Louisville’s Butchertown Book Giveaway

There’s a new book out called Louisville’s Butchertown and Broken Sidewalk did a really brilliant write-up of it yesterday. Go ahead and read it, I’ll wait.
Done? OK great. So now you know how cool the book is and lucky for you I’ve got two copies to give away. To be entered to win just [...]

Introductory Session on Researching Your Family Tree at Locust Grove

My aunt Donna did a bunch of research on the maternal side of my family tree when I was in high school. Thank goodness she did because it made the genealogy project I had to do in school so much easier. Because of her research I know that we’re descendants of Sir Francis Drake (argh! [...]

Remembering Louisville in the 1960s: Freedom Fighters, Police Repression and the Right to Free Speech

Well this is certainly a piece of Kentucky history that I’d never heard about.
The Louisville Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists is co-sponsoring a public forum on the First Amendment and the
struggle for civil rights in Kentucky.  The program called
“Remembering Louisville in the 1960s: Freedom Fighters, Police Repression
and the Right to Free Speech” [...]

Do You Have the 49th Story?

The Frazier International History Museum has a very interesting exhibit running currently and they’re looking for a little class participation. WW II: 48 Local Stories That Changed The World shares the WWII stories of 48 locals and the Frazier Museum is looking for a 49th.
Secure a place in history for someone you know who [...]

Free Museum Day Tomorrow September 26, 2009

I got a tip about Free Museum Day tomorrow (thanks Robert!). It’s a national project spearheaded by  the Smithsonian. According to their website you need to print a free admission card to get in for free at participating museums.
In Louisville the participating museums are:
Frazier International History MuseumLouisville Slugger MuseumLocust Grove

The Other Side of the Great Compromiser September 17, 2009

Admittedly I know very little about Henry Clay. I should be ashamed for this lack of knowledge on my part both because of his important role in history and just because he sounds like someone you’d like to know about. I mean anyone whose “sins” include frequent duels has got to be a pretty interesting [...]

First Friday August 2009 Edition

How did the first Friday of August sneak up on us like this? I don’t know but here it is. 
Here’s what the Frazier Museum has going on for First Friday:

Join us on Friday, August 7 for the First Friday Trolley Hop! SemiCIRCUS rocks 70s and 80s-era pop, along with current artists to round out a [...]

Bourbon Uncorked: The History behind the Labels July 10, 2009

It’s a shame I’m a day job working type now because I’d love to go to this lecture tomorrow by Mike Veach at the Filson Club. He’s going to be talking about the history behind the bourbon labels like who was John E. Fitzgerald?
Friday July 10, 2009NoonFree and open to the public
The Filson Historical Society
1310, [...]

Fontaine Ferry Exhibit Opens Saturday May 16 at Frazier Museum

The Fontaine Ferry amusement park was a little bit before my time. I’m a child of the 1970s (oy, did I just say that?)
From 1905 to 1969, Fontaine Ferry Park represented the very best of times for hundreds of thousands who enjoyed innocent hours of entertainment in the West Louisville amusement park on the banks [...]

How Soon We Forget, a talk by Tom Owen, May 21, 2009

The full name of the talk is “How Soon We Forget: Changes in Life in the Old City Neighborhood Since WWII” but that was just too wordy to put in the title field.
Dr. Tom Owen’s lively and evocative talk chronicles life in Louisville neighborhoods during World War II and the decade or so following. Dr. [...]