Sashes were a key way for women to show support for the fight to gain equal voting rights. While they came in a variety of patterns and with different phrases, they were frequently worn at rallies, parades and speeches. While all suffrage organizations in the United States adopted gold as one of the colors for the movement, the National Women’s Party […]
I recently cataloged programs for Chautauqua gatherings in several cities throughout the state of Indiana: Delphi, Greensburg and Connersville. This inspired me to learn about the Chautauqua movement, which was popular in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and brought culture and entertainment to many communities. The Chautauqua Institution, originally […]
On May 29, 1945, twenty-one days after German forces had surrendered to the victorious Allied armies, a father in Indianapolis received a letter from his son who had been listed as “missing in action” following the Battle of the Bulge. The young man, an advance scout with the 106th Infantry Division, had been captured by […]
In early April 1945, while covering the American invasion of Okinawa, an island located only 330 miles from Japan, two war correspondents, one a veteran of the Pacific War and the other a newcomer to the theater, were busy writing stories about the battle in a room aboard the USS Panamint, a McKinley-class command ship […]
Though the types of characters they portrayed were different, James Dean and Martin Landau became friends almost from first sight. Both the farm kid from Fairmont, Indiana, and the political cartoonist from New York City aspired to become serious actors in the city that could either spell fame or disappointment. Dean graduated from high school […]
Summer is officially in full swing, and after a rough few months, many of us are eager to spend some quality time with Mother Nature. Hiking, camping, biking, gardening, swimming, fishing… the options are as entertaining as they are endless. Plus, there’s an added bonus: it’s easy to practice safe social distancing in the great […]
There’s a certain amount of nostalgia that can be provoked by a still image, that’s why so many people love browsing the Indiana Historical (IHS) digital image collections. But a historic moving image or film can augment that feeling of nostalgia. The combination of movement, sound (in some cases), and a range of expressions can […]
You know how people have #relationshipgoals or #squadgoals? Well, I have #summergoals, and all my ideal summer dreams are thanks to the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Family and their dreamy compound in Windermere, Muskoka, Canada. Clear blue waters, piney trees, cooler temperatures, picturesque homes, boating around Lake Rosseau on a wooden Runabout, and meals al fresco. It is […]
Through my years of service in the library, archival and museum profession, I’ve fielded a plethora of questions from visitors, researchers and the media. Invariably, among the most frequent of queries asked of curators and collection managers by audiences focused on superlatives—oldest, biggest, best—is: “What is your favorite thing in the collection?” The prompting of […]
Before the building closed in March, I cataloged a very unique printed item: Fashions of the Hour, by Janaléne, Inc. I hate to admit it, but this album sat on a shelf in my office for quite some time. It required original cataloging, and because it was so different from anything I had cataloged before, […]
