Follow Maria's Journey with Ramon and Trisha Arredondo

Everyone has a story to tell. Maybe someone in your family fought in World War II or marched with the Civil Rights Movement. Maybe one of your ancestors developed an important advancement in the medical or engineering fields. Maybe it's just a story about where you were the day you heard about JFK's assassination... the Challenger explosion... the World Trade Center collapse.

Whatever the story you have to tell, you'll want to join us this coming Thursday for our next genealogy lecture--Writing Your Family History!

Ramon and Trisha Arredondo of northern Indiana told an amazing story about their family when they wrote Maria's Journey, a true story about a fourteen-year-old Mexican girl named Maria, who entered into an arranged marriage to Miguel Arredondo. Maria, Miguel, and their young daughter immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and experienced the Great Depression, the Labor Movement, World War II, and other important eras in American history.

Join us Thursday, October 3 at 7 p.m. in the Carriage House for this fascinating discussion. Ray and Trisha will have copies of their book for sale and will be signing books while they are here.

This lecture is free and open to the public, but seating in the Carriage House is limited. Please RSVP so we can expect you by emailing study@ben-hur.com or calling us at 765-362-5769.

Smithsonian Museum Day Live!

We are once again participating in the Smithsonian Magazine's annual Museum Day Live! Join us Saturday, September 28, and bring your pass to receive free admission for 2 people.

Visitors may gain free entry to the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum with a printed pass from Smithsonian Magazine. In order to receive your pass, you must sign visit the magazine's website, fill out some basic information, select what museum you want to visit, and print out your pass. This year, we are also experimenting with accepting the pass on the screen of your smartphone.

Two other museums in Crawfordsville are participating--the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County and the Rotary Jail Museum. Each pass is only good for one of those museums. The passes are limited to one per household, and are good for two people.

Last year we had great attendance for that day. This year we have a wedding on the grounds in the afternoon, so if you're planning to come, you might want to show up early in the day!

Come Play in the Dirt!

Mark your calendars for this autumn's History Beneath Us weekend. On September 22 & 23, archaeologists from the University of Indianapolis will be joining us to continue excavations on Lew's reflecting pool.

Anne Moore measures the dig site

Visitors will be able to observe archaeologists at work and learn about their methods. Anyone wishing to help with excavations is welcome to do so. Maybe you'll be the next person to find one of Old John's horseshoes. Or you might uncover pieces of window glass, a marble, or even animal bones!

Dr. Chris Moore of the University of Indianapolis and Anne Moore, along with U of I students, will be performing field work here at the Study most of the day Saturday and Sunday. We open at 10, and the archaeologists usually go to lunch sometime around noon. Then they'll be back in the afternoon until 4. Sunday's dig will have the same hours. This event goes on rain or shine, so come prepared for the weather!

This is a great time for scouts to work on badges. We've had several Boy Scout troops come on past weekends. This is also a great family activity. We'll have a kid's area set up where younger children can learn about archaeology while making "discoveries" of various (planted) items.

For more information about History Beneath Us, email us at study@ben-hur.com or call 765-362-5769.

From Daguerreotype to Digital: Dating and Preserving Family Photographs

Lew & Susan Wallace Descendants pose for a family photo.
Come to the Carriage House for a closer look!

Is your family photo album neatly organized with all the names, dates, and locations written on the back? Even more organized, is it in archival scrapbooks with appropriate labels in chronological order? Or is it more like mine--a few haphazard scrapbooks and albums with photos that may or may not be labelled, with the extra photos shoved in boxes that aren't organized by...much of any criteria?

Whatever the answer, you may be interested in popping in for our upcoming genealogy lecture. If you're uber-organized, you can sit there and feel smug. If you're like the rest of us, you can learn how best to preserve your family photographs. And if your photos are unlabeled, you can learn how to be a photographic detective and figure out a little bit more about those unlabeled, undated, unidentified photos!

Join us September 12 at 7 p.m. at the Carriage House for this free lecture. Joan Hostetler of Heritage Photo and Research Services will discuss photographic processes and formats from the 1840s to the present. She will share clues for dating photos and techniques for preserving them. Bring your own family photos to learn more about them!

The lecture is free, but we do like to have a head-count beforehand, as space is limited. Please RSVP by emailing us at study@ben-hur.com or calling us at 765-362-5769.

If you're unable to join us that night, you can always follow us on Twitter, where we livetweet tidbits from the lecture with the hashtag #genealogy.

Fall Events at the Study

Happy September! We have a busy fall planned. We'll blog about all of these events in more detail later, but for now, here's a quick overview of important dates at the Study in September and October. Visit our website for a printable PDF version of this schedule.

Sept 12 - 7 p.m. - "From Daguerreotype to Digital: Dating and Preserving Family Photographs" Genealogy Lecture - FREE at the Carriage House

Joan Hostetler of Heritage Photo and Research Services will discuss photographic processes and formats from the 1840s to the present, as well as clues for dating photos and techniques for preserving them. Bring your own family photos to learn more about them. Please RSVP.

Sept 21-22 - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - History Beneath Us Archaeology - FREE on the Study grounds

Assist archaeologists from the University of Indianapolis as they continue excavations on Lew Wallace's reflecting pool. Join in the fun by digging and sifting for artifacts. Great for the family or scout troop!

Sept 29 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Smithsonian Museum Day Live - FREE with Smithsonian pass

Free admission to the Study with printed pass from Smithsonian Magazine. See the Smithsonian Magazine website for more information.

Oct 3 - 7 p.m. - "Writing Your Family History" Genealogy Lecture - FREE at the Carriage House

Ramon and Trisha Arredondo will speak about the process of writing their book Maria's Journey, a family story about immigration, the rise of the unions, the Great Depression, World War II, and more. Please RSVP.

Everyone Take a Deep Breath!

Now release it. Ahhhhhhhh!

The 7th Annual TASTE of Montgomery County is over, and we couldn't be more pleased by how everything came off. As many of you know, the TASTE is our biggest fundraiser of the year, providing funds for programming and exhibits. We also rely on the TASTE to raise awareness in the community about our museum and mission.

We had around 2100 people attend the TASTE this year. (Our musical performances contributed significantly to that number, since the Big Swing Band is so...well, big!) We had visitors from eleven counties inside Indiana, including quite a few from Marion and Tippecanoe, and 6 other states, including Texas, Utah, and South Carolina.

We had all kinds of great food, from American to Mexican to Greek, and lots of coffee and tea beverages, as well as more adult offerings like strawberry daiquiris, Lift Off IPA from Daredevil Brewing Company, and Coal Creek Winery wines.

Every year we do two sets of awards: Judges' Choice and People's Choice. This year our celebrity judges included Lauren Lowry from Indy's Channel 8 and her husband Blake Lewis, Crawfordsville Planning Director Brandy Allen, and Elizabeth Rentschler from Lafayette's NewsChannel 18.

Judges Choice
Best Entree - El Charro Taqueria
Best Dessert - Big Dipper
Best Booth Presentation - Bon Appetite

People's Choice
Best Entree - Juniper Spoon
Best Booth Presentation - Bon Appetite

Local musicians KSW@G were a great hit in our 1 - 3 p.m. slot. They were followed by the crowd-pleasing Big Swing Band from Lafayette from 4:30 - 6:30. Our evening act was The Michael Kelsey Group, featuring guest harmonica player L.D. Miller, and they brought down the house from 8-10.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year's TASTE of Montgomery County a great success!

TASTE 2013 Music

Can you believe it's August already? Where has the summer gone? The TASTE of Montgomery County is nearly here--and we have some fantastic music offerings this year!

Our opening act is a local favorite. KSW@G, featuring Stephanie Pool, Ken Lee, Wayne Lehr, and Chris "Gooch" Andel, will be performing from 1-3 p.m. With an act that includes hits from the 1950s to the present, they'll be sure to get your toes tapping.

A popular local act makes a return for the 4:30-6:30 p.m. time slot. The Big Swing Band from Lafayette will bring us swing and big band music, featuring vocalist Gail Biss. Bring your best dancing shoes and polish up your Lindy Hop and Jitterbug, because you'll want to get out and cut a rug!
The Big Swing Band performed at the 2009 TASTE of Montgomery County and were a real hit, so you won't want to miss it.

Playing from 8-10 p.m., our evening act is The Michael Kelsey Group out of Indianapolis. Michael Kelsey is a Lafayette native who has toured nationally with Blind Melon and Dishwalla and has opened for such acts as 38 Special and the Doobie Brothers. Though his main instrument is the guitar, Kelsey often reaches out to find improvisational instruments around him. As he experiments with sound and rhythm, his acoustic rock shows are always one of a kind. Check out his music and past performances at his website.

As hard as it is to believe, the TASTE is just over three weeks away. Don't miss your chance to enjoy an afternoon and evening of great music and delicious food. Advance tickets are already on sale at the Carriage House, Milligan's, and the Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Advance tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students. Stop in and pick them up this week!