Though previously unaware of the Headwear Information Bureau (HIB) prior to finding out that April is National Straw Hat Month, I am glad to know of this organization’s existence now. Founded in 1989, HIB promotes hat making (or millinery) through contests and public relation promotions. National Straw Hat Month is just one of many celebrations throughout the year that were created by HIB. This month was created to remind hat enthusiasts to put away their heavier cloth hats and make way for the lighter and breezier straw hats. Gene Stratton-Porter’s supplies with straw hat; Freiburger family ..read more

In 2021 I wrote about the history of Cinco de Mayo in the United States which led to my discovery of the first documented celebration in Indiana in the early 20th Century, decades before the American commercial popularization of this holiday that we all know of today. On May 9, 1910 the Indianapolis Star published an article with the splashy title, “Mexicans at Ft. Wayne to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo; Students in Notre Dame University Prepare for Unique Observance of Country’s ‘Fourth of July.’ ” Mexican students attending the University of Notre Dame were to hold a “monster banquet” on the follo ..read more

I think many would agree that the worst part of the beginning of any school year, club gathering, or conference breakout group is the dreaded icebreaker.  It’s always just a little awkward to on-the-spot conjure a fun fact about oneself. Fortunately for me, I have a fun-fact ready to go. My fun fact is that I’m a twin. There are two types of twins: identical and fraternal.  My twin (Riley) and I are fraternal and don’t look much alike, which has led to quite a few confused looks from folks. One elementary school classmate was so skeptical of our story that they, to prove we were lyin ..read more

From hosting viewing parties to welcoming the millions of visitors expected to travel to the state, Hoosiers are preparing for the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.  However, April 8 will not be Indiana’s first “day in the sun,” so to speak, in regard to solar eclipses. Indiana has been in the path for several partial eclipses over the years, and although rare, has also been the site to view a total solar eclipse. For many areas of the state, August 7, 1869, was Indiana’s last total solar eclipse, with totality spreading across the southern and western portions of the state. Map c ..read more

What do Elvis, gravestones, Frank Dudley, and basketball have in common? Well, they all helped to shape pieces of Indiana history. And they all are explored in the Indiana Historical Society’s podcast Unbound: A Collection of Indiana Stories. If you have been listening, then you know that we have covered all these topics and more. Unbound explores and retells the stories of the past which have been told through our publications, Traces of Midwestern and Indiana History and The Hoosier Genealogist, as well as our blogs, exhibits, and collections. I along with my co-host Regan will walk you thro ..read more

Continuing our National Days series, the month of March is filled with quirky, delightful, and interesting days. You can check out this month’s exhaustive list at nationaldaycalendar.com, the calendar which we are referring to for this series. Some National Days are fun and exciting, while others are not quite so. March 6 is National Dentist’s Day, and odds are that some of you will visit yours sometime this month. This day was established as a token of appreciation for those professionals who help keep our teeth healthy and fix any and all oral ailments! Here at the IHS, we’ve digitized a ple ..read more

Some surnames are common while others are rarer or nonexistent within our collections. When looking into names for my colleague Regan, I had four last names to search. One was very common, one was almost impossible to locate (due to similarities with standard words), and one was not found in our collection. The last, Hutchinson, seemed like it was the most promising to yield a connection. One of several letters to the Crawfordsville Seed Co. from Hutchinson & Son, 1914. IHS, M0420, cropped Five of our collections include the surname, so I got to work on comparisons. The one that seemed t ..read more

INDIANAPOLIS (March 18, 2024) — The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) proudly announces students have been selected to advance to the National History Day in Indiana (NHDI) State Contest after a successful Central region contest on Saturday, March 16. The contest included students from Hamilton, Marion and Monroe counties. Approximately 265 students took part in Saturday’s contest at Carmel High School, with finalists advancing to the 2024 NHDI State Contest on April 20 at Marian University in Indianapolis. NHDI is a yearlong program dedicated to enhancing history education in Indiana’s schools ..read more

While April showers may bring May flowers, March has been dubbed National Umbrella Month. It’s unclear why Thomas Edward Knibb, the founder of the celebration back in 2003, selected March, but it is thought that it had to do with ensuring you were prepared for the rainy season with the proper gear. In Indiana, and many other places, weather changes in an instant, so rain is possible just about any time of the year. In March of 1913, the umbrella was quite useful for all of these Hoosiers who were dealing with a massive flood throughout large parts of the state. Brookville, IHS, P0468; Shelbyv ..read more

Raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, by his mother, Nancy, and stepfather, Frederick G. Schatz — whose interracial marriage had shocked both the city’s Black and white communities — Wallace H. Terry was urged by his stepfather to rise above the racism he faced daily in his hometown, where African Americans could not sit down and eat with white customers in local restaurants, register as guests in downtown hotels, or swim in public pools. The youngster discovered, however, that he was always welcome at the city’s public library, Terry walked up two flights of marble stairs to the main reading room ..read more