With the 150th anniversary underway, the American Civil War is getting a lot of attention. New books are being published, websites launched and events planned to commemorate the sesquicentennial. Indiana played its part in the war, supplying more than 200,000 men for service in the military. Our library has thousands of items concerning Indiana?s role […]
I love looking at old menus and recipe books. Historically, they can tell a lot about a time period and how people lived (and there is also the yum and yuck factor that can be a lot of fun). We recently catalogued several menus from the restaurant in Hotel Bates, all dating from the mid […]
Have you ever read a book by a ghost? It is unlikely that many of us have, but at least one author of the late 19th century has presented us with one we can. Being the cataloger of printed items here at the Indiana Historical Society has its advantages. On a regular basis, I get […]
Ah, it is State Fair time in Indiana and we all have our favorite activities. Most of mine involve the various food booths. I recently saw some unique images of a different kind of food? booth from fairs in the years past the Lard Art exhibit. Yes, instead of deep-frying it, Hoosiers used to create […]
I just got my invitation to my high school reunion I won?t go into to details but it is a, , significant number. The reunion Web site has some pages from our senior yearbook, and it brought back a lot of fond memories. Yearbooks can be a great tool whether you are looking for a […]
Tell me you label your images with names, dates or some kind of identification. I admit, I am horrible about labeling my pictures. I currently have almost 600 images on my digital camera and when the memory card maxes out I will finally get around to making some prints. Usually these prints are enjoyed and […]
Do you keep a diary, journal or daily blog? I often think about how researchers hundreds of years from now will use these items to document what life was like during our time. When I was young, I briefly kept a diary and although I don?t think historians will consider who I had a crush […]
When I was first approached about doing a blog for the library, my first thought was “YIKES.” Being new to the blogging world, this was unchartered terrain for me. After all, we still have dial-up at home and I rely on my 2 year old to help program our DVD player. However, the more I […]
