Public Programs- 2013

Six public programs about local history are offered each year. CCHS members attend free; cost for the general public is $5. All programs are held at the Carmel Christian Church, 463 E. Main Street., at 2 p.m., unless otherwise indicated.

June 9- POSTPONED:  W(h)ine and Woe: The Diaries of William Kinzer, presented by Emily Boggs POSTPONED

Immerse yourself in the love life of William Kinzer as former CCHS intern Emily Boggs shares the heartbreak and years-long courtship of this early Carmel settler.

William’s father John Kinzer was an early settler in Clay Township; his 1828 log cabin and subsequent 1840 I-house still stand on east Main Street. William made daily entries into journals from 1857-1912, and much of what we know about nineteenth-century Carmel life comes from his writings. His journals also provide insight into the man as they tell about his frustrations in finding a wife, his ongoing lamenting about courtship, and his matter-of-fact attitude about the birth and death of a child.

This program will take place at 7 p.m. at the historic Daubenspeck home, 9750 Towne Road.  Parking onsite is not available.  Please park at College Park Church, 2606 W. 96th Street, and a free shuttle will bring you to the program. People are encouraged to bring folding chairs, wine, cheese, and other lite fare. The program will take place outside, weather permitting. In case of rain, it will be moved inside.

August 11: Carmel Carnegie Library, presented by Bill McNiece

Ground broke 100 years ago on one of Carmel’s most famous and visible landmarks — the Carnegie Library building!  Located at 40 East Main Street in the heart of Carmel and the Arts & Design District, the building has endured a lot in its century of reign in Old Town.

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist.  Born in Scotland, he emigrated to the United States in 1848.  He made his vast wealth mostly in steel during a time when industry in the country was booming.  He gave most of his money to establish libraries, schools and universities.  In 1913, a Carmel ladies’ group named the Wednesday Literary Club requested and were granted $11,000 in funds for the construction of a Carnegie Library.  It was completed and opened in 1914.

If you were a Carmel resident pre-1972, it is probably a given that you can recall the interior of the old building with great detail – the dark wood floors, the central desk upstairs, the large windows and pull-down blinds, the narrow back staircase, and the side-door entrance to the children’s library in the basement that held those wonderful plastic replicas of Dracula, Frankenstein, and other famous literary characters.

Bill McNiece, President of the Marion County Historical Society, will present a program about Carnegie libraries and the quest to bring one to Carmel. This program will be held in the program room of the Carmel Clay Public Library.

October 13:  The Raggedy Man, An Afternoon with James Whitcomb Riley

Danny Russell portrays the Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley  just as the poet was entering the world of entertainment as part of a traveling medicine show.  Be on your guard as he attempts to sell his patented snake oil!  Then, learn about his colorful struggles to find fame before becoming one of America’s most popular writers.  Engaging, fast-paced and humorous, Russell intersperse true moments from Riley’s life with some of his best-loved poems, including “Little Orphant Annie,” “The Raggedy Man,” “When the Frost is on the Punkin” and many others.

In correlation with this program, a century-old driving jacket from the CCHS collection will be on display, in a nod to Carmel native Franklin Booth and his journey with Riley contemporary Theodore Dresier from New York to Indiana and back. That trip was later chronicled in Dresier’s book Hoosier Holiday, which Booth illustrated.  Riley rode the interurban to Carmel many times to visit Booth, a pen and ink artist who illustrated a number of Riley’s poems.

December 8: Annual Meeting, Holiday Gathering and Pitch-In Meal

The CCHS annual meeting and holiday pitch in is a great time to reconnect with members and meet newcomers. The president will review the year’s successes and talk about plans for the upcoming year.