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Cost: Free for Members; $15 for non-members

Patrick Donley discovered a 19th century midden (dump) beneath his warehouse/studio, thanks to a groundhog named Phyllis. He's been excavating and photographing the finds for the last 4 years.

Literally thousands of household items deposited at the site for close to 30 years by nearby families and businesses have been unearthed through the excavations. The dump was shut down in the early 1920’s and the warehouse was constructed atop the bits and shards of history.

And now, that warehouse will become a museum that will house the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artifacts unearthed from this neighborhood midden. Through its permanent collection and revolving exhibitions partnered with related entities, the Museum will serve as an educational institution, living memorial and bridge between today’s world and working-class immigrant American life at the dawn of the 20th century. The Mary Street Midden is rich with clues about the last major influenza epidemic, Louisville distilling and brewing, and early glass manufacture for beverages and patent medicines.  Dinnerware, toys and tools all tell a story about everyday existence. Through the exploration of the refuse of the past, we may gain greater insight into how our waste impacts the world today.

Patrick Donley is a painter, sculptor, musician, and now accidental archeologist, who has made his reputation with his colorful, abstract paintings and quirky found object sculpture. He has a BA from Davidson College in painting, and an MFA from Northwestern University in painting and drawing.  He is very proud to have been a longtime owner of Zephyr Gallery, and is looking forward to this new chapter in his life.

Cost: Free for Members; $15 for non-members

Meriwether Lewis, commander of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition that explored the newly purchased Louisiana Territory from 1804-06, returned home from this perilous journey with every hope as well as his country's expectations of a bright and productive future. Yet within three years, the 35-year-old Lewis was dead in a lonely inn along the Natchez Trace in rural Tennessee, the victim of two gunshots. Various medical and psychological theories have been proposed by historians and others to account for his mysterious death, which was originally reported as a suicide. The authors of "So Hard to Die" provide an in-depth analysis of the various theories that still swirl around his death and draw on their professional backgrounds as a physician and a clinical psychologist to vividly and convincingly explain the mystery of Lewis's death.

Dr. David J. Peck is a retired physician and nationally known speaker on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His previous book OR PERISH IN THE ATTEMPT (Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press 2011) is recognized as the standard for the medical aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Dr. Marti Peck is a clinical psychologist and certified Adult Psychoanalyst in private practice in San Diego.

In 1968, local architects were asked by The Courier-journal to list the best and worst buildings in Louisville. The Pendennis Club was listed as one of the best. Lee Terminal, the original building at Muhammad Ali International Airport, was listed as one of the worst. Both were designed by the firm in which Hugh Nevin and Fred Morgan were partners for almost fifty years. Louisville Classics traces their work through the buildings they designed, focusing on the residential architecture of the firm. It includes numerous period images, current photographs, and floor plans of homes. There are also chapters discussing the firm’s churches and public buildings as well as the landmark Pendennis Club. While many Louisvillians will be familiar with the homes, the men who led the firm are little remembered today as its records were dispersed in the early 1970s. However, the survival the vast majority of their buildings demonstrates the continued impact of the firm’s work on Louisville today.

John David Myles is an attorney and former circuit judge. For 25 years, he has written the tour notes for the Filson’s annual homes tour. He has spoken at the Filson on such topics as Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s Pope Villa and the Ferguson Mansion, as well as three of his previous books. Two of them, Historic Architecture of Shelby County, Kentucky 1792-1915 and Walter H. Kiser’s Neighborhood Sketches Revisited, have received the Samuel W. Thomas Book Award from the Louisville Historical League and Publication Awards from the Kentucky Historical Society. He and his wife, Mary Helen, received awards from The Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation and Preservation Kentucky for the restoration of their home, the 1839 John Dale house in Simpsonville.

Jazz at the Filson is a three-part series of jazz presentations directed and curated by internationally recognized vibraphonist and composer Dick Sisto. Sisto, the music director at Old Seelbach Bar from the late 1980s through 2010, studied with Chicago Symphony mallet maestro Jose Bethancourt and later with Vibe Master Gary Burton. The Old Seelbach Bar has been included in the 50 top bars in the world and was used as the set in two major screen movies, The Hustler and The Insider.

The Old Seelbach Jazz Bar Reunion Concert will feature the Tri-Tones, a trio made up of Sisto, Tyrone Wheeler on bass, and Jason Tiemann on drums. The Tri-tones played at the Old Seelbach Bar during happy hour and late-night shows five days a week, along with a weekend guest program. The trio will be joined by Steve Davis, an internationally renowned trombonist, and a frequent guest on the Tri-tones weekend set. His style captivates audiences with beautiful lyricism combined with masterful Bebop. The list of the greats he has worked with is too long to mention but includes Jackie McClean and Chick Corea.

This lecture is part of the History Inspires series, which spotlights the Filson’s collections and how our items are utilized by creative people in the contemporary art world.

Having practiced the fabric arts for decades as a seamstress, an embroiderer, and knitter, Anita Streeter has only recently begun to make quilts, and in particular, garden quilts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she became obsessed with the idea of bringing garden designs – especially those of historic gardens – to life through the medium of the quilt.

Streeter’s lifelong love and gardens and gardening has taken her to countless gardens of significance in this country and abroad. Seeking a way to combine her love of sewing and her interest in gardens, it occurred to her that there was an almost infinite number of garden plans that could be rendered into quilt patterns. By limiting herself to toile and toile-like fabrics, she was able to transform a static garden plan into a canvas that tells the story of and illuminates the rich reality of the garden.

During the talk, she will show slides of several of her quilts, describing the process from start to finish – from inspiration to drafting and design, and finally to piecing, quilting, and binding. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

Anita Streeter spent her career in arts management with such organizations as Louisville Public Media, Walden Theatre (Commonwealth Theatre Center), the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, the Choral Arts Society, the Louisville Bach Society, the Speed Museum and Kentucky Opera. She has served on grants panels for the City of Louisville and the National Endowment for the Arts. She also is a longtime member of the Glenview Garden Club and has served as chair of the Filson Historical Society’s House Tour for the past four years.

Compulsively creative, Anita is an accomplished singer, radio producer, gardener, and former professional seamstress. She conceived the garden quilt project during the Covid pandemic.