Conner Prairie
Noblesville, Indiana
Saturday, October 30, 2004
The 89th Annual Meeting of The Society of Indiana Pioneers was held at the Conner Prairie Living History Farm and Museum near Noblesville on Saturday, October 30.
Following the 11:30 business meeting at which the Governors and Officers were elected, the sixty-four members and guests in attendance viewed a slide show of the 2004 Hoosier Heritage Pilgrimage, “Along the Old National Road,” which featured stops at historic sites in Hancock, Wayne, and Henry counties.
A buffet lunch followed, featuring traditional Hoosier dishes. Former President Allen Moore did the roll call, and Office Manager/Genealogist Ruth Dorrel read the necrology, paying tribute to those members whose deaths had been reported since the last annual meeting.
President Leigh Morris recognized former President Evaline Hitz Rhodehamel by presenting her an Honorary Membership in the Society. Evie has been a member of the Society for nearly sixty years and has served many years in leadership positions as a member of the Board of Governors, Registrar, and President. She became only the seventh person to receive the Honorary Member designation since the first awards were presented in 1916 to Evaline MacFarlane Holliday and Charity Dye.
The program that followed featured music and musical instruments common in the pioneer period presented by Keith Collins, music historian, curator, and interpreter at Conner Prairie. The afternoon concluded with singing “Back Home Again in Indiana”.
