Vivian Carter
Margaret Ringenberg
Madam CJ Walker
Louise Hillery
Did you know that a record company based in Gary, Indiana, was the first U.S. distributor of Beatles records? That same label also had such legendary artists as the Four Seasons, Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker. That company, Vee-Jay Records was owned by the husband/wife team of Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken.
I have the honor of reading a portion of Vivian Carter’s story at a book release party for Louise Hillery‘s “Bold Women in Indiana History” on Sunday, April 3 at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, Indiana. The event starts at 7 p.m. Local authors will read a little about some of the women Hillery profiles in the book. Hillery’s book will be available for purchase, as will books by other authors in attendance (yes, I will have my book there).
Hillery’s book is part of a series by Mountain Press. This will be the fifth such book, with offerings also in Texas, Michigan, Colorado and Alaska. Among the women featured in the book are important women from the Miami tribe; Mother Theodora Guerin, frontier educator and Catholic saint; Lillian T. Fox, the first African-American to be employed at a mainstream Indiana newspaper; Madam C.J. Walker, the foremost black businesswoman of the early 20th century; Margaret Ringenberg, a pilot who flew in the U.S. Army’s secret WASP program during World War II; and he woman I’m going to speak on, Vivian Carter, a radio deejay who ended up starting her own record company.
Stop by. Have a beverage. Learn something about Indiana’s bold women. Support your local authors.
Paul J. Hoffman - Author/Publisher/Actor 
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