Good Monday morning,

It’s a special week for the Frazier as we take our storytelling on the road. Tuesday night the Cave Hill Heritage Foundation will recognize a tremendous partnership with the Frazier in honoring many of the historic figures buried at Cave Hill Cemetery. I am incredibly honored to be the guest emcee.

If you’ve attended Cocktails by the Lake in the past, you know what a special evening it is. This year, Cave Hill is celebrating 175 years of excellence with incredible stories about Kentuckians who left this world a better place before reaching their final resting place at Cave Hill.

As most of you know, the Frazier is Where the World Meets Kentucky, so it makes perfect sense that we are telling those stories. It’s as simple as engaging the videos on our mobile Frazier+ through QR codes on the program. There will be seven stories to introduce the program, but we’re hoping to one day include hundreds. If you’d like to support this initiative, please let me know.

This trailblazing story about Louisville sculptor Enid Yandell will give you an idea how it works, as will this video sharing some fun little tidbits about our founder, Owsley Brown Frazier. You’ll learn who rests in the longest casket at Cave Hill, how the 1937 flood inspired the Louisville Orchestra, and so much more.

Also this week, we’ve got a video celebrating Lincoln from one of our Cool Kentucky counties, an 1875 artifact of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, the launch of a new Bourbon tasting with Lexington Brewing and Distilling, and an upcoming program offering resources for Mental Health Day, which is October 10.

I hope you enjoy.

This Week in the Museum

Lincoln Museum on Lincoln Days in Hodgenville, LaRue County

As we mentioned last week, we’re working towards a big goal: collecting and sharing stories from every county in the Commonwealth. With Hodgenville’s Lincoln Days Celebration coming in the weekend ahead in LaRue County—on Saturday, October 7, and Sunday, October 8—we couldn’t resist sharing this incredible story from Rob Thurman at the Lincoln Museum.

Take a minute and learn about an incredible gathering on what would have been Lincoln’s one hundredth birthday in 1909.

And if you’re looking for some fun this weekend, the Lincoln Days festival is a great option!

From the Collections: Ledger of Mary Lincoln’s Hospitalization, 1875

One of our country’s most popular presidents was President Abraham Lincoln. However, one of the country’s most unpopular first ladies was Mary Todd Lincoln.

Born in 1818 in Lexington, Kentucky, Mary Todd Lincoln had a very difficult life. From an early age, she was prone to depression and migraine headaches. An outspoken and politically active woman, she often worked to advance her husband’s career. She wasn’t shy with her options and with her views—even though women at the time were expected to keep such options to themselves. Throughout her adult life, she treated her depression with excessive spending, purchasing the latest fashions and furnishings.

When the Lincolns entered the White House in 1861, Mary did not conform to convention; instead, she made herself very visible to the public. She also took on the task of giving the White House a much-needed makeover, spending $20,000 in the first year. However, the country had just entered the Civil War, and many viewed Mary’s excessive spending as frivolous and wasteful. During the Civil War, she worked tirelessly to provide food to the local hospitals and comfort to wounded soldiers. Regardless of her philanthropic work, though, it was her spending that filled the headlines.

Bellevue Place ledger open to the page on which Mary Lincoln’s hospitalization from May to September 1875 is documented. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

By 1875, Mary Todd Lincoln had suffered the loss of three children and the assassination of her husband. She became known in public for her excessive spending and erratic behavior such as acute anxiety, insomnia, and delusions. This behavior, coupled with her unwillingness to retire quietly, caused great public embarrassment to Mary Todd Lincoln’s only remaining son and male relative, Robert Todd Lincoln. He decided something had to be done about his mother’s behavior. In May 1875, Mary Todd Lincoln was arrested and made to stand trial to defend her sanity. Her lawyer did not contest her case and allowed seventeen witnesses to testify to her unable mind, without calling any witnesses of his own. On May 19, an all-male jury declared her insane. On May 20, Mary Todd Lincoln was taken to Bellevue Place, an upscale mental sanitarium for women in Batavia, Illinois.

But that was not the end for Mary Todd Lincoln. Despite the verdict, she worked to find a way to be released. She did what she had been convicted of not doing: she lived a normal life, taking carriage rides, interacting socially with the superintendent’s wife, and writing letters to friends and family. Hiring lawyers James and Myra Bradwell, she managed to secure her release from Bellevue place in record time, leaving the institution on September 11, 1875. Then, on June 15, 1876, Mary Todd Lincoln was declared sane in a Chicago court. Today, some historians speculate that the case of Mary Todd Lincoln is not one of insanity—rather, they argue, she showed symptoms that resemble post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the Frazier’s exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall, you can see the court documents of her arrest and the verdict that declares her insane. An additional item—one that is in our collection, but not on view—is the ledger from Bellevue Place, where she was signed into residence.

Join Us October 26 for Life of the Barrel with Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

As the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and the home of Summer Beer Fest at Frazier, it’s always exciting to announce our next Bourbon program, especially when we have a good local brewery involved. This program is a first because they’re the same company. We’re proud to announce we’ll be hosting Life of the Barrel with Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. on October 26. They are the only stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® that’s both a distillery and a brewery.

What’s so fascinating is that they use one barrel to bring to life four products across two continents. Learn how they do it as we follow the life of the barrel through a guided tasting of six products, including Frazier’s Town Branch single barrel selection, which is on sale now and can be picked up at the event. All attendees will enjoy two Town Branch Bourbons, two Lexington Brewing beers, a Town Branch malt whiskey, and a Ha’Penny Irish Whiskey.

Whether you’re a whiskey and beer enthusiast or a newcomer, this event is an unforgettable immersive experience you don’t want to miss. Get tickets and your Town Branch Frazier single barrel selection bottle before they sell out.

Cheers.

Steven Michael Carr on the Magic of Storytelling

We have three storytellers lined up for our special partnership with WFPK on October 10. It’s our Stop the Stigma program on World Mental Health Day that is free to the public; you just have to sign up. Each speaker will couple their story with a song that has special meaning to them, and they’ll explain why. We hope you will perhaps see yourself in one of their stories, or in one of their songs. We are in this together. We will have resources available, light refreshments, and community. I asked one of our storytellers, Steven Michael Carr, to add his own personal touch to this invitation.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission

Stop the Stigma graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

When we tell stories about the things that happened to us, a kind of magic happens.

If I tell you the story of how I reconnected with my family through the passing of my grandmother, you listen and nod and at least once, you think, “Yes. Me, too.”

Perhaps it’s the part where I tell you my uncle could stand to drink a little less. Or how my mom makes the best meatloaf. Or maybe it’s the way I talk about how my grandmother never met a stranger. You hear these things, and you think, “My uncle, too,” or “My mom makes the best salmon patties,” or “My grandmother never met a stranger, either.”

As you listen to my story, your brain releases oxytocin, a chemical that creates feelings of empathy and connection. My story literally changes both of our brain chemistries.

You hear my story, and you say, “Yes. Me, too,” and both of us realize that we are not alone. And Black or White, cisgender or transgender, rural or urban, you and I are pulled just a little closer together. We realize that, though our experiences are wildly different, they are also very much the same human experience.

Our stories often have soundtracks to them. We hear the “Electric Slide” and are instantly transported to backyard barbecues or our best friend’s wedding. Songs, like stories, soothe our souls. They help us feel less alone. They give us words and sounds to process our feelings. When I need a good cry, I listen to Blue by Joni Mitchell and I let it all out.

When we share our stories and songs, a kind of magic happens. And whether we are at the mic or nodding along in our seats, in that moment we are—all of us—magicians.

Special Guests to Speak at October 19 Byron Crawford Program

It’s a story the editor of Kentucky Living magazine tells in the foreword of Byron Crawford’s new book. Shannon Brock says she always read the back page of a magazine first. And now she works at a magazine where many of her readers tell her the same thing—they read the back page first because that’s where they find Byron Crawford’s columns.

So how fitting that Crawford’s new book is titled The Back Page. It’s a compilation of his columns from Kentucky Living magazine published by Kentucky Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association that supports twenty-six electric cooperatives in Kentucky. Crawford has been telling the stories of our state and people for decades on radio and television, in newspapers, and now in magazines. He is quintessentially Kentucky and so are his stories.

We are excited to partner with Kentucky Living magazine and Kentucky Electric Cooperatives for our upcoming program on October 19, The Back Page: An Evening with Byron Crawford. I’m excited to reunite with my former co-anchor at WHAS-TV, Joe Arnold, who is now the vice president of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives, to moderate this program. “In the pages of Kentucky Living, Byron Crawford finds simple truths and profound meaning in the real-life stories of Kentuckians,” Arnold said. “We are so grateful for Byron and excited for this unique opportunity to hear him share a lifetime of Kentucky stories.”

The Secretary of Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet Lindy Casebier will also be joining us for some special words and an unveiling, as will one of Crawford’s children, Eric, who followed in his father’s footsteps as a writer.

As Joe said, we’ll hear a lifetime of Kentucky stories told by the storyteller himself, Byron Crawford. Don’t miss this special evening that is filling up quickly. You can buy your tickets here.

Museum Shop: Apple Butter and Buttermilk Biscuit Mix

This apple buttah is as good as it gets! It’s made with apples from family farms, without any corn syrup or artificial ingredients. It’s delicious on a hot buttered biscuit or toast. And it tastes like fall! Available in the Museum Shop.

Sarah Kays on History of Luckett & Farley, 1853–Present

Located on the 800 block of West Main Street in downtown Louisville, the Frazier History Museum occupies the Doerhoefer Building, a Chicago-style commercial structure of 100,000 square feet. Erected in 1898, the building is named after John Doerhoefer, the tobacco capitalist who commissioned architecture firm D. X. Murphy & Bros. (now operating as Luckett & Farley) to design the building. In honor of World Architecture Day—which is today, Monday, October 2!—we’ve asked Luckett & Farley marketing manager Sarah Kays to share a bit about the history of that firm. Luckett & Farley is currently celebrating its 170th year in business.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

Drawing of the Doerhoefer Building, c. 1910s.

Architectural history is a vital component of a community's cultural heritage. It shapes the physical and emotional landscape of a place, fostering a sense of identity, pride, and connection among its residents. Understanding and appreciating this history can lead to a more vibrant and cohesive community.

At Luckett & Farley, we believe in both the power of communities to shape the lives of their citizens and the power of design to shape those communities into places where citizens can thrive. Since 1853, Luckett & Farley has created spaces for people to live, learn, work, worship, entertain, and govern in Louisville and across the country. Although our name has changed over the years, the one constant has been our focus on a commitment to excellence, with designs that serve as catalysts for growth and connectivity.

While still a fledgling company in the mid-nineteenth century, our firm helped transform the young city of Louisville into a “five-story city” by designing historically significant structures for the area. On streets like Main, Market, and Broadway, there are entire blocks designed by Henry Whitestone or D. X. Murphy & Bros., the firm’s founding namesake. The iconic designs include the Churchill Downs Twin Spires and grandstand, City Hall Clock Tower, the original Galt House Hotel, and distillery buildings along what became Louisville’s Whiskey Row. With the firm’s extensive history, it is not uncommon to have designed buildings on a plot of land more than once. D. X. Murphy & Bros. designed the original building for what is now the Frazier History Museum in 1898 and, after the fire of 1916, also designed the renovations.

Historical architecture serves as a record of past successes and failures in urban planning, design, and construction. Luckett & Farley maintains over 4,000 original project drawing sets. This collection spans from some of our earliest projects to our transition to CAD documents in the late 1980s. Although the drawing sets for the Frazier Building have been lost, we have records of neighboring projects that were constructed during the same period. Peeling back the craft paper and unrolling drawings that have probably not been opened since their archiving is probably as close to a scene from Indiana Jones as you could experience. It connects you to another time and another person. It’s easy to see the careful, but human, hand at work in these documents. The meticulous hand-drawn ink on velum drawing sets are a relic of our industry. We can learn valuable lessons from Louisville’s architectural history, which can inform present-day decisions about development, preservation, and sustainable practices.

Today, Luckett & Farley continues its tradition as a creative hub where bright minds come together to create bold, innovative designs with an eye toward the greater good. The firm is a full-service architectural design and engineering agency for manufacturing, logistics, commercial, civic, and higher education clients. We are a one-hundred-percent employee-owned firm that offers a broad range of services, including engineering, interior design, landscaping, and master planning. Similar to the mission of the Frazier History Museum, at Luckett & Farley we feel a shared responsibility to protect and celebrate the historical assets of the city and state we call home.

Sarah Kays
Marketing Manager, Luckett & Farley
Guest Contributor

BIG Bourbon Club to Raise Money for LMPD Officer Nick Wilt’s Recovery

Officer Nickolas Wilt Fundraiser graphic. Credit: BIG Bourbon Club.

Steve Higdon is the founder of BIG Bourbon Club, which was created as a spinoff of his wildly successful TikTok account, Uncle Steve (@60secondbourbonreview). The club seeks to expand the universe of Bourbon lovers by giving access to Bourbon tutorials, histories, personalities, barrel picks, tastings, tours, and more. On Saturday, October 14, BIG Bourbon Club is presenting an evening with author Jessica Bird and Coors Whiskey Co. executive chairman David Coors. Jessica and David will discuss the impact Bourbon has had on pop culture, from sports to music, literature, beer, film, and TV. A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to the Louisville Metro Police Foundation to support Officer Nick Wilt’s recovery. In light of these generous efforts, we’ve asked Steve to share a bit about his involvement with the Frazier, which dates back two decades.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

The Frazier Museum is the premier history museum in Louisville and the first stop on our Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.

I’m Steve Higdon and I’m very proud to have played a small role in shaping the museum into what is today.

I served on museum founder Owsley Brown Frazier’s original steering committee—a committee whose mission was to help bring Mr. Frazier’s dream to life through fundraising, strategic planning, and creating business and civic partnerships.

Mr. Frazier asked me to serve on the original board of directors and he then had me represent him and the board in England helping to bring objects from the Royal Armouries here to Louisville.

And today, I’m extremely proud to continue my involvement through my BIG Bourbon Club. BIG has partnered with the Frazier in several ways, including holding events at the museum, serving as a guest speaker at the Frazier’s distillery events, and marketing the Frazier to my 5,000 members.

BIG is hosting a Bourbon-themed fundraiser for Officer Nicholas Wilt. I greatly appreciate the Frazier’s support in helping to make it successful.

Steve Higdon
Founder, BIG Bourbon Club
Guest Contributor

History All Around Us

Brief History of Sailing in Louisville, 1955–Present

Have you ever driven out River Road and seen the Ohio River dotted with white sails dipping in the breeze? Your eyes weren’t deceiving you: there are sailboats on the water in Louisville and there have been for a long time.

It’s true, sailing on the Ohio comes with some significant challenges. Heavy commercial traffic requires constant awareness, and barge-related safety incidents can shut down entire sections of the river. The Ohio is the third-largest river in the country by volume, so boaters must monitor conditions like flowrate before going out. Our unique geographic features, like the Southern Indiana Knobs to the west, create constantly shifting winds that keep sailors on their toes. Our river is also among the most polluted in the country, so most of us try to stay dry as much as possible.

None of this slows down local enthusiasts, though. Louisville is actually home to three active sailing organizations. The Louisville Sailing Club, incorporated in 1955, caters to small racing boats. The Derby City Sailing Club, incorporated in 1976, and originally called the Cruising Club of Louisville, features larger “cabin” boats and also hosts weekly races on Wednesday nights. And since 1997, the River Cities Community Sailing Program has been teaching children and adults all about sailing, water safety, navigation, and more.

My own sailing history can be traced back to the 1950s, as well. The boat I sail, a twenty-four-foot Raven class, was built in Massachusetts in 1954. Around the same time, before the creation of our sailing clubs, my grandparents, Bill and Rita Klarer, rigged fabric to a canoe, taught themselves to sail, then went on to teach their eight children. Rita was one of the first female skippers in town and left her mark on sailing culture here. My aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends still gather every year to sail the Rita Regatta in her honor.

If you didn’t know already, a regatta is a series of boat races, often held over multiple days, that incorporates social events and public activities. You’ll have a chance to witness one of Louisville’s longest-running regattas this weekend, October 7 and 8, at the fifty-first annual Captain’s Quarters Regatta. The races commence at 11 a.m., weather permitting, and are usually done by 3 p.m. The best viewing is done on the water, of course, but equally nice views can be had at Captain’s Quarters Riverside Grille. Spectating is free and open to the public, with food and drink available from the restaurant.

Bridging the Divide

JCPS to Host Showcase of Schools October 14

I wanted to share this upcoming event from our partners at Jefferson County Public Schools. The district is gearing up for its Showcase of Schools and we wanted to help get the word out. It’s the perfect opportunity for families to speak with representatives from every JCPS school about the best option for your child before the application period.

What: JCPS Showcase of Schools

When: October 14, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Where: Norton Sports and Learning Center, 3029 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.

This Google Drive folder contains a flyer in English, as well as flyers in the next top five languages spoken in JCPS: Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, Somali, and Kinyarwanda.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

Mary Todd Lincoln Hospitalization Ledger, Next Bourbon Program Announced, History of Sailing in Louisville, and More

Oksana Masters Collection, KET Episode on Frazier Museum, “Kentucky Giant” Jim Porter, and More

Oldham County Abolitionist Henry Bibb, Musical Kentucky: McLean–Nelson, Former Boston Celtic Clarence Glover, and More