It’s summer so BEER ME! Live music, food, friends, family, and fun is just what we want with our cold beers and we’ll have it all on Main Street again this year at Summer Beer Fest at Frazier.

Join us Saturday, July 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. (4 p.m. early access for VIP) and try over 200 craft and specialty beers from all around our great Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond! In addition to our local brewers, we’ll have some of your well-known favorites, gluten-free options, seltzers, and more.

As someone who’s worked the past three beer fests—as a volunteer and now as the leader of the Frazier’s events team—I’ve got a few pointers.

1. First, beat the heat and stay hydrated with fresh cold water at Louisville Water Company’s tent!

2. Second, elevate your Cool Kentucky experience as a VIP ticketholder with access to the museum’s Gateway Garden, air-conditioned exhibition floors, and indoor restrooms! VIP will also enjoy some exclusive tastings served only inside, so be sure to get your VIP tickets before they sell out.

3. Third, if you’d prefer General Admission, grab one of our 4-for-$150 ticket packages. (That’s a $50 value!) Limited packages remain, so act fast.

Finally, keep in mind that proceeds from ticket sales help support the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs, including free or reduced admission for Title 1 students; Bridging the Divide programs; spring, summer, fall, and winter camps; guided tours, guest engagements, and Stories in Mind, which brings the Frazier into long-term care communities.

We’re a nonprofit, so we really appreciate your support!

In today’s Frazier Weekly, Tish Boyer previews a 1960s Falls City printing block she’ll have out at beer fest. Amanda Briede returns from RUX in Owensboro—where she was photographed for a New York Times article! Our newest education team member Sarah Jemerson reveals her Frazier-going past, Simon Meiners highlights sites to visit in ten counties, and Jordan Skora announces Bourbon & Belonging: Kentucky’s Queer Bourbon Week.

Thanks for reading! We hope to see you here July 27.

Erine Sato
Sr. Director of Events
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

From the Collections: Falls City “Beer Man” Printing Block, 1963

In the next several weeks, you’ll hear more about our upcoming 2024 Summer Beer Fest at Frazier. Now a yearly event, Beer Fest is a chance to come down to the Frazier and taste some great beer and hang out with friends. VIP guests will have an opportunity to come into our building to see our exhibitions. But as a special treat, we will have a table out to show off some of the beer items from our collections—things that are not currently on view.

This wonderful printing block is from Falls City Beer, one of the few breweries in Louisville that survived Prohibition. Opened in 1905 by local grocers and tavern owners, Falls City quickly grew its operation with a bottling plant in the Shawnee neighborhood. The firm’s success came to an end in 1919 when Prohibition forced them to shut down production. However, instead of ending all operations, Falls City pivoted to producing soft drinks. So when Prohibition ended in the early 1930s, Falls City was able to pick up where they’d left off. While the company did shut down in 1978, it was brought back to life in 2010. Today, you can go to the Falls City beer taproom at 901 East Liberty in Phoenix Hill.

This printing block that features the Falls City mascot “Beer Man” was used for several advertisements in 1963.

Tish Boyer
Registrar & Manager of Collections Engagement

Curator’s Corner: Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) in Owensboro

Last weekend, I attended my second weekend intensive as part of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange program, my last intensive of the year. We spent time in Owensboro, Daviess County. Highlights include visiting the Owensboro Museum of Science and History for a community conversation and a taste of Owensboro, attending a special performance of Won’t You Be my May-bor? starring drag queen May O’Nays, and attending the Black Expo Juneteenth Celebration at English Park.

All the experiences and discussions that RUX facilitates are incredible, but truly the best part of RUX is meeting so many amazing people doing amazing things all over the Commonwealth. I’m blown away by the breadth of important work that my fellow RUXers are doing. I heard about people working in food equity, making the outdoors more accessible to people of color, helping children in the child welfare system, and so much more. I feel so honored to be included among this group of bad-ass Kentuckians who are all working to make the Commonwealth a better place.

A big surprise of the weekend came when The New York Times published an article about RUX and other organizations working to bridge divides. The author had attended the first RUX weekend intensive in Campbellsville to get a feel for the program. Former president Barack Obama has since shared the article—which includes a photograph of yours truly, taken by Pulitzer Prize–winning Louisville photographer Jon Cherry—on his social media! You can read the article here.

It is a bit bittersweet that this was the last RUX intensive of the year. I will be looking forward to seeing my cohort again next year, meeting all the new members of RUX, and learning what experiences RUX will have in store for me!

Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Highlights of 120: Daviess County: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Inspiration Josiah Henson

When traveling to other places in Kentucky like I did for RUX, I always love to see what that county’s story is in our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit. Daviess County has a fantastic story about Josiah Henson, the inspiration for Uncle Tom’s Cabin.—Amanda Briede, Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Josiah Henson was born in Maryland in 1789. When he was four, he and his mother were purchased by enslaver Isaac Riley. In 1825, Riley sent his enslaved people to a plantation his brother Amos owned in Daviess County, Kentucky. Henson became the overseer at the new plantation. He also worked as a Methodist preacher to try to buy his freedom, but the Rileys kept raising the price. Henson was finally able to escape to Canada with his wife and children in 1830. He became a leader among freedom seekers, preaching and telling his story.

Harriet Beecher Stowe invited Henson to her home in 1849. It was during this visit that Stowe gathered material to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Because of how his story inspired the book, Henson gained international fame, even meeting Queen Victoria in 1876.

Bishop Walter R. Hawkins conducted Henson’s funeral in 1883. Hawkins had also been enslaved on the Riley plantation in Daviess County.

Director Richard Van Kleeck on CJ Photography Doc Fleeting Reality

The Frazier History Museum will unveil Flashback: Louisville Media Through the Years in mid-July. And with that new temporary exhibition will come programs that explore the power of a photograph. We hope you’ll join us for a screening of the documentary Fleeting Reality on July 21 in the Frazier’s Brown-Forman Theatre. Click here to purchase your ticket. The screening will be followed by a discussion with several of the award-winning Courier Journal photographers featured in the film. Director Richard Van Kleeck shares more below.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission

We have all become accustomed to celebrating national championships, sporadically won by beloved local teams. However, there was a time when a local team was the very best in the country for well over a decade. That team was the Photography Department at the Louisville Courier Journal and the Louisville Times. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s and well into the 1990s, this was the place every photographer in the country wanted to work.

Fantastic stories, multiple Pulitzer Prize–winning photographers, and over six hundred brilliant photographs from that time are the essence of Fleeting Reality, a documentary film I directed and co-produced with legendary CJ photographer Pat McDonogh. Sean Schafer Hennessy provided the original music score.

Photographers share a kaleidoscope of remarkable, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic stories. Viewers will relate to powerful photographs illustrating the excitement, art, danger, craft, and emotional tribulations that all photojournalists inherently experience.

These powerful stories and images include an African American photographer assigned to cover a Ku Klux Klan rally, unbeknownst to him ahead of time; the culture wars between infield patrons and those in the grandstands at the Kentucky Derby; a trip to a benign celebratory photo assignment that quickly devolved into an emotional life-and-death situation; exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Muhammad Ali; and the shocking mass shooting that occurred in their own Courier Journal building.

The emotional roller coaster ride of being a photojournalist is on full display as photographers must react quickly to wildly changing circumstances while elevating their work from craft to art. Fleeting Reality showcases the dynamic range of life as a photojournalist.

Richard Van Kleeck
Director, Fleeting Reality
Guest Contributor

Lexington Horse Breeder Names Filly American Pearl after Boat at Frazier

One of our most prized artifacts at the Frazier History Museum is the American Pearl. Tori Murden McClure made history in it by becoming the first American and the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean solo. If you haven’t read her book A Pearl in the Storm, I highly recommend it. It teaches us all about the ups and downs of life.

It just so happens that Tori’s book has inspired a horse breeder to name a filly American Pearl. Mike Snyder, a financial adviser by day, labels himself a small-time breeder who works in an office Monday through Friday, then spends the weekend at the farm. He said there were so many lessons in Tori’s book that paralleled the ups and downs of owning a farm and breeding and raising horses that the name “American Pearl” seemed like a natural.

Mike said it isn’t just the peaks and valleys that are similar, but the dreaming involved and the hard work and sweat to help keep moving things forward. I am sure Tori would say amen.

Snyder partners with LNJ Foxwoods on the filly American Pearl. She now trains daily at WinStar Farm in Lexington.

I’m not sure if Tori and her husband Mac have met the filly just yet, but they are well aware of her and the inspiration for her name. American Pearl, the filly, may be off to the races by the fall.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Museum Shop: Unbridled Style Kentucky Purse and Wallet

Hold your horses! Our shop proudly presents a Kentucky-themed purse and wallet set, inspired by the Bluegrass State’s rich heritage. This duo is a must-have for any Kentucky lover. From the Jackson Purchase to Pike County, you’ll be the belle of the ball! Giddy up and grab yours today in the Frazier’s Museum Shop.

Introducing the Frazier’s Education and Engagement Lead Sarah Jemerson

I am very excited to introduce the latest addition to the Frazier Museum education team! Sarah Jemerson joined us in mid-June as our education and engagement lead. She is off to a terrific start, working hard to learn about Frazier Museum exhibitions and programs. If you come by the museum, you’ll likely have the good fortune to meet Sarah. She’ll be out and about most of each day giving tours, running field trip programs, working with campers, and assisting museum guests. Keep reading to learn more about Sarah and what she brings to the Frazier.—Megan Schanie, Sr. Manager of Educational Programs

Hey, y’all, I’m Sarah! I’m so excited to join the Frazier’s team as the new Education and Engagement Lead.

While I’m originally from across the river in New Albany, I’ve lived in Louisville since attending U of L’s College of Business. I graduated with a degree in computers, but after working as an applications developer for a little while, I realized I got a greater sense of fulfillment meeting new people and helping them learn—and learning new things right alongside them! Since then, I’ve had jobs in camps and education at the Louisville Zoo, and more recently I worked as an educator just down the street from Frazier at the Kentucky Science Center.

As a local, I’ve had the privilege of knowing the museum since around the time it was known as the Frazier International History Museum, and I have lots of fond and funny memories of past exhibitions. It has been inspiring to see how the museum’s mission has developed over the years, so I’m hyped to be part of its future!

While I do have more loudly patterned shirts than Kentucky has counties, and I do stay silly, I’m serious about encouraging creativity and critical thinking in kids and reigniting curiosity in adults. Part of what drew me to the Frazier is that the team here is very passionate about fostering an inclusive environment that tells diverse stories. I think every visitor can find a story here that they can relate to on some level, and I think that human connection is what really inspires people to engage with history, learn, and grow as individuals. I’m excited I’ll get to help introduce guests to stories that are meaningful to them.

Now that I’ve completed my time as Safari Sarah, teaching summer campers at the zoo about wildlife, and as Scientist Sarah, helping guests at the Science Center learn how the world around us works, I like to think I’m entering a new era as . . . Saturday Sarah! I would love it if you’d stop by the museum on a Saturday this summer and join me for one of my first tours. Keep an eye out for me—you won’t miss the bright shirts!

Sarah Jemerson
Education & Engagement Lead

20th Anniversary Photo: Sarah JemARRRRRson, 2010

On September 4, 2010, to promote its Pirates: Treasure & Treachery exhibition, the Frazier Museum hosted a Founder’s Day festival at which attendees were invited to dress like buccaneers. Among the 1,200 marauders who answered the call was none other than teenager Sarah Jemerson, now the Frazier’s newest hire. Part of me thinks the wily sea robber took the job just to retrieve a hidden treasure she stashed here fourteen years ago.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

As part of our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit, we’re curating a list of 120 unique sites to visit: one site in each county! In 2024, once a month, we’ll share sites in ten counties, completing the list in December. For June, we’re sharing sites in these counties: Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Hopkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Jessamine, Johnson, Kenton, and Knott. I extend a special thank you to Kentucky Historical Society, whose Historical Marker Program has been a brilliant resource for this list!

Audubon’s Woods. (37°52’58.7”N, 87°33’27.9”W) From 1810 to 1819, ornithologist John James Audubon lived in a log cabin in Henderson, Henderson County, roaming these woods to find and paint birds. In 1812, when he returned from a trip, he discovered that rats had shredded 200+ sheets of his work, which depicted “nearly a thousand inhabitants of the air,” to make nests.

Low Dutch Meetinghouse. (38°20’45.2”N, 85°05’28.8”W) In 1824, settlers built the Low Dutch Meetinghouse near Pleasureville, Henry County. It served as the religious and community center for the Dutch colony, which started on land Squire Boone sold in 1784. The last meeting took place May 9, 1831. The meetinghouse was reconstructed here as a spinning and knitting studio in 2005.

Gibraltar of the West. (36°45’56.8”N, 89°06’39.4”W) On September 3, 1861, Confederate Gen. Leonidas Polk’s troops fortified a line of bluffs here in Columbus, Hickman County. They stretched a chain across the Mississippi to prevent Union gunboats from passing. Before the CSA evacuated March 2, 1862, their fortification efforts earned Columbus the nickname “Gibraltar of the West.”

Gov. Ruby Laffoon Cabin. (37°19’35.3”N, 87°29’53.6”W) On January 15, 1869, “the Terrible Turk from Madisonville” Ruby Laffoon was born in this log cabin in Madisonville, Hopkins County. From 1931 to 1935, he served as governor of Kentucky. During his term, he initiated the state’s sales tax, pardoned more prisoners than any prior governor, and designated Harland Sanders a Colonel.

Warrior’s Path. (37°23’35.5”N, 83°56’12.5”W) In 1674, Gabriel Arthur, a Virginia servant who’d followed a Cherokee war campaign to Lower Shawneetown, walked home via the Warrior’s Path. The Path ran along War Fork Creek, two miles east of this site in present-day Gray Hawk, Jackson County. The Cherokees and Shawnees called it Athiamiowee, or “Path of the Armed Ones.”

Columbia Gym. (38°14’35.5”N, 85°45’32.7”W) One rainy night in 1954, a skinny twelve-year-old boy entered policeman Joe Martin’s community gym in Louisville, Jefferson County. Upset his red Schwinn bike had been stolen, he said he’d whip the thief if he could find him. Martin replied: “You better learn to fight before you start fightin’.” Thus began the boxing career of Muhammad Ali.

Kentucky’s First Fourth of July. (37°54’28.0”N, 84°39’22.3”W) On July 4, 1794, thirteen years after Lord Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown, American veteran Col. William Price hosted the first Independence Day celebration west of the Alleghenies on his plantation near here by Nicholasville, Jessamine County. Forty veterans dined to celebrate the “glorious birthday of our freedom.”

Webb’s Grocery. (37°46’23.2”N, 82°43’40.9”W) In 1918, Consolidation Coal Company built the Number 5 Store, named for the mine nearby, here in Van Lear, Johnson County. Herman Webb, brother of country singers Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle, operated the store from 1975 until his death in 2018. He also gave tours of the family’s famous cabin, just up the street in Butcher Hollow.

Odd Fellows Hall. (39°05’09.5”N, 84°30’38.1”W) On October 22, 1896, US Treasury Secretary John G. Carlisle spoke at the Odd Fellows Hall, the Victorian-era hub of civic and political life in his hometown, Covington, Kenton County. Opposed to his sound money policies, silverites pelted sand, rotten eggs, and lit cigars. One egg hit the chandelier and dripped yolk on the audience.

Founder’s Shack. (39°05’09.5”N, 84°30’38.1”W) In 1917, Alice Geddes Lloyd of Boston came to Kentucky for her health. In 1917, she founded Caney Creek Community Center in this one-room shack in Pippa Passes, Knott County, to educate local youth. She was a social reformer, a writer, and a woman’s suffragist. After her death in 1962, the school was renamed Alice Lloyd College.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Queer Kentucky Announces Bourbon & Belonging: Kentucky’s Queer Bourbon Week

On June 15, my colleague Nicole and I were thrilled to participate in the Pride Parade with Louisville Tourism, celebrating our city’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community. We passed out bracelets, lanyards, and stickers to the thousands of festivalgoers and parade spectators. For today’s Frazier Weekly, we’ve asked Jordan Skora of Louisville Tourism to share more details and officially announce “Bourbon & Belonging.”—Leslie Anderson, Membership & Partnership Manager

Recently touted as an emerging “beacon of inclusivity, diversity, and undeniable charm” by GayCities.com, Louisville is slowly making its way to the top of the country’s LGBTQ travel destinations. However, locals will tell you that it’s been this way for decades. From a Louisvillian staging a “sip-in” in New York City in the 1960s to the founding of the Louisville Gay Liberation Front in 1970, Bourbon City and its people have had a long history of celebrating and championing equality.

This year will bring a new chapter to Louisville’s LGBTQ story as Queer Kentucky has announced Bourbon & Belonging: Kentucky’s Queer Bourbon Week, a statewide LGBTQ+-inclusive event, set to take place October 2–6, 2024. Louisville is included as one of eight Kentucky-based destinations that will showcase the state’s rich Bourbon and hospitality cultures to LGBTQ+ visitors.

The event has already received national attention, helping elevate Louisville to Travel + Leisure’s list of “50 Best Places to Travel in 2024” as well as Culture.org’s list of “The World’s Best Travel Destinations in 2024.”

In addition to a city that has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index every year since 2015, we’re lucky to have a growing list of brands who are eager to collaborate on this year’s event. The current lineup of Kentucky-based Bourbon partners includes Angel’s Envy, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Barrel House Distilling Co., Bourbon Capital Alliance, Bulleit Bourbon, Evan Williams, James B. Beam Distilling Company, James E. Pepper, Lawrenceburg Bourbon Company, Lux Row Distillers, Maker’s Mark, New Riff Distilling, Old Forester, Ponyboy Slings, Second Sight, and Wenzel Whiskey.

A variety of host hotels have also committed to partnering with the event, including 21c Museum Hotels, Common Bond Hotel Collection, and Hotel Covington, giving guests a wide range of events and accommodations to choose from.

Be on the lookout for a schedule of events that will be announced later this summer and be sure to sign up to receive event emails to stay up to date on all that’s happening with Kentucky’s first Queer Bourbon Week.

Jordan Skora
Marketing Communications Manager, Louisville Tourism
Guest Contributor

Bridging the Divide

I heard from a woman who had visited the Frazier History Museum for the first time with her daughter, and she wanted to share her new book with me. We got to talking and I felt her positivity and light. So yes, please, let’s meet. Anisha Lane noticed incredible divides on social media, which in part led to more positive posts on her social media, which eventually led to her book of affirmations. She is bridging divides by being the difference. Way to go, Anisha. She wanted to share her story with you, as well as her book and how you can purchase one.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission

My name is Anisha Lane. I was born in San Diego, California, on September 4, 1979. I have a daughter who is the apple of my eye, one brother, a niece, and a nephew, who are all my world. My mother is still alive and my father has been deceased since November 8, 2017. I’ve been in Louisville, Kentucky, since 1989.

I come from a large family on both sides of my family. I was always taught that, no matter what, family is everything. Louisville, Kentucky, is my father’s side of my family.

When I was growing up, we lived in several states because my father was still actively serving in the US Marine Corps. At the time, my parents felt that Louisville would be a better place to raise a family.

I always had a passion for writing. It was my place of peace, in my good and bad times in life. My parents always encouraged me to do and become anything I put my mind to with hard work, dedication, and putting God as the highlight of my life.

I have always had a loving and kind spirit, with a smile that can light up any room! Sometimes, in life, we all go through unforeseen situations—some of which take you on rollercoasters you aren’t ready to ride. However, no matter what, it’s a choice to pick yourself up, put God first, and move on.

When social media hit the scene, it opened my eyes to another perspective of “the world,” and I’ve been many places in my life. At times, I seen good things, but mainly negative. I would take breaks, but when I logged back on, it was the same ole stories.

Four years ago, I decided to change the narrative, and post good morning positive affirmations. It led me to meeting a stranger by the name of Barbara Bennett. At the time, she sold a hair oil product she’d created for people who suffer from alopecia. The product helps you grow your hair.

When I met her the next day, she also told me she was a pastor of her own church in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was like I had known her all my life. She humbly thanked me for my purchase! She spoke wisdom, knowledge, and encouraging words to me. She was a lighter that lit the flame to a passion I didn’t discover about myself until that day.

She said to me, I went through your timeline on Facebook after I had reached out to her about getting hair oil the evening before. She asked me in a boldly tone, what was I doing with my life? She said, our people are dying in the streets daily. I looked around and even looking up saying to myself, like lady, I just came for oil. She told me I have a gift, a calling on my name, and my life, and that I should be helping people, and using my voice more. I thought about this woman all day and night. I always knew it was something missing in my life; I just didn’t realize what it was until this day. She didn’t know it, but in that moment, she inspired me to change my life, forever.

Afterwards, I started opening myself up a little more, by extending myself, not just with affirmation posts, but also positive videos. As they gained more likes and shares, some people wanted my attention to do business with. It opened bigger doors for me to walk into. It led me to doing motivational speaking, podcast, radio, and being a philanthropist. My parents always taught me to give back; I just started doing it more often.

One day, after a long stressful day, I started writing. I then looked around at all my writing and had a wild dream to write a positive affirmation book, in hopes of inspiring one with wisdom to inspire many. Life isn’t easy by any means: it’s what you make it. We the people are all connected and need each other in some type of way.

Love and positivity is contagious! I’ll always encourage people to share encouraging words, followed by action(s) to lift each other up! You never know what someone is going through, so be an inspiration to yourself as well as others.

You can email me at yaloni01@gmail.com to learn more about how to get my book. Books are $20. If you need books shipped out of state, add $7 more. I also deliver books personally and all books are autographed by me personally. May God continue to bless you.

Anisha Lane
Author, Wisdom Confessions
Guest Contributor