Moment of Indiana History
podcasts Archive
May 26, 2008
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Mother Theodore Guerin
Within the cultural mythology of Indiana, Hoosiers are traditionally considered good, wholesome folks…but not exactly saints ? The Hoosier demographic was broadened considerably, however, with the canonization of a French native who came to Indiana as a missionary.
May 19, 2008
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Bette Cadou
Now known as the voice that announces the start of the Indy 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Mari Hulman George was barred from checking in on the pit crew servicing the race car she owned back in the 1960s.
May 12, 2008
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Jackson County Vigilance Committee
Long before their third attempted train robbery, the Reno Gang had fomented lawlessness across Jackson County. The brothers and their associates were seasoned bank robbers, cattle rustlers, bounty jumpers, arsonists and murderers by the time they first held up a train in 1866—thereby introducing a new brand of larceny to the lexicon of crime.
May 5, 2008
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Reno Gang
Frank, John, Simeon and William Reno were raised on a 400-acre farm in Jackson County along with a sister, Laura, and a relatively law-abiding brother, known later as “Honest Clint.” Sundays, the children were required to spend the day reading scripture.
April 28, 2008
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Hickory Chic
A resurgence of interest in the Arts and Crafts movement in architecture and design has resulted in a renaissance, of sorts, for Indiana hickory furniture. Increasingly showcased in museum exhibitions and interior decorating schemes, the rustic pieces date to Indiana’s pioneer past.
April 21, 2008
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Howard Cadle
From Winona Lake’s Billy Sunday, whose exhortations helped pass Prohibition in 1919, to Jim Jones, whose Indianapolis People’s Temple came to its tragic end in 1978, Indiana has produced its share of charismatic preachers.
April 14, 2008
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Mail Pouch Barns
Ramshackle barns exhorting passers-by to “treat [themselves] to the best” have become a familiar element of road-trip vernacular. Those wandering down Indiana’s scenic routes, or browsing around the courthouse square in certain county seats are sure to encounter the fading call to action–“Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco”.
April 7, 2008
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Kennedy and King
Indiana’s Democratic leadership was not enthusiastic about Robert Kennedy’s presidential bid in 1968, which he had announced in mid-March, just before flying to Indianapolis to register for its May primary. The junior Senator from New York and erstwhile U.S. Attorney General who had long championed civil rights returned to stump across Indiana April 4 th.
March 31, 2008
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Ruth Lilly
The worlds of poetry and arts advocacy were astounded when, in late 2002, it was announced that the small Chicago publication, Poetry , and the Washington-based lobbying group Americans for the Arts were the beneficiaries of gifts of more than 100 million dollars apiece.
March 24, 2008
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Mary Jane Ward
The author of five previous novels—only two of which had been published—Mary Jane Ward was unprepared for the firestorm that surrounded The Snake Pit when it was released in 1946.
