History Burgoo

Are you having ham, roast beef or turkey this Easter?

Well, it is that time of year again when the KHS staff find themselves looking at the atomic bunny picture in the Digital Collections and giggling.  This year we decided to look for other amusing images in the "DC" and came across the one below.  It made us wonder what culinary masterpieces will be gracing tables this weekend at homes across the state?

 

Does your family have Easter dinner traditions?  Ham and asparagus?  Fiddlefern salad?  Lamb with mint sauce?

 

And then there is the weather.  Seriously, hail, floods, tornadoes and more, and that was just last night!  Spring is supposed to be changeable but still!  Everyone has a memory of their favorite Easter hat or dress or suit.  As staff gathered at the reference desk today we were sharing memories of Easter outfits. 

 

I remember that my mother always bought my dress to be a size too big, so I could wear long underwear if the temperature was under 30 degrees.  And how about the year the Easter Egg hunt that got cancelled because we could not find ANY Easter candy due to the 6 inches of snow on the ground. 

 

Well, before you know it, it will be summer and we will be complaining about the heat and the drought.   In the meantime, family gatherings provide the perfect opportunity to get the family to tell stories about their favorite holiday memories and traditions. 

 --Louise Jones

Images:

Fred Trosch, butcher in the Willard Rouse Jillson Photo Collection, 1987PH08

Family gathering at dinner time, Frankfort, Ky. From the Community Memories: A Glimpse of African American Life in Frankfort, Ky., 1995PH02, contributed by Clara E. Hogan.

Children in Easter outfits. From the Ohio River Portrait Project, 1990PH02, contributed by John Strattan.

Easter Egg hunt for children and faculty at Paducah Community College., date ca. 1970.  From the Ohio River Portrait Project, 1990PH02, contributed by John E.L. Robertson.

 

Passion for (Derby) Fashion? Come to Hat-A-Tude!

 

It could be said that looking good—especially during Derby season—is a Kentucky tradition.  Rarely do we see promotions for horse races, particularly Derby Day races, that do NOT include imagery of beautiful women wearing gorgeous hats and dresses.

This year, during this season of couture, KHS will host our Hat-A-Tude event on Thursday, April 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.  This is the second year for the event, and you may remember several blog posts about it. But this year, things will be a little bit different.

Since Hat-A-Tude is back this year by popular demand, we’ve upped the ante with our lineup of activities.

After cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres, fashionistas of all ages can sit back, relax and watch the professionals work!  Models from Images Model & Talent Agency will star in a runway show featuring Derby apparel for every occasion and through the decades provided by Polly Singer Couture Hats and Veils, Lexington; Bella Rose Boutique, Lexington; and Rosie’s Consignment Boutique, Louisville.  Make-up for the models will be provided by Ana Crane-Simpson.

This is an all-star lineup.  In case you don’t know about these guys, here’s the scoop. 

Polly Singer provides headwear for serious A-listers—and not just here in Kentucky. Polly has created unique fashions for a myriad of high-profile events, including horse races, polo matches, weddings and other social and charitable functions. Singer’s new line, Kate, which will be featured in the fashion show, was inspired by the hats worn by Kate Middleton and others at Royal Ascot.

If you don’t know Bella Rose, you are missing out on one of the best boutiques in Lexington.  I was just  in the shop several weeks ago for their Shoshanna trunk show, and it was breathtaking.  For a shopper like me, it was almost too much to bear—beautiful colors, current trends, striking accessories and friendly staff. 

But for those of you who are on a bit of a budget—and who really isn’t these days?—another option for classy apparel is Rosie’s Consignment Boutique in Louisville.  It is not unusual to walk in Rosie’s and find brands like Trina Turk, Chanel or Prada—but at consignment prices.  I repeat, this is NOT your grandmother’s consignment store--unless your grandmother left you vintage Gucci. 

Then add in beautiful models from Images sporting Derby looks on the runway, with perfect makeup from Ana Crane-Simpson, who has worked for cosmetics lines like Hard Candy and Mac.  Maybe, if the rest of us—more mortal than model—are lucky, Ana will give us some tips WE can use to complete our Derby looks.

And don't forget to wear your own Derby hat and see if you can win our contest!

So now it’s time to get down to—stylish and en vogue—brass tacks:
When: Thursday, April 28, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, 100 W. Broadway, Downtown Frankfort KY
Tickets: $15 for KHS members, $20 for all other guests. This includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
RSVP by  April 21 by emailing Julia Curry or calling her at 502-564-1792. 

Also, check the KHS Facebook page for a special promotion, coming TOMORROW!!

Do You Have Kentucky Roots?

I am sitting at the Kentucky table here at the Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio and this is the first thing I say as people approach the table.  This is a great conference, over 800 people are here from all over the country.  A true genealogy fest!  

I have been talking about our efforts of the last three months; all the records that we have put into the catalog and how accessible it is now that we have revamped the front page.  Folks here are very appreciative, they really seem to like what we have done.  I even got to talk about my recent discovery that Campbell County has two courthouses, one in Alexandria and one in Newport, both of which created records.  Talk about making things complicated for family historians!  When we cataloged the microfilm collections, we made sure to add this information to each record, so that people can distinguish between the two.

I even got a chance to talk to two ladies from Defiance County, Ohio, about our War of 1812 activities. They may be able to help us out with our transcription project.  We have digitized a whole group of letters in the Alexander Family papers which document the war through family correspondence between Alexander family and the Madison family.  We are going to put the letters up in our Digital Collections and then have volunteers help us with transcribing them.  If you are interested, please contact Louise Jones at louise.jones@ky.gov to sign up.

 

 Well, I think the sessions are getting ready to flood out of the meeting rooms now, so things will be getting too busy to write much more.

See you soon  back in Frankfort!

--Louise Jones