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December 11, 2021 Quirky aspects of Indy history
More strange, but true: The second governor’s residence in Indianapolis was blamed for making the state’s "first families" seriously ill beginning in 1839. Two of Indiana’s first ladies died in the posh house, which had replaced a never-occupied governor’s residence built at the center of what became Monument Circle. And wait until you hear about how a group of law-breaking interlopers from Kentucky that disrupted the first Christmas Day in the new city of Indy in 1821.
Known for his thunderous voice, humorist and clog dancer Lew Shank (1872-1927) not only had barnstormed on the vaudeville circuit, he had been an auctioneer (the most "spectacular" one in Indiana, according to newspaper accounts) before being elected mayor. On New Year’s Eve 1921, he gave the first speech on local radio in Indianapolis; later, he was reported to have made the first blooper on live radio. "Do you mean to tell me that people can actually hear me over this damn dingus?" he asked during the broadcast.
Nearly 100 years earlier, when the Hoosier capital was moved from Corydon to Indianapolis, a governor’s residence was built in the center of the Circle (not yet Monument Circle). But no governors or their families ever moved in; according to well-known folklore, they didn’t want to live in a ‘fishbowl’.
Surveyor Alexander Ralston had designated a governor’s residence in the Circle when he platted the city in early 1821. Later that year, the first Christmas in town was disrupted at the only general store. According to "Indianapolis: An Illustrated Timeline", "four men from Kentucky arrived on a keelboat and tried to break into the store for liquor." They were arrested, but no jail had been built in Indy yet. So the Kentucky men were held overnight in an abandoned cabin, but quickly escaped. During our show, Ashley and Nelson will also discuss the Battle of Pogue’s Run during the Civil War. It wasn’t actually a battle, but rather a quirky episode in 1863 that ensued when members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-Confederacy secret society, were among those who attended a Democratic convention in Indianapolis. When they were taunted by Union soldiers, the conventioneers boarded trains. "But soldiers stopped the trains and began to search for weapons", Ashely Petry writes. "Fearful of being branded as traitors, passengers tossed hundreds of guns and knives out the train windows into Pogue’s Run below." Pogue’s Run is an urban creek that empties into the White River. Roadtrip: Anderson Museum of Art
From the Hoosier History archives
Work opportunities available at Hoosier History Live
If you’d like to solicit History Mystery prizes, and keep Nelson informed of the prizes to be given out, and mail out the prizes, that would be real help. And financial compensation possible. For more information please contact molly@hoosierhistorylive.org. And in the meantime, if your organization or business would like to offer prizes we would love to discuss that we well! Contact molly@hoosierhistorylive.org Would you be interested in being the Roadtrip Producer? We do have a list of Roadtrippers, and this work is primarily done via email. As Roadtrip Producer, you would need to solicit and schedule the Roadtrippers, get their notes and possible images, and prepare the final Roadtrip article and image to go to our newsletter editor. You do need to have management and editing skills for this job, and the ability to meet deadlines. Financial compensation available. If interested contact molly@hoosierhistorylive.org
Nelson Price, host and historian Cheryl Lamb, administrative manager Please tell our sponsors that you appreciate their support! Thank you!We'd like to thank the following recent individual contributors who make this show possible. A complete list of contributors by year in on our website.
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