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Jim Beam and The Abbey of Gethsemani: Or, Mr. Burl’s Road Trip to Nelson County

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
“I think the chief reason we have so little joy is that we take ourselves too seriously.” 
– Thomas Merton
Colonel James B. Beam, 1864-1947 (Photo courtesy of jimbeam.com)
When the news broke last week that Jim Beam had been purchased by a Japanese company, we knew immediately what excerpt from Mr. Burl’s writings we wanted to share with everyone.   You see, as a teenager, Mr. Burl spent some time in Colonel James B. Beam’s home.  He also spent time in the intelligence branch of the U.S. Army Air Force (as it was called at that time) in the Pacific theater during WWII, and he lived forever after with the concern that the Japanese, after their loss, would exact their revenge upon the United States through economic one-upmanship.  So, needless to say, he would not be a bit happy about the Japanese owning such a prestigious American label as Jim Beam, especially when he had such a wonderful memory of the company’s namesake.
But let’s put all worries about global politics and economic warfare aside for the moment and enjoy this tale about a local boy’s visit to Bardstown, where he met the renowned whiskey maker and a group of monks – all in the same trip!
From the journals: 
At the age of sixteen, I had the pleasure of driving three elderly men to Bardstown, KY.   Mr. Lee Brother, Mr. Clarence McCallister, and Mr. Hugh Cox were making the trip but none could drive, so they invited me.  Upon our arrival in Bardstown, we checked in at the historic Talbott Inn.  Cousin Hugh was reared in Nelson County and was a close friend of Mr. Jim Beam.  He called Mr. Beam from the Talbott Inn and informed him that we had arrived in town, so Mr. Jim invited Cousin Hugh to come visit in his home.  He thanked Mr. Beam but stated that he had a sixteen year old boy with him.   Mr. Beam then invited Cousin Hugh to come on and bring the boy with him.  I, of course, was the boy. To me, this was “big doings,” getting to spend several days in the home of a millionaire as they were very, very scarce in the early 1930’s. 
On that same trip, we also visited the Gethsemani Monastery.   The monks of that order did not speak to anyone; however, a guide who was a monk directed tours through the beautiful buildings.  All of us thought it strange that the monks would not speak to us, but Mr. Lee Brother, who was a lot of fun, was much impressed with their ability to never say a word.  We would meet them in the corridors and other parts of the buildings, but they never, ever, spoke.  Mr. Brother would say to me invariably as we met them, “It seems that they could at least say, ‘Hello.’”
              As we left the monastery late that afternoon, driving down a narrow country road, we met a herd of milk cows driven by one of the monks.  Mr. Lee spotted the monk and leaned out the window.  As we came alongside, Mr. Lee blatantly said to the monk, “Hi, Pard!”  He thought he was slipping up on the monk and that by taking him by surprise, the monk would answer, but Mr. Lee Brother’s tactic did not work and his scheme failed. 
             If Mr. Burl was only sixteen when he made this trip to Nelson County, the year would have been 1932, the year before Prohibition ended, and while he recalls Colonel Beam being a millionaire,  the reality is that Prohibition had greatly reduced the Beam family’s wealth by that time.  In all likelihood, he still probably held many of the outward displays of his past wealth:  a fine house and a nice car, for example.  More importantly perhaps, his attitude never changed – he was as pleasant and confident as always according to those who knew him,  traits that no doubt helped mask his financial woes.  People in Nelson County, however, had evidently quit saying “he’s as rich as Jim Beam” in regard to someone who was doing well financially. 
             Hope you enjoyed this story and we also hope you’re surviving this wicked winter weather.  Stay safe and warm. ~ Ginger

Source:
American Still Life: The Jim Beam Story and the Making of the World’s #1 Bourbon by F. Paul Pacult – available here at Amazon.com
Links:
To read more about The Abbey of Gethsemani, click here. Visit their store to order fruitcake, fudge, and/or cheese.

To discover more about Colonel Beam and the history of the Jim Beam company, visit http://www.jimbeam.com/heritage

If you would like to take a “spiritual tour” of places in Kentucky of import to the Thomas Merton story, click here.

If you want a good bourbon ball recipe, I’ve added one to the recipe page here.


The Abbey of Gethsemani.  The famous Trappist monk Thomas Merton was of this abbey.
(Photo courtesy of USGenWebarchives)

Mrs. Charles Darnell’s Orange Cake Recipe

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Might be a good dessert for the holidays.  I haven’t tried this recipe and have copied it just like it is written in Jane Kincaid’s cookbook.


Orange Cake

Juice of one large orange.
1/2 cup white sugar put in juice, dissolve this mixture and let stand while mixing and baking.
1/2 cup butter or crisco (scant)
1 cup white sugar
2 whole eggs
2/3 cup sour milk
2 cups flour
1 level teaspoon soda (put in sour milk)
1 orange peel grated
1 cup raisins put through a food chopper with orange peel.
Add raisins and orange peel to butter and sugar after they have been well creamed, add milk and flour then the eggs last.
Beat yellows and whites together.
When done and first taken out of the stove, pour juice over cake and let stand in skillet until cold.
In pouring the juice over the cake be careful not to let the juice run down the sides of cake.
Have stove pretty hot.

Mrs. Charles Darnell
From the Electric Cooking School

Biplanes and Flight

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A restored 1920’s biplane.
It was the age of Lindbergh – a time when little boys glued newspaper clippings in notebooks to keep track of the great aviator’s life.  I know this because we have Mr. Burl’s; it is a sweet memento from his childhood, and when I look at it, I can’t help but think that out of all the changes his generation witnessed, men taking to the air must have been the most amazing.
From the journals:
Since the days of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, airplanes have caused excitement.  A person living in a rural community like Bath County seldom saw an airplane until the late twenties. Maybe once a year,  a pilot flying an old biplane (two wings) would come here to pick up a few dollars.  Those early planes were small with wooden frames covered with treated canvas.
Much excitement was generated by those flyers who hopped around from one locality to another.  Occasionally, a daredevil pilot would drop down on one of the local pastures and offer rides for five dollars.  Back then, five dollars would have been a small fortune.  Not many locals were able to afford that fare, especially the younger people.
There were two spots around Owingsville on which those flyers were prone to land.   “Shields’ Flat” was a nice level place and was adjacent to town.  That land is now called Darnell Subdivision.  “Horseman’s Bottom”  was the other good spot and was then owned by Mr. Lennie Horseman.
Hope you enjoyed this post – Ginger
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, circa 1923.  In 1927, Lindbergh set records on his flight from New York to Paris, and upon  landing, “a crowd estimated at 150,000 spectators stormed the field, dragged Lindbergh out of the cockpit, and literally carried him around above their heads for nearly half an hour.”   The kidnapping of Lindbergh’s child in 1932 grabbed the attention of the entire nation – it was dubbed “The Crime of the Century.”  His controversial views on race, as well as his hesitancy regarding U.S.  involvement in WWII, add a complicated layer to the story of this true American hero, making him a fascinating character to learn more about.

Funerals, Part 2

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Owingsville Cemetery – One of the more peaceful places I know.  My children, now 21 and 25, have made countless trips up and down its hills with their father, as have I.  He uses those trips to pass on family  history and a general respect for those who came before us.

     The previous post concerned funeral practices in the early part of the 1900’s, and this excerpt from the journals builds on that.  Mr. Burl made a bulleted list (probably with hopes to expand on it at a later date) and here we share it with you.

     From the journals:
  • Preparation of corpse – often not embalmed
  • Funeral notices –  often made only for prominent people
  • Caskets – coffins were often made by the deceased’s friends or relatives or by the deceased himself
  • Funeral services held in the home or at the church
  • Digging graves – done by friends or relatives
  • Funeral services were very lengthy
  • Greater display of emotions than today
  •  Horse drawn hearses – often very ornate
  • Tolling of church bells
  •  Mourning color – black

     This has been timely information for Halloween, I’m sure!   I love this time of year, and there really is something special about trick or treating in a small town where everybody knows each other and neighbors fix extra special treats for the little ones they are especially close to.  Although it’s a spooky time, it’s also a time when communities can create a magical night for children – a night where they can feel safe and cared for as they roam the streets on the hunt for goodies.  ~Ginger

Owingsville should so do this: 

U.S. 60 (The Midland Trail)

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A Stanley Steemer

From the journals:
As highways began to criss-cross this country, it became apparent that a coast to coast national highway would come through the county.  United States’ highways running north and south were given odd numbers and those running east and west were given even numbers.  Hence, the U.S. highway traversing Bath County became U.S. 60.
The section of the new highway through Bath County was called the Midland Trail in the beginning.  Businesses in the area were named for the great new highway.  There was a Midland Trail Hotel in Mt. Sterling and also one in Morehead.
During construction of the Bath County section of the Midland Trail, the rock cement and sand for the concrete was transported by a narrow gauge railroad.  The tracks ran along the road bed itself, making it convenient for unloading those ingredients in the large concrete mixer.
After the ‘Trail’ had been completed from the Montgomery County line to Owingsville, the small track was left intact for some six months.  Boys from Owingsville would push one of the little freight cars up the grade as far as possible and then jump in the car for a fun ride down.
As good or decent highways were constructed, so the rapid increase of automobiles became apparent.  The names Model T Ford, Model A Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Buick, Cadillac, and Pontiac are familiar to most, but have you heard of the Chandler, Franklin, Hupmobile, Stutz Bearcat, Cord, Auburn, Marmon, Pierce Arrow, Moon, Stanley Steamer, and the Durant?
I meant to have more about the founding of the Chamber of Commerce and some of the controversy surrounding the building and naming of U.S.60, but the Library of Congress’s website is closed due to the government shutdown, and I have been accessing old newspapers there.  Hope you enjoyed this piece. -Ginger

The Hupmobile (I absolutely LOVE this car!)
“Uncle Ruby”
Reuben Walton Kincaid, Sr.   He helped found the Bath County Chamber of Commerce and acted as its first chairman.  The organization was originally called “The Business Men’s Association of Bath County” and it was expressly formed to ensure that U.S. 60 would pass through Bath County.  Mr. Burl thought the world of this man.  His son R.W. had a sleigh riding accident that eventually led to his death and lots of the older folk in Bath County remember the incident well.  And that’s a small town for you.  When a younger person dies, everybody in the community grieves.

Toll Roads and Railroads

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A spring wagon.

I’m not certain when my father-in-law (Mr. Burl to me) penned the following, but if you will notice, he writes as though the railroads were still operational, at least to a certain extent, and his reference to City Hall is to the old City Hall building on Slate Avenue.
From the journals:
There are those who believe that many of the old county roads were built on a cow path and perhaps they are right! In the early days of public roads there were toll gates and houses located at intervals along a roadway.  Usually the toll gate keeper lived in the house by the gate and did not miss any fee.  Roads were very narrow because there were no autos at the time.  Many bridges were covered.  The Sherburne covered bridge was the last one in Bath County, and it was burned several years ago.
Buggies, hacks, spring wagons and farm wagons were the means of land transportation other than the railroads.  The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad has maintained its line through the county for years.  The Salt Lick and Preston depots were busy up through the 1940’s, and then trucks began to take over much of the transportation of goods.  Bus lines began to claim more and more of the transportation of people.  The first bus line to be awarded a franchise to transport through Bath County on U.S. 60 was the Blue Goose Bus Line.  Their busses were “touring” cars with cloth tops and side curtains.
A narrow gauge railroad operated between Owingsville and Olympia, hence the name “O&O.”  This was the connector line between Owingsville and the Chesapeake and Ohio lines.  The O&O operated for several years but has been defunct some seventy years.  The station in Owingsville was located in the ravine just below where City Hall now stands.
Not that I’m encouraging anybody to go exploring, but my husband, Don, says the old railroad tracks are still down in the ravine behind the old City Hall building.  
Also, the collecting of tolls was a cause of great discord, even in Bath County. Violence against toll gate keepers was commonplace.  More about that next time but see the notice below for an example of a tollgate war in Versailles. – Ginger

 

Turkey Drives and Fences

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A piece of the original fencing that lined the front yard of our home.

Mixed into the landscaping around our home and the home of our next door neighbor, Marcelle Doggett, are pieces of the fencing that once lined the front yards of our properties back in the early 1900’s when Mr. Burl was a boy.  His grandfather Jacob Kincaid built Marcelle’s house and his father, Burl Sr., built ours. The fencing is made of wrought iron and the posts are about three feet tall, with a fleur de lis type symbol adorning the top.  They look very ornamental; however, they served a very practical purpose.
From the journals:
Iron fences – some plain, some very decorative – as well as fences made of wire, or wood, and sometimes a combination of iron and wood, were common in our Bath County towns early in the 20th century.  It perhaps has not occurred to all of us why so many fences of different types existed or even why there were fences.
Fences in town were not there just for beautification of one’s property, although some were very ornate.
As late as the early thirties, there were ‘cattle drives’ that passed through our county towns.  Those ‘drives’ could result in property damage to residents’ homes.  Often,  cattle drives were a means of getting cattle to market.  The cattle were driven from one town or place to another town to be sold.
Hogs were also marketed in much the same way as cattle, but it amazes folks now to learn that turkeys were also driven to market.  Imagine driving turkeys from Bath County to Maysville!  Sometimes hundreds of turkeys were numbered in a ‘drive.’
It has been told that the turkeys would balk and go for the trees as soon as dusk fell. 
I don’t know about any of you, but I’m glad the only turkey driving I do is when I bring one home from the grocery store! – Ginger