Madge Oberholtzer: A follow-up about the woman who helped bring down the KKK
Release Date: 07/18/2024
Vinyl era of Indiana music: a follow-up
Hoosier History Live
Rock and roll icon Chuck Berry was the headliner at a concert at in 1972, the first of a long-forgotten series of music festivals at the former baseball stadium in Indianapolis. A poster for that 1972 concert is now part of the collection of the . So are rare vinyl LP's and 45's featuring Indiana musicians. And so are four Indiana University yearbooks from each year that was a student in the 1920s, although the music history project generally focuses on the "vinyl era"; that's usually defined as stretching from 1950 to 1990. The 1972 poster, vinyl LP's and yearbooks...
info_outline
D-Day and Hoosiers: 80 years later
Hoosier History Live
As Hoosier History Live salutes the recent 80th anniversary of , a milestone during , we will explore the Indiana connections to the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken. Our guest, World War II historian , an author and chaplain, interviewed Hoosiers involved in various ways with D-Day, which was June 6, 1944. He also has researched the lives of those who did not make it home. In addition, Ron has visited American cemeteries in Normandy, France, and Luxembourg. So we also will discuss Hoosiers who are buried at the graveyards, including a pacifist from Indianapolis who...
info_outline
Madge Oberholtzer: A follow-up about the woman who helped bring down the KKK
Hoosier History Live
New information continues to emerge about a woman whose deathbed testimony in 1925 helped end the stranglehold of the notorious in Indiana. And there are multiple, new efforts underway to spotlight the legacy of , the victim of a lurid crime by KKK leader, , her neighbor in the neighborhood of Indianapolis. So Hoosier History Live will follow up a show from with Charlotte Ottinger, the author of a trail-blazing biography titled published by the . A registered nurse who also lives in Irvington, Charlotte will return as Nelson's...
info_outline
Busting myths about historic houses
Hoosier History Live
Maybe you have heard some of these comments about houses built in the 1800s and early 1900s: "They never had closets." "Anything that sticks out of the house – like a wing -- was a subsequent addition." "Their only light was from candles or kerosene lamps." These are widespread misconceptions that our distinguished guest, Indianapolis-based architectural historian of , plans to dispel when he joins Nelson in-studio. For more than 15 years, Ben Ross has been involved in analyzing, interpreting and planning for the future of historic sites in Indiana and across the country,...
info_outline
An acclaimed race driver and a sportswriter: two lives cut short
Hoosier History Live
A fan favorite even though he shunned publicity, hard-charging was the two-time defending champion at the and on his way to a third consecutive victory in 1955 when he was killed during a horrific crash. One of his closest friends was a nationally acclaimed sportswriter, charismatic of the , who chronicled Vukovich's rise from a hard-scrabble childhood (and a family tragedy) to his triumphs at the . Angelopolous had completed an eagerly anticipated biography of his friend before the sportswriter died at age 43, probably as a result of radiation...
info_outline
Marquis de Lafayette, his farewell tour and Indiana
Hoosier History Live
All across the state, sites are named in his honor. The city of Lafayette, for example. In Indianapolis, there's Lafayette Road. In the city of Princeton in southwestern Indiana, there's a Lafayette Park. And the , hailed as a hero of both the American Revolution and the French Revolution, is the only individual to have two counties in Indiana with names associated with him: Fayette County and LaGrange County. LaGrange was the name of an estate in France owned by Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834). Now, admirers across the country, including Hoosiers, are preparing to spotlight the 200th...
info_outline
Deaths in the White House, including a First Lady
Hoosier History Live
Sure, the White House has been the setting for hundreds of joyous and celebratory events. But the historic home of U.S. presidents and their families also has been a setting for deaths, including that of the only First Lady from Indianapolis. Not only did , the beloved wife of , die in the White House, so did his grandfather. , the shortest-serving president in history, had only held office for 31 days when he died in 1841 at age 68. He had been elected to the presidency as a resident of Ohio; beginning at age 27, though, he had served as the first governor of the Indiana Territory...
info_outline
Hoosiers who claimed to witness Lincoln’s assassination
Hoosier History Live
Nearly 160 years ago this month, was assassinated in Washington D.C. Witnesses to the tragic event on April 14, 1865 may have included several Hoosiers who claimed to be at Ford's Theatre. In the decades following the shooting, residents of Indiana towns and cities including in Tippecanoe County, in Montgomery County, in Grant County and on the Ohio River – as well as – were interviewed by newspapers about what they witnessed. Or claimed to have seen. During our show, we will explore these reports, including some involving...
info_outline
Amelia Earhart and her Indiana connections: Encore
Hoosier History Live
She vanished more than 75 years ago over the South Pacific while attempting to fly around the world in a twin-engine airplane sponsored by . That's just one of the connections between famous aviator and the Hoosier state. She was particularly associated with Purdue, which has the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of artifacts associated with the famous aviator, whose disappearance in 1937 remains a mystery. To explore the sky-high stack of Earhart links to Indiana, Purdue staff writer and historian , an aviation expert, joins Nelson for an encore...
info_outline
Some landmark structures in Indy, then and now
Hoosier History Live
Have you ever gazed up at the Art Deco-style in downtown Indianapolis? With its tiered exterior design of the upper floors, the 14-story building has been a landmark on Monument Circle for more than 90 years. Also on Monument Circle, the has been a presence even longer. The building that houses the prestigious private club was completed in 1925 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. But two former Army airfields in Indianapolis are long gone. , where famed aviator Charles Lindbergh made a stop on a national tour in 1927, was in the Mars Hill neighborhood...
info_outlineNew information continues to emerge about a woman whose deathbed testimony in 1925 helped end the stranglehold of the notorious Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. And there are multiple, new efforts underway to spotlight the legacy of Madge Oberholtzer, the victim of a lurid crime by KKK leader, D.C. Stephenson, her neighbor in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis.
So Hoosier History Live will follow up a show from 2021 with Charlotte Ottinger, the author of a trail-blazing biography titled Madge: The Life and Times of Madge Oberholtzer published by the Irvington Historical Society. A registered nurse who also lives in Irvington, Charlotte will return as Nelson's guest to share more insights about Madge, who was brutally raped by Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of the KKK, during a train trip to Chicago with him and one of his associates.
After being brought back to her family's home, Madge courageously recounted details of Stephenson's physical and sexual assault. Her statements resulted in his eventual conviction of second-degree murder in a sensational trial that helped end the clout of Stephenson, who had intimidated Indiana political and civic leaders.