Eugene and Marilyn Glick History Center: The Indiana Experience

While walking into the Eugene and Marilyn Glick History Center you walk past a clock going back in time, which we found to be very intriguing and set the tone for what we were about to experience next. Much of the Glick Center’s presentation involves sending visitors back to specific moment in Indiana’s history.

The three “You Are There” exhibits are based extensively on visitor participation, so come prepared to engage the actors and ask questions “in character”. Each of the “You Are There” exhibits begin with a photo from the Historical Society’s collection that has been converted into a fog portrait. To enter the experience you step through the photo into a themed set.

Destination Indiana
The first exhibit you come to is called Destination Indiana. When you enter the exhibition hall you are met by a large projection screen that is playing a selection of eight small informational videos covering a wide array of Indiana specific information.The topics range from the mapping of Indianapolis to Traction Terminal. Following the informational videos there are a number of two to three person screens that will build upon the topics that were covered in the larger production.  

You Are There: The Violin Maker Upstairs (1914)
On the second floor of History Center you will find Joseph Conrath carving out the body of his next violin. His sister is in town along with his wife who helps run the music shop where they sell and repair string instruments. This experience was the most personal of the day, in that we were personally invited in and asked to make ourselves comfortable. The dialogue was more of a period conversation rather than a presentation and we were greatly in control of the overall experience. A key moment in our visit followed Nicholas’ response that he was not allowed to play the violin as a child due to the noise it would produce. Mr. Conrath appeared to take great offense to this comment and over the next few minutes taught Nicholas to play a little ditty. It was a legitimate process, definitely not the Professor Hill “Think Method.”

Some topics that you may consider discussing with the Conrath’s: “How much do violins cost?”, “Did Joseph’s sister use the interurban on her journey to visit?”, or “How long would the process of creating a violin take?”. It is useful to have a general knowledge of music for this experience, but those without it are not at any great disadvantage.

You Are There: Busted! Prohibition Enforced (1920)
Prohibition was and has always been a controversial topic, but in 1920 there was no discussion.  The transportation and sale of liquor was illegal in all ninety-two Indiana counties as well as across the nation. The fog portrait that is your portal to the prohibition experience, is a moment captured right after Indiana police officers have arrested a man for making and selling homemade moonshine. You will have an opportunity to see the distillery and visit the poor chap locked up in jail along with the man responsible for his incarceration. Feel free to play along with the experience, the more you ask, the better your experience will become.

You Are There: Robert F. Kennedy Speaks (1968)
April 4, 1968 was a long day for Robert F. Kenney. After entering the presidential race late, his first primary was in Indiana and he was hitting the campaign trail hard. He began is day with a speech to students at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. He delivered a second speech to students at Ball State University in Muncie. But his most important speech came two hours later than planned in Indianapolis. This was the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Kennedy addressed speech goers from the heart. His speech in Indianapolis is considered to be one of his most heartfelt and profound speeches during his campaign. It is this heartfelt speech which visitors experience during this “You Are There” exhibit. Just two months and one day later, after winning his primary bid, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968.

Cole Porter Room
The Cole Porter room is a replica of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel lounge. This exhibit is not a “You Are There” exhibit, rather you enter the lounge and can listen to a local artist sing Porter’s songs while you view photos and read stories about his life. While Porter was a world-traveler and a famous Hollywood personality, he was first a Hoosier.

W. Brooks Fortune History Lab
We tend to abstain from participating in the children focus activities currently, however the Fortune history lab had a variety of hands on historical activities for young - and the young at heart.

Stardust Terrace Cafe
The Glick Center has a lower level cafe. We choose to split our visit into a few exhibits, lunch, and then finished the remaining exhibits. We found this approach worked best for us. The cafe offers sandwiches, salads, and a few hot selections. While the meal wasn’t the greatest, being able to sit on the terrace watching canal goers was a very enjoyable past-time.

Library
The Eugene and Marilyn Glick History Center is home to the Indiana Historical Society and also houses their historical records collection. To visit the library all you must do is check-in at the front desk and let them know your intentions, and they will give you a pass to head up to the library and begin your research. You are not charged admittance to use just the library. There are a handful of computers also set up in the library equipped with Ancestry.com where you can work on your family genealogy Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

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In conclusion, there is plenty of content for you to experience so we recommend arriving during the first few hours of the day to ensure that you have enough time. Video, fog (for picture entrances), and some other special effects may be utilized to enhance the experiences.

We viewed the exhibits in a somewhat random order but wish that we had viewed the video presentation in Discovering Indiana first to provide us a platform of information for the remaining exhibits. Should we visit again, which we would very much like to do, we would start with Discovering Indiana, and then progress chronologically through the “You Are There” exhibits.

The Glick Center has a strong family friendly atmosphere and definitely has activities for children however, some of the subject matter and format of presentation may be lost on some of the youngest attending visitors.

Entrance to the Eugene and Marilyn Glick center for Indiana History is $7.00 per adult and that grants access to the Indiana Experience exhibits. Parking starts at three dollars and increases hourly. If you dine in the cafe and your purchase exceed seven dollars, then keep your receipt and stop by the main desk to have your parking validated.

General Lew Wallace Study

The Lew Wallace study isn’t a massive nor grand facility when viewed from afar; but when considering the context that this entire building was constructed as a study for Wallace and not necessarily a habitable space, it becomes much more massive. Technologically cutting-edge for its time it has over 90 electric light bulbs installed and protruding from plaster flowers amongst other innovations.

Lew Wallace is the author that penned one of the most iconic books of all time: Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ, which was originally published in 1880. The story itself was a blockbuster seller and has been made into three feature films, an animated film voiced by Charlton Heston, and a Broadway play. The 1959 feature film starring Charlton Heston won 11 academy awards - the first film to do so. Only two other films have since captured this many honors: Titanic (1997) and the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).

Lew Wallace himself designed the structure to meet his fantastic desires and was known to refer to it as “a pleasure-house for my soul.” The original structure even had a partial moat stocked with fish so that he could sit on the stairs and engage in his favorite past time. In bad weather he could open round windows and fish from the basement of his study as well.

The interior is a cavernous space lined with bookshelves and artwork. The study is currently undergoing renovations and during the process the curators performed paint analysis, uncovering extensive murals and discovering that all the decorative molding was originally painted with 24 karat gold leafing. The large domed skylight ceiling is very indicative of the early industrial period’s building designs. Although the site is currently undergoing some structural renovations, it is still open to the public and worth the visit.

The building now contains roughly 1,200 volumes from Wallace’s personal library and many artifacts from his personal life. Since the study also serves as a museum to Ben-Hur, items related to the Ben-Hur cannon are on display as well.

Entrance to the museum is $5.00 but parking is free. The grounds of General Lew Wallace’s study are surrounded by a large brick wall. The parking lot is not immediately obvious, however on the east wall there is a gated entrance. During open hours you drive in through the gate and park to the right. The yellow carriage house is where your tour will begin.

Lane Place Antebellum Mansion

Henry S. Lane was a politician, lawyer, banker, and early Indiana statesman. Lane moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana from Kentucky to live in a “free” state. He opened a law practice and entered politics. Lane is known for serving the shortest term for the post of Governor of Indiana - just 2 days before he resigned to be a U.S. Senator. Lane was also known for playing a leading roll in support of Abraham Lincoln’s candidacy for President of the United States.

Lane’s home, known as Lane Place, is a varietal collection of personal items and period pieces. It is maintained by the local historical society and as one of the older homes that we have visited thus far, it is in wonderful condition. Initially built in the mid-1840s the home mixes both Federalist and Grecian architectural stylings for the exterior.

Some of the most surprising elements of visiting historic homes tend to be the artifacts they contain. Often times the toys that children played with are some of the most surprising elements. To be able to have been played with, loved, and still be in the great condition that they are speaks volume to the children’s character of the time.

For Lane Place, as with the Harrison home, some of the most significant artifacts are those that relate to Lincoln; more specifically those that relate to Lincoln’s funeral and funeral train. The home contained Lane’s top hat from the funeral, as well as funeral ribbons and photographs.

Our guide and her young granddaughter showed us through the house. It was one of our most engaging home tours to date. Parking was a bit curious for us. We parked across the street to the north of the house. There appeared to be some street parking available as well. The tours begin at the front door of the home by ringing the doorbell. The tour costs $3.00 per person but we also recommend picking up the booklet that expands on the history of the home and artifacts it contains, for five extra dollars.

Hendricks County Fair

We decided that we wanted to attend our local county fair this year in addition to the State Fair that we attend annually. We live in Hendrick’s county, so we headed to the Danville Fairgrounds on Friday evening after work. When we arrived we payed our $5 to park in the fairground’s lot, but it seemed to us that there were a few other parking options as well.  

We happened upon a show called the Swifty Swine: Racing Pigs. The show based it’s premise this year on a fun political play on words. George Bush Hogger ended up winning the race but Barrack-0-Ribs Obama came in a close second. It was a short show but hilarious.  

Food.  It is a basic human need, and an absolute must at any county fair. Our list of musts were as follows: corn dog, elephant ear, and grilled Indiana corn on the cob.  A complete meal, don’t you think?

We took the time to go through all the 4-H exhibit halls and take a look at the children’s projects.  It was interesting and sometimes entertaining. Of course on an extremely hot day it was a nice respite and some much appreciated air conditioning.

There was an area sectioned off that contained the standard array of fair rides suited both for children and those seeking a few thrills. Be prepared with cash to purchase tickets for the amusement rides, cards are not accepted.

The only performance group we saw during our visit was the Brownsburg-based clogging troupe known as the Hoedown Express Cloggers. Their show that evening was cut in half due to the extreme heat and the concern for their performers. For us, it was neither a here-nor-there performance. The group was enthusiastic, but dismally unable to perform the routine designed by the gentleman leading the group.  

Walking back to the car, we were feeling pretty good about the evening.  Even though the heat was a major factor, it was a lot of fun and we expect to be heading back to the Hendrick’s county fair again next year.  All we have to decide now, is what is going to be on next year’s food list of musts.

Blueberry Picking at Spencer Farm

Spencer Farm is a local family farm that raises a small selection of berries and other odds-and-ends during the fall months. They are most well known for their strawberries, however they also grow black raspberries, blueberries, and red raspberries. On this particular visit we were there to pick blueberries.

Spencer farm only planted their blueberry bushes six years ago, so as you can imagine they have a lot of maturing to do. However, the plants are now able to produce enough fruit to satisfy those who come to pick.

When you arrive, head inside and pick up your flat to hold your picked berries. Then you can head outside and start picking. There is not much to it, pick what’s ripe and leave what isn’t.  We picked about 3 pounds of blueberries in a short amount of time.

Going as early in the morning as you can will only help you stay cooler and give you free range of where you would like to start picking. You may want to consider bringing a bottle of water to keep yourself hydrated on warmer days.

This is a great family activity. Young children will be able to easily participate since the blueberry bushes are only about 3 feet tall at the moment.  

Once you have left the farm you will have another family activity of deciding all of the wonderful ways you can serve blueberries. From fresh on a bowl of cereal to homemade baked pies, as well as tarts, coffeecake, and muffins; the wonders of this health super food are seemingly endless.  

We managed to select the hottest day of the season thus far to go out and pick, but it ended up being a lot of fun. Blueberries were $2.65 per pound. The staff at Spencer was friendly and once they found out it was our first time to their farm they were more than willing to point us in the correct directions.

Glorious Fourth at Conner Prairie

Glorious Forth at Conner Prairie is a fantastic avenue to share with young Hoosier children the importance and significance of our American independence. The information, while patriotic, is excellently tailored to the Indiana landscape.

Upon entering Conner Prairie the gentlemen are provided with enlistment papers for the 103rd Indiana Regiment. These papers are the starting point to a seamless Indiana civil war experience. The Civil War encampment utilizes actors, technology, and special effects to bring each visitor into the events and experiences. The overall experience very much focuses on Morgan’s Raid into Indiana during the middle of July 1863. The area begins by walking through an old covered bridge where you hear history and information of the time. The journey takes you back to when Indiana found herself in the middle of the Civil war and the South marching to her door. This was by far our favorite part of our day.  

The civil war encampment is not the only experience to be had. In the visitor’s center there are a number of exhibits and a hands-on room for children; key locations open during our visit included: 1863 Civil War Journey:  Raid on Indiana, 1836 Prairietown, Conner Homestead, and the Lenape Indian Camp. There is also the 1859 Balloon Voyage, which was an event we choose to forgo but was very prominently featured just outside the visitor center inside the park. We suspect that this adventure would be fantastic with children.

The Conner Prairie Welcome Center has a generous hand full of exhibits dedicated to the founders of the local area and the land on which Conner Prairie is located. We recommend taking a few minutes to learn about the local area.

Conner Homestead was a busy place throughout the day. As one of the earliest visitors of the day we were amongst the first to see six newborn piglets born just hours before we arrived to the farm.  The “Conner Prairie inhabitants” were busy enlisting children to play period games including a Scavenger Hunt, which was going on all day, and even a historic baseball game.  

Prairietown contains many period buildings which create a sense of community at the time of 1836.  You will be able to find a blacksmith hard at work in his shop, a schoolhouse, a doctor’s office and home, a carpenter’s shop and a local inn where travels passing through town can find a night’s rest.  

Cost to enter the park is $14 for adults, $9 for youth ages 2-12, and members and children under the age of 2 will receive free admission.  If you are able to make it to the park near it’s opening time, you will certainly miss the initial crowds involved with such a production, which we really quite enjoyed having the park virtually to ourselves for awhile.  

Overall it was a great experience, but we feel it is prudent to say, that children will enhance this experience. Not to say that they are required, but we think the park is seen to it’s full potential through a child’s eye most clearly.