“I couldn’t take my eyes off Kitty the first time I ever saw her. And I still, after 69 years of marriage, can’t take my eyes off her. Our wedding was the beginning of a magnificent love affair.” Jim Baker and Kitty Morrison have a true fairy tale love story. They met in 8th grade […]
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) invites guests to celebrate the contributions and legacy of an Indianapolis icon with the opening of its latest exhibit, You Are There 1915: Madam C.J. Walker, Empowering Women. Through the new exhibit, visitors will learn about this self-made millionaire and the successes and struggles she and her beauty product empire […]
Feature image: Judge William E. Steckler, center, and staff, United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, circa 1950 (Gift of David Steckler, IHS) William Elwood Steckler was born on Oct. 18, 1913, in Mount Vernon, Indiana. He earned his law degree in 1937 from Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington. In […]
From The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, Spring/Summer 2019. To receive Connections twice a year, join IHS and enjoy this and other member benefits. Back issues of Connections are available through the Basile History Market. My story begins when I took possession of my great-grandfather’s journal. William Henry Harrison Medsker was nineteen years old when he began recording in a journal his daily activities for […]
It’s Indiana State Fair time, which means it’s time for the Indiana History Train! Since I manage the Train, I spend a LOT of time at the Fair. I was told it was selfish for me to keep all my tips and favorites to myself – so here goes! Some of these are basics, bust […]
From The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections, Spring/Summer 2019. To receive Connections twice a year, join IHS and enjoy this and other member benefits. Back issues of Connections are available through the Basile History Market. Henry Smith Lane (1811–1881) of Crawfordsville, Indiana, was a lawyer, banker, and politician during the nineteenth century. First associating with the Whig Party upon entering politics, Lane became involved with […]
Father Boniface Hardin intended to call his autobiography Pickin’ Cotton on the Way to Church, referring to his experience as an African American Catholic. This biography uses his title to honor his intentions and insights. Excluded from the seminaries in Kentucky because of his race, he enrolled in Saint Meinrad Seminary in Spencer County, Indiana. […]
Albert Allen Moore arrived in Indianapolis around 1945 with a plan. Six years before, Flanner House – the African American community service center started in 1903 – recommitted itself to “helping people help themselves.” Newly hired as the agricultural director, Moore brought his extensive training as an agricultural educator to grow Flanner House’s food program. […]
IHS is proud to honor extraordinary Hoosiers each year for their contributions to our state and the nation. Join us at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center as we celebrate our 2019 Living Legends – retail executive Angela Ahrendts, Catholic education advocates Dan and Beth Elsener, Holocaust survivor Eva Kor and Indianapolis Colts […]
A few years ago, a colleague showed me a photo of an Asian man named Harry Sasaki from the Larry Foster Collection she was working on. The photo was dated April 20, 1943, and thanks to Larry’s notes, we know that Harry Sasaki was at that time a vendor at the City Market in Indianapolis. […]
