Tag: Indianapolis

  • Minolta Hi-Matic 7

    When I started collecting cameras again I thought I might build a rangefinder collection. This Minolta Hi-Matic 7 was the first one I bought. When I picked it up, the first thing I thought was “brick outhouse.” If I were to put a neck strap on it and hide it under my bed, if someone broke…

  • The Boardman House

    A quick look at one of the oldest houses in Indianapolis, built 1832 on the Michigan Road.

  • The Michigan Road

    When Indiana was new, most Hoosiers lived along the Ohio River. The state’s first and largest city, Madison, was on the river, and the state’s first capital, Corydon, was near the river. Indiana wasn’t ten years old in 1825 when the capital moved to Indianapolis at the state’s swampy center. People needed ways to get to the…

  • Spring on Spring Mill Road

    I feel fortunate to have a really pleasant drive to work for the first time since moving to Indianapolis many years ago. From my Northwestside home I can take any number of routes along surface streets north out of the city. These are the old suburbs, filled with low ranch houses set well back from…

  • The church’s role in community

    The anti-establishmentarian in blogger Hoosier Reborn questioned the church trend of creating community. I wanted to expand on a comment I left on his post. North Liberty Christian Church was founded in Marion County, Indiana, in 1839. I’m told it’s the third oldest church in what is now Indianapolis. I found this 1855 plat map…

  • School speed limits

    This is where I went to elementary school. James Monroe School, built in 1931, was probably a model of modern school buildings in its day. Its slate roof and copper gutters had to cost a fortune. It was built anticipating growth on South Bend’s south side. I once saw a 1941 photograph of a class…

  • On the small screen

    I debuted on TV in 1976, back when stay-at-home moms were still called homemakers. There were enough of them then that locally produced homemaker shows aired in the morning on stations across the country. A woman named Dorothy Frisk hosted South Bend’s homemaker show, The Dorothy Frisk Show, live each weekday on WSBT-TV. It was…

  • God grenades

    Last night I drove home after nine from a late dinner with some folks. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, still a novelty here, it was still light out, and it was warm. I rolled down my windows and cut through Broad Ripple, an old Indianapolis neighborhood known for its shops, restaurants, and nightclubs. I cruised…