Three Years and Still Going Strong

It has been three years since I first set up this little blog.  I started this site in November of 2010 because I could find nothing like it on the internet.  If you build it they will come. Yes!  My hope, with the conception of this page, was that you would reach out and assist Irvington document its rich and interesting heritage along with me, and you have!  I now have friends from all over the nation who have found this site and have generously opened their scrapbooks for the world to see.  In the three years of operation, Vintage Irvington has been viewed over 75,000 times from places as far away as Russia, Latvia, Brazil, Germany, and as close as Julian, Lowell, and Beechwood Avenues.  I am so thankful for the many contributors to the blog this past year including Larry Muncie, Chuck McCleery, Ann Hart Stewart, Bill Ferling, David Bailey, Paula Schmidt, Cate Surratt Delaney, the Custer Family, Chuck and Joyce Vogt, Bob Alloway, Sue Poulos, Don Rouse, Carol Kappel, Laura Hildreth, Lydia Talbot, Jim Brandenburg, Catherine Phillips Kippert, and any others I may have inadvertently left out.  THANK YOU!!  To celebrate three years online, I have chosen a few popular photos from this past year.  I look forward to hearing from more people and let's keep these historic photographs and stories coming!  Drop me a line at sleeth28@rock.com.

In January, local history sleuth, Paula Schmidt, wrote of the little cottage at 5246 Julian Avenue. In this photo, Helen Tanselle posed with her daughter, Nancy c1948.

Former Irvington resident, David Bailey contributed so many wonderful photographs to this blog. In this photo, his grandfather Charles Sammis, a mailman, posed with "Babe" in front of 256 South Emerson c1915. 

Sue Amick Poulos submitted this sweet photo in March. Ward Poulos looking quite dashing, stopped by 315 North Kitley Avenue to pick up Sue Amick as his date to the Howe High School Prom in 1965.

Larry Muncie has been documenting Irvington's history for many years. I am proud to say that he has been an invaluable partner in my quest for historical accuracy. He has contributed numerous photos and stories for this blog. I am happy to report that he has also been very generous with his own personal collection including this jewel of the Polk's Milk Truck taken in front of his childhood home at 5831 Beechwood Avenue in 1948.

Local Irvingtonian, Don Rouse, has donated many photos for this blog including this image of his mother, Christine Bruckman (far left) with her Missions Building colleagues on a bridge in Ellenberger Park in 1943.

This wonderful aerial photo of southern Irvington documented the neighborhood as it looked in the winter of 1923.

Chuck McCleery is one of the most generous people I have met. He has not only contributed amazing photos and stories for this blog, but he has connected me with other former residents. In this photo, he stands with his two sisters, Wilda Lee and Joyce, in the alley behind their home at 317 South Arlington Avenue in 1955.  

This rare image of the Kile Home shortly before its demolition in the early 1970s captivated many readers who had never seen the house that used to sit under the Kile Oak tree on Beechwood Avenue.  This image came from the Chuck McCleery collection. 

In September, Vintage Irvington became part of the the new Field Trip App from Google.  Now, when people pass through Indianapolis, they can click on this app and visit historic sites in Irvington!  

I stumbled upon Jim Brandenburg on Ancestry.com.  He generously shared wonderful photos that belong to his mother, who grew up along Ridgeview Drive.  In this photo, nine-month old Glenna Leonard sits in her front yard at 339 North Ridgeview Drive in 1928.

I loved meeting Carol Kappel, who dwelled in the "Castle House" at 5631 University Avenue.  (1974--1991).  She is an amazing artist and she shared some wonderful photos of her time in the manse including this shot taken in the parlor of the nineteenth-century home in the summer of 1975.