Georgia Davis Powers Shoes, 1969–70 Male Bulldogs Basketball, 1948 Mantell UFO Sighting, and More
Good Monday morning!
This is our first open letter for the month of March, and there is so much to celebrate this month—whether it’s cheering on your favorite team in our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition, honoring Women’s History Month, or enjoying the first few spring-like days of the year by getting out with your family and exploring downtown.
Free Kentucky Rivalries Family Day graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
This Saturday, we have opportunities to check off some of those boxes with our Kentucky Rivalries–inspired Family Day. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Frazier’s galleries will be decked out with crafts, games, activities, and tours celebrating teamwork and healthy competition. We’ll be telling some of our favorite stories from Rivalries and some you might not have heard—like the story of the riveting courtroom drama concerning WKU’s mascot Big Red and its transatlantic twin Il Gabibbo.
There are two “best parts” of the Family Day on Saturday. First, it’s free to families from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. thanks to our generous sponsors Delta Dental and the Snowy Owl Foundation. Next, we are having this Family Day in conjunction with our friends at KMAC, which is just down the street from the Frazier—so you can enjoy two Mainstays on Main in one afternoon, for free!
I hope you can join us for this exciting opportunity to check out Main Street and all we have to offer. For a sneak peek at the goings-on this Saturday, tune into WAVE 3 today at 2 p.m.: as guests on WAVE Country with Dawne Gee, Joanna from KMAC and I will make a craft from recycled materials inspired by KMAC’s Search and Rescue exhibition.
Also in today’s issue of Frazier Weekly, Hayley Rankin shares some Georgia Davis Powers artifacts coming out of collections, Brian West delves into the Frazier’s very personal connection to one of the faces from the walls of our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition, and our education intern Owen Treolo addresses a subject that has been on people’s minds lately: UFOs!
Have a great week.
Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
From the Collections: Newly Accessioned Georgia Davis Powers Shoes and Purse
To kick off Women’s History Month, we want to highlight a few recent additions to our permanent collection that reflect the life of Georgia Davis Powers. The story of Senator Powers is one we’ve certainly shared before now, but one that is no less inspiring in the history of women’s rights and the civil rights movement.
Born Georgia Montgomery in Jimtown*, a town just east of Springfield, Kentucky, she grew up in Louisville throughout the post-Reconstruction era of racial segregation. Powers attended all-Black schools in the city, graduating from Central High School in 1940. Encouraged by those in her church congregation, she ventured into the world of politics and was the first African American woman elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1967. She advocated for issues like equal public accommodations and fair employment laws. She became a leader in the civil rights movement both here in Kentucky and across the region, helping to organize the March on Frankfort with Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson.
As an admired leader, she in turn supported future leaders in her community and fought for equal rights beyond just racial barriers. Her autobiography I Shared the Dream provides valuable insight into the political landscape of the civil rights movement, her relationship with Dr. King in her own words, and the experience of a Black woman in the South during the Jim Crow era. Today, the state annually presents the Georgia Davis Powers Award to outstanding student voters, continuing to encourage young people to take part in the policies that affect the way we live.
Leslie Fay handbag and shoes set, satin, that belonged to Senator Georgia Davis Powers, c. 1960–90. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Annie ankle boots, black suede with leopard cuff, that belonged to Senator Georgia Davis Powers, c. 1960–90. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Recently, we accepted several items that belonged to Senator Powers into our permanent collection, which added to artifacts you might have seen on display in our 2020 exhibition What is a Vote Worth? Suffrage Then and Now. Pictured are a few of her personal accessories that she likely wore while serving as a senator or making public appearances.
Visit us and follow our channels to learn more about inspirational Kentucky women.
*Jimtown is a shortened version of “Jim Crow Town,” an all-Black settlement that was established following the Civil War. Rural towns such as these formed when landowners sold small plots of land to formerly enslaved people.
Hayley Rankin
Manager of Collection Impact
Museum Store: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History Puzzle
Women’s history jigsaw puzzle sold in the Frazier’s Museum Store and online. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
One of our most popular puzzles in the Museum Store celebrates “Herstory”—which makes it our obvious choice for puzzling in March, National Women’s History Month! This 1,000-piece puzzle depicts a gallery wall of framed pictures of famous women. In addition to the challenge of assembling 1,000 puzzle pieces correctly, see how many of the faces you recognize! The puzzle is available for purchase online.
Off the Snead Shelves: The Hard Parts by Oksana Masters
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.
Front cover of The Hard Parts. Credit: Simon & Schuster.
Objects loaned by Oksana Masters on display in the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Oksana Masters is from many places. She was born in a small town in Ukraine, close enough to Chernobyl for the radiation from the nuclear disaster that took place in 1986 to affect her at her birth in 1989. Her mother, Gay Masters, first brought her to Buffalo, New York, when she was nine years old after a grueling adoption process. But it was here in Louisville, Kentucky, where a middle-school-aged Oksana discovered adaptive rowing on the Ohio River, which would change her life forever and put her on the path to becoming the United States’ most decorated Paralympic athlete.
The Hard Parts, Oksana’s memoir, which came out on February 21, takes you on a journey through her childhood, which was marked by the trauma of living in an abusive and neglectful orphanage and the death of her best friend there. Her mother, Gay Masters, was a single mother who chose to adopt. Gay saw a photograph of Oksana and knew that she was her child. The process was drawn out because of a moratorium on Ukrainian adoption, but after two years Oksana finally came to the US. Immediately, she had to have one leg amputated, and then the other a few years later. This already difficult experience was compounded by a 500-mile move to Louisville and the challenges of being a middle schooler.
When Oksana was thirteen, a teacher at her middle school encouraged her to try a rowing program where he volunteered. In this, Oksana found an outlet and the drive that eventually brought her to six Paralympic games—not to mention bronze, silver, and gold medals in an array of sports, from rowing to hand cycling.
Here at the Frazier, we have multiple artifacts related to Oksana’s story in our Cool Kentucky exhibition. Reading up on one of Louisville’s hometown heroes and then coming to see pieces of her history at the museum sounds like a great way to celebrate this Women’s History Month!
Heather Gotlib
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Kentucky Rivalries: Mr. Ron Butler on 1969–70 Male Basketball
By the end of the week, we will know which boys basketball teams in the Commonwealth have advanced to represent their respective regions in next week’s Boys’ Basketball KHSAA Sweet 16 Tournament. To mark the occasion, and to bring attention to one of the subjects of our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition, I recently sat down with fellow Frazier employee Mr. Ron Butler.
The 1969–70 State Champion Male Bulldogs boys basketball team. Ron Butler is seated in the first row, first from the right. Credit: Ron Butler.
Gainfully employed (and beloved by staff and management) at the Frazier for over seventeen years, the seventy-year-old is as steadfast in his work ethic and faith as they come. Yet, Butler is also a humble man. Consequently, one of the things that people outside the museum might not realize about Butler is that he was a star athlete at Male High School back in the late 1960s and early `70s. In fact, Butler was one of the reserves who helped steady the Bulldogs towards winning back-to-back state championships in basketball in the early `70s. The team included stars like Bill Bunton, Henry Huskey, and Ron’s friend, William “GeeGee” Gordon.
In this thirty-minute interview, among other things, we learn how Butler almost ended up playing for Male’s archrival duPont Manual High School, why a coach of an opposing team was so upset about playing against Butler and Gordon that he almost forfeited a game, what happened during the infamous 1970 Male-Trinity football game, and why during the 1980s Butler resumed playing basketball after a long hiatus.
Without these stories, Ron Butler is already a special person. Yet, because of his exploits, Butler holds a place of honor in our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition. After listening to this interview, we here at the Frazier hope that you will agree.
Brian West
Teaching Artist
Membership Madness to Kick Off March 14 with Bracketology & Brews
Membership Madness logo. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Assured Partners logo. Credit: Assured Partners.
Membership Madness Kickoff Party graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Our Second Annual Membership Madness is getting closer and closer!
It all starts with Selection Sunday on March 12. Whether you can tune in or not, you’ll be sent a bracket that evening: fill it out, then submit it to membership@fraziermuseum.org no later than tipoff on March 16.
Need some more insight? Need to fill out the bracket on paper and not digitally? Or do you simply just want to share a beer with Andy? We’ve got all that covered! Members are invited to attend our Membership Madness Kickoff Party: Bracketology & Brews with Andy on Tuesday, March 14. Our President & CEO, Andy Treinen, will discuss his take on the teams and strategies for a strong bracket. RSVP before March 10.
Use promo code SWEET16 for $16 off when you purchase your membership at the Contributor (3 Brackets) or above levels.
Hurry, this offer ends soon. Membership Madness is a members only exclusive event! Find all the details here.
Remember, it’s not about filling out a perfect bracket—that’s why you get the opportunity to fill out additional brackets . . . there are so many odds! The winner will be the member with the highest scoring bracket that is submitted.
President Andy Treinen poses with the TV the winner of Membership Madness will receive. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
The grand prize is a 70-inch Samsung Class 4K Crystal UHD LED Smart TV with HDR!
Have questions? Call us at (502) 412-2263.
Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator
Join Us March 25 for Member Exclusive Program Art with Martin
If basketball isn’t your thing . . . let’s make some art instead!
Join us for another member exclusive program, Art with Martin.
Art with Martin graphic. Credit: Frazier History Museum.
Artwork by Martin Rollins. Credit: Martin Rollins.
It’s time to color outside the lines! On Saturday, March 25, come enjoy a safe place to interact with the Frazier collections and galleries—a place that will help you find positive inspiration for self-expression. The program is led by Martin Rollins, a brilliant community artist who is primarily known for his oil pastel drawings of Louisville’s urban landscape. Martin will assist you in your creative adventure, and we look forward to seeing you encounter the museum’s collections in a way our visitors have never experienced them before!
This month, we will be inspired by our Kentucky Rivalries exhibition. Bring your own art supplies or use ours. The goal is to have fun!
Doors will open at 10 a.m., coffee and other light refreshments will be served, and the program will begin at 10:30. RSVP by Tuesday, March 21. (Must be eighteen or older.) And if you’re not a member, become a member to attend this exclusive program.
Everyone is an artist! What matters most is that you gain inspiration. The Frazier is a safe space for all self-expression!
Finally, are you looking for family- or children-oriented art events and programs? Visit the Frazier on our Family Days or enroll your children in our Educational Camps, where members (Family level and above) receive a discount on their registration!
Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator
Tickets on Sale for Sixth Annual Kentucky Guild of Brewers Craft Bash
Is it too early to talk summer beer festivals? Never! As we continue to firm up our plans for 2023 Summer Beer Fest at Frazier, we thought we ought to spotlight another fantastic beer festival returning to Louisville this summer: the Kentucky Guild of Brewers Craft Bash! We’ve asked the Guild’s executive director, Jessy Harding, to share the details.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
2023 Kentucky Guild of Brewers Craft Bash graphic. Credit: Kentucky Guild of Brewers.
On Saturday, June 24, at Louisville Waterfront Park’s Festival Plaza, the Kentucky Guild of Brewers will host its sixth annual beer festival, Kentucky Craft Bash.
The Kentucky Guild of Brewers is proud to be back in full force for this year’s festival. We cannot wait to see you and lift a glass!
Something that makes this festival so special is that it is hosted by the brewers and brewery owners of the Commonwealth. It gives festival attendees a chance to put names to faces and see just how much love goes into the brewing process. Festivalgoers will receive a complimentary tasting glass, and food will be available for purchase. Those lucky enough to score VIP entry will have access to the fun an hour early!
“I always look forward to Craft Bash,” Dreaming Creek Brewery owner and Kentucky Guild of Brewers president Charley Hamilton said. “It gives Dreaming Creek Brewery (Richmond) a chance to share our beers with lots of folks who may not otherwise try them. It also gives us a place to network with all the other breweries in Kentucky and share our industry stories. It’s truly a unique industry that we’re in and the camaraderie amongst brewers is awesome. I can’t wait to see everyone this year.”
Breweries from every region of Kentucky are working together to make this the state’s largest beer festival with only beers produced within the Commonwealth. You get to have craft beers from not only local favorites like Monnik located in Germantown, but also other breweries: you can meet the founders of Ethereal from Lexington, Jarfly from Somerset, and so many more. There will be hundreds of beers to sample, distribution favorites, taproom-only releases, and one-off specialty beers.
Whether you are a beer fan or not, this is a festival that offers something for everyone—and it’s a great opportunity to try something new. There will also be cider, sake, and non-alcoholic options available, with plenty of water, food, and activities. We hope you’ll come to sip on something new with us.
Craft Bash benefits the HOP Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The HOP Foundation exists to provide temporary, limited financial relief to professional brewery industry workers in Kentucky who work at Kentucky Guild of Brewers member–owned establishments and who are experiencing financial distress due to illness, injury, or other issues. Those brewery professionals who have suffered an accident, a family emergency, a criminal act committed against such a person, or other catastrophic event are eligible for assistance.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Saturday, June 24, 2023
VIP, Noon
General Admission, 1 p.m.
Festival Plaza at Waterfront Park
231 Witherspoon St.
Louisville, KY 40202
Get Tickets
Early Bird VIP Tickets: $60 + Fees
VIP Tickets: $65 + Fees (Limited to 500)
Admission Begins at 12 p.m. (an Hour Early!)
Commemorative Glass
Early Bird General Admission Tickets: $50 + Fees
General Admission Tickets: $60 + Fees
Admission Begins at 1 p.m.
Commemorative Glass
Jessy Harding
Executive Director, Kentucky Guild of Brewers
Guest Contributor
Bridging the Divide
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of writing a seconding letter for the posthumous nomination of Mr. William Warley to be inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. I’m happy to report that he is part of the 2023 class to be officially inducted on March 31. I wanted to share my letter, and Warley’s story, with all of you so that you can see the incredible influence he had in the world of Kentucky journalism. His activism was mentioned in last year’s exhibition West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation, and coincidentally, you will also be able to find him in our exhibition about the history of media in Kentucky opening later this year.
This letter is written in support of the nomination of William Warley for inclusion in the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. Warley has an incredibly strong connection to Kentucky, having lived his entire life in Louisville and graduating from both Central High School and State University, now Simmons College of Kentucky. Warley’s work as a journalist and activist benefitted African Americans not only in Louisville, but across the state of Kentucky.
Known as one of the most outspoken activists for African American rights in Louisville, Warley began his paper, the Louisville News, in 1912. The paper quickly gained a following of African Americans all over Kentucky, as newspapers were one of the primary ways of communication between Black communities at the time. What is perhaps most significant about his contributions to journalism in Kentucky is the way Warley used editorials in the News to provide commentary about injustices committed against African Americans. Warley called attention not only to the actions of whites, but also pointed out ways that African Americans perpetuated the cycle of discrimination. In one instance in 1914, Warley published the names of African Americans who did not participate in boycotts of the National Theatre, who only allowed African Americans to enter through the back entrance and sit on the top balcony. By publicly ridiculing these members of the Black community, Warley proved that he was not afraid to criticize established African American leaders. In the 1920s, Warley’s printing office was destroyed by groups of African Americans three times because of his open criticism of his own race for remaining loyal to the Republican Party.
Warley’s editorials were incredibly impactful in the African American communities in Louisville and other parts of Kentucky. They encouraged African Americans to rethink their stance on racial activism and the tactics they used when fighting for equal rights. He encouraged African Americans to not accept compromise when it meant that they were still being treated unfairly. Warley’s editorials were so important that they were often reprinted in the Crisis, the newspaper for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and in the Louisville Leader, an African American newspaper founded and edited by I. Willis Cole, already inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.
In 1926, Warley joined forces with I. Willis Cole to try to help save the lives of three Black men who had been accused of raping a white woman in Madisonville, Kentucky. Through editorials in their newspapers, Warley and Cole were able to avoid an immediate lynching of the men and to secure a fair trial. The two men raised $500 for their defense. Despite the risk of bodily harm in a town with already high racial tensions, Warley traveled to Madisonville to investigate the incident. Though Warley uncovered contradictory evidence, two of the three men were sentenced to death. At the urging of Warley and Cole, the NAACP appealed the case to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case. They urged the governor to commute the sentence, but to no avail. For their parts, both editors were found guilty of criminal syndicalism and sedition and were fined $250 each.
Warley’s activism was not confined to his writing. He also took direct action to create change for African Americans. In 1914, Warley conspired with white real estate agent Charles Buchannan to purchase a home in a white area of Louisville’s Portland neighborhood, in direct opposition of the city’s residential segregation ordinance. Buchannan filed suit against Warley for breaking the law and the legislation was upheld by the Jefferson Circuit Court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The case was taken to the US Supreme Court, who ruled the city’s residential segregation ordinance unconstitutional.
In conclusion, I thank you for your consideration of William Warley for induction into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. As one of the most prominent and outspoken African American editors in Louisville, whose influence stretched across the state, I believe he is incredibly deserving of this honor. Warley’s journalism served as a foundation for his activist work and made a huge difference in the lives of African Americans in Kentucky. I am proud to have featured him in the Frazier History Museum’s award-winning exhibition West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation, and will be including his story in our upcoming exhibition about the history of media in Kentucky.
Thank you.
Amanda Briede
Curator
History All Around Us
Friend or foe? Weather balloon or spy balloon? Earthly or extraterrestrial? UFOs (or UAP, “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena”) have been a hot topic so far in 2023. So we thought we’d share with our readers one of the most notable UFO sightings in Kentucky history. We’ve asked multimedia and videography intern Owen Treolo to recap the Mantell incident, which took place in Madisonville in 1948.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
Captain Thomas Mantell Jr., c. 1948. Published in the January 8, 1948, Courier Journal. Credit: Courier Journal.
Wreckage of Mantell’s plane after it crashed near Franklin, Kentucky, January 8, 1948. Published in the January 9, 1948, Courier Journal. Credit: Courier Journal.
Stories of UFO sightings and alien abductions date back centuries. Most notably the Roswell incident along with numerous abductions like The Betty and Barney Hill case and the Travis Walton incident. For Kentucky, a number of prominent sightings have been reported within the last 70 years, some being considered the most important in the ongoing study of the phenomenon. While in the late 1940s, the public perception of UFOs was that they were “harmless and fascinating”. However, that would change in 1948, just outside Fort Knox.
It happened on January 7, 1948. Around one o’clock, reports from the Kentucky Highway Patrol were made to Godman airbase at Fort Knox of an unusual air vehicle near Madisonville, reported by a handful of local residents. Just before Two o’clock, a handful of air traffic controllers, including Sergent Quinton Blackwell spotted an cone shaped object they described as "very white," and "about one-fourth the size of the full moon”. The object was described to be around 100 meters in diameter. After an hour and a half of stationary observation of the craft, pilots were asked to investigate.
A squadron of four P-51 fighter planes, which were on their way back to land, were told to observe the object. One plane was being piloted by 25-year-old Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a World War two pilot who served as a C-47 pilot, flying gliders over the coast during the opening hours of D-Day. Mantell was also awarded the distinguished flying cross during Operation Market Garden, a failed allied assault to punch a hole into Germany in August 1944.
Mantell and the other pilots pursued the object. “It appears to be a metallic object or possible reflection of the sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size. I’m still climbing, the object is above and ahead of me moving at my speed or faster. I’m trying to close for a better look,” Mantell said, according to the official report upon making eye contact with the object.
Mantell stayed with the object and flew to nearly 20,000 feet as he followed.
The other pilots were forced to break off as the reached the high altitudes, but mantell continued climbing. This is when Mantell blacked out and lost control during the climb. The plane crashed on a farm just north of the Tennessee border, leaving Mantell dead, becoming the first person to die in a millitary related UFO encounter.
The initial explination was that Mantell had been chasing the planet, Venus. A few weeks prior, a similar incident had taken place when a group of planes had chased what turned out to be Venus. But the explanation was quickly dismissed when it became clear that Venus would not have been as bright as the object was supposed to be. In reality, Venus would've been nothing more than a pinprick of light in the sky.
While some believe the story of the UFO, a more plausible explanation may have been a top-secret Air Force project known as a skyhook balloon, used to study weather. This is the official Air Force conclusion, but the report leaves mor question than answers. Most notably, how could a seasoned pilot with over 2,000 hours of flight time, mistake a weather balloon for something to chase at a high altitude? Additionally, the military has no records of any skyhook balloon launches in the area on that date.
Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, who was the first head of Project Bluebook, an investigation into the UFO sightings of the time, said that the Mantell case is one of the most prominent and classic cases that would help define the phenomenon in the public mind. This year on the 75th anniversary of the crash, the Simpson county historical society proclaimed January 7, as Thomas Mantell day, commemoirating the incident.
Owen Treolo
Multimedia & Videography Intern
