Oldham County Abolitionist Henry Bibb, Musical Kentucky: McLean–Nelson, Former Boston Celtic Clarence Glover, and More
Good Monday morning,
Today kicks off the last week of Bourbon Heritage Month! If you’ve ever doubted the incredible impact America’s one and only native spirit has on our Commonwealth, doubt no more. When the world celebrates Pappy, Elijah, Old Fo’, Wild Turkey, Maker’s, and Michter’s—the party is in Kentucky!
Bourbon & Beyond festivalgoers pose in the Frazier’s Model T, September 15, 2023. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
From Bourbon & Beyond to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and other events throughout the year, Bourbon brings millions of tourists to the state and has an economic impact of over $9 billion. There are 22,500 Kentuckians employed in the industry, which accounts for $285 million in taxes. There are 4.5 million people aging in the Commonwealth, but a staggering 11.4 million barrels of Bourbon aging.
Every day, as the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, we at the Frazier History Museum enjoy hosting visitors from around the world, folks who are here to learn why 95% of the Bourbon in the world—and 100% of the good Bourbon—is made in Kentucky. Those guests have the opportunity to experience our tastings and select from the over 100 Bourbons available for sale in our gift shop, including some historic options dating back to the 1920s.
Also in today’s Frazier Weekly, we roll out our Spooky Saturday program, sports betting is now legal in Kentucky, and the Frazier Classic is just a few days away. The auction this year is open to both participants and the public—and there are some rare experiences to bid on, including a tour, tasting, and rooftop dinner with yours truly.
We also feature ten more songs from our Musical Kentucky playlist, a great partnership with our friends at Cave Hill Cemetery Foundation, and the incredible story of abolitionist Henry Bibb.
I hope you enjoy.
Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
From the Collections: Frazier to Showcase Objects at Cave Hill Cemetery
Victorian mourning watch fob. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
One of the amazing things about working here at the Frazier History Museum is our community partners. We are so grateful for the many partners we have and work with. Because of this we, are so excited to get the opportunity to support our partner Cave Hill Cemetery on their eleventh annual event Cocktails by the Lake on Tuesday, October 3. This is a great evening to celebrate the history of Cave Hill Cemetery. Cave Hill has been around for 175 years and is the resting place for many of Louisville’s historical figures.
This year, the Frazier will be coming to support its community partner. We on the Frazier’s curatorial team thought it would be a fun opportunity to bring some of our collection to Cave Hill for viewing. We will look at some Victorian mourning pieces, like the watch fob pictured, as well as items from the Civil War and a few specialty pieces from Owsley Brown Frazier’s original collection. You can get your tickets to the event here and come out to support our partners Cave Hill.
Tish Boyer
Registrar & Manager of Collections Engagement
Curator’s Corner: Last Week to See Pappy Van Winkle Exhibition!
Bottles on display in the Frazier’s Pappy Van Winkle exhibition, September 21, 2023. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Reminder! This week will be your last chance to see our exhibition Pappy Van Winkle: The Van Winkle Family Collection. This exhibition features highlights from the Van Winkle Family Archive, part of our collection here at the Frazier, as well as rare bottles and some of Pappy’s personal possessions, on loan from the Van Winkle family. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Van Winkle family for all their help with the exhibition and for loaning us such incredible, one-of-a-kind objects.
The last day to see the exhibition will be Sunday, October 1, so make plans to come catch your last glimpse of Pappy’s golf clubs!
Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions
Victorian Ghost Walk® Guide David Dominé to Headline Spooky Saturday
Save the date for our Spooky Saturday Family Day! On October 21, visit the museum for an afternoon of Halloween-themed fun. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., we’ll have themed activities, guests, and a family-friendly puppet and variety show. David Dominé will tell stories from his Louisville Historic Tours and Victorian Ghost Walk®. We’ll have a special edition of our guest engagement Dish with Tish in which registrar and manager of collections engagement Tish Boyer offers a show-and-tell about uncanny artifacts from our collection. Stay tuned for more info. Costumes are encouraged!
Also, we have a few spots left for Fall Break Camp, which will run October 3, 4, and 5. You can register your campers to join us for one day or for all three. We have loads of themed fun planned, including mask-making, not-too-creepy tales, the sweet history of candy, and “Scarey-oke” singing games.
Finally, our axolotl mascot Boba made his TV debut. Thanks for the story, WDRB! Boba won’t sign autographs, but he’ll be available for selfies during Fall Break Camp.
Zach Bramel
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Oldham County–Born Abolitionist and Newspaper Editor Henry Bibb
We’re working towards a big goal: collecting stories from all 120 counties in the Commonwealth for an installation in our galleries. You’ll learn more about the project—and hear plenty of Kentucky stories—in the months ahead. But for now, we wanted to share a story from Oldham County, as told by told by our friends at the Oldham County History Center.
Henry Bibb (1815–54) is certainly one of the most important Kentuckians. Since this is the last week of Underground Railroad Month, we felt it was a great time to share Bibb’s story.
Look for more in the future!
Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience
Musical Kentucky: A Song from each County, McLean–Nelson
Musical Kentucky graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
As a supplement to our Cool Kentucky exhibition, we’re curating a Spotify playlist of 120 songs: one song from each county in Kentucky. In 2023, once a month, we’ll share songs from ten counties, completing the playlist in December. For September, we’re sharing songs from these counties: McLean, Meade, Menifee, Mercer, Metcalfe, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, and Nelson.
State Line by Larah Helayne, 2019. Credit: Riser House Records.
Folk Songs of the Hills by Merle Travis, 1947. Credit: Capitol Records.
Eid by Yared Sound, 2020. Credit: Rhythm Science Sound.
“Hot Beer” by Dillon Carmichael. (Released May 14, 2021.) A baritone from Burgin, Mercer County, Dillon Carmichael has a toxic ex who wants to reconcile. His response? “I’d rather drink a hot beer, build a fire in the pouring rain / Burn all of my fishing gear, set sail in a hurricane / Go hunting with an empty gun, see a once-in-a-lifetime deer / Work a Saturday just for fun, then come home and drink a hot beer.”
“Margaret’s Waltz” by na Skylark. (Released October 22, 2017.) Raised in Tompkinsville, Monroe County, along the knobs of the Cumberland plateau, Irish harp and Appalachian dulcimer player Lorinda Jones is part of the all-women Celtic music trio na Skylark. In 2017, the group recorded “Margaret’s Waltz,” a song the late J. P. Fraley learned in the UK then performed at a fiddle contest in Kentucky.
“State Line” by Larah Helayne. (Released May 13, 2022.) Larah Helayne of Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, is a Queer, Appalachian banjoist and singer. As a rebound from their “first big gay breakup” in southeastern Kentucky, their heart led them to a Virginian. “I’m driving up the Clinch from the Kentucky side,” they sing, referencing Clinch Mountain. “I’ll meet you at the state line if I can see you tonight.”
“Sixteen Tons” by Merle Travis. (Released June 9, 1947.) “You load sixteen tons—what do you get? / Another day older and deeper in debt,” country western picker Merle Travis (1917–83) of Rosewood, Muhlenberg County, croons on his 1947 folk song about a western Kentucky coal miner suffering in debt bondage. “St. Peter don’t you call `cause I can’t go / I owe my soul to the company store!”
“Eid” by Yared Sound. (Released December 18, 2020.) Originally from Bardstown, Nelson County, Jared Zarantonello, a.k.a. Yared Sound, is a sound artist and an educator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries in Louisville. A mix of electronic drum programming, sampling, and turntablism, “Eid” features plucked oud strings and vocal melodies sampled and scratched from a vinyl recording of a Sudanese children’s choir.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Angel’s Envy and Hotworx Packages up for Bid in Frazier Classic Online Auction
Join us for an exciting online auction in conjunction with our upcoming fundraising event, the Owsley Brown Frazier Classic Sporting Clay Shoot. From now until September 29, you have the opportunity to bid on an array of exclusive items and experiences that capture the spirit of Kentucky. This week, we’re highlighting two amazing additions to our auction.
Angel’s Envy gift package. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
First, indulge in something heavenly with a Signature Tour at Angel’s Envy Distillery! The Signature Tour is an hour-long experience where you will see the Bourbon distillation process firsthand, from start to finish. You will go into the heart of the distilling operation and finish with a tasting of the Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels and Angel’s Envy Rye Finished in Caribbean Rum Casks. In addition to your tour experience, this gift set comes with a bottle of Angel’s Envy Finished in Port Wine Barrels to enjoy along with a scented candle, branded socks, bowtie, and kerchief. It’s the whole package!
Hotworx gift package. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Next, get back into a fitness routine with a six-month membership at Hotworx, a 24-hour infrared fitness studio! Members get full access to the patented infrared heated rooms, online and in-person workout classes, and exercise equipment. A heated workout means you exercise for a shorter amount of time and burn even more calories. Start off in style with a Hotworx-branded t-shirt, water bottle, and variety pack of dietary supplements and hydration boosts. Valid at the Louisville Highlands location only.
Whether you’re an avid outdoorsperson, a Bourbon enthusiast, or someone who just loves to have a good time, this auction has something for everyone. Plus, every winning bid supports a great cause! Don’t miss out on the chance to participate in this fundraising event.
Bid now and let the excitement begin!
Hayley Harlow Rankin
Sr. Manager of Fundraising
Comedian Kevin Hart wants you in on the action. Actor John Goodman wants you in on it. Even Kentucky Sports Radio’s own Matt Jones wants you in on it. Unless you’ve been living under a rock here for the past month, you’ve probably noticed the avalanche of TV ads and videos imploring Kentuckians to sign up for one of the many online wagering apps that will be available for Kentuckians to use this week.
It’s the latest push by sportsbooks to let us know that legalized sports betting has finally arrived in the Commonwealth. The first wave has already happened. On September 7, the brick-and-mortar establishments like Churchill Downs in Louisville, the Red Mile in Lexington, Turfway Park in Florence, and the Mint Cumberland in Williamsburg—which already allowed for bets on horse races and/or gaming on machines that ran “historic races”—opened their doors to sports enthusiasts of different pursuits, particularly college football and the NFL, for in-person bets.
Now, with the advent of legal online sports wagering in the state upon us, this Thursday will be another watershed moment in the short history of legalized sports betting in Kentucky. On September 28, for the first time ever, Kentuckians will be able to legally place a bet online for sports not tied to the races.
To a degree, bettors will still have to lean on the brick-and-mortar establishments here to place their bets. One of the provisos of the House Bill that legalized sports betting in Kentucky is that online companies who want to do business in Kentucky must partner with the established racetracks and gaming facilities recognized by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission as venues where Kentuckians can legally wager in person.
Caesar’s has partnered with Red Mile and Keeneland, DraftKings has partnered with the Mint Cumberland, and FanDuel has partnered with Churchill Downs. So, it’s not truly unfettered sports betting for any Kentuckian with a sportsbook account and some money to spare. Still, all of this was a pipe dream only six months ago.
In March 2023, after some contentious debate, and some not-so-subtle grassroots lobbying by personalities of the likes of Jones, House Bill 551—the bill to legalize sports betting in Kentucky—passed both chambers of the General Assembly. It was the rare moment in Kentucky when the two major political parties agreed on something, though it did lead to a photo finish over which party leader crossed the finish line first for the bettors window.
How all of this will pan out for Kentuckians is anybody’s guess. Though sharps, professional bookies, and casual bettors in Kentucky more than likely welcome this new world—one in which they no longer have to drive across the Ohio River to Cincy or New Albany to place or take bets—it remains to be seen how Kentuckians who don’t wager on sports will receive this new development.
Also, there are bound to be Kentuckians, politicians, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens who regard sports betting as just a step above legalized gambling. To put it more bluntly, they might even see sports wagering and the Commonwealth’s legalization of it as a moral failing, daresay a sin.
A framed copy of the May 20, 1963, issue of Sports Illustrated with Louisville-native Green Bay Packers halfback Paul Hornung on the front cover on display in the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, September 21, 2023. In April 1963, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle had suspended Hornung and another player from football indefinitely for betting on NFL games and associating with undesirable persons. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Yet, ethical arguments aside, it might be wise to remember the story of Paul Hornung. Hornung (1935–2020) was an NFL Hall of Famer and a native Louisvillian. He was also an unabashed gambler. Despite being suspended by the National Football League in 1963 for betting on games (though, based on his autobiography Golden Boy, Hornung claimed he never bet against his team, the Green Bay Packers), Hornung saw nothing wrong in what he did. He regarded betting as “just another form of fun and entertainment.”
In fact, Hornung regarded gambling as a way of life in his hometown of Louisville. His Packers teammate Ron Kramer even remarked that “there are three things you do in Louisville: you either bet, book bets, or do both.”
And, to expand on that, one could argue that the Commonwealth has much of the same character, a place where what is normally considered a vice elsewhere is viewed as a way of life, even a storied tradition, here. The biggest event day on the social calendar here is centered around one two-minute horse race—a race on which Americans wagered $233 million last year. In other words, the hand-wringing over sports betting becoming legal here could be viewed as a long-settled fait accompli for a place where sports and horse racing (and horse race betting) have been key economic drivers for years, well before legalization was on anyone’s mind.
And, though there might come a day of reckoning for such enjoyment (as the controversy surrounding the number of horse deaths during this year’s Spring Meet at Churchill Downs attests), this moment in Kentucky history is still noteworthy. It marks a rare occasion when many Kentuckians reached an agreement over a divisive political issue. It also signifies a changing of the guard, one in which the races are no longer the only game in town . . . legally, that is.
Brian West
Teaching Artist
Bridging the Divide
Clarence Glover on his Journey from Horse Cave to the NBA
Clarence Glover as a Boston Celtics player, 1972–72.
Clarence Glover, c. 2023.
It was an email that really stopped me in my tracks. I’ll explain. Frazier board member Clarence Glover sent me an email sharing a bit about his life and asked me to share something about mine. I thought it was a lovely gesture, and I began reading about his journey. I knew a little about Clarence with his storied basketball career, and I certainly knew of his community work from my time at WHAS-TV and Clarence’s support of the Crusade for Children.
But as I kept reading, the more I realized I didn’t know the essence of Clarence, and certainly didn’t know the totality of what a remarkable life he has led. He was born in Horse Cave, Kentucky, and for the most part grew up in a rented two-room house with no indoor plumbing. Clarence slept on the floor. By eleven years old he was working in the tobacco fields. But this same man would attend, graduate, and play basketball at Western Kentucky University, become a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics, get his master of education degree, and dedicate himself as a lifelong educator.
I called Clarence and we talked. I asked if we could talk more in an interview because he still had more to teach—certainly to me and others. By the way, he writes his grandchildren regular letters about his life—a wonderful oral history that I know they will treasure. It made me think about how much we really know about each other, how much of that history will be lost if we don’t share it. So here is my way of capturing some of the history of Clarence Glover.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Kentucky to the World Presents Basketball & Brotherhood: Breaking Barriers
In the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, there’s a station where visitors can watch videos by Kentucky to the World—a nonprofit whose singular focus is to showcase extraordinary individuals with strong Kentucky ties, including geneticists, engineers, style icons, and more. We’ve asked our KTW partners to share info about a forthcoming program at the Kentucky Center.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
Basketball & Brotherhood: Breaking Barriers graphic. Credit: Kentucky to the World.
Kentucky to the World (KTW) returns to the Kentucky Center on Wednesday, September 27, bringing together University of Louisville (U of L) basketball legends who made history both on and off the court. Tickets are now available on the Ali Center website.
This conversation will explore the barrier-breaking era of desegregation with former U of L basketball players who paved the way for future athletes and went on to become leaders in their communities and businesses. Learn more about the program and the distinguished guests on the KTW website.
Prior to the public program, Kentucky to the World will hold a special Student-Briefing program for local middle school through university-age students to have an opportunity to meet privately with our distinguished guests. Contact David Thurmond at david@kentuckytotheworld.org for more information on the Student-Briefing program and how to register your student.
Morgan Whittinghill
Project Director & Partnership Coordinator, Kentucky to the World
Guest Contributor
