Jan 29, 2022
Does it seem like a CVS or a Walgreen’s can be found on every street corner? In Indiana for much of the 1900s, the drug store scene was much different, and dominated by two locally-owned rivals.
Hook’s Drug Stores opened its first store in 1900 in Indianapolis in what’s now the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood, then...
Jan 29, 2022
Did you know the official "pin-up girl" of the U.S. Army during World War II was a native Hoosier? Selected because of her wholesome image, Margie Stewart, who grew up in Wabash, Ind., appeared on 12 different posters with a combined distribution of more than 90 million copies to soldiers (both overseas and in this...
Jan 13, 2022
Where do you start in describing a staggering collection of hundreds of rare items of Indianapolis memorabilia and ephemera? A private collection owned by antiques dealer Charles Alexander includes miniature models of iconic structures like the Soldiers and Sailors Monument; he owns two replicas created as the landmark...
Jan 13, 2022
Could the spelling bee craze that swept the country beginning in the 19th century have been kicked off in Greensburg, Indiana? The city in Decatur County claims to have hosted the first citywide spelling bee. And there's a direct link to "The Hoosier Schoolmaster", a best-selling novel in 1871 that was set in the county...