Discoveries

One of the exciting things about curating exhibitions at the Evansville Museum is the breadth of opportunity it provides for making new discoveries, at least for oneself, and sharing these with others—visitors, colleagues, friends and family. In my nearly 32 years at the Museum, I have been lucky to have been involved in many “discoveries” along the way*. I take this opportunity to share a few of these, and while they may not provide new information to you as a reader, I hope, at the least, that they encourage you to recall “discoveries” you have made in your lifetime.  

Frank Kramer in 1913

Collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France

One of the exhibitions I worked on early in my career was Frank Kramer: Champion Cyclist as we shared the exploits of a stellar athlete who spent his younger years in Evansville. Queued into Kramer by a local cycling enthusiast, his story was previously unknown to me and I think to many in our city. In looking back at Frank Kramer, we “discovered” that he was not only a dominant, world-class athlete, but that he was also one of the best paid in a period when short-track racing on wooden velodromes was immensely popular in the early 20th century. We learned and shared that Kramer, among other accomplishments, was an 18-time U.S. Professional Sprint Champion and won the world championship the one time he entered the competition. Happily, we were able to borrow a number of objects and images documenting his accomplishments from the U. S. Bicycling Hall of Fame then located in Somerville, New Jersey, and now in Davis, California. 

1908 Pennant Winners—“Punch” Knoll middle row, center

Collection of the Evansville Museum

Also in the arena of athletics, another “discovery” involved the lives of Charles “Punch” Knoll and Sylvester “Syl” Simon—father-in-law and son-in-law to each other. Granted access to the Knoll/Simon collection by a gracious family member, we were able to tell the story of a man who was the first proclaimed Evansville’s “Mr. Baseball”. Knoll managed and played for the local minor league baseball club and won Evansville’s first-ever pennant in 1908; the team won another pennant in Bosse Field’s first year of operation in 1915. Syl Simon, also gifted at baseball, made it to the majors in the 1920s only to have his big league aspirations ended when he lost three fingers in an industrial saw accident during the off-season. Thanks to specially designed equipment, including some engineered by his father-in-law, Simon continued to play baseball in the minors and batted over .300 on four occasions. 

Albion Fellows Bacon

Collection of the Library of Congress

Another “discovery” were the impactful efforts of housing reform crusader Albion Fellows Bacon. While researching an exhibition on the Progressive Era, it was inspiring to learn more about a middle-class mother of four, appalled by the living conditions of people in tenements and other sub-standard housing, who became Evansville’s most influential social reformer of the period. Her efforts in the Indiana State Legislature led to the passage of reform bills in 1909, 1913 and 1917. Further, she successfully pushed for the regulation of child labor, mandatory school attendance laws and a juvenile probation system. 

The narratives of many other people, images and objects have been shared through the years, but no matter what the subject, it is gratifying providing visitors with the opportunity to “discover” or reengage with their stories. 

*In history, as opposed to science, discoveries are often more a matter of perspective. For instance, when an ancient civilization is unearthed, it is discovered for modern terms. Those living in the “discovered” culture were well aware that they existed. 

Thomas R. Lonnberg

Chief Curator & Curator of History