Good Monday morning, y’all!

In the spirit of the season, I would like to share my excitement and great anticipation for a new holiday exhibition opening at the Frazier this season. On November 22, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend, the Frazier is presenting Lights on Main in collaboration with our non-profit partner I Would Rather be Reading.

Guests will step into a magical winter wonderland with three floors of trees carefully decorated by local schools, organizations, families, and individuals. To ensure everyone can see it, the Frazier is extending hours on Wednesday evenings and opening at no cost to visitors on select Sundays. Lights on Main is indoors for the first time, so we’re also programming the museum with school choirs, pop-up markets, partner Bourbon tastings, and a Santa photo op in the galleries. All program details, dates, and times will be released in the coming weeks.

There is also an opening sponsor party on Friday, December 1, that will be a who’s-who for artists, sponsors, supporters, and you. Rabbit Hole and Mary Dowling are donating Bourbon samples and select signature cocktails. I hope to see many of you there!

If you want to sponsor so you can decorate a tree for our visitors to see, contact Frazier corporate and community sales manager Stephen Yates at syates@fraziermuseum.org. There will be a public vote to pick the best trees.

In today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, winter camps for the kiddos are now available, we’re honoring veterans, and a former intern is about to make her curatorial debut.

But we start with another holiday-themed event that will be even more spectacular, because it will be held in the middle of Lights on Main. I hope you enjoy!

This Week in the Museum

Join Us December 7 for Holiday Cheer: Bourbon and Beer

Don’t say it’s too soon to talk the holidays—have you seen our Museum Shop? So if you’re looking for a fun way to ring in the holidays, here’s an easy answer. Take a look at our upcoming program Holiday Cheer: Bourbon and Beer in partnership with Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company. Tickets to the event could be a great early holiday gift for the Bourbon or beer lover in your life. And yes, a special Frazier Single Barrel Town Branch Bourbon will be on sale, as well! Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

History of Election Cakes in the US, 1771–Present

Tomorrow is the Kentucky gubernatorial election, readers! If you’re registered to vote in Kentucky, be sure to make it to your polling location. In the meantime, we’ve asked board member Vickie Yates Brown Glisson to regale you with the history of “election cakes.” These colonial-era concoctions have been baked in the Bluegrass State since the 1820s.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

In the early years of our nation and Kentucky’s statehood, elections were opportunities for townspeople and folks from the rural areas to get together for revelry, socializing, eating, and drinking. Elections were more than just going to the polling place, casting one’s vote, and leaving. Elections were a reason to celebrate. Interestingly, although women in early America did not have the right to vote, they were a very important part of the election process.

Election cake loaf made with a recipe developed for the Old Farmer’s Almanac based on the one in *The American Frugal Housewife*.

It began when women in the pre-Revolutionary towns of New England prepared “muster cakes” for the men in the area when they would rally for militia training. The British required all able-bodied men to “muster” and they would flood into the villages when they were called into training. Women used community ovens to make “muster cakes” to feed the militiamen. These occasions were an opportunity for the militiamen to visit the town’s ordinaries and to enjoy “muster cake.”

By 1771, there are records that the ladies of Hartford, Connecticut, were making muster cakes for election gatherings. After the Revolution, serving the cake at elections increased in popularity as women used the cake to encourage or “muster” votes on election days. Although women were not allowed to vote, the ladies used the cake to encourage voter turnout and to convince the men who could vote to support particular issues and candidates.

Election cakes were spicy leavened cakes filled with dried fruits and known as “great cakes” by the English colonists. The cakes were popular because they were made from ingredients the colonists could obtain, stored well, and could be easily transported. Election cake, like all cakes baked in colonial homes, was yeast-leavened, as there was no commercial baking powder. This added a considerable amount of time to the preparation of the cake.

According to the New England Historical Society, the first recipe in America for election cake appeared in 1796 in the second edition of Amelia Simpson’s book American Cookery, the first cookbook published in the United States. Simpson’s recipe called for 30 quarts of flour, 10 pounds of butter, 14 pounds of sugar, 12 pounds of raisins, three dozen eggs, a pint of wine, and a quart of brandy—plus spices. At that time, it was not unusual for election cakes to weigh as much as 12 pounds. Clearly this cake was meant to feed a crowd!

Election cake recipe printed in Margaretta Brown’s receipt book, c. 1826–39. Credit: Liberty Hall Historic Site Collections.

Early cookbooks compiled by Kentucky women confirm the popularity of election cakes in the Commonwealth. One of the earliest examples of a Kentucky recipe for election cake can be found in the receipt book kept by Margaretta Mason Brown. Margaretta was the wife of John Brown, a member of the Continental Congress from Virginia who, after introducing the bill granting statehood to Kentucky, became Kentucky’s first United States Senator. Margaretta copied a recipe for “Election Cake” sometime after 1826 in a small oblong journal in one of several family receipt books found at Liberty Hall, the Frankfort home of John and Margaretta.

Margaretta was from New York City where she was well-educated, independent-minded, and a woman of strong political beliefs. Margaretta’s father was a well-known Presbyterian cleric and educator in New York and her family was politically and civically engaged in the community where Margaretta would have no doubt been involved in observing the political process and acquainted with the tradition of serving election cakes at political events.

After her marriage to John Brown, she would continue to be exposed and involved in politics on all levels as members of her immediate family would serve as a United States Senator, Governors, Congressmen, Ambassadors, judges, lawyers, authors, and in federal and state administrations. Therefore, finding a recipe for election cake in Margaretta’s receipt book is no surprise. Margaretta’s recipe for election cake is more manageable than the recipe included in Amelia Simmons’s cookbook. Also, and not surprisingly, as the founder of the first Presbyterian Sunday School west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1810, Margaretta’s recipe contains no spirits.

Margaretta’s receipt reads as follows:

Old-fashioned election cake is made of four pounds of flour; three quarters of a pound of butter; four eggs; one pound of sugar; one pound of currants, or raisins; half a pint of good yeast; wet it with milk as soft as it can be and moulded on a board. Set it to rise over night in winter; in warm weather, three hours is usually enough for it to rise. A loaf, the size of common flour bread, should bake three quarters of an hour.

Another example of a Kentucky receipt for election cake can be found in Lettice Bryan’s The Kentucky Housewife (1839). Lettice’s recipe instructed the cook to mix yeast, milk, and flour to “set a sponge” to combine with flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and nutmeg.

By the mid-1800s, election cake was considered old-fashioned and yeasted cakes fell out of favor when chemical leaveners, such as baking powder, became available. The new leaveners changed the way people ate and baked. It was no longer necessary to take several days to prepare the yeast for the cakes.

Interestingly, around 2016, there was a sudden resurgence in the popularity of election cake. Sarah Gebhart, the founder of Old World Levain Bakery in Ashville, North Carolina, was influenced by the 2016 Presidential election to make election cakes. Sarah shared photographs of her election cakes online and they went viral when she did a play on President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to “Make America Great Again” by using the hashtag #MakeAmericaCakeAgain. Gebhart’s enthusiasm for election cakes led others to create versions of the cake and share them with the same hashtag. The interest in baking election cakes has continued.

You can be a part of this group. You still have time to bake an election cake before the polls close Tuesday evening. Hopefully, you too will enjoy recreating an important and historic culinary recipe that you can enjoy while watching the election returns and sipping a cup of coffee or hot tea along with a slice of American history.

Off the Snead Shelves: Kentucky’s Governors by Lowell Harrison

In the Literary Kentucky section of the museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, there’s a selection of books by and about Kentucky figures stored on Snead Iron Works bookcases. In Frazier Weekly’s Off the Snead Shelves series, staff members spotlight different books from the collection.

“Gonorrhea and the governorship of Kentucky:” these are the two things Augustus Owsley Stanley had before and didn’t want again.

This bawdy joke—which Stanley, who was governor from 1919 to 1925, made to a group of Kentucky politicians—appears in historian Thomas D. Clark’s introduction to Kentucky’s Governors (2004).

The book is a collection of biographical profiles of Kentucky’s first sixty governors: from Isaac Shelby, whose first term was in 1792–96, to Ernie Fletcher, whose term was in 2003–07. It also include profiles of George Johnson (1861–62) and Richard Hawes (1862–65), the two governors of Kentucky’s Confederate shadow government during the Civil War. Among the nearly forty contributors are reporter Al Cross, archivist Tom Owen, and historians Lowell Harrison, Charles Roland, and James Klotter.

Kentucky’s Governors paints a colorful portrait of each of its subjects—in all their moral, historical, and personal complexity. For example, before he became governor, Shelby (1792–96; 1812–16) was a military commander celebrated for defeating the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Luke Blackburn (1879–83) was a Confederate germ warfare tactician who tried to spread yellow fever in Union cities. And Flem Sampson (1927–31), who as a boy had “trapped skunks in the piney woods of Laurel County” to afford his schoolbooks, was a tough-on-crime prohibitionist judge.

Of course, readers also get to learn about the subjects’ actions in office. Thomas “Stonehammer” Metcalfe (1828–32) invested heavily in building turnpikes, railroads, and canals. Lazarus Powell (1851–55) conducted a geological survey of the soil to promote mining, manufacturing, and agriculture. And Martha Layne Collins (1983–87) founded the Governor’s School for the Arts.

But readers can also glean insight into the post-governorship lives of these figures. Simon Bolivar Buckner (1887–91), a bookworm, braced for cataract-induced blindness by memorizing five Shakespeare plays (so he could “read in the dark”). Stanley fled north to help adjudicate US-Canada border disputes for the Hoover administration. And A. B. “Happy” Chandler (1935–39; 1955–59) remained in Versailles, his phone number listed in the public directory, fielding calls from Kentuckians requesting favors or assistance, into his nineties. (“Above all else,” Roland writes, “he remained Happy.”)

As Kentucky voters elect (or re-elect) a governor tomorrow, we should learn about the men and woman who’ve held that role. Shining a light on the past raises good questions about our present and future.

Years from now, how will our next governor—be it Daniel Cameron or Andy Beshear—reflect on his time in office? Will he still serve the people of Kentucky? Or will he liken the job to a bacterial infection?

Museum Shop: Citizen the Game (117th Congress Edition)

Boost your civic knowledge and have fun doing it with Citizen! This fun strategy game, created in Louisville, has players navigate the turbulent world of politics. You try to be the first to pass your cause through Congress. Order yours online or pick one up in the Museum Shop.

From the Collections: Roosevelt-Fairbanks Prince-Nez Pin, 1904

Tomorrow is Election Day, and for months many voters have been showing support for their candidate by sticking signs in their lawns, slapping stickers on their bumpers, and wearing political buttons or pins.

The political pin is not a new tool for campaigning candidates. From the beginning of American politics, supporters have made pins for their candidate. Echoing slogans from Britian, supporters of Geroge Washington wore pins touting “Long Live the President.” However, it was President Abraham Lincoln who first utilized the political pin strategically for the 1860 presidential campaign. The first celluloid political button was used by President McKinely in his campaign in 1896. Company Whitehead and Hoag of New Jersey patented the pin-back celluloid button. The new process and cheap materials assured candidates that year could afford to widely distribute the buttons to garner support. These pins and buttons featured images of the candidate and slogans that created iconic imagery to help voters get excited and remember their name come election day.

Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Fairbanks presidential campaign pin, 1904. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

This week’s feature from the collection is one of my favorite political pins: a campaign pin for Teddy Roosevelt and Charles Fairbanks’s presidential campaign in 1904.

Shaped in the form of Teddy Roosevelt’s iconic pince-nez eyeglasses, this pin features a relief image of Roosevelt on one lens and a relief of his running mate Fairbanks on the other. Teddy Roosevelt wore these types of eyeglasses most of his life, and they are often featured in political cartoons and caricatures—making this pin very clear to anyone which candidate the wearer supported.

Presenting the Old Forester Holiday Decanters!

Our newest temporary exhibition opens in just a few weeks and has been a collaboration with the Brown-Forman Archives. It was curated by the Archives’ assistant corporate archivist, Lizzy Standridge, who began work with the Archives as an intern and now curates incredible exhibitions about Brown-Forman's rich history. Below, Lizzy shares more information about some of the exciting things you can expect to see in the exhibition.—Amanda Briede, Sr. Curator of Exhibitions

On November 22, the Frazier History Museum’s newest temporary exhibition Spirited Design: Old Forester’s Mid-Century Decanters opens in the third floor rotating gallery. This exhibition marks the first time all the Old Forester decanters, packaging, and related advertisements will be displayed together. The exhibition features information on the designers who created the decanters—most notably Raymond Loewy—and details on the approximately year-long design process.

However, my favorite part of the Old Forester holiday decanter story is the official unveiling of the holiday packaging lineup that happened each year at holiday sales meetings. During the long fabrication process, employees were discouraged from sharing any details of the decanters and packaging for fear that competitors would copy their innovative designs. The top-secret designs would finally be unveiled in sales meetings right before the holiday season. These events were often elaborate—with costumed performers, original music, specialty films, and more!

The holiday decanter and packaging debut at the 1953 sales meeting was especially extravagant. The show was directed by longtime sales meeting consultant John McGee and boasted original music and even a 3D film! The show played on the advertising slogan “Full Dress for the Holidays” with salesmen singing the original song “Full Dress” in white tie and tails beside a giant version of the decanter package.

Visit Spirited Design: Old Forester’s Mid-Century Decanters to see the beautiful Old Forester decanters and experience the excitement of the holiday sales meetings in person!

Frazier to Offer 2024 Winter Break Camp, January 2–5

The cold swooped in with confidence last week, just in time for us to announce Winter Break Camp. The JCPS Winter Break calendar falls strangely this year, with a full week of break starting January 1. That’s when we’ll host our camp, Tuesday, January 2, through Friday, January 5.

2024 Winter Camp graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

2024 Winter Break Camp
Tuesday, January 2–Friday, January 5, 2024
Open to students in grades K–6
Doors Open: 8:45 a.m.
Camp: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Cost (by the day): $65 ($60 for members)
Cost (whole week): $240 ($220 for members)

Camp registration is now open. You can sign up by the day, or you can join us for all four days. We’ll ring in the new year by recreating some wild New Year’s customs (perhaps a Romanian New Year Bear Dance?). We’ll deep-dive into some seasonal traditions around solstices and equinoxes. We’ll talk about some of the things we are looking forward to in 2024, like the Paris Olympics and a total solar eclipse. And we’ll fill out the days by checking out items from the activity library, doing themed art activities, and offering plenty of opportunities for free play. We look forward to seeing you at camp!

Louisville Honors Veterans with Mayor’s Week of Valors

On Saturday, we honor, remember, and celebrate veterans and their families. As part of that celebration, the annual Veterans Day Parade will return to the streets of Downtown Louisville. Serving as the Grand Marshal for the parade’s return is Captain Marji Graves, who served in the Army Nurse Corps for four years during the Vietnam War.

USAF flight suit wont by Col. Garnett C. Brown, c. 1960s. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

In the Frazier History Museum’s permanent collection, we have a flight suit worn by US Air Force Colonel Garnett C. Brown (c. 1939–2021), who flew combat missions during the Vietnam War.

Nurses such as Captain Graves and many more across every branch of the military did their best to help our injured soldiers make it home. On November 11, we honor all those who have served and come home and all those who never made it home. We thank you.

Bridging the Divide

Corenza Townsend on Norton West Louisville Hospital

I keep hearing this: “If you don’t know the name Corenza Townsend, get ready!” I was more than ready to learn about the new chief administrative officer of Norton West Louisville Hospital. The hospital is still under construction and scheduled to open in November 2024, but Townsend has been crucial in laying its foundation. It’s the first hospital to be built in West Louisville in 150 years—think about that. Townsend, who began with Norton Healthcare as a nurse in 2009, recognized access to “health care for all” was an issue years ago and decided to speak up in a very big way. That gutsy move was a game changer—and now perhaps a lifesaver. So, if you don’t know the name Corenza Townsend—get ready and watch!

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

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