Museum Newsletter - 25 Mar 2006

Friends of the Bullitt County History Museum
E-Newsletter
March 25, 2006 (Volume 2, Number 5)

Dear Friends,

Museum Activity.

>>More Tom Pack Papers

Penny Pack donated two more large boxes of papers and photos that Tom had collected over the years. Penny's generosity had already brought an invaluable collection to the museum. These additional items will add even more. I am anxious to see what treasures we will find. Thank you Penny!

>>Cub Scout Troop visits .

A fine group of local cub scouts, headed by Rodger hood, toured the Old Stone Jail and Courthouse grounds last week.

>>Another Log Cabin Saved.

Last time I told you of the Rouse/Hall log cabin off Ridge Road. That great old cabin has now been moved and will eventually be rebuilt at the new location. It is no longer in Bullitt County but at least it was saved.

Now another cabin is being saved. John and Karen Sullivan had asked us some time ago to help find someone to make use of an old family cabin on their land that needed to be moved.

They tell me that Bernheim Forest will be moving it to the park as part of a project there.

That is great news! As so many of our old structures are so rapidly disappearing, it is always good to see one being preserved at least in some way. Good for all concerned!

>> Alma Lesch historic marker

Alma Lesch was an unknown treasure to many of us. But not to the world. Living quietly in her house on Abbot Street in Shepherdsville until her death in 1999, Ms. Lesch made quite a mark in the world of art. So much so that a state historic marker was installed this week in her honor. You can find the bronze state marker at the corner of Abbot Street and Highway 44. You can find more information about her by visiting the Bullitt County History Museum or by asking her friends, such as Pat Hagan and Jennie Potter.

>> Mary Lou Hackett asked about something she came across that mentioned Cedar Grove Academy. We thought it might be from a school on Cedar Grove Road, but I don't know of the schools there being called "Academy". If you do, please correct me. Meanwhile, thanks to Betty Darnell, we have this information from The Encyclopedia of Louisville that might explain:

In part it states:

"In 1812 three women lay teachers from the school of the Saint Charles Congregation in Lebanon, Kentucky, under the direction of Father Charles Nerinckx, founded the first American religious congregation with no foreign affiliation or connection at St. Charles Church near Bardstown, Kentucky. The order, named the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross, spread throughout Kentucky and the Midwest, eventually reaching as far as New Mexico.

The principal missions of the congregation were the glory of God, the sanctification of their souls, and the salvation of their neighbors through the education and instruction of young females. It was that responsibility that led in 1842 to the founding of Cedar Grove Academy in the Portland area of Louisville. The school was officially christened St. Michael's Academy and shortly thereafter renamed Mount St. Benedict's Academy...located at 318 Thirty-fifth Street, it became popularly known as Cedar Grove because of the numerous evergreens surrounding the property...

After World War I the school suffered financial setbacks and was forced to close in 1925...

In 1926 the school reopened as Loretto High School in the Basil Doerhefer mansion at the corner of Broadway and Forty-fifth Street. The institution closed in 1973 because of monetary difficulties. The remaining students were enrolled in Flaget High School, until then a boy's school."

For Your Information:

>> Arson Moore passed away March 18, 2006.

Long time county leader Arson Moore passed away this week at age 93. Arson's long service in county government is well remembered to this day. He served as magistrate from 1948 to 1958, then as County Judge for a total of twenty years. Arson was the last of the true County Judges. Toward the end of his service, Kentucky reorganized county governments, separating law judges from county government, creating the new separate leadership positions of County Judge/Executive and District and Circuit Judges.

Arson was remembered by many for his devoted service and he will be missed, though his work lives on.

>> The Adair County Genealogical Society will be holding its first annual region-wide genealogical society book fair Saturday, June 24, 2006 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. central standard time at the Adair County High School. For more information call 270-634-0717 or e-mail lila607@yahoo.com.

>>The Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission has been working over the past year to develop programs and services that will provide substantial aid to Kentucky communities when the nation celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. This bicentennial provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kentucky to share Lincoln’s Kentucky story with the world. The national kick-off will be held in Hodgenville on February 12, 2008 and the celebration will continue for two years. Thousands of visitors are expected to visit our state with Lincoln and Civil War sites located in more than 40 counties.

Finally...

Time and Death have certainly taken their toll this month in Bullitt County.

As I told you earlier in this newsletter, long-time county leader Arson Moore died at age 93. At the other extreme of age, a fine little three year old boy died in a tragic accident. And I have just returned from the funeral of another sweat little child; this one just six months old, who had never gotten to leave the hospital.

Some of my earliest experiences with government in action was meeting Judge Moore in his prime some thirty years ago. The way he treated me, just a green kid in politics, effected how I would look at government and how I would act for the rest of my life.

And not just me.

Over his long life he surely effected history by what he did and how he did it, whether good or bad.

But a six month old child effects history too.

And therefore he effects our future as well.

The long ordeal of this child's short life drew together family and friends. Dozens, even hundreds, of friends and loved ones were forced to look at life, death, and family in a different way than perhaps they ever had before. How they handled it, how they answered unanswerable questions, how they chose to deal with such inconsolable grief, one another, and themselves, will effect them and their actions in some way for the rest of their life, even after they forget why.

And so it will effect their children.

And their children's children.

And this day soon becomes the past.

And the past becomes history.

And so the past, this rapidly fading day, effects the future.

Spring has come to Bullitt County. "Hope springs eternal", they say. New life and new opportunities begin with another day, another season. What decisions we make, how we handle the day, will be written by us, but colored by every seemingly small part of our history.

Let us together see what the future holds.

Who knows what it may bring, or how the past will effect it.

Thank you for being a Friend of Bullitt County History.

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