06/08/2026
While I started writing Lem's Cafe's business plan in January 2024, the story began more than a century ago just up the road in Springfield, KY.
A couple of days ago, I introduced my great-great-grandfather, Lem Reed, the self-taught banjo player who entertained tourists at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in the 1940s and '50s.
Today, allow me the honor of introducing my great-great-grandmother, Kentucky Black Trailblazer, Annie Mitchell Reed. Annie survived Kentucky's largest train wreck, which occurred in 1917 in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. |
The reason for her survival?
She had been forced to give up her seat to a white passenger. When a southbound train from Louisville collided head-on with a northbound train, everyone in Annie's original car perished. But not Annie.
At the time of the wreck, Lem and Annie had eight children. They would go on to have thirteen in total. The thirteenth was my grandfather, Joseph Reed. If Annie had not survived, generations of Reeds, including me, would not be here today.
Lem's Cafe is rooted in history. It's rooted in untold stories. It's rooted in community.
When you visit Lem's, take in the history on our walls and share your own story with someone in the cafe.
📍 105 E. Flaget Street, Unit B, Bardstown, KY 40004
⏰ Mon, Thur, Fri: 7-2 PM | Sat, Sun: 8-2 PM
Where Kentucky Black History Comes to Life
