1816     December 11:  President James Madison signed a Congressional resolution admitting Indiana to the Union as the 19th State. The new state government would be centered in Corydon.  Jonathan Jennings assumed the office of governor, having won the election in August.  In Washington, James Noble and Waller Taylor were seated as United States Senators and William Hendrix took his chair as the Indiana member of the United States House of Representatives.

1879     Former President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia arrived in Logansport to a grand reception led by Mayor Samuel Jacobs.  In his address to the crowd, Grant spoke of his recent two and one-half year tour of the world.  After a luncheon at the Hotel Murdock, the couple traveled by train to Indianapolis where they were greeted by Governor James D. Williams and welcomed by another large crowd.   The former President and Civil War General spent three hours shaking hands at the Marion County Courthouse before attending a choral concert at Roberts Park Church.

1896     Marshall “Major” Taylor won his first professional bicycle race.  He grew up in Bucktown on the western edge of Indianapolis.  As a young man, he worked in local bicycle shops where he became interested in bicycle racing.  He went on to become one of the first African American sports “superstars,” a world-class cyclist who set world records.

1925     This advertisement for the Cardinola radio store on Monument Circle in Indianapolis set the tone for the shopping season.  Radios were the “must have” Christmas gits as the amazing new technology swept the country.  Newspapers were already running program listings and articles about how to operate the rather complicated radio receivers of the era.  Several broadcasting stations were on the air in Indiana, including WOWO in Fort Wayne, WSBT in South Bend, WGBF in Evansville, and WFBM in Indianapolis.

1934     The new Indiana State Library and Historical Building was dedicated on Ohio Street in Indianapolis.  Governor Paul V. McNutt was on hand to accept the keys to the beautiful new structure.  Among the speakers was Nora Huddleston Hicks, Cambridge City, president of the Indiana Federation of Women’s Clubs.  “The library is to the adult what the school is to a child,” she said.  “It offers an opportunity for more complete living.”

1941     December 7:  Japanese bombers attacked American bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Manila, in the Phillipines.  The “Day of Infamy” led Congress to declare war and enter World War II.  More than 400,000 Hoosiers went into uniform.  Over 11,000 were killed and 17,000 wounded.  Pictured:  The headline from the Kokomo Tribune on Sunday, December 7, 1941.

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Indiana Quick Quiz

1.  Why are there 19 stars on the Indiana State Flag?

2.   What role did Schuyler Colfax play in the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant?

3.  What sports venue in Indianapolis is named for Major Taylor?

Answers Below

Hoosier Quote of the Week

“In a word, I was a pioneer and therefore had to blaze my own trail.”

– – Marshall “Major” Taylor   (1878 – 1932)

Did You Know?

     Each year, as part of Statehood Day activities, Indiana 4th graders are invited to enter an essay contest.  This year, the topic was “Diversity in Indiana.”  Here is the first-place essay, written by MykolaZabarenko, a student at Shawswick Elementary in Bedford.  

     My English teacher said that people are surprised to hear that we have so many English language learners at my school. She said that people are interested in our stories and would like to hear about our journey.

     I am an English language learner and moved to Indiana last school year.  I spent the first eight years of my life in Ukraine.  My mom moved to Indiana because she said it would be better in almost all ways.  In the schools there, you must wear uniforms.  Here, you may wear whatever you wish.  There, we did not have Smartboards and Chromebooks.  We learned from books and worksheets.

     I arrived in Indiana for the third grade and even though I’d been studying English since the first grade, sometimes I didn’t understand what my teacher was saying.  One year later, I understand much better.  My teacher told me to raise my hand if I didn’t understand.

     My English teacher asked me if I could help her teach English to a virtual student who had just moved here from China.  “Easy,” I say.  When the student first popped on the screen, I said,”Ni hao” and she said “Ni hao” right back!  My teacher smiled and asked how I knew how to say “hello” in Chinese.  “Easy,” I said.  “Google Translator.”

     Tell me about diversity in Indiana you say, and I say, “Here you will find a boy from Ukraine teaching a girl in China how to speak English.”

ANSWERS:  1. Indiana was the 19th State admitted to the Union  2.  Colfax was Vice President during Grant’s first term   3.  The Velodrome