Author: Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

Alan E. Hunter’s column, “Bumps in the Night”, has run on the front page of the Weekly View / Eastside Voice / Eastside Herald newspaper in Irvington on the east side of Indianapolis since 2007. Al’s Pop culture-based articles have been the genesis of several national and local television and radio programs over the years spurring programs on subjects as varied as John Dillinger, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Manson, the ABA Indiana Pacers, and Burger Chef to the mysterious disappearance of ABA star John Brisker and all points in between. Alan E. Hunter is the author of the books “The Petersen House, the Oldroyd Museum and the House Where Lincoln Died“, “Thursdays with Doc. Dr. Wayne C. Temple’s recollections on Springfield and Lincoln“, “Osborn H. Oldroyd: Keeper of the Lincoln Flame“, and has co-authored two books on the Historic Indiana National Road. Al has researched, scripted, and led the Irvington Ghost Walks since 2002. Al’s tours are roughly 75% history and 25 % ghost stories and folklore. These non-profit tours raise much-needed funds for the Eastside Irvington community. In addition, Al has led similar tours in Greenfield and Cambridge City on the Historic National Road. Al is a former Vice-President and board member of the Indiana National Road Association. Al served as the historian and event coordinator for the Dropping Dimes Foundation which aids the former players of the ABA (American Basketball Association). Al also organized both the 30-year reunion of the ABA held at the Hoosier Dome in 1997 and the 50-year reunion of the ABA festivities at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Al has co-authored two books on haunted Irvington. In 2013, Al published a compilation of his “Bumps in the Night” articles selected from his column in the Weekly View newspaper. Al also wrote a book on “Haunted Indianapolis” and most recently, a book on the H.H. Holmes relic collection for the benefit of the Irvington Historic Society and the Bona Thompson Memorial Center. The relics detailed in the books were featured in the History Channel 8-part series “American Ripper.” Al and his wife Rhonda appeared in 3 of the segments alongside the Great-great-grandson Jeff Mudgett. Al was featured in the November 21, 2018, episode of Mysteries at the Museum with Don Wildman where he detailed a scalpel used by America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes, in Irvington. Al was also featured in the October 9, 2019, episode of Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans in which he detailed the history of the H.H. Holmes house in Irvington. Over the decade, Al has led talks and programs in Irvington that have collected food and personal care items for the Irvington homeless shelter, gathering well over a ton of food, clothing, and personal care goods for distribution. A former teacher and baseball coach at Westfield High School, Al graduated from Indiana University and has been married to his wife Rhonda since 1989. They have 2 children, Jasmine and Addison.

Disney, Music, Pop Culture, The Beatles

The Beatles Hit the Brakes at Walt Disney World.

January 10, 2025February 7, 2025 Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

Original Publish Date: December 19, 2024. https://weeklyview.net/2024/12/19/the-beatles-hit-the-brakes-at-walt-disney-world/

Quick, who broke up The Beatles? Which one of the Fab Four was the first to quit the group? And who was the last Beatle standing? Throw away all you thought you knew about the breakup of The Beatles and settle in for a Beatles Christmas story like you have never heard before. This Beatles breakup story involves John Lennon’s famous “Lost Weekend”, the Sopranos, Al Capone, and Mickey Mouse.

On August 20, 1969, The Beatles met for the last time at Abbey Road Studios to record what was to be the last song on their last studio album: The End. The song, which features the only song Ringo performed a drum solo on, was initially intended to be the final track on Abbey Road, but it ended up being followed by “Her Majesty” a brief tongue-in-cheek music hall song. “Her Majesty” appears 14 seconds after the The End, but was not listed on the original sleeve. Paul McCartney is the only musician to appear on the track. Some observers consider it the first example of a hidden track. The song credited to the “Lennon-McCartney” songwriting partnership brought forth a rare compliment from Lennon when he credited Paul with the line, ‘And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.’ The ever-increasing acerbic Lennon offered a back-handed compliment to his songwriting partner by saying, “it is a very cosmic, philosophical line. Which again proves that if he wants to, he can think.” Thus, The End stands as the last known new recording involving all four of the Beatles during the band’s existence. And before you say it, the album Let It Be, was recorded in January 1970 ON TOP of Abbey Road Studios, NOT inside of it.

The final gathering of all four Beatles came two days later at a photo session held at John Lennon’s Tittenhurst estate. On September 20th, Lennon privately informed his bandmates at a meeting at Apple, without George Harrison present, that he was leaving the Beatles. However, it was unclear to the other members whether John just wanted a break or if his departure was permanent. Legend has it that John Lennon walked out of that 1969 meeting at Apple headquarters screaming “I want a divorce” and four years later, he would get his wish at the “Happiest Place On Earth”. Meantime, on April 10, 1970, McCartney settled the issue in a press release declaring, “I’m quitting The Beatles.” It would take another four years for the breakup to be formalized.

**The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York City.**

After three years of court battles and ever-increasing acrimony amongst the Fab Four, the final dissolution of The Beatles was set to happen. The meeting was scheduled for December 19, 1974. Ironically it to happened at New York’s Plaza Hotel, the first place The Beatles stayed in America a decade before. As it happened, George Harrison was at Madison Square for two nights on his Dark Horse tour and Paul and Linda McCartney flew in for the signing. Ringo had already signed the documents in England. So, as George, and Paul sat around a large table ready to dissolve the partnership alongside Apple lawyers and business managers, Ringo listened in on the telephone to confirm that he was alive. Everyone present was wondering where John was. Keep in mind, Lennon lived within walking distance of the Plaza Hotel. George Harrison’s lawyer telephoned Lennon for an explanation. May Pang answered and from the background, John’s voice bellowed out, “The stars aren’t right,” to the lawyer’s query. When John’s response came across the speakerphone, everyone present was furious. John explained that he was going to follow his astrological signs and he wasn’t coming to the meeting.

Instead, John decided that he wanted to give his 11-year-old son Julian a special Christmas holiday by taking him someplace warm. Mobster Mo Levy offered to have John, May, and Julian stay at his Palm Beach Florida condominium, not far from the former mansion of gangster Al Capone. So, Levy grabbed his son Adam and together with the wayward Beatle brood, they all flew down to Levy’s West Palm Beach estate to spend Christmas in the sunny shores of Florida. Wait, you say, where was Yoko? Well, John Lennon was in the midst of his self-described Long Weekend “sowing his oats” with May Pang, Yoko Ono’s assistant and the couple’s production coordinator. In mid-1973, while Lennon was busy working on his classic Mind Games album John and Yoko were having marital problems. Ono suggested to Pang that she become Lennon’s companion, and with Yoko’s permission, John and May began a relationship that lasted more than 18 months.

**Morris Levy in his office at Roulette Records.**

And that private jet-owning mobster, who was that guy? His name was Morris Levy, a music executive from Harlem with alleged mob ties to Vincent Gigante, boss of the Genovese crime family. “Moishe” or “Mo” as friends and associates called him, was known to sign up-and-coming artists to lop-sided contracts that often left the artists owing him money for touring expenses and studio time. Mo Levy would often sign his name to contracts as a song’s co-writer without the artist’s consent. Robbie Robertson of The Band was reportedly one of his victims and a witness to Mo’s henchmen holding a fellow performer by his ankles out the window of Levy’s Park Avenue apartment to get his point across. Levy, who died in 1990, was the inspiration for the HBO television series The Sopranos (1999–2007) character Hesh Rabkin, Tony Soprano’s friend who made a fortune defrauding performers, underpaying royalties, and pressing unauthorized records. Tommy James, Frankie Lymon, and Tito Puente were among his most prominent victims.

Once in South Florida, they spent their time walking on the beach, lounging by the pool and amusing themselves by throwing firecrackers at palm trees. The pinnacle of the trip came when the Lennon trio spent a day at Disney World. There one of the most famous men in the world went mostly unrecognized. At that time Disney’s Magic Kingdom was only one park on the property. They stayed at the Polynesian Hotel. To get from the Polynesian (both then and today) to the Magic Kingdom, the easiest way to travel is by Monorail. The train stops inside the hotel so guests do not have to venture outside the building. Making the Polynesian the obvious choice for John and his crew to stay.

**Disney monorail operator / castmember Hal East with John Lennon.**

Years later, Disney monorail operator (castmember Hal East) confirmed that John, May Pang, and Julian made a few trips to the Magic Kingdom via the Monorail and were allowed to ride up front apart from the crowd. It was during these trips where John and Julian experienced the rare treat of driving the Monorail. In her book May shared an interesting memory from one of the rides: “I overheard a father tell his son [on the Monorsail] he had heard a Beatle was visiting. “Which Beatle?” The father said, “George Harrison.” I burst out laughing. John asked why. We then all started laughing so hard that the Dad turned around. It then registered which Beatle was at the park that day – and why we were laughing. “It’s O.K.,” John jokingly said, “we all look alike.” On December 29, 1974, one of Apple Corp’s lawyers hand-delivered the official documents to the House of the Mouse in Florida and John Lennon became the last of the four to sign off on the contract.

**Disney’s Beatles inspired Vultures: Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy, and Dizzy.**

Ironically, the Beatles and Disney never really had much of a working relationship, but Disney did reference The Beatles in at least one of its productions: the vultures in The Jungle Book are based on the Fab Four. Disney also made plans to remake 1968’s Yellow Submarine, but the project never broke the surface. In 2020, Disney bought distribution rights for the docuseries The Beatles: Get Back from Peter Jackson and that three-part series is still streaming on Disney.

**Samoa longhouse Building at Disney World’s Polynesian Resort.**

While Disney won’t confirm the exact room where it happened, dedicated Beatles / Disney fans have pinpointed the location: Room 1601 in the Samoa longhouse Building at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World, Orlando. Room 1601 looks out at the Seven Seas Lagoon and it was this scene at which John gazed as he paused briefly before officially dissolving his performing relationship with the Beatles. Room 1601 is a ground-floor corner room in the Samoa longhouse that looks out on the Seven Seas Lagoon with the Cinderella Castle visible in the distance.

**May Pang’s Photo of Lennon’s dissolution signing.**

Here, with the Magic Kingdom as his backdrop, John Lennon picked up his pen and officially finished off the Beatles, once and for all. Years later May Pang remembered that John told her to “Take out your camera…He looked wistfully out the window. I could almost see him replaying the entire Beatles experience in his mind. He finally picked up his pen and, in the unlikely backdrop of the Polynesian Village Hotel at Disney World, ended the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history by simply scrawling ‘John Lennon’ at the bottom of the page.”

**Interior of Room 1601 as it looked in 1974.**

In Pang’s book “Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon” (St. Martins Press 2008), there are several photos of Lennon at Disney World wearing a stylish newsboy cap and Micky Mouse ringer t-shirt posed anonymously in the park among the crowd, alongside Monorail driver Hal East, in front of Cinderella Castle and outside room 1601 at the Polynesian. Most importantly, Pang snapped a photo of Lennon’s signature on the dissolution papers. A literal snapshot of music history, Disney style. And today, if you’re lucky, you can stay in Room 1601 where the Beatles long and winding road came to an end. And then, go ride the Monorail.

Creepy history, Hollywood, Pop Culture

Shrek…For Real?

January 10, 2025February 7, 2025 Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

Original Publish Date: October 24, 2024. https://weeklyview.net/2024/10/24/shrek-for-real/

The low spark of high-heeled boys is the title track from the 1971 album by British rock band Traffic. The 11-minute, 44-second song, was written by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood. Capaldi credits diminutive actor Michael J. Pollard (Bonnie & Clyde) for coming up with the term while the two were in Morocco planning a movie (that was ultimately never made). In a 2009 radio interview, Capaldi said, “Pollard and I would sit around writing lyrics all day, talking about Bob Dylan and The Band, thinking up ridiculous plots for the movie…Pollard wrote in my book ‘The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys’. For me, it summed him up. He had this tremendous rebel attitude. He walked around in his cowboy boots, his leather jacket. At the time he was a heavy little dude. It seemed to sum up all the people of that generation who were just rebels.” For this writer, that lyric succinctly sums up the creation of the most iconic cartoon character of our time: Shrek. And since it is Halloween week, I’m going to tell you why.

Shrek was created by William Steig (1907-2003) who, during his lifetime, was hailed as the “King of Cartoons.” Steig began drawing illustrations for The New Yorker magazine in 1930, ultimately producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers for the magazine. Steig began his “second career” writing children’s books at the age of 61. In 1990, Steig published his picture book Shrek! which formed the basis for the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film. After the 2004 release of Shrek 2, Steig became the first sole creator of an animated movie franchise to gross over $1 billion after only one sequel. Eventually, three sequels and three spin-offs were produced. When asked his opinion about the movie, Steig responded: “It’s vulgar, it’s disgusting-and I loved it.”

Maurice Tillet “The French Angel” (1903 –1954)

It is widely believed that Steig based his Shrek character on the professional wrestler Maurice Tillet aka “The Angel”, a nickname given to him by his mother when he was a boy. Maurice Tillet (1903-1954), a Russian/French professional wrestler, was a two-time World Heavyweight Champion and a leading box office draw in the early 1940s. Tillet was born in 1903 in St. Petersburg, Russia. His mother was a teacher of languages and his father was a railroad engineer involved in the construction of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Tillet’s father died when he was young. In 1917, Tillet and his mother fled Russia to avoid the Revolution, settling in Reims, France. When Tillet was twenty years old, his feet, hands, and head began to swell uncontrollably. A doctor diagnosed him with acromegaly, a rare condition usually caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland, which causes the body to produce too much growth hormone. The condition causes the body tissues and bones to grow rapidly resulting in bone overgrowth and thickening. Over time, acromegaly leads to an abnormally large head, oversized hands and feet, and a wide range of other symptoms. Maurice had a head almost twice the size of normal for a man of his size and he could shuffle three decks of cards at once in his mammoth hands.

Although Tillet’s acromegaly resulted in an abnormally grotesque appearance, in truth, “The Angel” was a highly intelligent man. He spoke 14 languages, played chess brilliantly, and despite his massive size and frightening face, was known as a modest, gentle, and friendly man. Tillet completed his law degree at the University of Toulouse but felt he would never be successful as a lawyer due to his deep voice and imposing physical appearance. Tillet joined the French Navy and served as an engineer in the submarine service for five years, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Always a good athlete, Tillet excelled at rugby. After being named to an all-France rugby team in 1926, Tillet earned the honor of shaking hands with King George V. at a game in London, a feat he considered one of his greatest achievements. In February 1937, Tillet met Lithuanian light-heavyweight champion wrestler Karl Pojello in Singapore who talked Tillet to enter the ring. Tillet wrestled for two years in France and England from 1937 to 1939 until World War II forced them to leave for the U.S.

In Boston in 1940, Tillet began wrestling as “The French Angel” and was billed as the closest living specimen of a Neanderthal man known to exist. Tillet went unbeaten for nineteen consecutive months and became an instant attraction in the area. At his American debut at Boston Garden on January 24, 1940, Maurice walked down the aisle, climbed into the ring, leaned over the ropes, and roared at the crowd. The crowds flocked to see this monster of a man who was a throwback to prehistoric times. He was hawked as the unstoppable man and was AWA World Heavyweight Champion from May 1940 until May 1942. Maurice was 5 foot 8.5 inches in height, 276 pounds with a 47-inch chest. The bear hug became his signature move. Tillet reported to the U.S. Army in 1942 to enlist in the war effort but was turned away after being told that he would be a curiosity and distraction.

As a result of his success and unique look, several Angel imitators emerged during World War II, including “Angels” from Sweden, Russia, Canada, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, and several ubiquitous American versions emerged including the Golden Angel, Black Angel, and Lady Angel, most of whom were also suffering the effects of acromegaly. The most famous imitator was Tor Johnson known as the “Super Swedish Angel.” Johnson is best remembered not as a wrestler, but as an actor who appeared in many B-movies, including the famously bad 1957 Ed Wood movie Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Maurice proved incredibly strong and highly popular. He staged highly publicized stunts where he would pull a bus or street car with his massive hands. By 1945, after many years of punishment in the ring combined with the fact that most people suffering from acromegaly didn’t live past the age of 30, Maurice Tillet’s health began to fail and he was no longer advertised as unstoppable. He briefly considered a movie career, but the B-movie genre was years away and the Drive-in theatre craze had not yet swept America. The Mid-1940s / Early 1950s were a long, slow ride to irrelevance and the once mighty Angel was little more than a curiosity now billed as the “Ugliest Man in the World.” A highlight came in February 1947 when Maurice took the oath of citizenship to the United States. He was a devout Catholic who attended church every Sunday and that same year he was given an audience with the Pope. In his final wrestling match, in Singapore on Valentine’s Day of 1953, Angel agreed to lose to Bert Assirati, the British World Champion recalled as being one of the strongest men to ever enter the ring.

Suffering from an enlarged heart caused by his acromegaly, Tillet died of a heart attack in Chicago’s County Hospital on September 4, 1954. He was buried at the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. As for the “low spark of high-heeled boys” reference, I find it infinitely interesting that Shrek, one of the crudest, yet most beloved animated characters of the past 50 years, was created by the principal artist of one of the most high-brow publications in the country: The New Yorker. And it was all inspired by a highly-intelligent participant in one of the world’s most low-brow professions: Pro wrestling. Things are not always what they seem my friends. Happy Halloween!

**The tombstone of Maurice “The French Angel” Tillet is buried next to his trainer, Karl Pojello. Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice, Illinois.**

food, Indianapolis, Pop Culture, Uncategorized

Beef Manhattan: Born in Irvington?

March 26, 2024February 7, 2025 Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

Original Publish Date March 14, 2024 https://weeklyview.net/2024/03/14/beef-manhattan-born-in-irvington/

Okay, okay, not likely…but possible. No one really knows EXACTLY where the Beef Manhattan was born, but most culinary historians agree that the dish (a diagonally cut roast beef sandwich split butterfly fashion with a generous scoop of mashed potatoes resting between the two halves and the whole shebang swimming in a pool of brown beef gravy) came from the eastside of Indianapolis.

Legend claims the Beef Manhattan was born at the Naval Air Warfare Center, a former US Navy facility located at Arlington Avenue and East 21st Street in Warren Township, a stone’s throw from Irvington. The knife and fork-plated comfort food was (allegedly) the brainchild of Manhattan-trained cooks working at the factory during World War II. Faced with an overage of Hoosier staples (meat, potatoes, & bread) these crafty Hell’s Kitchen food slingers came up with a plan.

A poor man’s version of the dish had been making the rounds of Manhattan (the most densely populated and smallest of the five boroughs of New York City) for generations. The difference was, that the first version contained mysterious New York City street meat, rolls, not bread, potatoes, and no gravy. We do not know the name of the chef (or chefs) who created it or, for that matter, the date the dish first showed up in the cafeteria of the Naval Ordnance Plant. But, the best guess is that the Beef Manhattan made its debut in the winter of 1942.

Ratheon-300x136 — **Naval Ordinance Plant in Indianapolis.**

The plant opened that year, covering 1,000,000 square feet and employing 3,000 workers in avionics research and development. Construction began in 1941 and the plant became fully operational in 1943. The “NOP-I”, as it was known locally, was one of five inland sites selected in July 1940 by the US Department of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance for the manufacture of naval ordnance. The other plants were in Canton, Ohio; Center Line, Michigan; Louisville, Kentucky; and Macon, Georgia. The government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) plant was built for $13.5 million ($255 million in 2024 dollars) and the plant manufactured Norden bombsights until September 1945.

After World War II, the plant was renamed the Naval Avionics Center, where employees designed and built prototype avionics, including “electronic countermeasures, missile guidance technologies, and guided bombs.” In 1992, the facility changed its name to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. The site was closed in 1996 on the recommendation of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission at which time it transferred ownership to Hughes Electronics Corporation. In 1997, it was the “largest full-scale privatization of a military facility in U.S. history” at the time. Eventually, the company was acquired and renamed the Raytheon Analysis & Test Laboratory. As of 2022, the facility is privately owned by Vertex Aerospace and employs about 600.

While those are the facts about the origin of place for the Beef Manhattan, determining where it first hit the streets of Indianapolis is a little bit more speculative. The riddle begins with the name itself. It is a misnomer. The dish is one of two Manhattan-named staples with no ties to New York City other than a space on the menu. The other, Manhattan clam chowder, originated in Rhode Island. Sure, New York City can claim many different foods created within its five boroughs: Eggs Benedict & the Waldorf salad (Midtown), Chicken & Waffles (Harlem), The Reuben (Manhattan), and the Cronut (So-Ho), but the Beef Manhattan is pure Hoosier.

There are different variations. One calls for shredded, pot-roast style beef on two slices of white bread, mashed potatoes on the side, with a layer of brown gravy poured over all. While another insists that the mashed potatoes are placed on top of the sliced, but unseparated, sandwich which is then drowned in brown gravy. Some versions call for diagonal slices, others conventional center-sliced bread. Another variation is Turkey Manhattan, which substitutes turkey for roast beef, but that is an obvious imposter. And, although the dish is named after Manhattan, if you were to order it in a Gotham City restaurant, you’re likely to be served a cocktail (whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters, and a maraschino cherry garnish). Beef Manhattan is unknown there, instead such dishes are usually called “open-face sandwiches” in the Big Apple.

Should you Google it, you are likely to see that the dish was first served under the name “Beef Manhattan” in a now-defunct Indianapolis deli in the late 1940s, and shortly after its introduction, it became a Hoosier staple. But, nobody seems to know exactly which Indianapolis Deli was the first to put it on the menu. However, there are a few likely suspects. The natural choice would seem to be Shapiro’s. Their website states that restaurant namesakes, Louis and Rebecca Shapiro, arrived in the Hoosier state around 1900 after fleeing Russia due to anti-Semite persecution which included vandalism to their family grocery store in Odessa, Ukraine. They sold sugar and flour from a pushcart on the streets of Indianapolis for two years while saving up money to open their deli at Shapiro’s 808 South Meridian in 1905.

So, Shapiro’s certainly fits the bill timewise, appearing on the scene a generation before the birth of the Beef Manhattan. Shapiro’s is the sentimental favorite for sure. And it has an Irvington tie-in too. In 1925, during the reign of terror by the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, Shapiro’s thumbed their nose at Klansman/Governor (and Irvington resident) Ed Jackson by redecorating their storefront in an art-deco style dominated by a huge Star of David for all to see. But officially, “Shapiro’s Kosher Deli” didn’t open until 1945, three years after the dish was invented.

Likewise, the Hook’s Drug Company opened a new drugstore and soda fountain at the corner of 22nd and Meridian Streets on Feb. 17, 1940, to serve hungry Hoosiers. Hook’s restaurant featured a new stainless steel soda fountain perfectly designed to serve Beef Manhattans. A contemporary news article described Hook’s as having “year-round air conditioning” and as “the last word in efficiency and beauty. The floor behind the fountain is depressed to a level so that the customer is sitting in the same comfortable position as at his own dining table. The fountain is provided with a system of sterilization which makes it sanitary for refreshments and luncheons. The cooking equipment is electrical.” Hook’s advertised heavily in the 1940s but never mentioned the Beef Manhattan in those ads. The dish did not appear in Hook’s ads until the 1950s.

The best bet (at least of this reporter) is that the Beef Manhattan most likely appeared first as a menu selection somewhere on Illinois Street. There were at least three delis operating on Illinois Street in 1942, including Brownie’s Kosher Deli at 3826 N. Illinois, Fox Delicatessen at 19 S. Illinois, and Henry Dobrowitz & Sons Kosher Meats and Delicatessen at 1002 S. Illinois. Someday, somewhere, a better Circle-city researcher than me will pinpoint the exact location but until then, I’m content to let it remain a mystery.

Choosing instead to revisit Shapiro’s version of the “Hot Beef Manhattan” in my daydreams. It consists of 2 slices of white bread, not cheap squishy white bread, but good firm white bread with some heft to it, cut diagonally and spread out on the plate like a poker hand, a layer of handmade mashed potatoes binds them together, and forms the foundation for a generous portion of thin-sliced tender beef, brisket I’m guessing. The meat mound is topped with more mashed potatoes and covered with enough gravy to float a kayak. Not that better than bouillon gravy stuff that somehow smacks of chemicals to me, but rather, real gravy made from the constant stirring of the collected juices of meats roasting. To those haughty Food Network snobs, the Beef Manhattan looks like a failure pile on a sadness plate, but Hoosiers know it is delicious.

Typically, Indianapolis sees 29 days a year where the thermometer doesn’t rise above 32 °F, and for five months a year, we’re shivering below the fifties. So, knowing that, is it that hard to understand why the Beef Manhattan remains so popular in Indiana? I mean, no one eats a tenderloin to get warm. And while the Beef Manhattan most likely wasn’t born in Irvington, it did originate on the east side of Indianapolis and Irvingtonians can fairly claim to be among the first wave of devotees.

Abe Lincoln, Museums

The big reveal of Springfield, Illinois Abraham Lincoln scholar Wayne C. “Doc” Temple’s collection of Native American Indian Artifacts at the Richwood, Ohio History Museum.

March 11, 2023January 20, 2025 Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

On Thursday, March 9, 2023, I visited the Richwood, Ohio History museum and library with my wife Rhonda S. Hunter. We dropped off the Temple family collection of Native American Indian artifacts collected over the course of at least two decades from @1900 past World War I. The compilation, contained in an old can of Cocoa, had not seen the light of day for nearly a century. Doc, Springfield Illinois’ premiere Abraham Lincoln scholar for over 60 years, also wrote the definitive book on the subject in 1966, Indian Villages of the Illinois Country: Historic Tribes, and several scholarly articles and papers on the subject for the University of Illinois. The artifacts were dug in the farm fields in and around Richwood Ohio so it seemed fitting that Doc’s collection go back to their place of origin. We were as happy to deliver them as the museum officials were to receive them.

**Doc’s arrowhead collection had been stored in this cocoa box for a century.**

**Rhonda Hunter with the piece from the collection that Doc recalled specifically. I believe it is a hammer or tomahawk head.**

**Richwood Museum staffer Dustin Lowe and Alana E. Hunter with Doc’s collection.**

Abe Lincoln, Civil War

99 Birthday Cards for Doc.

January 24, 2023February 7, 2025 Alan E. Hunter- Irvington

https://weeklyview.net/2023/02/02/99-birthday-cards-for-doc/

PLEASE SHARE!

February 5, 2023.

Friends, please consider joining me in a project celebrating the 99th birthday of the Dean of all Abraham Lincoln scholars from Springfield, Illinois:

Dr. Wayne C. “Doc” Temple.

I have been working on a biography of Doc for some time now. For nearly 70 years, Doc has researched, written, and published more than 20 books and over 300 articles on Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, Indigenous tribes, and Midwest history. Along the way, Doc has graciously volunteered his time, knowledge & wisdom with countless students and scholars along the way. Most of today’s Lincoln scholars have consulted Doc for facts in their work.

This will be Doc’s first birthday since losing Sandy, his wife of 42 years, last March. Doc is a member of America’s greatest generation having fought bravely for the United States in the European theatre, once actually standing in an open road firing a Thompson Sub-machine gun at a German fighter plane strafing his unit. He is an amazing man.

I ask that you join me in sending a birthday card or friendly note to Doc (he doesn’t do e-mail) in time for his 99th birthday (February 5, 2023) in care of the address below. Please share this humble announcement to your page and we’ll see if we can’t get 99 cards for Doc’s 99th birthday. His personal archives will be donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and these birthday cards will be preserved among that collection. Thank you for your consideration.

Wayne “Doc” Temple

c/o Books on the Square

427 East Washington Street

Springfield, IL 62701

————–

Doc’s historical resume is unchallenged. In my opinion, he is our nation’s greatest living Lincoln scholar. I am just one of the legion of Lincoln scholars he has helped and encouraged along the way. Doc served as chief deputy director of the Illinois State Archives for over 50 years (1964-2016), Secretary-treasurer of the National Lincoln-Civil War Council during the 100th anniversary Centennial years (1958-1964), and editor / associate of the Lincoln Herald since 1973.

I have listed Doc’s “resume” below. As you can see, it is quite impressive.

Doc’s education credentials & historical resume:

AB cum laude, University of Illinois, 1949; AM, University of Illinois, 1951; Doctor of Philosophy, University of Illinois, 1956; Lincoln Diploma of Honor (Illinois’ highest civilian award), Dean of history at Lincoln Memorial U., Harrogate, Tennessee, 1963. Wayne Calhoun Temple has been listed as a noteworthy Historian by Marquis Who’s Who.

Curator ethnohistory, Illinois State Museum, 1954-1958; editor-in-chief, Lincoln Herald, Lincoln Memorial U., 1958-1973; associate editor, Lincoln Herald, Lincoln Memorial U., since 1973; also director department Lincolniana, director university press, John Wingate Weeks professor of history, Lincoln Herald, Lincoln Memorial U., 1958-1964; with, Illinois State Archives, since 1964; chief deputy director, Illinois State Archives. Lecturer United States Military Academy, 1975. Secretary-treasurer National Lincoln-Civil War Council, 1958-1964.

Member bibliography committee Lincoln Lore, since 1958. Honorary member Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission, 1959-1960. Advisory council United States Civil War Centennial Commission, 1960-1966.

Major Civil War Press Corps, since 1962. President Midwest Conference Masonic Education, 1985.

Doc’s books include:

Lincoln the Railsplitter 1961. (listed in the top 100 Lincoln books ever written)

Stephen A. Douglas, freemason Stephen A. Douglas, Freemason.

Abraham Lincoln and Others at the St. Nicholas.

Lincoln’s Confidant: The Life of Noah Brooks (The Knox College Lincoln Studies Center) by Wayne C. Temple, Douglas L. Wilson, et al. / Nov 30, 2018

Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet 1st Edition by Wayne C. Temple (1995)

Alexander Williamson: Friend of the Lincolns (Special publication)

Lincoln’s Surgeons at His Assassination Hardcover – October 29, 2015

BY SQUARE AND COMPASS: THE BUILDING OF LINCOLN’S HOME AND ITS SAGA.

Lincoln-Grant: Illinois militiamen Lincoln-Grant: Illinois militiamen

Indian Villages of the Illinois Country: Historic Tribes (Scientific Papers, Vol 2, Pt 2)

Membership:

Sponsor Abraham Lincoln Bay, Washington National Cathedral. Member Illinois State Flag Commission, since 1969. Trustee, regent Lincoln Academy Illinois, 1970-1982, Bicentennial Order Lincoln, 2009.

Board governors St. Louis unit Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, 1975-1981. Commissioning committee, honorary crew member and plank owner United States Ship Springfield submarine, since 1990. Honorary crew member United States Ship Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, since 1989.

With United States Army, 1943-1946, general Reserve (retired). Fellow Royal Society Arts (life). Member National Rifle Association, Knight Templar (Red Cross Constantine), Lincoln Group District of Columbia (honorary), University Illinois Alumni Association, Illinois State History Society, Board of Advisors, The Lincoln Forum, Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association, Illinois State Dental Society (citation plague 1966), Reserve Officers Association, Lincoln Fellowship of Wisconsin, Iron Brigade Association (honorary life), Military Order Loyal Legion United States (honorary companion), Military Order Foreign Wars United States, Army and Navy Union, Masons (33 degree, Meritorious Service award, grand representative from Grand Lodge of Colorado), Shriners, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Alpha, Phi Alpha Theta (Scholarship Key award), Chi Gamma Iota, Phi Beta Kappa, Tau Kappa Alpha, Alpha Psi Omega, Sigma Pi Beta (Headmaster), Sigma Tau Delta (Gold Honor Key award for editorial writing), Zeta Psi.