Advanced Cemetery Preservation Workshop
Join us on either Sat., Aug. 30, or Sun., Aug 31 for a one-day workshop that will be held at Lyons Cemetery in Johnson County.

The workshop is instructed by John “Walt” Walters, Colin Graham and Bob McCullough.

The cost is $20, or $15 for IHS members. Lunch is included in the price.

This is an informative, hands-on workshop in which participants will learn advanced cemetery restoration techniques. Only those who have attended a basic cemetery preservation workshop or have prior experience cleaning and straightening stones can enroll in the advanced workshop (as experience in cleaning and resetting stones is essential to understanding more complicated repairs). Participants will be able to ask for advice regarding specific preservation and restoration tasks throughout the day. The workshop will be held regardless of weather, and all participants will be involved in the hands-on session.

This project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

Register for either Saturday or Sunday by Aug. 22.

For more information, visit http://www.indianahistory.org/lhs/workshops.html.

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Please confim events specifics with sponsoring organization, especially if traveling any distance.

Mounds State Park to Dedicate Renovated Pool and Bathhouse
This event will take place on Thu., July 3, beginning at 10 a.m.

Activities include games and activities, face painting, bubble making, tours of the pool and bath house and free snacks. A dedication ceremony follows at 10:30 a.m. After the ceremony the pool will be open from noon-6 p.m.

The event is open to the public. Elected officials, Department of Natural Resources staff, along with the Friends of Mounds State Park will be in attendance.

There will be drawings for “First Kid on the Splashpad,” “First Kid Down the Tube Slide” and “First Kid Bouncing Off the Diving Board” and for a free pool pass and other great prizes.

According to James Davis, property manager at the state park, renovations include a new splashpad, tube slide and diving board. The splashpad area and renovations to the pool meet the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements. Additional improvements have also been made to the bathhouse changing areas, restrooms, showers and food vending area.

Dedication event activities are free to the public after paying the normal gate fee of $4 a car for in-state vehicles.

The park is located on Anderson’s east side at 4306 Mounds Rd. For more information, call (765) 649-8128.

Starke County Historical Society Annual Ice Cream Social
This event will be held on Sun., July 6, from 1-3 p.m. (CST) on the lawn of the Starke County Museum in Knox, Ind.

The annual July Open House and Ice Cream Social has been traditionally a social event for the community–a time to show off new exhibits in the museum and have some fellowship together on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Last year more than 300 people attended.

See exhibits that you have never seen before, both inside the museum and outside on the lawn: antique fire engine, old autos, trucks and tractors, Indian arrowheads, a Studebaker buggy and a spinner with her wheel creating yarn from wool. Also available will be the Starke County Interim Report. Is your historic house or business listed in it? Hear the old time tunes played on the dulcimer, and have some of that great ice cream at the Starke County Historical Society Museum.

The Starke County Historical Museum is located at 401 S. Main St. in Knox.

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Bank of America/IMLS American Heritage Preservation Program Grants
Bank of America is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services to provide grants up to $3,000 to small museums, libraries and archives.

The grants will raise awareness and fund preservation of treasures held in small museums, libraries and archives. The grants will help to preserve specific items, including works of art, artifacts and historical documents that are in need of conservation.

Applicants will build on completed conservation assessments of their collections, to ensure that the Bank of America/IMLS grants are used in accordance with best practices in the field, and underscore the importance of assessment planning. Grant programs that provide assistance with conservation planning and assessment include the Institute’s Conservation Assessment Program and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Preservation Assistance Grants. Some states also offer assessment programs.

The application deadline is Sep. 15.

Application forms and guidelines for the current fiscal year are made available approximately 90 days before the grant deadline. More information can be found at www.imls.gov/collections/grants/boa.htm.

For more information, contact Christine Henry, Senior Program Officer, at (202) 653-4674 or chenry@imls.gov.

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Campaign for the Indiana Experience
The Indiana Historical Society has launched the Campaign for the Indiana Experience to develop interactive programs and initiatives for the visitor experience.

An informative video which explains and previews the Indiana Experience, which is set to launch in 2010, is now available online.

For more information and to view the video, visit www.indianahistory.org/experience.

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Request for Information on Dubois County and the Civilian Conservation Corps
The Dubois County Museum is currently gathering information on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and its effects on Dubois County.

To celebrate the corps’ 75th anniversary, an exhibit titled Dubois County and the CCC will open on Aug. 17. The public is asked to share information on persons who participated, their jobs, and any artifacts, photos and human interest stories about the corps.

The CCC was a civic works organization founded as part of Roosevelt’s “New Deal” program in 1933. The CCC, whose 4500 nation-wide camps included ones in Jasper and Ferdinand, employed over two million men between the ages of 17 and 28 and also had smaller camps for women, completing numerous projects and planting approximately 2.5 billion trees throughout the US.

The CCC’s effect on Dubois County is most prominent in Ferdinand Forest, where it’s camp created a recreational area and shelter house, fish hatcheries, a custodian’s cottage, a water system, a large lake, a fire tower and eight miles of roads through the park .

If you have information, please contact the museum at (812) 634-7733 and leave a message for Janet Kluemper to help make this exhibit a success.

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Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County Wins AASLH Award
The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) proudly announces that the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County is the recipient of an Award of Merit from the AASLH Leadership in History Awards for the Middle School Curator Program. 

The AASLH Leadership in History Awards is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. Awards for 2008 represent 57 organizations and individuals from across the United States. Award winners will be honored at a special banquet during the 2008 AASLH Annual Meeting in Rochester, N.Y., on Fri., Sep. 12. A generous contribution from The History Channel will once again help underwrite the cost of the awards banquet.

The Middle School Curator Program, created in conjunction with Tuttle Middle School and the Montgomery County Historical Society, has created three exhibits for the Carnegie Museum, two of which are currently on display. Another exhibit, on local medical history, is in development and will open in March of 2009. The Rockin’ World of Geology, an exhibition about general geology, local geological features and fossils, is funded in part by the Crawfordsville Monument Company and Town and County Home Center. The Dreadful Days of Disaster, an exhibition featuring the history of disasters in Montgomery County including drought, fire, tornados and earthquakes, is funded in part by American Water and the Montgomery County Educational Foundation.

For more information about the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, call (765) 362-4618 or visit www.cdpl.lib.in.us/carnegie.

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Northern Indiana Historical Society Elects New Trustees, Bestows Awards
New Trustees were elected and awards were given at the 112th Annual Meeting of the Northern Indiana Historical Society (NIHS), which took place on June 19 at the Center for History in South Bend

Elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the NIHS are Laura Ewen Ray, Dan Skodras, and James W. Tuesley. Re-elected trustees are Willie Mae Butts, Jon Cook, William Hojnacki, Andy Nickle, Don Sporleder, Mary Jane Stanley, Chris D. Thornton, Robert Toothaker and Christine Voorde. Elected to serve as NIHS Board officers are Linda Doshi, president; Mark Noeldner, vice president; Mary Jane Stanley, secretary; and Chuck Viater, treasurer. The NIHS owns and operates the Center for History. Nancy Khan and Jane Warner were inducted as Honorary Trustees.

Peter J. DeKever was presented the Merle D. Blue Excellence in Humanities Award, given annually to recognize the achievements of outstanding educators who have contributed to the learning of history in the St. Joseph River Valley.

Toni and Jon Cook were recipients of the Lloyd S. Taylor Excellence in Volunteerism Award, given to recognize the achievements of outstanding volunteers who have advanced the mission of the Northern Indiana Historical Society and have contributed to the betterment of the St. Joseph River Valley.

Oliver Mansion Recipes Donated to Center for History
An entire collection of notebooks and recipes that detail dinners, luncheons and parties held at the Oliver mansion was presented to the Center for History on May 7, 2008, by Marilyn and Chuck Sherland of Walkerton.

According to Jennifer Johns, Center for History registrar, "As with all new accessions to the museum collections, the recipes, notebooks, photographs and notes will be catalogued and preserved for research, education and programs at the Center for History. The museum holds over 100,000 artifacts in its two- and three-dimensional collections."

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Prints from the Wanamaker Collection of American Indian Photographs
This exhibit will be on display from June 25-July 24 at the Miami County Museum in Peru.

The Wanamaker Collection consists of more than 8000 images of American Indians taken from 1908-1923 by Joseph K. Dixon. Approximately 30 prints will be on display in the Museum.

The Miami County Museum is located at 51 N. Broadway in Peru, and is open weekly Tue.-Sat. from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information, call (765) 473-9183.

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The Faces of Lincoln: Creating the Image at the Princeton Public Library in Princeton
The Faces of Lincoln traveling exhibit is comprised of three independent parts, Developing the Image, Creating the Image and Idealizing the Image, each an exhibit unto itself.

This section investigates the ways that photographers, printmakers and cartoonists tried to influence public opinion about Lincoln by altering his appearance and by placing him in make-believe situations.

This traveling exhibit is on loan from the Indiana Historical Society. For more information about the IHS traveling exhibit program, go to www.indianahistory.org/LHS and click on "Traveling Exhibition."

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Program Assistant at the Morris-Butler House Application Deadline Extended
The Morris-Butler House in Indianapolis Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana seeks a highly motivated individual to work as a part-time program assistant at the Morris-Butler House Museum, an 1865 property in the Old Northside Historic District of Indianapolis.

The deadline for applications has been extended to July 11, 2008. The position begins on Aug. 13, 2008.

The work week will total 29 hours. The rate of pay will be $10 per hour.

Resumes with three references should be submitted to:
Shannon Borbely
Museum Administrator
Morris-Butler House
1204 N. Park Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46202

For more information and a complete job description, visit http://www.historiclandmarks.org/AboutUs/Pages/JobsAvailable.aspx#mbhprogram.

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New Ethics Guide Available from AASLH
The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector has issued Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations which is available as a free download from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Web site.

This publication outlines 33 practices to support board members and staff leaders of charitable organizations as they work to improve operations. We encourage the board and staff leaders of every charitable organization to examine these principles carefully and determine how they should best be applied to their own operations.

To download this important resource, go to www.aaslh.org/ethics.htm.

Additional resources from AASLH on dealing with ethical practices are also available on the Web site, including the AASLH Statement of Professional Ethics and two position papers on hot topics: The Capitalization of Collections and When a Museum Closes.

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Do you know someone who might want to receive Communique Online? Anyone may join the mailing list by e-mailing col@indianahistory.org.

If your historical organizations, genealogical society or museum has changed its address or phone number in the past six months, please send the updated information to Coordinator, Local History Services, at the above e-mail, or Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, IN 46202.