Widow Succeeds Urbahns in Office

From The Indianapolis News, Friday, January 22, 1926:  Shortly before noon today, Grace May Banta Urbahns was administered the oath of office at her home, 404 E. 43^rd St, becoming the first woman treasurer of the state of Indiana and the first woman to hold a major office provided by the state Constitution.  Her accension to this office followed the death of her husband, Bernhardt “Ben” Henry Urbahns who had been elected state treasurer in 1924.  Urbahns died the previous evening of complications following surgery for the removal of a kidney.  Before entering the hospital, Urbahns was concerned that he might not survive the surgery and sought to have his wife appointed state treasurer in the event of his death.  Gov. Ed Jackson had agreed to this request and this morning he signed the commission selecting the grief-stricken woman.

“Widow Succeeds Urbahns in Office,” The Indianapolis News, 22 January 1926, p. 1:8

Keith Star Starts Fund to Feed Pigeons and Squirrels

From The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, January 13, 1926:  Recognizing that pigeons in University Square must eat and there isn’t much nourishment in snowflakes, dancer Alma Neilson, this week’s headliner at Keith’s Theater, after visiting the park yesterday morning with four pounds of cracked corn which disappeared with such rapidity that no one could doubt that the birds were hungry, has turned over $10 (2024:  $181) to R. Walter Jarvis, park board superintendent, as a start toward establishing a pigeon feeding fund.  The pigeons are municipal pets, and during warm weather they never lack refreshment from park visitors, but in the winter the commissary gets extremely low.  Custodian Charles Hess will use part of the funds to buy nuts for the squirrels, too.  Even the thriftiest of these University Square creatures can’t manage to lay up much against a rainy day.  

“Keith Star Starts Fund to Feed Pigeons and Squirrels,” The Indianapolis Star, 13 January 1926, p. 10:5

County Democrats Propose Political Klan Elimination

From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, January 7, 1926:  Four hundred precinct committeepersons, ward chairs, and other prominent members of the Marion County Democratic Party adopted resolutions last evening pledging to fight to eliminate the Ku Klux Klan from controlling politics in the county.  The resolutions called upon, “all fair-minded citizens regardless of past political affiliations to join in eliminating the Ku Klux Klan and its leaders from all political control in Marion County [and to] resist all efforts of the Klan to nominate candidates in the Democratic primary or to control the Democratic organization.” It was understood veteran party leader Thomas Taggart thoroughly approved and the weight of Marion County with its big block of delegates will make a bitter fight at the coming Democratic state convention against “pussyfooting” on the adoption of an anti-Klan plank in the party platform.

“County Democrats Propose Political Klan Elimination,” The Indianapolis Star, 7 January 1926, p. 1:2