Bloom Archives
Second Baptist Church
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Pastor Bruce Rose: Finding a New Approach to Worship
Social distancing and shelter-in-place orders have forced everyone who provides in-person services to improvise new ways of operating. That’s as true for Bloomington’s clergy…
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The Life and Death of ‘Kid Williams’: A Near West Side Story
Oscar Bland may best be remembered as a boxer and trainer. In the 1930s he fought as “Kid Williams,” and sometimes as “Hard Rock…
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Gene Shipp: Veteran of Three Wars
Gene Shipp, who turned 100 in March, is an Army veteran of three major wars: World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam…
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L. Julius Hanks II MCCSC Coordinator of Diversity Opportunities
On a wall in his office at the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC), L. Julius Hanks II has a picture of the Bloomington…
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25 Couples Who Contribute to Our Community (COVER STORY / PHOTO GALLERY)
The virtues of volunteering can’t be overstated—the hours volunteers spend in service support worthwhile causes, nonprofit organizations, and the larger community. But as the…
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Remembering The Hole
For three decades, it was the place where members of Bloomington’s African American community could be themselves and have a good time. Then, it…
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Feature Story: Black History in Indiana — A Different Perspective (Photo Gallery)
BY DOUGLAS WISSING, ART BY SHANNON ZAHNLE Read the full story here! (Additional photos can be found at the bottom of this page.) A different…
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A Towering Presence and Man of God: The Life and Times of Reverend Ernest Butler
BY JEREMY SHERE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY DIRK SHADD The phone rang just after 4 p.m. The Reverend Ernest Butler, longtime pastor of Second Baptist Church…