In Feel the History, students at F. J. Reitz High School and Helfrich Park Middle School in Evansville use the latest in video and computer technology to produce history documentaries for local broadcast, podcast, and the internet.
The EVPL has partnered with EVSC iCATS and Reitz High School to offer these documentaries online. Each video is available as a streaming video viewable online, as well downloadable formats for portable media players.
Available videos are listed below. Click on a category below to view its contents.
Greyhound Bus Station 3D Model
Animation created by students at the Southern Indiana Career and Technical School
Episode Number: 102
Length: 3:41
Students from the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center have created a virtual 3D model of Evansville's Greyhound Bus Station, as it looked during the 1940s.
Mesker Park
Episode Number: 101
Length: 4:20
Mesker Park is one of Evansville's oldest & greatest treasures and attracts people of all ages. This video details the history of the park.
The Evansville Greyhound Station
History in Jeopardy
Episode Number: 102
Length: 7:34
The Evansville Greyhound Bus Station, a unique-to-Evansville Art Deco architectural example, opened in 1939 & was a hub of activity that peaked at 106 buses that arrived and departed daily. Construction on the bus station began in 1938 and cost $150,000 to complete.
The Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse
Episode Number: 102
Length: 11:01
William Bartelt, Courthouse Historian, and William Au, Preservation Officer, recall the history of the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse, which opened
The Reitz Bowl
A West Side Treasure since 1921
Episode Number: 101
Length: 7:19
The Reitz Bowl has evolved into much more than just a high school football stadium over the decades and has become a symbol to the west side of Evansville. Jon Carl, History Teacher at F. J. Reitz High School, recalls the history of the Reitz Bowl.
Edd Roush
Indiana's Forgotten Hall of Famer
Episode Number: 102
Length: 4:07
Edd Roush, beginning his baseball career in the Tri-State area, was a member of the Cincinnati Reds & helped bring them to victory in the infamous and scandalized World Championship series of 1919.
Episode Number: 102
Length: 6:50
At age 21, Evansville native James Bethel Gresham became the first American casualty of World War I. This documentary tells his story.
Episode Number: 102
Length: 11:02
During December 1954, Evansville residents lived in fear as the "Mad Dog" Killer wreaked havoc in the Tri-State.
Evansville Takes to the Skies
Republic Aviation's P-47's
Episode Number: 102
Length: 7:50
World War II helped supply Evansville residents with jobs after the hard times following the Depression. Republic Aviation built a plant in Evansville to construct the new age fighting machines, the P-47 Thunderbolts.
The Evansville Shipyard
The War on the Homefront
Episode Number: 201
Length: 9:51
World War II brought tremendous change to Evansville, including the announcement in February 1942 that would make Evansville a site for an inland shipyard.
The Ice Gorge of 1936
The Year the River Froze Over
Episode Number: 101
Length: 4:57
The Ice Gorge of 1936 is remembered as the worst in Evansville's history. Shawn Robey, a student at F.J. Reitz High School, and Mary Ruth Oakley, a resident during the time of the Ice Gorge, provide historical & personal accounts of that fateful time in February 1936.
UE Plane Crash
The Night It Rained Tears
Episode Number: 201
Length: 19:40
A promising year for the University of Evansville basketball team, the Purple Aces, ended early one fateful night in 1977.
West Side Nut Club
Episode Number: 101
Length: 6:00
This documentary takes us back to the beginning of one of the first street festivals in the United States, organized by the West Side Nut Club. Dick Barchet, 2001 West Side Nut Club president, and Marcella Stein, daughter of Horney's restaurant owners, recall the history of the famed festival.