Good Monday morning,

December has always brought a special sense of holiday cheer, as everyone puts up their decorations and fills their calendar with gatherings and traditions.

Here at the Frazier, we have a tradition of welcoming families every December with our Holiday Family Day. It’s a special day at the museum when our galleries are filled with cheer in the form of special kid-friendly tours, fun activities, and smiling faces from our teen volunteer corps and education staff. This year, you can learn about a fun food fight on an Italian river and its connection to our galleries, make your own pickle ornament, and even try your hand at the game of dreidel . . . with a delicious chocolate prize, of course!

A family looks at a diorama in *The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall*, May 2022. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

The Holiday Family Day is a great way to start your own tradition as it coincides with our annual Member Appreciation Day! Members at the Contributor level and above are invited to enjoy a hot chocolate and coffee bar with festive treats and refreshments. With door prizes, exclusive history talks, and the beloved double discount (20%) in our Museum Store*—you don’t want to miss out! If you aren’t one already, you can become a member today.

As Winter Break looms on the horizon, we’re also hosting Winter Break Camps! In the spirit of Jolabokaflod, the cozy Icelandic tradition of gifting books to read on Christmas Eve, we are celebrating all things literary. From tying Ada Twist to the origins of computer science to exploring the nineteenth-century origins of Enola Holmes, we’ll have a lot of fun in the galleries from December 19 to 22 and December 27 to 30. All of our by-the-day camps, which run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (doors open at 8:45 a.m.), are designed for current kindergarteners through sixth graders. You can sign up for camps here! We hope to see you, whether it’s for just one day or all eight!

In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, Hayley Rankin shares some adorable holiday ornaments (stop by and see our exhibits department at Holiday Family Day, where they will have artifacts and activities for you!), guest contributor Berry Craig spotlights two naval officers from Louisville who perished in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and Rachel Platt shares details of a new book from the Louisville Story Program.

See you soon!

This Week in the Museum

Sippin’ with Stephen: Copper & Kings Expresses with Drew Pomeroy

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

This edition of Sippin’ with Stephen showcases Copper and Kings Brandy Distillery, focusing on the long-standing connection between Louisville and brandy. My good friend Drew Pomeroy, who is the tour manager at Copper and Kings, explains why the distillery is included in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®—and why they are a must-visit for folks who are taking in the Trail®. In Sippin’ with Stephen tradition, we make a cocktail called the Copper and Kings Express, which I know all viewers will thoroughly enjoy!

Copper & Kings Express

Directions:

Fill rocks glass with ice
Add 2 oz. Butchertown Reserve American Brandy
Rim the glass with an orange peel
Drop orange peel in glass
Stir

Enjoy!

On this Date: Repeal of Prohibition, December 5, 1933

Cheers! It’s Repeal Day, a day that marks the eighty-ninth anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. On December 5, 1933, people were once again allowed to manufacture, distribute, buy, and sell alcohol in the United States. It’s a day to be celebrated because of the profound impact it has had on our culture, economy, and way of life.

This holds such a big spot in Kentucky history because of our history in Bourbon. There were six distilleries allowed to manufacture Bourbon for prescriptions during the thirteen years that Prohibition lasted. The only one that’s left is our Louisville neighbor Brown-Forman. If you care to learn more about the history of Prohibition and the impact it had on all of us, visit our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition where you can learn about all things Bourbon.

From the Collection: Wooden Ornaments and Baubles, c. 1900–2006

The holiday season is officially here, which for many of us means decorating Christmas trees with ornaments of all kinds. From the simple and hand-made to the more elaborate or store bought, every ornament is special and adorns the tree with festive cheer.

Recently, we accepted a large donation of Christmas ornaments and other seasonal decorations into the permanent collection that belonged to a family here in Louisville. Many of the ornaments were passed down through generations, stretching back to the first family members who immigrated here from Germany.

The tradition of ornamenting a tree, as with many Christmas traditions, originates in Germany where humble items like fruit and nuts symbolized the return of spring. During the nineteenth century, this tradition became popular in the United States alongside glass bauble ornaments, which Hans Greiner invented. With mass manufacturing, ornaments appeared everywhere in great variety, often in the shape of the original fruit and nuts; but shiny round baubles have continued to be a standard feature.

Do you have ornaments you bring out year after year, perhaps ones that have been in the family for decades? The ritual of tree decorating connects us with meaningful pieces of our past and present and allows us to pass on the tradition for years to come.

Visit the Frazier Museum soon to see more ornaments and Christmas decor on temporary display in our galleries.

Museum Store: Vintage 1970s Souvenir Charm Bracelet

Vintage souvenir charm bracelet sold in the Frazier’s Museum Store and online. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

The perfect gift for a proud Kentuckian! This vintage bracelet celebrates the Bluegrass State with its fun charms representing Kentucky’s heritage. These souvenir bracelets were once sold in Kentucky state park gift shops in the 1970s. We stumbled across a stash when the company that supplied them went out of business. A charming find for sure. Each bracelet measures seven inches. Online orders over $50 ship free! Buy yours here.

Thank You to All Who Gave During Giving Tuesday!

Logo for Giving Tuesday. Credit: Giving Tuesday.

Tuesday, November 29, marked the tenth annual Giving Tuesday, a global movement that inspires people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. On that day, we asked you to help us continue to make our community and Kentucky a better place.

The Frazier is where the world meets Kentucky, and because of you, we mean more to more people every day!

We appreciate every gift we are given. Your gifts allow us to educate our young people, produce insightful discussions on topics that are important to our community, and share the history of Kentucky with residents and visitors from around the world.

Gifts of any amount are welcome—no matter what day! Click here to donate and to help us bring history to life! The Frazier History Museum is a BBB-accredited organization.

Bourbon with Heart Founder Morgan Hancock on Barrels of Heart

Morgan Hancock, founder of the nonprofit Bourbon with Heart, is a proud Kentucky native who deeply values community. “Art, like a good glass of Bourbon,” she says, “brings people together, bridges divides, and encourages self-expression.” As we look forward to Barrels of Heart, the organization’s Bourbon barrel art exhibition that the Frazier will open in February, we’ve asked Morgan to share a little about the organization and its mission.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Logo of Bourbon with Heart. Credit: Bourbon with Heart.

Bourbon with Heart is a new nonprofit that uses Kentucky’s world-renowned Bourbon industry to elevate the Bluegrass State’s art and culture scene.

The mission of Bourbon with Heart is to leverage the influence and popularity of Bourbon to raise funds for local charities while providing a first-class arts experience for Kentuckians regardless of age, race, class, gender, or ability.

The nonprofit’s inaugural event, Barrels of Heart, is Louisville’s first Bourbon barrel art exhibition. Set to debut at the Frazier History Museum in February 2023, the exhibition will feature twenty custom-painted Bourbon barrels designed by local artists.

Each barrel artist brings their unique background to the exhibition—with artists ranging in age from eighteen to sixty-five, diverse ethnicities, varying levels of experience from award-winning professionals to hobbyists, and artists with disabilities.

During the eight-week exhibition, the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite custom-painted barrel. The winning artist will be awarded a cash prize and a donation to the charity of their choice.

The remaining proceeds will be donated to three area nonprofits: Blanket Louisville, which provides blankets to Louisville’s homeless; I Would Rather Be Reading (IWRBR), which provides equitable access to trauma-responsive literacy support and social-emotional learning to children across greater Louisville; and Dream Center Academy, which provides a first-class Christian education to children of West Louisville and empowers them to break free from the cycle of violence and drugs.

How can you support Bourbon with Heart?

Barrel Sponsorship: You can own a one-of-a-kind, custom-painted Bourbon “Barrel of Heart” by becoming a Barrel of Heart sponsor. Limited to only twenty sponsors.

Donate: Donations and Sponsorships are 100% tax deductible as charitable donations, and 100% of all public donations go to the nonprofits we serve.

Spread the Word: Follow Bourbon with Heart on Facebook and Instagram.

Visit BourbonWithHeart.org for more information.

LDP, LIBA Team Up for S. 4th Night Market

One of my side jobs here at the Frazier History Museum is to serve as the marketing chair for the Louisville Downtown Management District and the Louisville Downtown Partnership. You don’t need me to tell you that our downtown is the heartbeat of Kentucky’s largest city—and if it is not successful, neither are we. This Thursday is the last in a series of monthly events designed to bring us all together on Fourth Street to celebrate our shared interests and to, well, just have a good time. LDP’s Bryn Alston shares all the details in the article below.—Andy Treinen, President & CEO

The Louisville Downtown Partnership (LDP) has partnered with the Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) to host a monthly Thursday night market series in Downtown called S. 4th Night Market. This event transforms and activates South Fourth Street, between Guthrie and West Chestnut, with a unique market experience featuring local food trucks, shopping, and live music!

In full swing with holiday cheer, the S. 4th Night Market will return THIS Thursday, December 8, with a holiday-themed market! From 4 to 8 p.m., South Fourth Street will close to vehicular traffic, allowing retailers, shoppers, and revelers to utilize the street space and partake in fun. Market-goers will be able to shop at local retailers and food trucks and enjoy live music. Wrapping up the event season, this marks the third event in the series.

Joined by the Best To-Go Cocktail of 2022 by LEO Choice Readers, Crowler Catering will serve up craft beer, hot chocolates, and hot toddies and offer $4 cocktails, along with various musical entertainment throughout the night.

The S. 4th Night Market is a monthly series that takes place on the second Thursday of each month. The December market wraps up the 2022 night market series; however, the market will return in April, kicking off the 2023 series with a Derby-themed market.

To learn more about the S. 4th Night market, visit louisvilledowntown.org/s-4th-night-market. Or, if you are a retailer or vendor interested in participating, please visit here.

About LDP

LDP’s mission is to improve the economy of downtown Louisville by promoting the redevelopment, vitality, and economic growth of the Central Business District and surrounding areas and to improve Downtown’s quality of life by creating a safe, clean, and enjoyable environment.

About LIBA

LIBA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the unique community character of the Metro Louisville area by promoting locally owned businesses and educating citizens on the value of buying locally. For more information about LIBA, visit keeplouisvilleweird.com.

History All Around Us

Berry Craig on Louisville-born Naval Officers Killed at Pearl Harbor, 1941

Wednesday is the eighty-first anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor—an event whose previous anniversaries the Frazier commemorated with a ceremony for veterans and an immersive exhibition. To mark the occasion, we’ve asked Berry Craig, professor emeritus of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) in Paducah, to share the story of two naval officers from Louisville who died in the attack: Ensign Robert Lawrence Leopold (1916–41) and Ensign Herbert Hugo Menges (1917–41). Leopold grew up on Spring Drive in Bonnycastle and attended Male High School; Menges lived at Twenty-second and Garland in California and graduated from duPont Manual. Craig encountered their stories while researching Kentuckians and Pearl Harbor: Stories from the Day of Infamy (2020), one of seven books he has authored.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

The Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii—which took place December 7, 1941—claimed the lives of more than 2,400 Americans, including a pair of young naval officers from Louisville.

Ensign Robert Lawrence Leopold, twenty-five, died aboard the battleship Arizona. Friendly fire claimed the life of Ensign Herbert Hugo Menges, a twenty-four-year-old fighter pilot.

Leopold is among more than 900 sailors and marines still entombed in the submerged wreck of the Arizona, the most iconic of the warships lost in the air raid that plunged the US into World War II. Menges is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, located on Preston Highway in his hometown of Louisville.

On December 12, 1941, the Navy telegraphed Lawrence and Irma Leopold that their son was dead. Eleven days later, a similar Navy wire informed Charles and Lena Menges that their son was “missing in action.”

What the wire to Mr. and Mrs. Menges did not say was that panicky American gunners, fearing their son Herbert’s Wildcat fighter was a Japanese warplane, had shot it down.

Flying off a half dozen aircraft carriers, swarms of Japanese bombers and fighters struck the Pacific fleet and military airfields on Oahu island shortly before 8 a.m. They sank or damaged dozens of ships and destroyed scores of planes on the ground.

Early in the attack, a bomb crashed through the Arizona’s forward deck and detonated, igniting powder magazines for the ship’s big guns. The blast produced an enormous fireball and heaved the 32,600-ton battlewagon nearly fifty feet into the air.

The Arizona virtually broke in half; engulfed in flames, it sank in just nine minutes. “The souls of 1,177 sailors and marines were lost, more than died in the Spanish-American War and the First World War combined,” Craig Nelson wrote in Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness.

The deaths of Leopold and Ensign Robert Gabriel White, twenty-one, also of Louisville, earned front page coverage in section two of the December 13, 1941, issue of the Courier Journal. White, a Clay City native, was killed in the Japanese attack on Guam.

Lawrence Leopold, a prominent attorney, unsuccessfully sought to have his son’s body brought home for burial. His name and the names of all his shipmates killed in the attack are enshrined on the USS Arizona Memorial, a gleaming white structure that straddles, but doesn’t touch, the shattered, rusting hulk of the battleship.

A small group of trees marks the approximate spot in Pearl City where Menges crashed and burned after flying off the carrier Enterprise. The Japanese had hoped to sink it and the Pacific Fleet’s two other carriers: Lexington and Saratoga. But they were at sea.

When the Enterprise neared Pearl Harbor on December 7, some of its scout planes blundered into the attack. Later, Menges joined a group of fighters and bombers dispatched to find and fight the Japanese fleet.

The search was fruitless, and all the planes returned to the Enterprise, save a half dozen Wildcat fighters, including Menges’s plane.

By the time they got back, it was too dark to land safely, and they were sent on to the Ford Island airstrip in the middle of Pearl Harbor. Word was flashed to Navy and Army gunners not to fire on the approaching Wildcats. Even so, they did, shooting down and killing the flight leader and Menges. The other pilots survived; two bailed out, and two managed to land safely on Ford Island.

Menges was burned beyond recognition. One of the surviving Wildcat pilots identified him by the wristwatch still on his arm.

Menges was reburied in Louisville in 1947. His funeral notice did not tell how he died, only that he “passed away Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.” While the Navy ultimately confirmed his death to his parents, it is unclear how or when they learned the tragic circumstances of how he perished.

Remembrance and Rebuilding One Year After Deadly Western Kentucky Tornadoes

One year later and Kentucky is still in recovery mode after a deadly and devastating outbreak of tornadoes in the western part of the state.

A car is flipped upside down and buried in rubble in Barnsley, Kentucky after the area was hit by overnight tornadoes, December 11, 2021. Credit: Pat McDonogh, *Courier Journal*.

Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary, as observances are held to remember the lives lost and help those who are still rebuilding.

One tornado carved a 165-mile path from Woodland Mills, Tennessee—about two miles south of the Kentucky border—to Rough River Dam State Resort Park in Grayson County, Kentucky. Along the way, it passed through a number of communities—including Mayfield, Benton, Princeton, and Dawson Springs. In all, it caused fifty-seven deaths and more than 500 injuries while damaging and destroying thousands of homes, businesses, and other buildings.

So many stepped up to help—and still are.

We wanted to once again share the link for donations to the Western Kentucky Chapter of the American Red Cross. That’s the organization to which the Frazier donated funds after so many of you generously helped out in our fundraising efforts for Western Kentucky.

We also wanted to share a story of perseverance, featuring Marty Eubanks, the owner of World Champion Karate Academy in Bowling Green. He reopened his business in October, one block up and over from his old location, which was demolished by another tornado that touched down that night. The story is told by Adison Schanie, a student reporter at WKU News Channel 12. Adison’s mother Megan is the manager of school and teacher programs here at the Frazier.

Our hearts continue to be with the people of Western Kentucky.

Bridging the Divide

Louisville Story Program on If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here: Voices of Russell in a Time of Change

The Frazier History Museum wanted to share a new project in the works from Louisville Story Program.

So many of the people involved are friends of ours through our recent West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition.

LSP’s newest book is titled If You Write Me a Letter, Send it Here: Voices of Russell in a Time of Change. You can learn more about the project and the authors in the video on their Kickstarter page, where you can also make a donation to support it.

Twenty-six authors with strong ties to Louisville’s Russell area are part of the book, documenting their lives, with many of the stories focused on growing up there.

It comes at a time when one billion dollars worth of redevelopment is happening in that area, with no one sure where the future will lead for what is considered “the historic epicenter of Black life in Louisville.”

You can pre-order the book to help raise money needed to print it.

We wish you the best, LSP!

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

Membership

Make Your Membership Mean More this Holiday Season!

Double the Joy graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

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.

Approved partner organizations for the Double the Joy Membership Campaign. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

*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.

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

Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator

Midcentury Ornaments, Louisville Naval Officers Killed at 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, Rebuilding After Western Kentucky Tornado, and More

Keg of Nails with a Twist, Mayor Greg Fischer Interview, Mark Anthony Mulligan’s “Is There Another Banjoist Available?”, and More

Bellarmine Mock Trial Team, George Clooney’s O Brother Where Art Thou? Overalls, Webster and Barren County Aviators, and More