Category Archives: Collections and Library

Dates of Caring: February Celebration Days

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 […]

Not Just Sew Sew: National Embroidery Month

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 […]

Celebration Days in January

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 […]

Surprises from the Archives

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 […]

Are We Related?: Johns

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 […]

Once Upon A Tie: National Tie Month

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 […]

Celebration Days in November

I love November – it’s one of my favorite months of the year. The temperature is starting to cool down meanwhile some people are preparing for Thanksgiving and observing National Indigenous Peoples Day. November has many fun and interesting holidays like Saxophone Day. Saxophones are popular for use in jazz music. Indiana has produced many […]

Are We Related?: Maxwell

My colleague Suzanne shared another surname with me, Maxwell. I started digging and quickly found several references to that name in the IHS collections. The search took a little longer because this surname is also a fairly common given name. I found 13 unique Maxwells pictured within the collections, a selection of those available in […]