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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
100 Years Ago: Dec. 11-17
From The Indianapolis News, Thursday, December 16, 1920: All school dances are banned at Shortridge High School until the “ultra-modern and immodest shimmy, camel walk, tickle-toe, and cheek-to-cheek” dances are discarded and more dignified dance steps of previous years are once again taken up by the students, principal George Buck … Read More
100 Years Ago: Dec. 4-10
From The Indianapolis Star, Friday, December 10, 1920: All public eating establishments must be spotless by Monday according to Dr. Herman Morgan, city sanitarian. At that time, a squad of inspectors will be set loose to investigate every eatery in Indianapolis and all violations will be vigorously prosecuted. The campaign … Read More
Achieving the Impossible Dream
I attended Howe High School on the Indianapolis east side, and like most large city high schools the spacious corridors would rapidly fill up with a wall-to-wall flood of students and teachers when the passing bell rang. Often during this time I would see a black face — not of … Read More
100 Years Ago: Nov. 27-Dec. 3
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, November 28, 1920: Aphrodite, one of the greatest stage sensations, was not nearly as shocking as painted. The much discussed and supposedly wicked and immoral Aphrodite has come and gone from our midst and the city is none the worse for it. Those zealous guardians … Read More
100 Years Ago: Nov. 20-26
From The Indianapolis Times, Wednesday, November 24, 1920: Indianapolis pays a heavy toll each year in the number of shade trees killed by scale insects. According to George Morgan, assistant horticulturist of the park department, last year approximately 4,500 trees succumbed to the ravages of parasites, far less than the … Read More