A Special
Exhibit: November 17, 2007 through February 16, 2008
Sponsored
by: Oldham County Historical Society, Pewee Valley Historical
Society, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Samuel
Culbertson Mansion Bed & Breakfast
Special
Curator: Sue Lynn McDaniel, Special Collections Librarian, Western
Kentucky University
Take a
trip through the world of the Little Colonel who resided in the town of
Lloydsborough (Pewee) Valley, Ky. Author Annie Fellows Johnston based many
of the characters in her endearing “Little Colonel” tales on people who
lived in Pewee Valley at the turn of the 20th century. Exhibits
and events are offered in La Grange, Bowling Green, Louisville and
Pewee Valley.
Oldham
County History Center (La Grange)
Featured
at the Oldham County History Center’s exhibit, “The Little Colonel: A
Romantic Vision of Life Long Ago in Oldham County,” are “Little
Colonel” collectibles, including many on loan from the Little Colonel Doll
Collectors; a recreation of Annie Fellows Johnston’s “writing room” using
some of the author’s personal effects; highlights of Pewee Valley
landmarks associated with the “Little Colonel” stories; and computer
access to the Little Colonel’s First Web Site,
www.littlecolonel.com, sponsored by the Samuel Culbertson Mansion Bed
& Breakfast, home to Annie Fellows Johnston’s models for the “Two Little
Knights of Kentucky.”
The Oldham
County History Center, 106 N. Second St, La Grange, KY, is open Tuesday -Thursday and
Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. - 8p.m. EST
Western
Kentucky University
Western
Kentucky University in Bowling Green will host “the Little Colonel: A
Romanticized Look at Kentucky Childhood” at the Kentucky Library and
Museum in Bowling Breen, November 14, 2007 – January 31, 2008. The
exhibit includes a Little Colonel game, dolls, books a Shirley Temple
cream pitcher and a Louisville child’s early 1920s Little Colonel Good
Times Book.
The
Kentucky Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 9-4 CST and Sunday 1-4
CST; closed December 25 and January 1.
University
of Louisville
At the
Belknap Campus near downtown Louisville, the University of Louisville is
exhibiting the original works of Pewee Valley’s pioneer female photographer,
Kate Matthews, whose bellows-style camera captured many of the people and
places portrayed in the “Little Colonel” stories. Titled "A Kentucky
Idyll: the work of Pewee Valley photographer Kate Matthews and author
Annie Fellows Johnston," the exhibit is displayed in the Photographic
Archives and Rare Books Galleries on the lower level of Ekstrom Library
November 17, 2007 - February 28, 2008 and also includes books by Annie
Fellows Johnston from the university's collections.
The
exhibit is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST, Monday - Friday. Closed December
24-January 1.
Pewee
Valley
The Pewee Valley Historical
Society is sponsoring a self-guided tour of 29 historic sites throughout
Pewee Valley. Tour books are available at the caboose at the
intersection of Central & Mt. Mercy Avenue and at the
Oldham County History Center in La Grange, and soon here on
LittleColonel.com.
Join us for a weekend of events
February 8-10 spotlighting the town’s “Little Colonel” legacy:
Friday,
Feb. 8: 7 p.m.,
Annie Fellows Johnston portrayed by
Sue Lynn McDaniel, Oldham County
History Center, LaGrange, cash bar and appetizers, $13 history
center members/$15 non-members
Saturday, Feb. 9: "The
Little Colonel of Lloydsborough," a 30-minute play by the Little
Colonel Players at the Playhouse on Mt. Mercy Ave., 1 , 2, 3 and 4 p.m.
($5 adult/$2 children) ; Open house tours of Tanglewood and Bemersyde,
home of Presbyterian minister Petyon Hoge, 1-4 p.m.; Appraisal Fair
at St. James Episcopal Church, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. ($5 per item/up to three
items per person), food available; “Little Colonel” gift boutique at Pewee
Valley Women’s Club, 10 a.m. -4:30 p.m.
Sunday,
Feb. 10: "The
Little Colonel of Lloydsborough," a 30-minute play by the Little
Colonel Players at the Playhouse on Mt. Mercy Ave., 11 a .m. and 1:30 , 3
and 4 p.m. ($5 adult/$2 children); Chili lunch at Town Hall sponsored by
the Pewee Valley Fire Department; “Little Colonel” gift boutique at Pewee
Valley Women’s Club, 1-4 p.m.
Note: the Little Colonel Playhouse was
severely damaged during the tornado of January
29, 2008.
The Little Colonel of Lloydsboro
production will take place in the Pewee Valley town Hall instead, at 312
Mt. Mercy Avenue, which is nearly adjacent to the playhouse.
A
special $25 per person tour package is available Saturday & Sunday:
·
“Little Colonel”
luncheon prepared by the Women’s Guild of Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church
where Annie Fellows Johnston was a member. Featured will be authentic
“Little Colonel” era recipes and an exhibit of “Little Colonel”
memorabilia from the Herdt family, who knew Annie Fellows Johnston, her
daughter Mary and Kate Matthews and will be on hand to answer questions.
·
Ticket to “The
Little Colonel of Lloydsborough”
·
Guided bus tour.
For tour
package reservations, call the Oldham County History Center: 502-222-0826
About
Annie Fellows Johnston and the “Little Colonel” Series
Annie
Fellows Johnston (1863-1931) began writing as a child, but her writing did
not become an economic necessity until her husband, William
Johnston, died, leaving her the sole support of her three stepchildren.
It was during an 1894 visit to her stepchildren’s relatives in Pewee
Valley that Annie was inspired to pen “The Little Colonel,” published in
1895. Its phenomenal success lead to 14 sequels, the last published just
months before she died. In 1911, she settled permanently in Pewee Valley,
where she lived at The Beeches.
Johnston
received fan mail from all over the world -- letters came from as far away
as India and Japan -- and children formed “Little Colonel Clubs” across
the United States. Four years after her death, “The Little Colonel”
movie, starring Shirley Temple in the title role and Lionel Barrymore as
the “Old Colonel,” premiered in Louisville. Its release spawned "Little
Colonel" dolls, clothing, games, cards, paper dolls, handkerchiefs and
other merchandise highly prized by collectors today.
For
More Information:
About
the Oldham County History Center’s Exhibit and Pewee Valley Events:
Oldham
County Historical Society
106 N. Second Ave.
LaGrange, KY 40031phone: 502-222-0826
fax: 502-222-7115
www.oldhamcountyhistoricalsociety.org
About
the “Little Colonel” Exhibit at Western Kentucky University:
Kentucky Library &
Museum
Sue Lynn McDaniel (sue.lynn.mcdaniel@wku.edu)
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd. #11092
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1092
270-745-3246
www.wku.edu/library/kylm
M-Sat. 9-4 CST and Sundays 1-4 CST and
webpage describing the exhibit is:
http://www.wku.edu/library/kylm/exhibits/inhouse/changing/littlecolonel.html
About the Kate
Matthews Exhibit at the University of Louisville:
Ekstrom Library
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
502-852-6762
www.
http://library.louisville.edu/ekstrom/
About Samuel
Culbertson Mansion Historic Bed & Breakfast Inn (principle home of the
"Two Little Knights of Kentucky" by Annie Fellows Johnston (also origin
for the Little Colonel Website)
The Samuel Culbertson Mansion
1432 South Third Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40208
(502) 634-3100; (866) 522-5078 toll free
Fax (502) 636-3096
http://www.culbertsonmansion.com/
inn@culbertsonmansion.com
The
Little Colonel Website
(you are here)
http://www.littlecolonel.com/
(website constructed and hosted by Steve Locke, Samuel Culbertson Mansion
Bed & Breakfast)
e-mail@littlecolonel.com
For those traveling to the area,
Louisville, Pewee Valley and Oldham County sites are on Eastern Time;
Bowling Green is on Central Time. Annie Fellows Johnston's home
town Evansville/McCutchanville,
Indiana two hours west of Louisville on Central time.
******************
PEWEE VALLEY
From Louisville, The
Courier-Journal, November 7, 2007
City's 'Little Colonel' history focus of events
By Melissa Gagliardi
mgagliardi@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
This month kicks off a series of events --
stretching from La Grange to Bowling Green -- that celebrate Pewee Valley's
place in history as it was captured in "The Little Colonel" book series.
Annie Fellows Johnston wrote the books
starting in the 1890s. The stories were loosely based on Pewee Valley
residents, including a 5-year-old girl named Hattie Cochran, whose
mannerisms echoed those of her grandfather, a former confederate colonel.
The books, which inspired Shirley Temple's
role in the 1935 movie of the same name, were translated into more than 40
languages, and millions of copies were sold.
Walking tours through Pewee Valley, referred
to as Lloydsborough in the classic tales, will begin on Nov. 17. Historic
homes and other notable spots throughout town will be noted in a tour book,
which will be available at the caboose in front of City Hall.
In La Grange, there will be an exhibit at the
Oldham County History Center called "The Little Colonel: A Romantic Vision
of Life Long Ago in Oldham County." It runs from Nov. 17 through Feb. 16 and
will feature "Little Colonel" collectibles and a recreation of Johnston's
writing room.
Western
Kentucky University in Bowling Green will put on an exhibit, "The Little
Colonel: A Romanticized Look at Kentucky Childhood," at the Kentucky Library
and Museum from next Wednesday through Jan. 31. It includes a Little Colonel
board game, dolls, books and a Shirley Temple cream pitcher.
And the University of Louisville will exhibit
the works of Pewee Valley photographer Kate Matthews, whose bellows-style
camera captured many of the people and places portrayed in "The Little
Colonel" stories. Titled "A Kentucky Idyll: the work of Pewee Valley
photographer Kate Matthews and author Annie Fellows Johnston," the exhibit
will be in the photographic archives and rare books galleries in Ekstrom
Library from Nov. 17 through Feb. 28.
Pewee Valley resident Suzanne Schimpeler is
excited that her town will be the focus of so much attention, though she
admits it's a little overwhelming.
"To make this go, there's a lot of things
that have to happen," she said.
Schimpeler, who is a member of the Pewee
Valley Historical Society, recalled several years ago when a group of
Japanese tourists showed up wanting to see the places mentioned in "The
Little Colonel" books. "They were on a great big tour bus," she said.
"People do like to come here and see where Annie lived and wrote her books."
A Little Colonel game board is the basis for
the tour map. "That was a very popular item," Schimpeler said. "The homes
that are on the game board roughly parallel the tour." But she noted that
the homes are private residences, and visitors are asked to respect that.
To mark the start of the events, the city of
Pewee Valley is hanging large banners at three major entrances to town that
say, "Welcome to Historic Pewee Valley, the Land of the Little Colonel."
Wooden signs will mark historic sites.
Donna Russell has been doing research for the
tour book for almost 11 months. Her home, Edgewood, was built in the 1850s
and is featured on the tour.
"Pewee Valley is a very unique community. How
many communities were written about in a series of children's books?" she
said.
Russell said she hopes all the attention
focused on Pewee Valley over the next few months will help people appreciate
not just the town's history, but also the idea of historic preservation.
In the past, Pewee Valley was full of summer
homes for Louisville's wealthy residents, similar to the Hamptons or
Martha's Vineyard are to New York, she said. "It's time for people to
realize what our heritage here is."
Reporter Melissa Gagliardi can be reached at
(502) 582-4117.
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