http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory Weekly 2-minute program on Indiana History produced by WFIU Public Media in association with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 2005-2009 http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510154 aschweig@indiana.edu (WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org)) aschweig@indiana.edu (WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org)) History 1440 indiana, history, historical, podcast, wfiu, indiana public broadcasting, ipbs A production of WFIU Public Media from Indiana University Weekly 2-minute program on Indiana History produced by WFIU Public Media in association with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) aschweig@indiana.edu No no http://wfiu.org/podcasts/images/indiana_podcast.jpg http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory 144 144 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/teaching-jim-crowmerze-tate/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/teaching-jim-crowmerze-tate/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:24 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1929 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/teaching-jim-crowmerze-tate/feed/ 0 2:00 When the Indianapolis Public School Board voted in 1922 to establish an exclusively black high school, the cityrsquo;s African-American community protested. The cityrsquo;s black ... When the Indianapolis Public School Board voted in 1922 to establish an exclusively black high school, the cityrsquo;s African-American community protested. The cityrsquo;s black high school students were at that time integrated among their white peers at Shortridge, Manual, and Tech. Nonetheless, in the fall of 1927 the city unveiled Crispus Attucks High School, named for a runaway slave who became a hero of the American Revolution. Despite the facilityrsquo;s inadequate size, let alone the fact that its very existence was a function of Jim Crow justice, Crispus Attucks became a center of academic excellence and community pride. The brick structure at the corner of West and 12th Streets attracted eminently qualified teachers whose race made them unwelcome at other institutions. Many faculty members possessed masterrsquo;s degrees or doctorates; others were Ivy League graduates, attorneys and the first black naval officers. Making history as the first African-American to graduate from Western Michigan Teachers College was apparently not enough to land Miss Merze Tate a teaching job in her home state. The collegersquo;s president, Dwight B. Waldo, tapped a few Indiana connections to obtain a position for her at the newly opened Crispus Attucks. During her five years in Indianapolis, Tate became a member of the cityrsquo;s Fortnight Literary Club. In the summers, she pursued her masterrsquo;s at Columbia Universityrsquo;s Teachers College. The first black woman to attend Oxford, and to earn a Ph.D. in government and international relations from Harvard, Tate became one of the first two women in the history department at Howard University, where she taught for 35 years. Known for her scholarship on disarmament, the foreign policy expert whose advice was sought by the United Nations returned to Indianapolis March 28, 1936 to speak about International Relations for the Senate Avenue YMCArsquo;s prestigious speaker series. Merze Tate passed away in 1996 at the age of 91. There are scholarships in her name at Radcliffe, Western Michigan, and Howard; but for nearly seven years after her death, her grave in a Blanchard, Michigan cemetery went unmarked. Crispus Attucks operated as a high school until 1986. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/hoosier-yorkemily-kimbrough/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/hoosier-yorkemily-kimbrough/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:00:55 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1922 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/hoosier-yorkemily-kimbrough/feed/ 0 2:00 In her memoir How Dear to My Heart, The New Yorker magazine columnist Emily Kimbrough (b. 1899) recalled ldquo;a childhood that was happy in great ... In her memoir How Dear to My Heart, The New Yorker magazine columnist Emily Kimbrough (b. 1899) recalled ldquo;a childhood that was happy in great part, I think, because it was spent in a little town, where I was not a stranger to anyone.rdquo; In Muncie, Indiana at the dawn of the twentieth century, Emily Kimbroughrsquo;s happy childhood may also have been a function of her familyrsquo;s prosperitymdash;which was, in turn, a function of geology. The discovery of a massive oil field in Delaware County in 1876 ushered in an era of heavy industry there, fueled by the availability of cheap power. Emilyrsquo;s grandfather Charles founded the Indiana Bridge Company in 1886, building a home in the Free Classic Style Munciersquo;s East End. Emily lived in at 715 East Washington Street until age 12, when the family moved to Chicago. After attending Miss Faulknerrsquo;s School, Emily was educated at Bryn Mawr and the Sorbonne. Kimbrough got a taste for publishing as editor of the Marshall Fieldrsquo;s in-house magazine, and proceeded to New York, where she rose from fashion editor to managing editor of the Ladiesrsquo; Home Journal. After marrying and raising twin daughters, Kimbrough teamed up with actress Cornelia Otis Skinner to write a memoir of their post-college European tour. The resulting best-seller, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, came out in 1943, and was made into a movie the next year. Kimbroughrsquo;s literary success launched her popularity on the lecture circuit. She recounted her misadventures on trains and at womenrsquo;s clubs in humorous columns in The New Yorker, in which she frequently referred to her Muncie roots and Hoosier world-view. ldquo;This was good old familiar Hoosier talk,rdquo; she commented in one piece, ldquo;and I love it. We were friends by now,rdquo; she concluded about a train conductor, ldquo;because we Hoosiers become friends with other Hoosiers quickly.rdquo; Kimbrough maintained an affiliation with the entertainment industry, most notably writing for Eve Ardenrsquo;s TV show in the 1950s. The Greek Revival, Italianate and other late Victorian homes built for Munciersquo;s captains of industrymdash;the Ball family of canning jar fame, among them--were recognized in 2007 as the Emily Kimbrough Local Historic District. Having remained under Kimbrough ownership until 1947, the Indiana Bridge Company continues to manufactures steel girders and other construction components in Muncie. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/trail-lost-sisterfrances-slocum/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/trail-lost-sisterfrances-slocum/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:40 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1926 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/trail-lost-sisterfrances-slocum/feed/ 0 2:00 Long before the Witness Protection Program, a Pennsylvania native found herself relocated in Indiana, living under an assumed identity. Not the tag-line for a crime drama, ... Long before the Witness Protection Program, a Pennsylvania native found herself relocated in Indiana, living under an assumed identity. Not the tag-line for a crime drama, but the real-life Revolutionary War story of Frances Slocum. In the wake of the Wyoming massacre, American settlers in the Pennsylvaniarsquo;s Susquehanna River valley were living in terror. On November 2, 1778, a group of Delaware Indians entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Slocum in present-day Wilkes-Barre, and carried off one of their ten children. Barely five at the time, Frances was called Maconaquah, or ldquo;Young Bearrdquo; by her captors, because of her protests. Many years later, Frances recalled that on the first night, ldquo;I was very tired, and lay down on the ground and cried till I was asleep.rdquo; In time, however, the captive was assimilated: ldquo;[Delaware chief Tuck Horse] dressed my hair in the Indian way, and then painted my face and skin. He then dressed me in beautiful wampum beads, and made me look, as I thought, very fine. I was much pleased with the beautiful wampum.rdquo; Adopted by an elderly Delaware couple, Frances made her way westward to Niagara Falls, and Detroit, before settling on the Eel River near Ke-ki-ong-a (now Fort Wayne). After her first marriage to a Delaware Indian, Maconaquahrsquo;s second husband was a deaf Miami chief, named She-pan-can-ah, with whom she had four children. The family decamped to the banks of the Mississinewa River, as Frances recalled, sometime before the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. It was in a log cabin near Peoria, that Isaac Slocum discovered his long-lost sister in 1838, having been alerted to the identity of the ldquo;white woman who lives among the Indiansrdquo; by Indian trader George Ewing. The white-haired woman Isaac met at the ldquo;Deaf-Manrsquo;s Villagerdquo; was wearing at least seven pairs of silver earrings, but he was convinced of his sisterrsquo;s identity when he noticed that the end of her left forefinger was missing, the result of a mishap he recalled from their Pennsylvania childhood. Speaking through an interpreter, Frances resisted her brotherrsquo;s entreaties to return to the Slocum homestead. ldquo;I have always lived with the Indians,rdquo; she explained; ldquo;they have always used me very kindly; I am used to them. The Great Spirit has always allowed me to live with them, and I wish to live and die with them.rdquo; Remaining in Indiana with her two daughters and their families, Frances conceded to the Slocumsrsquo; request that she sit for the famed Indian portraitist George Winter, who noted ldquo;some resemblance to her family (white), yet her cheek bones seemed to have the Indian characteristics. Her personal appearance suggested the idea of her being a half-breed Pottawattamie woman.rdquo; Frances Slocum died in 1847 at the age of 74. Pennsylvaniarsquo;s Frances Slocum State Park marks the lands where the captive spent her first nights away from home. Along the Mississinewa River, the Frances Slocum State Recreational Area and Lost Sister Trail are a tribute to the historical figure, who witnessed early American history from a singular perspective. The watercolor study and oil portrait that resulted from Slocumrsquo;s sittings for George Winter are now in the collection of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/monster-meetings/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/monster-meetings/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:50:44 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1913 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/monster-meetings/feed/ 1 2:00 Itrsquo;s well established that politics in early twentieth-century Indianapolis was dominated by the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time, however, significant foundations were being laid ... Itrsquo;s well established that politics in early twentieth-century Indianapolis was dominated by the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time, however, significant foundations were being laid for the civil rights movement. Even before the founding of the NAACP, an Indianapolis institution came to serve as a crucible for integration. An African-American group founded in 1900, the Young Menrsquo;s Prayer Band obtained official recognition by the national YMCA by 1905. The new ldquo;Negrordquo; YMCA branch promptly organized a weekly forum at which local entrepreneurs, educators, and political and religious figures would discuss issues at stake in the black community. The name ldquo;Big Meetingrdquo; already claimed by the statewide organization, the black group dubbed its gatherings ldquo;Monster Meetingsrdquo;. As news of Indianarsquo;s Black YMCA was going national, a development campaign was launched to build the organizationrsquo;s headquarters. Donations from cosmetics magnate Madam C.J. Walker and Sears executive Julius Rosenwald headlined support from both the black and white communities. Another donor, Booker T. Washington dedicated the Senate Avenue YMCA building on July 1913. Faburn De Frantz quickly took the helm of the organization, serving as executive secretary until 1952, during which time membership grew from 350 to 5,270. DeFrantz acknowledged his radical reputation: ldquo;They say that DeFrantz is too aggressive,rdquo; he allowed, ldquo;but as long as I stay in this town I shall see to it that the Negro is in the picture of what is going on." Under his leadership, the Monster Meetings became one of the nationrsquo;s most highly respected public forums, hosting everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt to Thurgood Marshall to Martin Luther King. Other speakers included Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes. The meetingsrsquo; legislative branch played a critical role in undermining segregation in Indianapolis schools, jobs, housing, and recreational facilities. Advances included the integration of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, and the preparation of anti-hate and anti-segregation bills that were adopted as law in the late 1940s. The Senate Avenue Y was located at the heart of the Indiana Avenue neighborhood, where, through the 1950s, 30,000 blacks lived within a ten-block radius. Ironically, the integration the Monster Meetings accomplished allowing blacks to settle more freely around the city also dispersed the organizationrsquo;s base. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/beechers-hoosier-years/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/beechers-hoosier-years/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:00:03 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1911 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/beechers-hoosier-years/feed/ 0 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/portrait-black-life-young-state/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/portrait-black-life-young-state/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:25 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1907 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/portrait-black-life-young-state/feed/ 0 2:00 Most of whatrsquo;s known of African-American settlements in Indiana in the nineteenth century comes through census records, county recorderrsquo;s archives and the occasional building. In rare ... Most of whatrsquo;s known of African-American settlements in Indiana in the nineteenth century comes through census records, county recorderrsquo;s archives and the occasional building. In rare cases--such as Lyles Station--the settlersrsquo; descendants still inhabit the community and maintain its legacy, but many black pioneer settlements have gone the way of the Lick Creek Settlement, long since overtaken by the Hoosier National Forest in Orange County. To the north, most evidence of the small black agricultural community that once flourished in St. Joseph County has been relegated to Porter graveyard within Potato Creek State Park. Thatrsquo;s the final resting place of Samuel Huggart, a free black Virginia native who applied to purchase 80 acres in St. Joseph County in 1834. By the late 1840s, Samuel and his brother Andrew Huggart with their families had settled the area, which came to be known as Union Township. The settlement extended one square mile, bounded by what is now Osborne Road to the north, Indiana Highway 4 to the south, Mulberry Road to the east and Oak Road to the west. Despite a constitutional ban on black immigration into Indiana after 1851, Union Township was the destination for a number of free blacks from Virginia and the Carolinas, including Benjamin Bass, Noah Boone, and Hardy Manual. Records of Union Township contradict the image of life under state-sanctioned segregation. The settlementrsquo;s black farmers worked in tandem with their white neighbors at harvest time, and exchanged invitations to each othersrsquo; homes. The Huggartsrsquo; children were educated in the mostly white school at Olive Branch. The first black man to seek public office in St. Joseph County, Andrew Huggart was well respected beyond the rural enclave. "He was a good man,rdquo; read his 1881 obituary in the South Bend St. Joseph County Register, ldquo;beloved and respected by all his neighbors, and had many friends in this city." In 1880, the US Census counted 28 black residents at Union Township. Soon afterward, in keeping with a national trend, residents began to quit the rural life for manufacturing jobs in South Bend. The original Huggart farmstead was sold in 1893. The friendships that were forged across color lines among pioneers in St. Joseph County persisted, however. According to oral histories taken in the 1970s, rural white residents remembered being taken as children to visit their former neighbors after the black settlers had relocated in the city. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/slavery-statehood/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/slavery-statehood/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:05 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1905 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/slavery-statehood/feed/ 0 2:00 A haven for free blacks and runaway slaves by the mid-nineteenth century, Indiana almost legalized slavery at an earlier moment in its history. After the British ... A haven for free blacks and runaway slaves by the mid-nineteenth century, Indiana almost legalized slavery at an earlier moment in its history. After the British took control of the future state of Indiana in 1763, the French residents of Vincennes were allowed to keep their slaves. Although they lived in bondage, Indianarsquo;s slaves did retain the few limited rights afforded them through the French ldquo;code noirrdquo;. Slaves could appear in court; families were kept together; and many were baptized and married in the Catholic Church. When Indiana became part of the United States, the territory came under the governance of the Ordinance of 1787, whose sixth article outlawed slavery. With no cheap labor, however, many in the territory thought slavery necessary. Governor William Henry Harrison created a political party based on, among other things, legalizing slavery in Indiana. The party attracted immigrants from Virginia and Kentucky. Harrisonrsquo;s party repeatedly petitioned Congress for a ten-year suspension of Article VI, arguing that slavery was necessary for Indianarsquo;s settlement and economic viability. Congress granted the petition, giving territorial legislatures the power to make their own decisions regarding slavery. Under this provision, slaves could be brought into the territory, and their descendants would remain slaves. Late in 1805, however, thanks to party infighting over the creation of Illinois, the territorial legislature voted down the legalization of slavery. The anti-slavery contingent, peopled with new immigrants from the north as well as poor southerners, gained ground. Harrison ceded control to an opposition party led by Jonathan Jennings in 1809, when Illinois became an entity distinct from Indiana. In 1816 Jennings became the first governor of the state of Indiana, whose constitution permanently outlawed slavery. Within four years, an Indiana Supreme Court ruling freed the statersquo;s remaining slaves. This essay was drawn from the following source: Cayton, Andrew R.L. Frontier Indiana.nbsp; Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1996. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ryan-white-legacy/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ryan-white-legacy/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:38 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1895 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ryan-white-legacy/feed/ 0 2:00 Soon after he was born in Kokomo in 1971, Ryan White was diagnosed with Hemophilia A. Dependent on transfusions of blood-clotting factor to live a ... Soon after he was born in Kokomo in 1971, Ryan White was diagnosed with Hemophilia A. Dependent on transfusions of blood-clotting factor to live a normal life, at the age of 13 White became ill with pneumonia after a contaminated transfusion. During a partial-lung removal, White was diagnosed with AIDS, and given six months to live. Instead, White recovered from pneumonia, and hoped to return to school. With limited understanding of the disease and its transmission, many parents and faculty, and eventually the school board, attempted to bar Whitersquo;s re-enrollment. Throughout the 1985-86 school year, Whitersquo;s family fought continuous legal battles with the Western School Corporation. After persistent threats of violence and lawsuits, in 1987 the Whites moved to Cicero, Indiana where Ryan was welcomed by the school system. Attracting national media attention, Ryan White took the opportunity to address the prejudice that characterized the public perception of HIV/AIDS, stemming from its association with the gay community. White not only befriended celebrities with Hoosier ties--from Michael Jackson, John Mellencamp and Bobby Knightmdash;but Elton John, and President Ronald Reagan, who had previously been reticent on the subject of AIDS. Ryan White passed away April 8, 1990 at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. His legacy is evident in several national charities bearing his name, not to mention the US Ryan White Care Act, the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ringmaster-air/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ringmaster-air/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:00:19 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1893 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/ringmaster-air/feed/ 0 2:00 Now known as the Indianapolis International Airport, the facility once went by a different name. From 1944 to 1976, it was known as Weir ... Now known as the Indianapolis International Airport, the facility once went by a different name. From 1944 to 1976, it was known as Weir Cook Municipal Airport, in honor of a WW1 flying legend. When a new passenger terminal was completed in 2008, the Veterans Coalition of Indiana demanded that the fighter pilotrsquo;s name be restored. The namesake of the Colonel H. Weir Cook Terminal was a Wilkinson native and DePauw University graduate. After the First World War started, Cook enlisted in the aviation section of the Army Signal Corps and was assigned to the esteemed ldquo;Hat in the Ringrdquo; 94th Aero Squadron, led by American fighter ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. As a fighter pilot, Cook became known for single-handedly attacking groups of enemy fighters and successfully driving them off, which twice earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. He finished the war with seven victories and a promotion to captain. Beyond his own flying career, Cookrsquo;s contributions to aviation history include building the Indianapolis airport in 1931, and developing the dive bomber concept for the U.S. Army. Additionally, Cook secured recognition for the Wright Brothers as the pilots of the first powered aircraft flight. In March of 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Harvey Weir Cook misjudged his altitude during a routine flight in cloudy weather and crashed into the side of a mountain. He was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/amish-shipshewana/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/amish-shipshewana/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:00:14 +0000 Yaël Ksander http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/?p=1886 http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/amish-shipshewana/feed/ 0 2:00 Nestled within Lagrange County, Shipshewana, Indiana is the third largest Amish and Mennonite community in the United States. The Amish are a Christian religious ... Nestled within Lagrange County, Shipshewana, Indiana is the third largest Amish and Mennonite community in the United States. The Amish are a Christian religious denomination characterized by simple dress and lifestyle. Hailed as ldquo;the heart of northern Indiana Amish country,rdquo; Shipshewana lies in the core of the St. Joseph River Valley. Hundreds of years ago, Potawatomi tribes were settled in the area. Traditionally hunters and fishermen, Potawatomi were also able to cultivate the fertile land, and live comfortably. That era came to an end in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson took control of the valley through the Louisiana Purchase. Militiamen soon came to the settlement and drove out more than eight hundred Potawatomi in what has come to be called the ldquo;Trail of Death.rdquo; The Chief of the Potawatomi, known as ldquo;Shuw a wah no,rdquo; or Shipshewana was among those forced to leave. Attracted by the promise of inexpensive land, Amish settlers encroached on the area, assembling a small town only a few miles south of where the Potawatomi had been. Starting with a blacksmith shop, a church, a post office, and a sawmill, the settlers quickly expanded the town and erected buildings. In 1888, the first train bustled through Shipshewana, giving the town its official title. Shipshewana today takes up less than one square mile of land, but its many Amish-owned and -operated businesses highlighting traditional crafts and culture attract more than fifty thousand visitors yearly. podcasts,,shows WFIU Public Media (wfiu.org) no No