Broad Ripple History Saturday is the 3rd Saturday of each month (we usually break for the winter) and is held in the front part of the Broad Ripple McDonald's. It isn't a meeting or a seminar, it's just a place to gather to talk about Broad Ripple History. I come with a camera and a scanner. People drop by with their memories of Broad Ripple and maybe with a picture, map or other piece of memorabilia. I am there from 8 am to 10 am. Last month some good history connections were made. Randomly, Bob Hessong and Ray Featherstone showed up and quickly discovered that they shared a common history research theme - Powell Howland, who was involved with starting up four private Indianapolis toll roads in the 1860s.

Another connection made was when Bob Alloway arrived and the subject of historian Earl Anderson came up. All three knew Earl and had studied his history collections. We all decided to meet again to look at some ledgers that Earl had in his collection.

Paul Walker and Charles Harrison also attended. This was a connection because the subject of Paul's next history article for the Gazette will be the Harrison family.

The next History Saturday will be August 21, 2010, at the McDonald's located at 1020 Broad Ripple Avenue. The theme is BR schools (but we can talk about anything). See you there!