The Noblesville Preservation Alliance (NPA) is teaming up with Hamilton County Television (HCTV) to bring Noblesville history to life with a new program called Noblestories. Tapping into the current popularity of public storytelling, Noblestories will give today’s residents a glimpse into Noblesville’s past through the eyes of people who have lived here the longest: our senior citizens.
“When cities grow quickly,” says organizer Mike Corbett, “it’s easy to lose sight of how we got here. It’s important to make those cultural connections to the past that help explain the present. This series will help people connect with Noblesville’s heritage through these first-person accounts.”
Storytellers will share their memories in a formal setting, accompanied by appropriate visuals. The program will be video recorded by Hamilton County Television and posted on the NPA and HCTV websites. Noblesville High School students also plan to record the sessions and edit them into small files for sharing on social media.
Conceived as a quarterly event, the inaugural Noblestories presentation is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 18 at Arbuckle’s Railroad Place, 1151 Vine St., Noblesville. The initial presenter is owner Robert Arbuckle, who moved his sewing machine and appliance business from the courthouse square to the current location in the mid-60’s to improve parking and traffic. He has stories about hiring Railroad Girls to promote the new location, hosting sewing seminars and dances and sponsoring an ill-fated steam train ride for kids to Indianapolis that was described in the Noblesville Ledger as “bordering on mass hysteria.”
“We would also like to hear from any of the original railroad girls,” says Corbett. “Bob says there were six of them, two high school students and four models from a Carmel modeling agency. If anyone knows how we could contact any of them, let me know and perhaps we can recruit them to speak as well.”
The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees can suggest their own Noblestories subjects on a feedback sheet or by emailing the organizer. Mike Corbett can be reached at mcorbett@hamiltoncountybusiness.com.