‘An integral part of Lexington.’ Book details life, mystique of Sweet Evening Breeze
Maryjean Wall was a young college student at the University of Kentucky in the 1960s when she first saw “Sweets” walking through downtown Lexington.
Wall described the Lexington queer icon, “Sweet Evening Breeze,” as powerful-looking and formidable as she strolled by, walking either to work or her home.
Fast-forward 50 years, and Wall has recently published “She’s the mother of us all,” a book that details the life and mystique of “Sweets,” a woman she only saw as a passerby, but never got a chance to meet.
Known as “Breeze,” or “Sweets,” she was a churchgoer, baker, hospital orderly and standout leader for gender identity and sexual fluidity in the 20th century.
Sweets was born in Scott County as James Herndon and was well known as a longtime orderly for Good Samaritan Hospital. She was also a prominent Lexington drag queen and advocate for the Black and queer communities.
Most importantly, “Sweets” was seen as an “integral part of Lexington,” Wall said Sunday at her book’s launch inside the LexArts Center.
“She made a safe place for herself in this city,” Wall said.
Despite segregation and societal phobias, Sweets went anywhere she wanted to, and used her influence in the city to create safety for those around her, Wall said.
In the book, Wall, who previously worked as a writer for the Herald-Leader and has published a handful of other books, explores the myths that surround Sweets’ life and all the labels she defied to simply be herself.
“She wasn’t just a town character,” Wall said. “She was running this city behind the scenes.”
After learning so much about Sweets, Wall said the one question she cannot answer is how Sweets had so much power in the city of Lexington.
Some rumors claim it was blackmail — but Wall insists that is too naive and simple an answer.
Wall created her own theories in the book as to how “Sweets had this city under her thumb.”
“That’s what is integral to the story about Sweet Evening Breeze, this mystery that has never been cracked,” Wall said. “We had something very unique going on in Lexington with her.”
Wall’s book can be purchased on Amazon, or through the publisher’s website, McFarland.
