South Bend Time Machine

#26 The Studebaker Electric Fountain, a South Bend landmark, was dedicated in 1906 and disappeared from public view in 1941. Part of it turned up in 2009, and now the grand fountain has been restored and placed in Leeper Park.…

Mishawaka resident Dan Dosmann collects vintage postcards of the South Bend area. In this episode, he talks with host Margaret Fosmoe about what postcards can teach about local history and how to get started with the hobby.

A hundred years ago this summer, the U.S. War Department sent a convoy of military motor vehicles on an audacious mission: a 3,442-mile cross-country caravan on the nation's young road system. It was not an easy assignment. This podcast episode…

As South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns for the Democratic nomination for president, we look back at the only time a South Bend resident was on a presidential ticket. South Bend’s own Schuyler Colfax — newspaper publisher, congressman and Speaker…

This episode is about the Lake Shore Gang, a South Bend-based gang of train and bank robbers who terrorized the region in the 1890s and early 1900s. The guest is Greta Fisher, a South Bend resident and historian who has…

The South Bend Watch Co. was a well-known manufacturer of quality pocket watches for nearly 30 years. The factory had a connection to the Studebaker company of wagon and automobile fame, but hardly anyone today remembers that South Bend used…

Episode 20: In 1936, in the middle of the Great Depression, South Bend began a major engineering project to extend Riverside Drive north toward Michigan. It involved digging a channel and relocating a section of the St. Joseph River. The…

Episode 19: In May 1924, violence broke out on the streets of South Bend. It was a three-day confrontation between local residents, mainly University of Notre Dame students, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was a force…

A small woolen mill founded in Mishawaka in 1838 grew to become the city's largest employer. The Ball-Band factory became well known for the footwear it produced as well as help on the home front during World War II. With…

On June 29, 1955, long lines of cars and buses streamed out of South Bend, leaving the downtown virtually vacant. It was the early days of the Cold War and local residents were participating in a drill in case a…