Home Movies
Most people cringe when they hear the phrase “home movies”, imagining hours of boring vacation footage taken by relatives who think they had the most unique and interesting adventures ever experienced.
Whistle While You Work (and Remember!)
Sweet and sentimental, what is fascinating about Ruth’s letter is that it wasn’t written about a person. Instead, it was written about “Old Faithful,” the Ball Brothers factory whistle.
Ed Ball: PBS’s Steadfast Supporter
Over the past few months, the name Bob Ross has popped up a lot at Minnetrista.
AN ACE IN MUNCIE
Lucy Ball, daughter of Frank C. and Elizabeth Ball, married Alvin Owsley of Dallas, Texas, on May 16, 1925. I bet you knew that. But did you know that one of Alvin’s groomsmen was both a World War I ace and a man with a famous father?
The Kirby House Hotel - Part 3
On July 21, 1916, Muncie residents were given the opportunity to view The New Kirby Hotel.
The Kirby House - Part 2
At the end of the 19th century, the push was on to make the Kirby House the biggest, the best and the most modern hotel in Muncie. In 1891, the mansard roof disappeared when owner, Julius Heinsohn, added another story, bringing the total to four. Two years later it was new fixtures and furniture.
By the end of 1895, The Muncie Daily Herald announced that Mr. Heinsohn intended to spend $10,000 on the building, both inside and out.
The Kirby House Hotel - Part 1
In 1871, Thomas Kirby built a hotel.
During the Gas Boom Era, the Kirby House Hotel was the place where gentlemen gathered to talk business and make deals. Amidst the cigar smoke, you could exchange opinions, buy land, make a bet, impress potential buyers or just chew the fat. Because of its popularity, it was not uncommon for the hotel to be unable to accommodate all the guests seeking rooms.
Meet Theodore Bear – Cataloguing
Hi! My name is Teddy.
I bet you don’t know how museums keep track of all the terrific things people donate. I know I didn’t when I first came to Minnetrista in 1988. Since then I’ve learned a lot. In fact, I’ve learned so much that the Collections staff asked me to introduce you to something they do every day – cataloguing.
Ball Brothers Afloat
Extended families can get us involved in the most interesting things. One such family member was George Ashley Tomlinson.
Tomlinson was born in Lapeer, Michigan on January 28, 1868. After attending the University of Michigan, he spent two years in Wyoming, working as a cowboy. He then worked as a newspaperman in Detroit and New York, until 1893, when he became interested in steamships. He went on to own his own fleet of Great Lakes freighters.
Horseless Vehicles Part Two
As horseless vehicles became popular in the early 1900’s many carriage manufacturers simply switched from horse-drawn conveyances to engine power, keeping the same chassis and body designs. Often small shops used these components to design their own versions of the horseless carriage.
Horseless Vehicles Part One
Electric cars are not a new concept. Manufacturers were producing electric-powered cars in the late 1800’s as an alternative to gasoline powered engines. Like other early cars, many small companies built their own versions. Each claimed that the batteries they used were the most efficient and would last 60, 80, or 100 miles before recharging.
Happy 25th Anniversary Oakhurst!
“Oakhurst itself is the exhibit. Oakhurst itself is the work of art,” said Frank Bracken at the Ball family opening of Oakhurst. “It is the literature, it is the musical composition. Oakhurst is what we come to experience, what we come to see and what we come to learn from. It is an interactive place. It’s a place in which we can … interact with nature. And that’s really what Oakhurst is all about.”
Muncie's First Golf Course Part 2
1925 began with some changes for the Minnetrista Golf Course. On Monday January 26th, Mr. & Mrs. Frank C. Ball and Mr. and Mrs. Edmund B. Ball signed over the land for Muncie’s first municipal golf course to the local Y.M.C.A. At the same time, Mr. & Mrs. George A. Ball conveyed the deed to the Walnut Street Baseball Park to the Y.M.C.A. Together, the two pieces of land became known as the Ball Recreation Field.
Muncie's First Golf Course Part 1
In September 1920, there was a growing interest in Muncie for the construction of a municipal golf course. A suggestion was made to the Board of Park Commissioners that land to the north of Highland Avenue in McCulloch Park could be used for a six- or nine-hole course.
A Machine That Changed The World
If I asked you to name an important invention from the first decade of the 20th century, what would come to mind? Airplanes? The air conditioner? Tea bags? Those are all good suggestions, but how about the Owens Automatic Glass Bottle Making Machine? I bet you didn’t think of that one, did you?
Texas Plant Welcomes Ball Brothers
Strange how history has a way of repeating itself. What seems to be abundant one day – much more than we can ever use in ten lifetimes – somehow manages, when looking back, to be there and gone in little more than a blink of the eye.
Burst Tank at Ball Factory
At about 1:30 on the afternoon of Monday March 16, 1896, an alarm went out from Box 6-1 near the Ball Brothers factory. Immediately the citizens of Muncie feared the worst. There had been other fires at Ball glass works, one of the city’s major employers. And yes, the fire department was headed for the factory. But this was no ordinary fire.
