Museum Newsletter - 14 January 2015

Friends of the Bullitt County History Museum
E-Newsletter
January 14, 2015 Volume 11, Number 1

Hello Friends!

Well, now that the holiday dust has settled, we are on track for an exciting 2015! I apologize for a missing newsletter for December. Not only did I get caught up in Christmas, but also with the to-dos of a soon-to-be mother.

I just wanted to take a few minutes to go over some recent news at the Museum.

Activity and Museum News:

On December 20th, the Bullitt County Genealogical Society held its annual Christmas Social. President, Sherry Lee, along with other members of the Society and volunteers from the Museum, organized a beautiful Holiday event.

The highlight was a celebration of David Strange's past 10 years of service as Director of the Bullitt County History Museum. Several of David's colleagues including Joe Hardesty, Genealogical Librarian of the Louisville Free Public Library, Stephen Thomas, of the Pioneer News, and David's wife, Bonnie Strange, offered stories and remembrances of working with David over the years.

After a delicious luncheon provided by the Genealogical Society and volunteers, Daniel Buxton shared a video presentation of past achievements and events accomplished by the Bullitt County History Museum under the leadership of David Strange (which was more than a little intimidating, mind you! Ha!). Daniel presented David with a plaque honoring his service and Barbara Bailey, on behalf of all the Museum volunteers, presented him with a handmade walking stick and gift card.

It was a really lovely celebration and I, for one, am very happy that David isn't really going anywhere. He is still the backbone of the Museum. His wealth of knowledge of the county cannot be surpassed. But, he has assured me that Mondays, now known as Pajama Days, are quite enjoyable. David volunteers at the Museum on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons each week. Stop in and visit!

To see photos and read more about the Christmas Social please read the Pioneer News coverage of the event here: https://www.pioneernews.net/content/thanks-memories or visit our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/bullittcountyhistorymuseum

Project News:

On Tuesday, January 6, I attended Bullitt County Fiscal Court, and was introduced as the new Director of the Bullitt County History Museum by Judge Executive, Melanie Roberts to the new Magistrates as well as the attending citizens. I am pretty sure with the recent Fire Department hubbub, most everyone in attendance had other topics on their minds that day. But, it was still a nice reminder to everyone about our Museum and will pave the way for upcoming projects.

Exhibit News:

In December, I approached Judge Roberts with an idea for a new Museum Exhibit in the first floor hallway of the Courthouse, to which she responded with enthusiasm!

I had proposed creating a "Bullitt County Historical Timeline" in the first floor hallway of the Courthouse to not only promote the Museum, but to also raise awareness about the rich history of the county. After discussion, Judge Roberts suggested extending the timeline across the entire right wall of the hallway (the Sheriff's office side).

Of course, the Bullitt County Fiscal Court members must approve the Bullitt County Timeline Exhibit. I am scheduled to present the ideas, design plans, etc. at a session in the near future. We do have an extensive timeline on our website from which to draw information, but will need to choose the most relevant events that have had the most impact on the county. This is where you come in! We'll be looking for suggestions in the upcoming months for events that you think should be included on our timeline. I will send out an email detailing the project in the near future. To see our inspiration board for the Timeline Display, please visit our Pinterst Page at: https://www.pinterest.com/bullittcomuseum/exhibit-ideas/ To view the Bullitt County timeline on our website, visit: https://www.bullittcountyhistory.org/bullitthistory/bchistory/timeline.html

Our downstairs display room is still closed at the moment. There are plans in the works to have that room remodeled and we are waiting for news from Mark Gardner, head of Maintenance, at the Courthouse. He has to get approval of his budget to proceed. In the meantime, I am making sure the items on display (gifts and loans) are all accounted for in our records. It takes a little longer to do it this way, but I feel confident that it is the best to make sure everything is properly recorded. We are extremely eager to have that room back in operation.

We have some other possible activities and exhibits in the works, and look forward to everyone's input as we progress through the year.

Volunteer News:

Beverly Owen, amidst other many activities, is working diligently to learn the Quickbooks system in order to take over Treasurer duties for the Genealogical Society and Museum. She and I are working on some boring, behind the scenes, accounting and general bookkeeping strategies to help things run a little smoother. It takes time, but in the end, it will be a solid foundation upon which the Museum will be able to grow.

Ed Lee continues to take on the queries sent to us by various sources across the country. He and Mark Milliner are always able to come up with the answers. The past couple of weeks, Ed has been working on a query sent to us concerning the French-Dooley family connection. He was able to locate the family history and provide the needed information to the patron...another success!

Sherry Lee is currently planning the Genealogical Society's upcoming 2015 schedule. Right now she is really excited about the upcoming Book Fair in July. She has already received confirmation from several surrounding counties and organizations that will be participating including: Meranda Caswell, local historian and author from Elizabethtown, the Maryland-Kentucky Reunion, Spencer County, West Point Museum, Hardin County, and Ancestral Trails. The plan is to hold the Book Fair at the Ridgeway Library, as well as a Family Picnic outside to draw people in. I am working on the Family Picnic details including food, music, etc. for the event. If you have any suggestions, or know someone who may be willing to volunteer their time, please contact either Sherry Lee or me. David Strange has already graciously donated the use of an ice cream cart for the event. We'll need to get the word out to everyone so we have a great turnout.

Brenda Rittman conquered a mega-milestone this past week. If you have seen our Obituary files, then you know just how many there are. Brenda works every week to scan each and every obituary into a digital file, so that it can be preserved. It can be monotonous work, and not everyone could do it. This past Tuesday, Brenda completed an entire drawer of files. That is over 4,824 obituaries!

We received a request from Joe Hardesty at the Louisville Free Public Library as well as from Marianne Reber at the Ridgway Library concerning a project for a memorial that will honor local National Guard service members. There are two gentleman from Bullitt County for whom we are gathering information. Thankfully we have Jose Rosario on the case. He is working hard to find family members of and information on the gentlemen. If you would like to help, please read more about the project here: www.kyngmemorial.com

Judy Richardson continues to work diligently on researching Bullitt Countians who served in the War of 1812 and continues to be one of our loyal volunteers every week. She is one of our longest serving volunteers. Thank you Judy!

Wilma Lemons has spent the past few months working overtime at her new job and still found time to put in a huge amount of time scanning "Wilderness Road" and "Kentucky Explorer" documents so we will have them on file digitally. She put in over 70 hours from home in December. Thank you Wilma!

Daniel Buxton stops in almost every day to visit with us at the Museum. He is busy working hard on the Bowman Valley School project, but still finds time to contribute to the Museum as well. Daniel recently posted an interesting story on our Facebook page about Isaac Froman, the third settler born in Bullitt County. It is really informative! There have also been several recent developments with the school, including the building of the support beams, placing of the school on the foundation, and the addition of the roof structure. The project still needs volunteer and financial support. If you are interested, please contact Daniel. If you would like to read more about the Bowman Valley Schoolhouse Project, please read here: https://www.gofundme.com/6t9ahc?fb_action_ids=866253800066184&fb_action_types=og.shares

Nancy Blakeman has rejoined us at the Museum as of January 1st, and we have missed her. I have had the pleasure of working with her the past two Tuesdays, and have really enjoyed it. So glad to have you back, Nancy!

We are happy to welcome back Bob Druin and his wife Lena to Bullitt County. They have recently moved back, and Bob has already begun volunteering at the Museum on Fridays. I worked with Bob this past Friday and am looking forward to working with him every week. He is so knowledgeable about both Bullitt and Nelson Counties. Please stop in and welcome him back home.

Charles Hartley and David Strange continue to provide the Bullitt County memories and stories that keep us interested. A list of the most recent submissions from our website are shown down below. We also post a link to each week's story each Sunday on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/bullittcountyhistorymuseum

In Need of New and Returning Volunteers:

With the upcoming arrival of my husband's and my daughter due March 3rd, I am reaching out to the volunteers for some added support. We had our 33rd week check-up and ultrasound at the doctor yesterday. After seeing that little baby on the screen, I am having a hard time concentrating. With 6-8 weeks to go, my body is slowing down and my mind is screaming "BABY!" If you have any interest in seeing the upcoming arrival's recent ultrasound picture, I just posted it on our Facebook page. I apologize for gushing!

If you are interested in volunteering in the next few months, I would greatly appreciate the help. I am currently doing all day Monday, Tuesday morning, and all day Friday at the Museum, but it won't be long until I will need to take off for a few weeks. If you would like to pick up on those days, please get in touch. We would love to have you! We would be nothing without the support and service of our loyal volunteers.

New Items At the Museum:

The Museum has received several items of interest over the past few weeks including several interesting items from Craig Larimore concerning education and schools in Bullitt County, donated from his mother's, Ms. Elizabeth "Betty" Larimore, estate. I recently spoke with Mr. Larimore's son-in-law, Chris Reynolds, who reiterated what a presence "Grandbetty" as he and his wife lovingly refer to Ms. Larimore, was in the community. She contributed much to the Museum in the past and Mr. Larimore continues to provide us with new items and information.

We received an older "sample" voting machine, which was donated by County Clerk's Office and County Clerk, Kevin Mooney, from their inventory. Interestingly enough, Mr. Mooney told me that this particular type of machine is responsible for the "Hanging Chad" debacle in Miami-Dade County, Florida and subsequent Florida Recount that plagued the Presidential Election of 2000. We plan to use the machine in an upcoming Election exhibit in the future.

Bob Cline, our long time volunteer, has graciously donated the newest Ancestry.com "Family Tree Maker" program as a Christmas present to the Museum! We are scheduled to install that program in the next few weeks on the computers at the Museum. I am really excited about the newest program, as Bob has told me this program far surpasses the old one. It will allow access to other family trees and allow users to create and share their own family histories. I will keep you posted on the installation. An IT expert is scheduled to visit with us sometime next week to install the program.

Upcoming Events:

Louisville Genealogical Society (LGS) meets Tuesday, Jan 13, 1 p.m., LDS Church, Hurstbourne Parkway Program: "Jeffersonville & Clark County Indiana in the Civil War," by Dr. Carl E. Kramer

LGS also presents workshops at St. Matthews/Eline Public Library, 3940 Grandview Avenue, 2nd floor on Jan 21, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
Program: "Armchair Genealogy - Using the Internet to Research Your Family," by Nancy Simmons Roberson. Internet access is available for notebook or laptop. Bring your notebook or laptop, or just show up with paper and pen or pencil.

Hands-On Genealogy Workshop
Saturday, January 17, 2015
10:00 am - 12:00 noon (EST)
NSSAR Genealogical Research Library
809 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202-2619

Admission is free to DAR, SAR, and Friends of the Library members. For non-members, there is a $5.00 admission fee. Parking information can be found here: https://library.sar.org/node/733 and remember, street meters now charge a fee on Saturdays.

NSSAR Staff Genealogist, Denise Hall, will begin the workshop with a short demonstration on how to correctly print documentation images from online sources. This will last no more than a half-hour.

Following the first part, she will focus on how to use familysearch.org, a totally free website containing millions of actual records (from the U.S. and around the globe), including birth, death, and marriage records, as well as some wills, probates, and deed documents. Familysearch also has a variety of books available in electronic format. You are encouraged to bring laptops, tablets, etc., so that you can follow along and ask questions as you go. If you have not usedfamilysearch.org before, or have never established a user name and password, you are encouraged to do so before this workshop. It is a totally free website, but because of contractual agreements with sources of some of the documents, you will occasionally encounter "sign in to view this document" in your searches. So, setting up your user name and password ahead of time will save you time later. Just remember to write it down! One other caveat: if you have an older laptop, such as one still running on Windows XP that still has Internet Explorer as the browser, you will not be able to use familysearch.org on it, unless you download a newer browser, such as Chrome.

Upcoming Holidays:

The Museum will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day next Monday, January 19, 2015.

Thank you for being a friend of the Bullitt County History Museum.

Mary Margaret Trinkle
Bullitt County History Museum
Museum Phone: 502-921-0161
E-Mail address: Mary.Margaret@BullittCountyHistory.org

---

Here is our list of web site additions since the last newsletter.