(Note: Carmen Doyle, who works at our front desk, wrote this piece about a majority of the books we have in our gift shop. Take a look and then come shopping. Some of the most interesting reading about Allen County can be found at the History Center.)
by Carmen Doyle
Summer
is here, and if you’re looking for something great to read, or a good “thank
you” gift for the friend who invited you to the 4th of July party,
the History Center has the answer!
History of Fort Wayne & Allen County, Indiana 1700-2005 (the 2 Vol. set) This
is the ultimate book for history buffs. If the answers to your Fort Wayne
history questions aren’t in here, then the answer probably doesn’t exist!
See: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2011/06/allen-county-fort-wayne-history-book.html
Politics
Allen County Courthouse: A National
Treasure Restored- this
book has gorgeous color photos of the Courthouse restoration.
The Emerging Midwest: Upland
Southerners and the Political Culture of the Old Northwest, 1787-1861 talks about how the Midwest identity
took shape and the conflicts with residual Southern loyalties as the Civil War
started.
Homer Capehart- a senator's life,
1897-1979. This book
is about how Homer Capehart transformed from a door-to-door salesman to company
president and then to politics under Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
Hugh McCulloch- McCulloch was President of the Bank
of the State of Indiana, which led to him becoming the Comptroller of the
Currency and then Treasury Secretary under Lincoln. (If you buy a membership to
the History Center, you can get this book for free!)
Indiana Political Heroes- The contributions of eight Hoosier
politicians (from both parties) are examined. Featured on our blog at http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2013/01/indians-political-heroes.html
Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr. – Dunn was a historian trying to make
the Indiana Historical Society in the 1880s better and also crusaded for free
public libraries across the state.
Passing the Torch: Preserving
Indiana’s Heritage: Senator
James Merritt wrote about his efforts to keep Indiana history important in the
public’s mind.
Statehood and Union: A history of the
Northwest Ordinance-
the Northwest Ordinance was the official government sanction to Western
expansion. This book talks about how the Ordinance affected United States
history.
Two books-Trial and Triumph: Presidential Power in the
Second Term and
Presidential Power in Troubled Second
Terms by Alfred
Zacher discusses issues often faced by second term Presidents and their success
or failures. (Not surprisingly, Washington and Lincoln are judged to have had
the most successful second terms.)
We the People: Indiana and the United States
Constitution is an examination of six different constitutionally significant
cases that originated in Indiana.
Transportation
Auburn is a Dancing Lady- a guidebook to Auburn and the
History Center has an autographed edition!
Railroad Depots of Northern Indiana- This is from the Images of America series, so it features
many lovely sepia toned photos of various train stations.
The Lincoln Highway across America is another book in the Images of
America series, gorgeous photos of the Lincoln Highway. There is also a
postcard set that matches the book photos, if you just want one photo. If you
can’t participate in the Lincoln Highway Centennial Celebration, this book is a
great way to pretend you can. (See the blog post: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2013/06/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html)
Northern Indiana Railway is co-authored by the Central
Electric Rail Fans Association, and is full of information about the planned
railroad across Indiana.
Faster than the Limiteds is about the original plan to build a
railroad between New York and Chicago, and how it collapsed.
Fort Wayne Aviation: Baer Field and
Beyond is another entry in the Images of America series, and pictures
wonderful photos.
Business and Industry
Hard News, Heartfelt Opinions is about the Journal-Gazette and the
history of Fort Wayne newspapers.
Bonds as strong as steel- about scrap metal dealers and their
families.
Fort Wayne National Bank: a 20th
Century Success Story
celebrates 65 years of serving the banking needs of Fort Wayne.
Centennial Farms of Indiana- farms that have been operated by the
same family for over 100 years
L.S. Ayres & Company: The Store at
the Crossroads of America-
about the many years L.S Ayres was the best place to shop, and the precedents
the store set for other stores.
War
Indiana Quakers Confront the Civil War is about the dilemmas faced by the
Quakers at the start of the Civil War. They opposed slavery but we were also
against the war.
A Soldier’s Letters are letters and recollections written
by a soldier in the Korean War.
A Stupendous Effort: the
87th Indiana in the War of Rebellion is about a Union regiment
in the Civil War that participated in several significant battles.
Surgeon on Horseback: The
Missouri and Arkansas Journal and Letters of Dr. Charles Brackett of Rochester,
Indiana, 1861-1863: First Indiana is about a doctor in the Civil War.
Under the Apple Tree: A Novel of the
Home Front is about a
ten-year old boy whose brother goes off to fight in WWII.
Unforgettable Journey: A World War II
memoir: A teenage soldier writes home describing training, combat in Europe and
occupation duty in Japan
is Stanley Huff’s letters home and his memories years later,
The War that Made America: A
Short History of the French and Indian War is about that war ended up
affecting the empires of France and Britain, and helped to start the conflicts
that ended in the Revolutionary War.
Noteworthy Hoosiers
Also Great: Stories of the Famous and
Not-So-Famous of Hancock County is about notorious (bad and good) individuals
in Hancock County.
Buggies and Bad Times and Feeding Our Families are from the Memories of Hoosier Homemakers series and talk about memories from
family farms to the Depression and the World Wars.
From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier
place names in folklore and history is about the stories how places came to
be named.
Genealogy is MORE than charts- hands-on activities to help with
family history. It’s a great accompaniment to the “My Family Tree” poster!
“In the Public Interest”: Oral
Histories of Hoosier Broadcasters
is about the history of broadcasting in Indiana and has transcripts from
interviews with different broadcasters.
Indiana’s Own: Stories from the Heart Ray Rice hosted a TV program for many
years, and these are vignettes from the show. The stories are a page long, and
each story has an accompanying photo.
Justly Proud; a German-American family in Indiana
is about the history of one family through the years, and is told through the
memories of different family members.
Art Smith: Pioneer Aviator is about Art Smith and his acrobatics.
Art Smith designed his own airplane and was one of the most well known aerialists
of his day. This book uses Art’s own words and descriptions in places. Pictures
of Art Smith can be found in the History Center Aviation exhibit. For more on
his memorial statue, check out our blog posts: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2011/02/flying-high-in-fort-wayne.html
and http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2011/01/theres-great-little-book-entitled-who.html
One of Four: Growing
Up in Indiana During the Depression Years by Russell A. Working is actually
a prequel to A Soldier’s Letters.
Russell talks about his childhood as one of four brothers and his life before
entering the Army.
Recollections of a Hamburger: Growing
Up German, 1941-1962.
This book is a memoir by Christel Benke Gehlert, who grew up in Germany after
WWII. The stories of her life and the deprivation she suffered are interesting,
even if the narrative feels more like dictation than a story.
*The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter is
from her Limberlost Swamp series and is a love story about naturalists David
and Ruth.
For more on
Porter, see: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2011/10/ahead-of-her-time.html
*Michael O’Halloran, also by Gene
Stratton Porter, is about two “plucky” orphans, Mickey and Peaches.
The Complete Poetical Works of James
Whitcomb Riley- Riley
wrote poetry from the late 1800s to 1916. His work is hard to read because of
its rustic style, but like most poetry, works best when read out loud.
Graceful Plutocracy: Swinney Family of
Fort Wayne- Swinney
is one of the most familiar names in Fort Wayne. This book tells about the
history of the family and why their name is still remembered.
The Wisdom of Howard: The Collected
Columns of Howard L. Chapman-
Because this book is comprised of columns, it is an excellent pick-up read. You
can open any page and start reading. The columns are really short- about a page
each. The column about Guantanamo Bay from 1984 was really interesting.
Religion
Making Joyful Noises; A History of the
Pipe Organs of Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana- Follow the Pipes takes place during
Three Rivers Fest and this book has information on the organ of every one of
the locations. Unfortunately, if you're not familiar with the basics of an
organ, this book is hard to follow. Also, there are no photos! Since organs are
more than just fancy pianos, pictures (or even diagrams) would be a great help.
Beyond these Stones: A history of
Trinity Episcopal Church Fort Wayne, Indiana- If you’re
interested in the Episcopal history of Fort Wayne, this is a great book. If you
have only a passing interest, there is too much information here to be helpful.
Appropriate Response: The centennial
history of the Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Indiana- The difficulty with books on
religion and churches is that some superficial knowledge of the religion is
assumed. If you have very little idea what the Church of the Brethren is, then
this book is not helpful. The font of the book is not helpful. It may seem like
a minor complaint, but when the entire book is written as if it had just come
off a typewriter, it makes the text hard to follow, especially when the
pictures are not of the highest quality. The book is written more for a member
of the church than a layperson.
Reaching Out: The first 100 years of
Trinity English Lutheran Church-
Although this book is organized into “eras” based upon pastors, it is still
easy to read. The eras are broken into smaller sections, so the text is broken
up and easy to follow. Plus, high-quality pictures and photos are on at least every
other page, which makes reading much better.
Falling Toward Grace: Images of
Religion and Culture form the Heartland- The neat thing about this book is that it is a series
of essays and photos by various people about their experiences with religion.
Every essay or photo is a personal experience by the author, that they are sharing
with you. The different voices and experiences make this book interesting to
read.
God’s Ordinary People, No Ordinary
Heritage- A history
of Taylor College from its start as a women’s college to today.
Suburban Bethlehem Church 1989-1998- It was interesting to see that this
congregation built a school before a church, although I’m not sure why it was
necessary to go into monetary details. There are also high quality photos
throughout the text.
*A Belief in Providence: A Life of Saint
Theodora Guerin- Saint Theodora Guerin was recently canonized (2006) and is
the first Indiana resident to be canonized. The book starts with discussion of
how it is determined to canonize a person. (The text doesn’t say how some of
the signs are uncovered to begun with- one of the first signs of something
being different about Theodora Guerin was that her brain hadn’t decayed after
death. How that was discovered is not mentioned.) Guerin was important in the history of Indiana
and this book tells why, and also talks about some of the differences of
opinion she faced with the church hierarchy.
Worthy of the Gospel of Christ: A
History of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend-This book had a good amount of
information on various topics related to Catholicism, like the schools. I would
have liked more discussion on Bishop Hallendiere, who seemed to have had issues
with everyone else in the Diocese at the time, including Mother Guerin.
Fiction
Double-Wide- Michael Martone
Michael Martone-Michael Martone
Racing in Place- Michael Martone
Miscellaneous
Remembering Grabill, Indiana- Kathryn Moore
*American Folk Art: Expressions of a New
Spirit
People of West Central
Monroe Township Schools: Preserving
History
Done and Been- Gypsy Moon
Quest Club: the first 100 years- Quest Club
The Quest for Fort Wayne- Quest Club
Kids
*A Trip on the Wabash and Erie Canal
Before the Dinosaurs
Essential Atlas of Astronomy
Eyes on the Skies
*By Freedom’s Light- Elizabeth O’Malley
*The Civil War Book of Games, Puzzles, And
Things To Do- Hugh & Judy Gowan, Joe Campbell
*Genois Wilson, Firefighter – Carol
Butler, illustrated by Teresa Yarbrough
See the blog
post: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2013/04/as-good-fire-laddie-as-many-of-boys.html
*Birds of Indiana: A field guide- Stan
Tekiela
*Trees of Indiana: A field guide- Stan
Tekiela
Sports
Baseball in Fort Wayne- Chad Gramling
*Dottie Wiltse Collins- Carolyn M. Trombe
Opening Pitch: Professional Baseball’s
Inaugural Season, 1871-
Warren N. Wilbert
*Indiana Sporting Life
Hoosier Leisure
50 Years Together: The Red Birds
Remember- Joe Taylor,
Patty Corbett
*A History of Lake James-James G. Somers
& Flaim C. Cupp
*Spinning through Clouds- Max E. Knight
*Life in a 3-Ring Circus- Sharon Smith
& Stephen Fletcher
*Wolf & Dessauer: Where Fort Wayne
Shopped- Jim & Kathie Barron
Indiana Living
*A Swiss Community in
Adams County- Naomi
(Eugene) Lehmen
Haunted Hoosier Trails- Wanda Lou Wllis
More Haunted Hoosier Trails-Wanda Lou Willis
Indiana: A new Historical Guide- Robert M. Taylor Jr., Errol Wayne
Stevens
The Irish in Indiana- William W. Giffin
Peopling Indiana: The Ethnic
Experience- Taylor
& McBinney
Play the Yellow Tape- Bobbie Lee
Lincoln
Lincoln’s Youth- Louis Warren
“There I grew up”- William E. Bartelt
*Abraham Lincoln- Indiana Historical
Society
African-Americans
A Friendly Mission- Indiana Historical Society
Publication
Indiana’s African-American Heritage- William L. Gibbs
Negro Theatre in America Prior to the
Civil War- Kenneth M.
Slatterly
A Communion of the Spirits- Roland L. Freeman
*Desperate Deliverance: The Story of
African-Americans in the Civil War- Robert Broadwater
*The Black Women of the Middle West project
* African-Americans in Fort Wayne: The First
200 Years (Images of America) -Dodie Marie Miller
The latest
edition of the Old Fort News also has a wonderful article about black women’s
clubs in Fort Wayne, written by Marcia Smiley.
Also see: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2012/02/carter-g-woodson-father-of-black.html
Native Americans
Contested Territories: Native
Americans and non-natives in the lower Great Lakes, 1700-1850- Charles Beatty-Medina and Melissa
Rinehart (editors)
Long Journey Home- Brown & Kohn
A Sorrowful Journey- Randall L. Buchman
The Lost Years: Miami Indians in
Kansas- Hayward
Blacksnake’s Path- William Heath
Heart of a Warrior –Joe Krom
For more on
William Wells, http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2010/09/writings-of-william-wells.html
Land of the Indians: Indiana- Karl A. Kieper
Miami Indians of Indiana- Stewart, Rafert
Murder in their hearts: Murphy
The Native Americans- Glenn, Rafferty
Always Appropriate- Kohn, Montell, Ritter
Northwest Territory
Bayonets in the Wilderness- Gaff
Frontiersmen- Allan W. Eckert
*President Washington’s Indian War- Sword
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry
Harrison and the origins of American
Indian Policy- Robert Owens
Women
*Fighting For Equality- Ray E. Boomhower
Gibson Girls and Suffragettes- Catherine Gourley
*Maggie Ray- Marsha J. Wright
*Nature’s Storyteller- Barbara Oleynik
Morrow
Hold Fast to Dreams-Audra Snyder Bailey
*Carole Lombard- Wes D. Gehring
Pictorial Histories
Wild and Scenic Indiana- Rich Clark, Scott Russell Sanders
Historic Photos of Fort Wayne- Bushnell
*One Shot: WWII Photography of John A.
Bushemi- Ray E. Boomhower
Images of America: Fort Wayne, Indiana-Ralph Violette
Images of America: New Haven- New Haven Area Heritage Association
*Images of America: Fort Wayne Aviation
Fort Wayne: A pictorial love story- Gerald Gaff
Exploring Old and New
The Calumet Region-Moore
*Finances & Commerce of the Wabash and
Erie Canal-Willis Richardson
*Wabash and Erie Canal Notebook I-
Castaldi
*Wabash and Erie Canal Notebook II-
Castaldi
*Wabash and Erie Canal Notebook III-
Castaldi
On the Heritage Trail- Bicentennial Heritage Trail
Committee
Early Indiana Trails and Surveys- Wilson
Haunted Hoosier Trails- Wanda Lou Willis
*Headwaters Park- Geoff Paddock
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