Waggener High School - RingBrothersHistory.com

The Voice of St. Matthews: June 18, 1953Nobody In 1900 Believed ‘53 St. Matthews PossibleDruid Hills, Bellewood Were swamps, Potatoes Were 20 Cents a BarrelRichlawn’s distinguished citizen, Fred Gnau, tells us that St. Matthews was a dusty old town 53 years ago. The only storeswere Bauer’s Grocery, Grelshaber’s Grocery, ad blacksmith shop and a saloon.“Potatoes were selling for 20 cents a barrel here, and rotting in the fields,” he said. Most of the land north of the railroad,which runs parallel to Westport Road, was swampland clear over to Brownsboro Road, Chenoweth Lane was called BabyLane.Marvin Hurt, the fighter, trained in a gym over Bauer’s. It was great cock-fighting country here in those days before crusadingnewspapers felt called upon to deprive everyday people of their fun.Squire Shndburne, and Henry Bauer were the big men here, and they too enjoyed the cock fights.Was In PolitiesAnd St. Matthews now? “Why nobody would have believed that it could have happened,” Fred says. What was Bauer’sGrocery is now the First National Bank of St. Matthews. What used to be swampland is now the cities of Druid Hills,Bellewood, Cherrywood Village, and St. Matthews. The population here is estimated to be around 20,000, and continues togrow.But Fred has no regrets. He watched it grow and enjoyed himself. Now 67, he was, in his youth, first of all a railroader,then a telegraph operator, then a politician.From 1926 through 1939, he served in the state Legislature, representing parts of Crescent Hill and the Highlands. Duringthose years, he fought to keep the Municipal Bridge in the possession of Louisville rather than of the state, and he foughtProhibition, which he still thinks encouraged rather than discouraged drinking. He caused an uproar in the House in 1932;when the legislators refused to support his resolution to repeal Prohibition, he carted onto the floor of the house the hundredsof whiskey bottles the legislators had emptied during the session.As an old Democrat, he liked Presidents Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. When Roosevelt took office, he said, times weredangerous. Communists were everywhere and Roosevelt headed them off by providing jobs for people. He also liked Truman,who, he said, always showed loyalty to his friends and who “stopped the Communist gang.”Fred is watching the upcoming elections with great interest. Though a Democrat, he said he likes Henry Heyburn, whomhe calls a good, honest man. Heyburn, a Republican, is running for reelection for the state legislature from the 34-th District,which includes St. Matthews.For Senator in these parts, he likes Arthur Grafton of Prospect, (Fred made these remarks before the Democrats picked,Mrs. Louis Hollenbeck to run against Heyburn, and before Marge Cruse was picked to run against Grafton).Still In PoliticsFred’s still in politics. He’s treasurer and tax, collector for the City of Richlawn. His experience with the sixth class cityhas convinced him that any group willing to do a little work is capable of giving a small city better government than a largecity could. Specifically, he thinks St. Matthews could govern itself better than Louisville could govern this area.He is a member of the Mose Green Club and attends the Cathedral of the Assumption on Fifth street in Louisville. He andhis wife, the former Elizabeth Baldwin; live at 201 Don Allen Road. They have one daughter, Mrs. Lee Gransmiller, whois Martha Rountree’s personal secretary in New York.Nowadays, Fred’s in the insurance business—and in Richlawn government.