The Indiana Publisher

November 13, 2014 Page 3 News in brief Send promotions, announcements, staff changes and other corporate news to mtuley@hspa.com. Free history series will mark state bicentennial Reporter joins Plain Dealer staff KPC adds audience director State records to be digitized Rachel Lemon has joined the staff of the Wabash Plain Dealer as a general assign- ment reporter, Managing Editor Joseph Slacian announced. Lemon will cover Wabash County govern- ment and the town of North Manchester, including the North Manchester Town Council. Lemon replaces Nick Van Heest, who resigned in May to return to his native Minnesota. She spent the past two and a half years working as a graphic designer at the Chronicle-Tribune (Marion). While at the Chronicle-Tribune she did page layouts for five papers, including the Plain Dealer. A Miami County native, Lemon lives in Mexico, Indiana. She attended Franklin College, where she studied journalism and public relations. She also earned a minor in political science. During her time at Franklin she worked on the college newspaper, covered the Indiana Statehouse and interned at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. She also interned at the Hill Times in Ottawa, Ontario, covering politics in Canada. — Wabash Plain Dealer KPC Media Group announces the addition of Wes Townsley as its director of audience develop- ment. Towns- ley comes to KPC with a wealth of newspaper experience, most recently from Paxton Media Group in Marion, Indiana, where he served as regional circulation director. Prior to that he was circulation director at Winfield Publishing Co. in Winfield, Kansas. "We are so pleased to have Wes on board as our 100 year-old, locally- owned company continues to see steady growth at a time when others are cutting back," said Terry Ward, chief operating officer at KPC Media Group. Finding the most capable professionals to fill new positions is paramount, Ward said. "As we evolve, we need those critical thinkers to help us identify the best opportunities and then capitalize on them," he said. The state of Indiana will post online more than 13 million birth certificates, death certif- icates, and marriage records for access by Hoosiers. The Indiana Commis- sion on Public Records – also known as the State Archives – has entered into a contract with Ancestry.com to digitize the records. Records older than 75 years will start to become available in 2015, with the completion date expected by the state's bicentennial in 2016. This will be the largest collection of Indiana's records ever digitized. "As we head toward the 2016 bicentennial and celebrate Indiana's past, this initiative serves not only present-day Hoosiers by improving accessibility to records, but also future Hoosiers as they look back at state history," Gov. Mike Pence said. The partnership saves Indiana more than $3.2 million – the cost to index, scan and make accessible the materials – and would have taken the state more than a decade to complete. It also provides another mechanism to access the records and preserve the remaining originals from excessive use and degradation. It also provides an additional copy in case original copies are destroyed. Both the Indiana State Department of Health's Vital Records office and State Archives will receive a copy of the digital images and indexes. The health department will use its copy to improve service to Hoosiers by streamlining the process of accessing records and providing official copies to citizens, while State Archives will provide access to the records more than 75 years old at its facility. Ancestry.com will provide access to the records to its members. Wes Townsley Rachel Lemon A lthough ordering the Thanksgiving turkey still remains on my to-do list, an exciting project way down the road began in earnest in October. In case the recent elections and similar current events garner all of your attention, we've got you covered. Indiana celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2016. And the Indiana Newspaper in Education Foundation, the Indiana State Reading Association and the HSPA Foundation will partner to produce a free series for you – "So you think you know Indiana? Celebrating 200 years of the Hoosier state." Nelson Price, an Indianapolis-based author, journalist, historian and radio personality, just sub- mitted the first two of the 15-part series he will write for publication in Indiana newspapers during the bicen- tennial celebration. While the project will tar- get fourth graders who study Indiana history, I can tell you Price's stories will attract adult readers as well. I just finished reading the drafts of Price's pieces on Food Heritage and African Americans. Being a native of Indian- apolis and spending the first 21 and the last 33 years of my life in the state, I thought I knew a lot about Indiana. I just learned how much I don't know. Most of us realize Indiana ranks high in popcorn pro- duction – second only to Nebraska. (I would have put money on Iowa – actually No. 6.) But Price tells us pop- corn is only a kernel of the Indiana corn story. (Fabulous line!) Who knew the Miami Indians grew white corn here long before anyone could even spell Orville Redenbacher? Well I guess I knew when I stop to think about it, but who takes time for that? Indiana's official state pie finally makes sense to me. Our harsh winters before the days of supermarkets meant no fruit pies. But the farm- house kitchen stocked sugar, cream and flour year-round. Thus Hoosiers love their sugar cream pies. I'm embarrassed to say I did not remember Madam Walker made her fortune selling her hair-care products across the country, in the Caribbean and in Central America. (But you can bet your last dime I knew about Oscar Robertson!) Price will tackle 13 other fascinating topics includ- ing famous Hoosiers, over- looked Hoosiers, quirky and little-known stories about Indiana, ethnic immigration, population shifts, ancient people, ancient animal life, Indiana in the Civil War (Underground Railroad), interesting Indiana names (counties, cities, lakes and other places), Indiana land- marks (monuments, barns, covered bridges, hotels), women who changed the state, Lincoln's experiences in school and in a blended family, and myths and mis- conceptions about the state. The HSPA Foundation will hold an art contest with the project. Schools may submit their students' best work to accompany one of the stories. When newspapers across the state receive the series, it will include the stories, art work, logo and author credit. For those who do not recog- nize Price's name, I will try to jog your memory. A distinguished, award- winning former feature writer/columnist for The Indianapolis Star and a fifth- generation Hoosier, Price previously wrote for The Journal-Gazette (Fort Wayne) and the former Indianapolis News, where he was the edu- cation reporter. Among his books, he authored Legendary Hoosiers (Guild Press of Indiana, 2001), a book for young read- ers that presents the lives of famous people from Indiana in entertaining, interactive ways. He also wrote Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman (Hawthorne Publishing, 1997 hardcover; 2005 softcover), a book of pro- files of 160 famous Hoosiers ranging from historic figures to contemporary newsmak- ers, and Indianapolis Then and Now (Thunder Bay Press, 2004), a colorful exam- ination of the evolution of America's 12th largest city. Price continues to write freelance articles for magazines and for The Indianapolis Star, where he was a feature writer for 21 years. For 12 of those years, he wrote a weekly column for the newspaper and, later, a monthly column about Hoosier history. On radio Nelson hosts Hoosier History Live, a week- ly talk show on WICR-FM (88.7) in Indianapolis – the only live radio show about a state's history in the nation. School parent-teacher orga- nizations across the state sponsor his presentations about famous Hoosiers to thousands of fourth graders. Price won more than 40 state, local, civic and national awards for his profiles of newsmakers. He grew up in Indianapolis and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University, with degrees in journalism and psychology. Two Indiana governors named him a Sagamore of the Wabash. We will apply for endorse- ment by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission next month and then will look for a sponsor to publish the stories in a book for ele- mentary school libraries after newspapers print the series. We hope this advanced notice allows you to take advantage of the project in 2016. (Now I need to order a tur- key!) Karen T. Braeckel is director of the HSPA Foundation. Foundation Front By Karen T. Braeckel

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