March 15, 2025, will mark 100 years since the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Madge Oberholtzer. Madge’s trial was directly responsible for dismantling the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. The trial of D.C. Stephenson (Grand Dragon of the realm of Indiana) for the kidnapping and murder of Madge took place in 1925, one block away from where the Gal’s Guide library is today.
People continue, to this day, to cast aside Madge’s importance to history, to her community, and to the lives she saved. Back in 1925 when Indiana citizens learned what was done to Madge, they stood up to the KKK and won.
Gal’s Guide has intentionally taken on the heavy lifting of this complicated and at times gruesome history because Madge used her dying voice to bring truth to power. We are hosting an online event on the 100th Anniversary of her kidnapping. We are hosting an in-person event on the 100th anniversary of her death. Our focus is on Madge. We owe it to her to be better and be the noble citizens who said “no” to a bully.
Events
Gal’s Guide Podcast: Madge Saved Lives
Join us on March 15, 2025, as Gal’s Guide Podcast releases a powerful and poignant special episode, Madge Saved Lives, available on the 100th anniversary of Madge Oberholtzer’s kidnapping. This episode will shine a light on a harrowing event in history that sparked significant change.
Gal’s Guide is celebrated for our distinctive approach to sharing women’s history stories—stories that are as unique as the women themselves. Our women’s history library explores the past with depth, compassion, and an unflinching commitment to truth, and Madge Saved Lives is no exception.
This episode is available on all major podcatchers, including:
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Amazon Music
- YouTube
- and more!
Learn about Madge Oberholtzer’s courageous stand and the legacy her tragic story left behind. Her bravery and the events surrounding her kidnapping became a catalyst for justice and societal change—a story that deserves to be remembered and honored.
Don’t miss this moving episode that exemplifies Gal’s Guide’s mission to highlight the powerful, untold stories of women in history.
Available now.
A Tribute to Madge: Empathy and Wisdom, 100 Years Later
April 14, 2025
6pm
At Noblesville Creates
107 S. 8th Street, Noblesville, IN
Join Gal’s Guide Library for a powerful evening celebrating the courage of Madge Oberholtzer, whose deathbed statement was pivotal in dismantling the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. The event will include a heartfelt presentation of Madge’s life looking at the time she lived, the choices she faced, and the importance of her voice to speak truth to power. Gal’s Guide founder, Riwo, will honor Madge’s enduring spirit and explore how her story continues to evoke the strength and dignity of women.
The evening will feature an interview with Madge: the Life and Times of Madge Oberholtzer author Charlotte Halsema Ottinger.
The evening will include a meditation session and art activity led by Lindsay Zehren of Copper Z Creative Wellness.
The evening will conclude with a candle-lit vigil from Gal’s Guide Library to the Hamilton County Courthouse to pay tribute to Madge. Gal’s Guide will supply the candles.
Guests will also have access to Gal’s Guide’s curated book collection on the trial, the era, and ways to foster change today.
Gal’s Guide Library, located in Noblesville, Indiana, is the first independent women’s history lending library in the United States. With a collection of over 6,000 books, Gal’s Guide is a multi-award-winning organization dedicated to preserving and sharing women’s stories that inspire action and reflection. Don’t miss this chance to honor Madge’s legacy!
Resources
Book Collection
Gal’s Guide has curated a book collection relating to Madge’s story, the trial, the era, and ways to foster change today. Keep in mind Gal’s Guide is a women’s history lending library, so there are many more titles on this topic that don’t fit into our scope. It’s also mindful to mention that Gal’s Guide has some unapologetically truthful and hard-hitting books that tell it like it is & was. Many of the books in this collection overlap with our Advancing Racial Equity Collection curated and funded by the Indiana Humanities. Gal’s Guide will always recommend reading the books that interest you, no matter the subject or author.
Books that deal with what history came before the 1925 trial
- The Woman’s Hour by Elaine Weiss
- Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle for the Vote by Ellen Carol DuBois
- The Red Record by Ida B. Wells-Barnett (Indiana case cited 1893)
- White Rage by Carol Anderson (Specifically Chapter 2 the 1918 Great Migration)
- History of White People by Nell Irving Painter
- Gender & Jim Crow by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore
Books that deal with the trial and Indiana Klan history in the 1920’s-1950’s
- Madge by Charlotte Halsema Ottinger
- The Invisible Empire: Madge Oberholtzer and the Unmasking of the Ku Klux Klan by Micky Neilson (being acquired by the library)
- A Fever in the Heartland Timothy Egan
- Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland by James H. Madison
- Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana by M. William Lutholtz
Books that help with what to do now
- Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
- So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- I Never Called It Rape by Robin Warshaw
- The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Wendy Maltz (being acquired by the library)
- The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-By-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assault by Aphrodite Matsakis (being acquired by the library)
Community Events
Gal’s Guide is working with Noblesville Creates and their partners to highlight meaningful programs throughout the year. Gal’s Guide is also working with our fellow librarians at Hamilton East Public Library and Indianapolis Public Library.
A full calendar listing of events to help reflect and process this anniversary is available at indypl.org
Supporters
Gal’s Guide events and resources are supported by Arts Midwest and Indiana Humanities Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development Grant. If you would also like to support this event please email Riwo at info@galsguide.org
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