L, and in light of our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition, we have more in this newsletter addressing it and of course the holidays which are here!

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

U of L Hires Football Scion Jeff Brohm as Head Coach

From archrival teams like the Cats and the Cards to dueling editors, competing caves, and beefing barbecues, Kentucky Rivalries celebrates the most iconic conflicts in the Bluegrass State. As we promote this interactive new exhibition, which opened November 5, our Frazier Weekly contributors will spotlight the history behind some of the rivalries featured in it.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

By the time this sees publication, Louisville native Jeff Brohm will have been named the new head football coach at the University of Louisville. For many fans of college football, Brohm’s move from West Lafayette, Indiana (where Brohm coached for six years at Purdue), to Louisville looks like a lateral move at best, a downgrade at worst. The numbers seem to back that up. Brohm will receive virtually the same salary at U of L that he had earned while at Purdue. According to journalist Tim Sullivan, U of L annually receives a smaller piece of the sports pie from the ACC than Purdue does for its membership in the Big Ten Conference.

However, within the Commonwealth—particularly in Louisville—Jeff Brohm’s return to his alma mater represents a thing more valuable than prestige or money. It symbolizes a reunion between the Brohm family and the University of Louisville, a tradition that goes back generations: to the playing days of father Oscar Brohm at quarterback for the school in the 1960s, Oscar’s sons Jeff and Greg in the early 1990s, and Jeff’s brother Brian Brohm in the 2000s.

It represents a reunion between Brohm himself and the broader community of high school and college football in the Commonwealth. Lastly, Brohm’s return offers the promise of a reunion between the Cardinals football program and its fan base, a following that has been at odds with the school—and its coaches—over the past few years. In a word, Brohm’s return has the potential to make this city feel like family again. And that would be something that money couldn’t buy.

Brian West
Teaching Artist

Cincinnati-Louisville “Keg of Nails” Football Rivalry Renewed with a Twist

I was encouraged, perhaps even excited, when it was announced that Cincinnati (my alma matter) was going to be playing the Louisville Cardinals (my home town team) in college football this Bowl season. Time to drag out the old keg of nails, the signature trophy for a rivalry that dates back to 1929. That rivalry ended when Louisville joined the ACC in 2014, in the early era of conference realignment.

Cincinnati, in the meantime, remained in the American Athletic Conference, a non-power conference, and one with a seemingly tougher path to a National Title. Still, it is Cincinnati, led by now-departed coach Luck Fickell, that first earned a spot in the four-team college football playoff in 2022, with a chance to play for a championship.

Louisville at that same time posted losing records in three of the last five seasons with Scott Satterfield leading the rebuilding effort. That effort followed Bobby Petrino’s curious swoon, from offensive genius to seemingly uninterested headset holder. Satterfield had marginal success, but he inspired little enthusiasm and the Louisville athletics department denied his request for a contract extension. He also never beat Kentucky and, in these parts, that means something.

So yes, I was as surprised as everyone when Cincinnati named Satterfield to replace Fickell as the Bearcats’ next head coach. Reaction to the hire in the Queen City has been lukewarm at best. After all, Cincinnati has won 53 games and lost just 10 over the last 5 years. Louisville has won 27 games, and lost 34. Bring on new Cardinals coach, and old Louisville hero, Jeff Brohm!

It sure would be interesting if Brohm, with his credentials and his hometown history, were coaching against Satterfield in the Fenway Bowl—but this rivalry story isn’t that rich. Instead, it’s the coaching matchup no one had dreamed about: Cincinnati’s special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs against Louisville’s director of player development Deion Branch.

Yes, the old rivalry is back . . . barely.

Andy Treinen
President & CEO

From the Collection: Reichart Family Christmas Tree Spires, 1900s–80s

As we’ve approached the holiday season, the joy of decorating our homes and places of business has begun. Nothing stands out more in a home than the Christmas tree. Whether you prefer a real tree or a fake tree, a fat tree or a skinny, we all can enjoy the fun and tradition of decorating the tree. We may decorate with lights, ornaments, ribbons, tinsel, and baubles. But the showstopper of any Christmas tree is the tree topper.

There are three traditional tree toppers that most likely appear on the tree. The most traditional of all is the star. Traditionally the star is made of glass, but in the modern age they come in many different materials and themes: rustic or glass, lighted or unlighted. The star tree topper is always a popular choice.

Next in line is the angel tree topper. These angels tree toppers range from simple to enormously elaborate, sometimes lighted, often very beautifully dressed, and almost always female. It was in 1848 when the newspapers printed a drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert around their Christmas tree with an angel topper that the tradition of the angel became popular in England and America.

But the third traditional kind of tree topper is the spire. Spires are usually tall and thin with one to three baubles. Spires range from heavy glass to lightweight ornament-grade glass. They are generally very colorful, with reds, greens, blues, silvers, purples, and gold. Some sort of glitter or sparkle often accompanies the spire to give it extra lift.

Pictured here are three examples from the Frazier History Museum collection.

The first one belonged to Rudolph William Reichart and Margaretha Adame Reichart and dates to the early 1900s. It was the spire used on their tree throughout their life together.

The second spire belonged to the above couple’s daughter, Anna Frances Reichart Korfhage, and her husband Frank. This spire was a part of their Christmas tree and dates from the 1950s.

In keeping with the traditions of this family, the third spire is more modern. It belonged to Anna Frances and Frank’s daughter, Mary, and dates from the 1980s.

Here are three great examples of spire design, color, and construction from three generations of the same family.

What is the tree topper your family uses? Do you tend to the traditional or more modern toppers such as novelty characters or bows? How does the topper on your tree compare to the one on the tree you grew up with? Whatever the answers may be, enjoy decorating your Christmas tree for the holiday season.

Tish Boyer
Collections Manager

Museum Store: Hassle-free Gift Sets!

Looking for that perfect gift for all the Bourbon lovers in your life but you don’t want to get them all the same thing? We have so many Bourbon gifts in our shop that you could give everyone on your list something different and still have plenty of cool stuff left over for yourself! We have our awesome gift sets already put together that are guaranteed to make any Grinch’s heart grow two sizes! Craft Bourbons? Fun socks? Witty and stylish t-shirts? We’ve got them all! Check out our museum store and finish up your holiday shopping!

Elvis, the Colonel & Author Alanna Nash Program

We know most folks are looking ahead to the holidays, some time off with family, and I am too! But we also want you to peek ahead to January and make plans to join us on Sunday, January 8, to celebrate Elvis’s birthday with author Alanna Nash here at the Frazier.

Her book, The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley was published in 2003, but has made a comeback following the release of Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis this past summer.

That relationship with the Colonel, her book, and of course the movie have all offered new and tragic insight to “The King,” who has so many ties to Louisville.

From what we can find with Nash, Elvis played Louisville five times, his first visit, was in 1955 at the Rialto Theater with Hank Snow as part of the Philip Morris Show. Among his final shows in Louisville would have been in 1976 and 1977 at Freedom Hall, just before his death in August of 1977.

Elvis’s grandfather also lived in Louisville, and both Jesse Presley and his wife Vera are buried here. Elvis visited them several times.

And we can’t leave out the incredible B & K Enterprises in Charlestown, Indiana, which has been making Elvis-inspired costumes, fueled by a love of Elvis that dates back to Butch Polston’s parents. Polston, his wife Kim, and now their son Michael—who have owned and run the business for decades—made thirty-four jumpsuits for Luhrmann’s Elvis movie, ten of which made the cut!

So join us January 8 to celebrate everything Elvis from the woman who wrote the book, actually several books on Elvis, Alanna Nash. Our Frazier Book Club is reading the book ahead of time. Click here to find out how to join.

We want to hear your Elvis story too, why he still resonates today.

Musician Todd Hildreth will join us too to get our toes tapping for this Cool Kentucky program. Get your tickets now for a program fit for a King!

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

In October, four family members—a Central Michigan University history student named Monica Martin, her mother, and her two aunts—drove down to Louisville to visit the Frazier. Specifically, they came to see the Bloedner Monument, the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War. It commemorates solders of the 32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment, which happens to be the subject of Monica’s current research project. We asked her to share a bit about her experience with the Frazier.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

For my Civil War history class, I chose a research project on the 32nd Indiana Regiment, also known as the 1st German. The members were German-Americans mostly from Indiana, hence their other nickname of “Indiana’s 1st Germans.” Many of their values derived from German culture, such as keeping up a high standard of physical fitness and cleanliness in comparison to many of their fellow regiments without German blood. This resulted in fewer casualties due to camp sickness as well as prowess in battle.

What sparked my interest in this regiment was my own ethnic heritage. I am the daughter of multiple generations of German Americans on my mother’s side. Her father (my grandpa) was a veteran of the Korean War, which made me wonder if there were German American soldiers of the Civil War. After a little bit of internet searching, I became aware of the 32nd Indiana and began a search for primary documents, artifacts, and locations in earnest. In my search for artifacts and locations related to the 1st German, I became aware of a very special item: the Bloedner Monument.

Bloedner Monument

The Bloedner monument was carved in 1862 during the second year of the American Civil War. This makes it an anomaly because most Civil War monuments were created after the war had ended. It was carved by Christian Friedrich August Bloedner, a member of the 32nd Indiana, to honor his fallen comrades. When it was originally constructed, it was intended to lay flat to the ground as a giant headstone honoring men whose names were engraved upon it. During the first move, it was repurposed from being a headstone to more of a memorial. The base of the monument was an addition brought in by the German community of Louisville when the monument was installed.

Finding the Bloedner

The internet can be a great source of information, but it may not always be accurate. Also, over time, the locations of historic objects can change. The object can even disappear from public view. When the Bloedner Monument was originally carved, it was located near Munfordville, Kentucky, on the site of the Battle of Rowlett’s Station. Five years later, in 1867, after the war had ended, the monument was relocated to Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. The cemetery would remain the home of the monument for the next 141 years. In 2008, it was moved to the University of Louisville where it was restored and the inscription upon it recovered. It found its current (and maybe final) home at the Frazier History Museum in 2010 after the museum won custody of it in a contest with a number of other interested museums.

For Future Generations

I used an internet app called Clio to create a heritage tour focused around visiting spots important to the 32nd Indiana. Clio is an education website and mobile application that guides the public toward thousands of historical and cultural sites in the US. Clio was built by professionals for the benefit of the public. Every entry on the site consists of a concise summary and useful information about the entry’s topic, be it a historical site, a monument, a museum, a site of cultural or historical significance, or a landmark. There are also “time capsule” entries that allow users to learn about historic events that happened around them. Every Clio entry offers turn-by-turn directions and provides links to relevant books, videos, articles, credible websites, and primary sources.

Help from the Frazier Museum

I could not have done this project without the help of the Frazier Museum. Not only did the museum invite me to come see the Bloedner Monument in person, they also provided me with additional material on the 32nd Indiana in the form of a book called Baptism of Fire: Rowlett's Station, 1861 (1995), by Michael A. Peake. The Frazier also invited me to come back to see the rest of the museum when I’m not on the time crunch of college finals. I look forward to that, just as I look forward to adding Clio entries with more of my favorites from the museum.

Monica Martin
Student, Central Michigan University
Guest Contributor

Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Spotlight: Angel’s Envy Distillery

As the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, the Frazier History Museum shares stories of the people, places, and producers of the Kentucky Bourbon industry. To learn more, visit our Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center or tour our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Angel’s Envy creates finished whiskeys that aren’t afraid to improve on the classic tradition. Inspired by inaugural Bourbon Hall of Fame member and founding master distiller Lincoln Henderson’s lifetime of crafting fine spirits, we start with finely crafted and aged whiskeys before adding a secondary barrel finishing step to add a layer of nuanced complexity.

The five percent of spirit lost each year during barrel aging is called the “angel’s share.” After first tasting our finished whiskey, Lincoln joked that we’d finally gotten a better deal than the angels.

And so, Angel’s Envy was born.

Best known for our Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Barrels and Angel’s Envy Rye Finished in Rum Casks, we were one of the first distillers to bring secondary finishing to Bourbon. Angel’s Envy believes that the secondary finishing process opens up exciting new opportunities to enhance and elevate Bourbon to unexpected places.

Located at 500 East Main Street, the Angel’s Envy Distillery is in the heart of Louisville’s Whiskey Row.

As the first full-production distillery to open in downtown Louisville, Angel’s Envy is proud to play a key role in the growth of Bourbon tourism. In response to this growth, Angel’s Envy unveiled a 13,000-square-foot expansion to their distillery on National Bourbon Day in June 2022 that allows more visitors to experience urban Bourbon. The expansion also includes a brand new event space that provides a one-of-a-kind downtown venue for unforgettable events of any scale.

The team is proud to offer visitors a best-in-class education on Bourbon through personal experiences. Open seven days a week, guests can take part in a Signature Tour, which includes a tasting of the brand’s core offerings; a Bottle Your Own Single Barrel experience, where guests have the chance to fill and label their own bottle of distillery-exclusive Angel’s Envy Single Barrel Bourbon Finished in Port Barrels; and various cocktail classes such as the hands-on Behind the Bar cocktail class.

Learn more about Angel’s Envy and reserve your visit at angelsenvy.com. Reservations are recommended.

Lori Mattingly
Sales, Events & Marketing Manager, Angel’s Envy Distillery
Guest Contributor

Gift a Bourbon Limited Club Membership for the Holidays!

Are you on the naughty list or the nice list this year? Either way, we think you should give yourself the gift of Bourbon Limited! We’re a members only club that ships exclusive rare batch Bourbons every two to three months. We just shipped out our first expression, a fantastic rare batch of Peerless’s oldest Bourbon, and if you hurry we may still have a bottle just for you. Next up is Wilderness Trail’s oldest rye ever released—and plans for a Bourbon Limited club field trip to the distillery to meet the wonderful people behind the brand. You can become a member here.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at haley@bourbon.limited.

Haley Hicky
CMO & Unicorn Wrangler, Bourbon Limited

Bridging the Divide

Outgoing Mayor Greg Fischer on his Tenure as Mayor of Louisville

As he leaves office, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says he tried to be the “People’s Mayor” by being connected and being committed to showing up throughout our community.

When he took office twelve years ago, he envisioned three core values for Louisville: lifelong learning, health, and compassion.

I asked the Mayor about accomplishments in those areas, where he perhaps fell short as Mayor, and what he learned about the job and himself in his three terms.

We talk about some of the toughest times with the shooting of Breonna Taylor and the resulting fallout and his takeaways as he leaves office.

I also asked him about what’s next and the advice he would offer the incoming Mayor.

We had a few technical glitches with the video occasionally freezing, but the audio is just fine and you won’t miss a thing he has to say.

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

Late Artist Mark Anthony Mulligan’s Is There Another Banjoist Available?

We at the Frazier were saddened to hear of the passing of Mark Anthony Mulligan. From any number of city benches, he saw Louisville in a way no one else did and created a body of incredible artworks to reflect what he saw, as well as other scenes from his imagination.

One summer many years ago, he could often be found at a bench across from the Frazier. A small class of summer campers brought him food and orange juice, which was his special request. That same week, we taught those campers about his impact on the arts community of the area, spent time investigating many of his works we found online, and ultimately created art inspired by him.

This piece is unusual for Mark, as it’s not a city or street scape. He drew it July 8, 2012—the day before my thirty-first birthday—when I told him I played the banjo. It’s one of my favorite things.

Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience

Stories in Mind

Merle’s Masterpieces of Art Show to Showcase 92-year-old’s Work

Hey y’all, the Frazier’s Stories in Mind team has been busy these last few weeks. We go out and engage seniors in long-term-care facilities and bring the Frazier Museum right where they live. This is Merle Sanford. She is a resident at one of the facilities the Stories in Mind team visits. She is an incredible artist—and a little spitfire, too.

She began painting paper dolls as a child. Next, she started to paint fruits and vegetables, butterflies, landscapes, and much more. Merle’s dream is to put on an art show of her work. Well, dreams do come true. On Saturday, December 17, from 2 to 4 p.m., The Springs at Stony Brook is hosting Merle’s Masterpieces of Art Show: “A Dream Come True.” At ninety-two years young, Merle is making her lifetime of work available for sale—and just in time for Christmas. I for sure will be getting some of Merle’s artworks for my home and my family.

The Springs at Stony Brook asks that you wear a mask at the art showing.

The show will take place in the Personal Care Sitting Room on the first floor of The Springs at Stony Brook. The residential facility is located at 2200 Stony Brook Drive in J-town.

Kevin Bradley
Stories in Mind Administrator

Membership

Make Your Membership Mean More this Holiday Season!

Don’t forget to Double the Joy of membership this holiday season! When you purchase a NEW membership (Contributor-level and above) for yourself or as a gift, we will gift a membership to a family from a worthy organization of your choice from those listed below.

*If you have a preference for which organization receives a gift membership, please send me your organization choice at aegan@fraziermuseum.org.

Current members have the opportunity to be a part of the season of giving by purchasing a gift membership!

Giving is such an important part of the holiday season—there’s no better feeling than when that perfect gift brings excitement and appreciation.

There is no greater gift than being able to uplift our neighbors and our community.

But hurry, the ability to “Double the Joy” will end on New Year’s Eve!

Come experience more and be a part of where the world meets Kentucky!

Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator