NATIONAL INDIANA DAY
On November 16th, National Indiana Day revs up its engines for the state that’s the home of the Indy 500 and Hoosier hospitality, too.
Indiana was the 19th state to enter the Union. James Monroe had just defeated Rufus King in the 1816 presidential race to become the 5th President of the United States. The second state to enter the Union from the Northwest Territory, Indiana grew rapidly.
As the “Crossroads of American, we can thank the many interstates and railroads transversing the state for getting us across the country. Indiana’s highways and byways do not keep the state from a rural feel in a growing urban world. With an abundance of rivers, streams and farmland, Lake Michigan to the North, words don’t fail Hoosiers. Her authors, poets and songwriters have a continuous source of inspiration.
They are also inspired by a sport that started with a peach basket long ago. Basketball fills hearts of Hoosiers, as the movie with the same name would tell you. As far as the citizens of the fine state go, it’s a mystery how they earn their name.
From miners, farmers, inventors, entertainers, industrialists, and many more, Indiana grows more than corn. There’s plenty to see as the heartland helps keep the country moving right along.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalIndianaDay
Join National Day Calendar as we recognize Indiana’s pioneering and progressive history. Explore border to border and unearth the most peaceful heartland and entertaining nightlife! Use #NationalIndianaDay to share on social media.
For a complete list of Indiana State and National Parks & Historic Sites visit www.in.gov and www.nps.gov. Check out a few of the featured sites around the state below.
Chain O’ Lakes State Park – Albion
Fort Harrison State Park – Indianapolis
Indiana Dunes State Park – Chesterton
McCormick’s Creek State Park – Spencer
Mounds State Park – Anderson
Shakamak State Park – Jasonville
Tippecanoe River State Park – Winamac
Turkey Run State Park – Marshall
George Rogers Clark Historic Site – Vincennes
MUSEUMS
Conner Prairie – Fishers
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis – Indianapolis
Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum – Auburn
Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science – Evansville
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum – Indianapolis
Museum of Miniature House – Carmel
Grissom Air Museum – Peru
James Whitcomb Riley Museum – Indianapolis
Angel Mounds – Evansville
Knightridge Space Observatory – Bloomington
Historic West Baden Springs Hotel – West Baden Springs
New Harmony Labyrinth – New Harmony
Gennett Walk of Fame – Richmond
Born in Northern Indiana, Little Turtle led his tribe of the Miami on a series of successful military campaigns against raiding settlers in the Northwest Territory. From 1774 to 1795 he fought against Revolutionary Patriots or United States military forces until The Treat of Greenville ended Little Turtle’s War in 1795.
The chief and religious leader of the Potawatomi tribe on a reservation near Plymouth, Indiana, Menominee refused to willingly give up lands in 1838 as part of the 1836 Treaty of Yellow River. Indiana Troops forcefully removed the village to land in Kansas during which 42 members of the tribe died. The removal of the Potawatomi Tribe became known as the Trail of Death.
Known as the Country Contributor for the Rockville Tribune and the Indianapolis News, Juliet Strass shared her thoughts on daily life and reflected on current events in her column Ideas of a plan Country Woman.
After being discovered by the editors of the Ladies Home Journal, in 1905 her column received a national audience on a regular basis.
From a young age, Wilbur Wright and his brother, Orville, developed a fascination with flight. Inspired by a rubber band propelled helicopter created by inventor, Alphonse Penaud, the brothers would dedicate their lives to invention. They first found success manufacturing bicycles including the Van Cleve and St. Clair.
They never lost interest in flight and continued to develop designs. By 1902, the future aviators were making progress with their gliders and nearing a successful mechanical flight. They sold their bicycle business and on December 17, 1903, achieved their goal.
James Whitcomb Riley
The Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley wrote a wide variety of poetry and short stories about Midwestern life. He often toured the country reciting his poems to sold-out audiences.
The Days Gone By
By James Whitcomb Riley
O the days gone by! O the days gone by!
The apples in the orchard, and the pathway through the rye;
The chirrup of the robin, and the whistle of the quail
As he piped across the meadows sweet as any nightingale;
When the bloom was on the clover, and the blue was in the sky,
And my happy heart brimmed over in the days gone by.
In the Days gone by, when my naked feet were tripped
By the honey-suckles tangles where the water-lilies dipped,
And the ripples of the river lipped the moss along the brink
Where the placid-eyed and lazy-footed cattle came to drink,
And the tilting snipe stood fearless of the truant’s wayward cry
And the splashing of the swimmer, in the days gone by.
O the days gone by! O the days gone by!
The music of the laughing lip, the luster of the eye;
The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin’s magic ring-
The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in everything,-
When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh,
In the golden olden glory of the days gone by.
Source: American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century (The Library of America, 1993)
Composer and songwriter, Cole Porter is known for his catchy Broadway and Hollywood show tunes such as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “Anything Goes.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning war journalist, Ernie Pyle brought the events World War II to those waiting back home in the United States. He covered conflicts on every front of the war from Normandy to the Pacific. As a war correspondent, Pyle traveled to the midst of war and as a result, was killed by enemy fire on April 18, 1945, on the island of le Shima.
Gil Hodges’ professional baseball career was interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the time he had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. For the duration of the war, he served in the U.S. Navy. Afterward, he returned to the home of the Dodgers to take up first base and go on to be a major hitter for the team.
Emmy and Tony award-winning choreographer, Twyla Tharp has collaborated with companies around the world and was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008. In 1985, Tharp directed the Broadway stage production of Singin’ In the Rain earning two Tony Awards.
As the creator of the famous lasagna-loving cat, Jim Davis has been drawing Garfield 1978 and is syndicated in over 2500 publications.
Originally formed in 1964, the group was formed as a trio with Jackie, Tito and Jermaine as the Jackson Family. When Marlon and Michael later joined, the Jackson Five was founded. Randy Jackson also has been a member. The entire family has had various levels of success, most famously Michael, who died in 2009.
From “Pink Houses” to “Rain on the Scarecrow,” John Mellencamp has been writing and performing American anthems with the voice of everyman since 1977.
The small forward for the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird wowed fans for 13 seasons. A dominant player on the court and personable off the court, Bird built attendance at Boston Gardens for a generation of basketball lovers.