William L.Selm is a fifth generation German-American, originally from Brookville Township, Franklin County Indiana. That was five generations of farming in Franklin and later Rush Counties.

He is a product of St. Michael and St. Mary Catholic Schools, taught by the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg. He graduated from Rushville Consolidated High School in 1972 and was active with 4-H Clubs since childhood culminating in a 6-month program visiting farms throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1974. He studied History and German at Indiana State University and later was awarded his M.A. in Historic Preservation Studies by Boston University.

He returned to Indiana in 1983 to serve as the staff historian for the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission until 1992. He researched and wrote the histories of hundreds of local buildings for local preservation plans, National Register of Historic Places nominations, Historic American Building Surveys. and other requirements. He co-founded the Indiana German Heritage Society in 1984 and the Athenaeum Foundation in 1991. He taught courses at IUPUI on Western and local architectural history, and furniture history for over 30 years as an adjunct faculty member. Selm was the award-winning doorman of the Westin Hotel for 14 years. Selm continues researching, writing, lecturing, and tour leading as a free-lancer. He and his wife are grandparents of five toddlers/infants and are active members of their nearby St Joan of Arc Church. 

Dr. Stephen Jay has practiced internal medicine and pulmonology in this community for 60 years. He has been a member of the Club since 1998 and served as President in 2010-11.

Stephen J. Jay MD is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Fairbanks School of Public Health. In 2023, he received the Indiana Cancer Prevention and Control Policy Champion Award at the annual meeting of the Indiana Cancer Consortium, the most recent of his many awards and recognitions in medicine and medical education.

This is Dr. Jay’s 25th essay to the Club and is titled “AIDLESS.”