Hoosier History Live

Indiana history teacher matt Barnett gives hands on learning to his students. Matt, who lives in Peru, Ind., will be Nelson's guest to share ways to spark interest in Indiana history among young people. In recognition of his inspirational teaching, he has won multiple honors and awards, including from the Society of Indiana Pioneers.

After the discovery that she had been embarking for years in the early1900s, on one of Indiana's most gruesome murder sprees, Belle Gunness has been considered among the most notorious female killers in U.S. history.

Many aspects of the life and crimes of Belle, a Norwegian immigrant, remain a mystery, including the total number of her victims, who included men, women and children. Experts suspect that more than 40 victims, including the dismembered bodies of Norwegian men who responded to a "lonely widow" advertisement that she placed in newspapers, were buried on her 43 – acre farm near La Porte in northern Indiana.

The soldier who fired the first American shot during World War I was a Hoosier. Because initial reports from France did not include the soldier's name, they only indicated that he was from South Bend. A media frenzy ensued in October 1917 to determine his identity, with widespread misinformation that was repeated for years.

Also in 1917, a nurse who had been born on a farm near Elkhart signed up with the American Red Cross to treat wounded soldiers at a military hospital in France. She became accustomed to nursing soldiers who had been injured by gas, a new form of warfare in World War 1. About 60 percent of the hospital's patients suffered from gas-related injuries; in many cases, their lungs and respiratory systems were barely functioning.

About 700 residents of Wabash County in northeastern Indiana once donated locks of their hair to create a harp. Well, an intricate artwork in the shape of a harp. That sounds weird (or at least offbeat) today, concedes, T.J. Honeycutt, director of archives and outreach at the Wabash County Museum, where the "hair harp" is among the exhibits that continually astonish visitors.

A mysterious illness killing songbirds swooped in over the summer and became front-page news across Indiana. Concurrently, the Covid-19 pandemic that's been so devastating for people apparently has had a positive impact on the hobby of birding. Hoosier History Live will do a deep dive into those and other issues related to our feathered friends. In September, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources lifted its moratorium on feeding birds in about a dozen counties after several months during which Hoosiers took down their bird feeders and bird baths in efforts to stop the spread of the mysterious illness.

In advance of the 20th anniversary of what has been called the most historic event of the 21st century so far, Hoosier History Live will welcome phone calls throughout our show from listeners.

We invite you to call the WICR-FM studio (88.7) at 317-788-3314 and share where you were when you learned about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, or describe the ways, small and subtle or significant, that the tragic event changed your life.

Indiana's population has increased by 302,000 during the last 10 years, but more than half of the state's 92 counties lost people. All of the five fastest growing counties border Marion County in central Indiana.

Hamilton County, where the population has increased by 26.6 percent, continues to post the largest gains, "with a growth rate faster than the state of Texas," reports Carol Rogers, co-director of the Indiana Business Research Center at IU's Kelley School of Business.

Carol, who will be Nelson's guest to discuss the results of the 2020 U.S. Census, serves as the Census liaison to Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Our show will follow up on a program in 2020 (May 2, 2020) in which Carol's colleague, demographer Matt Kinghorn, joined Nelson to discuss trends in advance of the Census results. Hoosier History Live also has explored ways that Census information can be used for historic research (Nov. 9, 2019).

During the past decade, the Indianapolis metro area grew by 223,000, accounting for 74 percent of the state's growth, Carol says. According to a report in the Indianapolis Star in August 13, 2021, 49 of the state's 92 counties – including most of the rural counties – have lost people over the last decade.

The Star also has reported on August 14, 2021 that the city of Westfield, where the population increased from 30,068 in 2010 to 46,410, led Hamilton County's four cities in growth, climbing by 54.4 percent. The other three cities of Carmel, Fishers and Noblesville all grew by more than 25 percent.

Concurrently, Hamilton County and the Hoosier state in general, continues to become more diverse. According to some reports, the state has gained 72,500 Asian residents since the 2010 U.S. Census. As has been discussed during previous Hoosier History Live shows, Indiana is the home of the largest Burmese population in the country; in particular, immigrants from the country now known as Myanmar have relocated to the southside of Indianapolis, Greenwood and Fort Wayne.

"Indiana's Hispanic population grew by 42.2 percent and now makes up 8.2 percent of the population," according to The Star's analysis. Black residents make up 9.6 percent of the state's population.

The drop in people in more than half of the state's counties reflects a national trend, Carol Rogers says. She reports that more than half of the counties across the country are smaller than they were in 2010.

In advance of the 20th anniversary of what has been called the most historic event of the 21st century so far, Hoosier History Live will welcome phone calls throughout our show from listeners.

We invite you to call the WICR-FM studio (88.7) at 317-788-3314 and share where you were when you learned about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, or describe the ways, small and subtle or significant, that the tragic event changed your life.

For this special show, Nelson will be joined again by Tom Spalding, who was the public safety reporter for The Indianapolis Star when he accompanied Indiana Task Force 1, the rescue team that was deployed to Ground Zero in New York City. On a show from this past July, Tom was a guest along with Dave Cook, a battalion chief for the Indianapolis Fire Department who was among the 62 professional rescuers from Indiana and their 12-member support crew dispatched to search for survivors.

During the 20 years since the tragedy, Tom has been re-interviewing many of the task force members for an upcoming book; they ranged from firefighters, emergency medical technicians and structural specialists to search-dog handlers. Many of them have described where they were when they learned about the tragedy and wondered, as a task force member from Boone County asked, "Would this change me forever?"

A squad leader with the Warren Township Fire Department - which has since merged with IFD - described for Tom how he watched the terrorist attack unfold on TV with his family. As he canceled a planned trip to Montana and quickly prepared to head to Ground Zero, he recalled the reaction of his 9-year-old son: "For the first time he understood my job was dangerous."

When the Hoosier rescuers arrived in the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings, many encountered still-smoldering underground fires. During our show last month, Tom described how several Hoosiers barely escaped being burned alive when a 50-foot wall of fire shot up while they were searching for survivors underground.

Most Hoosiers, of course, did not have to face that kind of imminent danger - although the extent of what might happen across the country was not immediately apparent.

"People who weren't deployed have the most vivid memory of where they were when they got the word about the planes striking and the Twin Towers falling," Tom says. "[The Indiana task force] was able to respond - do something - so the moment isn't as raw for them."

We want to hear your recollections of that raw historic news and its impact on your lives, particularly in ways that have not been obvious, such as tightened security at airports. Speaking of that: Our host, Nelson, was at Indianapolis International Airport, preparing to board a plane to New York City, during the suicide hijackings of the airplanes that crashed into the 110-story Twin Towers of the trade center. So he will describe the scene at the Indy airport during our show.

Also during the show, Tom will describe two memorials that have been erected to honor victims of the 9-11 tragedy. He has visited the Indiana 9-11 Memorial in downtown Indianapolis that was dedicated on the 10th anniversary. The public is invited to 20th anniversary commemorative events Sept. 11, including a rededication ceremony beginning at 1:30 pm at the memorial near the Indiana Central Canal.

The memorial includes engraved granite tablets that describe remembrances of the 9-11 events. The tablets are flanked by two steel beams from the World Trade Center; one of the beams is topped by a bronze American bald eagle sculpted by Indianapolis firefighter Ryan Feeney. Ryan, who also sculpted the statue of Peyton Manning at Lucas Oil Stadium, has been a guest on Hoosier History Live for a show called Sculpting famous Hoosiers show.

Tom also has visited the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on the former site of the World Trade Center. A day-long series of events is planned for Sept. 11 at the national memorial.

During the decades when Indianapolis and its downtown were far from vibrant, Naptown was frequently used - along with "India-NO-Place" - as a derisive nickname for the lackluster Hoosier capital.

But the actual origin of the Naptown nickname is much different than the negative connotation it later came to have, and the original intent was not to insult or disrespect the city, according to Steve Barnett, Marion County Historian.

Steve says the nickname was coined during the 1920s by African-American jazz musicians and performers who visited Indianapolis. As a creative and even affectionate way to refer to the city, they began stressing the fourth syllable in the city's name, and that usage of "Naptown" was picked up by GIs stationed in the city during World War II.

In addition to serving as a board member of the Marion County Historical Society, Steve is the executive director of the Irvington Historical Society, and will be Nelson's guest to discuss the history and evolution of nicknames for the Hoosier capital. They have included Indy (by far the most popular in the 21st century), Circle City, Crossroads of America, Amateur Sports Capital and, during the 19th century, Railroad City.

Steve also will share insights about historic nicknames for neighborhoods in the Hoosier capital. These monikers - some of them discarded decades ago - have included Stringtown, Vinegar Hill, Cottontown, Irish Hill, the Levee and Brickville.

Stringtown continues to be used to describe a neighborhood across the White River just west of downtown. With the coming of the National Road (now U.S. 40) to Indianapolis during the 1830s and the building of a bridge across the river, many houses were "strung" along both sides of the roadway, according to Steve's research.

As Indianapolis grew during the 19th century, neighborhoods often were given nicknames by the police "for easy identification," Steve says.

Some nicknames for the city benefited from a push by civic and business leaders. In 1926, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce adopted "Crossroads of America" as the organization's promotional nickname for the Hoosier capital, according to a column Steve recently wrote for the Weekly View, a newspaper that covers the eastside.

During the early 1970s, when "Naptown" had become widely used as a disparaging term, civic leader Frank McKinney Jr. announced an advertising campaign intended to promote "Indy," according to Steve's column. By that point, "Indy" already had been adopted by race drivers, mechanics and other auto enthusiasts. McKinney, a bank president, expressed the hope that broader usage of the nickname would "polish the image of the city."

For our 600th show, Hoosier History Live will explore an aspect of our heritage that's, well, notorious.

During the 1870s and '80s, outlaw gangs terrorized some Hoosiers, particularly merchants and farmers, in an area of southwestern Indiana sometimes known as the Lost River region. It encompasses Martin County, Orange County and parts of Dubois County.

"The dynamics of the gangs ... were typically built around an individual family, often brothers or a father and his sons, with other relatives and a few local followers," says historian Randy Mills, a professor of social science at Oakland City University in southwestern Indiana.

Randy Mills, who will be Nelson's guest, is working on a book about the notorious Indiana gangs of the late 19th century. They included the Archer Gang, which primarily was based in Martin County, where, according to Randy, their crimes included "burning houses, robbing neighbors and travelers alike, stealing livestock and murdering those who crossed them." Several members of the Archer Gang were lynched in 1886.

During the same era, the Reeves Gang in Dubois County started with petty thefts and horse stealing, then robbed stores in small towns. The gang, which was led by two brothers, George and John Reeves, eventually murdered two deputy sheriffs.

The gangs often were pursued by vigilantes, and some vigilante societies that formed to fight the outlaw gangs became criminals themselves. Called the White Caps because of their distinctive hats, these vigilante groups especially terrorized residents of Orange, Crawford and Harrison counties. According to Randy, several local political leaders became White Cap members.

Randy Mills and his wife, Roxanne, were among the Hoosier History Live guests in 2017 for a show that explored Hoosier perspectives on the Vietnam War. Books written by Randy and Roxanne Mills include Summer Wind: The Road from Indiana to Xom Bung, which features letters sent by a soldier from Princeton, Ind.

During the show about outlaw gangs, Randy will discuss why the criminals seemed to thrive in the Lost River region, which was isolated for much of the 19th century. Randy describes the region this way:

"It is a hilly landscape of caves, sinkholes, beautiful flowing springs and curious monolith formations, such as Raven Rock and Hanging Rock."

Outlaw gangs of the 19th century in Indiana also included a notorious band of brothers that Hoosier History Live explored during a show in 2018. The Reno Brothers, a gang of train robbers that primarily was based around the town of Seymour and other areas of Jackson County, made national news with their crimes.