Valparaiso

Heritage Hall is the oldest building on the campus of Valparaiso University in the U.S. state of Indiana. Erected in 1875, the building had prominent... dormers and French Mansard roof. Originally named Flint Hall after the contractor that built it, but was renamed after Richard Aaron Heritage, head of the music department from 1878-1894. Within the decade the top floor was destroyed in a fire, after which Heritage bought the building, put a roof on the remaining two stories, and renamed it after himself. At different times throughout its history, Heritage Hall underwent numerous renovations and was used as a dormitory, barracks during World War I, a machinery classroom, and finally a library when Valparaiso University was bought by the Lutheran University Association in 1925. In 1959, the new Moellering Library had been completed and the building was converted to classrooms and offices. Heritage Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Today Heritage Hall is part of the Valparaiso University School of Law and houses the Valparaiso University Law Clinic, which provides free legal services to qualifying members of the community.
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Congregation founded in 1862 by 45 German families. The church was erected in 1891 by Henry Lemster and his son Charles. A fire gutted the building... in 1975. Marks can still be seen on the altar and pews. Immanuel Lutheran Church congregation moved to a new site on Glendale Blvd. The building was renamed the Heritage Lutheran Church and hosts an active congregation. An undated old photo shows a taller steeple and a two story parsonage adjacent to the church hall, which is no longer extant. ibid, Neeley A photo from the courthouse tower northward, c. 1900, shows the taller steeple on the church. ibid, Neeley; pg 77 The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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The DeForest Skinner House or Skinner Homestead, is a place on the National Register of Historic Places in Valparaiso, Indiana. It was placed on the... Register on June 24, 2008. Built around 1860, it is a two-story carpentered Italianate structure with a double brick foundation, weatherboard walls, and asphalt roof, located three blocks north of the Porter County Courthouse. The register listing includes a carriage stepping stone by the north porch, with the family name upon it. DeForest Skinner acquired the recently-built house around the time he married Rachel Ann Maxwell in 1861. Skinner had arrived in Valparaiso in 1847 at age eleven with his parents John and Emily Skinner; he displayed business acumen early in life as he worked for various commercial interests. From 1874 to 1878, as a member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Indiana Senate. Then in 1880 and 1888 he represented his area at the Democratic National Conventions. He also served as the President of the First National Bank from 1887 until his death in 1902. He was also Indiana's representative at the World's Congress of Bankers in 1893.
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Michael Essany is an American comedian and talk show host. Essany hosted The Michael Essany Show on local, national and international television for... seven years and his self-titled reality/talk series on E! Entertainment television, executive produced by Leeza Gibbons. He has also written a column for The Times of Northwest Indiana, published multiple books, and twice run for public office. Essany now hosts his show on Shovio.com's "TalkBackTV". A 2005 graduate of Valparaiso University, he currently serves as Vice President of Indiana Grain Company, LLC and lives in his native Valparaiso, Indiana with his wife Christa and baby daughter Gianna.
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Beulah Bondi was an American actress. Bondi began her acting career as a young child in theater, and after establishing herself as a stage actress,... she reprised her role in Street Scene for the 1931 film version. She played supporting roles in several films during the 1930s, and was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played the mother of James Stewart in four films, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life . She continued acting into her later years, and won an Emmy Award for an appearance in the television series The Waltons in 1976. Bondi was born as Beulah Bondy in Valparaiso, Indiana, the daughter of Eva Suzanna , an author, and Abraham O. Bondy, who worked in real estate. Bondi began her acting career on the stage at age seven, playing the title role in the play Little Lord Fauntleroy in a production at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana. She graduated from the Frances Shimer Academy in 1907, and gained her Bachelors and Masters degrees in oratory at Valparaiso University in 1916 and 1918.
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Harry Benham was an American silent film actor. Born in Valparaiso, Indiana, as a child Benham and his family moved to Chicago, where he was raised... and attended school. Benham had a talent for singing and sang in his local church choir. In 1904, the production Peggy From Paris came to Chicago and, at age 20, Benham became a member of the chorus while earning a living in the wholesale paper business. Benham was soon selected to play the leading role in the production and remained in that role throughout the production's three-year run. He was subsequently able to garner more roles in other plays, such as The Sultan of Sulu, Woodland, Marrying Mary, The Gay Musician, H.M.S. Pinafore, Florodora, The Mayoress, and Madame Sherry. In 1910 Benham joined the Thanhouser Company, for whom he played the leading role in many of the company's films through 1915. It was after this period that he met actress Ethyle Cooke and married her; together they had two children, Dorothy and Leland, who also became prominent Thanhouser personalities. Benham died on July 17, 1969 in Sarasota, Florida, aged 85. An article about his role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
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Heather Kuzmich is an American fashion model. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, where she is studying video game design. She is best known for being a... contestant of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9, in which she was the fourth runner-up of the show. During the show, it was revealed that Kuzmich has Asperger syndrome and ADHD. Kuzmich was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when she was fifteen years old , around the time her father died. She has stated in interviews that it wasn't the easiest time in her life. Living with Asperger syndrome, Kuzmich has stated that she struggles with approaching people and communication skills. Kuzmich was one of the final five contestants on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9. At the beginning of the competition, some of the other contestants bullied Kuzmich, making fun of her "awkward" behavior and talking about her behind her back. However, Kuzmich later reported that "they didn't make fun of me that much" and that the show's producers chose not to broadcast more "civilized" exchanges. According to Kuzmich, she has always wanted to model.
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