tjordan
When Timothy Jordan, the new executive director for Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, arrived in his office the first day on the job about three weeks ago, as a gift, the Ashland staff left him a copy of David and Jeanne Heidler’s book “Henry Clay: The Essential American” wrapped up on his desk.
What the staff didn’t know was that Jordan, who came to the position after serving as the director of public relations at his alma mater, Berea College, for the past 12 years, was already well-versed with Clay history, especially when it came to the statesman’s iconic Ashland residence.
Jordan first visited Ashland on a tour when he was just 12 years old back in the late ‘60s, and his visible enthusiasm for all of the history, architecture and antiques impressed the venerable curator Loraine Seay, who started working at the house when it opened in 1950 and stayed on until she retired over 30 years later – well into her 80s by that time. Seay asked the young boy if he wanted to come back to learn more, and Jordan took her up on the offer.
At first, Jordan was charged with sitting in a chair in the front hall and greeting guests as they entered. Within earshot of several rooms, like the dining room where the tour started, Jordan listened and began to absorb what he was hearing. Seay would ask Jordan questions about what he was learning, and eventually she felt he was ready to start the tour in the first room before she picked it up. Ultimately, he became an expert on the residence.
“I learned the dining room, the drawing room, the library, so eventually I learned the whole tour route as it was being interpreted at that time, and (Seay) put me to work as a tour guide,” Jordan remembered. “Summers and weekends throughout junior high and high school, I did that. And absolutely loved it.”
Jordan moved away to college, but when he and his wife returned to Lexington to start their careers, he would volunteer at Ashland on the weekends. When he wasn’t living in Lexington, Jordan always made it a point to visit the estate on special occasions as often as he could.
Now, just as during his youthful summers, he gets to visit every day.
“I’ve been at Ashland off and on through the years, but I’m delighted now to come back in this capacity,” he said.
While still fresh on his new job, Jordan is listening to Ashland staff and board members, learning about people’s experiences and responsibilities and identifying short- and long-term goals, be it enhancing the “already superb” programming or finding additional avenues to secure Ashland’s financial future.
He’s also learning that a lot of the information about Clay and Ashland he gleaned from the tours growing up has become outdated.
“I’m having to unlearn some of the myths, and I don’t know if it was intentional or just misinformation people had in the earlier days, but some of the stories that we told on the tours then, evidence has come to light that those aren’t necessarily historically accurate,” Jordan said.
Being immersed in Clay artifacts and history on his new job, now later in life Jordan has a much better understanding and appreciation for Clay’s contributions in shaping Kentucky and the nation, and he thinks many Lexingtonians, not just nearby neighbors, could benefit from a history lesson on The Great Compromiser.
“Henry Clay is so relevant today. Compromise has kind of taken on a negative connotation, and that’s not the case. Compromise in Clay’s case was a win-win. He wanted both parties to come to a great position,” Jordan said. “I don’t think that contemporary people realize the relevance of Henry Clay to our own lives, and also all of the things he did from 1800 - 1852, when he died, [are still] directing the course of history in many respects.
“So they should come over and check him out and his estate here,” he added, “and give a tip of the hat to a man that has great influence on us, even now.”