Books: Cultural History

Glory Days, Boys and Girls, Past and Present, Large and Small Over 1000 Teams

Is your team in here? Modern high school teams and class tournaments are covered. But beyond that, Emerson Houck has included most of the beloved small school basketball teams of Hoosier counties, now gone, in this interesting new and complete basketball compendium due out in August. The 500-page book with hundreds of photos, team logos and star and coach biographies is a collaboration with the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. The teams are interestingly grouped by team names/mascots: jungle animals, patriotic teams, bird teams and so forth.

Houck, respected chronicler of Indiana’s favorite sport and author of a national book on team mascots and logos has studied Indiana b-ball for many years. He traveled two-lane roads and the interstate to small town cafes and libraries to pick up the fascinating and quirky stories and photos of close to 1,200 schools and teams from the earliest days to today. Many write-ups are detailed histories of town and team; most have team season and tournament histories and a few teams are only mentioned. This book is part a specific, ongoing attempt to document Indiana b-ball history thoroughly while it is still available.

Emerson Houck is calling on Hoosiers in large and small towns to read the book and contribute more information so the record at the Hall of Fame can be as accurate as possible.

500 pages Softcover $25   ISBN: 978-0-615-29013-3

Prepublication price is $22 until August 1. Emerson Houck will autograph all prepublication orders.

Rita Rose met Sandy Allen in 1977, when Sandy was already the record-holder in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the tallest woman alive. She stood at 7 feet 7 and ¬¼ inches tall, while Rita was 5 feet 4. Rita, a young journalist, wished to interview Sandy for a magazine story.

That interview, aimed at sensitively chronicling the life of a person beyond the norm in a society that often misunderstands unusual persons, became the beginning of a thirty-year friendship. For years Rita encouraged Sandy as she scorned the life of a circus performer, choosing instead to redeem the bad years by speaking to school students on the subject of tolerance.

This unusual friendship has found expression in a new book from Hawthorne Publishing, a book Sandy reviewed and enthusiastically endorsed just before her death in August of ’08. Rita’s World’s Tallest Woman: The Giantess of Shelbyville High tells a story rich in meaning for all ages. It is a thinly fictionalized account of Sandy’s real years at the high school, home of the Golden Bears, in the town in which she grew up.

Students who mocked her, shouting "Jolly Green Giant," injuries caused by her condition, which eventually kept her off the basketball team she loved, and troubles at home are all chronicled. But so are the accomplishments of a young girl who was a fine scholar, graduating with honors, a member of school service groups, and a friend to those who could share the unusual friendship of someone who wore a size 22EEE shoe and ducked down through doorways when entering rooms.

Shelbyville, Indiana, as a small town with a heart which eventually expanded to embrace and show pride in its most famous citizen, is depicted realistically and with respect. This heartwarming book is a page-turner which will be enjoyed by young and old alike.

160 pages
Hardcover $25   ISBN:  978-0-9787167-9-0
Softbound     $18  ISBN:  978-0-9726273-3-7

Doris Day was at an apex moment of her career and personal life in the years 1969-1974. Completing a cycle of some of the most popular films in history, she lost her third husband, Marty Melcher just before she began work on a TV series, “The Doris Day Show.” She was just beginning to re-bond with her son Terry and to cultivate her life-long interest in the humane treatment and care of animals.

The star needed a secretary, and she hired Mary Anne Barothy, one of her most devoted fans, who had had experience as an Indianapolis newspaper reporter. Mary Anne spent four years as Doris’s secretary, two of those years in the star’s home. As the only person beside a relative to live in Doris Day’s home and experience the star’s personal life and career moves first-hand, Mary Anne Barothy’s story has unique appeal.

Stories never told and personal photos of Doris never seen anywhere, bring a Hollywood world now vanished to life. Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood and Beyond is full of personal stories and insights which will fascinate the millions of Doris Day fans everywhere—and intrigue a wider audience. Day at a Time is a piece of America's cultural history.

175pgs (25 pgs of photos)
Hardcover $25  ISBN:  978-09787167-3-8
Softbound     $18  ISBN:  978-09787167-4-5

Callie Rousseau and her two brothers and three sisters grew up living the happy outdoor life of children in a little Florida town by the sea. It was called Boynton long before it was a high-rise center of the tourist and technology industries.

Her descriptions of the time of woodstoves, home “lixies” for everyday illnesses, wild rides over stony roads and rocking chair stories on a relative’s front porch are graceful and evocative.

Here she tells of the hand pump which was the children’s responsibility:
One could always stand on a box if not tall enough to reach the handle or use both hands if not strong enough. Oftentimes a frog jumped out at the first push of the handle. Bees and wasps buzzed about impatiently, while birds waited their turn to drink from the pitcher. On hot days small heads and shoulders ducked under the cool water, mouths drank their fill and feet splashed on the muddy ground.

But the book is not just nostalgia. The author takes us through nine decades of her life in Florida and beyond, revealing her own openness to new experience and change. Just as little old Boynton became the prosperous city of Boynton Beach, so Callie Rousseau Brown became a woman able to manage a 38-year career in teaching, and with her husband, raise three successful children, unravel the secrets of family history, and travel the world almost into her 90s.

“I think the word change is the suitable word to describe the pattern of my life,” Callie says in this book. Both the town and the woman have proven that change indeed can be good.

280 pgs (50 photos)
Hardcover $30 ISBN: 978-0-9787167-2-1

Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman by Nelson Price

Now available only from Hawthorne Publishing!

Indiana Legends is the best-selling and most praised book about well known Indiana people ever published—thousands of copies sold.

The books stimulated a reaffirmation of Indiana’s contribution to the achievements of America in film, literature, sports, the arts and politics.

This 4th edition of Indiana Legends features more than 160 famous Hoosiers, with new material and updated profiles. Look for Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts quarterback; Mother Theodore Guerin, recently made a saint by the Catholic Church; Reggie Miller, former Indianapolis Pacers star; Jeff Gordon, Nascar champ; Florence Henderson, TV actress; Nancy Noel, artist; Jim Davis the creator of Garfield; David Wolf, astronaut; and John Mellencamp, musician, among the stars from all fields in this book.

Indexed 336 pp.
Paperback ISBN: 1-57860-186-X $24.95

For young people and adults in hardcover. There are even more famous Hoosiers in this book with color illustrations throughout. Nelson Price is one of Indiana’s most respected authors and the winner of numerous awards including Sagamore of the Wabash—twice.

Indexed 183 pp.
Hardbound ISBN 1-57860-097-9 $20 Many color illustrations

Over 50,000 men in Indiana served during the Civil War to form one of the Union’s strongest militias—The Indiana Legion. Often vilified as “shirkers” by the soldiers at the front, the Indiana Legion nevertheless performed credible services such as spying at the border with Kentucky, chasing and fighting with Rebels in Kentucky in the Perryville campaign, and repelling the invasion of John Hunt Morgan in 1863. The Legion also served as guards at Indiana prisoner-of-war camps. This introductory story of the Indiana Legion surveys their purpose, inception, activities and challenges, often telling the men’s story in their own words. Reproduction of several official Legion documents and photos and career summaries of its two military commanders are included.

Paperback ISBN 0-9787167-1-X $18.95

Letters from the Iron Brigade: Civil War Letters to His Sister by George W. Partridge, Jr

The most famous unit in the Northern Army and probably the entire Civil War is the Iron Brigade, which gained its fame in holding fast against terrible odds in battles from Gainesville, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville to Gettysburg. Men from the area around Detroit, Michigan, (24th Michigan); northern Indiana, (19th Indiana); and several Wisconsin regiments made up the Iron Brigade.  These letters chronicle the everyday brigade soldiers’ experiences: life in camp, picket duty, discipline, burying the dead, marches, and battle. The tone progresses from Partridge’s being eager to defeat the enemy to wishing the war was over. That wish was granted. George Washington Partridge fell at Gettysburg. The letters are direct, colloquial, honest and surprisingly humorous.

GALLANT FOURTEENTH—Memorial Edition by Nancy N. Baxter

When Gallant Fourteenth: The Story of an Indiana Civil War Regiment was first published in 1980, its Civil War Times reviewer called it one of the two best regimental histories in modern times. Since that time many fine regimental histories have come out, but Gallant Fourteenth stands as one of a handful of classics.

A new hardcover Memorial Edition, commemorating the restoration of Indiana Civil War monuments, has been released.  Nancy Baxter, has spoken in the Midwest and East on the importance of keeping the Civil War in public memory.

$30 Retail ISBN 978-09787167-8-3

Indiana’s Lake Maxincuckee has always been a favorite summer resorting spot for Hoosiers. This charming story for young and old alike, is set in 1885. It follows the adventures of ten-year-old Alexia, who visits early lake landmarks in her pony cart, celebrates an old-fashioned Christmas in what is now Culver, Indiana, and helps solve a mystery. Illustrations from the 1870s children's magazine St. Nicholas brighten this accurately depicted “period piece” and provide game-playing opportunities for families.

ISBN 978-0-97267273-9-9 $14.00

Hundreds of facts, stories and more than 200 photos, are in the new book.

Here’s what the book contains:

• Lively, interesting sections from different historical periods at the school, written by Art and Nancy Baxter (1972-1980) Reed Zitting (1980-1985) and Sharon Rutkowski (1985-2008).
• Special detailed, “bring to life” remembrance mini-chapters by those who experienced the times, including former Head Michelle Johnston and long-time teacher Duncan Sprattmoran. Detailed alumni recollections of the history by alums like Jeff Lawson and the Prentice girls. Chronicling of the school’s history including innovative curriculum, trips including the French trips abroad, changes in the school through all the heads to the present day, and certification and other awards. Faculty lists and programs.
• Photos from all eras, including the graduates of the Upper School and many classes 2000-2008. Sports records of teams and outstanding coaches.
• An appendix with “Views back down the trail:“ alumni and former teacher memories of specific Pathfinder moments.

The history is a gift to Pathfinder from those who served as authors.

All receipts go to the Pathfinder School Founders Endowment Fund.

Release Date November 15th!

176 Pages Hardcover ISBN 978-0-9726273-5-1 $40.00