Author Archives: TrendyMinds

From the Cataloger’s Desk: Poems of Childhood

Indiana has produced many talented authors throughout the years. Famous examples include George Ade, Theodore Dreiser, Meredith Nicholson, Gene Stratton-Porter, Booth Tarkington, Kurt Vonnegut and Lew Wallace. No list is complete, however, unless it includes James Whitcomb Riley, also known as the “Hoosier Poet” and the “Children’s Poet.” Riley was famous for using dialect verse, […]

Desperate for Pie

“I’M LOOKING FOR THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR SUGAR CREAM PIE.” More than once, excited patrons have written to our library in search of this holy grail of Indiana recipes. After all, the chocolate chip cookie has a verified origin story. Why not our official state pie? However, like the Devil’s Lake Monster or the Beast […]

IHS Adds Free Digital Scans to Preservation Week Road Show

Indianapolis—The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is expanding its free annual Preservation Week Road Show to include digital scans, in addition to one-on-one consultations with appraisers and conservators. This year’s event is Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis. Now in its […]

IHS Offers Free Admission to 16th Annual Circus Day

Indianapolis—Families can step right up for free admission when the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) continues its circus tradition. On Saturday, March 25, IHS will host its 16th annual Circus Day celebration, featuring family-friendly carnival activities, live performances and the Indiana Experience. Circus Day runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Eugene and Marilyn […]

Hot Off The Press: Giant Steps by Mary Blair Immel

Can you keep a secret? Or, are you like Lizzie, one of the characters in my new book, Giant Steps? I am going to share some secrets with you, and I don?t care if you pass them along. My book is classified as historical fiction, but I like to think of it as a truth […]

Digital Diaries: Not Your Typical Civil War Letter

Life is always interesting in the Digitization Department! We discover so many historic treasures that remain relevant today and we get to share them with you via our Digital Collections. This time the treasure is a letter written by Captain David Enoch Beem of 14th Indiana Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War. I had already […]

Family Memories of Atterbury

It’s stories like the Italian POWs at Atterbury, our newest You Are There, that make me appreciate my family’s roots in Indiana. Because both sides of my family lived in the general area of Atterbury, I grew up with stories about the camp. My mom’s mother moved here at 19 after she married my grandfather […]

When History Isn’t What You Expect

Not so long ago, in a place that?s not so far away, 3,000 Italians found themselves in a prisoner of war camp at Camp Atterbury. In 1943, Italian soldiers captured in North Africa got sent to various POW camps across the United States. A large group of them arrived in Indiana beginning April 30. These […]

From the Cataloger’s Desk: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The IHS library recently received a large addition to one of our serial collections: … Annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration …, asouvenir program issued by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Kevin Barry Division #3, Indianapolis. Our holdings now represent the years 1950-2016, with only a small handful of exceptions. The Ancient Order of Hibernians was […]

IHS Tells Largely Forgotten Tale of POWs on Hoosier Home Front

Indianapolis—In one of the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS’s) most moving You Are There exhibits to date, visitors will be introduced to Italian prisoners of war in the chapel they built at Camp Atterbury—their home away from home. The exhibit, You Are There 1943: Italian POWs at Atterbury, debuts March 4, 2017, and runs through August […]