An Ode to Louisville: My Piece of Louisville History

By Robert and Charliese Lewis Ministries Home of The 'After Church' Experience www.randclewisministries.com

Exodus 6

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Team Lewis did something different for vacation last Spring. We decided we would spend the week in Louisville, Kentucky. For our 14-year-old daughter, it was a trip of discovery. For me, it was a time to reconnect with the city. The first stop was the Frazier History Museum. The authentic narratives of the "West of Ninth" exhibition triggered many childhood memories.

As a child, our summer vacations were always in Louisville visiting my great aunts

Aunt Leola Estill who lived on West Madison Street and Aunt Ethel Kennedy who lived on 7th Street. Aunt Leola was a long-time member of Asbury Chapel AME Church and Aunt Ethel belonged to Youngs Chapel AME Church. A third aunt, Aunt Gladys Schafer, was a member of Quinn Chapel AME Church. She died before I was born, but was known as my affluent, "fabulous" aunt. Being raised AME meant that we were a "connectional" church.

Anytime we visited a Louisville AME church, everyone knew we were Ms. Estill's or Ms. Kennedy's kinfolk. It was a badge of honor. These three Creth sisters had picked up their Versailles, Kentucky roots and replanted them in Louisville starting new lives with their mates.

I never knew my aunts' husbands. I only heard the stories about Uncle Eefe, my Aunt Leola's husband. He died in 1969, five years before I was born. I asked my mom once, "Why did the three of them move to

Louisville?" She said, "It was for the jobs. Their husbands could find good employment."

I found the Courier-Journal obituary records on my great uncle, Ephraim Estill, who hailed from Winchester, Kentucky. I discovered he was a veteran of World War II and a retired employee of the Schenley Distillery where he had worked for 30 years.

I asked my husband to drive me by Aunt Leola's old house. My mother rattled off her address as if it was yesterday when we last visited. In reality, it's been 35 years. When I looked at the house, I realized how small it seemed now to me as an adult, but how it felt like a mansion in my youth. She kept it pristine both inside and outside. It was a story and a half, 2,078 square foot house built in 1900. She had a renter who lived in the upstairs quarters. The main door was the entrance for both homes, but my aunt had a separate door to her space. The tenant had his own entry door at the top of the stairs. We were never allowed to touch one step of that staircase. Aunt Leola also owned the house to the immediate right of hers. I couldn't believe her house was still standing in Russell neighborhood. Time has worn it down, but the memories came back to me about how much pride my aunts had in their Louisville communities and churches.

While driving through the West End, I recalled being in a parade 27 years ago that began at the Kroger on West Broadway and ended at Shawnee Park. As the 1996 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen I felt honored to represent such a great source of pride for my people.

I wasn't a native of Louisville, but nobody could tell me that or the numerous African-American children who smiled and waved at me with approval and admiration. It was the only time I remember my dad letting us take his Trans Am out of town. After all, I was a Queen, I needed to be in what was known as "The Sunroof Car".

The final excursion for Spring Break week was to the Roots 101 African-American museum, exhibiting artifacts from slavery through the 2020 Black Lives Protests. The Black to the Future space spotlighted the work of today's youth who are the future leaders of the city. We were all impressed by the level of creativity in the room, especially since our daughter is a budding artist.

As executive director of Louisville Literary Arts, now celebrating two years with the organization, my desire is to connect with Louisville's traditional urban neighborhoods that really and truly are the heartbeat of the city. I want to help tell their narratives in their own voices, realizing that what is seen on the outside is never the real story...the whole story...the intimate, inside view. It's imperative to shape the gifts and talents of its youth that are often buried under the "news" and the trauma that these neighborhoods have seen in recent years, particularly with the deaths of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee. www.louisvilleliteraryarts.org https://www.fraziermuseum.org/exhibitions

With these precious memories I have of my youth, now placed in their rightful context and with recent national events in mind, I would encourage others to visit these sites and enjoy the rich history lessons they teach about Louisville and Kentucky, one exhibit at a time. It's every Kentuckian history.