Moment of Indiana History

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Yaël Ksander

Raised in Alexandria, Virginia, Yael holds a MFA in painting from Indiana University, an MA in art history from Columbia University, and a BA from the University of Virginia, where she studied languages and literature. She joined WFIU in 2000, where she hosts music and talk programs, and produces features on artists, writers, musicians and other creative people for Artworks. Yael co-hosts A Moment of Science and writes essays for A Moment of Indiana History. She enjoys getting to know WFIU listeners--from those who submit commentaries for Speak Your Mind to those who provide the comments she reads on Saturday mornings.

Recent posts by Yaël

December 3, 2012

 

photo of red cadillac eldorado

You Can’t Take It With You (But Might Be Able To Drive It There)

In the 1970s, the owner of an Aurora plumbing business was easily recognized in town for the red Eldorado Cadillac convertible she always drove.

November 26, 2012

 

nineteenth-century fire engine

From Bucket Brigade To Professional Fire Department

Indiana's new capital had been established in 1825 without a fire brigade; not until a year and a half later was a volunteer company organized in Indianapolis.

November 19, 2012

 

vintage postcard of turkey pulling cart with child sitting on pumpkin

Giving Thanks On Schedule

Governor Noah Noble proclaimed Indiana’s first Thanksgiving Day December 7, 1837. In 1863, Indiana joined all the Northern states in a coordinated observance.

November 12, 2012

 

landscape painting by T.C. Steele

Adapting To Life On The Frontier

In 1812, Pennsylvania lawyer John Test and his family moved west, reluctantly settling in the Whitewater River town of Brookville, Indiana.

November 5, 2012

 

newspaper illustration of rally by The Wide Awakes

The Election Riot of 1876

Although the violence of the Election Riot of 1876 was not repeated, black voters continued to endure intimidation at the polls.

October 29, 2012

 

Henry Lane's Crawfordsville Home

Indiana’s Three Day Governor

US Senator and staunch Lincoln supporter Henry S. Lane may be best remembered for his three-day term as Indiana’s thirteenth governor.

October 22, 2012

 

1905 edition of Beverly of Graustark

“Romance Out of Indiana”: George Barr McCutcheon

George McCutcheon's obituary in The New York Times placed him in the “Indiana school of romantic literature,” noting the “innocent happiness” he had imparted.

October 15, 2012

 

Richmond Quaker Meeting House

An English Abolitionist Tours Antebellum Indiana

Candler was favorably impressed with the “young and vigorous city” of Indianapolis, but soundly disapproved of the legislature's attitude toward slavery.

October 8, 2012

 

colored engraving of the Indiana State Fair 1867

From Draft Horses to Corn Dogs: The First State Fair

On the fair's first day in 1853, 15,000 people went through the fair; on the second day, 25,000; attendees spilled over into attractions beyond the fairgrounds.

October 1, 2012

 

white-robed KKK members in Indiana

Worshipping In A Warzone

For a young Catholic boy in a small Indiana town in the early 1920s, attending mass felt like "walking through a battlefield”.

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