And by Betsy Kennedy
When you come to the Kentucky Capitol, you’ll see a lot of historic paintings, architecture, statues but you just might miss the bird sanctuary that sits quietly to the right of the Capitol as you come up Capital Avenue. There is quite a long history to the sanctuary that is maintained by members of the Garden Club of Frankfort.
It was in the early 1900s, Mrs. H.V. McChesney, wife of the superintendent of public instruction, fostered an interest in birds through talks by specialists and by the sale of seals depicting birds.
When Mr. H.V. McChesney, of Smithland, Kentucky, was elected state superintendent of public instruction in 1899 the family came to Frankfort, where their presence enriched the community in many ways. Mrs. McChesney, while serving two terms as state chairman of the fine arts department of the Kentucky Federation of Women’s Clubs, listed all the paintings by Kentucky artists that are in Franklin County, and was instrumental in securing valuable paintings for the Kentucky Historical Society.
She was first vice-president, chairman of the Student Loan Fund, and served on the board of directors of the State Federation for 20 years. In 1940, the years of the Golden Jubilee of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, she was selected by the Woman’s Club of Frankfort to receive the Pioneer Woman’s Medal.
Under Mrs. Guy Vansant’s tenure, many activities took place including the establishment of a bird sanctuary. In April 1967, Mayor Farnham Dudgeon declared Frankfort a “Municipal Bird Sanctuary City to urge citizens to protect birds from stray dogs, cats, unlawful shooting and to replant berry-bearing trees and shrubs for food and shelter.”
In response, the Garden Club of Frankfort established a bird sanctuary on the grounds of the Capitol on a wooded hillside just above the upper parking lot of the Capitol Annex building east of Shelby Street.
The garden club wanted to continue and even enhance the bird sanctuary at the Capital because it provides food for the birds in an urban area. An immediate problem is to protect them from BB guns. It also provides the many visitors to the Capitol an opportunity to observe birds in a natural setting and perhaps gain appreciation for our fine feathered friends.
People who have never thought much about birds may even become interested in supporting our bird population. I reached out to the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet to obtain permission to relocate the sanctuary and make it more accessible. The horticulture services manager was eager for it to be relocated and designated the space as an arboretum. In the fall of 2023 members installed several bird feeders in the new space.
Six members take care of the bird feeders.
“I go every couple of days to fill the feeders because they eat so much,” Betsy Kennedy, chair of the committee, said. A partnership with Wild Birds Unlimited provides food, which is funded through donations to the garden club.
The community is invited to help feed the birds by either providing bird food or monetary donations to the garden club. Monetary donations can be mailed to Betsy Kennedy at 5204 Huntington Woods Road, Frankfort, KY 40601. Contact Betsy at Yarnaddiction62@gmail.com.
