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Author Biography
Steven R. Barnett is Executive Director at the Irvington Historical Society.
Steve Barnett was raised in Irvington. Steve attended School #57, Howe High School (’63), and received a degree from Purdue University (’70). He served in the Indiana National Guard. After a brief hiatus from Irvington, Steve returned to his home town in 1977 with his wife Sue so their three children could grow up in a family friendly environment.
Steve had the good fortune of working with U. S. Representative Andy Jacobs, Jr. and U. S. Representative Julia Carson in the Indianapolis Congressional District Office helping constituents.
After his retirement, Steve became the executive director of the Irvington Historical Society and curator of the Bona Thompson Memorial Center until 2025. Steve was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by Gov. Wallace G. Wilkinson for service to veterans, and he was appointed a Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Joseph Kernan for service to Indiana. In 2016, Steve was named Marion County Historian.
Steven R. Barnett’s Story Archive
The Standard of Groceries
Stopping by the supermarket on the way home from work to pick up a roasted chicken or the “fixin’s” for a quick meal is so commonplace today that we don’t give it a second thought. Ah, the supermarket; the truly great symbol of “America the land of plenty,” providing not … Read More
World War I 100 Years Ago: Aug. 26-Sept. 1
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, September 1, 1916: U. S. Army Lieutenant Gilbert Cook is inspecting the six Indiana National Guard recruiting offices recently opened throughout Indiana to ascertain what methods may be used to increase recruiting. Army Lieutenant Philip Remington, who is in charge of recruiting in Indiana, says … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Aug. 26-Sept. 1
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, August 31, 1916: The Circle Theater opened last evening with every one of its 3,100 seats taken. Theatergoers arrived an hour before the scheduled 8 o’clock performance to inspect the beautiful interior behind the white terra cotta façade — fittings of ivory and gold, the … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Aug. 19-25
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, August 20, 1916: Fifty members of the Indianapolis branch of the Woman’s Franchise League left the city yesterday from Monument Place in decorated automobiles to open their campaign to interview every housewife in eight townships and forty towns and obtain signatures of registered voters and … Read More
World War I 100 Years Ago: Aug. 19-25
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, August 22, 1916: A recruiting squad of seven officers and twenty-one enlisted men, on border duty at Llano Grande, Texas with the Indiana National Guard, arrived in Indianapolis this morning. According to Indiana Adjutant General Franklin L. Bridges, they will be assigned to the six … Read More