Indiana Landmarks and Ruthmere Foundation are partners in presenting a series of four Heart City Heritage Talks in 2017. The talks occur on the second Tuesday in March, May, July and September from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Dr. Havilah Beardsley House, 102 West Beardsley Avenue (northwest corner of Beardsley Avenue and North Main Street) in Elkhart.

Taken as a whole, the series of talks aims to provide information on preservation and how to delve into the background of historic places. At the first talk, on March 14, Brad Miller and Ann Linley present Historic Preservation 101: From Maintaining your Home to Preserving a Community. Miller is a community preservation specialist at Indiana Landmarks, and Linley is president of the Elkhart Historic and Cultural Preservation Commission.

Havilah Beardsley, founder of the city of Elkhart, was a physician, industrial entrepreneur, and railroad investor. He built the house that hosts the talks in 1848, with additions that followed to accommodate his growing family. Ruthmere Foundation acquired the house in 2007 and restored it inside and out. The highly decorative interior features mahogany, walnut and cherry woodwork, elaborate plaster moldings, etched glass, and paint colors and wall papers that replicate original schemes.

Future sessions include The Elkhart Project: Deep Building Research on May 9, Historic Cemeteries in Indiana on July 11, and Hoosier Highways: Indiana Byways and Heritage Tourism on September 12.

Each talk costs $10 per person ($5 for members of Indiana Landmarks and Ruthmere) and requires registration in advance online at heartcitytalks.eventbrite.com or by calling 800-450-4534.

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Media contacts: Brad Miller, Community Preservation Specialist, Indiana Landmarks Northern Regional Office, 574-232-4534, bmiller@indianalandmarks.org Carolyn Bonanno, Ruthmere Museum Communications Coordinator, 574-264-0330, cbonanno@ruthmere.org

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Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, reconnects us to our heritage, and saves meaningful places. With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. People who join Indiana Landmarks receive its bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation. Join us.

The Ruthmere Foundation Inc. inspires the imagination and promotes excellence in fine arts, architecture, and historic preservation to advocate life-long learning and the entrepreneurial spirit. http://www.ruthmere.org. Ruthmere is supported by its membership, private donations, planned gifts and legacies.