Louisvilles Fern Creek

Located in southeastern Jefferson County, Louisville's Fern Creek community was settled in the 1780s with land grants given by Virginia for military service. The construction of the Louisville-Bardstown Turnpike encouraged Fern Creek's growth as farmers settled the land along the route. Originally known as Stringtown for the appearance of the houses that sprang up along Bardstown Pike, Fern Creek is named after the creek that meanders through the area. Due to the abundant sources of water throughout the southeastern portion of Jefferson County, several mills operated in the area, most notably in Buechel, on Cedar Creek, and on Floyd's Fork. The erection of mills provided early settlers the means to grind corn and wheat. Originally an agricultural community of fields, orchards, and stables, Fern Creek established the Farmers and Fruit Growers Association in 1880 and the Jefferson County Fair Company, which operated at the Fern Creek Fairgrounds until 1928.

Once upon a time, the banks of the Ohio River provided an ideal location where amusement parks thrived - the area simply known as "Kentuckiana!" Picnic grounds flourished and steamboat travel was abundant at the coast the Ohio River known as "Kentuckiana." Popular amusement parks such as Glenwood Park, Rose Island, White City, Fontaine Ferry, and Kiddieland welcomed visitors as early as 1902, and the more successful parks continued to operate well into the 1960s. Visitors to these parks enjoyed steamboat excursions, live music, rides, games, picnics, sporting events, and more. These parks were not only for amusement seekers but also for keen businessmen like David Rose, who purchased Fern Grove in 1923 and renamed the park Rose Island. Transportation businesses thrived, with steamboats like the Idlewild (now the Belle of Louisville) providing regular transportation to the parks along the Ohio River. In addition to an increase in river traffic, companies like the New Albany Traction Company purchased the area that would become Glenwood Park from the well-known Beharrel family, of New Albany, Indiana, and provided rail transportation to their park.

It was the 1950s, a time of calm, a time when all things were new and everything seemed possible. A few years before, a noble war had been won, and now life had returned to normal. For one little boy, however, life had become anything but "normal." To all appearances, he and his family lived an almost idyllic life. The father was a respected professor, the mother a witty and elegant lady, someone everyone loved. They were parents to three bright, smiling children: two boys and a girl. They lived on a sunny street in a small college town nestled neatly in a leafy valley. They gave parties, hosted picnics, went to church—just like their neighbors. To all appearances, their life seemed ideal. But it was, in fact, all appearances. Lineage, tradition, making the right impression—these were matters of great importance, especially to the mother. But behind the facade this family had created lurked secrets so dark, so painful for this one little boy, that his life would never be the same. It is through the eyes of that boy—a grown man now, revisiting that time—that we see this seemingly serene world and watch as it slowly comes completely and irrevocably undone. Beautifully written, often humorous, sometimes sweet, ultimately shocking, this is a son's story of looking back with both love and anger at the parents who gave him life and then robbed him of it, who created his world and then destroyed it. As author Lee Smith, who knew this world and this family, observed, "Alcohol may be the real villain in this pain-permeated, exquisitely written memoir of childhood—but it is also filled with absolutely dead-on social commentary of this very particular time and place. A brave, haunting, riveting book."

English teacher Brent Peters and history teacher Joe Franzen show readers how food literacy works in the English classroom, beyond the English classroom, and beyond the school day. In 2010 Fern Creek High School in Louisville, Kentucky, was labeled failing by the state and had half of its teachers removed. Brent Peters, a former chef and current English teacher, and Joe Franzen, an eccentric urban homesteader and history teacher, were hired to help ignite students' passion for learning. Say Yes to Pears tells the story of Food Literacy at Fern Creek High School and about how Food Lit. works in the English classroom, beyond the English classroom, and beyond the school day. The book serves as a pedagogical guide on how to construct a place- and community-based program focused on creative and critical thought and action.