Author Archive: Ultimateplaces Photography

Historic Aetna Gas Station – Middletown – Kentucky

April 1, 2021 0 Comments

Historic Aetna Gas Station – Middletown – Kentucky

Historic Aetna Gas Station - Middletown - Kentucky

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This was Middletown’s (a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky) first gas station, built in the late 1920’s by I.W. Quesenberry. The gas station sold Aetna Oil Company gas, and other products, and includes a Deem gas pump. The gas station’s original life was pretty short. As the construction of U.S. 60 (Shelbyville Road) to the north in 1936, diverted away much of the traffic that would have used the station. In the intervening years, the station was used by a drying cleaning business, and a taxi cab service. In 1996 the building was donated to the city, and a federal grant was used to restore it back to its original purpose.

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Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior – Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

April 1, 2021 0 Comments

Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior – Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Shaker Village Pioneer Home Interior - Kentucky

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Pleasant Hill, Kentucky also known as Shakertown, was a Shaker (the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing) religious community from 1805 to 1910. With many well-preserved buildings, the village was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

The Kentucky Shaker village was founded by three New England Shaker missionaries, John Meacham, Benjamin Seth Youngs, and Issachar Bates. They founded the community around the teachings of Mother Ann Lee who believed in celibacy. Kentucky’s Shaker community ultimately died out, in part because of their beliefs in celibacy, problems encountered during and after the Civil War, and a declining interest in their way of life by potential converts . But their legacy of hard work, and fine craftsmanship lives on at Pleasant Hill.

Shakertown is located near the present day cities of Danville and Harrodsburg in central Kentucky.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill – Website
National Park Service – History of the Shakers

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Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Mural – Utah

April 1, 2021 0 Comments

Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Mural - Utah

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This was a short-lived mural in the city of West Jordan, Utah. It commemorates the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, founders of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). Following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, both labor leaders fought to improve the lives of farm workers in California, through non-violent protests. Eventually they would merge the NFWA, with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) formed by the Filipino-American labor organizer Larry Dulay Itliong, to create the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union known today. One of Chavez’s most noted accomplishments was the Delano Grape Strike of 1965-70, which highlighted the treatment of farmworkers by major table grape growers. Through a combination of consumer boycotts, marches, community organizing and nonviolent resistance, the organizations that would become the UFW, were able secure a collective bargaining agreement that benefited more than 10,000 farmworkers.

While Cesar Chavez died in 1993, and lost a lot of support due to controversial actions in his later years, he remains a folk hero among Mexican-Americans. And Dolores Huerta, even at the current age of 90, remains active as a labor leader and civil rights activist.

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