| Program 1107 |  |
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For more information:
Producer: Valerie Trimble |
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Mmmm ... Modjeskas Bauer’s Candy Helena Modjeska, a 19th-century Polish actress, is remembered in theatrical history as a talented and popular bilingual performer, especially good in Shakespearean roles. But she has also achieved another kind of immortality: a candy bearing her name that’s still being enjoyed here in the 21st century. In 1883, Helena came to Louisville’s original Macauley’s Theatre to perform as part of the U.S. debut tour of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. A local admirer named Anton Busath, who had just started selling a candy he called a “caramel biscuit,” asked her for permission to rename the sweet for her, and she consented. In fact, she even agreed to autograph a photo, which Anton then used to promote the candy—an early example of a celebrity endorsement. The rest is confectionary history. More than a century later, the Bauer family is still making the original Modjeska, a creamy caramel-covered marshmallow concoction with legions of devoted fans. The factory is now in Lawrenceburg, where candy maker Anna Bauer Satterwhite oversees the hand-dipping of each piece. She represents the fourth generation of Bauers to operate the company and was the first woman to inherit it. The name “Modjeska” is no longer exclusive to Bauer’s; several other regional confectioners make versions, too. But at Bauer’s, the Modjeska is the only product. After all, when you’ve been going strong for more than 120 years, why mess with a good thing? |
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For more information:
Producer: Dave Shuffett |
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Artists’ Assistance The Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center In our next segment, project director Jenny Browning shows host Dave Shuffett around the Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center in Hindman. Opened in 2001, the center is a showplace and sales gallery for arts and crafts made in Eastern Kentucky, an educational institution dedicated to making the arts accessible to all, and a marketing organization that helps individual artisans find audiences and customers. The Artisan Center is a joint venture of the Kentucky School of Craft and Hazard Community and Technical College. Inside, tourists will find a gift shop full of hand-made furniture, baskets, and quilts as well as exhibits of paintings, photographs, glass sculptures, and more. Local artists will also find a computer lab and experts to help them design brochures, web sites, and other promotional materials. The center is also becoming a popular Knott County gathering place. Events include monthly meetings of writers’ and artists’ groups, community gatherings to celebrate exhibit openings, summer camps for kids, and a variety of classes and workshops. |
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For more information: Producer: Charlee Heaton |
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Over the Counter Wheeler’s Pharmacy Our final stop this time around is another community gathering place. Stroll along Lexington’s Romany Road around 9:00 most mornings, and you’ll see a line of regulars waiting to have breakfast at Wheeler’s Pharmacy, an old-fashioned drugstore that still operates a 1950s-style lunch counter. In fact, Wheeler’s got its start in the ’50s—1958, to be exact—under the ownership of Buddy Wheeler, a Mount Sterling native who stuck around in Lexington after getting his pharmacy degree at the University of Kentucky. It’s now operated by Buddy’s son, Stuart, and daughter, Claire. At Buddy’s old spot behind the prescription counter, we found Wayne Bryant, a neighborhood kid who grew up enjoying tasty meals and real milk shakes (and no doubt spinning ’round and ’round on the turquoise-upholstered stools) at Wheeler’s horseshoe-shaped, Formica-topped counters. |
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