Lecture Series Celebrates Evansville’s Bicentennial
As part of the commemoration of the City’s bicentennial, a series of five lectures will be presented at the Evansville Museum. As seating is limited for these free lectures, reservations are required. For reservations, call the Museum at 812-425-2406.
Dr. Robert L. Reid
The 75th Anniversary:The Great Flood of 1937
Tuesday, January 31, 7:00 p.m. • EMTRAC
The 1937 Flood was the largest and most devastating natural disaster in the history of Evansville – a flood that also devastated the rest of the Ohio Valley. On the 75th anniversary of this momentous event, Dr. Robert L. Reid, retired Provost and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Southern Indiana, will present the illustrated lecture detailing the catastrophe in Evansville.
Dr. Reid has published several books on local and North American history including Pilgrims On the Ohio: The River Journey and Photographs of Reuben Gold Thwaites; Picturing Texas: The FSA-OWI Photographers in the Lone Star State, 1935 – 1943; and A Good Neighbor: The First Fifty Years of Crane. His current research centers on the 1937 Ohio and Mississippi River flood.
Dr. Reid earned a B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
An Evening with Lee and Richard Hamilton
Growing up in Evansville in the 1940s: Memories of Lee and Richard Hamilton
Tuesday, February 21, 7:00 p.m. • Old Gallery
What was Evansville like in the 1940s? In a special presentation, former Congressman Lee Hamilton and Reverend Richard Hamilton, in a conversation moderated by noted local historian William Bartelt, will share their memories of Evansville during the World War II and post war periods. Their insight into life during this decade will be a highlight of the Museum’s commemorations of the City’s bicentennial.
The Hamilton brothers – sons of Reverend Frank and Myra Hamilton – who both went on to distinguished careers, arrived in Evansville in 1943 after their father was appointed pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church. Lee Hamilton attended eighth grade at Wheeler School and both graduated from Central High School.
Lee H. Hamilton served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1965 to 1999. During his tenure, he was Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Hamilton also was Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and of the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. Lee Hamilton remains an important and active voice on matters of international relations and American national security, having served as Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) and numerous other Commissions. Currently, he is Director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University.
The Reverend Richard E. Hamilton was the senior pastor for more than 20 years at North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. Prior to this appointment, he served as pastor for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis as well as St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Bloomington. He served as Pastor of The Methodist Temple in Evansville from 1969-1974. He has been a regular panelist on the Focus on Faith television show, and served the Indianapolis area on boards including the Indianapolis Peace Institute, Better Health Care for Indiana, and the Ten-Point Coalition (Indianapolis Anti-Violence Street Ministry).
Dr. Darrel Bigham
Why Evansville? Survival of the Fittest AmongTowns and Villages of the Lower Ohio
Sunday, March 18, 2:00 p.m. • Old Gallery
Why did Evansville become a vibrant and growing town and then city on the banks of the Ohio River in the 19th century while other communities failed to reach this potential? In his lecture Why Evansville, Dr. Darrel E. Bigham, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Southern Indiana, will explore this topic. This examination of Evansville’s growth is based on Bigham’s research for his 1998 book Images of America: Evansville; Towns and Villages of the Lower Ohio.
Since his arrival in Evansville in 1970, Dr. Bigham has written numerous books and articles focusing on regional, state and local history, including Images of America: Evansville; An Evansville Album: Perspectives on a River City; We Ask Only A Fair Trial: A History of the Black Community of Evansville, Indiana; Reflections on a Heritage: The German Americans in Southwestern Indiana; and On Jordan’s Banks: Emancipation and African American Community Development in the Ohio River Counties of Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, 1861-1880.
Currently a member of the Evansville Museum’s Advisory Council, Bigham served as President of the Museum’s Board of Trustees from 1979-1981. Bigham received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1970.
Stan Schmitt
Moving through the Past: Evansville’s Early Transportation History
Sunday, April 15, 2:00 p.m. • Old Gallery
Stan Schmitt, an avid researcher of Evansville history, will present an overview of early transportation in Evansville, including the eras of the Wabash and Erie Canal and the arrival of railroads. Schmitt has spent nearly 30 years reading historic Evansville newspapers. His reading of Evansville newspapers includes publications from the 1820s through 1955. He has also done research in places ranging from local libraries and courthouses, to the Indiana State Archives, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives. His local research has focused on the Wabash and Erie Canal, transportation, coal mining, the Civil War, and other military history.
An independent title researcher, Schmitt received a history degree from Indiana University in Bloomington. He serves on the Board of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society; the History Committee of the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage; and the Critical Review Team of the Feel the History project. He is a past board member of the Canal Society of Indiana and served as editor of the Society’s newsletter.
Harold Morgan
Turbulent Times: A Comparative Overview of Evansville in the Civil War and World War II
Sunday, May 13, 2:00 p.m. • Old Gallery
Well-known Tri-State history writer and researcher, Harold Morgan, will present a comparative overview of Evansville during the Civil War and World War II in a PowerPoint presentation. Morgan, who for the past several years has immersed himself in the study of Evansville and Tri-State history, will share his findings of the City’s past at two of the most critical eras of the Country’s history. He examines the similarities and differences of what Evansvillians experienced during these two conflicts.
After retiring from consulting engineering in 2001, Morgan began a hobby of researching early area history and historical photos. Over the ensuing years, he has collected in excess of 40,000 historic area photos. He has written several genealogical books as well as the local history book Home Front Heroes: Evansville and the Tri-state in WWII; Home Town History, The Evansville, Indiana Area: A Photo Timeline; and the recently published Home Front Warriors: Building the P-47 Thunderbolt and the LST Warship in Evansville, Indiana during World War II.
Morgan is a graduate of the University of Evansville.
Transportation Day 2012
June 3, 2012
For several years, the firemen of Ladder 1 of the Evansville Fire Department
have generously shared their time with visitors to Transportation Day.
On Sunday, June 3 from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. the Evansville Museum will be alive with the sights and sounds of TRANSPORTATION DAY. Visitors will be immersed in an array of modes of transportation and can participate in a variety of hands-on activities.
Highlights of this annual, ADMISSION-FREE event include:
• Railroad Safety
• Historic Automobiles
• Vintage Motorcycles
• Kite Building
• High Wheel Bicycle Riding Demonstrations and Exhibit
• Train Stories
• Paper Airplane Making and more
Evansville Museum presents...
Canadian Rockies by Train
August 16 - 24, 2012
The Evansville Museum is partnering with Collette Vacations to provide a nine day tour of the Canadian Rockies. The highlights of the trip are... British Columbia, Vancouver, VIA Rail, Jasper, Columbia Icefield, Lake Louise, Banff, & Calgary.
