1871     Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute.  He graduated from high school in Warsaw and attended Indiana University.  As a journalist, he interviewed many notables of the era, including Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison.  As a novelist, he wrote of the changing social order in America.  He is best known for the best-sellers Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy.

The INDIANA BUILDING at the St. Louis World’s Fair

1904     Hoosiers by the thousands made their way to the St. Louis World’s Fair for “Indiana Week.”  The Indianapolis News “Newsboy Band” led the local delegation onto the grounds, followed by Governor Winfield Durbin and other state officials.  The Big Four Railroad ran eight trains a day to the event.  A round-trip ticket was $9.00

1920     Mary Bostwick of Indianapolis became the first woman in Indiana to serve on jury duty.  She was also a newspaper reporter who pursued adventure of all kinds.  She took part in balloon races and flew with barnstorming pilots.  With 500 winner Howdy Wilcox at the wheel, she was the first woman to ride around the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (at 110 mph.)

1939     “The Wizard of Oz” premiered across the nation.  Thousands of Hoosiers saw the movie for the first time at such theaters as Loew’s in Indianapolis, the Tivoli in Richmond, the Sipe in Kokomo, the Rivoli in Muncie, and the Logan in Logansport.  It played at the Colfax in South Bend, where Wyman’s Department Store advertised an exact copy of Dorothy’s dress for $1.98.  The ad said, “You can look like a movie star yourself!”

1955     Two people were killed and dozens injured in a terrific explosion and fire at the Standard Oil Refinery in Whiting,  The blast, felt up to 100 miles away, set 40 acres on fire and destroyed 67 storage tanks.  Tons of debris went into the air and hundreds of area homes were damaged.  Train cars and railroad tracks melted in the fire that burned for eight days.

2009     Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Among the crew was pilot Kevin A.Ford from Montpelier, Indiana.  A graduate of Blackford High School in Hartford City and the University of Notre Dame, he served many roles at NASA, including that of commander of the International Space Station.

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INDIANA STATEHOUSE TOUR OFFICE

Guided tours of the Indiana Statehouse are offered Monday through Saturday.  For more information, check our website listed at the bottom of this page.

(317) 233-5293
captours@idoa.in.gov

Indiana Quick Quiz

     Name the Hoosiers featured on these U.S. Postage stamps.

Answers Below

HOOSIER QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It is quite true that to the victor belongs the spoils, and to the strong the race, but at the same time it is sad to think that to the weak and vanquished belong nothing.”

– – Theodore Dreiser

DID YOU KNOW?     

     The St. Louis World’s Fair,also called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was held from April to December in 1904.  More than 60 countries and 43 states had exhibition spaces at the fair, which covered 1,200 acres.  New technology included the wireless telephone and the telautograph, an early type of fax machine.  Visitors marveled at demonstrations of an  X-ray machine.  The new 20th century was bringing a revolution In transportation, and electric streetcars, automobiles, and airships were all on display.  A fair is not a fair without great food, and many visitors were delighted to sample for the first time hot dogs, ice cream cones, peanut butter, iced tea, and cotton candy.

Answers:  Left to right:  Madam C. J. Walker, James Dean, Wendell Willkie, Hoagy Carmichael