October 19, 2025 • 30 mins
Legacies—big and small
Legacy is how we leave a footprint to the people that come after us. Thanks for joining us on our Sunday morning chat! Hess and Delbert had reunited with their Barkley Village this past week. They enjoyed their time together—especially the conversations around the table. They also experienced important legacies of Kentucky—horses, the land and bourbon! They toured Keeneland Racecourse, they visited Hess at her farm, they went to the races, and they toured Makers Mark distillery in Loretto Ky. Legacy can come in many forms-from just the gathering of family or friends around a table, land that gets passed down, or to a new taste of a bourbon. Legacy can begin at anytime, legacy can change and adapt to the time and the circumstances. What are personal legacies that touch your life? Please respond in your comments.
I am still collecting for José's cancer treatments. This week José received radiation in his lower spine every day. We are awaiting the next CT Scans. Thank you for your continued support!
https://gofund.me/e6f61999
In addition to being a podcast host, Hess is also an LCSW--if you'd like to learn more about her work as a therapist, check it out at www.jessicabollinger.com
One of her mission's is for all of our lights to shine--when we see each other and allow ourself to be seen--and we can say to the person in front of us, There You Are! the world will be an amazing place!
Delbert is a top realtor in Louisville, KY, and you can find her at Kentucky Select Properties She will help you find your home, and also help you get the most equity when you sell your house.
Her philanthropic work to continue her sister Carole and niece Meghan is Carole's Kitchen. Blessings in a Backpack helps feed the many hungry students in our schools. The instagram account is: https://www.instagram.com/caroleskitchen.nonprofit?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hess (00:00):
Hello, my name is Hess and you have tuned in to, let me
tell you this about that, andlet me tell you this about that
is I'm sitting in my white chairlooking out my bedroom window
and Delbert.
It is October 19th and the sun'scoming up later.
The days are getting a littlebit shorter.
(00:22):
Our Sunday morning chat now,since we haven't done the time
change, it's still a little bitdark outside and plus it's gray,
cloudy rain, and we need therain again.
It's been about 10 days since wegot rain, so we're always 10
days away from a drought.
Somebody told me that once, butI've got rain in my window.
Is it raining up there?
What do you see out the greencouch there?
(00:44):
Delbert.
Delbert (00:44):
Yeah.
Hey, it's me, Delbert as alwayson the green couch looking out
my big picture window.
And it is a little, it's notraining right now.
It's a little gray and overcast,but like Hess says, we need the
rain.
It's supposed to rain today, butit's gonna stop this afternoon,
so can still get out and have abeautiful day.
It was gorgeous yesterday.
(01:06):
Just a beautiful day and.
We always brag about the beautyof Kentucky here on our podcast,
how much we love where we live,but extra special.
Today we're gonna talk aboutlegacy.
had the opportunity to betourist in our own state, as we
(01:26):
got together with our BarkleyVillage for a little reunion
weekend.
Hess (01:33):
Reunion week, right?
Delbert (01:34):
A week.
Yeah, weekday.
It felt like a weekend, but itwas a weekday.
Hess (01:38):
It was a beautiful, so folks, we've talked to you about
the getting back together with agroup January a year ago down
there at Lake Barkley for a coldwinter weekend in January.
That we did some Brene Brownwork and it, and being able to
talk about our stories and thearenas that we're in and the
(01:59):
what, how we wanna show up toour arenas.
It really connected all of usand we'd all been in high school
together.
Some of us had been even ingrade school together.
And it reconnected us in allkinds of new ways.
And we've, we put in thewonderful effort to, to reunite
and reconnect.
We were at Teri's, Bethany Beachthis past June.
(02:22):
And Karen Karen Rood, who hadorganized the French trip I was
on.
She we, landed at her houseWednesday night for a beautiful,
wonderful dinner and did someKentucky things.
You go ahead and talk about thatDelbert.
Delbert (02:39):
So in Lexington we stayed at Karen and Bill Ru's
house it's a beautiful home.
We all had our own bedrooms andour own bath.
And this fantastic dinner withKaren and Bill and Jess came in
from her farm the next day wewoke up and went to Keeneland,
(03:01):
which is a historic racetrack inKentucky, which has a beautiful,
wonderful history and legacy.
And Bill Rood, Karen's husband.
Is the former veterinarian forKeenland and has a huge
veterinary operation, of thebiggest in Lexington.
(03:22):
so he gave us a private tour,VIP tour of.
Keeneland and it was justfantastic.
And we went home and changed andcame back and got dressed up and
went up to the dining room onthe second floor and just had a
fantastic day of the races and acouple trips down to the rail
(03:43):
and to the winter circle and Igot.
photograph of a jockey that wasgiving thanks.
He put his hands on his heartand then lifted his hands up to
heaven and his horse seemed likehe did the same thing, was
really precious And, just beingthere on such historic grounds
(04:03):
and the appreciation that wehave for living here.
My, I always say my father andmy grandfather always talk so
much about being so proud to beKentuckians and how beautiful
our state is.
And anytime I do something likethat, it just reinforces how
right they were.
Hess (04:22):
And then,
Delbert (04:22):
so fortunate.
Hess (04:23):
yeah, and then that night you got to test out Karen's new
pizza oven that.
Delbert (04:28):
we went home, she had just bought a pizza oven and had
it installed on her patio.
She's got this fabulous patio.
We all made pizza and cooked itnew pizza oven.
And I was thinking about justgoing back to Keeneland for one
second, just, being on thatground.
That, that legacy ground andbeing there with people that I
(04:50):
had known since I was just agirl.
the legacy that my parents gaveme of my faith and my education
is how that started, how we allcame together, other
Hess (05:05):
Right.
Delbert (05:05):
of the same.
Faith and the, and having thiswonderful education.
My grandparents were dedicatedto education and my parents
were, and your parents were.
And that hard work to make surethat we got there is part of how
we're together.
So I, that doesn't go unnoticed.
And so just, there's so manylayers to the legacy that I
(05:29):
appreciate and love about theway we grew up and where we are.
Hess (05:34):
Yeah.
And Delbert I've heardoftentimes, and I experienced it
personally, that being in an allgirl Catholic high school, an
all girl school, that it helpedpromote women as leaders and to,
to that, that we can make adifference in the world ourself
as a woman.
Delbert (05:55):
The Ursuline sisters that educated us, they, part of
their.
Mission statement is to protecteducate girls.
And they sure did.
And they, we, when we weregrowing up in the seventies with
the women's movement, theyencouraged us to reach higher
(06:15):
and really empowered us.
So I'm so thankful for thatlegacy as well.
Hess (06:21):
Because just in, in the people that we were with, our
classmates, with the BarkleyVillage, each person has really
made footholds in their ownworld and made changes and made
good things happen in their worin our worlds.
We've all done that.
It's cool.
Delbert (06:38):
Absolutely.
And then we drove the back roadsthe next day.
No wait, we gotta talk aboutHess's farm.
Hess (06:47):
No.
Delbert (06:47):
we went to our Keeneland tour, we went to
Hess's Farm where after the racehorses have their career in
racing.
Then the lucky ones.
End up at Hess's Farm
Hess (07:01):
No.
Delbert (07:02):
and you wanna talk a little bit about your legacy on
the farm.
Hess (07:05):
So at our farm we do this, we do the sport, the equestrian
sport of eventing, and that'sthree phases, dressage, cross
country and stadium jumping.
And the retired race horseproject I explained that to you
all when you were at the farm.
Just had happened the weekendbefore and.
(07:27):
Many horses in this retiredrace.
Horse program's really cool'cause many of the horses from
the track who have had careersas a race horse then can go on
to have a new career as'causethe horses like people.
We like to be, we like to have abe productive and be doing
something.
And so many of the horses hereat our farm.
(07:48):
Like my horse Speedy had racedfor about four years and then we
got him and he went into to thissport of eventing.
So it's really cool to be ableto.
Have this aftercare program forretired race horses so that they
can have a new good lifeafterwards.
And they can, those race horses,Bert can go into anything.
(08:10):
Some of them polo, some of'emdressage show jumping trail
hunter jumpers, field hunters.
So on all kinds of things.
So that's really cool.
And it, I just gotta say that itreally touched me that you all
came by the farm because.
(08:30):
Three of you all had, not you,you've been here before.
Delbert, but Teri had not, andKaren and Beth.
And it just made me feel good toshare, okay, this is my life.
I've been here 39 years.
If you come here you see me andyou can feel me and what my life
is.
Delbert (08:47):
It's your legacy, right?
Hess (08:49):
And Karen said to me'cause we drove together.
The next day she said as soon asthey pulled into the farm, she
felt this sense of peace.
And that's what many have saidthat, that come here.
And we'll have an animalcommunicator oftentimes.
And she, and that's what she'stold us, that this feels
peaceful.
(09:10):
And Bert, sometimes we sell ahorse and then they get lame or
get injured and then they haveto come back'cause they don't
wanna leave here.
Delbert (09:18):
Oh, I wouldn't wanna leave either.
It's a beautiful farm.
we got to see Speedy getting amassage and
Hess (09:27):
Yeah.
Delbert (09:28):
of course Tyler, I saw Tyler peeking out of the barn
cam as we drove up the drive.
It's true.
It's just this sense of calmjust comes over you as you just
kinda.
Come up the drive and Karen saidwhere should I go?
I said, I see Tyler at the barn.
Let's go.
Let's go park at the barn.
And and I said, because.
That's where Hess is.
(09:49):
That's her soul dog.
We see Tyler, we know Hess isn'tfar behind, so we did, and there
you were.
There you are.
yeah.
So that was beautiful to seeyour legacy.
Our fathers, as we've told youall are, we're both in real
estate and development and soreal estate is legacy with and
(10:11):
all my siblings and the farm andthe land.
Is yours from your dad?
Hess (10:17):
It's started'cause my grandpa loved farms.
This is what my dad would say.
I did this because daddy lovedfarms and, and he would, he
would want us to have a farm.
So that's what happened back in1985 when dad and some partners
bought this piece of property.
It's like just.
Because of my grandpa lovingfarms.
(10:38):
I think he grew up in HenryCounty in or Henryville or
something, southern Indiana,right up in there on some land.
But yeah.
So you took the tour with theexpert, bill Rood of Keeland and
you learned a lot about legacyand things like that and how the
track came about.
(11:00):
Right.
Delbert (11:00):
And we were saying like, there's so many different
levels of how legacy starts,right?
Sometimes it's out of need.
Sometimes it's out of a desireto create something.
Keeneland from my understandingthe Keen family, their son,
Jack, that the farm kind of fellon hard times and at the same
(11:21):
time.
The mayor and some otherhorsemen in Lexington were
looking for a track becauseLexington didn't have a track at
the time.
And the horse capital of theworld should have a racetrack,
right?
So there was already a track onthat land.
And Jack built the clubhouse asa place where the horseman could
meet and, then he lived above onthat second floor.
(11:45):
And that's how it started.
He needed to do something withthe farm to sustain it.
And so of that Keeneland and thelegacy was created so cool that
the inside the infield, which weutilize at Churchill Downs.
They don't, it, it is pristine.
It is Kentucky Bluegrass andFescue, it spells out Keeneland
(12:10):
the middle of that.
And the only thing that happenson that ground, part of it is
the turf races.
But it's just very pristine andhistoric and very preserved, and
they.
They keep so much traditionthere
Hess (12:23):
when you,
Delbert (12:24):
just so fun to see.
I hadn't been there since I wasin college so that was so
Hess (12:28):
yeah.
Delbert (12:28):
to see
Hess (12:29):
So when you're looking out, when you're looking out
from the grandstand, Keenelandwritten with boxwoods there and
just trim perfectly.
But when you look out there, youdon't see, you don't see
anything.
You don't see any buildings.
You feel like you could be outin the middle of nowhere and you
have
Delbert (12:43):
yeah.
Hess (12:44):
you Versailles road over on the left, but you, but it's
not visible because this kind ofsits up on a hill a little bit
on a plateau.
But the track was existingthere, it was a training track
for that farm.
And so the local horsemen wouldneeded this place and would
bring their horses there to raceagainst each other.
(13:06):
And there was not a, I thinkthere was not an announcer to
announce the races.
When you go to Keeneland, all ofa sudden you just, you'd hear
the bell that the horses cameoutta the starting gate and
then.
You're just, it's silent.
You're not hearing anyloudspeaker saying who's in
first, who's in second by noseor a head or a length or
(13:27):
whatever.
And it was not until about 1997that they started having an
announcer announced the races.
So that's a tradition that, thatwas a legacy and something that
got changed for a purpose.
Yeah Delbert.
Then I joined you all to go on atour of Maker's Mark on, on
(13:50):
Friday morning.
Karen and Bill had bought, had ahats off.
Festival this past summer.
A private tour of Maker's Markand lunch included.
And so I'd never, all of my timehere, I'd never been, I've never
toured Maker's Mark a famousbourbon down in Loretto,
Kentucky.
So that was a blast.
(14:12):
And then.
Delbert (14:12):
was so incredible.
And like I said, I hadn't beento Keeneland forever.
I had never been to Maker'sMark, and that was so
impressive, wasn't it?
The sustainability that they do,that the that they use all.
Local, they buy from localfarmers or their grain.
And they all the food that weate in the restaurant was grown
(14:33):
there.
it was just so cool to hearabout.
And of course the famouslimestone and the spring that
runs through the limestone andfilters and gets all those
wonderful minerals, which makesthe bourbon and also makes the
horses so strong and
Hess (14:49):
Yeah,
Delbert (14:50):
to run
Hess (14:50):
There's a spring fed lake up on the hill right behind it.
And that's where the watercomes.
All the water comes and it was.
So Bill Samuels started it andhis wife Marjorie, and they're
they chose this spot and theybought it for$15,000 or
something.
Was that, or$25,000.
(15:12):
And it was an old distillery.
So they had this.
They had some bones there andwhat I loved too is Marjorie had
such a role.
She chose to do the squarebottle.
She came up with the wax to goover the top.
She did this design.
Delbert (15:30):
She was a chemist.
She came up with how to make itliquified enough that it would
you dip it and it would beimperfect.
Each one is unique.
Yeah.
She came up with that in herkitchen, how to dip those
bottles.
But that was the old Burkesdistillery.
They took that over in 1953 andcreated legacy out of just
(15:50):
wanting to have a hobby.
Because they'd had generationsbefore them that had done
distilling.
And and they decided they wantedto create something of their
own.
And I asked our tour guide, Isaid, how close to the original
recipe is the maker's Mark oftoday?
And he said, it's exact, it isexact to Bill And Margie Samuels
(16:12):
vision.
What?
And and their son, created alegacy with the 46 maker's Mark.
Hess (16:19):
So well, the grand, so then Yeah, you're exactly right.
The grandson of the original.
Yeah.
So there's, there, there wasBill, then there was Bill Junior
and their son Rob.
Is that correct?
Has a, has.
Delbert (16:34):
I thought it was bill Samuels Jr.
That did the 46 and I.
Hess (16:39):
Okay.
Yeah.
That's right.
Delbert (16:40):
Is the current the grandson is the current CEO and
he's the one that brought in,
Hess (16:44):
Art,
Delbert (16:45):
he's really, yeah.
He brought in the art and he'sreally big on the
sustainability.
Of the land
Hess (16:51):
yes.
Delbert (16:52):
and any of the water they put back, they purify it.
So everything they do is to makethe land better.
And you're just walking throughgardens with herbs and
vegetables and flowers andyou're walking through this
where the beautiful stream inthe original mill is.
And, it's just so fantastic.
(17:13):
And then they've got the littlesheep grazing up on the, and
they've got their purpose.
It's just incredible.
What a legacy, born out of,let's have a hobby.
Let's create something.
Let's do something here.
Love it.
I love it.
Hess (17:29):
Yeah.
Delbert (17:29):
So then Rob is the one that brought in, incorporated
the artwork.
Hess (17:35):
And that, that artist Chihuly he's from Washington.
He blows blow Washington state.
He's this glassblower thatcreates this art from glass and
there's all these exhibitsoutside and inside with his art.
So that was mouthwatering to me.
That was just so beautiful andsuch an enhancement of just a
(17:59):
normal distillery tour.
Seeing this beautiful art.
Delbert (18:03):
The water.
There's a water sculpturerepresenting the water.
Then there was a beautiful AmberGlass sculpture representing the
grain And then the other onethat was hanging.
And the and the cellar was the,it was called end of day, and it
was just all the pieces thatdidn't work out, and that turned
into this beautiful sculpture.
I, and then there was the onethat was in the ceiling, the
(18:25):
piece of glass.
It was just, it was incredible.
So all this nature.
And beauty and art all justwoven into this just perfect
experience.
And then of course we had thebourbon paired with our lunch
and my favorite was the 46, Ihave to say.
Hess (18:45):
Yeah.
Delbert (18:46):
good job.
Bill Jr.
He, he put a, some french oak.
It's aged in the oak barrels,which also come from Kentucky.
Local farmers.
The barrels also come from thereand but he put some charred oak,
French oak and they age it inthat cellar.
They blast it out the side ofthe hill.
Hess (19:08):
Yeah,
Delbert (19:09):
in that limestone.
Yeah.
Created a cellar
Hess (19:13):
now, maker's Mark was sold to a large global beverage
companies.
What I love Delbert is, and it'sso smart that they did this.
They kept the legacy of thefamily.
The family was still stayed, hasstayed involved.
The Samuel's family has stillstayed involved, which makes it
(19:33):
intimate, which makes it local,which helps it be.
Its own flavor of its owntradition.
The tradition continues eventhough it's owned by a global
conglomerate beverage company.
Really smart.
Really smart to do that.
Delbert (19:50):
Exactly.
So we had the best time thereand.
Drove all the back roads theland there in Loretto and
Lebanon, Springfield andBardstown, all those little
towns, they're all farmcommunities and they're also if
you read about Catholicism inAmerica for.
(20:11):
Maryland, they came down, andlanded in, in that particular
part of the country.
So there's a huge legacy ofCatholicism and some beautiful
old churches St.
Rose.
You all, we all passed that onthe way'cause we took the back
roads through all this farmland.
All these beautiful.
(20:32):
Soybeans that are starting toget ready for harvest.
They're this beautiful ambercolor.
just a gorgeous drive.
But
Hess (20:41):
Right.
Delbert (20:41):
Rose and you looked up St.
Rose.
It's what did you find out?
It's
Hess (20:46):
That so it gets hilly down in that area, Delbert.
And we, Karen and I go aroundthis curve and there's this big
huge church and this bigcemetery next to it.
We drove, we I turned and wentup the driveway to this church.
So this is St.
Rose.
Church, and it was started bythe Dominicans, and it's the
(21:07):
first Catholic church past theAllegheny's.
I think it's over 200 years oldand just absolutely huge.
You've been there before to afuneral, I think, right?
Delbert (21:18):
My, my work friend Shannon and her mother's funeral
mass was there and oh.
It's just, it's a beautifulchurch inside too.
Hess (21:26):
Yeah, so this is a whole legacy of an area of Catholicism
there in Kentucky.
What's the name of the book youtalked about?
Delbert.
Delbert (21:34):
Oh, it's an American Holy Land, father Clyde Cruz.
And if you can get ahold ofthat's a, it's a wonderful book
the settlement and you knowthat, that part of our state,
when you're in eighth grade, yougo.
You go to Nazareth and you go tothe monastery at Gethsemane
where Thomas Merton lived.
(21:55):
And you go to the cathedral atSt.
Joseph's and you experience ofwhere our faith settled here
Kentucky.
it's just beautiful.
Just another legacy like wetalked about, but, that's what
kids do here in Kentucky.
They go to a horse farm, they goto the Holy Land and they go to
(22:18):
a distillery.
So we've got it all.
Hess (22:23):
Yeah.
So Delbert, I'd like all thepods to think about the legacies
that have been passed down toyou and the legacy that you
continue.
And I, you said something to methe other day that, that I
thought was so great.
Delbert, what I caught on yourwords was.
It's put out there for, however,it needs to evolve or change for
(22:47):
the better that you have peoplethat are connected that can sit
around a table and to changewhat might need to be adapted,
like the announcer at Keeneland,right?
Or starting this new type of 46bourbon.
What could you add for a newkind of flavor that could be
that could be.
(23:07):
Your little niche of it, of thechange of the legacy.
Delbert (23:10):
of the legacy.
And yeah, that's such awonderful thing to think about.
What are the legacies handeddown to you?
What legacies are you creatingfor yourself and your family and
your community?
There's nothing that's too smallif it's positive.
And what little changes andtweaks can you make?
To just make that go further anda legacy to sustain it.
(23:34):
Actually, sometimes you do haveto change a little to
Hess (23:38):
Yeah.
Delbert (23:38):
it last.
Hess (23:40):
Yeah.
So this idea of my grandpa JesseBollinger senior who, who loved
farms I'm the farm now in thefamily that, that the little
kids can come visit or go tohorse camp at.
And my dad always believed ingiving back and when.
When I went at 36 to get amaster's of social work, now I
(24:01):
give back through my profession.
Delbert, you have real estate inyour legacy that you continue
on.
You have your, while you talk, Iyou have the Carol's kitchen
legacy and so on.
Delbert (24:14):
And I think just on a, even a simpler level I always
talk about family dinner at mygrandparents just sitting around
the table, being together andsharing and.
times have changed so much.
That's one of the changes.
But when I do have my wholefamily together Together and to
have experiences together, Ilove to take my grandkids
(24:36):
swimming.
I love to take'em to thedifferent lakes in Kentucky and
give them an appreciation.
For the beauty of our state andfor the beauty of nature and how
it can have such a positiveimpact in your life.
Those are little things that Ithink that are really important
too.
So friends, go out in nature,create a legacy.
(24:57):
Get your family your village,your friends, whoever it is
together, make it a great week.
Make it a great day.
Hess (25:07):
And please leave in a comment.
What's your legacy?
Delbert (25:10):
We wanna know.
Hess (25:12):
However small.
Delbert (25:13):
We're curious.
We wanna know.
Hess (25:15):
Hey, we hope our Sunday morning chat.
Put some seeds of thought inyour minds, your spirit.
You're with us.
We love you.
Peace and love.
Delbert (25:25):
We love you friends.
Hello, my name is Hess and you have tuned in to, let me
tell you this about that, andlet me tell you this about that
is I'm sitting in my white chairlooking out my bedroom window
and Delbert.
It is October 19th and the sun'scoming up later.
The days are getting a littlebit shorter.
(00:22):
Our Sunday morning chat now,since we haven't done the time
change, it's still a little bitdark outside and plus it's gray,
cloudy rain, and we need therain again.
It's been about 10 days since wegot rain, so we're always 10
days away from a drought.
Somebody told me that once, butI've got rain in my window.
Is it raining up there?
What do you see out the greencouch there?
(00:44):
Delbert.
Delbert (00:44):
Yeah.
Hey, it's me, Delbert as alwayson the green couch looking out
my big picture window.
And it is a little, it's notraining right now.
It's a little gray and overcast,but like Hess says, we need the
rain.
It's supposed to rain today, butit's gonna stop this afternoon,
so can still get out and have abeautiful day.
It was gorgeous yesterday.
(01:06):
Just a beautiful day and.
We always brag about the beautyof Kentucky here on our podcast,
how much we love where we live,but extra special.
Today we're gonna talk aboutlegacy.
had the opportunity to betourist in our own state, as we
(01:26):
got together with our BarkleyVillage for a little reunion
weekend.
Hess (01:33):
Reunion week, right?
Delbert (01:34):
A week.
Yeah, weekday.
It felt like a weekend, but itwas a weekday.
Hess (01:38):
It was a beautiful, so folks, we've talked to you about
the getting back together with agroup January a year ago down
there at Lake Barkley for a coldwinter weekend in January.
That we did some Brene Brownwork and it, and being able to
talk about our stories and thearenas that we're in and the
(01:59):
what, how we wanna show up toour arenas.
It really connected all of usand we'd all been in high school
together.
Some of us had been even ingrade school together.
And it reconnected us in allkinds of new ways.
And we've, we put in thewonderful effort to, to reunite
and reconnect.
We were at Teri's, Bethany Beachthis past June.
(02:22):
And Karen Karen Rood, who hadorganized the French trip I was
on.
She we, landed at her houseWednesday night for a beautiful,
wonderful dinner and did someKentucky things.
You go ahead and talk about thatDelbert.
Delbert (02:39):
So in Lexington we stayed at Karen and Bill Ru's
house it's a beautiful home.
We all had our own bedrooms andour own bath.
And this fantastic dinner withKaren and Bill and Jess came in
from her farm the next day wewoke up and went to Keeneland,
(03:01):
which is a historic racetrack inKentucky, which has a beautiful,
wonderful history and legacy.
And Bill Rood, Karen's husband.
Is the former veterinarian forKeenland and has a huge
veterinary operation, of thebiggest in Lexington.
(03:22):
so he gave us a private tour,VIP tour of.
Keeneland and it was justfantastic.
And we went home and changed andcame back and got dressed up and
went up to the dining room onthe second floor and just had a
fantastic day of the races and acouple trips down to the rail
(03:43):
and to the winter circle and Igot.
photograph of a jockey that wasgiving thanks.
He put his hands on his heartand then lifted his hands up to
heaven and his horse seemed likehe did the same thing, was
really precious And, just beingthere on such historic grounds
(04:03):
and the appreciation that wehave for living here.
My, I always say my father andmy grandfather always talk so
much about being so proud to beKentuckians and how beautiful
our state is.
And anytime I do something likethat, it just reinforces how
right they were.
Hess (04:22):
And then,
Delbert (04:22):
so fortunate.
Hess (04:23):
yeah, and then that night you got to test out Karen's new
pizza oven that.
Delbert (04:28):
we went home, she had just bought a pizza oven and had
it installed on her patio.
She's got this fabulous patio.
We all made pizza and cooked itnew pizza oven.
And I was thinking about justgoing back to Keeneland for one
second, just, being on thatground.
That, that legacy ground andbeing there with people that I
(04:50):
had known since I was just agirl.
the legacy that my parents gaveme of my faith and my education
is how that started, how we allcame together, other
Hess (05:05):
Right.
Delbert (05:05):
of the same.
Faith and the, and having thiswonderful education.
My grandparents were dedicatedto education and my parents
were, and your parents were.
And that hard work to make surethat we got there is part of how
we're together.
So I, that doesn't go unnoticed.
And so just, there's so manylayers to the legacy that I
(05:29):
appreciate and love about theway we grew up and where we are.
Hess (05:34):
Yeah.
And Delbert I've heardoftentimes, and I experienced it
personally, that being in an allgirl Catholic high school, an
all girl school, that it helpedpromote women as leaders and to,
to that, that we can make adifference in the world ourself
as a woman.
Delbert (05:55):
The Ursuline sisters that educated us, they, part of
their.
Mission statement is to protecteducate girls.
And they sure did.
And they, we, when we weregrowing up in the seventies with
the women's movement, theyencouraged us to reach higher
(06:15):
and really empowered us.
So I'm so thankful for thatlegacy as well.
Hess (06:21):
Because just in, in the people that we were with, our
classmates, with the BarkleyVillage, each person has really
made footholds in their ownworld and made changes and made
good things happen in their worin our worlds.
We've all done that.
It's cool.
Delbert (06:38):
Absolutely.
And then we drove the back roadsthe next day.
No wait, we gotta talk aboutHess's farm.
Hess (06:47):
No.
Delbert (06:47):
we went to our Keeneland tour, we went to
Hess's Farm where after the racehorses have their career in
racing.
Then the lucky ones.
End up at Hess's Farm
Hess (07:01):
No.
Delbert (07:02):
and you wanna talk a little bit about your legacy on
the farm.
Hess (07:05):
So at our farm we do this, we do the sport, the equestrian
sport of eventing, and that'sthree phases, dressage, cross
country and stadium jumping.
And the retired race horseproject I explained that to you
all when you were at the farm.
Just had happened the weekendbefore and.
(07:27):
Many horses in this retiredrace.
Horse program's really cool'cause many of the horses from
the track who have had careersas a race horse then can go on
to have a new career as'causethe horses like people.
We like to be, we like to have abe productive and be doing
something.
And so many of the horses hereat our farm.
(07:48):
Like my horse Speedy had racedfor about four years and then we
got him and he went into to thissport of eventing.
So it's really cool to be ableto.
Have this aftercare program forretired race horses so that they
can have a new good lifeafterwards.
And they can, those race horses,Bert can go into anything.
(08:10):
Some of them polo, some of'emdressage show jumping trail
hunter jumpers, field hunters.
So on all kinds of things.
So that's really cool.
And it, I just gotta say that itreally touched me that you all
came by the farm because.
(08:30):
Three of you all had, not you,you've been here before.
Delbert, but Teri had not, andKaren and Beth.
And it just made me feel good toshare, okay, this is my life.
I've been here 39 years.
If you come here you see me andyou can feel me and what my life
is.
Delbert (08:47):
It's your legacy, right?
Hess (08:49):
And Karen said to me'cause we drove together.
The next day she said as soon asthey pulled into the farm, she
felt this sense of peace.
And that's what many have saidthat, that come here.
And we'll have an animalcommunicator oftentimes.
And she, and that's what she'stold us, that this feels
peaceful.
(09:10):
And Bert, sometimes we sell ahorse and then they get lame or
get injured and then they haveto come back'cause they don't
wanna leave here.
Delbert (09:18):
Oh, I wouldn't wanna leave either.
It's a beautiful farm.
we got to see Speedy getting amassage and
Hess (09:27):
Yeah.
Delbert (09:28):
of course Tyler, I saw Tyler peeking out of the barn
cam as we drove up the drive.
It's true.
It's just this sense of calmjust comes over you as you just
kinda.
Come up the drive and Karen saidwhere should I go?
I said, I see Tyler at the barn.
Let's go.
Let's go park at the barn.
And and I said, because.
That's where Hess is.
(09:49):
That's her soul dog.
We see Tyler, we know Hess isn'tfar behind, so we did, and there
you were.
There you are.
yeah.
So that was beautiful to seeyour legacy.
Our fathers, as we've told youall are, we're both in real
estate and development and soreal estate is legacy with and
(10:11):
all my siblings and the farm andthe land.
Is yours from your dad?
Hess (10:17):
It's started'cause my grandpa loved farms.
This is what my dad would say.
I did this because daddy lovedfarms and, and he would, he
would want us to have a farm.
So that's what happened back in1985 when dad and some partners
bought this piece of property.
It's like just.
Because of my grandpa lovingfarms.
(10:38):
I think he grew up in HenryCounty in or Henryville or
something, southern Indiana,right up in there on some land.
But yeah.
So you took the tour with theexpert, bill Rood of Keeland and
you learned a lot about legacyand things like that and how the
track came about.
(11:00):
Right.
Delbert (11:00):
And we were saying like, there's so many different
levels of how legacy starts,right?
Sometimes it's out of need.
Sometimes it's out of a desireto create something.
Keeneland from my understandingthe Keen family, their son,
Jack, that the farm kind of fellon hard times and at the same
(11:21):
time.
The mayor and some otherhorsemen in Lexington were
looking for a track becauseLexington didn't have a track at
the time.
And the horse capital of theworld should have a racetrack,
right?
So there was already a track onthat land.
And Jack built the clubhouse asa place where the horseman could
meet and, then he lived above onthat second floor.
(11:45):
And that's how it started.
He needed to do something withthe farm to sustain it.
And so of that Keeneland and thelegacy was created so cool that
the inside the infield, which weutilize at Churchill Downs.
They don't, it, it is pristine.
It is Kentucky Bluegrass andFescue, it spells out Keeneland
(12:10):
the middle of that.
And the only thing that happenson that ground, part of it is
the turf races.
But it's just very pristine andhistoric and very preserved, and
they.
They keep so much traditionthere
Hess (12:23):
when you,
Delbert (12:24):
just so fun to see.
I hadn't been there since I wasin college so that was so
Hess (12:28):
yeah.
Delbert (12:28):
to see
Hess (12:29):
So when you're looking out, when you're looking out
from the grandstand, Keenelandwritten with boxwoods there and
just trim perfectly.
But when you look out there, youdon't see, you don't see
anything.
You don't see any buildings.
You feel like you could be outin the middle of nowhere and you
have
Delbert (12:43):
yeah.
Hess (12:44):
you Versailles road over on the left, but you, but it's
not visible because this kind ofsits up on a hill a little bit
on a plateau.
But the track was existingthere, it was a training track
for that farm.
And so the local horsemen wouldneeded this place and would
bring their horses there to raceagainst each other.
(13:06):
And there was not a, I thinkthere was not an announcer to
announce the races.
When you go to Keeneland, all ofa sudden you just, you'd hear
the bell that the horses cameoutta the starting gate and
then.
You're just, it's silent.
You're not hearing anyloudspeaker saying who's in
first, who's in second by noseor a head or a length or
(13:27):
whatever.
And it was not until about 1997that they started having an
announcer announced the races.
So that's a tradition that, thatwas a legacy and something that
got changed for a purpose.
Yeah Delbert.
Then I joined you all to go on atour of Maker's Mark on, on
(13:50):
Friday morning.
Karen and Bill had bought, had ahats off.
Festival this past summer.
A private tour of Maker's Markand lunch included.
And so I'd never, all of my timehere, I'd never been, I've never
toured Maker's Mark a famousbourbon down in Loretto,
Kentucky.
So that was a blast.
(14:12):
And then.
Delbert (14:12):
was so incredible.
And like I said, I hadn't beento Keeneland forever.
I had never been to Maker'sMark, and that was so
impressive, wasn't it?
The sustainability that they do,that the that they use all.
Local, they buy from localfarmers or their grain.
And they all the food that weate in the restaurant was grown
(14:33):
there.
it was just so cool to hearabout.
And of course the famouslimestone and the spring that
runs through the limestone andfilters and gets all those
wonderful minerals, which makesthe bourbon and also makes the
horses so strong and
Hess (14:49):
Yeah,
Delbert (14:50):
to run
Hess (14:50):
There's a spring fed lake up on the hill right behind it.
And that's where the watercomes.
All the water comes and it was.
So Bill Samuels started it andhis wife Marjorie, and they're
they chose this spot and theybought it for$15,000 or
something.
Was that, or$25,000.
(15:12):
And it was an old distillery.
So they had this.
They had some bones there andwhat I loved too is Marjorie had
such a role.
She chose to do the squarebottle.
She came up with the wax to goover the top.
She did this design.
Delbert (15:30):
She was a chemist.
She came up with how to make itliquified enough that it would
you dip it and it would beimperfect.
Each one is unique.
Yeah.
She came up with that in herkitchen, how to dip those
bottles.
But that was the old Burkesdistillery.
They took that over in 1953 andcreated legacy out of just
(15:50):
wanting to have a hobby.
Because they'd had generationsbefore them that had done
distilling.
And and they decided they wantedto create something of their
own.
And I asked our tour guide, Isaid, how close to the original
recipe is the maker's Mark oftoday?
And he said, it's exact, it isexact to Bill And Margie Samuels
(16:12):
vision.
What?
And and their son, created alegacy with the 46 maker's Mark.
Hess (16:19):
So well, the grand, so then Yeah, you're exactly right.
The grandson of the original.
Yeah.
So there's, there, there wasBill, then there was Bill Junior
and their son Rob.
Is that correct?
Has a, has.
Delbert (16:34):
I thought it was bill Samuels Jr.
That did the 46 and I.
Hess (16:39):
Okay.
Yeah.
That's right.
Delbert (16:40):
Is the current the grandson is the current CEO and
he's the one that brought in,
Hess (16:44):
Art,
Delbert (16:45):
he's really, yeah.
He brought in the art and he'sreally big on the
sustainability.
Of the land
Hess (16:51):
yes.
Delbert (16:52):
and any of the water they put back, they purify it.
So everything they do is to makethe land better.
And you're just walking throughgardens with herbs and
vegetables and flowers andyou're walking through this
where the beautiful stream inthe original mill is.
And, it's just so fantastic.
(17:13):
And then they've got the littlesheep grazing up on the, and
they've got their purpose.
It's just incredible.
What a legacy, born out of,let's have a hobby.
Let's create something.
Let's do something here.
Love it.
I love it.
Hess (17:29):
Yeah.
Delbert (17:29):
So then Rob is the one that brought in, incorporated
the artwork.
Hess (17:35):
And that, that artist Chihuly he's from Washington.
He blows blow Washington state.
He's this glassblower thatcreates this art from glass and
there's all these exhibitsoutside and inside with his art.
So that was mouthwatering to me.
That was just so beautiful andsuch an enhancement of just a
(17:59):
normal distillery tour.
Seeing this beautiful art.
Delbert (18:03):
The water.
There's a water sculpturerepresenting the water.
Then there was a beautiful AmberGlass sculpture representing the
grain And then the other onethat was hanging.
And the and the cellar was the,it was called end of day, and it
was just all the pieces thatdidn't work out, and that turned
into this beautiful sculpture.
I, and then there was the onethat was in the ceiling, the
(18:25):
piece of glass.
It was just, it was incredible.
So all this nature.
And beauty and art all justwoven into this just perfect
experience.
And then of course we had thebourbon paired with our lunch
and my favorite was the 46, Ihave to say.
Hess (18:45):
Yeah.
Delbert (18:46):
good job.
Bill Jr.
He, he put a, some french oak.
It's aged in the oak barrels,which also come from Kentucky.
Local farmers.
The barrels also come from thereand but he put some charred oak,
French oak and they age it inthat cellar.
They blast it out the side ofthe hill.
Hess (19:08):
Yeah,
Delbert (19:09):
in that limestone.
Yeah.
Created a cellar
Hess (19:13):
now, maker's Mark was sold to a large global beverage
companies.
What I love Delbert is, and it'sso smart that they did this.
They kept the legacy of thefamily.
The family was still stayed, hasstayed involved.
The Samuel's family has stillstayed involved, which makes it
(19:33):
intimate, which makes it local,which helps it be.
Its own flavor of its owntradition.
The tradition continues eventhough it's owned by a global
conglomerate beverage company.
Really smart.
Really smart to do that.
Delbert (19:50):
Exactly.
So we had the best time thereand.
Drove all the back roads theland there in Loretto and
Lebanon, Springfield andBardstown, all those little
towns, they're all farmcommunities and they're also if
you read about Catholicism inAmerica for.
(20:11):
Maryland, they came down, andlanded in, in that particular
part of the country.
So there's a huge legacy ofCatholicism and some beautiful
old churches St.
Rose.
You all, we all passed that onthe way'cause we took the back
roads through all this farmland.
All these beautiful.
(20:32):
Soybeans that are starting toget ready for harvest.
They're this beautiful ambercolor.
just a gorgeous drive.
But
Hess (20:41):
Right.
Delbert (20:41):
Rose and you looked up St.
Rose.
It's what did you find out?
It's
Hess (20:46):
That so it gets hilly down in that area, Delbert.
And we, Karen and I go aroundthis curve and there's this big
huge church and this bigcemetery next to it.
We drove, we I turned and wentup the driveway to this church.
So this is St.
Rose.
Church, and it was started bythe Dominicans, and it's the
(21:07):
first Catholic church past theAllegheny's.
I think it's over 200 years oldand just absolutely huge.
You've been there before to afuneral, I think, right?
Delbert (21:18):
My, my work friend Shannon and her mother's funeral
mass was there and oh.
It's just, it's a beautifulchurch inside too.
Hess (21:26):
Yeah, so this is a whole legacy of an area of Catholicism
there in Kentucky.
What's the name of the book youtalked about?
Delbert.
Delbert (21:34):
Oh, it's an American Holy Land, father Clyde Cruz.
And if you can get ahold ofthat's a, it's a wonderful book
the settlement and you knowthat, that part of our state,
when you're in eighth grade, yougo.
You go to Nazareth and you go tothe monastery at Gethsemane
where Thomas Merton lived.
(21:55):
And you go to the cathedral atSt.
Joseph's and you experience ofwhere our faith settled here
Kentucky.
it's just beautiful.
Just another legacy like wetalked about, but, that's what
kids do here in Kentucky.
They go to a horse farm, they goto the Holy Land and they go to
(22:18):
a distillery.
So we've got it all.
Hess (22:23):
Yeah.
So Delbert, I'd like all thepods to think about the legacies
that have been passed down toyou and the legacy that you
continue.
And I, you said something to methe other day that, that I
thought was so great.
Delbert, what I caught on yourwords was.
It's put out there for, however,it needs to evolve or change for
(22:47):
the better that you have peoplethat are connected that can sit
around a table and to changewhat might need to be adapted,
like the announcer at Keeneland,right?
Or starting this new type of 46bourbon.
What could you add for a newkind of flavor that could be
that could be.
(23:07):
Your little niche of it, of thechange of the legacy.
Delbert (23:10):
of the legacy.
And yeah, that's such awonderful thing to think about.
What are the legacies handeddown to you?
What legacies are you creatingfor yourself and your family and
your community?
There's nothing that's too smallif it's positive.
And what little changes andtweaks can you make?
To just make that go further anda legacy to sustain it.
(23:34):
Actually, sometimes you do haveto change a little to
Hess (23:38):
Yeah.
Delbert (23:38):
it last.
Hess (23:40):
Yeah.
So this idea of my grandpa JesseBollinger senior who, who loved
farms I'm the farm now in thefamily that, that the little
kids can come visit or go tohorse camp at.
And my dad always believed ingiving back and when.
When I went at 36 to get amaster's of social work, now I
(24:01):
give back through my profession.
Delbert, you have real estate inyour legacy that you continue
on.
You have your, while you talk, Iyou have the Carol's kitchen
legacy and so on.
Delbert (24:14):
And I think just on a, even a simpler level I always
talk about family dinner at mygrandparents just sitting around
the table, being together andsharing and.
times have changed so much.
That's one of the changes.
But when I do have my wholefamily together Together and to
have experiences together, Ilove to take my grandkids
(24:36):
swimming.
I love to take'em to thedifferent lakes in Kentucky and
give them an appreciation.
For the beauty of our state andfor the beauty of nature and how
it can have such a positiveimpact in your life.
Those are little things that Ithink that are really important
too.
So friends, go out in nature,create a legacy.
(24:57):
Get your family your village,your friends, whoever it is
together, make it a great week.
Make it a great day.
Hess (25:07):
And please leave in a comment.
What's your legacy?
Delbert (25:10):
We wanna know.
Hess (25:12):
However small.
Delbert (25:13):
We're curious.
We wanna know.
Hess (25:15):
Hey, we hope our Sunday morning chat.
Put some seeds of thought inyour minds, your spirit.
You're with us.
We love you.
Peace and love.
Delbert (25:25):
We love you friends.
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