Article Archives: Bumps in the Night

Buck Jones’ Last Stand

This column originally appeared in Feb. 2013. Last week I told you about Vincennes, Indiana native Buck Jones. One of the best known cowboy stars in Hollywood history, Buck died tragically in a nightclub fire during World War II. Not just any fire, but the Cocoanut Grove inferno in Boston, … Read More

The Buck Jones Ranger Club

This column first appeared in February 2013. Happy accidents of fate make my world go round. Last Monday I was puttering around playing with old stuff when I ran across an old wallet sized picture of cowboy star Buck Jones. As I turned it over in my hands I was … Read More

Busted-The 1961 Heroin arrest of Ray Charles in Indianapolis

This column originally appeared in June 2009. November 7, 1961, on the heels of recording what was arguably his best jazz album ever, Ray Charles checked in to the Downtown Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel. His band stayed in the old black Claypool Hotel. That night, Ray got a call from a man … Read More

The Sad Demise of the Last Burger Chef

This column first appeared in December 2016. Recent news that the Burger Chef in Indianapolis that was the scene of a notorious mass murder is to be demolished made me want to pull this from our “Al Archive.” EW A few years ago I wrote an article about the last … Read More

James Dean in Gettysburg

This column first appeared in December 2011. There is an item on my office desk that calls to me every time my mind wanders, I’m gathering my thoughts, or most often, while I’m waiting for a document to load on the computer. It’s a ticket stub, smaller than an index … Read More