Moment of Indiana History
podcasts Archive
August 20, 2007
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John Birch Society
The anti-communist climate that prevailed during the post-war period in the United States may be most vividly represented by the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee. A somewhat less familiar manifestation of Cold War uneasiness was the John Birch Society. The still-active conservative political advocacy group had its start in Indiana.
August 13, 2007
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Indiana’s Carnegie Libraries
A philanthropic campaign undertaken a century ago left a permanent mark on the American urban landscape. From 1890 to1917, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated funds for the construction of 1679 public libraries in towns and cities across the country—not to mention 830 others around the world.
August 6, 2007
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Brazil Concert Bands
Formed just before the Civil War, the Brazil Concert Band is the oldest continuously performing concert band in Indiana. The collection of amateur and professional musicians that brings the Forest Park Bandshell to life Sunday evenings each summer got its start in 1858.
July 30, 2007
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Tell City Schweitzerfest
To commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Library of Congress, Congress launched a project that would provide a time capsule of American culture in the year 2000 . Local Legacies documented and celebrated more than 1300 festivals, gatherings and observances taking place in diverse communities across the country.
July 23, 2007
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Raintree County Festival
Every summer, the town of Danville, Kentucky sets aside two weeks to commemorate the anniversary of the filming of the last epic film made during MGM’s “Golden Age of Cinematography.” The Raintree County Festival casts a nostalgic glance back to 1957, when Liz Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Eva Marie Saint descended on the Kentucky town to shoot a picture based on a thoroughly Hoosier saga.
July 16, 2007
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Churubusco Turtle Days
Although he’s not as famous as the Loch Ness Monster, Oscar of Churubusco has his very own summer festival. Since 1950, folks in Whitley County have paid tribute to their own version of “Nessie” during Churubusco Turtle Days.
July 9, 2007
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Fred Jewell
In many places around the country, it just wouldn’t be summer without a performance by the municipal band on the town square. The band’s program would be equally inconceivable without a healthy dose of marches. Along with John Philip Sousa and Karl King, Hoosier Fred Jewell may be credited with a good deal of the march repertoire still heard across the U.S
July 2, 2007
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Pekin of Fourth of July
Although these observances predate it, the Pekin celebration is noteworthy for having recurred annually since its inception in 1830, when several families gathered for the 54 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Though Pekin was platted on the south side of the Blue River in 1831, within twenty years a station for passengers traveling on the New Albany and Salem Railroad was built on the river’s more level north side.
June 25, 2007
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Jim Jones
The tragic outcome of the Jonestown Agricultural Project is well known. A thorough understanding of the 1978 massacre of more than 900 people in Guyana, however, remains elusive—as does common knowledge of the group’s roots and its leader. Jim Jones called Indiana home for the first 34 of his 47 years. Born in Crete in 1931, James Warren Jones was raised in Lynn, another small town in Randolph County.
June 18, 2007
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Charity Dye
A portrait of the Indiana Historical Commission in 1915 shows eight members, some bearded and most white-haired, in similarly cut three-piece suits. But it is the ninth commissioner that especially piques our curiosity. Barely peeking above the others’ shoulders is a woman of a certain age, in a broad-rimmed black hat. Having just begun serving on the commission when that portrait was made, Charity Dye used the appointment to play a major role in the state’s Centennial Celebration.
