Good Monday morning!

This week marks the arrival of a true Kentucky icon in Cool Kentucky. That’s right, the Colonel himself has taken up residence in the Tasty Kentucky section of the exhibition!

The life-sized wax figure of Harland “Colonel” Sanders that now greets visitors to the Frazier once stood in the Louisville Visitor Center near the Fourth Street Live! entertainment district. Yum! Brands gave us the Colonel, and we are so excited to be his new home!

But the Colonel isn’t the only recent addition to Cool Kentucky. One thing I am incredibly proud of is the amount of work we put into updating the exhibition on a consistent basis, allowing us to share even more Kentucky stories and provide fresh content for returning visitors. Over the past several weeks, we’ve made updates big and small in the Historic, Natural, Competitive, Entertaining, Artistic, and Tasty sections of the exhibition.

Of course, none of these updates would be possible without our hardworking exhibitions and collections team members: Tish Boyer, Nick Cook, and Lucas Keown, and our fearless leader Casey Harden. I hope the next time you visit the Frazier you take a moment to appreciate all their hard work, find a few new things to learn about Kentucky, and of course, snap a selfie with the Colonel.

In today’s Frazier Weekly, Rachel Platt announces a special reading with former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker, Stephen Yates celebrates Bourbon Heritage Month by sippin’ the Heaven’s Door whiskey co-created by Bob Dylan, Megan Schanie previews some of the ways our education team uses our theatre space, and Simon Meiners sheds light on the annual Morgan County Sorghum Festival, which takes place next weekend.

Let’s make it a great week!

Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Museum Shop: Chicken Bucket Dog Toy

Guess who just landed in the Frazier Museum? That’s right: the one and only Colonel Sanders! Come celebrate this finger-lickin’ icon, and while you’re here, don’t forget to swing by the shop for a toy bucket of chicken . . . just for your dog! It’s pawsitively delicious.

Frazier to Bring Model T to Bourbon & Beyond, September 20–22

As many of you know, September is Bourbon Heritage Month in the Commonwealth and, once again, the Frazier is thrilled to be in the heart of all the activity. Bourbon is America’s only native spirit and well over two million people visit Kentucky each year to experience it. While here, they also learn about our diverse culture, our beautiful landscape, our welcoming people, and our incredible impact on the world.

A big thanks to all of you who helped kick things off on Thursday, September 5, at the Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier. What a night! Our daily tours and tastings are poppin’ and it’s so fun welcoming people from all around the world in the middle of their Kentucky Bourbon Trail® journeys.

Saturday, I had the honor of playing the role of emcee at Bourbon Hall of Famer Fred Noe’s house for an Icons Dinner as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. It featured Fred and Freddie Noe from Jim Beam, Bill and Rob Samuels from Maker’s Mark, Brent Elliott from Four Roses, Steve Nalley from Bardstown Bourbon Company, and Royce Neeley from Hidden Barn. Big personalities, great stories, and premium, hard-to-find Bourbon made this a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Talk about a kid in a candy store!

Next week, the Frazier turns its attention to Bourbon & Beyond where we will once again welcome folks into our Model T for photographs at the festival. If you are heading out to the Highlands Festival Grounds, please stop by and say hello. Our team will take pictures for you and offering $10 off Bourbon tastings at the Frazier. I sure do hope to see you there!

Andy Treinen
President & CEO

Sippin’ with Stephen: Gold Rushes with Heaven’s Door

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

This month’s guests on Sippin’ with Stephen hail from Heaven’s Door Distillery: national brand manager Adam Edwards and Kentucky brand manager Grant Williams. Adam briefs viewers on the upcoming opening of the Heaven’s Door Distillery in Pleasureville, Henry County, as well as the newly opened Bourbon brand center, Last Refuge, in the NuLu neighborhood of Louisville. For more information, visit the Heaven’s Door website. Plus, Grant shares his recipe for a Gold Rush cocktail, which features honey aged in an Ascension Bourbon barrel.

Recipe for Gold Rush

Ingredients:

2 oz. Ascension Bourbon

1 oz. lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed

1 oz. Heaven’s Door Barrel-Aged Honey

Lemon twist for garnish

Instructions:

First, add Bourbon, barrel-aged honey, and lemon juice into cocktail shaker. Second, strain into a chilled rocks glass over one large ice cube. Third, garnish with lemon twist.

Stephen Yates
Community & Corporate Sales Manager

Join Us October 8 for a Special Reading with Frank X Walker

Anything is special when former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker is a part of it, but October 8 at the Frazier is going to be extra special.

We’re calling it A Special Reading with Frank X Walker. He’ll read from his newly released book Load in Nine Times, which has been referred to as “pathbreaking historical poetry.”

The description of the book reads: “In this stirring new collection, he reimagines the experiences of Black Civil War soldiers, including his own ancestors—who enlisted in the Union Army in exchange for emancipation.”

Eighteen of those poems are featured in our Commonwealth exhibition at the Frazier. And on October 8, Frank X Walker will be in that space with you, for a very small and intimate gathering, to read many of those poems.

Our curator Amanda Briede will talk about the photos and artifacts that inspired the poetry. Steve Phan from Camp Nelson National Monument will give historical context to the Kentucky site that served as a recruitment and training center for the United State Colored Troops.

It will be special.

Frank X Walker will also sell and sign copies of his book that evening.

There are only forty available seats for the 6 p.m. program, so purchase your tickets quickly.

The book signing is free and open to the public starting at 7 p.m.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Frazier Included in Augmented Reality Experience with (Un)Known Project

The Frazier is so pleased to be included in the new augmented reality (AR) and hologram experience being publicly launched by the (Un)Known Project on Saturday, September 21, at 11 a.m.

Guests will first gather at On the Banks of Freedom and In Our Elders’ Footprints along the Louisville Riverwalk. The group will then move to the Frazier History Museum where the experience will add new AR layers to the installations within our Commonwealth exhibition.

The experience is developed in collaboration with Collimation and MindWise and is called Footprints Through Time. It will immerse users in history to learn profound truths and dispel the myths surrounding the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

I don’t want to give too much away, but this AR experience will be presented through the eyes of a young person named Isaac—but you will be part of it as well.

We’re involved because of our connections to our past, and we certainly all have a stake in the future and what we want it to be. History can be tough, but there can’t be a reckoning unless we learn about it and pledge to do better, and be better.

We hope you’ll join us on September 21. Click here to sign up. It is free and open to the public. RSVP’s are requested but not required.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Frazier Staff Makes New and Creative Use of Theatre Space

The next time you walk past the theatre while a field trip is on site here at the Frazier Museum, some interesting things might catch your eye. It could be Zach performing a puppet show on a super cool Kentucky artist, Kent playing instruments during an interactive musical presentation on early America, Sarah or Nicole running a Kentucky-themed game show, or Mick on banjo singing and sharing stories.

It would make sense to think all those folks work full time serving our school programs, but they don’t. Mick takes breaks from creating video content to sing those songs, Zach squeezes puppet shows in between planning camps and family days, and Kent finds time between writing grants to present for students.

We’re lucky to have a creative bunch here at the Frazier, and many of our staff have an abundance of talents to share beyond their main job description. For many years, we had actors on staff to perform for guests and students, but that model has changed over time and this year we needed to adapt. Luckily, it’s not the first time we’ve needed to pivot here at the Frazier—so we’re getting pretty good at it. Some of the new presentations are up and running, and some are in the works, but I’m excited to know that our visiting students will have exposure to fun, engaging, and artistic presentations during their field trips—just in a little bit of a different way!

Megan Schanie
Sr. Manager of Educational Programs

Silent Auction for 2024 Frazier Classic Now Live and Open to Public!

We’re excited to announce that our Silent Auction for this year’s Frazier Classic Clay Shooting Tournament is live today! Our auction features hand-crafted Bourbon barrel home goods, Kentucky travel experiences, and hard-to-find Bourbons such as Old Forester President’s Choice, Kentucky Peerless, and Fiftieth Anniversary Woodford Reserve. Bidding runs through Friday, September 27.

By placing your bids on a selection of incredible items, you’ll directly support the Frazier History Museum’s educational and community outreach programs. Every dollar raised allows us to continue to offer enriching opportunities to students and families throughout the region. So, get ready to bid and make a difference!

Leslie Anderson
Membership & Partnership Manager

Board Games, Box Forts, and Fun at Frazier’s 2024 Fall Break Camp!

The autumn equinox is this week, and the shift in seasons has our thoughts turning to fall break camp! We’ve been getting ready for our games and free play camp by gathering our miniatures and our luckiest twenty-sided die. We hope you can make it!

Every day of fall break camp is dedicated to playing and gaming. We’ll play outside, build box forts, and learn new board games. On Wednesday, we’ll play a starter role playing game called Honey Heist, and on Thursday and Friday we’ll embark on a beginner-level Dungeons & Dragons campaign. It’s all freely chosen by the kids, with options for everyone, and it’s all fun and games.

Spots are going fast! Learn more or register here.

Zach Bramel
Manager of Youth & Family Programs

20th Anniversary Photo: Crafting Campers, 2010

As we open registration for our upcoming 2024 Fall Break Camp, I’d like to turn your attention to this photo of a day at our 2010 camp Chicks Rule!, where campers collaborated on a fun craft activity. Pictured at right is a young Megan Schanie, the Frazier education team superstar who’s made camps a special experience since the museum opened in 2004. Did anybody else notice the woman snapping a photo with a video iPod? Old tech alert!

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Highlights of 120: Morgan County: Sorghum Festival

Did you know there’s a festival in Kentucky devoted to the cereal grain sorghum? The fifty-third annual Morgan County Sorghum Festival will take place September 27–29, 2024! Find the history of this festival and other unique stories from Kentucky history in our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

For over fifty years, the annual Sorghum Festival has been held in West Liberty, Morgan County, Kentucky, on the last full weekend of September. Sorghum is an ancient grain original to Africa, but the variety of sweet sorghum used in syrups has been cultivated in the US since the 1850s. It was predominantly used in the South, as the Union’s naval blockade made it difficult for Confederates to access sugar cane. Families who were against slavery also sometimes grew their own sweet sorghum as a way of boycotting sugar cane plantations. West Liberty’s Sorghum Festival offers a wide variety of Appalachian handicrafts, folk art, and other foods in addition to sorghum. Visitors can view a live demonstration of how sorghum is made on a mule-drawn mill and sample the sorghum before it’s bottled.

Bridging the Divide

Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control tell us more than 1 in 5 adults live with a mental illness. Those same numbers hold basically true for our young people. I think as a society we have gotten better about discussing mental health and reducing the stigma that comes with it. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Louisville’s VA Medical Center reached out to me about sharing valuable information about suicide prevention—particularly since veterans are at high risk. As the daughter of a veteran, I welcomed the article. I hope you will take the time to read it.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Working at the Robley Rex VA Medical Center in Louisville, we have the privilege of taking care of the people who have served and protected our country. The VA takes into consideration on a daily basis the fact that veterans are at a higher risk for suicide than the general population. The (unadjusted) rate of suicide in 2021 among US veterans was 33.9 per 100,000 (6,392 veterans) versus non-veteran US adults at a rate of 16.7 per 100,000 (40,020 non-veterans). To address this issue, the VA has implemented strategies and interventions to reduce suicide, including annual evidence-based suicide screenings for ALL veterans, in-depth safety planning, changing the Veteran and Military Suicide Crisis Hotline to an easier-to-remember number—988 Press 1—suicide-specific treatment modalities, and providing routine education and training for providers. The most important line of defense is encouraging safety with firearms in the home, called Lethal Means Safety (LMS).  LMS, simply put, means putting time and distance between the lethal means and the veteran at risk for suicide. VA providers are trained to have conversations about Lethal Means Safety and we’ve locally distributed over 3,000 gun locks to individuals free of charge. Research shows that 71% of suicide attempts occur within one hour of the decision to kill oneself.

This means that every second matters because it is an opportunity for somebody to change their mind and save their life. LMS can come in different forms and should be tailored to the individual, as there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to strategies. Oftentimes gunlocks are the main focus with LMS due to the lethality and especially with the rise in firearm sales since COVID. As illustrated in the pie charts pictured, suicide completion by firearm is more prevalent than all other methods combined, for once that bullet is discharged from the firearm, it cannot be put back in.

Individuals are encouraged to secure their firearms using any strategies that work for them, for example: having somebody hold onto the firearms for short time, using gun safes, using gun locks, storing ammo and weapons separately, keeping weapons unloaded, etc.

Other strategies include (but are not limited to):

• Working with loved ones, professionals, roommates to determine what strategy would be most effective in adding time and distance between deciding to kill oneself and being able to do so is a key strategy to address the rising suicidal crisis in this country.

• Keeping medications secured.

• Keeping the rope that can be used to hang oneself secured in storage or untied.

• Parking car outside of the garage should carbon monoxide be the preferred method.

• One universal suggestion is to place a picture of a loved one (spouse, child, sibling, pet, etc.) next to the potential threat to hopefully give pause before action occurs.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, or need some guidance regarding somebody else who may be in crisis, please contact the Crisis Hotline at #988. One of the trained responders will be able to assist 24 hours per day.

Sources

1. VA Office of Suicide Prevention. (2023). 2023 National Suicide Prevention Annual Report; Veterans Affairs.

2. Simon, T. R. , Swann, A. C., Powell, K. E., Potter, L. B., Kresnow, M., and O’Carroll, P. W.  Characteristics of Impulsive Suicide Attempts and Attempters. SLTB. 2001; 32(supp):49-59.

3. Miller, M., Zhang, W., Azrael, D. (2022). Firearm Purchasing During COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From the 2021 National Firearms Survey. Annals of Internal Medicine, February 175(2). 219-225.

Joshua Singer
Suicide Prevention Program Manager, Robley Rex Louisville VA Medical Center
Guest Contributor