One of the best parts of my job at IHS is that I get to do a lot of reference work helping folks access the behemoth that is the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Family Collection. Mostly, I spend a lot of time with J. Irwin and Xenia Miller’s papers and with Cummins Engine Co. items that relate to […]
Have you missed a vacation due to the pandemic? My family cancelled our trip, and recently I have been reflecting on missing out on this vacation. Getting to take a vacation is a privilege no matter the timing. Luckily, with the digital collection at the Indiana Historical Society, I was able to take my trip […]
Columbia City, Indiana is in the northeast part of the state in Whitley County, just west of the city of Fort Wayne. At a time when the Asian population would be heavily concentrated on either U.S. coasts and select major cities, who would have thought one of the nation’s few soy sauce manufacturers would be […]
Just your friendly neighborhood archivist here, checking in with our readers to see how you are all doing? I know that we are all glad to practice being good neighbors and are staying home to help protect our most vulnerable populations from the spread of COVID-19. However, in times like these when we are all […]
Many families are like mine, with stacks of heirlooms and photographs dating back multiple generations scattered about different relatives’ homes, along with numerous family artifacts. After two years of experience with National History Day and the Indiana Historical Society, I began to wonder, “What is my history? What is the interwoven story of my family?” […]
Potica (po-TEET-sa) is a traditional Slovenian walnut bread, usually made around Christmas and Easter. Both sides of my family are from Slovenia, so potica was always available. The bread takes an entire day to make. If you start at 8 a.m., you’ll be lucky to finish by 7 p.m. The dough is very large and […]
We typically collect photos, documents, books and other materials that relate directly to Indiana or to the Old Northwest. But sometimes our collections include materials from out-of-state and even overseas. This is especially true with family photograph collections that document vacations Hoosiers have taken over the years. My family and I just got back from […]
Everyone has seen the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. It is hard to miss – it’s usually on at least once a day throughout the holiday season and on a continuous loop on Christmas Day. It wasn’t until 17 years after it came out, when I was halfway through college, that I found out it […]
This is part of our Midwestern Roots blog series, where we’ll be sharing exciting sneak peeks and information about the conference. Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conferencewill take place July 19 and 20 with preconference workshops on July 18. Find out more about Midwestern Roots and all the local and nationally-renowned speakers we have lined up […]
This is part of our Midwestern Roots blog series, where we’ll be sharing exciting sneak peeks and information about the conference. Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference will take place July 19 and 20 with preconference workshops on July 18. Find out more about Midwestern Roots and all the local and nationally-renowned speakers we […]
