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Indiana Heritage Research Grants abstracts 1988

The Indiana Heritage Research Grant program was jointly sponsored by the
Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Humanities Council. from 1986 to 2001.

The Indiana History Bulletin, Volume 63, Numbers 5/6 and 9/10 contained the first and second year abstracts from the Indiana Heritage Research Grant Program; The following abstracts were published in Volume 64, number 2 of the Bulletin.

The grants are awarded annually by the Indiana Historical Society and the
Indiana Humanities Council (1500 North Delaware Street/Indianapolis, IN 46202/317-638-1500.) From 1986 through 2000, the program has awarded $937,363 to fund 337 projects.  The abstracts provide interesting models for local history projects and make available resources for research.

For further information about projects, please contact the entity listed in each entry.

Preservation and Sorting of Historical Photographs (88-3002); Manchester College, North Manchester, IN 46962. Contact: Ferne Baldwin, 219-982-2141.

 

The photographs which had been stored in the College Archives have been sorted into categories by subject and by time period. All photographs have been stored in acid-free boxes and are available for easy retrieval. Identification of persons in the photographs is partially complete and will be a continuing project of archival staff. Some photographs have been chosen for encapsulation and are now in use for display without fear of damage because of handling.

Photographs have been used to make slides, and both the slides and other photographs have been used in programs presented to many public and college groups. More than 300 photographs have been or are being used for centennial publications, including the new history, which will appear in late fall, and other pieces which cover specific topics.

 

History of Nursing Education (88-3004); Wishard Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association, 1001 West 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.

 

The collection of the Wishard Memorial Hospital School of Nursing Museum is housed in Bryce Hall of Wishard Hospital. Its scope covers the 97 years that the nursing school served the community of Indianapolis, from its founding as the Flower Mission Training School for Nurses in 1883. The collection consists of artifacts, documents, books, and photographs.

In this project, Ann C. Blunk served as a consultant to the Wishard Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association, which administers the museum. She advised them on techniques of historical conservation, established accession records and policy, trained volunteers, and developed an overall plan for organizing and preserving the museum's collection.

 

Transcribing and Cataloging Oral History Tapes (88-3005); Bartholomew County Historical Society, 524 Third Street, Columbus, IN 47201.

 

The project transcribed 24 oral history cassette tapes of people in Bartholomew County of German ancestry. The tapes were transcribed in verbatim form, and a narrative version was then written.

Anecdotes selected for their general interest about the past, will be published in booklet form as soon as possible. These anecdotes as related by interviewees are often poignant or humorous and are revealing about a way of life long gone.

The Cline-Keller Library at the Bartholomew County Historical Museum is the repository for the tapes, verbatim transcripts, narratives, a calendar of subject matter, and catalog cards in the general file.

Classroom teachers will also be provided with a copy of Back Then: Selected Stories from Oral History Interviews, compiled by the Bartholomew County Historical Society, 1989, to use in social studies and German language classes.

 

The Archives of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (88-3006); Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, 6501 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260; 317-255-6647.

 

The project established an orderly archives with catalog and index. Collection documentation includes history of the congregation, history of the archives, areas of collection, standards, and guidelines for acquisition, processing, description, and preservation. Materials are now accessible and preserved in acid-free folders and boxes.

The collection documents the congregation's history from its founding on November 2, 1856. It also highlights world events that affected the congregation and its members.

 

Images of Indiana United Methodism, ca. 1860-1980 (88-3008); Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism, Roy O. West Library, Greencastle, IN 46135.

 

The goal of this project was to index and copy the Methodist photograph collection in the Archives. Nearly 3,500 photographs, postcards, and, drawings dating back to before 1860, make up the collection. Subjects include Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren church buildings, groups, and ministers and their families from all over Indiana.

Copies of each image were made on 1/2 inch VHS videotape with the index number superimposed on it. A researcher can now locate possible images on the index, cue up the corresponding image on the videotape using the index number, and determine which picture to examine or have copied. Increased accessibility of the collection and reduced wear on the original photographs has been achieved.

 

John Carnes, River Trader (88-3009); Crawford County Historical and Genealogical Society, Route 1, Leavenworth, IN 47137. Contact: Roger Gleitz.

 

The flatboat journals of Hoosier John Carnes were edited and printed. The first journal began in 1854. Carnes spent the early years of his life transporting flatboat loads of barreled lime, bundled hoop poles, baled hay, and general produce down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to markets as far south as New Orleans.

The journals detail Carnes' expenses: obtaining and equipping a flatboat, supplies, cargo, and labor costs. Sales of the cargo and flatboat are recorded.

 

The George Winter Collection (88-3013); Tippecanoe County Historical Association, 909 South Street, Lafayette, IN 47901; 317-742-8422.

 

The watercolor paintings and selected drawings from the George Winter Collection were professionally photographed. Color transparencies in 4 x 5 inch format and 35mm slides of each of the images were produced. The color transparencies will be used for reproduction and publication requests; they provide complete documentation of the original work, including the artist's inscriptions and titles. The 35mm color slides are available in the TCHA Archives for projection and study. The images produced on the slides are closely focused views of the watercolor composition; accompanying catalog cards give transcriptions of the inscriptions and titles.
The approximately 600 pencil and/or ink studies were photocopied using acid-free bond paper and a top quality copy machine.
A fifty-minute slide/lecture program was produced using excerpts from Winter's writings and slides of his art.

 

From a World Apart to Part of the World: The Second Fifty Years of Saint Joseph's College (88-3014); Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer, IN 47978.

 

The project was devoted to videotaping and photographing early alumni and staff of the institution to preserve their personal reflections of their years at Saint Joseph's College.

Included in this history is the close association with the founding of the School for American Indian Boys (1888-1896) by Mother Katherine Drexel. After its closure, the Indian school became part of Saint Joseph's College.

This project has been an impetus for the ongoing videotaping of events leading into the college's centennial year and beyond.

 

Monroe County Historical Database (88-3016); Monroe County Public Library, 303 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47401; 812-339-2271; and Indiana University.

 

This project developed a computer database system for storing and retrieving historical records from censuses, tax lists, probate records, and other sources.

Information in the database will be used by students, faculty, and community members for research projects, genealogy, and local history. Computer programs written for the project make it easy to search and retrieve names of persons included in the database.
A record linkage module facilitates location of individuals who are found in more than one source. A computer terminal installed in the Indiana Room of the Monroe County Public Library is open to the public.

 

The Sellers Photographs (88-3018); Ball State University, 2000 University Avenue, Muncie, IN 47306; and Delaware County Historical Alliance.

 

A total of 614 user prints were made from 1,400 glass-plate negatives held in Special Collections at Bracken Library at Ball State University. These negatives were shot from 1910 to 1925 by Otto Sellers, a Muncie photographer. The prints provide a visual record of life in a midwestern industrial town during the World War I era. Their value is increased by the fact that Sellers carefully recorded the names of the persons and places that he photographed along with the dates.

The project produced a slide program about life in Muncie during the period, which is available from the Center for Middletown Studies, Ball State University.

 

The Seitz Collection: Early Hoosiers and Their World (88-3020); Ball State University, 2000 University Avenue, Muncie, IN 47306.

 

The project focused on the identification of objects contained in a unique collection of over 1,200 lithic artifacts from archaeological sites in Madison County, Indiana. The artifacts were found to represent a continuum of occupation of the area from the Paleo-Indian Period to the Historic Period and reflect changes in adaptive strategies in response to changing social and natural environments. Materials produced include statistical data in the form of artifact cards and computer discs which are located at Ball State University.

 

Retrievable History: Photographs of Jefferson County, Indiana (88-3021); Jefferson County Historical Society, 615 West First Street, Madison, IN 47250.

 

The project focused on the preservation of 700 photographs of historic importance in the Jefferson County Historical Museum. Photograph conservation was accomplished through assembling, cleaning, cataloging, indexing, and creating consecutive number and subject matter files.

Public access to the photographs is provided, using photocopies to preserve the originals. The public will be able to order copies of the photographs. The original photographs are filed in acid-free, unbuffered pH-neutral papers and boxes, with the photographs enclosed in clear, polypropylene sleeves and acid-free envelopes.

The collection includes 125 photographs of a local Jewish family with many nineteenth and twentieth century photographs.

 

The Farmer's World: A Study of the 1850 Agricultural Census for Indiana (88-3022); Conner Prairie, 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers, IN 46038; 317-776-6000.

 

This project was designed to collect and analyze data from the 1850 agricultural and population censuses for the state of Indiana as a means of producing a detailed portrait of rural agricultural life in the state at mid-century.

The most valuable resources produced by the project are the 5,341 individual household and family records and the computerized listing from which statistical analyses can be drawn. These records will be stored permanently in the Ruddell Library at Conner Prairie and made available for public and scholarly research.

Continued study of these records will enhance the ongoing presentation of the agricultural heritage of Indiana and will provide the basis for future exhibition development at Conner Prairie.

 

Research and Preservation of Miami Indian Documents at the Miami County Museum (88-3023); Miami County Museum, 51 North Broadway, Peru, IN 46970.

 

A working catalog and file system has been assembled of the documents related to the Miami Indians of the state of Indiana, which are on file at the Miami County Museum. The documents were sorted according to subject, placed in acid-free files, and indexed into the overall catalog system used by the museum. The documents and indexes were microfilmed so that future researchers can view the documents without disturbing the originals. A computer cross-reference index was designed specifically for these documents.

 

The Athenaeum Turners and the German-Americans of Indianapolis: Preservation of Their Photographic Records (88-3024); Indiana University at Indianapolis, Research and Sponsored Programs, 355 Lansing Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202; and Athenaeum Turners.

 

The project preserved, cataloged, indexed, and exhibited images from a collection of more than 500 photographs from the Athenaeum Turners, one of the most significant German-American organizations in Indianapolis since the mid-nineteenth century. The photographs document the people and activities of the Turners and other German-American groups in the city, principally from the 1880s to the 1930s.

A descriptive inventory, a subject index, and a name index for the collection were created in both paper and machine-readable form. An exhibit on the history of the Turners in Indianapolis was prepared, and slides were made of fifty-six of the photographs. The exhibit and slides are available for short-term loan for use in public programs.

The photograph collection, the finding aids, the exhibit, and the slides are all housed in the Special Collections and Archives Department of the University Library at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

 

Translation of Josef Keller's Festschrift (88-3027); Indiana University at Indianapolis, Research and Sponsored Programs, 355 Lansing Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.

 

The project's goal was to provide an accurate translation from the German original of Josef Keller's The Indianapolis Maennerchor: Fifty Years, a festschrift commissioned by the Indianapolis Maennerchor in 1904 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its existence.
The Indianapolis Maennerchor is a significant cultural entity in the central Indiana region. It is the oldest, continuously existing men's choir in the United States. Keller's book describes in considerable detail events in the development of German-American culture in Indianapolis. The translation of this book will give a broader insight into our common history and its rich ethnic components.

 

The One- and Two-Room Schools of Shelby County (88-3030); Shelbyville-Shelby County Public Library, 57 West Broadway, Shelbyville, IN 46176.

 

Former students and teachers were interviewed to document the one- and two-room schools of Shelby County. The library and the Indiana Humanities Council Resource Center have copies of the slide-tape program. Transcripts of the interviews are also available.
The collection of oral history interviews will be an ongoing project of the library. The library plans to assist in the publication of a book about the one- and two-room schools.

 

Saint Bernard Church Records, 1871-1986 (88-3031); Wabash County Carnegie Public Library, 188 West Hill Street, Wabash, IN 46992.

 

The Saint Bernard Church record project encompassed copying and computerizing 6,000 entries of Baptismal, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, and Death records of the church from 1871 to 1986.

Saint Bernard Church was established by German and Irish Catholic laborers who migrated to Wabash to find jobs in the mills and factories. These records of its parishioners are of significant historical and genealogical interest. They are being made available to the public in both a published form and a computer-enhanced version.

The two-volume set of the church records is available at public libraries in Wabash, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis, as well as the Latter-Day Saints Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

An Illustrated History of the Saint Joseph River Valley Region of Northern Indiana (88-3033); Northern Indiana Historical Society, 112 South Lafayette Boulevard, South Bend, IN 46601; 219-284-9664.

 

To accompany the new historical publication on northern Indiana, the Northern Indiana Historical Society developed a traveling exhibition of photographs representing the history of this region. A slide/audio program and teacher resource materials were developed. A lecture series was designed around the traveling exhibition. The series began with a discussion on how to "read" a photograph-what to look for, what it tells a museum visitor, and how a researcher uses a photograph. The series covers a range of topics on the history of the area.

 

Preservation, Documentation, and Presentation of the Elizabeth Bridg-waters Photographic Collection (88-3035); Indiana University, Mathers Museum, 601 East 8th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405.

 

This project produced a complete set of copy negatives from a 647-item photographic collection documenting the African-American community of Bloomington and Monroe County, from the late nineteenth century through the present. Images preserved include individuals, families, occupations, significant structures, and social, sports, and church organizations.
Each image is separately cataloged, with contact prints. Additional supporting documentation consists of taped interviews, family trees, and ephemera.

The entire collection is permanently and archivally housed at the William Hammond Mathers Museum, Indiana University, and is available for research.

 

Eavesdropping on the Past (88-3036); Lake County Parks and Recreation Department, 2293 North Main Street, Crown Point, IN 46307; 219-755-3685.

 

This project produced eighteen taped and transcribed interviews of local residents about their memories of rural life in southern Lake County during the early 1900s. Emphasis is on early farming, especially as it pertains to the Buckleys as a typical family. General rural lifestyles of the area are also described.

A forty-four page book, also titled Eavesdropping on the Past, was published using excerpts and amusing anecdotes from the interviews. Photographs of the time, copies from an original ledger, and a map are included in the booklet. Copies of the published book may be obtained from the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department.

 

Transfer of Historical Wainwright Films Taken 1937-38 to Modern Videotape (88-3037); Marianna Riddick,108 South Mountain, LaGrange, IN 46761.

 

Historical films taken by Jack Wainwright of people, places, and activities during 1937 and 1938 in LaGrange County have been transferred to videotape. A sound-track narration relating to the life and times of the late 1930s has been added to the original films. No catalog or index is available to the public. Videotapes are available for purchase.

 

Twentieth Century Social and Cultural Change in Paoli and Southern Indiana (88-3042); Dean of Research and Development and Oral History Research Center, Indiana University, P.O. Box 1847, Bloomington, IN 47405.

 

This project looked at Paoli's unique history and Paoli as a window to southern Indiana in order to understand local and regional reactions to change in the twentieth century. Thirty-five two-hour-long interviews resulted-of men and women from Paoli, representing different occupations, generations, and social classes. These life history interviews include reflections on community and national life, and will be housed at the Lilly Library in Bloomington and the Paoli Public Library.

 

Preserving the PIT Collection (88-3043); Helmke Library, Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, 2101 Coliseum Boulevard East, Fort Wayne, IN 46805.

 

Purdue-Indiana Theatre (PIT) is the production component of the Theatre Department at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (IPFW). A complete collection of documents, photographs, and slides of PIT productions dating from 1964 is now housed in the IPFW University Archives. Indexes are available.

 

Hoosier German Tales (88-3046); Indiana German Heritage Society, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Contact: E. Reichmann, 812-988-2866.

 

The Hoosier German Tales-some 300 anecdotes, tales, legends, stories, memoirs, and jokes-were collected by Eberhard Reichmann in conjunction with the continuing and broad-based Hoosier German Heritage Project of the Indiana German Heritage Society. The collection is drawn from a variety of oral and print sources. Publication of the volume is expected.

 

A History of Monroe County (88-3048); Monroe County Historical Society, 200 East Sixth Street, Bloomington, IN 47401.

 

This project utilized the talents of seven historians from Indiana University and the Monroe County community in a common attempt to research and write a new history of Monroe County. The historians involved Monroe County residents in their work through a series of public programs. One of the programs was televised and continues to be replayed on the Monroe County Community Access Channel. The volume is to be published.

 

Women Talk about Working (88-3050); Anderson Public Library, 111 East 12th Street, Anderson, IN 46016. Contact: Donna Cumberland, 317-641-2451.

 

This oral history project produced eleven taped and transcribed interviews of women who worked in the General Motors plants in Anderson, during the 1930s and 1940s. The interviews recorded the experiences of the women before, during, and after the unionization of workers in the facilities.

The taped interviews, transcripts, and Training Manual for Interviewers for the project are available at the Indiana Humanities Council, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Anderson Public Library's Indiana Room.