Sometimes you acquire a collection for one reason and then are pleasantly surprised at the unrelated richness of the material. Let me explain. In 2016 we received donations from the daughter of Mercer Mance and Kathalyn Stuart Mance. This was a collection of things acquired by our dear departed friend and colleague Wilma Gibbs Moore. […]
When examining European immigration to the United States and in Indiana in the first half of the 20th century, you hear about Germans, Poles, Italians, Irish and more. One such population that often goes statistically unnoticed are the Españoles or Spaniards. Their early 20th century migration period to the United States has been referred to […]
This last month of winter is arguably the most romantic month of all, no doubt because of that cloying holiday we call Valentine’s Day. February 14th is, of course, devoted to all things that communicate love, from Hallmark cards and heart-shaped chocolate boxes to freshly cut roses. But romance and symbolism aside, Valentine’s Day is […]
I started my embroidering journey in elementary school. To be honest, I was really upset with my mom that she first started teaching me some of the more intricate stitches, French knots, satin stitch, stem stitch and more over the more common cross stitch, which she was teaching to my friend. She noted that cross […]
The start of the year tends to be quite chilly, thus it should come as no surprise that January celebrates national hat day. To me, January 15th calls to mind images of warm hats donned on a snowy day. But aside from serving to keep its wearers warm and comfortable, hats for many years were […]
A little over a year ago I sat in my office working when my coworker, archivist Barbara Quigley, appeared in my doorway. In her hand, she held several 5×7 photographs. She asked, “Do you know someone named Janice Steimel?” For a moment, my answer was no. I didn’t know Janice Steimel. And then it dawned […]
Here in central Indiana, January often brings us the cold, biting days of Winter. It’s no wonder that the National Day Calendar highlights both soup and hot tea this month. Tea month is celebrated thanks to The Tea Council founded in 1950, while soup has been celebrated since 1986 thanks to soup giant Campbell’s. It […]
Trying to search for a surname like Johns proved to be interesting. I had to work to determine the best terms and ways to remove terms to get the best search possible. In this instance, I ran a search for: Johns -Johnson -Johnston. This weeded out the more common surnames Johnson and Johnston and made […]
According to National Day Calendar, December is National Tie Month. Though the origin of the celebration is unknown, I have a guess. As neckties are often given as gifts, especially for Father’s Day and Christmas, it seems fitting that we should celebrate in one of those prime gift-giving months. While ties are more often thought […]
Years ago, in a newspaper search I came across an article about a string of burglaries in 1931, one was at an Indianapolis chili parlor owned by Philip Gomez. Researching Phillip’s life has initiated multiple discoveries, and he has served as a teaching tool on of how we have statistically defined Latinos throughout history in […]
