It’s State Fair time in our Commonwealth. Our annual celebration of rural and urban, agriculture and acrobatics, $4 donut burgers and $4 million dollar country hams is really a microcosm of Kentucky culture, spread out over 520 acres and crammed into an eleven-day event. The Fair, which kicked off on Thursday, will welcome more than 600,000 visitors by next Sunday.

Today’s Frazier Weekly celebrates some of the great food traditionally featured at the fair!

What’s more, at this year’s fair, Kentucky Living magazine awarded the Frazier as one of the top three museums in all of Kentucky. There are some incredible museums in our Commonwealth, so to be honored this way, for the very first time, is no small accomplishment!

Here’s why this is significant: Kentucky Living magazine is the Bluegrass State’s most distributed publication, with readers in each of our 120 counties. The magazine is read by around one million people each month. It is those readers whose votes determine the Best in Kentucky Awards. As many of you know, the Frazier is where the world meets Kentucky, so, it is also those readers that the Frazier is working to serve.

You can see many of our good friends featured on the awards show, including the host of the program, 2000 Miss America pageant winner Heather French Henry. You can watch the ceremony to find the very best places to visit in Kentucky or read all the award winners on kentuckyliving.com.

In today’s Curator Corner, collections manager Tish Boyer dives into the tough history of some artifacts on display in our exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall, Megan Schanie writes about upcoming professional development for teachers, and Heather Gotlib preps for Fall camps. Finally, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1997 incident, Greg Schoenbaechler interviews Louisville Fire Department diver Milt Hettinger about the rescue operation that kept the Belle of Louisville afloat.

I hope you enjoy.

This Week in the Museum

Teacher PD to Explore Local Connections to Underground Railroad

How should we remember the Underground Railroad? Teachers will explore this question during an upcoming professional development session and receive training on a focused inquiry lesson highlighting local connections to slavery and the Underground Railroad.

Teacher Professional Development
The Journey: Exploring Local Connections to the Underground Railroad Through Inquiry
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
4:45–7:45 p.m.
Cost: Free of Charge (Registration Required)
To learn more or make reservations, click here.

Led by Summer Amro, M.A.Ed., teachers will utilize the Inquiry Design Model Framework to consider a series of supporting questions, tasks, and sources that ultimately lead students to meaningful action.

A key source includes The Journey, an audio experience created by the Frazier Museum education team that highlights significant local landmarks connected to slavery and the Underground Railroad and shares the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn who fled Louisville to avoid sale and separation in 1831. Members of the public and teachers alike are invited to engage with The Journey either on the tour or listening at home, podcast-style.

Educators will then join the public for a Bridging the Divide program commemorating Underground Railroad Month through stories, music, art, and the special reading of names unearthed through the (Un)Known Project. The public portion of the program is currently at capacity, but has a waiting list, located here.

And next time you are on site visiting the Frazier Museum, be sure to check out the original clock face and columns from Town Clock Church in The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall. Completed in New Albany, Indiana, in 1852, the church has a historical connection to the Underground Railroad and continues as the home of the Second Baptist Church congregation. The church is an important collaborative partner of the Frazier Museum and serves as stop #5 on The Journey audio tour. The back of the space includes an Underground Railroad Garden with a gazebo and meaningful artwork.

From the Collection: Iron Shackles, 1800s

Iron shackles, 1800s, on display in *The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall*. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

In our new exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall, in a case featuring objects representing slavery in Kentucky, there is a pair of shackles. Like with most physical objects from this time and subject matter, we don’t know much about these shackles. However, what we can observe from them is that they are made of iron and would have been very uncomfortable. We have chosen to display them on a soft pillow so that one can truly see the weight of the shackles. One can stand for a moment and hopefully begin to understand the weight of slavery. Put yourself in those shoes, in those shackles. What might you have tried to reach freedom? What might anyone do to escape that weight?

Libbertt Concessions Pineapple Whip, 1932–Present

In the “Tasty Kentucky” section of the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, we pay tribute to the food and drink staples of the Commonwealth: the Hot Brown, Glier’s Goetta, Kaelin’s cheeseburgers, Owensboro barbecue, Benedictine, burgoo, Derby pie, and Ale-8-One soda, to name a few items. But with the Kentucky State Fair happening this week, we thought we’d shed light on a Fairgoer favorite. So we’ve asked guest contributor Vickie Yates Brown Glisson to share the origin of Libbertt Concessions’s popular pineapple whip. She also provides recipes for two different versions of the whip: a custard type and a sherbet type.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

As someone who grew up on a farm in Kentucky, every year, I anticipated attending the Kentucky State Fair in late August. My family participated in the fair by showing livestock and competing in 4-H events. We made it a point to visit the areas of the fair where quilts, baked goods, farm produce, and jars of preserved fruit and vegetables were displayed.

We also looked forward to imbibing in the usual fair food, such as an annual corn dog or funnel cake. However, it was a family tradition that we enjoy a cone or dish of refreshing pineapple whip before heading back to our farm in Spencer County. If you have passed by the pineapple whip concession stand in the past, I suggest you make certain to give it a try this year.

Pineapple whip is one of the oldest foods sold at the fair. It was invented during the Depression after the Indiana State Fair officials asked its concessioners to come up with foods that could be purchased for 25 cents or less. In response, George Golding of Indianapolis, Indiana, came up with pineapple whip that could be sold for 5 cents. It started out as a custard but through the years the public health departments required that the eggs needed for the custard be cooked or eliminated.

Today, the pineapple whip has evolved into more of a sherbet rather than a custard. Although the firm changed names after George’s death in 1963—it was originally Golding & Co. but now goes by Libbertt Concessions—the stands are still operated by George’s descendants, Carl Wagoner and his grandfather, Larry Brewer, from Indianapolis. The pineapple whip can be purchased at one of two concession stands located near the front of the South Wing or close to the Midway.

When asked about the recipe for this tasty confection, Carl noted that the recipe remains a family secret. He did share that the current sherbet-like recipe is a mixture of pineapple juice, sugar, and water. Importantly, during this time of high inflation, pineapple whip is still one of the least costly items at the fair.

Although the recipe remains a secret, you can easily make your own version—that is very similar to the original and quite tasty—at home. If you use ice cream in the mixture, it will be more like the original custard version; or, if you prefer, you can make the sherbet version. Depending on your taste, I have included the recipe for each type.

Also, you can pour pineapple juice over the whip mixture and it makes a delicious pineapple float!

Pineapple Whip (Custard Type)

Ingredients:

¾ c. chilled pineapple juice
1 c. vanilla ice cream*
2 c. frozen or fresh pineapple (I think fresh provides a better flavor)
1 ½ tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Pinch of coarse salt

*You can substitute ¼ c. regular milk or unsweetened coconut milk for vanilla ice cream and add 1 tbsp. granulated sugar or sweeten to taste

Directions:

In a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the pineapple juice, vanilla ice cream, frozen pineapple, lime juice, lemon juice, and salt. Blend on medium-high speed, stopping to push the pineapple chunks down into the blender as needed.
You can eat it as a soft serve ice cream or, for a firmer texture, transfer it to a bowl, cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour.
Scoop and serve. Also, you can transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe into small serving bowls. This will make it look like it came out of a soft serve machine.

Pineapple Whip (Sherbet Type)

Ingredients:

2 c. frozen pineapple chunks using canned pineapple (you can use the juice from the can)
¼ c. water or pineapple juice
1 tbsp. granulated sugar or to taste

Instructions:

Place the frozen pineapple in a blender or food processor, then add sugar and juice or water. If you use fresh pineapple and it turns out to be not as sweet as you expected, add 2 tbsp. sugar rather than 1 tbsp.
Blend until smooth, but not liquefied. If you like a soft sherbet, serve immediately; but if you like a firmer sherbet, chill the pineapple mixture in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Museum Store: Weisenberger Muffin, Scone, and Biscuit Mixes

We love the Kentucky State Fair: from cows to quilts and delicious local foods, it’s the best of the best of the Commonwealth. But if you’re hankering for Kentucky treats during the other fifty-one weeks of the year, come by the Frazier’s Museum Store! We’ve got Bourbon-infused honey and blackberry chutney, not to mention muffin, scone, and biscuit mixes made at Weisenberger Mill, the oldest continually operating mill in the state. Yum!

Fall Break Camps to Explore Past Exhibitions From Samurai to Princess Diana

Logo for Back to the Frazier. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

We love the Frazier where the staff feels like family!—Parent of a 2022 Summer Camper

School is off to a running start for most of the districts in town, which means Fall Break is right around the corner.

This year, we’re doing pop-up camps with a past—and where we’re going, you don’t need roads! We’ll look back at the Frazier’s long history of fascinating exhibitions and reminisce about some of the great memories we’ve made. Join us as we turn things up to eighty-eight miles per hour to explore everything from Mythic Creatures to Samurai, Napoleon, and Princess Diana—and be on the lookout for some special guests, too! Our local partners from the Belle of Louisville will be polishing their swashbuckling chops with a lesson on sword choreography.
Camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (doors open at 8:45). They are open to kids in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Spaces are limited, so sign up today! You can get ahead of the game by clicking here.

The Sporting Club at the Farm to Host 2022 Frazier Classic Sporting Clay Tournament

On Friday, September 30, the Frazier will convene the seventh annual Owsley Brown Frazier Classic Sporting Clay Tournament. Make sure to get your registration in because spots are filling up quickly!

This year’s event will have a new home, The Sporting Club at the Farm in New Albany, Indiana, just fifteen minutes from the museum. Curious about the new venue? Check out their website and Facebook page.

The Classic—named in honor of the museum’s founder Owsley Brown Frazier, his broad philanthropic investment in the Louisville community, and his lifelong love of history and the artistry of the gun—will feature 12- or 20-gauge shotguns on the 15–20 station/72-target sporting clays course.

Participants will spend the day competing before a delicious catered lunch featuring Bourbon, craft beer, a raffle, and a silent auction of premium Kentucky Bourbons and exclusive Kentucky and Southern Indiana experiences. The tournament uses Lewis Class scoring, which allows all skill levels the opportunity to win awards.

Join an amazing community of people who know how to have a fun time ALL for a great cause! All proceeds support Frazier’s exhibitions, educational outreach, and programs. Sign up as an individual participant for $300 or get a team of four together for $1,200.

Register now to claim your spot!

Register Here

Thank you to our sponsors iAmmo, Republic Bank and Trust, Vaughn Petitt Legal Group, Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, Lewis and Grant Auctions, Oxford Rhine Real Estate, and Private Cloud Architects.

Become a Sponsor

For more information on becoming a sponsor, contact Lonna Versluys at LVersluys@fraziermuseum.org.

Off the Snead Shelves: We Knew No Mortality by Eric Shoemaker

Children and teens are back in school, storefront window displays are undergoing spooky makeovers, and days spent tank top–clad in the blistering heat are slowing giving way to “sweater weather.” What does all this mean?

Fall is coming!

Fall in the Bluegrass State is an exciting time of year. Colorful strolls around leave-strewn Cherokee Park, the glowingly popular Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular, and the pulse-pounding thrills of Baxter Avenue Morgue await!

Aside from the upcoming festivities, the months between summer and winter are times of transition. It’s a prime time to reflect on our memories of the year so far and to look ahead at what’s on the horizon.

With this sentiment in mind, I recommend supporting a local poet and playwright who is masterfully skilled at conveying the complexities of collective reflection.

Recently, I finished a collection of poetry and prose titled We Knew No Mortality: Memories of Our Spiritual Home. It was written by Dr. Robert Eric Shoemaker—he goes by Eric—with imagery provided by Sara Shoemaker. Eric is the current digital archive editor for the Poetry Foundation, an independent literary organization dedicated to increasing the visibility and influence of poetry in the modern age. (Fun fact: before receiving his doctorate or working for the Poetry Foundation, Eric interned at the Frazier during his graduate program!)

Cover of *We Knew No Mortality: Memories of Our Spiritual Home.* Credit: Acta Publications.

I was fortunate enough to chat with Eric about his educational background, his writing process, and some of the pieces from We Knew No Mortality that stood out to me. The collection primarily consists of poems, with prose strategically interspersed throughout. The pieces share Eric’s memory bank of his time growing up in the small town of Henderson, Kentucky.

Photograph featured in *We Knew No Mortality: Memories of Our Spiritual Home*, undated. Credit: Sara Shoemaker.

A standout poem, “The Last Corn Festival,” acknowledges how shifts in human geography can mark the beginning of the end for formerly revered customs.

“We can imagine these sort of smaller traditions dying off as people move away from rural communities or as harvests change,” Eric said of the poem. “I was thinking about that. I was thinking about how our relationship to place changes as society and culture around us change.”

A theme during our conversation was the art that’s produced as we attempt to recall moments from the past—moments we may not have all the objective facts about.

In his piece “The Mall Dog,” he recounts a time during his adolescence when he lost his stuffed animal in the middle of the mall and the subsequent stress he experienced. Although he is unlikely to remember all of the details precisely, he highlights the notion of this reconstruction of “emotional memory.”

I could go on and on about the wonderful conversation I shared with Eric, but I believe we should let the art speak for itself.

If you are interested in following Eric’s work, visit his website here.

Additionally, remember to stop by our Snead shelves and flip through We Knew No Mortality: Memories of our Spiritual Home. It’s time well spent.

Happy (almost) fall time! Let’s cherish these moments until they become memories.

Event Photography Key Part of Marketing Department Internship

My name is Emma Sass and I’m a junior at Bellarmine University majoring in Communication and minoring in History. I spent my summer interning with the marketing department at the Frazier History Museum.

During my time at the Frazier, I attended marketing meetings and catalogued and organized image files that live in the museum’s server. But the most interesting part of the internship was learning how to both market and work the events.

I was able to attend the Michter’s Speakeasy at the beginning of the summer and Summer Beer Fest at Frazier on August 6. One of my favorite hobbies is photography, so I really liked going to the events and taking candid photos of people enjoying themselves.

I’ve learned a lot about the museum during my internship. Having first visited the museum when I was in grade school, I thought I had seen everything and wouldn’t need to come back. Now that I’m older, I finally appreciate all the unique things that make the museum great. You can come back time after time, each time having a different experience: You can see one their ever-changing exhibitions, attend events, or even host a wedding.

When I applied for the internship, I was unsure if I wanted to pursue a career in history or in marketing. I was able to have the unique opportunity to see both career paths in one internship experience. I interned in the marketing department, but I was also able to learn about the education and curation departments.

My internship at the Frazier was one my favorite parts of the summer. I’ve enjoyed seeing how a marketing department and other museum departments function. I was able to have the unique perspective of seeing multiple career paths during one internship. I am so grateful to everyone who made my experience great!

Bridging the Divide

Women’s Equality Day 2022 “Lift Every Voice” Set for August 27 at Filson

It was in 1971 that Representative Bella Abzug lobbied for a bill in US Congress designating August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” It passed in 1973: The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Several partners have come together once again for a special program that will be held the following day in Louisville, August 27, the theme of which is “Lift Every Voice.” We hope you can join us.

History All Around Us

Fire Dept. Diver Milt Hettinger on 1997 Belle of Louisville Rescue Operation

I sat beside Milt Hettinger as he spun story after story to me. He has seen and experienced more in his life than many people could experience in multiple lifetimes. The man is a master storyteller—but, as good of a storyteller as he is, he’s an even better man and firefighter. He’s humble about his accomplishments, but isn’t afraid to acknowledge they made an amazing impact.

Today, though, I’m particularly interested in one story: the time he helped save the Belle of Louisville.

In 2017, Milt retired from the Louisville Fire Department where he had been a diving instructor and also a commercial diver. He has spent thousands of hours in the dark-as-mud Ohio River. On an ordinary day, he knows what his day has in store for him; but life is unpredictable, so he keeps diving equipment in the back of his truck at all times.

August 24, 1997, was not an ordinary day.

Photograph of the *Belle of Louisville* listing as it took in water at the downtown Louisville wharf, August 24, 1997. Photograph published on page A1 of the August 25, 1997, issue of the *Courier Journal*. Credit: Michael Hayman, *Courier Journal*.

On this particular morning, in the early predawn hours, the Belle of Louisville was taking in gallons of Ohio River water every second. She was sinking in port. Multiple things would need to go exactly right for the Belle to be saved. Fortunately, Wayne McBride, the owner of a tow boat company, was coming upstream when he noticed what was happening. He used his tow boat to nudge the Belle from sliding down into the river and being lost forever. While explaining the situation, Milt wants to make one thing clear: “If Wayne had not been there, the Belle would have been gone.”

McBride stabilized it, but they still needed someone to dive into the Belle and relieve the necessary valves to prevent it from being destroyed. Hettinger was called on the scene: He was the right guy at the right time.

As luck would have it, just a week prior to the sinking, Milt had taken a cruise aboard the Belle during which one of the engineers gave him a private tour. He saw the boiler, the engine room, and the workings of the boat.

Diagram titled “Rescue of the *Belle of Louisville*.” Published on page A6 of the August 25, 1997, issue of the *Courier Journal*. Credit: *Courier Journal*.

Now, he was on the waterfront in the back of his truck changing into diving gear. “Do not send anyone in behind me,” he told a major for the Louisville Fire Department. The same boat on which his great-grandmother had worked as a cook—then called the Idlewild—was suddenly sinking. Milt recalls, “I knew what needed to be done.”

He wasn’t able to see a thing in the murky Ohio River water that consumed the compartments of the boat. All he could do was feel. His memory from the guided tour came rushing back as water continued to pour in. Shortly after he had entered the boat, he was able to relieve pressure from two valves on the boilers to prevent the Belle from blowing up.

Months later, a former seasonal employee of the Belle of Louisville, Brennan Callan, was charged with sinking the Belle by opening the fresh water valve in the engine room.

Thanks to the efforts of Hettinger, McBride, and over one hundred others, the Belle of Louisville was later brought up and is fully operational today. Captain Mike Fitzgerald gifted Hettinger the original blueprints as a sign of gratitude. Hettinger was also designated an honorary captain of the Belle of Louisville and named 1997 Louisville Firefighter of the Year.

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary with Belle of Louisville Alternate Master Pete OConnell

Hettinger Displaying his Belle of Louisville Honorary Captain Certificate

Today, Milt still drives by the Belle every day on his way home from serving food at a soup kitchen in downtown Louisville. Every day, he blows her a kiss—remembering the day he and so many others saved her. “That day she became my lady,” he told me, before correcting himself.

“We saved her. Not me. We saved her.”

Best Museums in Kentucky Award, Libbertt’s Pineapple Whip, 1932–Present; Fire Dept. Diver on 1997 Belle of Louisville Rescue, and More

Exhibition Closing Next Week, 1865 Lincoln Assassination New York Herald Issue, 1973 Vietnam War Air Force Pilot Gas Mask and Flight Checklists, and More

Five Founder’s Gallery Weapons, Owsley Brown Frazier-inspired Knight Owl Bar, History of Camera Obscuras and Wet-plating Technology, and More