Beer Fest is back on Main!

History has company on Main Street this summer with the return of Summer Beer Fest at Frazier. We’re excited to announce that on July 29, 2023, we’ll continue what has become quite a tradition in downtown Louisville. Early Bird VIP and GA tickets sell fast, so click here to secure the best price. It’s so much FUN you won’t be able to wipe the smile off your face!

Brewers from across the Commonwealth will be here offering up some of the most innovative beers on tap, in celebration of Kentucky’s rich brewing tradition. Main Street will be hopping with live music, more than 200 specialty beers, food, retail, and a fun zone with games and activities. We’ll also share history, including industry artifacts and beer trivia.

To quote Benjamin Franklin: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Today’s Frazier Weekly features a guest column from my friend Anne Jewell. The former executive director at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory is now the top executive at the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE). They’re hosting a super-cool Shark Tank–like event at the Frazier. Madame Glover is our feature for Women’s History Month, Simon Meiners rolls out part three of our Musical Kentucky series, and Brian West sets up a new basketball tournament coming to town. And what a night we had paying tribute to famed historian Tom Owen.

I sure do hope you enjoy!

Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Object in Focus: Edwardian-Era Madame Glover Day Dress, c. 1900

Annie Casey Glover, a.k.a. Madame Glover (1861–1912), was an Irish-American seamstress and couturier in turn-of-the-century Louisville. For Women’s History Month, we’ve asked manager of collection impact Hayley Rankin to highlight one of Madame Glover’s stunning creations! To see another one of Glover’s gowns on display, visit the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Have you ever purchased something custom-made just for you?

Today, we go to tailors or seamstresses for alterations often after we have purchased a standard-sized dress or jacket; but at the turn of the century, providing your own unique measurements for a custom garment was routine for those who could afford it. In Louisville, Madame Glover was a renowned dressmaker and designer who made her mark upon the city and its fashionable women. Her dress shop in the no-longer-standing Tyler Building (now the site of the Kentucky International Convention Center) catered to the needs for all sorts of society events, including debutante balls and weddings. Glover was particularly known for her bridal gowns and wedding trousseaux that contained garments a woman would need as she entered marriage. But how did she get there?

Annie Casey arrived in Louisville from Ireland with her parents at a young age and settled in the Limerick neighborhood. But necessity quickly led to opportunity. The death of her father in 1879 pushed her to look for work in local stores, such as Close & Wasson and Sharpe & Middleton, where her dressmaking began to attract attention. After her marriage to businessman Walter E. Glover in 1886, she was able to open her first dress shop on South Fourth Street by 1891. For the next two decades, Madame Glover was a sensation. A frequent traveler, she brought the latest styles of New York and Paris to Louisville and served clients across the country. Her elegant creations are a noteworthy page in the book of Gilded Age fashion, her success built upon years of hard work and talent. Glover retired to New York after the death of her husband in 1912, but her contribution to Louisville is undeniable.

Featured above is one of Madame Glover’s original creations: a day dress, made c. 1900, that reflects the style of the Edwardian era. The fabric is light with loose folds and pleats, so this would have been quite comfortable to wear on a warmer day.

Visit our exhibit Cool Kentucky exhibition to see another Madame Glover original gown on display and to learn more about Louisville’s famous seamstress.

Hayley Rankin
Manager of Collection Impact

Museum Store: Great Women Memory Game

Remember the matching game from your childhood? If you said yes, you’re off to a good start because a good memory will help you win this game. Make matches with the cards that feature great women through history, including Cleopatra, Janis Joplin, and Maya Angelou. The game is available in the Museum Store.

As a supplement to the Musical Kentucky section of our Cool Kentucky exhibition, we’re curating a Spotify playlist of 120 songs: one song from each county in Kentucky. In 2023, once a month, we’ll share songs from ten counties, completing the playlist in December. For March, we’re sharing songs from these counties: Carroll, Carter, Casey, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, and Daviess.

“Sweet Tea (Bring Me Home)” by Kiana & the Sun Kings. (Released May 8, 2022.) On the ode to her mother “Sweet Tea (Bring Me Home”), Kiana Del shares memories of growing up in the Second Baptist Church of Carrollton, Carroll County—gospel music filling the air, her mother’s sanguine voice, the smell of a lilac bush in the summer—where, at age four, she debuted as a singer.

“Trip to Hyden” by Tom T. Hall. (Released 1971.) On December 30, 1970, thirty-nine miners died in an explosion in the Hurricane Creek mine near Hyden, Leslie County. Months later, Tick Ridge, Carter County’s Tom T. Hall (1936–2021) came and bore witness to the aftermath. “Just another country hillside with some mud holes and some junk / The mines were deadly silent like a rat hole in the wall.”

“Don’t Believe” by the Psychedelic Furs. (Released July 31, 2020.) On January 4, 2007, Tim Butler, the English bassist who co-founded the Psychedelic Furs, DM’d his band’s superfan Robyn Wesley on MySpace. In 2008, the two married and settled on Belden Avenue in the bride’s hometown: Liberty, Casey County. “Don’t Believe” is a Furs track the adoptive Kentuckian co-wrote in 2020.

“E Lucevan le Stelle” by Riccardo Martin. (Released February 25, 1910.) Raised in Hopkinsville, Christian County, before fleeing to Nashville as a teenager, tenor Hugh Whitfield Martin (1874–1952) was by 1905 performing in Europe as “Riccardo Martin,” as his Italian management had rechristened him. A romantic aria from Puccini’s 1900 opera Tosca, “E Lucevan le Stelle” is sung by a painter awaiting his execution.

“Hot Corn” by Martin & Roberts. (Recorded 1931–34.) After meeting at a fiddling contest in Winchester, Clark County, guitarist (and Louisville medical school dropout) Asa Martin and fiddler Doc Roberts teamed up to record duets from 1927 to `34. As a boy, Martin had learned “Hot Corn”—a Civil War–era ditty about moonshine—from his mother. “Hot corn, cold corn, bring along the demi-john!”

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Too Good Not to Share, the Video of Historian Tom Owen’s Special Night at the Frazier

It was one of those nights when you felt lucky to be in the room, to witness the love and sincere gratitude this community feels for one of its true treasures, Tom Owen.

This past Tuesday at the Frazier, he was interviewed, then toasted by family, friends, and colleagues. We heard from those folks who’ve known Tom throughout his life—as a minister, an archivist at the University of Louisville, a historian, a tour guide, a politician, an environmentalist, an activist, a father, a husband, a grandfather, and a friend.

And can I just add a terrific human being whose compass about service and humanity remains entirely intact.

It was a night of laughs and tears with the constant refrain Tom loves to hear most: “I didn’t know that.”

At eighty-three, Tom continues to live his life with curiosity and a love of people and knowledge.

Take the time to watch the full program below. Find out who channeled Tom decked out with a conductor’s hat and a bullhorn, and stay until the end for a touching tribute from his children that ended with a performance of the song “Leader of the Band.”

Again, it was one of those nights you felt lucky to be in the room.

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

Frazier to Host Republic Bank Kentucky Derby Festival BourbonVille April 13

The Frazier History Museum is thrilled to be the hosting sponsor of Republic Bank Kentucky Derby Festival BourbonVille on the evening of Thursday, April 13. Taste signature drinks from some of Kentucky’s top Bourbon distilleries, enjoy Bourbon-inspired cuisine, and meet the Master Distillers. The Frazier Museum team will be pouring some very special Bourbon and giving away two tickets to 2023 Summer Beer Fest at Frazier, so make sure you stop by our table to say hello!

Haley Hicky
Product & Program Manager

Former Cards Set to Compete in The Basketball Tournament in Louisville

Throwbacks seem all the rage these days, from mullets to ’90s boy bands and De La Soul to Vinyl records. One throwback that should be in style this summer is the brand-new hometown basketball team being assembled here in Louisville to compete in The Basketball Tournament, TBT for short. According to its official website, The Basketball Tournament is a sixty-four-team, single-elimination tournament for a million dollars cash that is slated to occur this summer. The teams assembled are normally teams assembled from storied college basketball programs like Syracuse and West Virginia.

For the tenth anniversary of TBT, Louisville has thrown its hat into the arena, literally and figuratively. For the first time, the city will be one of the host cities for TBT. Coincidentally, one of the teams to play here will be led by one of the most celebrated local athletes in recent memory: Peyton Siva.

The former U of L point guard and national champion has signed up to compete in TBT and has enlisted the aid of some of his friends. Former Louisville wing, member of Louisville’s 2012 Final Four team, and  Papa John’s Dunk of the Year Winner Kyle Kuric will play. In addition, former Cardinal bigs Steven Enoch and Rakeem Buckles and guard Dillon Avare will also play alongside Siva. Lastly, 2013 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and ACC Network Analyst Luke Hancock will be part of the staff supporting the team. With this crew of former Louisville players, the team Siva has organized has been appropriately named The Ville.

The team will play its opening round games in Freedom Hall, the old home court of the Louisville Cardinals. Tickets go on sale April 1. For more details, follow the social media account for The Ville. There, one can find the latest updates about TBT and the Ville, even on who else might join the roster.

Speaking of which, who else from teams of Louisville past would you like to see join The Ville?

Brian West
Teaching Artist

Current Leaderboard for Membership Madness

Our members-only NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket Pool is back! Below, you’ll find the updated leaderboard and who is currently in the running to win that glorious 70” Samsung Class 4K Crystal UHD LED Smart TV with HDR! To learn more about this exclusive opportunity, visit the Membership Madness web page. Remember: members experience more here at the Frazier History Museum.—Amanda Egan, Membership & Database Administrator

Shark Tank–Like Competition KY Pitch Comes to the Frazier

From farm-fresh mulberries to outer space adventures, this year’s KY Pitch competition is packed with exciting business ideas—and you’re invited to check out the action.

Imagine Shark Tank for Kentucky college students and you’ll have a good idea of the lively contest taking place at the Frazier on April 2.

KY Pitch is the Commonwealth’s largest collegiate business pitch competition. The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) runs KY Pitch, along with GSE’s three-week summer program for high school students.

Our mission at GSE is to identify, inspire, and empower Kentucky’s future innovators. The college teams selected for KY Pitch have a shot at winning thousands of dollars in funding for their enterprises; but even if they don’t win, the experience of making a business pitch in front of a live audience and a panel of judges is incredibly valuable for their entrepreneurial development.

GSE is thrilled to partner with the Frazier for this special event. Both organizations are committed to creating programs with a positive impact statewide, including the Frazier’s amazing offer of free admission for all college students in Kentucky and Indiana. The museum’s Brown-Forman Theatre is a stellar setting below the second-floor Kentucky Rivalries exhibition, a fitting location for this spirited intercollegiate competition. In celebration of GSE’s Tenth Anniversary this year, a special $10 ticket rate is available to folks who mention KY Pitch at the admissions desk. As always, members enjoy free admission.

This summer marks my fifteenth year as a member of the Frazier—and my first as a Board member. Over the years, my family has experienced many joyful and educational adventures here. I respect and appreciate how the Frazier has evolved into the Kentucky-focused, community-involved force it is today. With KY Pitch, GSE offers a new opportunity for people to engage with a special experience at the Frazier.

Click here for a rundown of the sixteen collegiate teams slated for KY Pitch.

Who needs “Mr. Wonderful” when we’ve got all this talent?

We’d love to see you Sunday. Come root for Kentucky’s future!

Anne Jewell
President & CEO, Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE)
Guest Contributor

Exhibits Intern Surveys Voters and Non-voters of Louisville

Exhibits intern Ethan Skolnick is conducting a survey to help determine why voting-age adults in Louisville who choose not to participate in presidential elections make that decision. With candidates already announcing their bids for the 2024 presidential election, we’ve asked Ethan to invite you, our Frazier Weekly readers, to take his survey!—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

My name is Ethan Skolnick and I am a junior at duPont Manual High School in Louisville. I also work as an intern in the exhibits department here at the Frazier.

Right now, I’m conducting a scholarly study as part of my AP Research class. The study is a survey that aims to learn why Louisville residents who choose not to vote in presidential elections have made that decision. Studies such as this are important because they reveal how democracy can be strengthened. When more people vote, more people are represented.

I would greatly appreciate it if you filled out the survey! It should take five minutes or less.

Ethan Skolnick
Exhibits Intern