The Kinsey

Most days I slog by the Kinsey house, and viewing the Kinsey movie last week put me in a mood to learn more about these famous Bloomingtonians. Besides, my friends are everywhere this week-- Kauai, Kiawah, Kabul--and my day needed some spicing up. I ventured out on a field trip to an exhibit called “Was there a Mrs. Kinsey?” Like most exhibits at our history museum, this one was small enough to be viewed in five to ten minutes, but I’ll share the little I learned. Clara was a brilliant chemistry student, but gave up her graduate work when she married. Clara Kinsey liked hiking. She and Alfred took a hiking honeymoon. They were summer camp counselors in Vermont. Clara took girl scouts out to hike and led faculty wives on hikes as well. She taught swimming lessons. When she found dead animals she would save them in the freezer until she got a chance to dissect them with her kids. She saved a lot of her clothes and these were on display. 3 hiking outfits were considerably stained and carefully patched. If I were Clara and still alive, I probably would feel slightly embarrassed to have my muckiest outfits displayed so prominently. Her wedding dress had a big stain on it too. She was not the neatest, but she was neighborly and many of our town’s citizens remember her fondly.