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THE CLEAN
PLATE CLUB
From time to time, I'll put some random facts and observations here.
Some may find their way to episodes. Basically, I hate to waste a relevant fact when I
find it.
- The Allen Chapel, affiliated with the African Episcopal Methodist Church, has been a
fixture in the Terre Haute community since 1870. The church is on the National Register of
Historic Buildings. It has survived a tornado and a devastating fire in 1913, but its
present challenge is to survive the ravages of time.
The chapel's historic tracker
organ, it's beautiful stained glass, as well as its antiquated heating and plumbing
systems urgently need repair. To that end, the friends of Historic Allen Chapel has been
formed. Any donation to their efforts would be greatly appreciated:
Friends of Historic Allen Chapel P.O. Box 3692 Terre Haute IN 47803
- A few books I would recommend to you: The Geography Of Nowhere and Home from
Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler (Touchstone); and A Guide to the National Road,
edited by Karl Raitz (John Hopkins University).
Another wonderful book Up in the Old
Hotel by Joseph Mitchell (Vintage). Michell's character studies of gypsies, street
preachers, and various urban eccentrics first appeared in the New Yorker during the 1930s.
Truly wonderful writing and an obscure Terre Haute reference to boot.
- I got a letter from one of my favorite contacts recently, concerning a football game
played between Garfield and Wiley High Schools in the mid-1920s. Garfield-Wiley was always
a classic rivalry. The game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving. The inaugural game
at Memorial Stadium in November 1925 drew a capacity crowd. Memorial Stadium, remember,
was initially designed to hold 16,000 spectators. The schools played to a scoreless tie.
- You might be interested in a survey made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in
1926. It was estimated that the total bird population in the lower 48 states was between
four and five billion. In the northeastern and central states alone, there were estimated
to be 22 million bluebirds.
- America produced a wide variety of great literary magazines in the 20th-century. Many,
like Colliers, Dial, and The American Mercury are often forgotten
today because they are no longer published. Forgotten with them, unfortunately, are the
excellent short stories, articles, and essays that graced their pages.
One recent
discovery for me was the St. Nicholas Magazine, a children's literary monthly
published from 1873 to 1943. Edited by Mary Mapes Dodge, the author of Hans Brinker,
the magazine published work by some of America's finest authors: Twain, Alcott, London,
and Longfellow among others. In addition, it ran submissions by many of its young readers:
aspiring writers that included Ring Lardner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E.B. White, and Rachel
Carson.
Readers submissions were accepted for drawing, photography, poetry, and prose. The
published work, considering it came from children aged 10 to 15, was remarkably
accomplished and sophisticated.
- Paul Robeson gave a performance at Caleb Mills Hall in Indianapolis on January 20th,
1926. It is likely that Mr. Robeson sang without a microphone.
- For a unique business in town, try this one: The Catholic Supply Store And Novelty Shop
at 15 South Sixth Street (Phone Wabash 263). Religious items as you'd expect, Communion
veils made to order, fancy candlesticks, silk lampshades.
More pictures and information later. I imagine by now many of you know where I'm headed
with all this. Hometown is supported by an Indiana Heritage Research Grant, a
joint effort of the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Humanities Council.
 Comments? If you have questions or
comments about this WFIU Web Site, please contact WFIU.
 E-mail to WFIU:
If you have comments about programs, you can call the response line anytime at (812)
855-7814, or write to the Program Director, WFIU, Radio/TV Center, IU, Bloomington, IN
47405.
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