Calling all philanthropists! And yes, I’m talking to YOU. The practice of philanthropy (that is, giving of your own means for the good of others) is not restricted to those named Carnegie or Rockefeller. Anyone can do it, and this week is perhaps the easiest time of the year to enact real change through charitable giving.

On Thursday, September 12, the Frazier History Museum, alongside hundreds of other Louisville nonprofit organizations, will participate in Give for Good Louisville, our city’s biggest day of giving. We will livestream from the museum and share stories all day long on our socials. You don’t have to wait until Thursday, though. You can give right now by clicking here to visit the Frazier’s giving page.

Every donation made this week does even more good by entering the Frazier into drawings for extra prizes organized by the Community Foundation of Louisville. Your support means we can keep offering free field trips to Title 1 schools, telling the stories of amazing Kentuckians like Oksana Masters, and providing you with opportunities to learn and play together right here at the museum.

After this week of goodwill, we will give right back to you by opening our doors for Community & Family Day this Saturday, September 14! Local children’s authors and illustrators, including our own Mick Sullivan, will tell stories. Families who mention Family Day can enjoy free admission from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.!

We hope you’ll join us online or in person during this very active week.

In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, Amanda Briede highlights a new addition to Cool Kentucky, Rachel Platt celebrates Oksana’s latest Paralympic feats, Elmer Lucille Allen discusses her induction into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, and more!

Kent Klarer
Grant Manager & Writer
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Join Us this Saturday for Community & Family Day!

Every writer can tell you that the work of writing is rigorous. I can feel the creative weight when I hold a finished and published book, when I contemplate the months or years that went into it. And ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to ask my favorite writers questions like: “Did it turn out like you expected?” or “Is this your job?” or “Where did this story begin?”

On Saturday, September 14, we get to ask our questions at a special Community and Family Day. I’m calling it a Storytellers Showcase, and I’ve invited local authors and illustrators to come share with kids and the community their work and their stories. Everyone is invited to this free Family Day, where you can ask a question, buy a book, have a picnic, or catch a free story time or presentation.

Check the event schedule here to see which storyteller presentations you want to catch. Age recommendations are specified, but folks of all ages are welcome. We are offering free admission for families and participants who mention Family Day at admission during the event.

We hope you can join us!

Zach Bramel
Manager of Youth & Family Programs

Curator’s Corner: “Sunshine” Joe Mallard Quilt Added to Cool Kentucky

One new and exciting addition to Cool Kentucky this week is a quilt by “Sunshine” Joe Mallard. If you attended the Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers program we hosted this past January, you’re already familiar with the bright and sunny disposition that earned Joe his nickname. Sunshine Joe’s quilts are filled with multiple years’ worth of stitching, knot tying, and quilting. Trust me: his quilts are some that you really need to see in person! The details are truly incredible.

We are proud to now have Sunshine Joe’s 2023 quilt titled Let Freedom Ring on display in our Cool Kentucky exhibition. The stitchwork of the quilt was completed by Sunshine Joe himself, with quilting by Angelique Shah on a long arm machine.

Be sure to stop by the Artistic Kentucky section of Cool Kentucky the next time you visit the Frazier to see Sunshine Joe’s quilt in person!

Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Oksana Masters Wins Gold at 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris

She is the stuff legends are made of: it’s why we’ve highlighted Oksana Masters in our Cool Kentucky exhibition here at the Frazier. And the legend keeps unfolding at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris as Oksana wins yet another gold medal and has the chance to win even more. She was one of the torchbearers as part of the opening ceremony, calling it her biggest honor. Oksana was born with limb disabilities believed to be linked to the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. Both legs were later amputated. She was adopted and raised in Louisville. I had the good fortune of interviewing her several years ago while working at WHAS-TV in what I liked to call a Cinderella moment for Oksana. I knew even then she was the stuff legends are made of.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Susan Sweeney Crum to Join Us for Coach Kelsey Program Next Week

Becoming the head coach of men’s basketball at the University of Louisville comes with a lot of expectations and certainly a storied past with legendary coaches.

Susan Sweeney Crum, the wife of the late Coach Denny Crum, will join us on September 17 as we welcome new head coach Pat Kelsey to the Frazier.

Tipoff to the regular season is almost here, and anticipation for what comes next is almost palpable.

“There is so much great energy and excitement surrounding the upcoming basketball season and the start of a new era,” Susan told me. “I don’t know any Cardinal fan who isn’t excited about and looking forward to that first game.”

So come join us and get to know Coach Kelsey, who is like the energizer bunny after an energy drink!

Andy Treinen and I had better be ready to keep up. Lucky us, we will have some iconic sports names join us to ask a few questions, too, like Van Vance, Paul Rogers, Bob Valvano, and Russ Brown.

They may not know Coach Kelsey very well, but they know this program and its fans, and what it will take to get it back to where fans want it.

And that brings me to a special piece Susan and Coach Crum loaned to the Frazier, a painting of the 1980 championship team that now hangs in our Cool Kentucky exhibition.

Those are the lofty goals of U of L fans—and my guess is the hope of Coach Kelsey, too.

But first things first!

Get your tickets for September 17.

The night will come with fanfare as the U of L Pep Band joins us to usher in a new day, a new coach, and—fingers crossed!—a winning season.

We all know this job comes with a lot of expectations.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Last Week’s Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier was the Bee’s Knees

Thank you to everyone who turned out last Thursday for our annual Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier! Michter’s mixed delicious cocktails while RK Bluegrass served 1920s-themed hors d’oeuvres like the Bootlegger, the Bee’s Knees, the Big Cheese, the Hotsy-Totsy, and the Rhatz. Andre Wilson crowned the Best Dressed and Bourbon Tango kept the dance floor packed.

We look forward to hosting all you cool cats again in 2025!

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Frazier’s New Sign Proclaims Kentucky’s Largest History Museum!

New sign, same Frazier! The museum recently installed a new sign on the back of the building facing the Ohio River. Spanning the second and third floors above Washington Street, the sign proclaims: “KENTUCKY’S LARGEST HISTORY MUSEUM!” Pictured is a young visitor exploring our Commonwealth exhibition. The next time you’re riding down I-64, check it out!

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

Flotsam River Circus to Anchor at Waterfront Park for Free Performances this Weekend

The circus is floating to town this weekend! From September 13 to 15, Flotsam River Circus will drop anchor at Louisville’s Waterfront Park for three free public performances.

Flotsam is a troupe of musicians, circus performers, and puppeteers traveling on a handmade ramshackle raft. The troupe is on a 1,000-mile journey down the Ohio River, floating from Pittsburgh to Paducah and making thirty-eight stops along the way to perform free family-friendly shows.

Daily performances will be offered this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 6 p.m. Each performance will take place at Waterfront Park near Joe’s Crab Shack

The performances are kid-friendly but meant for ALL ages.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come early for a good spot!

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.

Zach Bramel
Manager of Youth & Family Programs

Over the summer, I had the privilege to work with two incredible interns through the Smithsonian Leadership for Change Internship program: Belle Forrest and Alexandria Groves. The main job of these interns was to work on research and writing for the upcoming exhibition Love & Marriage. They had the opportunity to work with me to build the exhibition from the ground up, creating the exhibition outline and layout and looking at objects from our collection. The article below is some of Alexandria’s research about Madame Glover, a Louisville dressmaker who was famous for her wedding gowns. If this sounds like something you’d like to spend your summer doing, check back with us next spring to find out more about the application process for the Smithsonian Leadership for Change Internship.—Amanda Briede, Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

Madame Glover, formerly named Annie Casey, was an immigrant from Gallaway, Ireland. During the Gilded Age, she was a successful businesswoman who operated a shop in Louisville from 1891 until 1912. Her father died in 1879, so she began looking for work in stores like Close & Wasson and Sharpe & Middleton, where she began her career as a dressmaker. Here she gained notoriety for her abilities and started to obtain a following. After her wedding to Walter E. Glover in 1886, she opened her first store here in Louisville, located where the convention center is now. Brides and fans of her work would come from across the country to have her make their dresses for all sorts of occasions. She was known for making dresses for debutante balls, high profile events like the Kentucky Derby, weddings, and most notably trousseaus. While many of the other dresses were commissioned by wealthy women, these trousseaus were often purchased by middle class women as well. This meant that the average woman in Gilded Age Louisville could own one of Madame Glover’s highly sought-after pieces. Additionally, these trousseaus help us gain a unique glance into the life of middle-class women during this era as clothing was one of the few ways women of this time could freely express themselves. During her life, Annie, the woman behind Madame Glover, made over one hundred trips to Europe to study current trends and purchase cloth and trimmings. She would bring back these styles and materials to Louisville and is credited with introducing controversial fashion trends like the hobble skirt to Kentucky. The hobble skirt—often worn with a hobble garter—was introduced to Louisville society in 1910 and was an ankle-length skirt that grew incredibly narrow at its hem to create a tight-fitting skirt. The original hobble skirt was inspired by Mrs. Hart O’Berg, who tied her skirt around her ankles so that it would not billow up when joining the Wright brothers on their new “flying machine.” Despite its restrictive nature, the hobble skirt was a beloved trend by women for its sleek silhouette but frequently mocked by their contemporary men who claimed it to be yet another sign of women’s inability to take on a larger role outside the domestic sphere. Annie Glover retired in 1912 after her husband’s passing and went on to live another thirty-five years in New York City. While, like most women of the Gilded Age, many aspects of her life were largely dictated by men, her career allowed her the opportunity to make an impact and experience a small degree of independence. Her designs convey this as they are undeniably feminine—with their floral motifs, floor-length skirts, and lace detailing—but were on the cutting edge of even controversial fashion trends, thus expressing a degree of independence from the male gaze. Madame Glover’s designs not only gave her a small amount of freedom but gave their wearers some of that freedom, too.

Alexandria Groves
Smithsonian Leadership for Change Intern

Bridging the Divide

Elmer Lucille Allen on her 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Induction

When I need a dose of inspiration, I think of Elmer Lucille Allen. And for many reasons. This week, she’ll be inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. In 1966, she was the first African American chemist hired at Brown-Forman. She is featured in our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition at the Frazier for her accomplishments. At ninety-three years young, Elmer Lucille lives life to the fullest, still taking classes at the University of Louisville after receiving her MA in creative arts in 2002. She is the epitome of “use it or lose it.” I called her and said we need to sit down and do an interview with you about this latest in a string of awards. She was ready, with a smile on her face and an infectious laugh that in itself is a lesson in life. Please take a few minutes to watch and learn.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

20th Anniversary Photo: Elmer Lucille and Owsley, 2006

In addition to being a 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductee, Elmer Lucille Allen is a longtime friend of the museum—and the museum’s late founder, Owsley Brown Frazier, who passed away in 2012. In this 2006 photo from our archives, you can see Elmer snapping a photo of Owsley as he cuts the ribbon at an exhibition opening at the Frazier.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

History All Around Us

How About them River Cowboys Cleaning up Red River Gorge?

You may have heard the phrase “be part of the solution, not the pollution.” Some folks take it to heart, like the Kentucky Waterways Alliance. There’s a new documentary out about keeping Kentucky’s prized Red River Gorge clean for us all to enjoy, especially the river. But there’s a problem that needs fixing, so river cowboys to the rescue.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission

River Cowboys
Kentucky Waterways Alliance Film Premiere
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Doors Open: 6 p.m.
Program: 7 p.m.
Admission: $20 (Each Ticket Includes a Free Beer!)
Gravely Brewing
514 Baxter Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204

Please join the Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) for the premiere of River Cowboys, KWA’s new documentary exploring Kentucky’s cherished Red River Gorge and the dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to restore and preserve the Gorge’s pristine beauty.

This short film not only showcases the stunning landscapes of the Gorge but also highlights an ongoing environmental challenge: the removal of scores of discarded tires from the river that flows through this iconic area. Over the years, KWA and Friends of Red River have removed hundreds of waste tires from the Gorge’s namesake Red River. The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the tire removal efforts, offering a glimpse into the hard work and determination of the volunteers who dedicate their time to this crucial task. Through interviews and powerful visuals, the film conveys the volunteers’ deep commitment to preserving the natural beauty of the Red River Gorge.

Following the film, KWA will host a short discussion with some of the people featured in the film. Before and after the formal program, there will be plenty of time for socializing, food, and drinks. Each audience member will be given a ticket for a free beer. Food is on the house.

Here’s the link for tickets.

Since 1993, KWA has protected, restored, and celebrated the unique waters of the Commonwealth. For more information, visit kwalliance.org.

Michael Washburn
Executive Director, Kentucky Waterways Alliance
Guest Contributor