Museum Newsletter - 9 Nov 2007

Friends of the Bullitt County History Museum E-Newsletter
November 9, 2007, (Volume 3, Number 13)

Dear Friends,

Announcements

>> Museum closed November 12.

The Bullitt County Courthouse (and therefore the museum) will be closed Monday, November 12, for the Veterans' Day holiday.

>>Salt Talk went well

I was the guest speaker at the St. Mathews Historical Society October 14th meeting. The subject was pioneer salt making, and I think it went well. The audience of fifty or so sure treated me well, and I enjoyed doing the presentation. My thanks to St. Mathews for inviting me!

>>Next meeting of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society November 15....Betty Darnell featured speaker.

The November meeting of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society will feature widely-recognized genealogist Betty Darnell, who will be teaching us about researching Marriage and Probate Records. Meeting will be at our regular time and place: Ridgway Public Library on Walnut Street at Second in Shepherdsville. Meeting time is 6:30 p.m., November 15.

>>December 20 Memorial meeting....1917 Train Wreck.

The December 20 meeting of the Genealogical Society will be one of our most special ones to date. Anyone in the area should really try to attend this one for a couple of reasons.

This date of our regular meeting coincides with the ninetieth anniversary of the tragic train wreck of 1917, in which 51 people died so long ago just outside the county courthouse where our museum is located. Readers of this newsletter will recall me often writing about it, as well as reporting on our progress on creating a permanent display about the dramatic accident.

Well, we have arranged with county government to host a special memorial presentation at the exact time of the wreck.

We will meet at 5:00 p.m. at our new display in the second-floor hallway of the courthouse, which overlooks the actual site of the wreck. We plan to tell the story of the wreck, the worst in L&N Railroad history. Then, at 5:28 p.m...the time of the wreck, we will read the names of those who died. That will be followed by a couple of dignitary speeches.

With so many families in both Bullitt and Nelson counties so brutally effected by that wreck, we expect to see quite a crowd.

We will also have our museum rooms open and available for tours. This will be the first after-hours opening of the museum.

Light refreshments will be available before and after the ceremonies.

So, come if you can. December 20 at 5:00 p.m. at the Bullitt County Courthouse, 300 South Buckman Street in Shepherdsville.

Be sure to tell others who might have had relatives in this tragic wreck, so that they, too, can come. I will be giving more details in the next newsletter, but keep it in mind for December.

>> Need your help finding details of a manuscript on the local Catholic Church.

Friend and historian Charles Hartley came across a handwritten manuscript in our archives titled "The Growth of Catholic Missions in Bullitt County". It says it is a summary [of a document] written by Mrs. Ivy T. McBride. Charles has transcribed the manuscript, which has quite a bit of good information, and we would like to post it on our web site. But we have been unable to find out when it was written or who the person is that wrote it. We hope to find that out so we can get permission to publish it. If you know anything about this, please contact us at the museum.

>> List of Women in Bullitt County Government. Need your help on this too!

Here's an interesting project from which I am learning a lot. Local businessman Jim White is donating a nice gazebo for the county courthouse grounds. It is to be dedicated in memory of all the women who have served in public office in Bullitt County over the years. You might be surprised how many that actually is.

The list shown here is indeed surprisingly long to many of us, but even this list is no doubt incomplete. The people involved want to do their best to get the list right before it is published. That is where I need your help.

Please take a good look at the list. Check for misspellings and other errors, and specially for anyone we have missed. I'm sure there are still several.

Let me know if there should be changes, and I'll get them done. As a side bonus, this will make another nice addition to our web site files.

Women in Bullitt County Government

Joyce Bernard - Pioneer Village City Council
Joetta Calhoun - Mayor of Mt. Washington
Dorcas Cormito - Fox Chase City Council
Stacey Dawson Cline - Shepherdsville City Council
Doris Cornell - Bullitt Circuit Clerk
Peggy Druin - Pioneer Village City Council
Ruth Duncan - Circuit Court Clerk
Margie Eddington - Mayor of Shepherdsville
Bonnie Enlow - Shepherdsville City Council
Mildred Fraley - Hebron Estates City Council
Dorleen Garrett -Pioneer Village City Council
Ronni J. Grigsby - Hunter's Hollow City Council
Mary Harper - State Representative
Jean Hatzell - Circuit Court Clerk
Annette House - Lebanon Junction City Council
Carolyn Jesse -- Hillview City Council
Rhonda Keith - PVA
Annetta Lucas - Lebanon Junction City Council
Betty Welch Maraman - Shepherdsville City Council
Nora McCawley - Bullitt County Clerk
Rita McGlasson - Hillview City Council
Nina Mooney - Bullitt County Clerk
Margaret Moore - Shepherdsville City Council
Wanda Morgan - Hillview City Council
Kristina Muir - Hebron Estates City Council
Sandra Murphy - Hebron Estates City Council
Margaret Norris - City Council Lebanon Junction
Linda Parker - Mayor of Hunter's Hollow
Wendy Parrish - Lebanon Junction City Council
Faith Portman - Shepherdsville City Council
Darlene Riedling Herps - Pioneer Village City Council
Melanie J. Roberts - Bullitt County Judge Executive
Alice Harris Ryan- Mt. Washington City Council
Garneta Ryan - Mt. Washington City Council
Emily Jasper Rucker - Mt. Washington City Council
Elise Spainhour - Bullitt Circuit Court Judge
Nancy Strange - Circuit Court Clerk
Trina Summers - Shepherdsville City Council
Lisa Underwood - Pioneer Village City Council
Virginia Welker - Pioneer Village City Council
Kathy Wheeler - Fox Chase City Council
JoAnn Wick - Hillview City Council
Alice White - Mayor of Fox Chase
Kim Whitlock - Hillview City Council
Sharon Whitt - Hunters Hollow City Commission
Bonnie Williams - Hillview City Council

News.

>> Lone Grave damaged.

Sadly, to me disturbingly, after over 160 years of lying unmolested, Bullitt County's famous "Lone Grave" has been seriously damaged.

For all those years the grave, surrounded by its hand-made iron fence, has sat peacefully among the trees. Then, last week, it was discovered that the often-photographed old grave site had apparently been run over with a bulldozer and logs drug over its surface, destroying the still-fine old remnants of the fence.

The land owner has heard from us and apologizes for the action, promising to do whatever it takes to make things right. The problem, of course, is just how can that be done? It strikes me as painfully similar to recent incidents in Jefferson County in which 200-year-old trees were removed when they were not supposed to be. How does one really undo an error like that?

Nevertheless, I am a big believer in "turning negatives into positives". We are working on a proposal that I think could make everything actually better than it was.

After we get a few more facts together, we will be presenting the ideas to the land owner

I will report to you and several news organizations on how that goes.

Meanwhile, if you are not familiar with the story of the Lone Grave, check it out on our web site. We have set up a special link on our History Table of Contents page

>> Fannie Clark interview?

I have come across a CD in our museum archives that is a verbal history recording of an interview with Ms Fannie Clark of Mt. Washington. Forgive me folks, but can anyone tell me about that interview and about Ms. Clark?.

For Your Information...

>>Are you a "taphophile" ?

Volunteers Bob Cline and Daniel Buxton, who are part of a committee that is updating our files on county cemeteries, as well as doing some cemetery restoration work, recently pointed out this word to me. "Taphophile, from the Greek, meaning burialnomy. The study of the processes (as burial, decay, and preservation) that effect remains..." Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

>>Museum web site adds items often.

Be sure to regularly check our web site.

Thanks to webmaster Charles Hartley, we are adding items weekly, if not daily. For example, for you cemetery researchers out there, we have just added a whole series of links to sites across the country that have information on Bullitt County cemeteries, including photos and maps.

We are doing more and more transcribing of works and old documents in our archives and, when appropriate, adding them to the site for your research use.

Finally...Beware how you judge...

I mentioned last time that I am on call for Federal Jury duty. Well, I was indeed called to a trial and it was a real learning experience. When we, the jury, walked in, I looked around the room. It looked like it was right out of "Perry Mason", with its polished wood walls and all. I looked over at the Defendant's table where a rather rough-looking large man stood with a full beard and three-foot-long hair flowing over his new suit. The thought irresistibly passed through my mind, "Well, HE's probably guilty."

Turned out that he was the attorney.

Such is too often the case in Life. We are quick to judge based on superficial or brief encounters.

I like to think that I am a good judge of character, I am good at reading eyes, but that can quickly become a trap of errors, if not done with humility and grace.

"Beware how you judge, lest you, too, be so judged."

I am reflecting on a man I have yet to meet. The man responsible for the damage to the Lone Grave. Angry at the waste, I am tempted to lash out at someone I do not know before I know the facts.

But experience has long-since taught me to be cautious. To be slow to wrath, yet careful to not be fooled by "smooth words".

That "slow to wrath" part is still a bit difficult sometimes, but I am working on it.

Thank you for being a Friend of Bullitt County History.

David Strange
Bullitt County History Museum
Executive Director
Museum Phone: 502-921-0161
David.Strange@BullittCountyHistory.org
BullittCountyHistory.org