12/04/2022
Those of you who are registered for virtual attendance at today's program, please check your email for a new link and webinar ID.
Indiana Medical History Museum
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are open at a limited capacity and by appointment only. For more in
Operating as usual
12/03/2022
Tomorrow’s lecture is SOLD OUT in person, but you can still attend virtually. sign up for the virtual ticket to receive the Zoom link.
12/01/2022
How AIDS Activists Fought for Patients' Rights
“ACT UP is often remembered for its most dramatic moments...While these were powerful visuals, the organization’s core focus was on improving patient-centered care.”
ACT UP pressured the government, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies for more patient-centered care during the worst years of the AIDS epidemic.
11/29/2022
Every gift matters, and every gift makes a difference. Thank you!
Today is , an opportunity for people around the world to use their individual power of generosity to support their communities and the causes that matter to them.
As a nonprofit organization, everything we do is made possible by through gifts from generous donors like you! Your gift of $100, $50, or $10 ensures that IMHM can continue to fulfill its mission by providing a unique, immersive, and thought-provoking experience for all through tours, public and school programs, and community projects that spark curiosity and a love of learning.
11/29/2022
Today is , an opportunity for people around the world to use their individual power of generosity to support their communities and the causes that matter to them.
As a nonprofit organization, everything we do is made possible by through gifts from generous donors like you! Your gift of $100, $50, or $10 ensures that IMHM can continue to fulfill its mission by providing a unique, immersive, and thought-provoking experience for all through tours, public and school programs, and community projects that spark curiosity and a love of learning.
11/14/2022
Researchers trace the origin of Japan’s traditional Kampo medicines
"Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been around for centuries...The traditional practice involves the use of plants, animals, and minerals. It works on the principle of maintaining the delicate balance between 'yin' and 'yang'-;the opposite but interconnected forces said to be at the core of all creation-;to prevent diseases and maintain health."
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been around for centuries. With a history of almost 3000 years dating back to the early Zhou Dynasty, it has been incorporated into China's present medical system.
11/06/2022
The “Human Bomb”: How Air Force surgeons made medical history in Vietnam
“Air Force surgeons were confronted with a bomb, literally. But instead of coming face-to-face with a device, they were confronted with a patient who had a live gr***de embedded in his back, essentially making the patient a walking human bomb.”
On November 5, 1965, Air Force surgeons were confronted with a bomb, literally. But instead of coming face-to-face with a device, they were confronted with a patient who had a live gr***de embedded in
11/01/2022
A Short, Morbid History of People Trying to Reverse Death
“Back in 18th century Amsterdam, people started to realize that, in some cases, the 'apparently dead' were not always 'actually dead.'”
And a glimpse of where science and technology is taking us.
10/31/2022
How this New York clinic helped transform reproductive health care
"Sanger was a nurse, sexual health educator, activist and writer, but not a physician. From today’s lens, she was also a complicated figure who adhered to some pseudoscientific and discriminatory beliefs."
Back then, as now in some ways, reproductive rights and abortion were hotly contested issues.
10/26/2022
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
We still have space to join online! Starting soon: The Fall 2022 Installment Forensic Science Lecture Series begins at 5:30pm (Eastern). Laura Scheid and Erica Christensen of the Western Michigan Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine’s (WMed) Body Donation Program present "Historical and Modern Anatomical Donation Practices."
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84704782404?pwd=c0J6ZmtRUDBlVXo4OUZSbEYvbEh3dz09
312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 847 0478 2404
Passcode: 043289
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...
10/21/2022
i.org
“Marines wounded on Peleliu were simultaneously treated and evacuated as combat conditions permitted...during the first few days on Peleliu, the fighting was so intense that the wounded were collected and initially treated at beach evacuation centers…” r/medical-care-peleliu-september-1944
10/20/2022
Timeline photos
Buried alive: it's a common fear... 🕸️
And for Anton Joseph Wiertz (1806-1865), who created 'The Premature Burial' in 1854, it was a real concern.
Because this picture wasn't just an act of Wiertz's imagination. Rather, it was created during a cholera epidemic and intended to protest the number of people who were buried... but *not quite dead* 😱
Taphephobia (the fear of being buried alive) is one of the many phobias examined in Kate Summerscale's new book: The Book of Phobias and Manias.
Read an extract on our website https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Y0U4GBEAAA__16h6, or pick up a copy in all good bookshops... 🎃
Image: A man with cholera buried prematurely. Photograph after painting by A. J. Wiertz.
10/16/2022
How the history of medicine influenced our perception of cancer
“Cancer is a really good example of science and culture being intertwined with each other, and not really being very easy to separate out.”
Do you know why it’s called cancer? “The first identification of the word cancer is from the Ancient Greeks. They...
10/11/2022
Psychiatry wars: the lawsuit that put psychoanalysis on trial
"Forty years ago, Dr Ray Osheroff sued a US hospital for failing to give him antidepressants. The case would change the course of medical history – even if it couldn’t help the patient himself"
Forty years ago, Dr Ray Osheroff sued a US hospital for failing to give him antidepressants. The case would change the course of medical history – even if it couldn’t help the patient himself
10/04/2022
How the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings Nearly Canceled Halloween
“The shocking deaths of seven people in the Chicago area from tampered bottles led to a massive recall—and generated fears around candy poisonings.”
The shocking deaths of seven people in the Chicago area from tampered bottles led to a massive recall—and generated fears around candy poisonings.
10/03/2022
The Nobel prize in medicine has been awarded for research on evolution
"This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Swedish scientist Svante Paabo for his discoveries on human evolution...Paabo has spearheaded research comparing the genome of modern humans and our closest extinct relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, showing that there was mixing between the species."
This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo for his discoveries on human evolution.
09/29/2022
Tonight's George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities & Medicine, features a presentation and panel discussion with Ezelle Sanford III, PhD, Earle U. Robinsin, MD, Norma Erickson, and Rebecca Robinson on "A Mecca of Minds: St. Louis's Homer G. Phillips Hospital, Racial Segregation, and the Training of Black Medical Specialties" and the connections to Indianapolis. There's still time to sign up, so save your spot now!
Pictured: Earle U. Robinson, Jr., MD; photo courtesy of Rebecca Robinson
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/george-h-rawls-md-memorial-lecture-on-the-history-of-minorities-medicin-tickets-418960992607
09/28/2022
This year's Annual George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities & Medicine, features a presentation and panel discussion with Ezelle Sanford III, PhD, Earle U. Robinsin, MD, Norma Erickson, and Rebecca Robinson on "A Mecca of Minds: St. Louis's Homer G. Phillips Hospital, Racial Segregation, and the Training of Black Medical Specialties" and the connections to Indianapolis.
Pictured: Ezelle Sanford III, PhD is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program on Race, Science, and Society in the Center for Africana Studies at The University of Pennsylvania.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/george-h-rawls-md-memorial-lecture-on-the-history-of-minorities-medicin-tickets-418960992607
09/27/2022
George Rawls - indyencyclopedia.org
Are you familiar with the new digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis? You'll love it! Check out their entry on George H. Rawls, MD in whose memory our Annual George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities & Medicine is named. Our second annual lecture is coming up this Thursday. Learn more and find out how to register on our website!
(June 2, 1928-May 16, 2020). Born in Gainesville, Florida, George Rawls graduated as the valedictorian from Florida A&M University. He earned his M.D. from Howard University School of Medicine in… Read More »George Rawls
09/27/2022
The Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics
"In American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics, author Kevin Hazzard, a former paramedic, spotlights the Black men in Pittsburgh who pioneered the profession and formed a model for emergency medical services that other cities copied."
In "American Sirens," author Kevin Hazzard spotlights the Black men in Pittsburgh who pioneered America's modern emergency medical service.
09/26/2022
Pictured: George H. Rawls , MD, Indiana University Clinical Professor of Surgery and founding director of the Master of Science in Medical Science program at IU School of Medicine, was a pioneer for African American surgeons in the Indianapolis community and a lifelong advocate for advancing minority representation in medicine.
In 2021, the Indiana Medical History Museum has established the Annual George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities & Medicine.
This year's lecture features a presentation and panel discussion with Ezelle Sanford III, PhD, Earle U. Robinsin, MD, Norma Erickson, and Rebecca Robinson on "A Mecca of Minds: St. Louis's Homer G. Phillips Hospital, Racial Segregation, and the Training of Black Medical Specialties" and the connections to Indianapolis.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/george-h-rawls-md-memorial-lecture-on-the-history-of-minorities-medicin-tickets-418960992607
09/26/2022
21 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history
“The worst epidemics and pandemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, but which were the deadliest?”
The worst epidemics and pandemics have ravaged humanity throughout its existence, but which were the deadliest?
09/21/2022
Today is World Alzheimer's Day, a day to raise awareness about this devastating neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of dementia. The German neuropathologist and psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915) described the first known case of what would become known as Alzheimer's disease in 1906.
Our understanding of the disease and its various forms has improved dramatically since that time, but there's still so much that we don't know. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are currently no approaches that have been proven to effectively treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
09/20/2022
Medical care:
Many thanks to Rita Kohn at NUVO for covering our upcoming George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities and Medicine presented by Dr. Ezelle Sanford III. Save your spot today. Visit our website for more information.
When the Indiana Medical History Museum emailed a message to attend the 2022 George H. Rawls, MD Memorial Lecture on the History of Minorities and Medicine on September 29, at
09/17/2022
Join us this morning at 11am for the LAST FREE GARDEN TOUR of the season!
Join us Saturday at 11am: FREE Guided Tour of the IMHM Medicinal Plant Garden!
Our volunteers from the Purdue Master Gardeners of Marion County will once again be offering a FREE guided tour of the Indiana Medical History Museum Medicinal Plant Garden on the first and third Saturdays of the month from June through September.
Come see the newest updates in the garden including additional plants, paved walking paths, and the Vincent Angotti Memorial Fountain!
No reservation is needed, but space may be limited. Meet at the garden entrance arch ten minutes prior to tour start time. Garden tours do not include access to the Museum.
09/14/2022
Everything You Didn't Need To Know About Henry VIII's Ulcerated Leg
Everything You Didn't Need To Know About Henry VIII's Ulcerated Leg
King Henry VIII has gone down as being one of the greatest medieval villains - a man with a tyrannical attitude and penchant for killing people he disagreed with (executing approximately 57,000 people in his time on the throne). However, it's possible that his inhumane ways may have stemmed from...
09/13/2022
The Sucky History of the Breast Pump
“Efficient, double electric pumps are only 30 years young, but contraptions for expressing breast milk have been around for millennia”
Efficient, double electric pumps are only 30 years young, but contraptions for expressing breast milk have been around for millennia
09/12/2022
Capturing the history of the Human Genome Project and beyond
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) History of Genomics Program—the only field-specific history program within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)— celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
In August 2022, NHGRI History of Genomics Program celebrates 10 years of chronicling how the field of genomics began and evolved, with a particular emphasis on the role of NHGRI.
09/08/2022
These 31,000-Year-Old Human Bones Are Rewriting Medical History
"A limb amputation on a human 31,000 years ago shows an “advanced level of medical expertise developed by early modern human foragers,” reports a new study."
A limb amputation on a human 31,000 years ago shows an “advanced level of medical expertise developed by early modern human foragers,” reports a new study.
09/06/2022
A Historian's Quest to Unravel the Secrets of Mary Seacole, an Innovative, Long-Overlooked Black Nurse
A Historian’s Quest to Unravel the Secrets of Mary Seacole, an Innovative, Long-Overlooked Black Nurse
During the Crimean War, the Jamaican businesswoman operated a storehouse and restaurant that offered food, supplies and medicine to British soldiers
09/01/2022
Join us Saturday at 11am: FREE Guided Tour of the IMHM Medicinal Plant Garden!
Our volunteers from the Purdue Master Gardeners of Marion County will once again be offering a FREE guided tour of the Indiana Medical History Museum Medicinal Plant Garden on the first and third Saturdays of the month from June through September.
Come see the newest updates in the garden including additional plants, paved walking paths, and the Vincent Angotti Memorial Fountain!
No reservation is needed, but space may be limited. Meet at the garden entrance arch ten minutes prior to tour start time. Garden tours do not include access to the Museum.
08/28/2022
Cursing and swearing was an inseparable part of army life. The medical departments were not immune.
Surgeon James L. Dunn confessed in letters to his wife that he said "something like swearing" when an ambulance overturned. It was not the only time Dunn admitted to expressing himself with colorful language.
He was in good company. C.H. Stedman complained that an ambulance driver he met was "the most vulgar, ignorant, profane man I ever came into contact with."
Hospital Steward Spencer Bonsall put it more eloquently when writing of a tired ambulance driver attempting to extricate his wagon from a "slough of despond" who offered "several fervent blessings for Virginia roads, the rebels, spavined horses, and the man that invented the rascally one horse ambulances."
Notes:
Kerr, Paul B., "Civil War Surgeon - Biography of James Langstaff Dunn, M.D.," Bloomington: Authorhouse, 2005, page 81.
C.H. Stedman, Letter to Dr. George H. Gay, September 7, 1862, quoted from Report to Wm. J. Dale, Surgeon General, Massachusetts: Boston, Oct. 1862, by George Henry Gay, Massachusetts: Surgeon General's Office, 1862, page 7.
Bonsall, Spencer, "Well Satisfied with My Position: Civil War Journal of Spencer Bonsall," Michael A. Flannery and Katherine I. Oomens editors, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, 2007, pages 36-37.
Image credit:
"Washington, District of Columbia. Ambulance train at Harewood Hospital. Miller. (v.7, p. 313, Ambulance train at City Point, Va.)," Library of Congress.
08/25/2022
Bertillon’s Statistical Analysis of the 1889–1890 Influenza Epidemic
"Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers E. Thomas Ewing, PhD, Anna Pletch, and Brooke Breighner from Virginia Tech to share their research on French statistician Jacqes Bertillon’s data driven investigation into how many deaths could be associated with the 1889–1890 influenza epidemic in Paris."
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers E. Thomas Ewing, PhD, Anna Pletch, and Brooke Breighner from Virginia Tech to share their research on French statistician Jacqes Bertillon’s data driven inve…
08/23/2022
"DOCTORS AND DISTILLERS: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails"
"DOCTORS AND DISTILLERS: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails"...an interview with Camper English.
New book from Camper English is an examination of the interconnected history of alcohol and medicine from ancient times to modern times... revealing how and ...
08/22/2022
On August 19, 1888, physician, suffragist, and temperance leader Mary F. Thomas died in Richmond. The North Carolina native married Dr. Owen Thomas and accompanied him to medical lectures. In 1845, she heard Lucretia Mott speak and became a supporter of women’s suffrage. After graduating from Penn Medical University in 1854, she and her husband lived and practiced medicine in Fort Wayne for several years, before moving to Richmond.
In 1859, she became the first woman to address the Indiana General Assembly, alongside Mary Birdsall and Agnes Cook, demanding protection for married women’s property rights and the right to vote. She is also known for providing hospital service during the Civil War, serving as physician for the Home for the Friendless in Nashville, Indiana, and for urging the Indiana State Medical Society to accept women physicians.
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3vNMYLB
The image of Dr. Thomas below is courtesy of Elaine Gepford and the Mincer Family Descendants.
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We’re touring Indy’s treasures on WISH-TV & the next stop takes us back in time… The Indiana Medical History Museum 🩺🩻👇
Ready to get weird? 👀
Sure, you've probably visited Newfields, the Indiana State Museum, and the Children's Museum, but what about Carmel's Museum of Miniature Houses & Other Collections or the Indiana Medical History Museum?
📥 In today's newsletter, we're sharing four unusual spots around Indy to shake up your next outing.
https://indytoday.6amcity.com/unusual-museums-indianapolis-in/
// 📸: Indiana Medical History Museum,
Sure, you've probably visited Newfields, the Indiana State Museum, and the Children's Museum, but what about Carmel's Museum of Miniature Houses & Other Collections or the Indiana Medical History Museum?
📥 In today's newsletter, we're sharing four unusual spots around Indy to shake up your next outing.
https://indytoday.6amcity.com/unusual-museums-indianapolis-in/
// 📸: Indiana Medical History Museum,
https://www.facebook.com/sevenyearsinsane/
For those interested in the psychiatric history of state hospitals. Adopted by museums, libraries, genealogical and historical societies.
For those interested in the psychiatric history of state hospitals. Adopted by museums, libraries, genealogical and historical societies.
https://www.facebook.com/sevenyearsinsane/
For those interested in the history of psychiatry, insanity, and insane asylums. Mental illness, medical dx and tx, medical analysis. Poetry as therapeutic release. Vetted by medical practitioners. Adopted by libraries and museums.
For those interested in the history of psychiatry, insanity, and insane asylums. Mental illness, medical dx and tx, medical analysis. Poetry as therapeutic release. Vetted by medical practitioners. Adopted by libraries and museums.
Our show this week - Speedway and medical care: the first 50 years. Doctors, nurses and ambulances have been part of the scene at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the first auto race in 1909, when a disastrous, five-mile competition resulted in the deaths of drivers, mechanics and spectators. Listen Sat. May 21 from noon to one ET at WICR 88.7 fm or stream at www.hoosierhistorylive.org.
Nelson’s guest is medical historian Norma Erickson, the education manager at the Indiana Medical History Museum in Indianapolis. Check out Norma’s YouTube channel about medical history and the Speedway! WICR Society of Indiana History Enthusiasts Society of Indiana Pioneers Indianapolis Years Ago Looking at Indiana History Looking at Indiana History Indiana Historical Bureau Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indiana Medical History Museum
Nelson’s guest is medical historian Norma Erickson, the education manager at the Indiana Medical History Museum in Indianapolis. Check out Norma’s YouTube channel about medical history and the Speedway! WICR Society of Indiana History Enthusiasts Society of Indiana Pioneers Indianapolis Years Ago Looking at Indiana History Looking at Indiana History Indiana Historical Bureau Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indiana Medical History Museum
Check out Roadtripper Sarah Halter's visit to Abbott's Candies in Hagerstown; a candy store still going strong since 1890.
Abbott’s is famous for its handmade caramels and chocolates, which visitors can watch being made in the store area. Listen to Sarah Sat., Apr 30, about 12:15 pm at WICR 88.7 fm or stream at www.hoosierhistorylive.org Abbott's Candies Indiana Medical History Museum Indianapolis Monthly Visit Indiana Visit Richmond - Indiana WICR
Abbott’s is famous for its handmade caramels and chocolates, which visitors can watch being made in the store area. Listen to Sarah Sat., Apr 30, about 12:15 pm at WICR 88.7 fm or stream at www.hoosierhistorylive.org Abbott's Candies Indiana Medical History Museum Indianapolis Monthly Visit Indiana Visit Richmond - Indiana WICR
The Hoosier state is home to some pretty unique museums. Here's everything you need to know to plan some road trips.
- Many people are concerned about location tracking but I enjoy seeing what pops up at the top of the list with Google location services. As far as places visited during 2021, the Indianapolis Zoo was the top pick by Google as a new location.
From my Google WorkSpace business email: "Dave, here's your 2021 Timeline update. You're receiving this email because you turned on Location History, a Google Account-level setting that saves where you go in your private Timeline.
Location History data also helps give you personalized information on Google, including better restaurant recommendations, and suggestions for a faster commute. You can view, edit, and delete this data anytime in Timeline." Indiana Medical History Museum YMCA Camp Eberhart (Corey Lake)
From my Google WorkSpace business email: "Dave, here's your 2021 Timeline update. You're receiving this email because you turned on Location History, a Google Account-level setting that saves where you go in your private Timeline.
Location History data also helps give you personalized information on Google, including better restaurant recommendations, and suggestions for a faster commute. You can view, edit, and delete this data anytime in Timeline." Indiana Medical History Museum YMCA Camp Eberhart (Corey Lake)
Check out Roadtripper Sarah Halter's visit to Fort Ouiatenon on the Wabash River about 12:15 pm on the radio tomorrow. WICR 88.7 fm or online at www.hoosierhistorylive.org Fort Ouiatenon is a former French trading post originally built in 1717 about three miles southwest of West Lafayette. Each October the Feast of the Hunters' Moon is held! WICR Feast of the Hunters' Moon-Official Event Group Page Indiana Medical History Museum Tippecanoe County Scanner Fort Ouiatenon Society of Indiana Pioneers Society of Indiana History Enthusiasts
Congrats to The Language Conservancy, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana Medical History Museum, Indiana State Museum, Organization of American Historians, and Earlham College for receiving funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities!
We are ONE week away from our first Storyteller! We hope to see you here to listen to Sarah Cole Halter from the Indiana Medical History Museum! This program is co-sponsored by the Johnson County Public Library (Indiana).
- I once had a boss that teased me for taking too many pictures in the architecture design world... Glad I ignored him! Google Maps - 1,500,000 views
348,000+ views of a museum my buddy Coop and I visited last month! Indiana Medical History Museum
348,000+ views of a museum my buddy Coop and I visited last month! Indiana Medical History Museum
We’re having such a fun time with Teddy Bear camp this week!
Today our first stop was the Indiana Medical History Museum. Ms. Sarah talked about the history of the building and what it was used for. The amphitheater space was used to teach medical students about different diseases. It was a classroom for future doctors—pretty cool! Except for the steps—those were really steep. Ask your parents if the amphitheater reminds them of anything. (Maybe a certain cartoon from when they were kids with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd?)
The building that the Medical History Museum is in was built in 1895. Over time, all buildings need extra care to keep them in good shape, but some of that care can be expensive, especially for old buildings. But one of the things that our office does is give out grant money to places like the Medical History Museum to help pay to fix the building so it doesn’t get torn down. Ms. Sarah has worked with our office for many years to use our grant money to help pay to for a new roof, repair of the brick walls, repair of the original wood windows/doors, updates to the electric and plumbing, and new heater. All of these fixes help keep the outside of the building in good shape and that is exactly the kind of things our office does. That way it doesn’t get torn down. When a building gets torn down, all of the pieces go to the landfill and that’s not good for the earth. Preservation not only saves old buildings to tell history and make the places we live more interesting, it also is the best kind of recycling!
Our last stop of the day was the Madam Walker Theater. Madam C.J. Walker was an African-American woman who started a cosmetics and hair care company for African-American women. It was so successful that Madam Walker became the first woman self-made millionaire. She moved her company to Indianapolis in 1910, but this building wasn’t constructed until 1927. Located on Indiana Avenue, this area was the center of African-American business and culture in Indianapolis.
Madam Walker hired mostly African-American women to sell her products. This was at a time when it was hard for Black women to find good jobs that paid well. Not only did Madam Walker teach her workers about her products, she taught them how to manage money and how to start a business. She wanted her saleswomen to succeed both in work and in life.
Madam Walker died in 1919 and had been planning for a new building to house her business and serve as a community center for Indianapolis’ Black residents. Madam Walker’s daughter and others helped finish the project and it eventually contained the headquarters and manufacturing center for the company, along with a beauty parlor/barber shop, a drug store, a restaurant, a theater and a ballroom. We got to go all around the building with Mr. Dev.
We spent our afternoon at Garfield Park—the oldest public park in Indianapolis (it was created back in 1881—that’s 140 years ago). Ms. Elizabeth showed us all around the conservatory including the koi pond. The children’s garden is so much fun and we said hi to the chickens. We rested a bit in the sunken gardens which were designed by famous landscape architect George Kessler. Landscape architects design spaces outside and architects design buildings. We stopped by the pagoda on our way to the pool and the playground for some more fun! It isn’t just buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Parks can be listed too. In fact, Indianapolis has a whole park and boulevard (road) system designed by George Kessler that is listed in the National Register.
Indiana Medical History Museum Madam C.J. Walker Theater Garfield Park Conservatory - Indy Parks and Recreation
Today our first stop was the Indiana Medical History Museum. Ms. Sarah talked about the history of the building and what it was used for. The amphitheater space was used to teach medical students about different diseases. It was a classroom for future doctors—pretty cool! Except for the steps—those were really steep. Ask your parents if the amphitheater reminds them of anything. (Maybe a certain cartoon from when they were kids with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd?)
The building that the Medical History Museum is in was built in 1895. Over time, all buildings need extra care to keep them in good shape, but some of that care can be expensive, especially for old buildings. But one of the things that our office does is give out grant money to places like the Medical History Museum to help pay to fix the building so it doesn’t get torn down. Ms. Sarah has worked with our office for many years to use our grant money to help pay to for a new roof, repair of the brick walls, repair of the original wood windows/doors, updates to the electric and plumbing, and new heater. All of these fixes help keep the outside of the building in good shape and that is exactly the kind of things our office does. That way it doesn’t get torn down. When a building gets torn down, all of the pieces go to the landfill and that’s not good for the earth. Preservation not only saves old buildings to tell history and make the places we live more interesting, it also is the best kind of recycling!
Our last stop of the day was the Madam Walker Theater. Madam C.J. Walker was an African-American woman who started a cosmetics and hair care company for African-American women. It was so successful that Madam Walker became the first woman self-made millionaire. She moved her company to Indianapolis in 1910, but this building wasn’t constructed until 1927. Located on Indiana Avenue, this area was the center of African-American business and culture in Indianapolis.
Madam Walker hired mostly African-American women to sell her products. This was at a time when it was hard for Black women to find good jobs that paid well. Not only did Madam Walker teach her workers about her products, she taught them how to manage money and how to start a business. She wanted her saleswomen to succeed both in work and in life.
Madam Walker died in 1919 and had been planning for a new building to house her business and serve as a community center for Indianapolis’ Black residents. Madam Walker’s daughter and others helped finish the project and it eventually contained the headquarters and manufacturing center for the company, along with a beauty parlor/barber shop, a drug store, a restaurant, a theater and a ballroom. We got to go all around the building with Mr. Dev.
We spent our afternoon at Garfield Park—the oldest public park in Indianapolis (it was created back in 1881—that’s 140 years ago). Ms. Elizabeth showed us all around the conservatory including the koi pond. The children’s garden is so much fun and we said hi to the chickens. We rested a bit in the sunken gardens which were designed by famous landscape architect George Kessler. Landscape architects design spaces outside and architects design buildings. We stopped by the pagoda on our way to the pool and the playground for some more fun! It isn’t just buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Parks can be listed too. In fact, Indianapolis has a whole park and boulevard (road) system designed by George Kessler that is listed in the National Register.
Indiana Medical History Museum Madam C.J. Walker Theater Garfield Park Conservatory - Indy Parks and Recreation
Today is World Asthma Day, organised by the Global Initiative for Asthma to raise awareness of the condition that causes shortness of breath. The theme this year is ‘Uncovering Asthma Misconceptions’, such as asthma is only a childhood disease.
This asthma inhaler from the Sevenoaks Museum collection was made by Rybar Laboratories Ltd. near Whitstable.
Rybar inhalers were sold into the 1960s. They were also available on the National Health Service. Treatments placed in the rubber bulb were breathed in through a mouthpiece or nose piece. They were succeeded by devices that deliver a measured dose.
Asthma UK | The Scientific Instrument Society - SIS | Indiana Medical History Museum
This asthma inhaler from the Sevenoaks Museum collection was made by Rybar Laboratories Ltd. near Whitstable.
Rybar inhalers were sold into the 1960s. They were also available on the National Health Service. Treatments placed in the rubber bulb were breathed in through a mouthpiece or nose piece. They were succeeded by devices that deliver a measured dose.
Asthma UK | The Scientific Instrument Society - SIS | Indiana Medical History Museum
“Covid history in Indiana” Listen Apr. 24 noon to one ET at WICR 88.7 fm or stream at www.hoosierhistorylive.org Nelson’s guest is Shari Rudavsky, the health and medical reporter for the Indianapolis Star. Call in at 317-788-3314. WICR Shari Rudavsky Shari Rudavsky IndyStar Indiana Medical History Museum Humanities Bartholomew County Health Dept- Nursing Division Marion County Health Department Indiana Department of Health
Sat. Apr. 10 “The 25th Amendment, presidential succession and Indiana connections” Listen Sat. noon to one ET at WICR 88.7 fm or stream at www.hoosierhistorylive.org The 25th Amendment, which deals with presidential succession and transfer of power in cases of disability, has been in the news. Indiana’s many connections to these issues, which had been unresolved for more than 150 years, include the first president to die in office, a vice president placed in an awkward situation when Woodrow Wilson had a stroke, and Teddy Roosevelt’s emergency surgery in Indy in 1902. Guests are Norma Erickson of the Indiana Medial History Museum and retired attorney Gary Shaw. WICR Indiana Medical History Museum League of Women Voters of Indiana League of Women Voters of the U.S. League of Women Voters of Indianapolis Norma Erickson Gary Shaw