INDIANA QUICK QUIZ - Identify each Indiana city described below.
- The RV Capital of the World
- The Covered Bridge Capital of the World
- The Athens of the Prairie
Answers Below
1824 Nine Indians were murdered near Pendleton. It came to be called the "Fall Creek Massacre." The crime resulted in the hanging of three white men the following year, the first time such a penalty had been carried out for the killing of Native Americans.
1885 The Willard Library was dedicated in Evansville. The beautiful Gothic-Revival structure includes a tower with steeply-pitches roofs and ornamental gables. Delicate terra cotta covers much of the exterior in the form of rosettes and owls (symbols of wisdom.) Legend has it that the library is haunted by a gentle ghost known as "The Gray Lady."
1899 Ruth Page was born in Indianapolis. She attended Tudor Hall for Girls and became life-long friends with Elizabeth Harrison and her mother, Mary Lord Harrison, widow of President Benjamin Harrison. Ruth grew up to become a world-renown ballerina and choreographer. Her legacy is the Ruth Page Center for Performing Arts in Chicago. (Pictured: Mary Lord Harrison and Ruth Page.
1913 A series of tornadoes swirled from the Great Plains into the Ohio Valley. Winds whipped through the southern section of Terre Haute, damaging or destroying 300 homes. One five-block area was completely leveled, and 21 people lost their lives. Subsequent flash flooding took an additional dozen lives.
1947 Thousands of kids across Indiana gathered around their radios to read the Sunday comics with "Uncle Wally" Nehrling. He went through the "funnies" each week, adding drama and laughs to the printed pages. The long-time radio personality sometimes attended birthday parties for his young listeners. Nehrling's familiar voice was heard on WIRE Radio for nearly 40 years.
2012 The Honorable Randall T. Shepard retired as Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was the longest-serving Chief Justice in Indiana history. Appointed to the Court in 1985 by Governor Robert D. Orr, Shepard had earlier served as Judge of the Vanderburgh Superior Court in Evansville.
Hoosier Quote of the Week
"It is no use to grumble and complain.....It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice....When God sorts out the weather and sends us rain, why, rain's my choice."
- - - James Whitcomb Riley
The 2020 Census is Underway
Look for information in your mailbox and submit your entry on-line. It takes less than 10 minutes.
ANSWERS: 1. Elkhart 2. Rockville 3. Columbus
INDIANA STATEHOUSE TOUR OFFICE - Indiana Department of Administration
NOTE: Due to the Coronavirus threat, tours of the Statehouse have been suspended until further notice. You may still contact us by phone and e-mail. You are invited to take a "Virtual Tour" of the Statehouse by clicking the link at the bottom of this column.
Take an "Armchair Tour" of the Indiana Statehouse!
(317) 233-5293 | captours@idoa.in.gov | http://www.in.gov/idoa/2371.htm
Follow us: Instagram @instatehousetouroffice; Facebook @Indiana Statehouse Tour Office and Education Center; Twitter @INSthouseEdCntr
Follow this link to subscribe to Hoosier History Highlights and to view archived editions