What a weekend!

One of my favorite things about living in Louisville, Kentucky, is the waxing and waning of the calendar. After accelerating through another festival season in Derby City, I think it’s safe to say many of us will take our foot off the accelerator for a bit and slow our roll.

Graphic for special discount on tickets for 2022 Summer Beer Fest at Frazier. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

If you’re home, with feet up, surfing the internet this week, there are a couple of things we want you to be aware of. Tomorrow kicks off National American Craft Beer Week, and we’re celebrating by offering big discounts on our upcoming Summer Beer Fest at Frazier. This week only, you can purchase two tickets for $100 and four tickets for just $150. If you’re interested in VIP, act now: We’re three months out, and half of those tickets are already gone.

In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, Hayley Rankin continues her countdown to our June 1 opening of The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall with an 1870 cameo brooch Mary Todd Lincoln owned. Louisville Metro Government’s Joi McAtee weighs in with why Lean Into Louisville is partnering on our upcoming Black Six program and Brian West sets up an art show from one of our favorite people, Elmer Lucille Allen. Then, Rachel Platt introduces us to The Hope Village, a new resource in the always-challenging issue of homelessness in Louisville.

Toss in a summer camps preview, a Teacher Professional Development Day, and a Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Spotlight and suddenly the calendar see-saw is on the rise again.

Don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

This Week in the Museum

Countdown to The Commonwealth: Mary Todd Lincoln’s Cameo Brooch, c. 1870

Logo for The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

Each week leading up to the opening of the Frazier History Museum’s next permanent exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall, manager of collection impact Hayley Rankin will highlight an object or objects to be included in the exhibition.

Opening with a private reception May 19 and to the public June 1, 2022, The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall will tell the story of Kentucky’s rich history, including, among other topics, its native peoples, the Civil War, and the early nineteenth century, when cities such as Louisville gained prominence due to their important locations along the Ohio River. It will expand viewers’ personal connection to history by pairing historic figures like Henry Clay, emancipationist Cassius Clay, and Abraham Lincoln with diverse narratives from lesser-known figures in Kentucky history.

In partnership with artist Ché Rhodes and the (Un)Known Project, led by artist-run nonprofit IDEAS xLab, the exhibition will include a space for visitors to reflect on the stories, both known and unknown, of the enslaved that lived in Kentucky. This interactive exhibition is designed to engage visitors of all ages and will feature objects related to Kentucky’s diverse history as a border state on the banks of the Ohio, including the clock face from the top of the Town Clock Church in New Albany, Indiana, an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and the Bloedner Monument, the oldest surviving memorial to the Civil War.

The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.—Amanda Briede, Curator

Cameo brooch that belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, c. 1870. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

Dating to Ancient Greece and Rome, the art of cameo carving produces a raised relief, often of a person or mythical scene, engraved from a stone or gem. Cameos have been worn as rings, necklaces, earrings, or brooches such as the cameo pictured above, which belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln.

During the nineteenth century, few Kentuckians possessed cameo jewelry, as it signified wealth and access to finely crafted European souvenirs. Someone like Mary Todd Lincoln, who came from an educated, upper-class family in Lexington, may have owned a cameo even before becoming First Lady of the United States. But most everyday workers and farmers of Kentucky had neither the time nor the means to obtain European luxuries or embark upon the “Grand Tour” of Italy and Greece.

Cameo jewelry came back into fashion during the Victorian era, which resulted in the mass production of cheaper cameos alongside authentic, handmade ones. This cameo brooch was made from conch shell and depicts unique facial features, which indicate its quality and value. The identity of the person on this cameo is unknown, so the subject could simply be the “anonymous woman” motif that became popular during the nineteenth century. The shape of noses in Victorian cameos also shifted from the traditionally straight, Roman nose to one that is slightly upturned to reflect the beauty standards of the time.

Elmer Lucille Allen Solo Exhibition at Surface Noise Closing Sunday

In the five years I’ve worked at the Frazier History Museum, I’ve researched a lot of notable Kentuckians. But few are as multi-talented as Elmer Lucille Allen. A chemist, activist, fiber artist, and lifelong Louisvillian, Elmer Lucille is represented in two of the exhibitions currently on view at the Frazier: The Spirit of Kentucky®, where a biographical entry in the Gracious Table summarizes her work in the Bourbon industry; and West of Ninth, where an anti-methane plants t-shirt she loaned is on display. She was also a member of the Frazier’s Women’s Suffrage Committee ahead of the What is a Vote Worth? exhibition in 2020. And while her art is not represented at the Frazier, an exhibit titled Elmer Lucille Allen Solo Exhibition is on view at Surface Noise record store; the exhibit closes Sunday, however, so we’ve asked teaching artist Brian West to write about it and the artist behind it. Finally, Elmer Lucille will be a special guest at two of our Outside the Box summer camp sessions in July, so register your kids while there are still spots available!—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Feeling some post-Derby weekend blues? Then have no fear, for there’s at least one thing you can do to pass the time: visit local luminary Elmer Lucille Allen’s art exhibition before it closes Sunday.

Born in 1931 in Louisville, Elmer Lucille is a revered citizen in her hometown.

Brown-Forman chemist Elmer Lucille Allen works in one of the research and development laboratories at the company’s production building, c. late 1960s. Credit: Elmer Lucille Allen.

In April 1966, she became a chemist at Brown-Forman, where she worked in the research and development labs of the production building analyzing the whiskies and their raw materials: corn, rye, and malt. Working alongside three white women and five to eight white men, she was the first Black chemist Brown-Forman ever employed. She retired in 1997.

As a longtime resident of the Chickasaw neighborhood in the West End of Louisville, she has also been a civil rights pioneer in her community.

Team photograph for Bluegrass, one of the six teams in the Chickasaw Little League, 1970. Credit: Elmer Lucille Allen.

In 1968, her two young sons were prohibited from joining the Shawnee Little League, the only little league in the majority-black West End: Registration was only open to residents who lived north of Broadway, but Elmer Lucille and her family lived south of Broadway. In response, she founded the Chickasaw Little League, an integrated league that included white coaches and players.

“[We] had six teams, got all the uniforms and everything . . . and had that for three or four years,” she said in 2016. “I had sponsors . . .We played the teams throughout the city when they had tournaments.”

She has also been a vocal opponent of pollution-causing methane plants in the West End.

“Years ago, the cars and homes in the Algonquin Garden neighborhood would get debris from the rubber plants. We could not open our windows. Eboni Cochran, who has worked diligently to solve the rubber plant problem, lives six houses from me,” she told Frazier Weekly over email. “I worked with a committee to prevent methane plants from being built in the West End—one at Thirtieth and Muhammad Ali and another a Fifteenth and Garland. These plants were not built.”

*ELA SN 3* by Elmer Lucille Allen, May 4, 2022. Made with cotton using the Shibori method of dying fabric, the artwork is one of Allen’s works currently on display at the Surface Noise record store in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood of Louisville. Credit: Brian West.

But don’t let those accolades fool you into believing that Elmer Lucille has chosen to rest on her laurels. She continues to break new ground, these days through her passion for art.

Making artworks since the 1970s, she earned her MFA in ceramic and fiber art from the University of Louisville in 2002 at the age of seventy—and she continues to create new work.

Elmer Lucille Allen poses with two of her fiber artworks, April 10, 2022. Credit: Brett Eugene Ralph, Surface Noise.

From now until Sunday, May 15, Elmer Lucille Allen Solo Exhibition—a temporary art exhibit that opened April 9—will remain on view. The exhibit features a collection of fiber art pieces Elmer Lucille made—all but eight of which have already been sold. The exhibit is showing at Surface Noise, a record store located at the corner of Baxter Avenue and Payne Street in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood of Louisville. The store will be open every day this week, except Tuesday, from 12 to 6 p.m. Unless otherwise marked, these items are for sale. So, don’t miss out!

Also, Elmer Lucille will be sitting in—and possibly teaching!—two of our summer camp sessions for kids in grades 1–6 during our Outside the Box camps, which will be held at the Frazier July 11–15 and July 25–29. So, if you have a young one who you think might enjoy this rare opportunity to meet a local pioneer, sign them up today.

Lean Into Louisville’s Joi McAtee on the Black Six

We’re taking you back to the spring of 1968 in Louisville, and the arrests of two prominent African Americans, in a case that led to riots and the eventual arrests of six people who became known as the Black Six. Have you heard of the case? It’s featured in our West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition. The Frazier has partnered with Lean Into Louisville and the Courier Journal to take a look back at the case, because it helps inform moving forward, and how we do it. It’s a complicated case, and some of the Black Six and family members will join us for an important discussion. You can sign up for the May 24 program here. I asked Joi McAtee of Lean Into Louisville to talk about why they’ve joined this conversation, and how we bridge divides together.—Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement

Established in 2019 (and re-launched in October 2021 after hiatus due to COVID-19), Lean Into Louisville is a series of activities, presentations, art exhibits, and conversations that address and confront the history and legacy of all forms of racism and discrimination in our city.

The tragic death of Breonna Taylor and subsequent social justice protest has significantly influenced how Lean Into Louisville engages with the public—prioritizing the re-establishment of trust between Metro Government and citizens, and cultivating relationships with local businesses, grassroots organizations, non-profits, and the faith community, to bridge gaps and achieve positive equitable outcomes for all marginalized groups.

Lean Into Louisville is delighted to partner with the Frazier History Museum for the “Bridging the Divide: The Black Six” event, because if there is anything we’ve learned over the last two years, it’s that we must take an honest look into the past, to understand current divisions between law enforcement and community; as well as the unfortunate toll the 1968 Greenwood Uprisings had on a once-thriving neighborhood—evidence of which is still felt today.

As we aim to exemplify the ideals of a truly compassionate city, we should ask ourselves: Why should I care? What are the consequences if I do nothing? Am I willing to accept those consequences?

Our city stands at a crossroad. Will we shrink from our potential, diverging further from our neighbor and deeper into discord? Or will we take the bold step to lean into tough but necessary conversations, where understanding, harmony, and compassion for all lay waiting across the bridge?

I hope you will lean in.

With love,

Museum Store: Free West of Ninth Magnet With Purchase of T-shirt

Inspired by the blog of the same name created by Walt and Shae Smith, the Frazier Museum’s West of Ninth exhibition celebrates the nine neighborhoods of West Louisville. Show your civic pride by wearing a West of Ninth t-shirt! You’ll receive a free West of Ninth magnet with each t-shirt you purchase in the Frazier’s Museum Store. This special offer lasts now through the end of May.

Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Spotlight: Green River Distilling Co.

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

Graphic for Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Spotlight. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

On the western end of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® in Owensboro, you’ll find an unforgettable Bourbon experience: the historic Green River Distilling Co. Founded in 1885 by J. W. McCulloch, Green River—now the tenth oldest distillery in the state—garnered worldwide renown before fire and Prohibition relegated it to history.

The Green River distillery has been revived to its former glory. Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the first Green River Bourbon in more than a century, is now distilled, aged, and bottled on the same ground as it was in its heyday.

Green River is a great place to sip Bourbon and explore its roots. Visitors can enjoy a behind-the-scenes look into traditional Bourbon whiskey making, including the distilling and barrel-aging processes. Known as Bourbon’s “hallowed ground,” the campus itself has more than twenty-eight acres of Bourbon history to explore. The distillery offers a cocktail lounge and a variety of tour experiences, including a special barrel thieving tour that provides even more of a behind-the-scenes look.

While in town, find out why Owensboro is known not only for its Bourbon, but its bluegrass music and barbecue, too! Grab a bite to eat in one of the city’s many wonderful restaurants or visit the Bluegrass Hall of Fame to round out the experience.

Learn more at our website.

Outside the Box Summer Camps to Highlight Creative Thinkers

Here at the Frazier History Museum, we celebrate creative thinkers. This summer, we’re bringing that celebration to the forefront with an extra-special camp, Outside the Box.

Graphic for 2022 Summer Camps. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

During this week, we’re going to learn some fascinating stories. Sure, Julia Child perfected the baked potato—but did you know that, before she even dreamed of mastering the art of French cooking, her first recipes were for shark detectors to help with the WWII effort? Here is another favorite: at a time when fashion was considered a field for women socialites, Andre Leon Talley burst onto the scene and became a pillar of fashion journalism. And we often hear that people are great at either science or art, but we’ll have a special guest—Louisville chemist and fiber artist Elmer Lucille Allen—who proves you can excel at both!

You’ll learn these stories and more during this fascinating week, which we are offering twice: July 11–15 and July 25–29. You can see more information and sign up here.

Summer Teacher Training Connects Inquiry and Local History to Larger Themes

The Frazier Museum education team members are huge fans of learning through stories, teaching through inquiry, and using local history as a lens through which to look at larger themes and topics. An upcoming teacher professional development offered this June includes a nice blend of all three of these practices. Mix in a focus on West Louisville through our West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition and other community resources and partners and we have a powerful day planned for local educators.

Graphic for Teacher Professional Development. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

Teacher Professional Development
Focal Points: Utilizing Inquiry to Connect Local History to Larger Themes

Saturday, June 11, 2022
9 a.m.–12 p.m.
Frazier History Museum
Admission: Free

Local stories have the power to help students connect with national and international topics in meaningful ways. During this interactive professional development for educators, we will consider ways to utilize questions, tasks, and sources for creating inquiries that tie your local history to broader themes you plan to address in the classroom.

Using the West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition as a sample focal point, we will explore the history of West Louisville, as well as the question, “How does where you live affect how you live?”

Educators will: enjoy a brief introduction to teaching through inquiry; experience a guided tour of the West of Ninth exhibition; discover the work and findings of the local firm Corn Island Archaeology during their investigation at the Beecher Terrace Housing Complex; view a live performance titled Give Us the Ballot!; and be introduced to Inquiry Design Models created by JCPS teachers focused on the history of the Russell neighborhood community.

We are very grateful to collaborate with JCPS on this program and Louisville Metro Housing Authority for their support.

To learn more, or to make reservations, click here. Please direct any additional questions to education@fraziermuseum.org.

Ashland Native Naomi Judd Posthumously Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame

Trigger warning: mental health.

This past week, fans were saddened to learn about the passing of country music star Naomi Judd. Her daughter, actress Ashley Judd, shared the news on social media: “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”

Naomi Judd is known for being half of the iconic musical duo The Judds alongside her daughter, Wynonna Judd. Some of the duo’s most popular songs include “Grandpa” (1985), “I Know Where I’m Going” (1987), and “Girls Night Out” (1984). As the mother-daughter duo hails from Ashland, Kentucky, their 1987 album Heartland is one of the records mounted on the wall in the “Musical Kentucky” section of the Frazier Museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibition—a nod to the global impact the group has had.

In addition to her musical career, Naomi Judd was an activist who spoke out about her experiences with hepatitis C and her struggle with severe depression. She even wrote a book about her mental health struggles titled River of Time: My Descent Into Depression and How I Emerged With Hope.

She opened up about her upbringing, career, and health struggles in this KET interview with Bill Goodman back in 2014.

The day following the announcement of Naomi’s death, The Judds were honored by being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. During the ceremony, Wynonna Judd remarked, “I’m going to make this fast, because my heart’s broken, and I feel so blessed. It’s a very strange dynamic, to be this broken and this blessed.”

As this story continues to unfold, we hope it acts as a call for more conversations surrounding mental health and the best way to provide resources for individuals who are struggling.

If you know anyone struggling with mental health, here is the link to NAMI Louisville (National Alliance for Mental Illness) and an additional article about how to help a friend who may be at risk for suicide.

Bridging the Divide

Safe Outdoor Space The Hope Village Opens in Old Louisville

It’s going to take a village to solve houselessness in Louisville, and one village is hard at work: The Hope Village.

The outdoor secure space at 212 East College Street officially opened in late April, housing up to fifty-three individuals who are experiencing houselessness.

The $1.5 million pilot program provides temporary shelter in the form of weather-sealed tents, with access to food, showers, electricity, and a list of social services.

Any resident who stays at The Hope Village must be referred by a partner organization.

It’s a city-sanctioned “safe outdoor space” that city leaders have tasked local nonprofit The Hope Buss with operating.

That nonprofit was founded by ordained minister Stachelle Bussey, who has asked for folks to be patient as we move forward exploring alternatives for people who are living on the streets.

I went to the April 25 Community Housewarming and dropped off much-needed supplies such as cleaning wipes and bug spray.

You’re invited to donate as well, or even volunteer. Visit their website to learn more.

It takes a village, and you can be part of The Hope Village to bridge the divides of houselessness in our community.

Membership

Remember to RSVP to All Our May Member Exclusive Events!

With Derby now behind us, don’t fall into that post-Derby funk!

May has just begun and we have LOTS to celebrate and so much to learn.

Join us on May 19 for the Member Opening Reception* for our upcoming exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall.

Logo for The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

This new interactive exhibition, which is designed to engage visitors of all ages, will feature objects related to Kentucky’s diverse history as a border state on the banks of the Ohio.

Get your first look into this new exhibition before it opens to the public on June 1.

Hurry, make sure to RSVP by Thursday, May 12!

*This member exclusive event is open to those members at the Contributor level and above.

Not a member, but want to have first-look access to our newest exhibition? Become a member today and unlock benefits like this for the rest of the year!

After you get your fill at the reception on Thursday, make sure to join us for our inaugural Summer Book Club meeting on May 22 at 1 p.m.

Act fast: RSVP to aegan@fraziermuseum.org by Tuesday, May 10.

Take this opportunity to dive into a good book—a new release!

On May 22, come and engage in a discussion about our May title My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song by Emily Bingham.

The reviews are now in! Check out what the New York Times and the Washington Post have to say.

Book Club Member Perks for our May Title:

ALL members are welcome to participate in this program.

Early access to purchase the book.*
Book available at a special discounted price.
Members and (1) guest may be included in your RSVP.
Experience a casual visit to a portion of our meeting by the author.
Reserved priority seating to the reading and Q & A following our meeting.
Be one of the first in line to get your copy signed by the author following the Q & A.
Advance notice of our June title announcement.
For each attendance to our monthly meetings, you will be given a chance to win a door prize at the end of the summer program.

*Access given once we receive your RSVP. Limit of 2 books sold per account before May 22.

Your RSVP to the Book Club will serve as an RSVP to the Reading and Q & A.

Click here to find more details about the book, public reading, and Q & A program.

Find more information about our Summer Book Club here.

Want to join our book club but not a member? Become a member today! As little as $20 will allow you access to our Summer Book Club and other member exclusive events throughout the year!* Did I mention that for the $20 Individual membership you would also get year-round access to the museum, a 10% discount in the museum store**, and discounted parking!?

*Not all member exclusive invitations apply to the Individual and Family membership levels.

**Exclusions apply.

Come experience more!

1870 Mary Todd Lincoln Cameo Brooch, Elmer Lucille Allen Fiber Art Exhibit Closing, Country Singer Naomi Judd Honored, and More

Frazier Turns 18, Fossilized Leslie County Neuropteris Fern Plant Leaf, Bardstown Bourbon Vieux Carrés, and More

History of Burgoo and Horseracing, 1980 Hot Pink Chiffon Suzy Creamcheese Gown, Emily Bingham on “My Old Kentucky Home,” and More