Oral History Interview Michael Kirk

Partial Transcript: Today is March 25th, 1985. My name is Teka Ward. I'm interviewing Michael Kirk. Our interview is taking place at Top House, home of The Little Loomhouse in Kenwood Hill, Louisville, Kentucky. Our topic is Lou Tate and the Little Loomhouse.

Segment Synopsis: Ward introduces the interview by giving the date, her name, her interviewee's name (Kirk), their location, and the topic.

Keywords: Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Michael Kirk; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Weaving

Partial Transcript: As we begin, tell me a little something about yourself.

Segment Synopsis: Kirk shares briefly about his personal background, and then begins talking about how he first met Lou Tate when he was in high school. He was immediately drawn to Lou Tate because of how eccentric she was. Lou Tate referred to Kirk and several other people as her "kids." Over the years, he helped take care of the cabins and property for Lou Tate by doing odd jobs. He briefly mentions open houses, potlucks, and pink lemonade.

Keywords: Ann Kiper; Bob Douglas; Butler High School; Eccentric; Hermit; John Kiper; Kenwood Hill; Kids; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Maintenance; Maury Weedman; Pink lemonde; Potluck; Southern Indiana; The Little Loomhouse; Wisteria

Subjects: Children; Drainage; Erosion; Family; Kentucky—History; Lemonade; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Station wagons; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Umm...Lou...a great lady. Very interesting. I think one of the reasons I kept coming back over the years were her stories. I just loved to listen to her.

Segment Synopsis: Kirk talks about Lou as a storyteller. He also talks about how her education influenced her interests in weaving and history in her life, which she took in many different directions over the years.

Keywords: Berea College; Bonaparte's March Across the Rockies; Federal City; Kenwood Hill; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Native American Indians; Research; Smithsonian Institution; Stories; Sunshine Hill; The Little Loomhouse; University of Michigan; Vegetable dyeing; Vegetable dyes; Whig Rose

Subjects: Coverlets; Dye plants; Indians of North America; Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Storytellers; Universities and colleges; Weaving

Partial Transcript: But...uh...I helped over the years with many, many of her open houses where people were invited up to weave and experience different things...

Segment Synopsis: Kirk talks about how he has never been much of a weaver himself, but how he learned a lot from Lou Tate about cultures and history through her knowledge of weaving across the globe. He says he became aware of the similarities between different cultures through weaving and design. Kirk says he was always interested in art, and was able to further his knowledge of art from across the world by visiting Lou Tate. Lou Tate had many types of art and weaving from all over the world, some sent to her by her nephew, Wood. Kirk describes some of the art and natural art that Lou Tate had at her cabins. Kirk also says that he met many fascinating people through Lou Tate.

Keywords: Alfredo Martinez; Bob Douglas; Clothmaking; Hal Tenny; Kitty Tenny; LFPL; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville Art Gallery; Louisville Free Public Library; Motifs; Native American Indians; The Little Loomhouse; Wisteria; Wood Bousman

Subjects: Artists; Arts; Civilization; Kentucky—History; Libraries; Library; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Music; Nature; Textiles; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Did she ever talk to you about the early days of the Little Loom and how it came about?

Segment Synopsis: Kirk talks about the invention of Lou Tate's Little Loom and how that came about and was inspired by First Lady Hoover. He describes Lou Tate's early work at the Hoovers' settlement school in Virginia and how that led to her weaving research as well. He also refers to a scrapbook that documents Lou Tate's time in Virginia working at the school, and some of her experiences with the Hoovers. Kirk also recounts the story of how Lou Tate got her nickname from First Lady Hoover.

Keywords: First Lady Hoover; Herbert Hoover; Little Looms; Lou Henry Hoover; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Mrs. Herbert Hoover; Roosevelts; Settlement schools; The Little Loomhouse; The White House; Virginia

Subjects: Coverlets; First ladies; Kentucky—History; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Nicknames; Presidents; Presidents' spouses; Research; Schools; Scrapbooks; Social settlements; Virginia--History; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Lou was a very brilliant lady. I think it was easy to kind of get lost in her eccentricity and admire that part of her, but she knew so much about history, and she had a very strong logical mind.

Segment Synopsis: Kirk describes how Lou Tate's intelligence and mathematical understanding allowed her to look at fabric and decipher the pattern of it, which she was able to teach to some of her students. Teka Ward closes out side one of this interview tape, and then introduces side two. Kirk then continues to talk about Lou Tate's logical ability, and how this allowed her to do draft work for the army during World War II. Lou Tate also used weaving as a form of physical therapy with veterans at Fort Knox. Finally, Kirk talks about work Lou Tate did during the depression in connection with the Roosevelts to assist with the WPA.

Keywords: Air Force; Army; Chariot wheel; Drafts; Eleanor Roosevelt; First Lady Roosevelt; Fort Knox; Ft. Knox; Hyde Park; Logic; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Marines; Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt; Navy; Roosevelts; Table linens; The Little Loomhouse; Work Projects Administration; Works Progress Administration; World War 2; World War II; World War Two; WPA

Subjects: Air forces; Armies; Cottage industries; Depressions; First ladies; Furniture; Household linens; Kentucky—History; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Mathematics; Navies; Physical therapy; Presidents; Presidents' spouses; Tablecloths; Weaving; Weaving--patterns; Woolen and worsted drawing; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Did she talk very much about her childhood or her youth or her time at Berea?

Segment Synopsis: Kirk talks about what he knows about Lou Tate's early life. He describes a falling out between Lou Tate and Berea, which is why she did not talk about her time at Berea very much. He then goes on to talk about her childhood and her family, as well as the history of the cabins. Kirk also describes Lou Tate's appearance over the years, and about her education and professional experiences and relationships.

Keywords: Antiques Magazine; Berea College; Bottom House; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Bowling Green, Ky; Colonial Williamsburg; Esta; Hair cuts; Hair styles; Haircuts; L&N Railroad; Living history; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville & Nashville Railroad; Louisville and Nashville Railroad; Lower House; Masters degrees; Metropolitan Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Old Louisville; Smithsonian; Smithsonian Institution; The Little Loomhouse; The MET; University of Michigan

Subjects: Antiques; Books; Coverlets; Coverlets--Private collections; Family; Hairstyles; Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Master of arts degree; Museums; Private collections; Publishing; Railroad companies; Railroads; Research; Universities and colleges; Weaving; Women publishers

Partial Transcript: Did she ever tell you about going to Nova Scotia or Chicago or different places?

Segment Synopsis: Kirk speaks about some of the traveling that Lou Tate did, and what she accomplished on those trips, as well as the traveling of some of her work and exhibits. Kirk also talks about some of the professional collaborations that Lou Tate did not participate in because they were not important to her, that he thinks could have been very successful. He says that Lou Tate was less interested in making money and much more interested in teaching children. He also talks about Lou Tate's tendency to have a temper and hold grudges with adults, which burned many bridges over the years.

Keywords: Algebraic equations; Burlington Mills; Canada; Cape Breton; Chicago; Chicago, IL; Chicago, Illinois; Folk tales; Folktales; Grudges; Handweaving; Industry; Iroquois Library; Kids; Kindergarten loom; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Marshall Field & Company; Marshall Field's; Maury Weedman; Murder mysteries; Nova Scotia; Speed Art Museum; Speed Museum; Temper; The Little Loomhouse; Travel

Subjects: Arts, Colonial; Books; Children; Hand weaving; Kentucky—History; Libraries; Library; Looms; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Museums; Mystery; Tales; Textiles; Travel; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Were you here for the landmarks celebration, or did she ever talk to you about it?

Segment Synopsis: Kirk talks about coming up from Murray to attend the landmarks ceremony that celebrated The Little Loomhouse being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Keywords: Bob Douglas; Landmarks commission; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Murray State University; National Register of Historic Places; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Preservation; Universities and colleges; Weaving

Partial Transcript: As she became older, how did you find her becoming?

Segment Synopsis: Kirk describes some of the ways that Lou Tate became bitter later in her life, which he attributes to her pain, and her struggles with her property and land. He talks about trying to help Lou Tate, but that he ended up moving and not being involved in her life because of how negative she had become. He recalls seeing Lou Tate at a holiday gathering after not seeing her for several years, which reignited a relationship. Teka Ward announces the end of this tape, as well as the beginning of the next. Kirk continues by describing visiting Lou Tate when she was very ill after he returned to Louisville. She seemed to regret the way that she had burned bridges with people over the years.

Keywords: "On Death and Dying"; Ann Kiper; Bellarmine University; Elisabeth Kübler-Ross; Gallatin, Tennessee; Gallatin, TN; Gallo Port; Hal Tenny; Illness; John Kiper; Kitty Tenny; Land development; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Louisa Tate Bousman; Nursing homes; Sue Kendrick; Tennessee; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Alcoholics; Alcoholism; Arthritis; Cancer; Diseases; Erosion; Housing developers; Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Pain; Port wine; Property; Universities and colleges; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Well anyway, this was kind of basically the last time that I saw Lou.

Segment Synopsis: Kirk recalls seeing that Lou Tate had died in the newspaper, and the guilt that he had felt because he hadn't seen her recently. He describes seeing all the people he had met over the years at Lou Tate's funeral service, including many of people she had burned bridges with over the years. He then talks about the memorial service that was held at the cabins later on, and how this led to the creation of the Lou Tate Foundation. He describes being roped into being part of the founding board of directors of the foundation, and how he was very involved in the early stages of the foundation and the cleaning and renovations of the cabins. Kirk describes some of the early goals of the foundation, which were to renovate and to start an education program, but he also explains the obstacles that the board faced. Kirk recalls his own frustrations as a founding board member, which eventually led to him becoming burned out.

Keywords: Ann Kiper; Bottom House; Charles Moberly; Earle Fowler; Founding board of directors; Guilt; John Kiper; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Lou Tate Foundation; Louisa Tate Bousman; Louisville Art Gallery; Maury Weedman; Murray State University; Sally Moss; Smithsonian Institution; Sue Kendrick; The Little Loomhouse; Top House; Vivian Hyatt

Subjects: Boards of directors; Death and burial; Education; Foundations; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Funeral service; Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Memorial service; Memorial service programs; Newsletters; Renovation (Architecture); Universities and colleges; Weaving

Partial Transcript: Some of this has become kind of negative, you know, about all the problems, and I'd like to end up by saying that my good memories of the Loomhouse far outweigh any of the sadder memories.

Segment Synopsis: Kirk closes the interview by recalling some good memories of Lou Tate and the Little Loomhouse. He says that she inspired him in many different ways. Specifically he recalls Lou Tate feeding the birds, and that Lou Tate threw a chili supper to celebrate his engagement.

Keywords: Birds; Cardinals; Chili supper; Engagement parties; Engagement party; Flowers; Irises; Jonquils; Lou Tate; Lou Tate Bousman; Lou Tate Foundation; Louisa Tate Bousman; Squirrels; The Little Loomhouse

Subjects: Birds; Cardinals; Flowers; Foundations; Kentucky—History; Louisville (Ky.)--History; Parties; Squirrels; Weaving