When I was growing up, a local family had converted a barn loft into a basketball court. “Barnball” became a frequent afternoon excursion, with trick shots and heated competitions. Over the years I have found that basketball can be played almost anywhere in Indiana and that no matter the venue, competition is always heated. From […]
Bellevue Resort was a pretty little place situated where the canal and an old tow path crossed the Michigan Road, roughly where Butler University is now. Operating in the 1890’s, Bellevue was part of the Kneipp Association and employed many different water healing techniques for members, as well as a rest point along a bicycling […]
Conservation is an ever-changing field, with new techniques, materials and approaches to preserving cultural heritage materials being continuously developed and refined. One way we in the IHS Conservation Department keep up with these changes is via our affiliation with the American Institute for Conservation, a national professional organization for conservators, conservation scientists, preservation experts 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 […]
Feature Photo: Repblican Presidential Candidate Wendell Willkie at English Theater in Indianapolis, 1940 (Indiana Historical Society) I spend a lot of time preserving and digitizing historical photographs of Indiana events, but I also like to take advantage of witnessing history with my own eyes when the opportunity presents itself. A big opportunity came this week […]
Most of the time I try to stay focused on my assigned topics for digitization projects, but I know when to follow an unexpected and interesting story when it presents itself. Recently, I was researching the Brant and Helen McKay Steele Collection for a project on women’s history and came across a folder of photographs […]
“Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people.” This children’s nursery rhyme really gets at the heart of what church is all about: community. And that’s what I have experienced while working with Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church members, their historic church records collection at the Indiana Historical […]
When recently researching Bethel A.M.E. Church, I came across a 32-page pamphlet that had long been in the Indiana Historical Society collection but had never been digitized. The Indianapolis Colored Directory and Year Book 1923 provides a great window into the African-American Community in Indianapolis. Labeled the “First Annual Edition,” it may well be one […]
