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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: May 22-June 4
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, May 27, 1920: The appointment by the mayor of an Indianapolis city planning commission was urged in remarks last night by Flavel Shurtleff, secretary of the National Conference of City Planning, before a meeting of the Architects’ Association and the Architectural League of Indianapolis. One … Read More
100 Years Ago: May 15-21
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, May 11, 1920: Ten thousand children in forty-eight Indianapolis public schools are now receiving a mid-morning lunch of a half-pint of milk and two Graham crackers through the work of Indianapolis School Lunch Association. For children who can afford to pay, the lunch costs 4 … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: May 8-14
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, May 11, 1920: Ten thousand children in forty-eight Indianapolis public schools are now receiving a mid-morning lunch of a half-pint of milk and two Graham crackers through the work of Indianapolis School Lunch Association. For children who can afford to pay, the lunch costs 4 … Read More
100 Years Ago: May 1-7
From The Indianapolis Times, Saturday, May 1, 1920: The Capitol Avenue Protective Association met at the home of attorney Ira Holmes, 2164 N. Capitol Av, last night to discuss means of preventing the encroachment of negro property holders on the main residence streets. Fifty property owners between 16th and 38th … Read More
Death Rides a Pale Horse
I was born in 1944 soon after the Allied invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe. While we know now that it was the “beginning of the end” in that theater of war, my mother, who had just given birth, and my father, who was on a cruiser in the South Pacific, … Read More