Wanted: Metal Parts with a Past
Donations of metal items that represent the history of the Germantown neighborhood are currently being sought. These items – that may otherwise be clutter in your attic, basement or garage – could be memorialized in a decorative screen wall to be built in front of the GermanParistown Neighborhood Association at 1094 E. Kentucky Street.
This permanent marker celebrating the development of the neighborhood is Phase I of “You Are Here,” a collaboration by artists Marjie Ryan and Mary Dennis Kannapell. The project is sponsored by the Center For Neighborhoods as part of their PAINT (Producing Art In Neighborhoods Together) program, designed to bring neighborhoods and artists together to create public art projects throughout the Louisville Metro Area.
To make arrangements for your metal donations to be collected, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call the Center For Neighborhoods at (502) 589-0343. More information can be found at http://paint-youarehere.blogspot.com and at www.centerforneighborhoods.org/paintprogram.htm.
Frankfort Avenue Selected for Business Recycling Pilot Program
The Frankfort Avenue Business Association (FABA) announced in July that Frankfort Avenue was selected to participate in the Green Triangle Business Recycling Pilot Program. The program, which began in July, benefits over 200 businesses along the avenue, providing curbside recycling so that owners will not have to store and deliver recyclable materials to a recycling center. The program is the first of its kind in Louisville outside of the downtown business district and, if successful, will be extended to businesses on Lexington Road, Brownsboro Road, Story Avenue and Mellwood Avenue.
The pilot program offers a cost-effective means to recycle by providing orange 95-gallon recycling containers for $50 each, which includes funding to equip solid waste-packer trucks with a special arm to empty the containers.
“FABA is a leader in this community when it comes to being mindful of the environmental impact of doing business,” says Jackie Green, owner of Bike Couriers Bike Shop. “FABA is using bicycles to deliver the Frankfort Avenue Guides to businesses, and many Frankfort Avenue businesses have employees who commute by bike. All greening efforts combine to make a big and positive impact over time. It is our hope that neighborhoods throughout the city will follow Frankfort Avenue in its sustainability efforts.”
The Green Triangle is a sustainability vision for the 9th District developed by Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh after several months of online surveys and community meetings. The vision states three key components: green spaces for people to connect with nature and each other; green options for transportation; and green thinking that promotes the conservation of resources and the small neighborhood feel.
For more information visit www.tinaward-pugh.com/green-triangle-initiative-a-sustainability.html or http://www.frankfortave.com/home/index.php
FABA Seeks Members
The Frankfort Avenue Business Association (FABA) is currently holding its 2010-2011 membership drive. The purpose of the association is to stimulate economic development and growth along the Frankfort Avenue corridor, develop and implement marketing activities that promote and improve the business climate, work as a unifying force and advocate for solutions when issues emerge, and support the work of area neighborhood associations and charitable organizations.
“Being a member of FABA has a lot of perks,” says Don Burch, FABA president and owner of Quest Outdoors. “By becoming a member, a company will get a listing in the annual Guide to Historic Frankfort Avenue brochure and map, beautification of the street and banners in front of their business, a link from FABA’s website, publicity, the opportunity to network, and organizational clout as a collective voice.”
Led by Burch, along with John Johnson (FABA vice president and owner of The Wine Rack), Bud Simmons (FABA treasurer and vice president at Republic Bank), and many other dedicated business owners, the organization boasts the largest membership of its kind in Louisville, with over 170 members.
The one-year membership fee is $75. The deadline to join FABA is August 14, 2010. For more information or to download the FABA membership and renewal forms, visit www.frankfortave.com.
LVAA Announces Children’s Fine Art Classes Portfolio Review The Louisville Visual Arts Association (LVAA) is currently enrolling students in its Children’s Fine Art Class (CFAC) program for the fall 2010 semester. Louisville Metro and Southern Indiana high school visual art students with demonstrated talent are encouraged to apply for the program by submitting work at the fall portfolio review on Saturday, August 28.
Reviews are available at two times and locations: from 10 a.m. to noon at Preston Arts Center, 3004 Bardstown Road, Gardiner Lane Shopping Center; and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Preston Arts Center, 315 Pearl Street, in New Albany, Ind.
Students should include at least 10 pieces of two-dimensional work covering a range of drawing and painting challenges, and bring small examples or photos of relevant work. Sketches, studies and incomplete work can be included.
For additional information, contact Education Programs Coordinator Savannah Barrett at (502) 896-2146 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . To access guidelines, instructions or a list of sites, go to www.louisvillevisualart.org and click on “Education.”
LYO Auditions
The Louisville Youth Orchestra (LYO) will hold auditions for its 52nd season in late August and early September. These auditions are for musicians ranging in age from 5 to 21 who play any orchestral instrument.
The LYO is comprised of four orchestras of varying ability levels, as well as a percussion ensemble. The LYO performs an average of 15 concerts per season in a wide range of locations. It is one of the largest youth orchestras in the nation based on metropolitan size, with total membership topping over 350.
New this season, the LYO family offers an ensemble for all wind and brass players that will focus on quality music performance in a wind ensemble setting.
Interested youth musicians may log on at www.lyo.org to download an audition application and requirements. For questions, call Melody Welsh-Buchholz at (502) 896-1851.
Volunteer Driver Needed
Highlands Community Ministries Senior Services is looking for a volunteer driver to provide transportation for seniors who live in the 40204 and 40205 ZIP codes. The driver will need to make four trips a month: every second Tuesday to doctor’s appointments; every second Friday to pick up commodities; every third Tuesday to Wal-Mart; every third Thursday to Mid City Mall. The hours for all trips are from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. A van will be provided. Interested volunteers may call (502) 459-0132.
Sisters of Royalty Restoration
Standing atop one of the many hilltop avenues in Cave Hill Cemetery are two iconic women from the last century known as the “Sisters of Royalty.” The monument has long been recognized as a true example of Victorian garden art, and features two larger-than-life sisters, Mary Gwendolen Byrd Caldwell and Mary Elizabeth Breckinridge Caldwell, standing hand-in-hand, overlooking the rolling hills of the cemetery.
An initiative to restore the monument has been launched by the Cave Hill Heritage Foundation, who is asking the community to help in its efforts. The entire procedure involves replacing the marble floor with professional outdoor tile, cleaning the statuary, recaulking the monument, and making other required adjustments to the exedra. The restoration is estimated to cost as much as $9,000.
According to “Notable American Women 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary,” Mary Gwendolen Byrd Caldwell, or Marquise Monstiers, acquired her noble nomenclature through her marriage to Marquise des Monstiers Merinville, who was a middle-aged French nobleman of conservative background. In 1905, the two separated, but Mary Gwendolen maintained her recognition by paying her former husband $8,000 per year. She succumbed to Brights Disease while on a German luxury liner at a fairly young age. Her largest accomplishment was the donation of one-third of her estate in 1882 to found the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Mary Elizabeth Breckinridge Caldwell, or Baroness Von Zedtwitz, married Baron Moritz Curt von Zedtwitz, who was the German Minister to Mexico. They had one son, Waldemar Conrad von Zedtwitz.
The grand nature of the monument is in keeping with the heritage of the two women buried on the lot, and their family could be considered some of Kentucky’s most well-known individuals. The sisters’ father was William Shakespeare Caldwell, an eminent New Orleans actor, producer and businessman who made a fortune in constructing and operating gas plants in the Midwest. He owned the property that currently makes up the areas of Bowman Field, Seneca Park and the Old Male High School. Their mother, Mary Eliza Breckinridge Caldwell, was the daughter of Kentucky Senator James Breckinridge and the niece of James and Joshua Speed.
Gilbert Bayes, a well-known British metal craftsman and artist, designed the statuary of the sisters. He studied at the City and Guilds College, Finsbury, and at the Royal Academy Schools. Two themes dominated his work: equestrian subjects and garden sculpture. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London maintains a major collection of Bayes’ art.
Contributions for the restoration effort may be sent to: Caldwell Sisters Restoration Fund, Cave Hill Heritage Foundation, 701 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204. For more information, contact Foundation Coordinator J. Michael Higgs at (502) 451-5630 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .