Luxe Beat Magazine JUNE 2014 | Page 64

What do Eisenhower, Regan and Queen Elizabeth II Have in Common? L By The Cooking Ladies ouisville Stoneware records show that Mamie Eisenhower used the popular Bachelor Button pattern in her every day dishes. Ronald Reagan received a small scale Louisville Stoneware replica of the White House, filled with jelly beans. In 2007, when she visited Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, Queen Elizabeth II received a Louisville Stoneware music box that played My Old Kentucky Home. By changing with the times, by continuing the American tradition of transforming clay into enduring, functional art forms, Louisville Stoneware celebrates 200 years in 2015. For two centuries, their creative designs in stoneware have reflected the ever-changing story of the United States. PHOTOS: LOUISVILLE STONEWARE In 1815, preserving food was a necessity. Salt-glazed stoneware crocks protected precious baking supplies like sugar and flour from critters and decay. By 1820, stoneware jugs packaged another valuable commodity, Kentucky Bourbon. Up to that time, bourbon was sold in wooden barrels. Stoneware jugs not only saved the consumer money by being re-fillable, 64