Historical Society honors six local legends
Angela Martino, Bob Auth, John Grant among 2024 inductee class
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Hingst Hall was humming on April 25 as the Howard County Historical Society’s Hall of Legends convened to honor six more inductees into the august array of men and women who achieved much and altered the course of history.
This year’s affair drew family and friends from across the country to see their loved ones end the hall. The line-up included one of the men responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb, a former state legislator involved in early effort for civil rights, a hip-hop legend and radio personality, a quilting prodigy, the fun-loving founder of the Koh-Koh-Mah/Foster re-enactment and Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival, and the matriarch of one of Kokomo’s most notable families and co-creator of the much-beloved Martino’s Italian Villa.
(Biographies provided by the Howard County Historical Society.)
Angela Martino
Angela Martino was born in the small mountain town of Gallo Matese, Italy, and remembers as a child having to hide from WWII troops. As a result, she knows what it is like to go hungry. Angela and her husband Frank were married in Rhode Island and eventually made their way to Kokomo in 1957. Frank worked at Continental Steel, but he and Angela worked side gigs - first a doughnut shop, then a bar on North Street (now the Handlebar). When the couple opened Martino's Italian Villa in the early 1970s, both Martinos put their cooking skills to good use. Martino's quickly became a Kokomo staple, and it's still going strong 50 years later.
Frank Stein
Born in Lancaster, PA, Frank Stein met his wife Eleanor while working on the Manhattan Project while a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City. Frank started out as a teacher and researcher and eventually became the Chief Engineer at Delco Radio in Kokomo, preferring applied physics. The family moved to Kokomo in 1963 and quickly settled into the community. Frank and Eleanor (the first female judge in Howard County and previous Hall of Legends Inductee herself) poured themselves into their family of three children and their community.
John Grant
Growing up in the Bronx and New Jersey afforded John "Uncle Boogie" Grant, Jr. the opportunity to witness the birth of hip-hop music in real time. He and his music partner Reggie "Rock" Passley formed their own band, Rock N' Gee, and won a songwriting competition to be in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. Musical success followed, especially after their hit single "Swing Beat." Eventually, John got out of the music scene and focused on an automotive career - which brought him here to Kokomo. John couldn't get the music bug out of his system, and in 2014 he acquired his low power FM license, broadcasting Power 104.9 WTSX, the first radio station in Kokomo fully devoted to hip hop. John broadcasts on several stations now, including Sirius Radio, reaching millions of people every day.
Bob Auth
For 20 years Bob Auth hosted the Koh-Koh-Mah and Foster Living History Encampment on his property in western Howard County. Bob's love of reenactments began as a young man and eventually resulted in the creation of a local event that drew thousands of people every year. Bob and his team made it a priority to keep everything as accurate as possible for the local history reenactment. One of the highlights of the event for Bob was the student day, which brought in thousands of local students to experience demonstrations on how to make rope and yarn, candle making, 18th century games, and Native drum dances. Along the way, Bob also created the Winding Creek Bluegrass Festival, now in its 14th year. This year's festival is August 16-18.
Xenia Cord
Xenia Cord has been making history and sharing history her entire life – from the age of 14 months when she emigrated to the United States with her mother on the last ship to leave Norway before the Nazis invaded, to her years of service as a popular folklore instructor at Indiana University Kokomo. Xenia is a pre-eminent collector, scholar, and author in the world of quilting, and a recognized researcher in the history of free African-Americans in Indiana prior to the Civil War. Xenia also belongs to the Quilters Hall of Fame.
Jane Ann (Noble) Luljak
A Kokomo native and popular KHS graduate, Jane Ann Noble headed off to DePauw University in 1942. After completing her sophomore year, Jane joined the war effort as a Private First Class in the Women's Army Corps, serving for two years before returning to DePauw in 1946. As a co-ed senior in 1948, she filed to run as Joint Representative for Howard and Tipton Counties to the Indiana General Assembly. Jane's astonishing win and subsequent service in the state assembly was incredibly impressive. Jane sat on eight committees and introduced a bill prohibiting racial discrimination in public places, as well as four more bills. A spread in Life magazine in 1949 detailed her balancing act of serving as a legislator while continuing her studies at DePauw, as well as mentioning her boyfriend, Laddie Luljak. The two were married later that year, Jane finished out her term, graduated from DePauw, and the happy couple moved to Texas to start a family.