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Dec 26, 2021

The Green Book was an annual guidebook for African America motorists during an era of widespread discrimination. Published from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s, the Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, gasoline stations and other sites that welcomed all travelers.

Because sites across Indiana were included in...


Dec 17, 2021

Strange, but true: A clog dancer on the vaudeville circuit became mayor of Indianapolis in 1910. Mayor Lew Shank resigned three years later and returned to vaudeville as a humorist, paired with a trained horse. In 1922, he easily won re-election as mayor of the Hoosier capital.

More strange, but true: The second...


Dec 14, 2021

It's been 60 years since a native Hoosier became the second American to go up in space. His journey, which began amid much excitement in 1961, concluded in a disappointing manner. But Gus Grissom - one of the original seven U.S. astronauts selected by NASA- went on to success after the Liberty Bell 7 mission, becoming...


Dec 14, 2021

When Indianapolis based TV and radio personality Jimmy Mack recently passed away at the  age of 99, many tributes referred to him as "Indy's own Dick Clark". That's because during the 1960s and late '50s, Jimmy Mack was the popular host of teen dance shows "Bandstand 13" and "Teen Twirl" that were modeled after 


Dec 14, 2021

In 1907, a national "first" occurred in Indiana, but it wasn't for an achievement that would be regarded with historic pride. Indiana passed the first state eugenics law in the entire country, mandating the sterilization of some men and women in state custody.