History of the Frazier, Ukraine-born Louisvillian’s Displacement From Kyiv, 1941–44; Coronavirus Capsule Revisited, and More
What’s the origin of the Frazier History Museum? Why was it founded? What happened to all that medieval armor?
If these questions ever occur to you, reader, then today you’re in luck!
Rendering of the future Owsley Brown Frazier Historical Arms Museum, 2001. Rendering made by architectural rendering artist Barbara Morello for K. Norman Berry Associates. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
I recently had the pleasure to speak with Jameson Cable, a teacher at Crab Orchard Elementary School in Lincoln County who hosts Kentucky History Podcast. We discussed a range of Kentucky-related events—from an 1861 battle near Munfordville to Mary Todd Lincoln’s 1875 arrest, Colonel Sanders’s 1964 “retirement,” Heaven Hill’s 1996 warehouse fire, and Muhammad Ali’s 2016 funeral. But the theme of the discussion was the Frazier: how it began, how it’s evolved, and what it’s up to in 2022.
Published February 6, the episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, we usher in Women’s History Month with the video of “Independent Spirits,” our program with explorer Tori Murden McClure and musician Dawn Landes. Rachel Platt surveys the maquettes of famous sculptures York, Amistad Memorial, and The Spirit of Freedom during a tour of artist Ed Hamilton’s studio ahead of our March 22 program.
In light of the more than one million Ukrainians who’ve fled their country since February 24, Heather Gotlib shares the story of her Hikes Point–residing father-in-law. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, he—like so many other Jewish residents—was displaced in 1941 by Nazi Germany’s brutal campaign against the Soviet Union. He and his family relocated to Siberia, where he made a friend he won’t ever forget, thanks to a photograph with an inscription she gifted him.
We’ve got details about the Cooking Matters course at Dare to Care Community Kitchen in Parkland, the digital art of a Western High School student who contributed to our Coronavirus Capsule, and the green lights in Auburndale and Beechmont that are still shining for Kentuckians we’ve lost to COVID-19.
Last, we’ve got a reminder about our Membership Madness campaign you don’t want to miss.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
In Case You Missed It: “Cool Kentucky: Independent Spirits” (Dec. 12)
In celebration of Women’s History Month, I wanted to give you a splash of attitude with two independent spirits: Tori Murden McClure and Dawn Landes.
From left, Tori Murden McClure and Dawn Landes pose next to American Pearl in the Cool Kentucky exhibition at the Frazier, December 12, 2021. Credit: Rachel Platt.
“Independent Spirits” also happens to be the name of the program featuring both Tori and Dawn the Frazier hosted back in December. Tori, of course, was the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean solo, and the boat in which she completed her journey, American Pearl, is on display in the museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibition. Dawn Landes, who is from Louisville, is a musician who wrote a concept album and the musical ROW based on Tori’s first attempt to cross the Atlantic in 1998, an attempt that was foiled by Hurricane Danielle. Take the time to listen to our discussion with them; you will be inspired.
Musicians perform in the Frazier’s Brown-Forman Theatre as part of “Cool Kentucky: Independent Spirits,” December 12, 2021. Credit: Rachel Platt.
Tori is one of four women who will be featured on WHAS-TV’s morning show every Sunday in March, between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Each of the four women is represented at the Frazier History Museum.
As for the “Independent Spirits” video you are about to watch, we’ve also added some of the music played that evening, with special appearances by Brigid Kaelin, Will Oldham, and the Frazier’s own Mick Sullivan. Enjoy.
Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Visiting Prolific Louisville Sculptor Ed Hamilton’s Studio
If you want to get to the heart and soul of an artist, visit their studio.
For me, it’s like a religious experience when I visit the studio of Ed Hamilton.
You feel the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into his sculptures as you walk through the door.
Maquette of York, February 21, 2022. York (c. 1770s–1815 or later) was an enslaved explorer who was the only African American member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803–06. Made of bronze and cast at Bright Foundry in Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood, York was installed on the Belvedere in downtown Louisville October 14, 2003. Credit: Rachel Platt.
Maquette of self-portrait by Barney Bright (1927–97), February 21, 2022. The sculpture is undated. Credit: Rachel Platt.
You even feel the eyes of the figures upon you—figures such as York and Ed’s mentor Barney Bright, a self-portrait Bright made that Ed keeps close by.
Maquettes of Ed’s work are everywhere, as are posters, busts, and clay—the raw material Ed turns into people and their stories.
His studio reflects his journey, and theirs.
Ed Hamilton with maquette of Amistad Memorial, February 21, 2022. Made of bronze and cast at Bright Foundry in Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood, the nine-foot-tall Amistad Memorial was installed in New Haven, Connecticut, and dedicated September 26, 1992. Credit: Rachel Platt.
Detail of maquette of Amistad Memorial, February 21, 2022. Credit: Rachel Platt.
Maquette of The Spirit of Freedom, February 21, 2022. Made of bronze, the nine-feet-tall, 3,000-pound Spirit of Freedom was installed in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and unveiled July 18, 1998. Credit: Rachel Platt.
I asked Ed about the works that moved him spiritually, and he points to two pieces in particular: Amistad Memorial and The Spirit of Freedom.
Ed swears that when he was working on The Spirit of Freedom, each morning, when he entered his studio, one of the soldiers was always sweating. Ed would ask the figures what they’d been doing while he was away.
That connection to all his work, and those two pieces in particular, will be part of our program on March 22 at the Frazier.
Andy Treinen and I will talk with Ed about growing up on Walnut Street, when and how his talent was recognized, and so much more.
Ed’s family will join us, and so will several other special guests who will share their stories of Ed, the man and the artist.
You can purchase tickets for our intimate March 22 event. You can also register to hear Ed’s March 24 lecture for the kickoff of the Veritas Lecture Series at Bellarmine University, our partners in this celebration.
Don’t miss out on celebrating Ed Hamilton, an American treasure in our midst.
Sources
Heilenman, Diane. “Amistad Dedicated.” Courier Journal. Metro Edition. September 27, 1992: I4.
Carroll, James S. “Black Soldiers “are Here at Last”: Monument, Tribute Honor Civil War’s Unsung Heroes.” Courier Journal. Metro Edition. July 19, 1998: 1, 13.
Heilenman, Diane. “Hamilton’s York Captures Romance and Expectation.” Courier Journal. Main Edition. October 12, 2003: I6.
Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Curator’s Corner: Women in the Kentucky Bourbon Industry
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.
As the collections and exhibits intern, I am heavily involved in the Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition—a perfect role for me, given that I happen to be a Bourbon enthusiast. So, for Women’s History Month, I wanted to celebrate women in the Kentucky Bourbon industry—figures who’ve made a huge impact on the industry, whether working as distillers or serving in some other capacity. Although this is just a small sample, I’m including links to resources with more information about the women of distilling.
From left, Jeptha Creed co-owners Autumn and Joyce Nethery, c. September 2020. Credit: Sarah Jane Webb Sanders.
Mother and daughter team Joyce and Autumn Nethery together co-own Jeptha Creed, which opened in 2016. After earning a master’s degree in chemical engineering, Joyce spent over a decade as a process engineer in industrial scale distillation before spending another ten years as a high school chemistry teacher. She always had a love of chemistry and Bourbon. Her daughter, Autumn, is no different. She spent time in Scotland studying the craft with some of the best distillers in the world and earned a degree in marketing. The family-owned and -operated distillery has a commitment to ground-to-glass spirits. Their motto is “Ne Oublie,” which means “don’t forget where you come from.” If you have not visited Jeptha Creed, I highly recommend it—and while you’re there, enjoy one of their signature cocktails.
Peggy Noe Stevens, undated. Credit: Peggy Noe Stevens and Associates.
A 2019 inductee to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, and the world’s first woman master Bourbon taster, Peggy Noe Stevens is truly a woman of firsts. She began her Bourbon career at Brown-Forman as the company’s global event planner. However, in 2008, she founded her own company, Peggy Noe Stevens and Associates, which builds the image of people and places. And in 2011, she founded Bourbon Women, an organization for women who are passionate about Bourbon culture. The organization was the first women-focused group in the industry and has expanded into twelve branches. Peggy continues to be a pioneer for women in the Bourbon industry.
Marianne Eaves, undated. Credit: Marianne Eaves.
A chance internship at Brown-Forman paved the way for this history-making Bourbon expert: Marianne Eaves. After earning her degree in chemical engineering, Marianne became a master Bourbon taster and Kentucky’s first woman master distiller. She left Castle & Key Distillery to form her own company, Eaves Blind. Bourbon is meant to be shared, and Marianne’s love of teaching and sharing is the foundation of her company. She shares her knowledge as a master taster to teach you how to taste Bourbon. Her website is a mobile laboratory in which she curates new blends and single barrels for members to evolve their palate. Marianne Eaves is arguably one of the most recognized names in Bourbon.
The few women I’ve highlighted are just a small sample of the hundreds of women—not only in Kentucky, but across the country—in the distilling business. For more information, check out Bourbon Women or visit the Frazier History Museum. Our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition features the Gracious Table, a voluminous digital library of research content on the history, craft, and culture of Kentucky Bourbon, including notable men and women in the industry.
Kevin Bradley
Collections & Exhibits Intern
Ukraine-born Louisvillian’s Displacement From Kyiv, 1941–44
When the Violins of Hope exhibition came to the Frazier in October 2019, I told the story of my father-in-law’s first friend as part of the tour I gave there. The friend’s name was Shura, and she was practically an adult at thirteen.
Front side of photograph of, from left, Shura with Heather Gotlib’s father-in-law in Barnaul, USSR, c. 1943. Credit: Heather Gotlib.
Born in 1938, my father-in-law was only three years old at the time, and new to their town: Barnaul, a rural place deep in the western Siberian steppe of Asia. Shura took him under her wing. She would walk with him along country roads and play with him in the snow that blanketed Barnaul for months out of the year. His key memory of that time is the bright sun, which made the snow sparkle for days on end.
What he didn’t know when he was three was they had traveled thousands of miles on a converted freight train, armed with his mother’s most valuable clothes to trade for milk and cheese, because his family had been sent there to protect them from Nazi violence in their hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine. He had left with his mother and brother while his father fought on the front lines of World War II, where he would later lose his life for the Allied cause.
Soviet POWs are forced by Nazis to cover a mass grave after the Babyn Yar massacre in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 1, 1941. Credit: Johannes Hähle.
My father-in-law’s grandfather stayed behind, insisting he was too old to travel so far. Not long after the family left, he was killed—a victim of genocide due to his Jewish faith—in the Babyn Yar massacre of Kyiv of September 1941. The memorial to that massacre, a horrific event that claimed the lives of nearly 34,000 Jews over a thirty-six-hour period, is adjacent to Kyiv’s main TV tower, which was hit by a missile during a Russian airstrike last week.
Inscription Shura wrote to Heather’s father-in-law on the back side of the photograph, c. 1943. Inscription reads: “my darling, remember me when you grow up.” Credit: Heather Gotlib.
In 1943, when it was time for my father-in-law to leave Barnaul—he would not return to Kyiv until the following year—Shura gave him a very special gift: a photograph of the two of them with a sweet message inscribed on the back. The inscription reads: “my darling, remember me when you grow up.” Photos were rare, so it was very much given out of love. It was one of maybe two photos my father-in-law had ever had taken of himself. In 1980, when he was an adult, he packed this picture along with the other important mementos the family was bringing to America when they immigrated to Louisville, Kentucky. He still lives in Louisville today, residing in the Hikes Point neighborhood.
Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about this photograph—about the story of my father-in-law and his family’s resilience in the face of so much adversity. Kentucky is home to many people of Ukrainian descent, some of whom I am fortunate enough to call family and friends, or—in the case of people like Paralympic gold medalist Oksana Masters, who we celebrate here at the Frazier—heroes.
If, like me, you are moved by the recent news to do something to help, there are lots of great organizations delivering aid to the people of Ukraine. For more information, visit Doctors Without Borders or UNICEF.
Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
“Family Day: Barrier Breakers” to Feature Concert, Kid-friendly Tours, and More
Join us Saturday, March 12, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., for “Family Day: Barrier Breakers”—a fun-filled day of crafts, story times, kid-friendly tours, and special guests!
Graphic for the March 12 “Family Day: Barrier Breakers” event at the Frazier. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
This Family Day, we’ll celebrate those who broke down barriers in their world to help others, including the amazing inventor Garrett Morgan and the first Black woman doctor in Kentucky, Dr. Sara Fitzbutler. This family day is free thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor!
For this Family Day, we are encouraging donations of twelve-inch fashion dolls representing people of color for Bridge Kids International to incorporate in story telling camps this summer! Dolls can be new or used, and articulated dolls (i.e., dolls with moving joints) are preferred.
Activities include:
Coffee Concert featuring special guest Quartet Diocia performing works by women composers, 10 a.m.
Story time for kids ages 0–10!
Live performance of Give Us the Ballot!, playwright Larry Muhammad’s one-act play about Louisvillian Russell P. Lee’s 1961 bid to get elected to the nearly all-white Board of Aldermen, performed by teaching artist Brian West
Kid-friendly “Barrier Breakers” guided tour
Crafts and gallery explorations
We hope to see you there!
Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Cooking Matters Course at Dare to Care Community Kitchen in Parkland
With everything that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. I recently read some good advice I’ve been trying to keep in mind: “Remember to focus on things you can control.”
Terry Madden is a terrific example of how taking that simple concept to heart can affect the lives of others in truly positive ways. Even better, he’s doing it by channeling one of his own personal passions: cooking.
From left, Cedric Malone and Tracy Malone at the Cooking Matters course at the Dare to Care Community Kitchen, January 2022. Credit: Shelby Bell.
Terry works as a supported employment coordinator with Seven Counties Services, assisting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities find employment. He recently had the idea to develop a cooking class for the same population, along with their care givers. The six-week course premiered in January at the Dare to Care Community Kitchen, a 24,000-square-foot facility located in West Louisville’s Parkland neighborhood.
From left, Charles Craycroft, Amanda Roberts, Tyus Watts, Angie Breuer, Catelyn Alpiger, Cedric Malone, and Curtis Patty at the Cooking Matters course at the Dare to Care Community Kitchen, January 2022. Credit: Terry Madden.
Participants learned how to make healthy recipes for themselves and their families, and Dare to Care provided the participants free groceries to try the recipes again at home. The program was such a success that a second course is already in the works, scheduled to begin in mid-April.
To discover more, enjoy this short video interview.
And to learn more about the history, people, and culture of the Parkland neighborhood where the community kitchen is located, along with the other neighborhoods of West Louisville, visit the Frazier’s West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition. The exhibition is available free of charge during our next free Family Day, which takes place Sunday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.!
Megan Schanie
Manager of School & Teacher Programs
From the Capsule
Catching Up With Coronavirus Capsule Student Contributor James Brooks
It was two years ago in March when the coronavirus began infiltrating our lives, soon becoming a national emergency. One by one, stay-at-home orders were issued. The Frazier History Museum, like many other non-essential businesses, closed its doors temporarily. But, in an abrupt pivot, the museum went virtual: On March 17, 2020, we launched our newsletter—first as a daily, later as a weekly.
Artwork by James Brooks, March 2020. James was an eighth grade student at Meyzeek Middle School when he submitted this artwork. Credit: James Brooks.
For another project, named the Coronavirus Capsule, we solicited artworks, poems, diary entries, and anything else we could from the members of the community. Entries came pouring in. One of our first entries was from James Brooks, who was then an eighth grade student at Meyzeek Middle School in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville. Do you remember the run on cleaning items at local stores? James decided to focus on hand sanitizer with his artwork.
Selfie by James Brooks, April 24, 2021. Credit: James Brooks.
I talked with his mother recently, and she told me James is now a tenth grade student at Western High School—and glad to be back in the classroom after so much virtual learning. She says that, as with so many families, the last two years have been a roller coaster. But fortunately, the one constant in James’s life that has helped him during COVID is his art. His art pad is always with him, providing him a great creative outlet. People are even paying him now for his logos.
Portrait for Father’s Day by James Brooks, c. June 2021. Credit: James Brooks.
James’s mother provided a current work of his to share with you, a portrait he made for Father’s Day.
James Brooks, now a student at Western High School in Louisville, 2022. Credit: JB Photography.
We are so glad James is doing well. We’re not out of the woods just yet with COVID, but we are starting to see the light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel.
Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Green Lights of Auburndale and Beechmont Still Shining
By this week, Kentucky will have entered the third year of living with COVID-19, the illness that has so far taken the lives of nearly 14,000 Kentuckians. At the time when there were only thirty-seven confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 in Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear asked Kentuckians across the Commonwealth to band together and honor those who had lost their lives by illuminating their homes and neighborhoods with green lights.
One of the homes Brian West frequently sees lit in green at night on his way home from work, March 3, 2022. Credit: Brian West.
Today, we as Kentuckians are in a far better place than we were two years ago. Vaccines developed to combat the most severe symptoms and curb hospitalizations—nearly impossible to obtain in the early days—are now widely available. Regardless, on average, thirty-four Kentuckians still die each day from COVID-19. With this in mind, there are still Kentuckians who shine a light, attesting to the lingering presence of COVID-19 in Kentucky and honoring those who have succumbed to illness.
In the following video, I highlight a few of the homes in south Louisville’s Auburndale and Beechmont neighborhoods whose residents still shine a light as a tribute to Kentuckians we’ve lost to the virus.
Brian West
Teaching Artist
Bridging the Divide
2022 Mayor of Louisville Candidate Bill Dieruf on his Campaign
His slogan is “Mayor for Everybody.”
We’re talking about Jeffersontown’s mayor Bill Dieruf—one of the few Republicans, certainly the most well-known Republican, who is running for Mayor of Louisville.
Bill Dieruf, undated. Credit: Bill Dieruf.
Dieruf is now in his third and final term as the Mayor of Jeffersontown, which is a non-partisan office.
That’s why his slogan, “Mayor for Everybody,” is so important to him.
But in Louisville, there hasn’t been a Republican mayor in more than fifty years. That doesn’t seem to intimidate Dieruf: It’s one of the many divides he hopes to bridge.
He says he will be a mayor of unity and equality and restore pride to Louisville, his hometown.
Public safety is his top priority, and Dieruf has vowed to bring Jeffersontown Chief of Police Rick Sanders with him in some capacity.
I interviewed Dieruf before the attempt on candidate Craig Greenberg’s life. After that incident, Dieruf said, “Our prayers go out to the Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg and his family and staff.” He also said, “Trust that an incident as this must not deter candidates from seeking the very best for this community.”
So that’s where we begin: What does Bill Dieruf think is best for Louisville?
Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement
Membership
Countdown to First Annual Membership Madness Begins
It is getting closer and closer! The antici . . . pation is MADNESS!
Let us ease your mind a bit.
Logo of Membership Madness. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Logo of Assured Partners. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Use promo code SWEET16 for $16 off when you purchase your membership at the Contributor or above levels.
Hurry, this offer ends soon. Membership Madness is a members-only exclusive event! Find all the details here.
It all starts with Selection Sunday, March 13. Whether you are able to tune in or not, fill out the bracket sent to you then submit your completed bracket(s) to membership@fraziermuseum.org no later than March 16.
Remember, it’s not about filling out a perfect bracket—that’s why you’re given the opportunity to fill out additional brackets. There are so many odds! The winner will be the member with the highest-scoring bracket submitted.
The grand prize: a 70” Samsung Class 4K Crystal UHD LED Smart TV with HDR!
Andy Treinen poses with the television the winner of Membership Madness will receive in the “Athletic Kentucky” section of the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, February 23, 2022. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Need to see it for yourself? I don’t blame you: Come into the Frazier on March 14 and 15. I will be at our Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center with details, brackets, and our grand prize!
See you soon!
Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator
