Indiana celebrates 200th birthday

Indiana, the 19th state to join the United States, celebrates its bicentennial on December 11, 2016. During the course of the past 200 years, Hoosiers (the nickname for residents of Indiana) have had many great achievements.

Residents of our state invented products ranging from Cook’s life-saving medical devices to a mechanical corn picker. Native Hoosiers have achieved global recognition as movie and television stars, musicians, and athletes.

Hoosiers have earned medals of honor in the Union Army in the Civil War, from service in the Philippine-American War, and related to combat of World Wars I and II. The state has been home to abolitionists, notorious criminals, and best-selling authors.

Have you heard of Jenna Fischer (she played Pam Halpert on The Office), Jeffrey Isbell (he is also known as Izzy Stradlin of Guns N’ Roses), and Charles Taylor (better known as Chuck Taylor, the basketball player and namesake of the popular shoe)? All three are native Hoosiers.

To help celebrate two hundred years of statehood, John Eckberg of Cook Group produced the book Awesome Indiana!, a fact-a-day book sharing interesting stories and fascinating details about Indiana. The book shares numerous visitor stories and anecdotes of West Baden and French Lick, two charming and historic hotels with a key role in Indiana history.

Awesome Indiana! is officially endorsed by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission as a project to preserve and promote the state’s heritage.

100% of the proceeds from the book’s sales go to the Tivoli Theatre in Spencer, Indiana. Cook Group restored the 1928 Mission Revival Style building in 2012 as a family-friendly place to watch a movie and help revitalize downtown Spencer.

Here are a few excerpts from the book to enjoy:

April 20

Did you know? Lawrence County is the home of three astronauts. Kenneth D. Bowersox and Charles D. Walker hail from Bedford. Mitchell is the hometown of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, the second American in space.

March 31, 1880

Wabash becomes the first electrically lighted city in the world. Charles F. Brush of Cleveland had hoped that a community would volunteer to test his invention of the “Brush Lights,” and he was ecstatic when Wabash took up the proposition. The town of 320 drew more than 10,000 people for the light show at the Wabash County Courthouse. Flipping the switch to four lights at 8 p.m., the crowd responded with a gregarious cheer. The 3,000-candlepower lamps illuminated not only the square, but also homes a mile away. Spectators remembered seeing the Wabash River in the distance glowing “like a band of molten silver.”

May 21, 1921

Indianapolis’ Wonder Bread is introduced. With the packaging displaying colorful depictions of balloons, Wonder Bread was cleverly named from the “wonder” of the balloon race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.