CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER, JOSH ISON FASHION & EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER, MATT JOHNSON
FASHION & EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER, ANTONIO PANTOJA DISTRIBUTION, KELLI VAN HECKE, JILL & JOHN MINNIX
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS : ALISON CARDOZA, ALISHA PROFFITT, DR. RANDY WHETSTONE JR., JACKIE ZYKAN, KELSEY KNOTT, KEVIN MURPHY WILSON, LISA HORNUNG, LOUISVILLE ZOO, MANDA BARGER, MARY ZOELLER, MCKENNA GRAHAM, MILAN CALENDINE, DR. OKSANA ZHURBICH, RENAE ISON, RUSS BROWN, UOFL HEALTH
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS : BILL STARK, GIOIA PATTON, HOUSE OF RUTH, JACKIE ZYKAN, JOSH ISON, KAT FLAHERTY, KATHLEEN DREIER, SARAH BARTLEY, SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH, THE NASON FAMILY, UOFL ATHLETICS
CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS & MAKEUP ARTISTS : MATT GOODLETT, RICK BANCROFT, TRIM NULU’S KAREYN GRAY
Dear Louisville Voices & Readers,
At The VOICE-TRIBUNE, we believe that art and philanthropy are vital forces shaping our community for the better. This special issue celebrates those who use their creativity and generosity to inspire and support others.
Owsley Brown Frazier once said, “True wealth is measured by the good you do in the lives of others.” This principle guides the extraordinary individuals featured in this issue, who, as Pamela Mullins eloquently expressed, see giving back not as an obligation but as “an opportunity.” Their contributions plant the seeds of transformation in our community.
Artists like Joan Brannon remind us that “Art connects the soul to a rhythm bigger than ourselves,” while Teddy Abrams, of the Louisville Orchestra, notes, “Music isn’t just sound—it’s a way of building bridges between hearts and minds.” We are proud to shine a light on those who are using art and philanthropy to build these bridges in Louisville.
As Louisville continues to grow, we encounter stories that remind us of the profound impact of art and generosity. One such story is that of Antonio Pantoja, the cover feature of this month’s issue. A multi-award-winning writer, director, and fine art photographer, Antonio is celebrated not only for his artistic accomplishments but also for his incredible kindness. Despite personal hardships—including homelessness and a near-fatal heart attack—he remains a beacon of generosity, offering free classes, organizing charitable events, and providing struggling artists with headshots and other tools for success. Antonio’s legacy in Louisville is built on his belief that kindness and success go hand in hand.
Another artist making waves in our city is Jack Harlow, whose philanthropic efforts are leaving a lasting mark. The Louisville Ballet’s upcoming show, Triple Take (running Nov. 1-3), features 502, a performance blending 3 different pieces, including classical ballet and compenterary dance with Harlow’s music. Choreographed by Ching Ching Wong, this collaboration is a celebration of Louisville’s culture and has generated excitement citywide. An exclusive documentary about 502, produced in collaboration with The VOICE-TRIBUNE and Medici Creative, is available to watch via a QR code in this issue.
As we enter the spooky season, we’re also excited to share the eerie adventures of Bill and Charisse Stark. We had the opportunity to take a look inside their haunted cabin in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, where they’ve documented over 100 supernatural events. Their chilling experiences are captured in Bill’s new book, In Shadows Canyon Red – Our Haunted Cabin in the Red River Gorge. Thank you to the Starks for sharing your haunting story with us!
On a celebratory note, I’d like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to Jennifer Montgomery of Eminence Middle School for being named Kentucky’s 2025 Middle School Teacher of the Year. Reflecting on my own experiences, I’m reminded of the incredible teachers who shaped my life, offering support in ways I never imagined. Thank you, Jennifer, for your commitment to our youth.
As the air cools and the fall festivals begin, I encourage you to get outside and celebrate our local artists. Whether you’re heading to the St. James Art Festival, visiting Artportal, or joining the Monarch community of musicians, creatives, and music lovers, there’s no better time to support Louisville’s vibrant artistic community.
As we wrap up this issue, I want to thank everyone who supports The VOICE-TRIBUNE and the remarkable people and organizations we highlight. Louisville thrives on creativity, kindness, community, and giving back, and it’s an honor to share these stories.
Whether you’re inspired by art, moved by generosity, or enjoying the culture around us, remember we all have the power to make a difference. Let’s keep uplifting one another and celebrating Louisville!
Get Involved in Louisville:
We love hearing from our readers! Be part of the Halloween fun by voting for your favorite costume worn by artists from the Louisville Ballet. Which one gave you the biggest thrill? Tickets for the performances are on sale now, so don’t miss out!
And don’t forget—the Louisville Zoo needs your help naming their adorable new tiger cub! Will it be Kaji, Sambal, or Satu? Cast your vote and help give this little cub a memorable name.
Be sure to check out and subscribe to our online calendar for all the exciting events happening around Louisville.
Cheers to the many VOICES of Louisville!
Amelia Frazier Theobald
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By Dr. Randy Whetstone, Jr. • Photos by Kathryn Harrington
The premier destination for contemporary art in Louisville, KY is located at 715 West Main Street. There you will witness dazzling art pieces that leave a lasting effect on one’s psychological and emotional state. Art that compels you to ponder and reflect on the ingenuity of the artist. KMAC Contemporary Art Museum is that destination, an experience that changes lives forever.
“We have an incredible curatorial director in Joey Yates. How he knows and finds this vast network of people he does is amazing to me,” says Chris Welsh, new Board President for KMAC. “Joey is so good at finding young artists who are on the cusp of becoming the next big thing. We featured Simone Leigh in an exhibit maybe six or seven years ago. Two years ago, she was the leading artist at the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. There are things like that, Joey is good at finding these young artists who suddenly blow up after they have been at KMAC. So, we have been very fortunate in that respect.”
Welsh grew up in Louisville and left for nearly three decades. He never envisioned the day that he would return to Louisville. After living in New York for 20 years, he and his husband returned to Louisville and now love it. He says he has always been captivated by KMAC and has been a strong supporter. His involvement and support have now led him to a leadership role he truly cherishes.
“We were pulled in and mesmerized by KMAC nine years ago. I started on a committee for KMAC Couture, which is our largest fundraiser, soon after joining the board. It has been a great ride, and I am happy to serve as president. There’s always so much going on at KMAC and so many different things to focus on. I think as a board member, our job is to keep the word going out there and to constantly be finding new streams of revenue. We have been really fortunate to have some good grants. So as a board member, that’s one of our main goals and main jobs… to find revenue and keep things going. I feel like overall, we as a board really work together to get things accomplished.”
If you’re looking for an encyclopedic museum, the Speed Art Museum may be your destination, but KMAC offers a transformative journey of contemporary art that emphasizes craft and how art was created.
“That is the niche we are filling with a huge emphasis on craft and local and regional artists, as well as people from around the world. Our goal is to always be forward-looking and pushing local artists into a spotlight with a lot of global artists,” Welsh adds. “With KMAC, we are always changing and growing and finding new audiences. We have always prided ourselves on being the most diverse museum in town. As far as the art we show, it is incredibly diverse. I feel like in the future, we hope to just grow as an institution. A part of that is financial footing, and the other part is bringing great contemporary art to our region.”
Art is transformative. It is calming and inspirational, yet thoughtprovoking and challenging. A KMAC experience transforms a person in some way. Welsh says, “You come in and can see what other people have done and what their thought processes are, and from that experience, you begin to think about your own emotional state in relation to the artist. It’s an indescribable emotional connection made between two people through the power of art.”
By: VOICE-TRIBUNE • Photos by Matt Johnson
Art has the power to inspire, provoke thought, and bring people together, and nowhere is this more evident than at Louisville’s own Speed Art Museum. As one of the region’s premier cultural institutions, the Speed is a cornerstone of community engagement, education, and cultural enrichment. For the past decade, the museum has provided guests with free Sunday admissions through Owsley Sundays. Thanks to a generous grant from the Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program, the museum now offers free general admission to the public on 1st Thursday! evenings, making art more accessible to everyone in Louisville. This initiative not only opens the museum doors to a wider audience but also highlights the value of supporting local art institutions like Speed, which gives back to the entire community in countless ways.
1st Thursdays!
For many, visiting a museum can feel like a luxury, but 1st Thursdays! Speed aims to change that by making art accessible to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, visitors can enjoy free access to the museum’s permanent galleries. These intimate evenings are the perfect time for art lovers, families, and curious newcomers to explore Speed’s extensive collection of works from around the world.
In addition to free gallery access, 1st Thursdays! offer a wide array of programming designed to deepen the community’s connection to art. Visitors can attend gallery talks, participate in lectures, or engage in interactive events like figure drawing. These events offer something for everyone—whether you’re a lifelong art enthusiast or simply looking for a new way to spend an evening.
Supporting Local Art Institutions Benefits Everyone
When you support institutions like the Speed Art Museum, you’re not just contributing to the arts—you’re investing in the community as a whole. Art museums like the Speed serve as cultural hubs, providing spaces for dialogue, education, and collaboration. They offer educational programs for students of all ages, giving children the chance to explore creativity and learn about history, culture, and social issues through art. Additionally, museums provide Seniors with opportunities for physical activity, social connection, and cognitive engagement. A study from the British Medical Journal found that older adults who regularly visited museums had a 31% lower risk for early mortality. The Speed also frequently collaborates with local artists, showcasing their work and making space for a thriving creative community right here in Louisville.
By attending events like 1st Thursdays! or supporting the museum through donations and memberships, you’re helping to ensure that art remains accessible to everyone. Museums rely heavily on public support to fund free or reduced-cost admission, as well as exhibitions and educational programs. When you support Speed, you’re helping to break down barriers to access, allowing people from all walks of life to experience the transformative power of art.
A Space for Connection and Growth
One of the most valuable contributions Speed makes to the community is the way it brings people together. Whether it’s through a shared appreciation for art, a lecture that sparks a new idea, or a family-friendly event that inspires the next generation, Speed creates opportunities for connection and dialogue. In a world where we are often divided by our differences, art has the unique ability to remind us of our shared humanity.
Speed also plays a critical role in the local economy. Cultural institutions attract tourists, create jobs, and drive economic growth by partnering with local businesses. A 2018 study conducted by Oxford Economics with support from the Mellon Foundation found that every $100 of economic activity at a museum generated an additional $220 in activity at other businesses.
Art for All
As 1st Thursdays continue to open the doors of the Speed Art Museum to a broader audience, it’s a reminder of the importance of keeping art and culture accessible to everyone. When you support local art institutions, you’re not just investing in galleries or exhibits—you’re helping to create a more vibrant, inclusive, and connected community.
So next time you’re looking for a meaningful way to give back, consider how supporting institutions like Speed can make a lasting impact. To learn more about the Speed Art Museum and how to support their mission, visit www.speedmuseum.org/support/
WHERE
ASPIRING DANCERS TRAIN LIKE PROS
By VOICE-TRIBUNE • Photos by Katheryn Harrington
If you’re an emerging dancer with dreams of taking your technique and artistry to the next level, the Louisville Ballet Summer Intensive is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. This exclusive program is designed for dancers who are serious about honing their craft, offering them a taste of what it’s like to train as a professional in a world-class setting.
Louisville Ballet is known for its world-renowned faculty, inspiring facilities, and a curriculum tailored to cultivate each dancer’s growth. Their Summer Intensive is no exception. With a commitment to small class sizes, dancers receive personal, one-on-one attention from expert instructors and artistic staff, ensuring that every correction and feedback is tailored to the individual.
The 2024 summer program featured an incredible guest faculty that included ballet luminaries such as Lauren Anderson, former Houston Ballet Principal Dancer, Brandon Ragland, Artistic Director of Dayton Ballet, known for his dynamic and expressive choreography, as well as Louisville Ballet’s own artistic staff and company artists. “I enjoy the culture that is Louisville Ballet, they have some good stuff going. This is a place that I say ‘yes’ to” said Lauren Anderson “I think everybody needs to experience Louisville Ballet, at least once, just walk in the door and see one show.” This was Lauren’s second year as a guest teacher with Louisville Ballet and she is set to return in 2026.
Throughout the program, dancers from all over the country will commit to a robust schedule of daily classes in ballet, pointe, men’s technique, variations, partnering, and conditioning. Complementary dance styles such as modern, musical theater, pilates, and yoga ensure that dancers develop a well-rounded skill set. The program also features a dedicated Men’s Program, which includes specialized men’s technique, strength training, and partnering. This attention to male dancers is rare in intensives and provides a unique opportunity to hone the skills necessary for male ballet performers. Louisville Ballet understands that dance training is as much about physical wellness as it is about technique. That’s why the Summer Intensive includes on-site physical therapy professionals offering guidance and seminars on injury prevention and recovery.
Every day will culminate in rehearsals that prepare dancers for exciting end-of-session demonstrations and performances to experience the thrill of showcasing their hard work in front of an audience. “This week has been amazing. I got really emotional with those girls because we went somewhere this week. I became a better teacher. I feel that they got to know themselves as dancers. There is a lot of trust in the studio. There are moments they get emotional, you know, they’re teenagers. They are changing constantly, right? They trusted me this week and we went somewhere together. It was a journey and that’s awesome and rare, it doesn’t happen everywhere.” Lauren Anderson shared.
Ready to take your dance career to the next level? Don’t miss out on the 2025 Louisville Ballet Summer Intensive. With world-class training, inspiring mentorship, and an environment that’s both challenging and supportive, this program will leave you with not only improved skills but lasting connections and unforgettable experiences.
For more information visit www.louisvilleballet.org
Shine bright this holiday! Treat yourself and your loved ones to beauty that lasts all season. Book your reservation today.
By Lisa Hornung • Photos By Kathryn Harrington
Hometown hero and rapper Jack Harlow is well-known as a proud Louisvillian who gives back to his community through philanthropy, promotion and more. One new way is lending his music to the Louisville Ballet for its November show, “Triple Take.”
“Triple Take” is a show with three performances with different themes, music and choreographers that will take the stage Nov. 1-3 at the Brown Theatre, 315 W Broadway. One of the three performances, titled “502,” incorporates classical ballet with Harlow’s music.
While Harlow will not perform or participate in the show, he’s given the music rights to the ballet for the performance. Choreographer Ching Ching Wong created the piece for the Ballet.
The other two performances in “Triple Take,” are:
• “Broken Totem,” choreographed by Resident Choreographer Adam Hougland and music by Igor Stravinsky
• “Influences,” choreographed by ballet Artistic Director Harald Uwe Kern and music by Robert Schumann Louisville Ballet is the fifth oldest ballet company in the United States, and it’s the only company with which Mikhail Baryshnikov has performed twice. The 24 dancers originate in 22 global cities.
‘502’ DOCUMENTARY
The Louisville Ballet worked with VOICE-TRIBUNE and Medici Creative to make a documentary about the “502” dance, which is available to view through the QR below. “It could only have been done in this moment at this time,” Ching Ching Wong said of “502”. Wong is a dancer, choreographer, and rehearsal director for Ballets Jazz Montreal. She has choreographed for Louisville Ballet before, on “Grass is Green” in the 2022–2023 season. It was a ballet set to a spectrum of musical styles.
Wong’s interaction with the dancers during the artistic process is a highlight of the documentary. Her energy shines. “We had nine days, and we created a ballet to the music of Jack Harlow. It feels like a miracle!” Wong said.
One dancer said he knew Wong was the right person for the task: “If anyone can marry ballet, contemporary dance and modern dance with Jack Harlow’s music, it would definitely be Ching Ching,” dancer Daniel Scofield said.
“She’s a whole vibe in herself,” said dancer Leigh Anne Albrechta in the documentary. “She is so thoughtful, and creative, and precise, and doesn’t mind when it’s messy. To a classical ballet artist, we tend to want perfection, and she is able to strip all of us down from that and really build from the bottom-up to everybody’s strengths.”
BUZZING FOR BALLET
Leslie Smart said the buzz around the show is rising in the city. “Louisville is such a small community, and it’s so fun to walk into a public space and have people come up to you,” she said. “And people already come up and start talking about ‘502’ and the excitement behind this collaboration.”
For local dance artists, the love for Louisville makes this project special. “Jack is such a Louisville icon that to do a work with the Louisville Ballet to his music, about the city, is really, really exciting and fulfilling as a Louisville native myself,” Scofield said.
Maggie Harlow, Jack Harlow’s mother, makes an appearance in the documentary. She is the co-owner of Signarama and represented the Jack Harlow Foundation at the rehearsal shown in the documentary. Jack Harlow donated $50,000 to the ballet in 2023.
“Not every community has a ballet, and it really, for me, is sort of a defining thing for our community, is that we support the arts, are serious about the arts, we make great art,” she said.
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR PERFORMANCE
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY AT OUR WEBSITE
By: Louisville Zoo
The Louisville Zoo is inviting the public to help name one of its newest additions, a male Sumatran tiger cub born on July 23, 2024. Norton Children’s is presenting the opportunity to vote on the cub’s name, marking the first time a Sumatran tiger cub has been born at the Zoo in 20 years.
The zookeepers at the Islands have selected three potential names that reflect the importance of this cub and honor his parents:
Satu (sah-too): Means “one” in Indonesian. With less than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, every cub is vital for the survival of this critically endangered species.
Saya Sambal (Sigh-ya-sah-m-ball): Honors his dad, Kami Sambal, who passed away on August 20, 2024. Kami’s name means “we are spicy sauce” in Indonesian, referring to the wild nature of tigers, which are not domesticated and are often trafficked for the pet trade, leading to significant conservation issues. “Saya Sambal” means “I am spicy sauce.”
Kaji (kah-gee): A combination of both parents’ names, Kami and Jingga. Their legacy will live on through this cub, contributing to the conservation of Sumatran tigers for future generations.
Voting continues through Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 11 p.m. Guests can cast their votes once daily at louisvillezoo.org/namethetigercub.
The mother and cub are currently off exhibit, bonding. Guests can check in on them via the Zoo’s live cam at louisvillezoo.org/cubcam.
About Sumatran Tigers
Sumatran Tigers, the last of the island tiger subspecies, are smaller than mainland tigers and are critically endangered. Fewer than 400 individuals are estimated to still survive in the wild. Found only on Sumatra, their habitat is primarily threatened by the development of palm oil plantations. Palm oil is found in hundreds of foods, cosmetics and cleaning products. As worldwide demand for palm oil accelerates, so does the loss of vital tropical forests, which are home to thousands of unique plant and animal species. Choosing palm-oil free products or those containing sustainably grown palm oil helps preserve and protect wildlife and wild places.
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
A LEGACY OF CULINARY EXCELLENCE, PHILANTHROPY, AND COMMUNITY IMPACT
By VOICE-TRIBUNE • Photos by Matt Johnson
In Louisville, Kentucky, few names are as synonymous with culinary innovation and community-driven success as Susan Hershberg and her beloved business, Wiltshire Pantry. Celebrating 35 years in business this year, Wiltshire Pantry has become more than just a culinary landmark in the city; it has become a beacon of philanthropy, social justice, and unwavering support for Louisville’s vibrant arts scene. Under Susan’s leadership, Wiltshire Pantry has grown from a small catering company into a multifaceted culinary powerhouse with cafes, catering services, and a farm-to-table ethos at its core.
A Culinary Vision That Shaped Louisville
Since 1989, Susan Hershberg and Wiltshire Pantry have been creating innovative menus for celebratory occasions, from intimate to elaborate. Long before “farm to table” became the norm in fine dining rooms, she and her team cultivated relationships with farmers in order to access the freshest, most flavorful ingredients. She and her team developed menus based on what was being grown locally and in doing so, grew alongside young farming families just starting out. After a few years, Wiltshire began to supply huge events with fully locally sourced ingredients. Charitable fundraisers were then transformed into culinary events where guests could look forward to their meal as a primary draw to attend.
Over the years, Wiltshire Pantry has grown to include multiple retail outlets. The Original Highlands Bakery Cafe at 901 Barret Avenue and its sister Cafe downtown at 6th and Main have been celebrated for their creative, locally sourced menus and for providing spaces where art, culture, and food intersect.
Championing the Arts and Culture
One of the defining characteristics of Susan’s career is her unwavering commitment to the arts, extending beyond culinary creations to include advocacy and support of Louisville’s arts organizations. By hosting and sponsoring events, Wiltshire works to enrich the cultural fabric of the city. Hershberg sees the arts as a vital part of Louisville’s identity and believes in fostering creativity not only through food but through active participation in the cultural life of the city.
In keeping with that tradition, Wiltshire on Main Street offers Prix Fixe dinners in advance of performances at the Kentucky Center for Performing Arts, just a half block away. Starting October 4th and 5th before the Broadway in Louisville series performances of Les Misérables, Wiltshire will host pre-performance dining with seating beginning at 5:30pm. Reservations are encouraged but not required. Dinner service in advance of Louisville Orchestra Concerts as well as Louisville Ballet performances will allow patrons to be fully immersed in the experience.
A Commitment to Social Justice and Philanthropy
Hershberg’s influence in Louisville reaches far beyond the culinary and arts scenes. She is deeply committed to philanthropy and social justice, using her business as a platform to support causes that matter to her and the community. From partnering with local nonprofits to supporting organizations that work for social equity, Hershberg has built a reputation as a business leader who cares about giving back.
In recent years, Hershberg has used Wiltshire Pantry to amplify voices calling for social change, particularly in the realms of racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and economic equity. She believes in using her platform not only to create jobs and sustain local farms but also to make a lasting difference in the lives of the underrepresented and marginalized. Hershberg is known for hiring from diverse backgrounds and advocating for fair wages and working conditions in the food industry.
Revitalizing Downtown Louisville
As an integral part of the Louisville business community, Hershberg has also been a key player in the economic revitalization of Louisville’s downtown. Wiltshire Pantry’s flagship locations have long been anchor institutions, drawing visitors, locals, and tourists to the heart of the city. Her investments in downtown Louisville have helped preserve the city’s architectural heritage while contributing to its modern economic development.
Hershberg has been a vocal advocate for supporting local businesses and downtown revitalization efforts, believing that a thriving city center is crucial to Louisville’s overall health. By creating jobs, supporting local suppliers, and maintaining a commitment to sustainability, Wiltshire Pantry has become a model of how small businesses can drive economic growth while also fostering a strong sense of community.
Looking Ahead
As Wiltshire Pantry celebrates its 35th anniversary, Hershberg shows no signs of slowing down. Her dedication to food, the arts, and the community continues to inspire those around her. Her legacy is one of innovation, compassion, and leadership, making her one of Louisville’s most beloved and respected figures. Whether she’s serving a meal at a local arts gala, advocating for social justice, or contributing to the city’s downtown revitalization, Hershberg’s impact on Louisville is immeasurable.
In a city rich with culture, history, and diversity, Susan Hershberg and Wiltshire Pantry have become symbols of what is possible when passion, philanthropy, and community spirit come together. Thirty-five years in, and the future looks brighter than ever.
KEEP UP TO DATE ON ALL THE IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS!
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HELP GRANT WISHES FOR KENTUCKY KIDS
When you donate to Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, you're giving children renewed strength to fight their illnesses, bringing families
An immersive evening of art and creativity at the Speed Art Museum SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2
8 PM – 12 AM
By Jackie Zykan
With over 20 years of experience in beverage alcohol, and a love affair with the natural world, I am delighted to share some of Kentucky’s finest distilled spirits alongside fresh, local, and seasonal botanicals.
The autumn colors of Kentucky capture us in the present moment, and also serve as a gentle reminder that the cooler season is upon us, and with it comes preparation. As we approach the first frost, you may notice the bright red fruits appearing on rose bushes. These fantastic little fruits are a charming gift to help support health and wellness through winter. They can be enjoyed in teas, syrups, jellies, and have a tart yet sweet flavor. Easy to harvest, and readily available commercially as well, incorporating them into your winter menu is a delicious way to give yourself some love as the frost approaches.
Featured Kentucky Product: Four Roses Bourbon
This classic expression from Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, KY is a staple to have on hand. Approachable and versatile, what has been known as “yellow label” by industry folks is a consistent and artful blend of multiple recipes, coming in at 80 proof and always priced right. This particular expression works well in cocktails which are light in body and whimsical. For this particular cocktail, this pour was a certain fit due to its palate of honey, pears, and subtle floral nuances.
Featured Kentucky Flora: Rosa Palustris (Swamp Rose)
Rosehips are such a gift to find as the green landscape of summer begins to shift to brown and then gray. These bright red beauties are the fruit of the rose plant, and are not exclusive to the swamp rose. There are over 100 species of the Rosa genus which offer ample opportunity to forage these sweet-tart fruits. They have been revered for their nutritional value, with 2 tablespoons boasting up to 76% DV of vitamin C, plus being a source of vitamin K and E. For more sweetness, wait until after the first frost to harvest.
Rose Hip Sour
1 ½ oz Four Roses Bourbon
1 egg white
¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
¾ oz Rich Rose Hip Syrup
Directions: Combine ingredients in a shaker tin, shake without ice. Add ice, shake again, strain into a coupe and garnish with dried rose hips
Rich Rose Hip Syrup
yields 8 oz
2 TBSP dried and crushed rose hips, in a tea bag
1 cup sugar
¾ cup water
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to simmer until volume is reduced by half. Remove from heat, strain and discard rose hips. Keep syrup refrigerated.
Preparing foraged rose hips
Rose hips are relatively easy to identify and forage, however the preparation for their consumption can be arduous. The tiny hairs both inside and outside can be an irritant if ingested, so proper precautions must be taken. After picking, wash rose hips in a colander/strainer. Remove leaves, stems, and protruding hairs, and dry in a warm oven or dehydrator until shriveled. Once completely dry, crush with a coarse food processor or mortar and pestle, and pour entire contents into a fine mesh colander/strainer. Shake out any small particles and hairs, store crushed rose hips in an airtight container. Even if time does not allow for the tedious process mentioned above, there are many sources for purchasing already prepared rose hips for use in this recipe.
KENTUCKY MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER OF THE YEAR
By Kelsey Knott
“It’s a powerful thing to believe in people so much that they begin to believe in themselves, so I decided that’s what I wanted to do with my life: To teach.” Jennifer Montgomery grew up in a three-room cabin without telephone service or indoor plumbing. Despite struggles, her family encouraged her to dream big. Her phenomenal teachers in her K-12 public school and at Asbury University encouraged, challenged, and believed in her when she didn’t believe in herself.
INFLUENCES/INSPIRATION:
“I look for stories that inspire me because my passion will come out effortlessly. I teach a water scarcity unit with the novel A Long Walk to Water because I’ve traveled a lot and seen the reality of this crisis, but I have also lived it somewhat. Growing up without indoor plumbing, we drove 20 miles to fill up jugs from a well weekly. That’s different from walking to get water daily, but it’s a personal connection most students have no concept of, so while they learn reading strategies, I also help them create empathy by walking a mile around our football field while carrying a gallon of water. Waterstep and The Louisville Water Tower teach us about water purification. We read about Martin County, Kentucky and Flint, Michigan. We build water filters. Real world connections drive learning.”
MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF TEACHING:
“Connection–with students, colleagues, and the community. Though we crave human connection, people are oftentimes very disconnected, even from people they spend hours with daily. A student told me a 3-4 minute story about something he learned on his computer. It was over my head, but I listened and asked questions. After his story, he said, ‘I can’t believe you actually listened to me. I’ve been wanting to tell that to someone all week.’ Our ‘why’ is sitting in front of us. If we don’t have time for them, we’ve missed the mark.”
WHAT DO YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT TEACHING / EDUCATION?
“While teaching is one of the most rewarding professions, it is also one of the hardest. As teachers, we truly care about our students. We work hard, even in the summer. We know it’s a great responsibility, but we aren’t magic. We can’t continuously do more with less. Teaching reminds me of what is important in life: people. I hope we all remember that teachers are people too.”
ON COMMUNITY:
“At Eminence Independent, teachers are valued, trusted, and encouraged to be creative, embodying “Surprise and Delight” to make school fun and exciting and “Yes, and” thinking. Eminence is a small town where many students face economic and social challenges. We work hard to give students access, through laptops, field trips, passion projects, and project-based learning. We take learning outside the classroom and make it applicable to everyday life. Our supportive community partners with our students in various ways, trusting them and investing in both their future and their present.”
ON LIFELONG LESSONS:
“I want students to feel empowered and know their stories matter because they matter. The world is a big place–I want them to empathize with others, be moved with compassion, and understand that small acts of love and compassion make a difference. They may never get recognized or honored for them, but it is powerful to say to another person through words or action, ‘I see you.’ Literature has a way of taking us outside of our lives and creating a space where we are surprised by truth in unexpected ways. With A Long Walk to Water, students learn about the Lost Boys of Sudan and women and girls who can’t get an education because they spend their days collecting water so their families survive. As the author of the book, Linda Sue Park, says, “Life isn’t fair [and] we need all the practice we can get at facing life’s unfairness with both grace and grit.” When we each carry a gallon of water and walk for a mile, they get it. They use phrases like “this creates a cycle,” “no chance at education,” and “we are water rich.” When juniors and seniors see my door decorated like a hut, they say, “Are you reading about Salva?” They remember what they learned years ago, but also the character’s name, because he is real to them. Salve’s story matters, but so does their story.”
ON THE HONOR OF KENTUCKY TEACHER OF THE YEAR:
“Winning KY Teacher of the Year is a shared honor. I won this through shared experiences with colleagues, administrators, family members, community members, friends, and students who shaped my journey and poured into my life. Teaching is an art–a tapestry, filled with threads of thousands of experiences I’ve had over the last two decades, good and bad, woven together to create something remarkable. I want to represent my profession and my community well. I wouldn’t be here without them.
The contents, opinions, and viewpoints contained herein are those of the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Montgomery, and do not necessarily represent the official views and opinions of the Kentucky Department of Education.
NEARLY 8 IN 10 AMERICANS ARE IN DEBT.
HERE’S A LOOK AT THE NATIONAL DEBT DILEMMA.
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THE CONSUMER DEBT OF THE AVERAGE AMERICAN? THINK ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORS, COWORKERS, FAMILY MEMBERS, FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP BARISTAS AND TEACHERS ACROSS THE STATE AND BEYOND. YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THE FOLLOWING.
Less than a quarter of the American population has no consumer debt, according to the Federal Reserve. Simple math illustrates that the majority of people, nearly 8 out of every 10 individuals, do have debt.
It is also worth noting, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 was $59,384. Meanwhile, the average consumer debt is $104,215. This six-figure sum takes into account a blend of various debt types. Remember, not everyone has only student loans, automobile loans, credit card or different types of home debt. Americans may have a combination of one or all of these items. Additionally, we cannot forget each American’s share of government debt, which includes national, state and local debt. By adding these items into the equation, the results are shocking. CHART 1 illustrates a family of four and includes consumer debt and national debt on a per citizen basis.
GOVERNMENT DEBT
The average share of national, state and local debt on a per person basis is $127,328, of which $104,215 is the national portion of the debt. This includes every living man, woman and child — taxpayer or not. [b]
However, when the government debt is considered on a per taxpayer basis, the taxpayers share balloons to a whopping $296,283. If it is assumed that a family has two working, taxpaying adults and two children, then the burden of this hypothetical family increases to the following:
$1,219,720
CHART 2 illustrates a family of four and includes consumer debt and national debt on a per taxpayer basis.
Many national business leaders and politicians have referenced the extremely high level of national debt. Several have argued that this issue is the greatest threat to the American democracy. America’s national debt has exceeded $34 trillion, or 123% of the gross domestic product. On a ratio basis, our debt has surpassed America’s debt level to support World War II. The U.S. is on course to spend more than $870 billion on interest payments this year. That is more than America spends on the defense budget.
It is logical to conclude that individual consumers with debt are responsible to repay their consumer debt. However, somewhat distressing on taxpayers, it is also logical to conclude that only taxpaying Americans will repay the national, state and local debt.
$1,557,630
Independence Bank has been delivering financial solutions for decades. As Kentucky’s largest privately held bank*, we offer products, services and expertise as diverse and unique as the communities and clients we serve. Independence Bank possesses the size and experience to serve large and complex clients and the liberty for consumers and businesses to reach long-term goals. As we navigate the changing economic landscape, Independence Bank welcomes you to visit at 3901 Shelbyville Road in St. Matthews or online at 1776bank.com
(a) Consumer Data obtained from Business Insider: Average American Debt in 2024: Household Business Debt Statistics, written by Jennifer Streaks, edited by Libby Kane, July 17, 2024.
(b) National Debt Data obtained from usdebtclock.org as of August 15, 2024.
(1) Assumes only two adults have consumer debt.
(2) Assumes each member of the household has government debt.
(3) This includes (on a per adult basis) average debt for mortgage of $244,498, HELOC of $42,139, auto loan(s) of $23,279, credit card of $6,501 and student loan of $38,787.
(4) Assumes each adult has $296,283 per taxpayer basis and each child has $127,328 per citizen basis of government debt. *According to data from Independence Bank
By RUSS BROWN • Photos by Matt Johnson and The Nason Family
In 2012 the 5K Run Walk Frogtown Hop hosted by Highview Fire Dept. personnel was on the brink of being canceled after 23 years of raising money for the WHAS Crusade for Children due to the exit of the primary sponsor. Then Kate Nason and her family came to the rescue.
At nine months old, Kate suffered a near fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) while in the care of a babysitter. She spent about three weeks in the intensive care unit at Louisville Kosair Children’s Hospital and for many years she received treatment from Kosair Charities in the form of physical, occupational and speech therapy.
As a young child, Kate developed an interest in firefighters, so in 1998 when the Nason family moved to a home just a short walk away from Highview Station 1 it was natural for Kate and her dad, Dale, to often include a loop around the firehouse as part of their evening walk with the family dog, Delilah, a lab mix. That led to them getting to know some of the men and women working at the station, including Deputy Chief Rob Dwyer.
Fast forward to 2010 when the Nasons’ son Joe moved out of the house and Kate decided she wanted to start running with her father, as Joe used to do. By mid-2011 Kate had reached the point where she wanted to run in the Frogtown Hop as Joe and Dale had done in the past. But they learned the event was no longer being held.
“Kate was devastated,” Dale said. “That prompted me to call Rob and ask how much money was needed to get the race going again. If the amount wasn’t too high, I figured we could use the money from a special needs trust that was started years ago with money from an insurance settlement as a result of a negligence suit over Kate’s injury. Fortunately, the sum needed was manageable.”
So the race was saved and was renamed in appreciation of Kate’s help as “Kate’s Frogtown Hop”, which completed its 13th year in September. Her dad said his daughter’s efforts stemmed from wanting to give back to Kosair so others can benefit as she did.
The event was originally named in honor of the Frogtown area in Highview. Like other Crusade fundraisers, it relies solely on volunteer labor and support so that 100 percent of the money raised goes to the Crusade. Dale said that is accomplished, in this case, due to the many hours of work by Highview/Fern Creek Fire personnel and their families and friends.
The ages of the participants has ranged from 4 to 80+ years old covering all skill levels. Typically, about half are walkers. One of the unique features of the event is the Frog trophies made by Libby Grenough that are awarded to the top three finishers, both male and female, in each 10-year age group. Although the race has had a few course changes over the years and has shifted to taking place in September instead of May, the core aspects are largely unchanged.
“There have been numerous special moments in past races, like the year Kate finished first in her age group,” Dale said. “Even better, this year Kate secretly contacted Libby who makes the Frog trophies and arranged to have her make some special trophies as surprise gifts during the presentation at the firehouse.”
Those trophies were engraved: Dad--The #1 coach in the world; Mom--The best mother in the world; Joe Nason--The best brother ever; Lauren Nason--The best sister-in-law ever; Teddy Nason--The best Nephew in the whole world; Eloise Nason--The best niece in the whole world; Robin Newlon -- Best Friend Forever.
“Despite the deficits that her TBI caused, Kate has evolved into a happy, caring person who absolutely loves people,” Dale said. “She has a fairly unique ability to engage with and befriend people she meets.”
In addition to being a sponsor for the Frogtown Hop, she is active in Special Olympics as both a competitor and an Athlete Ambassador, which involves meeting and telling her story to groups who donate to the Special Olympics. Kate has also volunteered at a nearby residence for senior citizens.
“A few months after Kate’s head injury, Sue and I happened to see an interview where the parents of a severely handicapped child were asked how they coped with the challenge of raising such a child. Without hesitation, they said that having him in their life was a blessing. At the time, that was very difficult for us to believe. Today we fully understand and embrace that sentiment. Ask anyone who knows Kate and they will tell you the same.”
Dale said there are several ways for people to help Kate’s Frogtown Hop other than participating in the race: spreading the word to people who might be interested in participating; volunteering to help, not just on race day, but also to contact businesses to solicit donations or door prizes; and donating to the Crusade in the name of Kate’s Frogtown Hop.
LOUISVILLE
Whether it’s through volunteering, donating, or spreading awareness, supporting local organizations plays a vital role in building a stronger, more connected Louisville. From food banks and shelters to mentorship programs and environmental initiatives, there are countless ways to get involved and make a positive impact. By supporting these organizations, you’re not just contributing to a cause—you’re helping to shape the future of your community, one small act at a time. Here are a few incredible local groups you can support to make a real difference
At the Speed Art Museum, we invite everyone to celebrate art...forever. The Speed Art Museum is Kentucky’s oldest and largest art museum and has served as a vital cultural resource for the Louisville community and the wider region for nearly 100 years. The Speed’s ever-growing collection, timely exhibitions, and community-driven programming explore contemporary issues and inspire meaningful personal experiences through the transformative power of art, sparking new conversations and creating opportunities for dialogue.
Located on the campus of the University of Louisville but operating as an independent nonprofit institution, the Speed provides visitors from around the world with opportunities to engage with art through public and academic programs, screenings at the Speed Cinema, family offerings in the Art Sparks interactive learning gallery, and more.
Great community begins with great community support. The Speed Art Museum’s Patron Circle members are a dynamic group of artists, educators and art enthusiasts whose contributions help the Museum fulfill its mission today and for the next 100 years. Patron Circle members enjoy access to some of the most exciting social, cultural, and educational events in the region, including complementary access to one of the best parties in Louisville - The Bacchanal. To learn more about the Patron Circle membership and other ways to give, visit speedmuseum.org/support.
Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana creates life-changing wishes for local children with critical illnesses. Make-A-Wish is more than wish-granting; it’s a global movement of transforming lives through hope. Wishes provide what medicine cannot –extraordinary and memorable experiences that allow children to take their focus off the illness and give a sense of renewed normalcy. Research shows that children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their critical illnesses, potentially improving their quality of life and producing better health outcomes.
Right now, there are more than 435 Kentucky children waiting for a wish. To donate and make a difference for children and families in your community, visit oki.wish.org/donate.
Celebrate 100 Years of Creativity – Support Louisville Visual Art’s Legacy
This year, Louisville Visual Art (LVA) proudly celebrates the 100th Anniversary of our Children’s Fine Art Classes (CFAC). Since the 1924-25 school year, CFAC has nurtured the talents of young artists, helping them to explore their creative potential and develop the skills needed to excel in the visual arts. For generations, our community has seen the transformative power of this program in shaping not just artists, but thinkers, innovators, and leaders.
As we commemorate a century of artistic education, we invite you to be part of the next chapter. With your generous support, LVA will continue to provide accessible, high-quality art education to children across the region. Your donation will allow us to expand our reach, enhance our programming, and provide opportunities for young creatives to thrive in ways that impact their lives and our broader cultural community.
Join us in ensuring the legacy of CFAC for the next 100 years. Together, we can inspire a new generation of artists and keep the creative spirit of Louisville alive. Your contribution today will help secure a brighter, more vibrant future for the arts in our city.
The Louisville Artisans Guild, established in 1956, is one of the oldest and most respected organizations dedicated to promoting fine arts and crafts in the region. Our mission is to support and nurture local artists by providing them with opportunities to showcase their work, enhance their skills through educational workshops, and connect with fellow artisans and the community.
As a nonprofit organization, the Guild plays a vital role in the Louisville arts scene by organizing exhibitions, craft fairs, and public outreach programs that bring art to the forefront of the community. Through these events, we create a platform for artists to share their creative vision and engage the public in meaningful conversations about the value of art in everyday life.
Your donation directly supports the Louisville Artisans Guild’s efforts to foster artistic talent and expand access to the arts. Contributions help fund workshops, professional development programs, scholarships for emerging artists, and public exhibitions. By donating, you help us keep the arts alive and thriving in our city, ensuring that local artists have the resources they need to grow and succeed.
In addition to supporting artists, your generosity allows us to provide educational opportunities for the public, enriching the cultural fabric of Louisville. Together, we can ensure that future generations continue to benefit from the creativity, inspiration, and beauty that the Louisville Artisans Guild brings to our community. If you would like to donate to the Louisville Artisans Guild please use the QR code provided here and that will take you directly to our donation page.
“Your donation helps provide a home and care for those at the end of life who have no home or loved ones to care for them so that they may die with dignity.”
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to create pathways out of poverty for Kentucky’s most underserved populations. Funded by its retail stores, Goodwill establishes and operates employment-readiness and self-sufficiency programming that affects more than 20,000 individuals each year.
Most individuals Goodwill assists are either in recovery from addiction, reentering society from incarceration, have a disability or are experiencing chronic poverty. Goodwill forms close partnerships with like-minded organizations to make it easier for its clients to access holistic services and resources.
None of this would be possible without the generous donations Goodwill accepts at its retail stores and monetarily. To learn more and support Goodwill’s mission, scan the QR code here!
The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana (EF Kentuckiana) is to improve the lives of people affected by epilepsy through education, advocacy, research, and connection. The agency serves children/adults/veterans affected by seizures/epilepsy throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. Services are designed to educate, advocate, and support individuals with epilepsy and their families and include: providing comprehensive educational materials, providing seizure recognition/first aid training to thousands of school personnel, school nurses, first responders, healthcare workers, daycare workers, senior organizations, veterans, employers, students, parents/caregivers, and others each year. The EF Kentuckiana also provides two support groups for adults, a monthly youth activity group, case/crisis management, and consultations. Assistance is also provided for social services programs and referrals to prescription assistance programs, legal services, utility/landlord/tenant assistance, and SSI/SSDI assistance. The EF Kentuckiana also offers its Operation Outreach program to veterans to assist with issues associated with post-traumatic epilepsy, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
HELP US KEEP THE LIGHTS BRIGHT!
Donate today to support the Artists and artistry of Louisville Ballet
$30 - Buys a pair of ballet shoes
$60 - Provides a leotard and shoes for one Ballet Bound student
$125 - Affords a pair of pointe shoes for a Company Artist
$250 - Covers performance tickets for students from a Title I school
$275 - Provides snow for The Brown-Forman Nutcracker
$500 - Funds one Boys, Books, + Ballet program in libraries
$850 - Brings one Moving Stories educational performance to the community
$1,700 - Awards a Ballet Bound student a first-year Community Scholarship
$1,800 - Supports an in-school Community
YOUR DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
Chenoweth�Square Holiday�Walk
JOIN US FOR THE ANNUAL CHENOWETH SQUARE HOLIDAY WALK
FR ID AY, NO V EMBER 8th
5-8pm
2024 2024
For this month’s Voice Vault, we’re taking a trip down memory lane to revisit some of our favorite local Halloween moments and traditions. It’s that time of year when things get a little spooky and a little weird, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. From picking the perfect pumpkin and trick-or-treating to DIY costume contests and eerie ghost stories, we’re celebrating the season with all the chills, thrills, and weirdness that make Halloween in our community so special.
AN EXPLORATION OF LIFE, LOVE, AND THE RESILIENCE REQUIRED TO BOTH CREATE ART AND SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD
By VOICE-TRIBUNE
One of the films that stood out at this year’s Flyover Film Festival, Married to Comics, is not just a documentary about two influential artists in the world of autobiographical comics—it’s a raw and earnest documentation of how life and art intertwine in ways that are both painful and profoundly beautiful. This film looks into the lives of Justin Green and Carol Tyler, two artists who helped shape the autobiographical comic genre. By laying bare the most intimate and turbulent moments of their relationship, Married to Comics stands out in its storytelling, brilliantly displays the complexities of marriage, and captures the resilience required to both create art and share it with the world.
Directed by John Kinhart, the film begins at the height of the Underground Comix movement in 1970s San Francisco and finds the very first autobiographical comic, Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary, created by Justin Green. With Binky Brown in 1972, Justin established the autobiographical genre and went on to inspire some of the most successful comics of all time. “I still pursue art and I still pursue documentary and I’m constantly mingling those two interests. I explored autobiographical comics myself after having read some, and I immediately became like a disciple of autobiographical comics. After learning about Justin and Carol I just felt this incredible debt to tell their story because their story is obscure, and yet, the influence is huge.” Kinhart said, “I saw making the film as an opportunity to tell a story that hadn’t been told.” In Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary, Justin illustrates his experience of growing up in a Catholic/Jewish family while grappling with his mental health and OCD. His vulnerability, humor, and willingness to confront deeply personal topics caught the attention of future comics legends like Art Spiegelman and Robert Crumb, who credit Justin’s work with influencing their own art.
But Married to Comics doesn’t end with Justin’s artistic legacy. It also takes a poignant look at Carol Tyler’s journey, both as an artist and as Justin’s wife. In the 70s, Carol began her career as a painter, but after reading Binky Brown, she became infatuated with both the culture of autobiographical comics and Justin himself, sparking a romance that led to their nearly 40-year marriage.“It was not a career thing anymore. From the beginning, it became an overwhelming attraction for both of us and within two years, we were married in San Francisco,” Carol shared. Yet, their relationship was fraught with challenges, as Carol tried to make her own impact in the world of comics, working tirelessly to distinguish herself while dealing with the pressures of new motherhood alongside a partner with OCD.
When their relationship hit its tipping point, Carol channeled her pain into creating comics of significance, like “The Hannah Story”, about the tragic death of her sister, and the graphic novel “Soldier’s Heart,” which examines both the damaging effects of her father’s long unrecognized PTSD from World War II and her difficult life with Justin. These and other works cemented Carol’s place as a groundbreaking artist in her own right. The documentary beautifully captures the tension between their personal and artistic lives— how their work was not just a reflection of their inner battles but also a way to navigate and cope with them.
Married to Comics is a gorgeously directed exploration of what it means to be vulnerable, both in love and in art. It shows us that, like the art they created, Justin and Carol’s relationship was full of complexity, honesty, and heart—and that it is that authenticity that makes their story, and their art, so relatable and enduring.
By Milan Calendine • Photos by Kathleen Dreier
a nurse shouted. My eyes opened, and I could see the hazy outline of two nurses looking at me. The nurse, speaking, expressed a professional detachment and maternal impatience in her voice. A soft, repetitive electronic sound pulsed a few times, then ceased. The nurses walked away into a soft glow behind a long blue curtain. I knew where I was, yet I was unaware of any ordinary reality. Objects around me were recognizable, but at the same time, they were unimportant. I was in a cationic stasis. Observing without feeling was surreal as if my consciousness floated free of blood, bone, and gravity. I wanted to float away. The world turned gray and then black again.
“Wake up, wake up,” the nurse shouted. This time, when I came to, the weight of my body flooded through my chest and limbs with oppressive intensity. My head felt crushed and heavy. Startled, I focused on the nurse as she spoke to me.
“Do you know where you are?” she demanded, her tone edged with irritation.
What felt like only a few minutes before, I hopped off a gurney in an operating room. Then I climbed onto a very tall, hard metal operating table in what seemed like an unreasonable amount of effort. The surgical staff around me seemed jovial as I quipped about the comfortable accommodations and the large number of people around my half-naked body. It seemed as if the table held me for only a few seconds before everything went black.
“You are in the ICU! You are having a reaction to the anesthesia, and it is causing your heart rate to get dangerously low. We want you to stay awake!”
In my case, dangerously low translated to a heart rate of 40 beats per minute. Each time my heart rate dropped below 40, the heart monitor’s alarm would alert the ICU staff. Staying awake seemed impossible. My body wanted to sleep, and I wanted what my body wanted. Despite everything the nurse said, I nodded off again. Then came the beeping, then came the nurse, this time gently shaking my leg. “Wake up, wake up!” We played this game a few more times, and I realized that I needed movement to stay awake.
When a person is under general anesthesia, they undergo a complete loss of consciousness. They lack awareness, sensation, and memory. The phase that follows the loss of consciousness is called the emergence from anesthesia. This is where we check back into reality, passing through cognitive dysfunction and delirium. It’s fucking great for about 30 minutes while your mind adjusts and your body feels like a marionette without a puppeteer.
“I want to take a walk,” I said, hoping the nurse would think this was a good idea. When visiting friends and family in the hospital, the nurses usually encouraged them to get up and walk around. In this situation, it seemed like a positive request. However, they laughed at me. Really laughed. With snickers and rolled eyes as if it was the funniest thing they had heard all day.
“No! You can’t take a walk,” the nurse said with a smile.
“Seriously?” I said.
“We don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Can we call my doctor?”
Quickly, the nurse’s expression went from jovial to that of an angry mother whose child insisted on consulting the other parent instead of trusting her judgment alone. What began as an attempt to be more compliant morphed into becoming a problematic patient with an attitude. She called my doctor and put the conversation on speakerphone. The entire ICU could hear every word.
“Hi, Dr. Pang; this is the nurse in the ICU; your patient wants to take a walk. We told her it was not a good idea, but she insisted we call you.”
“If she can stand and support herself, she can take a walk.”
“But her heart rate is still low, and every time she doses off, the monitor alarm goes off.”
“It’s good to get her up; if she can stand, she can take a short walk.”
“OK, we will give it a try.”
Hell, yes, this chick knew what she needed. Two nurses came over to assist me. They disconnected the monitors and IV, put down the bed rails, and helped me to my feet. Then, in a supreme act of mercy and professionalism, the male nurse caught me inches from face-planting into the solid concrete floor. Yes, I am an asshole! Still somewhat delirious, I insisted we try again. Walking with the male nurse was possible after a few moments of catching my balance, but he was holding on to me as if our lives depended on it.
I noticed a strange stillness as we entered the dimly lit ICU corridor. All the other rooms were dark and empty. Even the nurse’s station, the central hub typically bustling with action and importance, was cloaked in long gray shadows. The ICU was empty, but for me, the space I occupied cracked open the darkness in the large, quiet ward.
“I appreciate you,” I said as we held onto each other. “I really needed to walk.”
“You got what you wanted,” he said.
“And thank you for catching me.”
“You’re not my first catch.”
As we walked, there was something surreal about this moment. This place, the ICU, I was not supposed to be here. Did they do everything they were supposed to do to my face? Did they have to stop short; did they finish? My heightened anxiety and tragic inner dialogue twisted their way down a familiar rabbit hole toward my demons and worst assumptions.
“I understand you work in the geosciences?” he asked, abruptly yanking me back to the surface and catching me off guard.
“Yes,” I replied, frowning slightly and wondering where he got that information. I was not in the mood, nor did I have the mental bandwidth to care how he knew something so oddly personal. The next question that spilled from his mouth seemed entirely out of place for an ICU nurse.
“What do you think of the Flat Earth Theory?”
I paused and thought to myself, “I don’t.”
With his question, my post-surgery cognitive fog and delirium evaporated, leaving me stunned in clarity. I wanted to laugh, to sneer in a moment of dark triumph, while my inner demons clamored to bore a hole into his skull and twist my hard-earned scientific knowledge into his gray matter—the part absent on the day science class covered why the Earth and all planets, suns, and moons are round. My internal arrogance in fine, disgusting form, completely dismissing this person as a rational, intelligent human being. The sin here is what each and every one of us has to deal with relentlessly day after day: as David Foster Wallace put it.’ The freedom to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation.’
Tragically, each of us believes our perspective is reality’s definitive, unquestionable truth, and we arrive at this conclusion without
any compassion or thoughtfulness as to why another person believes what they believe.
The instant I judged this person’s intellect and very existence, the absurdity of our situation hit me like a camera flash. I, a transgender person, was in the hospital for facial feminization surgery. While I twisted my knife into my nurse’s delusion, he could just as easily twist his into mine. Perplexed, my mind spiraled, comparing and contrasting the strangeness of our situation.
“Well, to start with, a flat earth is not a theory. A theory is based on information confirmed through experimentation and observation. Tell me why you think the Earth is flat?” I said.
He began with the usual flat earth tropes: a deep mistrust in science, the insistence that people can’t feel the earth spin, and other misguided notions. While half-listening to his reasoning, my internal dialogue confronted the unsettling thought that maybe my belief system was just as twisted as his. But then, a small wave of clarity cut through the moment; we both needed compassion and understanding.
For him, the fringe view of a flat earth was born from an increasing distrust in mainstream media and science, fueled by a social media echo chamber that continually reinforced his beliefs. For me, being transgender was as deeply rooted in my psyche as any core belief. I had fought against it for most of my life, only to realize, as Julia Serano states in her book Whipping Girl, “When I made the decision to transition, I honestly had no idea what it would be like for me to live as female. The only thing I knew for sure was that pretending to be male was slowly killing me.”
The terrible truth of the transgender reality I can tell you with almost 100% certainty is that every transgender person has a plan; whether it’s a bridge, a bullet to the head, or a poison pill, there is a plan in place for the day it all becomes too much. This was why I was here, a fight for survival—a pathway to stay alive with some enduring positivity towards life.
It’s easy to run this story through our filters with chin high, peering through educated rose-colored glasses. But honestly, this is not about science or intelligence. After all, it takes somewhere between 5 and 6 years of training and education to become a practicing ICU nurse. What this is really about is a choice—the choice to choose how we treat another person, the choice to consider aspects of another person’s thought process and be curious about who they are and how they see the world. We make incredibly disgusting, abhorrent judgments about who and what other people are every second of every single day. And I will offer that we are usually wrong. I know for sure that I am usually wrong. The point here is that it is hard work to bypass our hard-fought-for filters, to give people more than 100 milliseconds before we judge them as lesser human beings with only a glance.
While we never broached the subject of my gender, I listened to his reasoning and gently countered with some arguments as to why the Earth is, in fact, round. We walked and talked for over 45 minutes, enjoying each other’s company. As he reattached the heart monitor and IV, I felt we both had learned something about forging genuine human connections. I may never know if our discussion changed his mind, but I learned that compassion always trumps ego and leading with thoughtfulness can shape human connections towards more positive outcomes.
MEET THE
By Lisa Hornung • Photograhy by Kathryn Harrington
There is a Triple Crown of racing, so it makes sense to have a Triple Crown of equine artists — especially in Louisville.
The art of Kentucky equine artist Jaime Corum, impressionist painter Lisa Palombo and bronze monument sculptor Jocelyn Russell were recently on display at “Brushes and Bronze” at the Louisville Thoroughbred Society in downtown Louisville.
Here are the stories of the three women artists who were a part of the Triple Crown Trio and “Brushes and Bronze.”
Jaime Corum
A true horse-lover, Jaime Corum grew up on horseback in Kentucky. When she wasn’t riding, she was drawing and painting horses.
She got her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Kentucky, has had a successful career as an equine artist, and has taught art at Bellarmine University. Her art captures the conformation, action, and spirit of the horse with intense detail and beauty.
She has created a series of prints celebrating Secretariat, known as the greatest racehorse of all time. She was asked to create the art for the Woodford Reserve Derby Bottle in 2022 and again in 2023. The 2022 bottle featured a piece called “Dreams in Bloom,” which featured a close-up view of three racing thoroughbreds surrounded by flowers, including red roses, symbolizing the Kentucky Derby. Corum’s 2023 Woodford Reserve bottle features a portrait of Secretariat in the Derby winner’s circle, draped with the Garland of Roses with jockey Ron Turcotte smiling in the saddle.
Corum also has a three-story mural in Secretariat Park in Paris, Ky., which has also gained international acclaim. Paris is where Secretariat lived and died. The mural is on the side of the Baldwin Hotel and is a front view of Turcotte on Secretariat’s back, racing toward the viewer. “This was my first gigantic horse. I’ve done a life-sized horse but never anything this big. It is so exhilarating, and I definitely want to do it again,” she told BloodHorse Magazine in 2022 when the mural was unveiled.
Corum has also painted a series of images of Secretariat running that become an animation when played together. “Big Red” isn’t her only subject. She paints Derby winners as well as privately owned horses on commission (often depicted with their canine friends). But meeting those giants is “like being in the presence of a rock star,” she told KET on “Kentucky Life.” “There is a beauty to every breed of horse,” she said on the show. “You’ll see more thoroughbreds and warmblood types in my artwork, just because that’s what I grew up with.”
Lisa Palombo
While her siblings had great academic success, Lisa Palombo of New Jersey had a stronger inclination toward art. Her aunt noticed her abilities and suggested art classes to her parents. At age 9, she began taking summer classes at the Rhode Island School of Design. She later earned her bachelor of fine arts with honors from RISD and began creating book covers and working in design in New York.
She began working in fine art after an agent saw a painting she made of fish at a fish store in Hoboken, New Jersey, and recognized her talent. She’s since been a successful fine artist for more than 30 years.
“I am so appreciative every day. I walk down into this room [her studio], and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank God that I am here,” she said in a YouTube video on her website. “I am so blessed to do what I do every day. And shame on me if I don’t get down there every day early and stand in front of that easel. And you know what? That’s half the battle -- showing up and standing in front of that easel and just do it. There’s no excuse.”
Her style is impressionist, full of bold, bright colors. Watching her paint in her YouTube video is seeing seemingly random swaths of paint in one color, paint-roller coverage in another, and layers and layers of color to eventually create a dazzling image on the canvas. The video shows her painting “Living Waters,” a large image of koi in a pond, surrounded by water lilies.
Palombo’s work has been featured on more than 40 book covers, numerous magazine features, a film (“The Bounty Hunter” in 2010, starring Jennifer Anniston and Gerard Butler), and the special volumes: “The Best of Oil Painting,” “Exploring Color,” “The Best of American Oil Artists (Vol. II)” and “Lisa Palombo: American Impressionist.” Palombo was recognized as the official artist for the 2020 Secretariat 50th Birthday Celebration and again in 2023 at the Belmont Stakes and the Secretariat Golden Anniversary art exhibition in Saratoga Springs, New York.
“I was thrilled and honored to have been chosen as the featured artist to showcase my work that captures the beauty and magnificence of Big Red -- a national and beloved racing hero,” Palombo told The Plaid Horse. “As we all know, Secretariat was far from any ordinary racehorse. In the sporting world, he’s often mentioned in the same breath alongside some of the human all-time greats.”
Jocelyn Russell
Born and raised in Southern Colorado, Jocelyn Russell learned art from her mother and learned about animals from the wild game her father and brothers hunted and brought home. Her paintings mostly feature animals in the wild and natural scenes.
Like her paintings, her sculptures feature animals wild and domestic. She has a series of monuments of animals at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as many African animal sculptures and reliefs. She even makes and sells animal-themed jewelry.
But arguably one of her most famous is the monument to Secretariat -- “Racing Into History” -- which she created in 2019. The Triangle Foundation in Lexington commissioned the sculpture, which was dedicated at Keeneland, and its final installation is at the Old Frankfort Pike Scenic Overlook just northwest of Lexington. A second monument was prominently featured at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes as part of a traveling Secretariat exhibit. It was dedicated in Ashland, Virginia, (near Secretariat’s birthplace) for permanent installation at the Randolph-Macon College campus in March 2024.
“Of course, I remember the race, and I remember Secretariat -- everybody does -- but to immerse yourself in the project was a whole different thing,” Russell told Tulsa World TV. “And to be first-hand with the man who rode him [Turcotte] was phenomenal; I mean, that really was moving and made a huge difference in the creation of the piece.”
Another equine monument Russell created is Sgt. Reckless, a hero war horse in the Korean War. The sculpture is life-size and depicts the filly climbing up a Korean mountain with her vital cargo on her back and a determined look on her face.
Robin Hutton, author of “Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse,” commissioned Russell to create the sculpture of the horse who transported ammunition to the U.S. Marines in the war. The horse provided a shield for Marines, carried wounded soldiers to safety, and was wounded twice during the battle but never stopped until her mission was completed.
Three Sgt. Reckless monuments have been installed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, Camp Pendleton in Southern California, and the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Russell has achieved international recognition for her paintings and sculptures, and she enjoys the versatility of tackling many subjects and mediums, stoking her inspiration. Her love of horses shows in the great detail and energy in her equine art.
Equine love
These three artists share a love of animals, and horses in particular. But they have a particular affinity and admiration for the chestnut horse with white socks owned by Penny Chenery: Secretariat. Known as the GOAT of horse racing, he was also a beautiful being. While these artists aren’t all from Kentucky, they can celebrate our horseracing heritage by their love of a record-breaking and historic equine superstar.
Ripples of
SISTER JULIE DRISCOLL’S LIFE OF SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE ECHOS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND THOSE WHO FOLLOW HER PATH PAVED WITH COMPASSION
By Alisha Proffitt • Photos Provided by The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and House of Ruth
Reflecting on this month’s theme of philanthropy, some of the most inspiring figures in our community are those who dedicate their lives to helping others and uplifting those in need. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth have long committed to this mission, and one Sister in particular, Julie Driscoll, exemplifies that spirit. Her work with The House of Ruth continues to resonate throughout Louisville and beyond, demonstrating the lasting impact of advocacy and the courage to stand beside those in need, even when the odds seem insurmountable.
Her spiritual journey and desire to be of service to others began early with family and expanded while attending Catholic schools where Sisters of Charity of Nazareth provided her educational foundation. Inspired by Mother Lucille Russel and her fellow Sisters, “She was truly a remarkable human being. Just the way she treated everyone with kindness.” Sister Julie said of Mother Lucille Russell. “There are Catholic sisters all over the country that do really amazing work, and I learned from them too.” After high school, she entered the Congregation, embarking on a mission that would take her across the U.S. and around the world to Venezuela, Belize, India, Botswana, and beyond.
Her career has spanned multiple roles, including teacher, principal, director of religious education, pastoral associate, and executive director of the House of Ruth. Her time serving in Venezuela’s barrios in 1974 was transformative, broadening her awareness of the realities of systemic poverty and oppression. “I always gained from the amazing resilience of those who don’t have enough, who live the edge and they make it, but barely. They always teach you. Our spiritual guide said, ‘The poor are your masters’, and what he meant was they teach you so much, and I think that’s very true.” This experience fueled her passion for social justice, leading her to co-found the Central America solidarity efforts in Louisville and establish a sister-parish relationship in Nicaragua that has lasted over 30 years.
Her work with the House of Ruth, supporting those suffering from HIV/AIDS, was a profound experience that brought together her skills in education, pastoral care, and advocacy. Much has changed since the incorporation of the House of Ruth in 1992, founded by Sharan Benton, Anne Bindner, Liz Bindner, Elizabeth Blandford SCN, Sharon Cook- House of Ruth’s first Executive Director, Sharon Gray SCN, Rebecca Miles SCN, and Marilyn Spink SCN to assist women and children in the community who had been affected by HIV/AIDS. “They really went out on a limb, they got called just about everything because that’s where people were,” explained Sister Julie. House of Ruth has now expanded assistance beyond women and children and provides assistance to members of our community from all walks of life. These services include emergency and family service, short and long-term housing, and emergency shelter, as well as many other resources specifically catered to individuals and their personal needs.
Working to educate the community and support those with HIV/AIDS was no small feat, especially in the 1980s and 1990s when misinformation and bigotry ran rampant. At the time, most people didn’t understand the virus, and there was little public interest in learning or helping those affected. “That came at a time when I had met with leprosy patients in India, and people with HIV were treated the same way here. And today people think it has gone away, well it hasn’t. It’s gone off the headlines.” she says. This lack of awareness left HIV-positive individuals ostracized, condemned, and living in silent fear of their diagnosis, with minimal or no support. The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS created barriers that advocates like Sister Julie Driscoll worked tirelessly to dismantle. “A phrase I cannot stand is ‘those people’. Every human being has special worth.” she says.
“They didn’t have a clue at the time I was working with it. I mean, even nurses, for example, didn’t at times.” says Sister Julie “I would ask true or false ‘there is a high-risk group for HIV’ and almost all of them said true, and I said ‘No, you have to change one word there, there are high-risk behaviors.’ But see, people had in their heads because of the news and all, from people that didn’t know, that there were high-risk groups.”
It is the educational and advocacy work of Sister Julie and many more that has paved the way for The House of Ruth to grow into what it is today. Since its first year serving eight families, House of Ruth has grown significantly, supporting over 600 individuals by 2020. With the rising demand, the organization expanded its operations. In 1998, they received the St. Matthew United Church of Christ property, which became their new office space after renovations in 2000. In 2001, House of Ruth took ownership of Glade House, a shelter in Old Louisville, and four condominiums for HIV-positive individuals. Today, they own 17 housing units and partner with Louisville Metro to provide rental subsidies for 25 additional households and work to continue to build homes for their elderly HIV-positive clients. On October 14, the House of Ruth will be celebrating the groundbreaking of Red Key Landing. The Groundbreaking Celebration will include brief remarks from House of Ruth’s Director, Lisa Sutton, and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. This project, on-site at House of Ruth’s existing property in the Shelby Park neighborhood, is the largest in the nonprofit’s 32-year history in Louisville. When complete, the construction project will include a brand new, three-story, 40-unit apartment community for families and individuals living with AIDS/HIV who are currently houseless or at-risk for houselessness as well as an on-site food pantry and adjoining maintenance facility renovated staff offices.
Sister Julie is now retired from her position at House of Ruth, but continues to support their mission. Today she continues her life work of service through social justice, “In recent years the issues of peace and justice have been primary for me” she says.
When asked what she would say to someone who would like to get involved with helping those in our community who are in need she replied “There are many possibilities in direct service here in Louisville that include Sister Visitor, St. Vincent Depaul, Catholic Charities, House of Ruth, St. John Center, Volunteers of America- it goes on an on and I think most people get involved in the direct needs of others, food kitchen or giving out clothes, and then you really feel the needs of others, and then you hope to go from that to advocacy, I think.” She says it starts with direct service, “A person starts there, and sees the great need and then wants to -with others, make laws or change laws that hurt the poor. And thats advocacy.”
For information on how to donate or volunteer with House of Ruth visit houseofruth.net For information about Sisters of Charity of Nazareth visit nazareth.org
Exterior plans for House of Ruth’s Red Key Landing, a 40-unit housing facility planned to help some of Louisville’s most vulnerable population.
THE SEASON OF CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH
By Dr. Oksana Zhurbich, Clinical Psychologist, Kentucky Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders
Photos by Sarah Bartley ( SarahBartleyPhotos.com)
Fall is a reminder of nature’s cycle of change and renewal. Crisp air, vivid foliage, the smell of wood smoke and taste of pumpkin spice are all part of the autumnal charm. For many, this brings a sense of comfort and nostalgia. The warm color hues may elevate mood and provide a sense of connection to nature that may make individuals feel grounded and connected to the world around them. For others, the rhythm of schedule changes, kids going off to school, and the changes that our bodies undergo in preparation for shorter days and cooler weather may feel uncomfortable and may lead to uncertainty and anxiety about what these changes will bring.
The Stress of Change
Fall is often the beginning of new routines, such as eating and sleeping, the start of a new school year, pressures to meet new expectations, and the ramp-up to the holiday season. These changes can be stressful, especially to those who struggle with anxiety or those who have difficulty adapting to new schedules, situations, and people. Research tells us that when life changes happen, the brain automatically sees change as a negative, which can impact decision making and increase feelings of anxiety and depression. Anxiety comes from uncertainty and many people feel that the less they know about a situation or the less predictable an event is, the higher the likelihood that something negative will happen. This “negativity bias” is a holdover from early human history that was necessary for survival. Humans who focused on danger were more likely to survive and reproduce (and pass on the negativity bias to future generations). However, this negativity bias no longer works in our favor and we have to intentionally counteract it. Fortunately, there are many science-backed strategies to use during these times of change!
Strategies to Maintain Mental Health
Reframe the thought. Research shows that if we think about stress as a positive (for example, think of it as something exciting), we perform better and feel better about the outcomes. Several studies have shown that individuals who viewed karaoke singing, public speaking, and math performance as exciting opportunities instead of viewing them as stressful opportunities felt more confident and competent during the experience! Reframing helps move from a mindset of defeat or despair (“Change is scary, what if everything goes wrong?”) to one of possibility and empowerment (“Change can bring new opportunities and I can approach it with curiosity and openness”). With practice, it becomes easier to identify and shift negative thoughts.
Activate strengths. Look back in order to move forward. Identify what has worked for you in the past when you faced change and put those unique skills and qualities into play. Common strategies that have been shown to be helpful are acceptance, humor, and ability to reframe situations. Conversely, self-blame, venting, behavioral disengagement, and self-distraction are strategies that research has shown to lead to poorer mental health.
Revisit your comfort zone. Returning to what is familiar can be reassuring, relaxing, and comforting. This could be a favorite TV show or book, a gym workout or yoga practice, a favorite seasonal recipe, or a comforting morning or evening routine. These small, familiar moments can provide stability and support through times of change. To augment these moments, a simple practice of mindfulness such as present moment awareness or a deep breath can help the body and brain come back to the present moment.
Lean into your support network. Research repeatedly shows that social connections are the most powerful drivers of happiness throughout our lives. When you are struggling with uncertainty and the stress of life transitions, drawing on social connections is one of the most helpful things you can do. Humans are wired for connection! Leaning on your support network can provide strength and stability when things seem shaky. Additionally, it is likely that our friends and family may be experiencing some form of change as well. Supporting each other and finding the way through together can help strengthen relationships, bring stability, and create positive memories during these times.
Seek Help. If you or your child/teen have been feeling anxious or depressed navigating the changes during this time of year, it may be time to seek help. KYCARDS can offer rapid relief and lifelong change through evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy. It is never too early or too late to seek help!
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, help can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Dial or text 988 from a smartphone or call 911.
By: Alison Cardoza • Photograhy by Matt Johnson • Sponsored
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer is a kind of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the breast tissue. Breast cancer, a close second after skin cancer, is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. Affecting both men and women, statistics show it is more common in women than men.
At Baptist Milestone, we embody health and wellness. Many of our members have suffered the loss of a loved one and just need a place to release emotion. Some have just endured a surgery and are on their way to healing and walking again. Many are survivors, and their lifestyle choices depend on their well being today. Brenda Luking, a member at Baptist Milestone was diagnosed on April 11, 2024 with stage 1 Ductal Carcinoma In-situ (DCIS) in her left breast. When her annual mammogram came back abnormal, she had a follow-up mammogram and a stereotactic biopsy, which gave her the correct diagnosis. She was scheduled for surgery on May 10th for a lumpectomy and a re-excision on May 24th. Her surgery recuperation went well. She currently is halfway through her radiation therapy (20 treatments total). “So far, I have had no side effects. The main thing I want to tell people is to keep getting your annual mammograms, no matter how old you are. I had calcifications which would not have been felt during a breast exam. The only way my cancer was found was the mammogram. Keep getting your mammograms every year! It could save your life!”
Lisa Ferguson, a fitness instructor and trainer at Baptist Milestone, is a survivor as well and is here today to tell her story. In May 2022, she received a phone call telling her she had breast cancer. “Not the call anyone wants to receive, but one that wasn’t surprising.” Following her annual mammogram, she was called back for a 3-D mammogram and ultrasound, which resulted in a biopsy. Thus began the process of doctor visits and more testing. “As a sideline, all my doctors at Baptist were fantastic. Through a series of twists and turns, I ultimately had a double mastectomy in September 2022 and reconstruction surgery in December 2022. I was blessed in that I did not need chemotherapy or radiation. At that point, it was recovery and beginning to regain ROM and strength. As a fitness instructor and trainer I had some knowledge of how to proceed, but was inspired to great knowledge by certifying as a Cancer Exercise Specialist. I wanted to help others through their journey and boy have I been blessed to walk alongside many other women going through the cancer journey. My major take away is get your annual mammograms, eat healthy, exercise, stay active, and enjoy the blessings of life. “
These two are inspiring to us all. Educating loved ones on the importance of self care and taking the time to listen to your body and scheduling check ups, can be a life saver.
Get Your Pink On!
Our cafe at Milestone honors Breast Cancer Awareness month with a delicious shake in the month of October. Stop by today and taste this delicious drink! The ingredients are:
Orange juice | Strawberries | Banana Optional: Sugar Free French Vanilla syrup | Optional: Vanilla Protein Powder
Alison Cardoza, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and Fitour Group Exercise Instructor at Baptist Health Milestone Wellness Center. BS Exercise Science and Sports Medicine with a minor in Health Promotions from University of Louisville. Former UofL Ladybird and NFL Colts Cheerleader.
By UofL Health
Up to date on her mammograms, Kim Landrum was concerned when a self-exam revealed a lump on her breast. Right away, Kim visited her doctor for imaging tests, which produced suspicious results. The next day, a biopsy was performed to test three spots – two lumps and one lymph node.
All three spots came back malignant. In August 2019, Kim was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma (breast cancer). Surgery was advised, and hopes were high for a successful treatment.
With a first grader at home, Kim began to navigate being both a wife and a mother while dealing with a life-altering cancer diagnosis. Right away, Kim’s husband handled everything, allowing her time to heal, but she knew she would have to explain to her son what this meant. Kim’s son had previously gone through surgery, so she told him that she would have to go through surgery, just like he did, and that she would be okay, just like he was.
Wanting to talk through her diagnosis and the journey ahead of her, Kim got coffee with a friend who had been fighting metastatic breast cancer. While discussing Kim’s treatment plan, Kim’s friend urged her to visit the oncologist she had been seeing, Beth Riley, M.D., FACP, with UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center.
With no intentions of switching her care over to the Brown Cancer Center, Kim made an appointment with Dr. Riley for a second opinion, just to make sure everything she was doing was correct. Dr. Riley was pleased with Kim’s treatment plan, until she saw there were plans to surgically dissect Kim’s other lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread. Dr. Riley explained that there was some new technology that would be able to test these lymph nodes with much less risk.
Dr. Riley suggested that Kim visit surgical oncologist Nicolás Ajkay, M.D., MBA, for his opinion on her planned surgery. Kim had two appointments with Dr. Ajkay before knowing that this was where she needed to be; Kim switched all of her care over to Brown Cancer Center.
At the Brown Cancer Center, there’s a team for cancer treatment based on the type of cancer. Kim’s team specifically focused on patients facing breast cancer. Kim’s team included a breast medical oncologist, breast radiologist, breast surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist, social worker, oncology nurses and music therapist. Teams can also include plastic and reconstructive surgeons, genetics nurse practitioners, research and clinical trial nurses, resource center coordinator, dietician, counselors, therapists and cancer rehab specialists.
“The thing that I loved the most about it is with all of my doctors, they were so up on the research,” she said. “They were just always up to date and really took their time to explain to their patients what they were doing, what the treatment plan was and why they were doing the treatment plan.”
During testing, it was found that she actually had four positive lymph nodes. Because this could mean that the cancer was on the move, Kim had five months of chemo and a month of radiation ahead of her.
With this difficult news, Kim kept her son home from school the next day, and they spent the day on the couch together. When her husband got home, he brought in a scarf and an attached cancer survivor’s story that a local organization, Hope Scarves, had sent her. This gift lifted her spirits.
With a renewed sense of hope, Kim had surgery to remove the cancer. The next morning, Dr. Ajkay called her room to check on her. He assured her that if she ever needed anything at all, she could pick up the phone and give him a call.
After the surgery and all the necessary scans, Kim had no evidence of disease. Of course, she still had a journey ahead of her. Beginning chemotherapy and radiation, Kim learned to appreciate even the little things.
“You get to sit with your feet up in a heated seat and pretend that you’re at the spa. They bring you heated blankets; they bring you food,” she said. “Again, just really focusing on those tiny little things made all the difference in the world.”
Kim brought someone along with her to every treatment, until COVID-19 hit, and she had to go alone. This was a scary time because Kim was especially susceptible to any illness. Thankfully, Kim knew she was in good hands at the Brown Cancer Center.
“I felt fortunate because I was so comfortable at the Brown Cancer Center,” she said. “I knew it was a safe place for me.”
Kim finished treatment by herself, and celebrated with her family, at home. She even got a dog to celebrate. Now, Kim hugs everyone a little bit tighter and feels like she is a better mom.
Like many other cancer survivors, Kim’s journey did not end there. She felt like she should be relieved that she was cancer free, but she couldn’t balance those feelings with the fear that the cancer would come back.
Kim hadn’t yet utilized the resource center at the Brown Cancer Center but decided to reach out for help. Through the Resource Center, Kim was able to receive counseling services and music therapy, where she wrote a song about her journey. Both were healing to Kim, in many ways, she explained, saving her life.
“I will never say I am back to where I was because you never can go backwards. You’re a changed person and you just never truly go back. But I feel alive again.”
Looking back on her journey, Kim is so thankful she chose the Brown Cancer Center. Kim is grateful for every person she worked with from the time she got there, from the nurse navigator who set up all her appointments, to Dr. Riley who first noticed an issue with Kim’s original care plan.
“I really truly believe that I had the dream team. I do not think that I could have gotten better care anywhere. I have zero regrets going to the Brown Cancer Center.”
Today, Kim works for Hope Scarves, the non-profit organization that sent her a scarf with a story. Hope Scarves’ mission is about scarves, stories and research – raising funds for metastatic breast cancer research. Hope Scarves has helped support metastatic breast cancer clinical trials at Brown Cancer Center, and the Brown Cancer Center was one of the first cancer centers to serve as a distribution center for Hope Scarves, handing out scarves and stories to patients through the Resource Center.
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Senior libero, a product of Mercy Academy who is on the watch list for national Player of the Year.
By RUSS BROWN • Photos by: UofL Athletics
The ACC has been a solid volleyball conference in recent years, but with the addition of three teams from the PAC-12, it figures to be even more challenging this season.
When ACC play began on last weekend in Sept. the league could boast about having three teams in the top five -- No. 1 Pitt, No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 UofL -- plus three others in the top 25, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State and No. 22 SMU.
“I think the ACC has turned into the best conference in the country and it’s kind of crazy,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s been a long journey and a lot of changes, but it’s really impressive. And it will be a dogfight to win this year.”
However, for Louisville, which has been one of the premier programs in the conference under coach Dani Busboom Kelly, facing strong competition won’t be anything new. By the time their conference opener against California rolled around on Sept. 29, the Cards had played six teams ranked in the top 25 and defeated four of them.
The wins came against No. 3 Wisconsin (3-1), No. 9 Creighton (3-2), No. 11 Kentucky (3-1) and No. 15 Tennessee (3-0). UofL lost to No. 7 Penn State (0-3) and No. 4 Nebraska (0-3), its final match before starting ACC play.
“We lost to two top five opponents, so that’s not like we took bad losses,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s just that when you get swept both times you’re a little down, but I love this team. We’ve got to figure a couple things out, but we’ve got a lot of great players and the potential to be really scary long-term. The goal is to be at our best in December and that’s why we tested ourselves early. This team has a great mix of young and old players that are still gelling, and I think we have a lot of improvement we can still make, which is exciting. We’re competing at a very high level. I think we’re in a good place, so we’ll see.”
The Cards have lived in that neighborhood throughout Busboom Kelly’s eight seasons. She has a 174-38 (.821) overall record that includes 115-18 (.865) in the ACC. Her 2021 team finished the regular season undefeated and wound up 32-1 after a 3-1 loss to No. 4 Wisconsin in the national semifinal. She has led UofL to the Final Four two of the last three seasons and has been named National Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) four times.
A defeat in the final non-conference game isn’t a great way to go into the ACC season, but Busboom Kelly says there were some positives that could prove beneficial down the road.
“Our weaknesses have been shown to us, so we have a lot to work on and the ACC is tougher than it’s ever been,” she said. “At least we’ve tested ourselves and played great at times. So there’s a lot to look back on when we get into tough moments.
(From left): Charitie Luper, Sofia Diaz, Nayelis Cabello, Anna DeBeer (a Player of the Year candidate) and Cara Cresse celebrate a point.
We’ve lost to two great teams. Hopefully we’ll have another chance to beat them later in the year.”
Senior Anna DeBeer, a team co-captain, said the players were eager to put the loss behind them, especially with a match looming against Stanford at home two days after Cal’s visit.
“Luckily it’s still early, but it’s frustrating,” she said. “We know there’s so much more in us than that. It was just one of those days we couldn’t get anything going. I think it was a really good way to learn because there’s so many things we can take away from it. It was a good match to learn from, so I see it as motivating going into ACC play.”
The elephant in the room involving the volleyball program isn’t whether the incredible success will continue, but whether it can hold onto its ultra-successful coach. Nebraska coach John Cook is 67 and his current contract runs only through 2025. Busboom Kelly, who played for Cook and was also his assistant coach for five years before leaving for Louisville, has a contract that would allow her to return to the Huskers without paying an exit fee.
“We’re going to do everything we can possibly do to keep her,” U of L athletic director Josh Heird has said. “We want her to be the coach here for as long as she wants to be here.”
With the boom in volleyball and with UofL being one of the leaders, Busboom Kelly says a new on-campus arena is a necessity. The Nebraska match drew a record 14,128 fans in the KFC Yum! Center, but due to other events in the Yum!, openings for the volleyball team are limited. The Cards are playing just seven of their 21 home matches in the Yum! They will play the other 14 at L&N Arena, which seats only 1,331.
“I think an arena is pretty important long-term,” Busboom Kelly told Tim Sullivan of Leo Weekly. “Just because if the sport is continuing to grow like this, then we’re going to be left in the dust. Because players want to play on the big stages. What we have at L&N, It’s nice. It’s not that big, but it’s nice. Obviously, the Yum! Center is big and nice. We’re going to see if there are opportunities out there. Can we do something to accommodate five or six thousand people? I don’t know what that looks like, but this program deserves for us to at least look at those opportunities. I think we’re at least to the point where we’ve got to have those discussions.”
Heird said preliminary discussions have already taken place “to elevate the program on a national stage” at Churchill Downs.
“If Dani wants to look at something,” he said, “we’re going to look at it.”
Coach Dani Busboom Kelly greets her players coming off the court during a timeout.
Senior outside hitter Charitie
who transferred from UCLA last season and earned first team All-ACC honors.
Luper,
By RUSS BROWN • Photos by: UofL Athletics
The Louisville women’s basketball team will begin its 2024-25 season on an international stage and hope to end it much closer to home, in the Amalie Arena in Tampa, where the 2025 Final Four will be held.
But first things first. The Cardinals’ debut will come in Paris on Nov. 4, when they take on projected Top-25 UCLA in the Aflac Oui-Play Event in Adidas Arena. The teams will be part of a doubleheader with Southern Cal and Ole Miss.
It will be just the second time during Walz’s tenure that UofL has opened at a neutral venue, having started the 2021-22 season in South Dakota. But its the second straight year for a foreign trip. The Cards represented the U.S. in the 2023 Global Jam in Toronto and brought home the gold medal.
“What a great experience this opportunity is going to be for us, to be able to travel over to Paris and play a very, very talented UCLA basketball team,” Walz said when the game was announced this summer. “It’s going to be a great way to start. So really excited to put our brand out there, all the while playing in a fiercely competitive game against UCLA. I think our women’s basketball program has grown to a point where, you know, we’re always in the talk with the top programs in the country.”
UofL experienced a rare hiccup last year when it was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament despite being the No. 6 seed, 71-69 by No. 11 Middle Tennessee, the earliest exit ever under Walz, who is beginning his 18th season at the helm.
“I’ll never apologize for what we’ve done here,” he said. “To make the NCAA Tournament fifteen years; we’ve been to twelve Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights and four Final Fours. I don’t think that’s bad.”
Walz, who will turn 53 this month, owns a 464-135 (.775) record at Louisville and has guided the Cards to two Final Fours and three Elite Eights in the last six full seasons (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic). UofL also went to the 2009 and 2013 Final Four, finishing runner-up both times.
Walz is counting on a team of seasoned veterans and a flashy freshman class that is ranked sixth in the nation to revise the program’s habit of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament following a disappointing finish last season. The class includes a trio of star players and four in the ESPN Top 100.
Most of the newcomers have been on campus since May. The final piece of the highly-ranked class was 5-10 guard Imari Berry from Clarksville, Tenn., who chose the Cards over Kentucky and North Carolina. A McDonald’s All-American and the No. 16 overall prospect in the 2024 class, she averaged 23.8 points per game as a senior and was Tennessee’s Gatorade Player of the Year. She originally signed with Clemson, but asked for her release when the Tigers’ coach was fired. She had also been recruited by UConn and South Carolina.
Walz signed another McDonald’s All-American in 6-0 forward Mackenly Randolph, the daughter of former Michigan State star and NBA standout Zach Randolph who chose Louisville over Notre Dame and the Spartans. Her high school teammate at Sierra Canyon High in Chatsworth, Calif., 5-9 guard Izela Arenas, is also her teammate at UofL. Arenas, ranked No. 88 by ESPN, is the daughter of former Arizona and NBA star Gilbert Arenas.
Others in the class are: 5-10 guard Tajianna Roberts of San Diego, Calif., who is ranked No. 24 in the class. She chose the Cards over UK, Duke, Virginia Tech and Cal; small forward Anaya Hardy out of Detroit; Sacred Heart guard Reagan Bender; 6-4 Australian center Isla Juffermans;and Ja’Leah Williams a 5-9 senior transfer from Pompano Beach, Fla., where she was an outstanding defensive player during her three years as a starter, but also contributed 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
They’ll join a solid group of returnees headed by 6-3 graduate forward Oliva Cochran, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last year and led the team in blocks and steals with 47 in each case. Others back are 6-2 junior forward Nyla Harris (10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpb); senior guard Jayda Curry, who averaged 9.2 ppg and was the team’s best 3-point shooter at .388; and 6-3 sophomore forward Elif Istanbulluoglu from Istanbul (2.6 ppg., 2.2 rpg), who played in all 34 games last season.
Istanbulluoglu was a member of the Turkish National team in the FIBA U20 Championships in Lithuania this summer, averaging 10.7 ppg., and Walz was an assistant coach. She also played on the U18 team, averaging 11.0 ppg and 10.7 rpg.
“We’re going to be young, but I’ve been very encouraged about what I’ve seen so far, and there’s no doubt we’ll make great strides from now until that first game,” Walz said. “With seven new players, it’s big for us to have the returning players who can show them, ‘This is how we do it.’ I know the returners are excited about what’s in front of them. And all these kids we’ve added, they’re not only great players, they’re great people. In these times you’re in now with NIL, with the portal, you’re just trying to figure out, who can you get? Who can you afford? But I’m really happy with the class we have coming in, and all our returning players.”
In addition to UCLA, other marquee opponents on Louisville’s non-conference schedule include Kentucky (Nov. 16 in Lexington), Colorado (Nov. 30 in Boulder, Colo.), Oklahoma (Dec. 4 in the SEC/ACC Challenge in the KFC Yum! Center), UConn (Dec. 7 in the Women’s Champions Classic in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Memphis (Dec. 21 in the FedEx Forum).
The complete ACC schedule hadn’t been announced prior to the Voice-Tribune’s publication date, but UofL will open its conference schedule on Dec. 15 against NC State in the Yum!.
Quarterback
Tyler Shough drops back to pass as center Pete Nygra (50) provides protection.
By RUSS BROWN • Photos by: UofL Athletics
Yes, college football has barely gotten underway, but with Louisville off to a fast start, it’s not too early to take a look at the Cardinals’ chances to make the new 12-team College Football Playoff field for the first time. ESPN’s college football staff has already made its first predictions and three of them have included UofL.
Before we go any further, in a nutshell, here’s how the playoff -- expanded from four teams -- will work:
It’s all about the rankings from the 13-member selection panel, consisting mostly of former college football coaches and past and present athletic directors. The five highest-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference champions will make the field and then the seventh highest-ranked at-large qualifiers. There are no automatic bids. With the PAC-12 no longer in operation, college football is now the Power 4 of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC. The fifth participant will be the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences (AAC, C-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt).
The four highest-ranked league champs receive first-round byes into the quarterfinals. The four first-round games will match the teams seeded five through 12. First-round games will be played on campus, hosted by the higher-ranked teams. Those games are scheduled to be played Dec. 20 and 21. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at traditional bowl sites. Teams will not be reseeded after the opening round.
The top four teams will be slotted into the most advantageous locations, with the top seed getting the highest preference. The Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal is set for Dec. 31 and the Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls are to be played on Jan. 1. The Orange Bowl semifinal is scheduled for Jan. 9 and the Cotton Bowl semifinal Jan. 10. The first championship game with the 12-team format is set for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The first rankings won’t be released until Nov. 5, with subsequent ratings on Nov. 12, 19, 26 and Dec. 3. Selection Day will be Dec. 8, but we should pretty much know Louisville’s fate before the initial ratings.
At that point, the Cardinals will have played against each of the three Top-25 teams on their schedule -- Notre Dame, Miami and Clemson. With a schedule not as tough as a number of Big 12, Big Ten and SEC teams, if UofL is to join the playoff conversation it will need at least one signature win against a ranked team, and possibly more. Of the three ESPN experts who included the Cards in the field, two listed them as the No. 10 seed, the other at No. 11.
Redshirt senior Quincy Riley, a starting defensive back and return specialist, waits to return a punt.
At this writing, UofL has at least three loseable games on its schedule, Notre Dame, Clemson and Kentucky, along with a dangerous trip to Boston College, the ACC’s surprise team so far. And, of course, the Cards can’t afford to slip up against the teams they will be favored to beat -- SMU, Virginia, Pitt and Stanford.
“I would say it’s up for grabs,” UofL senior defensive lineman Ramon Puryear said. “Anybody can get it.”
Florida State was the preseason pick to win the championship, but has virtually dropped out of the race already after losses in two of its first three conference outings. NC State, which was chosen fourth, doesn’t look like a serious threat either, having been blasted by Tennessee (51-10) and Clemson (59-35). That leaves Clemson, No. 2 preseason, and No. 3 Miami as co-favorites with No. 5 Louisville close behind.
Even with a solid record, though, UofL can’t be assured of an at-large bid, given the superior strength of the other three Power 4 conferences. So the best-case scenario for the Cards’ to reach the playoff would be to earn a spot in the ACC championship game, which means their overall record would potentially be worthwhile. The league has expanded by adding SMU, Stanford and California and eliminating divisions, with the top two teams in the standings squaring off in the title game.
With the apparent balance in the ACC, it looks as if UofL, Clemson, Miami and possibly SMU and BC all have a shot at a berth in the championship contest, which will be played in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 27. That’s three weeks after selection day, so UofL will have to make its playoff statement well before then.
Navigating the land mines in the ACC without stepping on one or two won’t be easy. Even last year when UofL made its first appearance in a conference title game and finished with a 10-4 record, it needed to win five one-possession games by an average of just 5.8 points, and coach Jeff Brohm expects more of the same this season.
“I told our team the other day (prior to the 31-19 win over Georgia Tech), ‘this is starting a long run of games where it’s going to be four quarters of back-and-forth and if you’re not mentally and physically ready to get that done, you’re not going to win’. So we’ve got to be able to withstand the momentum swings and hang in there and continue to fight to the end and hope that were good enough to win when all’s said and done.”
Brohm expects this year’s league games to be just as competitive, and maybe more so, than last season.
“I think that’s how it’s going to work in this conference this year. I think there’s a lot of parity, a lot of teams that can beat anybody on a given day.” he said. “When you play competitive football at a high level you’re not going to dominate,” he said. “It is not going to happen. Now, if you play a lesser opponent, you might, but when you play really good opponents, it is just not going to be that way. You have to be able to hang in there and go back and forth and try to play the perfect game.
“I think our guys compete hard against each other every day in practice. Some days the defense will dominate us in the scrimmage; other days (offense) will dominate them. That is kind of how it works when the talent level is similar. But if you really believe in yourself and your team and what you’re doing, you can find a way to win those (close) games. We have in the past.”
Due to the parity in the ACC combined with the CFB expansion, a playoff spot is much more accessible than at any time since it began in 2014. It’s up to Louisville to take advantage of those opportunities.
The Cards can do what no other ACC team that lost in the league’s championship game has done since 2008: play for the title again the following season. BC pulled off that feat 16 years ago, losing to Virginia Tech after also falling to the Hokies in 2007.
Redshirt freshman running back Keyjuan Brown has been a bright spot for the Cardinals this season.
Story and Art by:Mary
Zoeller
The large orange jack-o-lantern sat on the top porch step of the small but very well-kept house. Garden flowers in a calliope of colors sat happily in the early morning sunshine, a slight breeze making their blooms nod. The house was a cottage style pale blue with darker blue trim. The windows were clean and sparkling. The porch held white wicker furniture with more flowers and ferns artfully strewn about. Even the brass mailbox was shining. A welcoming house by all measures. But that jack-o-lantern on the top porch step, I could have sworn, was leering at me.
At least that was my first reaction as I walked up the manicured steppingstones to the front door of this little home in my college town. I was a student at the local college and had a bunch of little jobs to make ends meet. This particular job was delivering news fliers for our city council. I’d wondered why they were doing this the old school way but didn’t really care if it meant I got to earn a little money for a stroll through some lovely neighborhoods.
You know how sometimes when you catch just a glimpse of something it can just startle you? I figured that’s what had happened with the pumpkin. It was earlyish in Fall for a carved pumpkin, but then, lots of people’s fave holiday was Halloween.
So, laughing at myself, up the steps of the yar house I went. I even stopped to admire the carving craftsmanship that had gone into the pumpkin. Another example of people’s amazing random skills.
I crossed the porch smelling the fragrance of some combination of mown grass and flowers. Just as I was turning from leaving the flier in the mailbox the front door gave a creak and started to open. I gave a jump and then, embarrassed, faced the door. There stood the loveliest older woman I had ever seen. She started to grin and then laugh. “You really need to cut back on the morning coffee kiddo,” she chided and then laughed a little more. “No doubt,” I said and did a little laugh of my own. She put her hand out to shake and introduced herself. “Trudy Layton, scariest homeowner ever.”, she said. Shaking her hand I said, “Lacey Blake, overly caffeinated student, as charged,’ and I laughed too. In the short time it took to explain what I was doing on her porch I noticed the heavenly scent of baking coming from her front door. Fresh bread, white chocolate almond scones, raisin oatmeal cookies: wasn’t sure which it was but it was clear a champion baker was at work this brisk September morning.
After smiling goodbyes, I was walking down the steps when Trudy asked, “You wouldn’t do me the favor of tasting my latest bake would you?” I turned and she smiled again and said, “I’m trying out a new recipe for scones I want to make for St Michael’s bake sale, and I really need another opinion. I think they’re good but I’m hardly impartial. Won’t take but a moment if you would,” she said hopefully.
I have never been one to turn down offered food especially baked goods that smelled that wonderful so, of course, I said yes. Trudy’s house was amazing. Yes, it was modest in size, but everything inside was perfect. Not in the sense of having been staged or trendy or made ‘up-to-date’ the way so many houses appear. But supremely, thoughtfully designed for comfort, convenience and joy. I had never felt more welcomed into a space in my life. Original paintings, warm lighting, furniture that said, “Grab a book off the shelf and settle in here for a good read.” As we walked down the hall there was a windowed nook with a charming view of one of her side gardens. In the nook was a lovely antique wooden desk with a very up-to-date computer and comfy chair, well used by the look of it. We passed stairs on the same side as the work nook. The stairs were covered in the softest looking carpet I had ever seen. The dining room on the right had the same thoughtful comforting feel as the front room had. I was envisioning the wonderful parties Trudy must have had when we entered the kitchen.
I am fond of kitchens in general because, well, that’s where the food comes from, but this kitchen? Not only was it obviously a cook’s kitchen it was a kitchen that begged for company to come over. It ran the entire width of the back of the house. The wall facing the back had two windowed double French doors leading to a gracious deck. Glorious counter space with windows above wherever possible ran the perimeter of the room. Appliances were sleek stainless steel that were counter pointed by the warm wood of the cupboards and center island. The island had cushioned stools just waiting for a neighbor’s visit. The door to the dining room revealed a cunning bar room space between the two rooms. This kitchen was a room full of light.
On the counter were the scones that Trudy had been baking. She gathered one up on a plate with a dollop of clotted crème along the side. She sat me at the counter, served me a steaming cup of tea and expectantly laid the plate with the scone before me.
Such a simple meal, tea and a scone. But the way the tea enhanced the flavors of the scone, and vice versa, was so delicious it was indescribable, almost magical really.
When I told Trudy that, her face lit up with delight. She sat down with me, and we had a very pleasant little teatime though it was only 9:30 in the morning.
After that it was back to my regular life. I finished my deliveries and then I ran by my dorm room to pick up my computer. I needed to go to the library to do some research and to work on a paper that was due on Monday. Truthfully, I could have worked on my paper in my room but after being at Trudy’s that morning it just seemed so tiny and bleak. Also, my roommate was cranky and depressing. The only time they weren’t there was if they were at class or having a meal. It didn’t take much of an excuse for me to be out of the room normally. Being at Trudy’s had just emphasized even more how inhapitable the situation was for me.
The Fall season continued beautiful. Nights were crisp and cool warming into pleasant temps during the day. My classes were going fine though my interest in the subject matter seemed to be waning. I was beginning to wonder if I wanted to switch majors though wanting to be a psychologist had been my only reason for going to college in the first place.
So now I walked often as I thought about what was making me consider a change. I didn’t have a lot of friends to bounce things off of certainly. It had taken all my energy just enrolling and getting here with nothing left to spare for finding friends. The only way I could come to college anyway was because of my small inheritance from my father. He had passed away my senior year in high school of pancreatic cancer. I had taken a year off between high school and college just to get myself in some kind of working order. I wasn’t sure when I would quit missing my Pop so fiercely. So, more and more, I just walked and watched as the trees shed their summer greens in favor of the oranges, red and yellows of Fall. It was stunning to see those colors against the blue bowl of the sky.
One of my walks led me past Trudy’s house. I had been thinking about the really pleasant time I had spent with her, and I finally gave in to my yearning to revisit her and her home. She happened to be in the yard tending to her gardens that day. Happily she asked me in for a visit. I helped do a little weeding and pruning in exchange for another informal tea. She let me know the scones she had made for the St Michael’s bake sale, that I had taste-tested, had been a smash hit. She had been disappointed not to be able to go to the actual sale as she had been feeling a little puny and hadn’t wanted to expose anyone to possible germs.
Over the next couple of weeks Trudy and I spent more and more time together. It was pleasant and fun and, yes, the food was a major benefit but mostly being there with Trudy made me feel happy and content. I felt so drawn to her and her home, for some reason, and the rest of my life felt so very off-track.
Trudy was fast becoming a safe and happy harbor for me. And it turned out she was a huge fan of Halloween. It had been my father’s and my favorite holiday. We had always celebrated it all-out. Turned out Trudy’s house was the house that everyone would drive past to see the decorations. And every year everyone hoped to be invited to her super porch party. Of course, all trick treaters and their parents were welcome, so invites were not hard to come by.
Trudy had been planning and preparing for the event since early in the year. When she asked if I’d like to help her set-up decorations for a small stipend I jumped at the chance. The first time I arrived to assist in set-up my first duty was unpacking the many boxes that had arrived over the previous months. It was a blast as the boxes had all manner of fabulous decorations. The closer we got to the big day boxes of food related items started to arrive too. There were liqueurs, spices, nuts, dried fruit, decorative serving pieces and a host of things relating to food creation I had never laid eyes on. Those all went straight to Trudy’s domain in the kitchen.
My job was setting up the exterior and porch displays. This, of course, was all done to “Trudy’s Master Plan”. There were garlands with creepy flowers and skulls, lots of purple, orange and green lights, at least a dozen full size human skeletons, a huge dragon that belched ‘fire’ and smoke, an arch bedecked with more lights and faux thorny vines, scads of bats to hang in the trees, so many bags of cobwebs, a giant orange and black spider with ruby red eyes and fangs that dripped venom, along with attendant baby spiders that were not baby size! There was even a ten-foot T-Rex skeleton with glowing green eyes that trumpeted frighteningly.
After not to long, I was spending most of my time assembling displays and taste testing food and drink for Trudy’s extravaganza. The few people I knew and my studies were, in my mind, mere background noise. Heedlessly, I was all in for the upcoming event. All the neighborhood kids, and some of their parents, were too. I had lots of visitors while I assembled displays. I had even gotten to know most of the trick or treating age kids in the neighborhood. Rainy days were spent assembling ghouls and ghosties peeking out windows, setting up the sound system and occasionally getting to help Trudy in the kitchen. It felt wonderful to be learning to bake or cook some of the delicious things I had tried at Trudy’s. I even started to wonder if I might like to open a small café or bakery instead of pursuing my psychology degree.
Now we were days away from October 31st. It had always been expected that I was invited but, since the festivities usually lasted late, Trudy asked if I’d like to spend the night of Halloween at her house. She also asked if I’d like to act as co-host since I had spent so much time helping. I told her I’d be honored.
We quit early on October 30th and ordered in Indian food. We sat on the front porch and ate and enjoyed a glass, or two, of wine. Trudy was so happy at how everything looked, and she thanked me for all my hard work. Then she said, “I am c oncerned at all the time you’ve spent here. Aren’t your studies suffering? Really, I should have asked sooner but I do get caught up in all the Halloween excitement.”
She smiled guiltily at me. I reassured her and explained how stuck I’d been feeling with my previous life plans. I told her that spending time working with her had allowed me the time to think through what I’d really like to do with my life. She was relieved and I felt more relaxed than I had been in a very long time. I walked back to my dorm room and enjoyed a rare evening there without my roommate. I had no idea where they were and cared even less. I packed my overnight bag, including my computer, and went to bed early. Tomorrow we would start final touches early and I wanted to be well rested so I could enjoy every moment.
It was cloudy and drizzling the next morning, a typical October day. Trudy was not at all fazed by the gloomy beginning to the day. She was of a mind that this would be a spectacular day regardless of the weather. Her mind set was catching.
We spent the day happily putting all the final touches in place, Trudy in the kitchen and me with the displays. We had a quick and tasty lunch where Trudy presented me with a costume she had had created just for me. That evening, as co-hosts, we were to be the witch sisters. Our costumes were well made and cut as traditional witch costumes including the pointed hats. The fabric was of fine stuff but was not the traditional black but rather beautiful swirls of soft colors. Mine was ocean blue’s and green’s, my favorite, and Trudy’s was fiery orange and yellow. I felt singularly happy.
The weather cleared as the evening approached. I teased Trudy about her earlier prescient calmness about the weather and we had a good laugh. After we dressed, Trudy and I toasted the beginning of the eve with her special Halloween drink. We started the spooky music, lit the jack-o-lantern candles, threw the switches and began welcoming trick-or-treaters.
The evening was full of swirling autumn leaves and the happy laughing smiles of our guests, young and old. The music played, the food was eaten, and, on a regular basis, Trudy would refresh my cup. My head began to swirl a bit with the leaves. I half-heartedly told Trudy ‘No’ a few times when she came round with the drinks pitcher. She gaily laughed and reminded me I was to stay the night and that enjoying life was the goal of the evening. And enjoy it everyone did.
Of course, the next morning I woke feeling a little less well than usual. I was a bit foggy on the end of the evening but felt it had been one of the most pleasant and happy eves I had ever spent. I finally decided to get up. By the look of the light, I had slept well into the day.
Things were quiet so Trudy must still be sleeping. Even my bones felt delicate this morning! My eyesight was a little blurry too. Not my usual hangover symptoms, but then, not my usual consumption of alcohol either, I thought to myself. The surprise came when I entered the bathroom.
When I opened the door to the bathroom, I saw Trudy. I apologized and shut the door. Something was not right. I knocked and opened the door again. There was Trudy but not Trudy. I was looking in the bathroom mirror. I did not see me. I saw Trudy. Tentatively I brushed my fingers across the mirror glass, still Trudy. This must be one of Trudy’s last Halloween surprises, I thought. I went looking for more mirrors. In every one of them an ashen faced Trudy with panicked eyes stared back at me.
After an exhaustive search I realized I was the only person in the house. So, I searched outside too: no Trudy. I decided to check with neighbors but when I tried to cross the street, I was unable to. I went to the side yard and tried to pass through the gardens, no luck. It was as if an invisible boundary was in place all along the property lines. Despite crazed days of trying, even to the point of climbing trees to see if I could cross amongst them, I found no secret escapes. When I checked the basement, I found previous tunnels that all ended at what I would assume were the boundaries of the property. I screamed at the neighbors. I ran at the boundaries only to bounce off. Any attempt to try and escape was simply and quietly absorbed by the boundary.
It took a very long time to calm down enough to notice the fat ivory colored envelope on the kitchen counter with my name on it. It was propped against Trudy’s favorite cookie jar. I stared at it for a very long time. I poked at it with a kitchen tool, afraid, by that point, to even touch anything that might have a trick attached to it. I made tea, sat on one of the kitchen stools and stared at it.
I did finally open it. It was from Trudy, of course. She opened by apologizing profusely for what she had done. She continued by explaining that the house had been magicked eons ago. It had been created as a prison. For whom, it was unclear. It could be escaped, but only by years and years of preparation and only via magic and cunning. My only way to escape would be by teaching myself the ways of magic and then by luring an unsuspecting young person into the same trap I had been lured into. The house would provide me with anything I wished for or needed. The neighbors would be able to speak, and visit with me, as long as I kept my ‘situation’ to myself.
The sooner I accepted what was, she wrote, the sooner I might be able to release myself. She also pointed out the joys of having unending sources of time and money to use educating and entertaining myself. I could change the house to my liking and pursue any endeavor that would fit within the confines of the boundary. Trudy had loved gardening, painting and cooking. I could make my own choices as I liked, she wrote. She finished by apologizing once again and saying how she had genuinely liked me. But what had to be done had been done and I would feel the same way in time.
Months went by, and they were all blurry. I only remember drinking to excess, exercising endlessly, trying over and over again to escape. There was a myriad of other self-destructive activities that helped not a whit. The house never let any of these activities harm me in any serious way. I always woke the next morning feeling, at least physically, just fine.
I found the library of books on Magic, Trudy, and other’s probably, had collected. I began to exhaustively read and take notes. Trudy’s state-of-the-art computer was full of more info on the subject and was a very convenient way to order whatever I needed and, for that matter, lots I just wanted.
All the neighbors were friendly and never made comment on my acting any differently than the Trudy they knew. Their interest in me, however, remained one that kept us at arm’s length, more of the boundaries doing, no doubt. I learned that if I wanted to have any human contact it would have to be done from afar. Just as Trudy had done with her baked goods for St Michaels.
It took years but I finally realized I had one choice as to how I could escape the house and that was the only way I could regain freedom. I would have to follow the rules as Trudy had set them out in her letter. I had, to my chagrin, adapted to my gilded cage.
So it was, that one very brisk and blustery Winter morning I woke with a clear mind. I took my cup of café au lait to the front porch and breathed in the crisp winter air. I sat in my very expensive and favorite chair with the heated cushions. After all I could afford the best as the house had no credit limit.
I would finish my coffee, make a delicious breakfast and then complete my daily exercise. My day was set, and I had the time. Today was the day I would begin to plan for next year’s Halloween.
By Kevin Murphy Wilson • Photos by Matt Johnson
Chapter One: Jenny Kiefer
Local author and bookstore proprietor Jenny Kiefer told the VOICE-TRIBUNE that she has long been obsessed with certain shadowy elements of literature. In fact, she has been crafting original material in that realm ever since she first learned to read. “I remember voraciously reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Goosebumps, and Richie Tankersley Cusick books,” Kiefer said. “Later, as a pretentious teenager, I only read classics or anti-war books, but still gravitated towards darker works like southern gothic or things like [Kurt] Vonnegut and Jane Eyre. I think these works, especially [William] Faulkner, have definitely influenced my writing voice and style.”
According to Kiefer, there were other creative diversions along the way (including vocal lessons, guitar lessons, painting, knitting, and so forth) but ultimately writing edged out these artistic interests. “I have received a number of awards throughout my life for my writing, starting as early as the second grade, and I think that type of positive reinforcement probably encouraged me to hone my craft there and push forward more.” Additionally, Kiefer admits that it was a much more practical pursuit for her in the end. “Writing is inexpensive. When I graduated high school, for example, I actually wanted to pursue photography, but the costs associated with it definitely deterred me,” she said.
To her credit, Kiefer eventually picked up an undergraduate degree from Western Kentucky University in Creative Writing and a master’s degree from University of Louisville in English. This intensely focused education pointed her down a long and winding road toward a viable career path.
“It took a lot of time,” Kiefer said. “You have to let yourself create something bad before you can make something good. I have to tell myself that every time I am writing a first draft. It is going to be bad before it’ll be good. It’s not going to come out fully-formed. I think that’s the most difficult part.”
Her perseverance has more than paid off though. “I’ve had short stories published in magazines and anthologies and my debut novel, THIS WRETCHED VALLEY, was published through Quirk Books in 2024.” Notably, that particular release has been featured on NPR as well as in the New York Times Book Review, and it has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal.
Although she has already completed a follow up novel for Quirk Books called CRAFTING FOR SINNERS that is scheduled to release next year, these days, Kiefer also busies herself with running Butcher Cabin Books, an independent horror-themed shop she opened with her mother, Martha Kiefer, on Barret Avenue in 2022. “I love being able to give shelf space to local authors and smaller indie presses that might not show up in a general bookstore whose horror section is very small,” Kiefer explained. “I also love that more and more genre-specific bookstores have cropped up in the two years since we opened. It’s been really cool to see the support of the store since its opening day. We still have so many people visit us from around the country.”
Chapter Two: Ben Young
Jenny Kiefer’s business model demonstrates that horror is really big in the Bluegrass State! As such, there’s a growing number of relevant authors based in the region, many of whom directly benefit from the support of Butcher Cabin Books. J.H. Markert, Andrew Shaffer, Nicole Cushing, Tony Evans and Ben Young are among them. As part of our October spotlight on literary darkness, we recently caught up with Young to discuss the journey that led to his two chilling novels, HOME and STUCK, the perils of publishing, and how he came to write “spooky stories” in the first place.
VT: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and early influences?
BY: I’ve lived in Kentucky most of my life, growing up in the Ft. Wright/Covington area just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. I also lived in Louisville for a few years while attending the University of Louisville. Aside from a few quick stints living in Cincinnati and NYC, I’ve always been here. As for early influences, I picked up my first R.L. Stine from the Scholastic book fair and never looked back. Before long I got into Bruce Coville, Christopher Pike, and Point Thriller titles by authors like Caroline Cooney, Diane Hoh and Rickie Tankersly Cusick, and then to more adult-focused authors like Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Robert McCammon, and Edgar Allan Poe.
VT: What put you on this path and what were some of the key occurrences in your artistic development?
BY: I don’t think this is particularly unique, but I first decided to try writing a novel because I hated my job and thought being a professional writer might be the only thing I’d enjoy doing for the rest of my life. It took me a long time to finish that first manuscript because I had no idea what I was doing and was forced to learn quite a bit about the craft of writing along the way. I tried shopping that first manuscript around and it didn’t go well. I eventually landed a much better job and moved to New York. While I was there, I renewed my focus on becoming a writer and attended some workshops and conferences, along with reading up on stuff that I thought would help me improve quickly. As a result of all that, I threw out my completed manuscript and rewrote the story from scratch in about three months’ time. I felt it was much better, but still couldn’t seem to get anywhere with agents or publishers, so I gave up and walked away. I knew there was the option of self-publishing, but I was honestly scared that it was akin to failure. A few more years passed, then I joined the Books of Horror Facebook group and saw how much support existed for self-published authors. All told, it was about fourteen years from start to finish, and in September of 2023 I published my first novel, STUCK. It’s since received quite a strong positive reception, generated hundreds of reviews, and made it into the Books of Horror Indie Brawl, which is a March Madness-style bracket competition the group hosts annually. There were almost 400 books entered, so I consider it a huge honor to have made it into the final bracket of just 32 based on votes from readers in the community.
VT: Why is this field special to you?
BY: I have a fascination with words and monsters, so they just kinda make sense together. When I come across a story idea that feels like it will work, it’s hard for me to stop myself from building it out in my head. Writing is hard, and I admire anyone that decides to make a serious commitment to it.
VT: What is the writing process typically like for you?
BY: I’m a plotter. I spend weeks building the scaffolding for a story before I sit down at the keyboard to start the actual writing. That includes research, outlining, character profiles, stuff like that. When I’ve tried to write anything longer than a few pages without all that plotting first, it doesn’t go well.
VT: How do you measure success as an author?
BY: As a newer and primarily self-published indie author, my main goal is to grow my audience and be a participating member of the indie horror community. Of course I’d love any sort of fast commercial success or recognition, but I also don’t want to get caught up chasing that. I see flexibility as the primary benefit to being independent. I’m not forced to write to market or follow trends so I can focus on writing the type of stories I want to read and hope that I keep improving with each one and that they’re finding readers authentically. I want my stories to have an impact on readers, and to stand the test of time. To me, that would be a good measure of success.
For more information on Kentucky’s horror scene visit: www.horrorbookstore.com.
By Manda Barger. • Photos provided by Bill Stark
Who doesn’t love a good ghost story around Halloween? But this isn’t your regular, run-of-the-mill tall tale. Submitted for your approval: the true life haunted cabin story of Bill and Charisse Stark. A Kentucky couple that ventured to live in the Red River Gorge, only to find their natural surroundings to be… supernatural.
Bill Stark is a Louisville Kentucky native that owns and operates Stark Video Productions, Inc. He is also known as “Bill from the Ville”, the Cards #1 Fanatic, featured multiple times on TV, sharing his love for the University of Louisville Cardinals. From handing pom poms to the cheerleaders at age 5, to ESPN highlight reels at age 50, Bill’s love for his hometown community, “THE VILLE”, has never waivered.
“Everybody dreams of owning a place where they can get away from it all, BUT be careful what you wish for… be very careful.” - Bill Stark’s opening quote from his first book released in May 2024 titled,
IN SHADOWS CANYON RED-OUR HAUNTED CABIN IN THE RED RIVER GORGE
Throughout his life, Bill often escaped the city to explore remote areas in Kentucky’s deepest backwoods. As a teenager Bill frequently visited the Red River Gorge, tracing steps that his hero Daniel Boone forged 250 years ago. “The Gorge” is a rugged and steep wilderness territory that stretches through the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is stunning, filled with narrow ravines, sandstone cliffs, a beautiful river and natural rock formations. It’s a hikers paradise. Bill introduced his wife Charisse to “The Red” and it became their regular camping getaway.
As fate would have it, a cabin they rented became available to purchase in 2014. “I think I know why we got it cheap, the owner NEVER mentioned that a lady passed away in the cabin. We found that out the hard way,” Bill explains.
It didn’t take long before a persistent paranormal presence made itself known with bizarre phenomena happening on a regular basis. Bill spent a lot of time alone at the cabin
working on a list of home improvements- including the installation of security cameras.
The cameras are triggered by motion to record events. “They helped me feel safe, until strange anomalies started showing up on the monitor.” Stark said.
After only a couple of weeks at the cabin, unexplainable angelic orbs and ethereal mists began appearing. “They were floating around the cabin. Some looked like they were dancing in the moonlight. It was really strange. I went outside to investigate and saw nothing,” Bill explained. “The anomalies were only visible through the infrared security cameras.”
As time passed, more eerie occurrences unfolded. Electronics like the TV, Playstation and radio began suddenly turning on at 3 AM. Bill did his best to debunk the events as old cabin wiring, but found no logical answers. Ultimately, Bill’s fear ran him out of the cabin, where he found himself sleeping in his car one night. Days later he was still astonished and terrified by what he witnessed.
Supernatural events continued to escalate. Large and small objects began moving on their own. The Starks heard disembodied voices accompanied by a lady’s laughter and whiffs of perfume. Footsteps could be heard late at night walking on the cabin’s original oak floors. “We still hear footsteps to this day,” Bill said.
One story Bill shares in his book is of a six-foot double wide hammock that was rolled up and stored for winter in the garage. “It took a 6 foot ladder and some acrobatic moves to get it up between the attic rafters. I wedged it tight against the roof line and put umbrellas next to it to keep it snug,” Bill stated. Five minutes later, he and Charisse returned to the locked garage, opened the door, and were amazed to find the hammock sprawled out on the floor end to end. “It looked as if someone had been swinging in it,” Stark said. “Nothing else was moved, the umbrellas were still intact.”
One evening while sitting on their deck, the couple heard loud bassey guttural growls emanating from the valley below they call “The Abyss”. It was a noise way beyond your typical wildlife. “It sounded like a massive silverback gorilla was being attacked by a pack of coyotes, and the coyotes were losing badly!” Charisse and Bill described what they heard sounded like bodies being ripped apart, then hitting the ground with a thud. “It was terrifying!” Bill said. The following day, he went out to investigate with camera in hand, only to be shocked to find no evidence of a struggle. Bill moved slowly across the ridgeline, suddenly a booming tree knock reverberated through the forest. “I could feel it in my chest, it felt like a warning to STAY OUT!” he said. “I’ve heard many tree knocks, some followed by rocks being thrown at me. Thankfully my camera was rolling or no one would have believed me,” Bill exclaimed.
The Stark story earned the national spotlight as the “GHOSTOBER” Halloween special in 2017.
After a big snowstorm in 2015, Bill and a buddy went hiking through the woods and discovered strange footprints that Bill posted online. It got a lot of people talking because it did not fit the mold for a Bigfoot or any other known creature. Soon, Discovery Channel producers started calling. Bill and Charisse were asked to share their story on a new series called Terror in the Woods. Their episode called “Haunted Cabin” featured a handful of supernatural events with some incredible evidence to support their story. The show was a success and is now streaming worldwide on multiple platforms including HBO MAX under the new name, These Woods Are Haunted.
Now after 10 years at the cabin, over 100 supernatural events have been documented. Many supported by video and eyewitness accounts. Bill’s debut as an author chronicles the Stark’s incredible decade-long supernatural journey from paradise to paranormal.
IN SHADOWS CANYON RED-OUR HAUNTED CABIN IN THE RED RIVER GORGE, consists of 31 spine chilling chapters describing in detail encounters with ghosts, local legendary cryptids, unexplained lights, guttural growls, strange footprints and more. After researching the cabin’s history, many disturbing facts are discovered with shocking revelations about the previous owner.
Bill and Charisse believe the spirit of the woman who died in the cabin remains on the property. She has revealed herself to paranormal investigators, explaining she had a hard life and is stuck in transition. The couple thinks they were being tested by the ghost due to the behavior of previous renters at the cabin. “It was like a party cabin... I think people abused her home and didn’t respect it. We have learned respect is a key at the cabin,” Bill shared as he took a deep breath. “It’s been a difficult struggle to coexist with spirits in and around the cabin. When what you see and feel blurs the lines of reality, it changes you FOREVER!”
You might wonder why they still live in the cabin? “Because it’s our home! If you could see where we live you would understand, it’s GORGE-OUS,” Stark said. “We feel like we have been put here for a reason. Perhaps it’s to share this story? I wish I knew!
All I really know is that I was compelled to write this book.”
The Starks have been through a lot. Their dream cabin in the middle of nowhere became a living nightmare. Fortunately, with help from spiritual and empathetic people, they have learned several coping mechanisms. “We keep the cabin vibrations up by playing Jimmy Buffett music on Radio Margaritaville 24 hours a day,” Bill said. “We have learned to cleanse the cabin’s negative energy with sage, crystals, tuning forks and prayers to our guardian angels.”
Bill’s book IN SHADOWS CANYON RED-OUR HAUNTED CABIN IN THE RED RIVER GORGE can be purchased on his “Bill from the Ville” Tele-Vision website merch page at BFTVTV. com. You can also scan the QR code attached. Bill is happy to write a personalized message to you when you order a book from his website.
In Louisville, the book is available at the Frazier History Museum gift shop, Carmichael’s Bookstore and Butcher Cabin Books. Visitors to the Red River Gorge area can buy the book in local gift shops, coffee houses and featured attractions like The Gorge Underground, and Red River Gorge Ziplines. Currently five Kentucky State Parks carry Bill’s book including:
Natural Bridge, Fort Boonesborough, Cumberland Falls, Jenny Wiley and Carter Caves.
You can see the evidence for yourself and be a part of Bill and Charisse’s supernatural journey. Follow them on social media and their BFTV-TV YouTube Channel. Plans for a future PODCAST are in the works. Bill says to “Standby…THIS is gonna be FUN!”
“Bill from the Ville” Tele-Vision is a celebration of life through the art of imagery and storytelling. It’s about being at the “Right Place, at the Right TIme, with the Right Mind!”
Get ready not just to cast spells, but cast your vote in the spookiest contest of the season!
In the spirit of this Halloween season, The VOICE-TRIBUNE teamed up with Louisville Ballet to present our first annual Halloween Costume Contest. Our readers are invited to join in the Halloween spirit by voting for their favorite costume submission. Whether it’s ghoulish get-ups or charmingly cute disguises, the power to crown the winner is in your hands! Scan the QR code below to place your vote!
Photos by Antonio Pantoja
Contributing Stylists & Makeup Artists: Rick Bancroft, TRIM NuLu’s Kareyn Gray
Models: (Louisville Ballet Dancers) Elizabeth Abbick • Leigh Anne Albrechta • Ashley Thursby • Daniel Scofield
vote for your fav!
vote for your fav!
vote for your fav!
vote for your fav!
vote for your fav!
By Renae Ison • Photos by Josh Ison
Time, an inevitable, uncontrollable obstacle forged on perspective. In perpetual flux between cherished and endured, it moves. My initial impression when driving this narrow road beside a golf course, as the massive structure that is Waverly Hills Sanatorium gradually revealed itself, was a unique experience. It was an unforgettable experience. It was as if exiting time.
Upon arrival I gazed in complete awe at this place that seems to have always existed precisely as it stands despite the many hats it wore. What is now Waverly Hills Sanatorium was purchased by Major Thomas Hays in 1883 with the intent to establish a residence containing a schoolhouse, as options for education in the area were limited. Inspired by her fondness for the Waverly novels of Walter Scott, teacher Lizzie Lee Harris named it Waverly School. The area later became known as Waverly Hills. (Waverly Hills Sanatorium, 2024)
As anyone who has ever lived in Kentucky can attest our climate created an ideal environment for Tuberculosis to thrive. In response the Louisville Anti-Tuberculosis Association formed the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital in 1906 to establish a treatment center for Jefferson County, Kentucky. (Explore | Waverly Hills Sanatorium, n.d.) The Board of Tuberculosis Hospital acquired the property and Waverly Hills Sanatorium officially opened July 26, 1910.
As tuberculin increase as they wage their war through lungs, the outbreak increased. By 1915, Kentucky had one of the highest death rates from tuberculosis in the United States with 201 cases per 100,000 citizens. (Connolly & Gibson, 2011). Those infected were sent to Waverly Hills Sanatorium for treatment. Though the exact number has been debated, over 50,000 patients succumbed to the disease within these walls. What is now referred to as “the Death Chute” was erected to transport the deceased, as not to alarm the patients. As I made the dissent into through tenebrous tunnel, a weight was felt. The immeasurable burden of those who posthumously made this journey, as well as those guiding them, was felt. Despair replaced now with a stillness so complete it needed no other context.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium formally closed in 1961. After being vacant for almost a year, the building was reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Geriatric Center, a nursing home primarily treating aging patients with various stages of dementia and mobility limits, as well as the severely mentally handicapped. Woodhaven was closed by the state of Kentucky in 1982 after a Grand Jury inspection found several patient abuses, and the degrading state of the facilities. (Waverly Hills Sanatorium, 2024)
Many souls have been rumored to have never left, preternaturally existing as a moment in time. Waverly Hills Sanatorium is now known for various tales of ghost sightings. One of the most notable has been given the name “Timmy”. Sauntering through the halls you may come across balls strewn about the floor. As one of Timmy’s favorite games has been said to be catch, visitors leave these balls. Eagerly waiting with bated breath to see if, out of the ploutonia contained within the doorways, one may return. Waiting for the abyss to stare back. (The Ghosts of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, 2022) Some stories told are rooted in melancholy. It has been speculated a nurse (who in some iterations has been thought to be Mary Hillenburg) ended her life via hanging due to the fear of the stigma associated with an unexpected pregnancy in Room 502. Guests have been said to encounter unexplained occurrences attributed her presence, commonly a disembodied voice screaming the phrase “Get Out!” (Sonja,2021) Room 502, and the mythos surrounding it, have become the most recognized when discussing Waverly Hills Sanatorium,
When ascending to the fifth floor, which is the top floor, I looked out the many windows providing a very open view. The view, nothing but forest, can fill one with a sense of isolation (unsurprising as essentially Waverly Hills Sanatorium became a sort of self-sustaining community in effort to mitigate the spread of unrelenting and unforgiving disease). It was a sense of isolation accompanied not by forlornness but undisturbed tranquility. The same view as the many who called this place divorced from cacophonic modernity a home.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium is an exercise in history and the confrontation of mortality, and the pensiveness it invokes. Rather than the fear the ghosts roaming the expansive corridors, perhaps it’s the fear we will one day join them.
When leaving, my impression was somewhat different than the one held upon my arrival. When settling into our car on the gravel parking lot I was left with a sense as if I had just visited someone, and found an eagerness to return. I encourage anyone make the trip to Waverly Hills Sanatorium a place unencumbered by time.
Multi Award-winning Writer, Director, and Fine Art
Photographer uplifts and opens doors for artists and creatives
By Alisha Proffitt • Photos by Antonio Pantoja
Makeup Artist Matt Goodlett
It is my belief that we all at some point in our lives come across a fellow human being who stands out among the rest for their kindness and empathy towards others, Antonio Pantoja is one such being. You would be mistaken to perceive his kindness as weakness, it is in fact, his superpower.
Antonio has made quite a name for himself as an artist and creator over the years, he has won over 200 awards in video and photography and directed music videos for huge names like Jack Harlow, but it didn’t come without hardship. Born to a Peruvian immigrant father and a mother battling substance abuse, Antonio faced adversity early on. By the age of 15, he was living in a car, having not made it past the 8th grade. In 2022, he survived a near-fatal widowmaker heart attack, a life-altering experience that has only strengthened his resolve to live purposefully and continue creating meaningful work.
Antonio is a passionate advocate for the arts community in Louisville. His warmth, generosity, and commitment to giving back have earned him a solid reputation as one of the city’s kindest and most supportive creatives. From teaching free classes that draw hundreds of attendees to organizing projects that help struggling artists, Antonio is living proof that success and kindness CAN go hand in hand. “There’s one constant theme, in my life at least– every opportunity I’ve ever had in my whole life was just because I was kind to people. I treat everybody with kindness. That’s it,” he says.
When Antonio began offering free classes, he wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested. “I didn’t know if anyone would show up at all,” he admits. But to his surprise, each class attracted around 300 people, eager to learn from one of the best in the industry. In these classes he didn’t just discuss photography and filmmaking; they were also about empowering creatives and giving them the tools and confidence they needed to pursue their own creative dreams. Antonio’s humility and approachability have made him a beloved figure in the community, and have given him a reputation for being someone who genuinely wants to see others succeed.
In recent years, Antonio has lent his voice to public speaking. He’s shared his insights with audiences as the keynote speaker for Entrepreneur Connect and at the University of Kentucky, where he spoke to nearly 1,000 attendees. His words hit home with aspiring artists and entrepreneurs alike, giving inspiration and practical advice on navigating life and the creative industry. He also served as the commencement speaker for Walden High School’s graduating class, where his message left a lasting impression.
Antonio is also involved in direct action to support local artists through initiatives like the Free Headshots for Starving Artists project. Recognizing the financial barriers many artists face, where he offered professional headshots at no cost, giving them a crucial tool for advancing their careers.
Perhaps one of the most memorable examples of Antonio’s support of Louisville’s creative community came during a fundraiser he organized at River House. Five comedians roasted Antonio in front of a sold-out crowd, and the event raised funds for Fund for the Arts, a local organization that supports arts education and programming throughout the region.
Whether he’s giving back through free classes, public speaking, or charitable events, Antonio Pantoja approaches life with the belief that being kind, generous, and community-focused can have a real impact on the world around you.
“I think if you lived your life as if you only had 30 days left to live– and I thought that when I had these heart attacks, would you love people differently? Would you treat people differently? Would you treat people with more kindness? Would you get mad less? Would you follow your passion? The truth is, tomorrow is not promised to any of us and anything can happen at any moment and I think that we are pretty entitled on time.” Antonio says.
And he hasn’t been wasting any time on his creative endeavors. Antonio’s second film, currently set for production in 2025, will be a psychological thriller about a military combat medic who transitions into civilian life as a certified EMT paramedic. This follows his first film One Must Fall (2018), which he both wrote and directed, described by IMBd as “A horror-comedy slasher set in the 80s about a woman wrongfully fired from her office job and forced to take on a temporary job on a crime scene cleanup crew.” and is available to watch on most streaming platforms.
So, is Antonio Pantoja the nicest guy in Louisville? I think actions speak louder than words.
To see more of Antonio Pantoja’s work, visit his website www.antoniopantoja.com
Freibert Oil, Impasto and Mixed Media Paintings Pet Portraits, Commissions jeannefreibertstudio.com
Alan R. Brain Tumor, 2000
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This year ’ s guest stars share their thoughts on the unique opportunity PopCon provides creators, performers, and their fans
By VOICE-TRIBUNE • Photos by Kathryn Harrington
In the world of entertainment, the bond between actors and their fans goes far beyond the screen. For fans, actors represent more than just characters— they often see reflections of themselves in what is portrayed on screen, finding comfort, inspiration, and resonance in the roles that mirror their own personal struggles, dreams, and experiences. For many actors, fans are the heartbeat of their success and fuel their passion for their craft. This connection is celebrated at events like Louisville PopCon, where the barrier between performers and their audiences is lifted. At these conventions, actors and fans have the rare opportunity to engage face-to-face. The VOICE-TRIBUNE got a chance to speak with some of the guest stars at this year’s Louisville PopCon and ask their thoughts and what they enjoy the most about this unique experience.
This is what they had to share.
Ethan Peck
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Discovery
I try to never forget how special it is that I get to play this role. It’s just so nice to embrace the joy, happiness, and excitement that people come to the table with. They are so inspired by this world that we as actors get to help create.
Vincent Martella
Phineas & Ferb, Everybody Hates Chris
It’s connecting with fans, being able to talk to them. Meeting the people who really appreciate the work that I have gotten to do with other people. It’s really meaningful as an artist of any kind to be able to meet the people that care about the things that you do and the things that you’ve spent a lot of your life working on.
David Errigo Jr
Phineas & Ferb, Yu-gi-oh! Arc-V, Final Fantasy XV, Tiny Toons Looniversity, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, X-Men ‘97
The faces that people give. There was somebody who came up named Eli, and Eli just like, started jumping up and down and vibrating and he wound up apologizing, and I was like ‘Oh, no, no!’ We love to be able to give that to people, that authentic excitement. Vincent Martella spoke to a nonverbal child in Columbus, and he started talking to him in the Phineas voice and the kid started to talk to him. Even his mom was excited because he doesn’t speak. That’s why we do it, it’s incredible.
Mike Colter
Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Evil, The Defenders
My favorite aspect of the Cons that I go to is really a chance to be one-on-one with the fans. In real life, you’re walking around and engaging sometimes and encounter people but it’s not the venue because everyone’s doing their own thing and it’s not set up to really engage. I give people the time of day, but you know, I’m a person and I like boundaries. This is an opportunity for them to come up and talk to me and give their time and engage and I can listen to them. It’s because of the fans that I’m here. It’s because of the fans that I get to do television and Film. I think this sets it up so there is a time and a place for it, and I like that.
Lilli Cooper
Hazbin Hotel, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
I am a huge fan of the cosplay. The skill and talent and artistry of the people I get to meet is honestly mindblowing. It’s just so thrilling to be able to meet people that I never ever would have crossed paths with otherwise. These conventions are really special because we get to meet people that we never would have met and we obviously have a very common interest, its a special connection.
Bryce Pinkham
Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss
I enjoy getting the feedback and we’re helping generate meaning in other peoples lives. I think thats a really valuable use of our time on earth, is to generate meaning in someone else’s life.I get a lot of feedback about my character and about the show and I see people of all walks of life, of all identities, all sexualities, and they feel seen and heard by our show. I think it’s kind of ironic that a show that takes place in hell is the most welcoming. That’s very gratifying to me and so I get to see that Firsthand. When I’m in the booth its just me and the microphone but when I’m here I get to meet the fans and hear what it means to them and hear what my character or my songs have done for them. I met a couple today who played my song to their baby when it was still in utero and then they were here with the baby today and I got to sing the song to the baby. It was awesome. Stuff like that you dont get unless you come out and meet the fans.
CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY ARTIST
Exploring Wearable Ephemera with Jewelry
Artist Theresa Applegate
By Mckenna Graham • Photos by Matt Johnson
“This is a Columbian mammoth tooth I recovered while scuba diving in Venice, Florida,” says Theresa Applegate, handing me what appears to be a bulbous navy-colored rock. “So,” she continues, “not a wooly mammoth. Columbian mammoths are a little larger and not nearly as furry.” We stand in the basement of her home, and the tall glass case from which she has extracted the ancient molar is filled with other curiosities too- fossilized sea shells, small animal skulls, a copious amount of shark teeth and, presumably, more bicuspids from long-deceased creatures of this earth.
Applegate is a metalsmith who produces wearable works of art, but it might be equally fair to call her an explorer, a collector, and even a bit of a scientist. Her work utilizes mold making and direct botanical castings to capture the ephemeral artifacts of the natural world. For example, cataloging a tender sage leaf by casting it in sterling silver and forming it into a ring, before it begins to wilt, Jewelry rarely provokes existential questions, but Applegate’s work points to the fleeting nature of beauty and finds loveliness in the grotesque.
Hanging out with her for any amount of time will lead you to learn about things you’ve never considered before- like, do raccoon penises have bones? The answer is yes and she has one on the wall of her studio. Or perhaps, do sharks lose their teeth? Yes, they lose about 20,000 teeth in a lifetime. Last year, Applegate raised over four hundred monarch butterflies on stalks of milkweed she kept in her basement, releasing the insects once they had completed their pupation cycle and were ready to fend for themselves. However, she admits things began to get a bit out of hand towards the end as caterpillars demonstrated their skills as escape artists and roved her basement freely…so now her current brood of Pipevine swallowtails are being reared outdoors. It’s truly impossible to look at her jewelry or talk to her without catching the contagious curiosity inherent in her work.
Applegate attended The Savannah College of Art and Design with the intent of becoming an architect. However, she committed a classic “bait and switch” as she calls it, never taking an architecture course and instead falling firmly into the role of jewelrymaker. It wasn’t until an artist residency in Maine during 2012 that her work pivoted to its current direction.
“It was this transformative time where I started putting snake skin under resin- like roadkill snake, so it had a little bit of a yuck factor,” recalls Applegate, “It was this epiphany moment where I started making things that I thought were really beautiful and interesting but also kind of a little icky so that the jewelry had a story behind it… the snake skin didn’t look gross. It was blue, almost like a gemstone, so wearing it was like having a dirty little secret.”
Her current collection of designs, available exclusively at KMAC’s Museum Shop on Main Street in downtown Louisville, includes delicate mangrove bracelets, a sterling silver bat skull necklace, and dendritic agate toggle among others.
“It’s the texture,” Applegate says, explaining how she is drawn to her source materials, “Like macro-textures if you will. I like zooming in and looking at things really close, like mushroom gills and spores, or a bark texture or the repetition of the way little seeds develop compacted in a pod.”
One piece of particular significance to Applegate is a mangrove necklace. After taking up scuba diving in 2017, she began to use found treasures from these excursions as elements in her practice. The necklace, inspired by this coastal tree, is composed of a moss agate pendant, a direct casting of a mangrove leaf, and estate diamond and chain made of numerous castings of mangrove buds, arranged in a graduated way. It’s the kind of splendor nature provides all around us but that goes mostly unnoticed until cast in precious metals. The short-lived nature of her material meant that Applegate had to drive fourteen hours home and cast the buds immediately the next day. In addition to its beauty, she notes the importance of the mangrove tree for preventing erosion and providing refuge for the aquatic creatures that share its ecosystem, and somehow these sentiments feel as though they’ve been translated into the jewelry as well.
“As a jewelry artist and design professional myself, I was impressed with the quality and depth that Theresa’s work embodies,” says Julia Comer, Director of Retail Experience at KMAC. “I consider her to be one of the best contemporary jewelry artists in our area. She could teach me a thing or two about the skill, time, and energy that is required to be a true jewelry artist who transcends everyday life into art. I am enormously enthusiastic about having her work in the KMAC Shop!”
For those interested in learning more about metalsmithing, casting and jewelry making, Applegate offers workshops in an individual or group setting. These classes of up to four people generally take place one evening a week, over a five-week period. Also available are intensive 3 day workshops. Students do not need previous experience and classes are small enough to be tailored to each individual’s goals. More information can be found on her website at theresaapplegate.com if you’d like to try your hand at turning often-overlooked bits of life into meaningful, wearable art.
By: Kevin Murphy Wilson
Johnson
It’s safe to say that Brad White gets around. Here in Louisville he’s best known for a variety of high-profile creative roles. Most notably, White is a punk rock drummer (for the band Wiirmz), a well-respected visual artist/fabricator/sculptor, and the driving force (along with business partner Andy Cook) behind fifteenTWELVE Creative Compound in the Portland neighborhood (which includes Rockerbuilt Studios, Portal and more). We recently visited that complex to see how he holds it all together.
VT: Let’s start at the beginning. What prepared you for this sort of life?
BW: I grew up in Western Kentucky. My mother is a musician, my father a motorhead. So, I literally am the culmination of those influences. I came up with motorcycle racing and skateboarding as that creative subculture took hold, designing artwork for skate shops, small companies and playing drums in punk bands. I went to Nossi College of Art & Design in Nashville and then to Murray State University for a formal fine art education with primary emphasis in sculpture and those contacts led me to Louisville in 1999.
VT: When did the idea for Rockerbuilt come together?
BW: No one wants to spend their short days on the planet burning a clock surrounded by miserable people. After years of working in fabrication/ construction environments, I decided I was going to have to create something outside of this ‘militant bro culture.’ Andy Cook was my first phone call. I had known him for a decade or so through the art and music community and knew that he was an excellent career fabricator. He took over the lead of the metal shop while I started laying down the groundwork for the woodworking department. Our first job as a company was a bourbon vending horse trailer and our mobile concession trailer division has grown into an official Airstream outfitter dealership.
VT: Can you explain the ethos of the company for the uninitiated?
BW: If you are a touring musician, you need to be able to pick up and hit the road when the opportunity arises, so most held a trade that they could freelance. Every musician that I knew was either in construction or graphic design. So when we started assembling a team of likeminded talent, it was all musicians with decades of creative skill sets, thus Rockerbuilt. The name was actually inspired by a Thin Lizzy song.
VT: How does the reality of having most of your employees also focused on being in a band actually work out?
Photos by Matt
BW: It works out great, We just have to schedule around the crew living out their real dreams. We all get to live vicariously through someone traveling to play a festival or a European tour. It inspires the rest of the guys to keep on our hustle, it’s not too late, you’re not too old to do what you love.
VT: Please tell us about your adjacent PORTAL + ARTPORTAL space, also located inside the fifteenTWELVE Creative Compound.
BW: Portal is an ever-changing, immersive experience, a whole vibe. We rent the space out regularly for private parties, weddings, meetings, unicorn or clown parties, baby raves...whatever…the weirder the better. We lean heavily into underground culture, providing a stage to upcoming acts, underage artists, poets, comedians, drag and burlesque. We are a loud room with no neighbors so it’s ideal for late night live music and raves. We also have 26 studios where small businesses and nonprofits operate. The venue has already exceeded what we thought it would be and we just did another full audio upgrade to try to keep up with the level of acts we are hosting at Portal. Our partner at 502 Shows understood the potential of the space and has been bringing top tier hardcore and metal to Louisville. The art gallery has been a blast. We had a Shepard Fairey exhibit. There’s not really a bigger, living, household name in contemporary art to top that. Artist Rebecca Norton was co-curating the space with me until recently so as one of my first group shows I put on ‘Bloodbath and Beyond’ that will be on display through Halloween. We are folding the art side of things into the vibe of the rest of the compound so the following show will be ‘Apocolypsmas,’ an end of the year, end of the world ‘holiday’ art show.
VT: Kentucky College of Art + Design has placed student interns with your organization. Are any other schools taking advantage of this unique opportunity? And how are young artists responding to your environment?
BW: We have had a few interns through KyCAD and Spalding University. I think it’s great for young artists to see this place as it shows several possible paths to a viable creative job. This whole place was built from scratch, all DIY, just passion and blind faith. It provides a good look at how, if there isn’t a door open for you, it’s possible to bet on yourself to create your own.
VT: Overall, what makes all these artistic endeavors special to you?
BW: We are proud of the creative culture we are promoting…of the bands we are bringing into town…of the quality products we are producing…and we are thrilled that people are receptive to it because we want more than anything to contribute something positive, something long-lasting for the community.
For more information about upcoming concerts, visual art exhibitions and other events visit www.portal-louisville.com
By Kelsey Knott • Photos by Kat Flaherty-wyldcraftdesign.com
“I fill my life with moments worth the pain of loss; I love, I hurt, I feel it all, and I’ve got no regrets.” These lyrics from Glory Daze’s song, “Every Aching Memory” on his debut EP “Honey, I…,” wisely capture the value behind jumping into parts of life that are “worth the hurting.”
Originally from Los Angeles, Lea (pronounced LEE) Beiley, known on stage as Glory Daze, is an indie folk songwriter whose music reveals his introspection on personal growth through love and loss. He described receiving his first guitar at a young age as a spiritual experience and spent time in a punk rock band as a teen before bravely embarking on the solo acoustic scene.
Beiley believes that there are benefits to the size and affordability of Louisville when it comes to creative work. While LA is full of artists working toward a dream, Louisville provides a scene with a pace that doesn’t overwhelm and burn out artists, giving them more time to put their energy toward their art.
And the Monarch Music and Arts Community has been a major part of his growth. According to Beiley, the studio provides somewhat of an “office” for creatives when performances aren’t happening. He reminds us: “Mark really intended for this space to be not just a music venue and musicians community, but an artist and creative community.” In his own experience, the Monarch has progressed his career through unique opportunities. Live performances led to sharing videos that found their way to a producer, ultimately launching his success forward. But more than anything, the Monarch has shown him the immense value of community: “Everyone in the room is having an experience and is part of the experience together, and within the songs, I like to, hopefully, carry people through the experience.”
Beiley uses music to process feelings, seeing them as “journal entries of moments,” and paying attention to the feeling helps him know when it’s more than “just words in music.” His writing process often happens all at once: “Sometimes it’s an actual situation that’s unraveled that I’m recalling. Or it could be a thought, existential a lot of the time, that I’m having about life. I feel like my songs are often a realization that I’m having. But when I start writing, I’m not always sure what the realization is until I finish the song.”
He emphasized the importance of failing in his process as well: “If you’re never failing, you’re not going to get to your potential. Instead of seeing failure as this finite thing, I have sort of reframed it as a feedback system of, ‘Okay, that didn’t work, but why didn’t it work? How can I do it? How can I try again? Or maybe that’s not the route; I need to go a different route. But you’re getting information from it that you can use to keep going because you have to, to be able to do this for a living and get to that point. You have to be relentless. You just have to be.’”
Overall, the message that Lea wants his listeners to take away from his music is simple—it’s going to be okay: “It’s worth going through the negative and painful parts of it. Experience, all of it, you know?” The cliche that it’s better to have loved and lost applies, and not just in relationships. Listening to his music has been described as “feeling like a warm hug from a close friend.”
Catch Glory Daze, as well as Adeem the Artist and Harley Chapeau, live at the Monarch on Friday, October 11th!
Tickets can be purchased online.
Follow @heyglorydaze on TikTok and Instagram!
By Kelsey Knott • Photos by Matt Johnson
You’ve likely seen fruit as art in still life, but what about in clothing design? Meet Wende Cudmore, a pressed fruits and vegetables artist and clothing designer!
A painter in high school, Cudmore always loved art, but it took the backburner to life as a mother and caretaker of her Vietnam veteran husband. After he passed, she moved from New York to Salem, Indiana with her partner Ron before going back to school in 2004. “In high school, I had a counselor that told me I wasn’t smart enough to go to college. In the 60s, that’s what they told women, especially, and I wasn’t sassy enough back then. So I got married and had my two beautiful children and that was my life. Looking back, it was good and I learned a lot of life-learning skills that I needed. It shaped me into who I am now and my artwork, especially... I’m very appreciative.” Wende graduated from Indiana University Southeast in 2013 with a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking and a 3.7 GPA, proving that it was more about right timing than intelligence.
She draws heavily from her childhood and life experiences when creating. Through camping trips and forest forages, her parents influenced her love of nature and the outdoors. “I realize now what my dad was teaching us, so I think about that often when I’m working with this material. They sold veggies, they grew gardens and flowers.” Her mother was a seamstress, a title she rejects though she knows “how to sew in an artsy way.”
Cudmore calls her pieces “an offspring of printmaking.” Starting sketches often change as she processes and manipulates materials. Besides color, texture, function, and materials available, she must also consider amounts and types of fruit/vegetable beforehand, managing her time to slice, blanche, dry, ink, and press the vegetables before molding them into the damp garment. Sugar, humidity, and other elements can affect this process: “There’s a fine line between the vegetable looking fine and damp to seeing mold, so I have to stay on top of that.’” Natural cellulose glues the fruit together before the piece dries and takes permanent shape.
The KMAC Couture annual “Walk the Runway” event has largely contributed to Cudmore’s success and helped her establish valuable friendships. Each year, she competes against herself: “KMAC has really pushed me, my skills, and my artistry way out of the box, way further than I ever dreamed.” Fifteen years later, she’s still learning and honing her craft as models masterfully bring her art to life on the runway.
Wende reminds us that artists have invaluable workplace skills: critical-thinking, problem-solving, time management, and staying sharp: “When I was getting my art degree, people would either say, ‘Oh, that’s fun’ or ‘What are you gonna do with that?… The field of art is just a beautiful place to be. It can be anything that you’re figuring out how to do. I mean, I had no idea this was even an art thing. When I started doing this with KMAC, I had to learn how designers think and feel.” Cudmore has earned respect in both art and design spaces from designers she also respects.
Wende spreads life’s beauty in an often ugly world and sees her work as a statement, not something frivolous. She hides butterflies within her pieces, always leaning into her uniqueness: “I like it to be known when somebody sees pressed fruits and veggies, they go, “Oh, that’s Wende Cudmore!”
Cudmore has two couture garments in Harrison County Arts in Corydon, where she volunteers monthly, as well as some ecoprinting pieces. She collaborated with twenty artists at KMAC on a piece in their museum and has a couture garment in the Frazier History Museum.
See classical and contemporary collide in three world premiere works: Broken totem by Adam Hougland with music by Igor Stravinsky, Influences by Artistic Director Harald Uwe Kern with music by Robert Schumann, and 502 by Ching Ching Wong with music by Jack Harlow. Get tickets at louisvilleballet.org
Thanks to Our 2024 Sponsors
Hildegard House provides a home for individuals at the end of life who have no home so they can die with dignity.
Hildegard House provides compassionate care for individuals at the end of life who have no loved ones to care for them or lack resources to pay for caregivers.
MEDIA SPONSOR
Care is provided by an amazing group of volunteers called Compassionate Companions. We don’t charge a fee, we rely solely on donations and grants.
To volunteer or donate, www.hildegardhouse.org Next Volunteer Training is October 16, 9-4pm. Hildegard House 114 Adams Street Louisville KY 40206
Thanks to all who attended Cocktails for Compassion!
TRIANGLE ST MATTHEWS HOLIDAY WALK
Shop, Sip, Stroll and Stock Up for the Holidays with the merchants inside Bauer, Frankfort, & Lexington Avenues!
Anabel's Oriental Rugs • Aster Vintage
Beas Interiors • Blush Boutique
CC & Company Interiors • Colonial Designs
Cooking at the Cottage • CYL Sauna Studio
Mercantile • Miller's Fancy Bath and Kitchen
Rainbow Blossom • St Matthews Studios & Gallery
The Lamp Maker • The Peppermint Palm XO Aesthetic Re nery
Nov 8th 6-9pm
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