Museum Newsletter - 22 September 2015

Dear Friends,

In this, my first newsletter, I would like to officially introduce myself. My name is Will Burden, and since being approved by the Bullitt County Genealogical Society as the new Executive Director of the History Museum, (thank you Society for your confidence and support), I thought it appropriate to tell you a little about my background.

I am a native Bullitt Countian, having grown up in the Bullitt's Lick community within sight of the old saltworks and Cahill's Knob. I spent many days roaming the area in search of shards of the saltmaker's kettles and Indian arrowheads. They were fairly abundant in those days.

At an early age, I also found my grandfather's civil war pension in an old black box that my father used for his "important papers." Having a grandfather in the war, I discovered, was pretty unusual (my grade school teachers were highly skeptical). These things sparked my interest in history.

In 2003, I retired from Ford Motor Company after thirty-six years of service. During those working years I attended night school at the University of Louisville, and received a B.A. Degree in History in 1979, and a Law Degree in 1987. For the past eight years I have worked at the Civil War Museum of the Western Theater in Bardstown, Kentucky, one of the truly outstanding Civil War museums in America!

My family and I recently moved back to Bullitt County having been away for some thirty years.

After a month on the job I have made the following observations:

• Former Director Dave Strange has worked hard over the years setting up the processes and procedures to make the Museum not only a "go-to" destination for the wider public with questions on county history and genealogy, but also allows someone like myself to be plugged into the system without too much disruption.
• The Volunteer Staff is outstanding. I have had the opportunity to work with many volunteers over the years, but I have never seen a more professional group. They come in every morning and go right to work on whatever particular project they happen to be involved, as well as taking care of walk-ins and phone calls. (Did you know that there are more than a few published authors in this group?)

Announcements…

• The Bullitt County Genealogical Society meets the third Saturday of each month at the Ridgway Memorial Library on the the corner of Second and Walnut Streets, Shepherdsville, at 11:00 a.m. (Note: The Society will not meet in October due to our participation at the Louisville Genealogical Society Book Fair on October 17).
• Mt. Washington Historical Society meets the first and third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.at the Lloyd House.
• The Spencer County Genealogical Society meets the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Spencer County Library.
• The annual Louisville Genealogical Society Book Fair will be held October 17th at the Beargrass Christian Church, 4100 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, from 8:30 to 4:00.

News and Views…

On Saturday, August 29, a vintage auto show, "Cruisin' on the River," was held at the Shepherdsville City Park. The sky was clear and blue as more than 110 entrants gathered to enthusiastically display, and answer questions about, their "vintage tin." The show was a fundraiser for the Bowman Valley School Project. This project, headed by Genealogical Society member Tammy Ott, raised more than $4,000.00 for this important endeavor. Thanks to everyone who came out, and especially the folks who worked to make this a huge success.

Volunteer Judy Richardson recently completed a two year project compiling the names of 800 War of 1812 soldiers who were from, or had major ties to, Bullitt County. More than 25,000 Kentuckians fought in this war that is sometimes called the "Second American Revolution." Great job as always Judy.

Volunteer Bob Cline has now added nearly 70,000 names to our Family Treemaker database at the museum. Bob, a longtime Society member, is a human dynamo. Keep going Bob.

June Dawson reports that her son Clayton Dawson, has made and erected a sign for the Croan Cemetery. Thank you Clayton and June for another important step in preserving our history. Maybe we can get a picture for the next newsletter.

Final Thoughts...

Obviously it is going to be difficult to improve on the newsletter to which you have become accustomed. I will be tinkering with it for some time. However, the good news is that Dave has given me permission to borrow (steal) liberally from his past work.

Finally, I would like to thank both Marianne Reber and Trish Patton from the Bullitt County Public Library Reference Department, who have been extremely patient as they try to help me upgrade my computer skills (they may not think that upgrade is quite the right word).

It is truly an honor to serve as your Executive Director of the History Museum. Imagine being able to talk about history every day with like-minded people. It doesn't get any better than that!

Let's talk again in October,. And if you find yourself strolling down Buckman Street with a few minutes to kill, stop in and see us at the old Court House.

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME!

Will

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