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Hey all, I hope your summer is off to a wonderful start.

Our school field trips during the academic year have now transitioned to daily camps for kiddos, whose families find value in the great work of our education team. One student wrote us after a field trip: “We entered with open minds but left with inspired hearts.” Our Stories in Mind team is now serving nine senior care facilities each week engaging with the elderly, and our continued effort to drive tourism on Main Street and throughout the Commonwealth is working. We enrich lives, engage, and educate, no matter the age.

And if you’re reading this, you play a part in our success. Your dedicated interest in the Frazier shows your support for what we do here to mean more to more people every day.

So, how can you help?

Our Spring Campaign is now underway. If you have the capacity to donate, even just a little bit, it sure would help. As you know, there is no charge for this publication or any of the services mentioned above. Our content team is always hard at work, dealing great stories about the Bluegrass State like a riverboat gambler deals cards—fast and furious. Your support also allows us to preserve and present thousands of artifacts that are a part of our shared Kentucky story.

All of that comes at a cost. I’m proud of the work our team is doing, and no matter where your roots are, I’m confident that you read our Frazier Weekly with at least a small dose of Kentucky pride! Please help us keep delivering.

Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

From the Collections: Neckties as Father’s Day Gifts

With Father’s Day approaching on Sunday, June 18, we started brainstorming how to represent the holiday in this issue of Frazier Weekly. A colleague asked me if we have any Father’s Day–related objects in our collections. After searching, I found that—while we do have objects related to men—there’s nothing in our collections that says “Happy Father’s Day.”

This realization prompted a great discussion on our team. What makes Father’s Day a holiday? How do we celebrate it? What artifacts of this holiday do people save?

The first Father’s Day was celebrated in the state of Washington on June 19, 1910. A woman from Spokane named Sonora Dodd tried to establish the day in honor of her father, a widower who had raised her and her five siblings. Sonora went to local churches, YMCAs, and shopkeepers to spread the idea and generate interest. The holiday slowly spread throughout the US, with presidents Wilson and Coolidge honoring and urging state governments to observe the day. Then, during the Great Depression, retailers and advertisers redoubled their efforts: they sought to make Father’s Day a “second Christmas” for men by promoting gift ideas such as neckties, golf clubs, and tobacco. However, it wasn’t until 1972 that President Nixon signed a proclamation to make Father’s Day a national holiday.

So, while we may not have anything in our collection that says “Happy Father’s Day,” we do have examples of the types of gifts people typically give to their fathers. One of the most popular gifts, of course, is the necktie—and our collections include a necktie from the 1920s and a bowtie from the 1970s.

To all our readers out there, happy Father’s Day!

Tish Boyer
Collections Manager

Museum Shop: Happy Mail for Dad!

Father’s Day made easy: send this to your favorite Dad! The bundle includes two pairs of socks and a sticker that declares the giftee the World’s Best Bourbon Drinker. Buy online and we will ship it anywhere in the continental US for $30.

Snag Tickets to June 22 Michter’s Speakeasy and June 29 Bourbon & Bites

We’re kicking summer off right at the Frazier!

This month, as we celebrate National Bourbon Day on Wednesday, we have two amazing treats for all you Bourbon enthusiasts out there. So get ready to embark on a journey through time and tastes!

On June 22, step into a bygone era as you enter the Michter’s Speakeasy, where the spirit of the Prohibition era comes alive. This is your chance to don your best flapper dress or pinstripe suit and sip on some of the finest whiskey around. Once inside, you’ll be transported to a world of delicious Michter’s cocktails, toe-tappin’ tunes from Billy Goat Strut Revue, and a dance contest judged by Bravo Dance Studio. Toss in a best-dressed contest judged by the Nitty Gritty, makeup by Gibson Glam, and great grub from Bristol Catering—and this speakeasy is sure to hit on all sixes. We’ll all be on WDRB tomorrow morning, June 13, 5:20–9:20 a.m., with reporter Keith Kaiser showing you a sneak peek of what you can expect.

Then, on June 29, we’re hosting our first annual Bourbon & Bites program featuring whiskeys from Blade & Bow and Bulleit as well as sample food from local restaurants like Biscuit Belly, Art Eatables, and others. Everyone will get to do a tasting of Blade & Bow Bourbon and several whiskeys from Bulleit—including a 17-year-old single barrel! You’ll also have the opportunity to buy a bottle—but you’d better move quickly because only ticket purchasers will be entered into the drawing to buy our 17-year-old selection, which yielded fewer than 100 bottles (limit 1 bottle per person).

So, bring your favorite Bourbon enthusiast for a night you’ll always remember at the Frazier History Museum. Live a little, come have a taste!

Haley Hicky
Product & Program Manager

Frazier+ Video of the Week: Curious about Decanters?

Now the Frazier fits in your pocket! Curated by the museum’s education team, the mobile app Frazier+ provides engaging and educational Kentucky history content—free of charge. Users can explore the museum’s collection of videos, photos, and texts to either heighten their in-person experience or learn from the comfort of their couch or classroom. The free app is available for download for Android and iOS devices through the App Store and Google Play.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

National Bourbon Day is this week, and one of the things people often ask about in our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition is our decanter collection. The decorative bottles are mostly a thing of the past, but they have a unique history, as was written by our own Kevin Bradley, and voiced by yours truly.

Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience

Frazier Summer Book Club is Sizzling!

If you haven’t been able to come to one of our Summer Book Club discussions, you need to mark your calendars now! We started our summer off with a bang! The one-on-one meet and greets as well as the group discussions and book signings with our authors have been so riveting to watch.

The Frazier History Museum is dedicated to educating visitors about the people and events that have shaped the area’s rich cultural heritage. The Summer Book Club is an extension of this as we are providing an opportunity for readers to explore history, Kentucky, and Kentuckians through literature.

The next two discussions at a glance:

June 25: Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York by Frank X Walker

After our discussion, sculptor Ed Hamilton, will be joining us. An integral part of our Kentucky artistic landscape, Hamilton was commissioned by the City of Louisville to produce a larger-than-life sculpture of York, the person who was enslaved to Clark and played a vital role on the expedition. His sculpture was unveiled in 2003 on the Belvedere as a celebration of the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery.

As we get the chance to hear Frank X Walker, the poet who gave York a voice, at the city’s official Juneteenth event being held here at the Frazier on June 19, we will also get the chance to meet and ask questions to Hamilton, the sculptor who gave York a face, as there were no reliable renderings or images of York.

July 23: Live the Impossible by Jenny Smith

Get ready for a dose of inspiration from author, blogger, and Louisvillian Jenny Smith!

It was more than thirty years ago, at the age of sixteen, she suffered a spinal cord injury while practicing gymnastics, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

Her book Live the Impossible: How a Wheelchair Has Taken Me Places I Never Dared to Imagine takes you on her journey of overcoming adversity as a quadriplegic.

She has traveled overseas to provide wheelchairs to developing countries, she has become an avid rower, but perhaps most importantly she has taught us all to never give up.

Join us as Jenny Smith shares her journey and lessons for all of us to live a full and active life. After Jenny spends time with us during the book club discussion, we will have a public program immediately following with a Q & A session.

Copies of Live the Impossible will be on sale in the Frazier’s Museum Shop soon.

Find more information about our Summer Book Club and 2023 titles here. Send your RSVP for our Summer Book Club to aegan@fraziermuseum.org.

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 shop**, and discounted parking!?

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

**Exclusions apply.

Come experience more!

Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator

Field Trips, Puppet Shows, and Loch Ness Monsters at Frazier Summer Camp

The sun is shining and the weather is warm which means summer camps are back!

We have exciting things planned for this summer, including revamping camp favorite HerStory into YourStory to allow for a whole new range of stories to tell. There are trips planned to visit our friends at the Kentucky Science Center and KMAC. We have a number of guest teachers from the community coming to visit, including the puppeteers Zach and Deva from the Mary Shelley Electric Co. Watching Muppet videos during downtime has become a camp tradition, so we enjoy having puppeteers come visit.

Keep an eye on our social media, especially our Instagram stories, for glimpses into all the fun we will be having at camp this summer. Also, if you visit us this summer and you happen to find a glass bead or Loch Ness monster hidden in a gallery, please leave it where you found it! Scavenger hunts are one of our campers’ favorite activities.

Nicole Clay
Education & Engagement Specialist

Monday night the NBA Finals will continue when the Miami Heat face off against the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the best-of-seven championship series. This year’s edition has special significance to both Kentucky fans and fans of the defunct American Basketball Association (ABA).

One story of note is that of the Denver Nuggets franchise itself. One of only four ABA teams that survived the “NBA Expansion” in 1976 (when—hemorrhaging money—the ABA was forced to shut down permanently, leaving the most solvent ABA teams to fight for entry into the NBA), the Nuggets are the last remaining ABA franchise to reach the NBA Finals.

The first ABA team to do so was the San Antonio Spurs, who reached the NBA Finals in 1999; the Indiana Pacers were next, making it to the Finals the following year, and the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets) became the penultimate ABA team to reach the NBA Finals in 2003.

Yet, the presence of the Nuggets in this year’s Finals might arouse some unpleasant memories for Kentuckians of a particular generation. In 1976, the Nuggets helped turn the lights out on the ABA for good. But, before the Nuggets lost the last ABA championship series ever played (they lost to Julius Erving and the New York Nets in six games), the franchise played a major role in spelling c-u-r-t-a-i-n-s for the beloved professional basketball franchise that called Louisville home.

In the 1976 ABA Semifinals, the defending ABA champion Kentucky Colonels lost to the Nuggets in seven games. In game 7, Dan Issel exacted revenge against the team that unceremoniously traded him by besting the Colonels and his former teammate Artis Gilmore. The Nuggets sent the Colonels home—and into obsolescence—by winning game 7, 133–110. A short time after that, the Colonels failed to make the cut of ABA teams who would be merged into the NBA for the 1976 expansion. And that, as they say, was that.

Yet, despite the Colonels now being only a memory, there are plenty of other storylines that should interest Kentuckians. First, there are two former Kentucky players who have played key roles in the NBA Finals.

Former Kentucky Wildcat Bam Adebayo was key in helping the Heat bounce back from a Game 1 loss to the Nuggets. Scoring 21 points, Bam shot 57.4 percent from the field, nabbed 9 rebounds, and made 4 assists, helping propel the Heat from behind to a 111–108 victory against the Denver Nuggets in Game 2.

However, in Game 3 another former Wildcat would not allow himself to be outdone by the Heat and his fellow Kentucky alum. Complimenting fellow Nuggets teammate and NBA superstar Nikola Jokić, former Wildcat Jamal Murray went on a tear in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, completing a triple double (34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), with the Nuggets beating the Heat on the road, 109–94.

This speaks to the on-court success of players who have been coached by John Calipari at the University of Kentucky. In all, the Kentucky Men’s Basketball program fielded 17 former players during the 2023 NBA Playoffs, more than any other college basketball program in the country. Now, that’s how to “succeed and proceed,” as Coach Cal once put it back in 2014.

But the Kentucky connections to the NBA Playoffs do not end with Calipari and his former players. Within the front office of the Miami Heat lurks a legendary “runt” of the Kentucky litter. A Basketball Hall of Famer, 9-time NBA Champion, former NBA Head Coach, and one of Rupp’s Runts, Pat Riley serves as the President of Basketball Operations for the Miami Heat.

Riley was one of the top scorers for the 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats. With a 28–1 record, the Cats made it all the way to the 1966 National Championship game, where they were heavy favored to win. Unfortunately, Rupp’s Runts were bested by the Miners of Texas Western, 72–65.

So, regardless of which team raises the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at the end of the NBA Finals, all Kentuckians should come out as winners in this year’s NBA Playoffs.

Brian West
Teaching Artist

Friends, Fans Turn out for Family Affair with Brohms

Humble family. Great family. Just a couple of the comments I received after our program with the Brohms to talk about the new era of football they are ushering in at the University of Louisville with Jeff as head coach.

We had most of the Brohm Squad joining us, including parents Oscar and Donna Brohm, as well as three of the four siblings, including Jeff, Greg, and Kim.

Here was my favorite comment I received after the program from someone who was there: “I’m a UK fan but how could you not like and admire that family? And want to root for them . . . except for Governor’s Cup day. Ha!”

Okay, we’ll give you some leeway on the Governor’s Cup.

We talked football, of course. But we also talked about family and the most important lessons taught in a family that thrives on competition and winning, and that is working hard, doing your best, and being a good sport.

Not a lot of drama with this family, or should I say “Brohma”—and they like to keep it that way.

Donna Brohm even got a little choked up about having the family all back home. I think any parent can relate to that.

Once we finished our program the local media swarmed around coach Jeff Brohm, and he answered all their questions, too.

There is a lot of pressure and expectation on Coach Jeff Brohm, his brothers, who are part of the staff, and the entire family, who wants to represent their hometown in the best way.

They already do off the field. The next big test is on the field when the season kicks off this fall.

Rachel Platt
Director of Community Engagement

Kentucky Guild of Brewers to Throw Sixth Annual Kentucky Craft Bash June 24

It’s beer fest season! On July 29, the Frazier is hosting its third annual Summer Beer Fest at Frazier featuring more than 200 specialty beers, food, retail, live music, and a fun zone with games and activities. Proceeds support the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs, not to mention Frazier Weekly, so get your tickets today. In the meantime, our friends at the Kentucky Guild of Brewers are throwing the sixth annual Kentucky Craft Bash at Waterfront Park’s Festival Plaza! We’ve asked Guild co-director Katie Molck to share the details.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Louisville might be known as Bourbon City, but on Saturday, June 24, it’ll be known as Craft Beer City!

Over fifty breweries from across the Commonwealth will come together for the sixth annual Kentucky Craft Bash at Waterfront Park’s Festival Plaza. It’s Kentucky’s only beer fest by brewers, which means they’re bringing the really good stuff.

More than 150 different beers, ciders, and meads will be poured from household Kentucky beer names like Country Boy and West Sixth—but also from smaller taprooms that don’t make widespread distribution like Jarfly Brewing Company in Somerset, Kentucky, and Paducah Beer Werks. Plus, rare and one-off beers will be tapped throughout the day so you can claim your craft beer bragging rights.

In addition to some of Kentucky’s finest beer, the Kentucky Craft Bash will also feature a women in beer booth, vendors, ax throwing, DJ Sam Sneed, and food trucks.

Tickets to the fest start at $55 and include a commemorative tasting glass. Cheers, y’all!

Katie Molck
Co-director, Kentucky Guild of Brewers
Guest Contributor

Bridging the Divide

Rock Climber Cat Runner of HBO’s The Climb Featured in Cool Kentucky

As part of Pride month, the Kentuckiana Pride Festival and Parade will be held June 17 from noon until 10 p.m. The Parade begins at noon at the intersection of Campbell and Market, continuing through NuLu and ending at the Big Four Lawn. That’s where the Festival will continue into in the night. At the Frazier, we share the story of all Kentuckians, and we want you to know about some changes in our Cool Kentucky exhibition that highlights LGBTQ+ stories. Our curator Amanda Briede has those details.—Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement

If you’ve toured our Cool Kentucky exhibition lately, you may have noticed that there’s no longer an LGBTQ+ Kentucky section; those Kentuckians are now found throughout the exhibition. For example, you’ll find author and journalist Lige Clarke in Literary Kentucky and silent film actor J. Warren Kerrigan featured in the new Entertaining Kentucky gallery.

Though it is important to highlight these significant LGBTQ+ Kentuckians, it is also important to be able to place these figures into the greater context of our state’s history. They are highlighted for their accomplishments. So that LGBTQ+ history remains visible in Cool Kentucky, look for a Kentucky pride flag logo on all the panels that relate to that history.

Because the section itself no longer exists, it has allowed us to add more LGBTQ+ Kentuckians and stories to all sections of the exhibition. One of the most exciting is the addition of the original awning from Teddy Bear’s, a historic gay bar in Louisville. But perhaps my favorite update in all of Cool Kentucky is the addition of Cat Runner to the Competitive Kentucky gallery.

Cat Runner is a fellow rock climber and member at my gym, Climb NuLu. He was recently featured on HBO’s reality competition show The Climb featuring Jason Momoa and famous climber Chris Sharma. (Spoiler alert: Cat won the whole competition!) Cat loaned us several items used during the filming of The Climb, including his jeans, climbing shoes, and notebook.

For me, I am so excited to not only share a story of a trans Kentuckian doing such incredible things, but to also add a little more rock climbing in Cool Kentucky! When I asked Cat how he felt about being in the exhibition, he replied: “My trans and athlete identity exist in tandem with one another and it’s empowering to see them on display together.”

I have so appreciated working with Cat and getting to see some of the iconic items that he used on the show, and I am so excited that all of you will get to see them, too. I am also grateful to Cat for helping me to find his voice to tell his story. Our working together has equipped me to have the language to tell fuller stories in the future.

I hope that, the next time you visit the Frazier, you’ll take some time to learn more about Cat’s story. Stop by to see just how tiny Cat’s climbing shoes are!

Amanda Briede
Curator