August 22 – August 28The Week in Indiana History |
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   “Friends are the sunshine of life.”  – – John Milton Hay (1838 -                  1905)     Born in Salem, Indiana, John Milton Hay, as a young man in his 20s, was a secretary to President Abraham Lincoln. Later he served as Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Did You Know?   Mary Bostwick (1886-1959) was an unforgettable member of the Indianapolis press corps. She covered all types of news events and sometimes became involved in them. Not only was she was the first woman to ride around the Speedway, she rode on top of the elephants when the circus came to town. She once swung across Kentucky Avenue on a rope from the the eighth floor of the Lincoln Hotel in a lifesaving demonstration for the fire department. Just for fun, she authored “Last Page Lyrics,” a daily feature with a humorous take on recent news. An excerpt from a 1929 column addressed citizen complaints about a dog pound moving into their neighborhood: They do not want to spend their time – although they wish ’em well – in hearing pale, poetic pups reciting doggerel. . . and to a man they firmly say – they’d really just as soon – not hear some canine serenade the lovely yellow moon – nor can you blame these voters for these loud and angry pow-wows – because they think the neighborhood is going to the bow-wows. ANSWERS: 1. Anderson     2. Brazil   3. Corydon |
1920   Mary Bostwick of Indianapolis became the first woman in Indiana to serve on jury duty. She was also a newspaper reporter who covered a wide variety of news and sports. 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.) For more, see “Did You Know?” in the right column.
1925   The Brown CountyDemocrat newspaper reported that the “Constitution Elm” in Corydon had been taken nearly completely down.  The tree, which originally had a limb span of 100 feet, had been dead for almost a year. It is thought that members of the Indiana Constitutional Convention sought shade under the huge tree while they worked on the founding document in 1816. Officials said that the tree had been carefully taken down and that the elm wood was being preserved for future use as artifacts and souvenirs.
1933   Newspaper carriers from Central Indiana were treated to a three-day visit to the Chicago World’s Fair. The 173 boys and girls rode on a special train to the Windy City and stayed at the Palmer House. They were treated to dinner aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a large lake steamer. They rode the exciting “skyride” and took in all the sights of the “Century of Progress” exposition.
1951   It was announced that the Jordan College of Music would merge with Butler University. Formerly called the Jordan Conservatory of Music, the school occupied the old L. S. Ayres mansion on North Delaware Street in Indianapolis. It would remain in that location until 1962 when a new building opened on the Butler campus. All past Jordan graduates became Butler alumni.
