19th Strother Family Conference
Our 2024 Strother Family Conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky, a city with many Strother connections, notably:
Zachary Taylor – 12th President of the United States (William line).
Gen. George S. Patton – 4 star general of WWII fame and pioneer in tank warfare (Jeremiah line)
Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. – Founder of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby (William line)
George Arnold Fenwick, Sr. – Born in Louisville, co-founder of the William Strother Society, Director 1988-1992, and President 1994-1996 (William and Jeremiah lines)
Registration began on Wednesday, which included the first of two Board of Directors’ Meetings and the Director’s Dinner at the Captain’s Quarters Riverside Grill.
Thursday began with a bus tour to the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery and Memorial where the former President and his immediate family are buried. The tour then continued on to the Gen. George S. Patton Museum of Leadership, on the grounds of Fort Knox, which highlighted his career and leadership. After a box lunch at a nearby park, we traveled to the James Beam Distillery, founded in the 1780’s by pioneer and farmer James Beam. We toured the distillery and had tastings of famous bourbon brands like Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Old Crow and Old Overholt. The day wrapped up with a Belle of Louisville riverboat cruise on the Ohio River, including a ball-park-type supper!
On Friday, we toured two horse farms famous for Kentucky Derby winners: Stonestreet Farm Nursery and Hill ‘N Dale Farm. We got to see many horses including some foals. Friday evening was ‘free time’ so folks went to different places for dinner.
Saturday began with the General Membership Meeting which included election of officers and directors, and naming Fredericksburg, VA, as the site for the next (2026) Conference. The new officers and directors are shown in the ‘About Us’ section of the WSS website. The second Board of Directors’ Meeting, featuring the newly-elected officers, followed the General Membership Meeting. The day, and the Conference, concluded with a reception and banquet at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. This beautiful venue provided a fitting conclusion to this Conference and featured guest speakers Benjamin Patton, grandson of Gen. George S. Patton, speaking from his biography Growing Up Patton; and James J. Holmberg, from the Filson Historical Society, speaking on the intertwined legacies of the Clark, Rogers, Lewis and Strother families pioneering the district of Kentucky.
Attached is the Conference Schedule and the bios for Benjamin Patton and James Holmberg.