Robert M. Hill passed away the other day and while I'm sure many here had never heard of him he was truly the personification of the term local historian. Bob wrote and self published a book on the neighborhood he was raised in and loved, Clearing. Printed in 1983 "A Little Known History of A Land Called Clearing" tells the story of an area in the city as far south and west as you can go. His dedication to local history extended to the I & M Canal Heritage Corridor and the Caboose on the Sante Fe Prairie, located on the last remaining virgin prairie near the city.
I knew Bob and was able to attend his wake. BTW a lot of his unused material and photos associated with that book he left with a lady that owns the Midway Jewelry store on 63rd just west of Central Ave. She has all the stuff neatly arranged in binders and anyone can look at the stuff. If you're interested in that area it's definitely worth a visit.