USA > Indiana > The Indiana centennial, 1916; a record of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Indiana's admission to statehood > Part 13
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I FRENCH PERIOD :
Scene 1. The Missionary.
Scene 2. Military and Trading Post.
II THE BEGINNING OF INDIANA:
Scene 1. Surrender of Fort Sackville. (George Rogers Clark.)
Scene 2. Vincennes. (Harrison and Tecumseh.)
Scene 3. Corydon-Constitutional Convention. (Jonathan Jen- nings.)
. III EARLY LIFE: (The Pioneers-The Pioneer Mother.)
Scene 1. Coming of the Mail.
Scene 2. Circuit Rider.
Scene 3. Schoolmaster.
Scene 4. Underground Railway.
IV CIVIL WAR:
Scene 1. News of Fort Sumter.
Scene 2. Returning.
V ONE DISTINCTION OF MANY : Benjamin Harrison, President.
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HENRY
On the eve of the Henry County Centennial celebration, the following appeared in the Newcastle papers :
Be it said to the everlasting glory of Henry County, and to the credit of the County Chairman, that the Centennial celebration has been neither commercialized nor exploited. From first to last it has been characterized by patriotism and a high civic pride.
Everybody has helped. Great and small, old and young, weak and strong-they have all done what they could. Leaders have worked tire- lessly, others have worked patiently to perform this patriotic duty to the State.
In the meantime, the county chairman's waste-basket has been filled and emptied, at frequent intervals, with communications from vari- ous concerns offering to "put on" a celebration in Henry County, and even offering tidy sums thus to do.
Long distance telephone calls have been answered, to find at the other end of the wire captive balloons and sideshow freaks, to be had for the asking for Centennial purposes. And when these propositions had been boldly and relentlessly ignored, the calls have been repeated, to be rejected with contempt.
And now on tomorrow, the 29th of September, Henry County "puts on" her own offering to the State in this Centennial year.
And we repeat-"Be it said to the everlasting glory of Henry County." There were many very desirable things that Henry did not do. Careful, thorough foundation work of an educational nature was not done as in many counties, and as a result the Centennial idea did not take hold of the county as it should have. The chairman, George M. Barnard, always debonnaire and sanguine, was slow to get under way, and Henry County's procrastination all but drove the State Di- rector and Assistant to despair. But Henry had an eleventh hour awakening-and not the feverish kind that grasped at anything which might masquerade under the name of Centen- nial. Henry County kept the Centennial faith-and that is glory enough for her.
The celebration was held on September 29th, at Newcastle. In the afternoon a decorated automobile parade occurred, in which appeared 500 machines. The honors were taken by Quaker Spiceland, which contributed the historical flavor to the event. In commenting thereon, the Newcastle paper said :
In this connection it is due Spiceland township to state now, what was intimated prior to the event, that the people down there worked at this thing as though life and reputation were at stake. The wagons
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and automobile floats from that township attracted almost as much attention as a three-ring circus, for there were two generations of peo- ple on the streets who had never seen some of the things Spiceland put in the parade.
The Carolina wagon, with the tar bucket hanging on the coupling pole; the old "Rockaway" carriage; the log cabin with the well sweep, and the log church and log schoolhouse, were new wonders to thousands. Arthur Morrow's car, dressed in the form of a Quaker bonnet at- tracted marked attention.
In the evening a pageant was presented in which 450 people participated. The local spirits of this enterprise were Captain and Mrs. A. D. Ogborn, whose services in its prepara- tion were invaluable. It presented a pleasing combination of the symbolic and the realistic, including enough of the latter to reproduce very graphically the various phases of pioneer life. The symbolic representation of nature and its beauties, lent the witchery of color and rhythm most effectively as a background to historical reproduction. A distinctive musical feature of the evening was the rendering of the hymn "Indi- ana," composed by Henri Kampe, director of music in the Newcastle schools. It was orchestrated for the occasion by Mr. Kampe, who led the orchestra.
In addition to this formal celebration, some work of a Centennial nature was performed in the schools. Each town- ship was asked to collect facts of noted persons, historic build- ings and places of local interest and use them as a basis of work in English. The results were submitted to the County School Superintendent as part requirement for graduation.
Be this Henry County's memorial-She kept the faith.
HOWARD
Howard County made an excellent start on the Centennial highway. A live, capable and enthusiastic chairman was early secured in the person of C. V. Haworth, Superintend- ent of the Kokomo schools. He had some ideas of his own and began incubating them. His theory of organization was sound, basing it largely upon the schools of the county. Here the best work was done. The children were set to work writ- ing essays on all phases of local history, getting their ma- terial from pioneers, old records and relics. In this way, with some adult criticism and assistance, township histories were compiled and published in local papers.
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In January, 1916, Miss Charity Dye of the Indiana His- torical Commission made two visits to Kokomo, speaking first before the Women's Department Club and later, by way of hearty encore, before the Commercial Club. She spoke earn- estly and inspiringly of Centennial ideals, outlining an ob- servance worthy of a high-minded citizenship, and telling Howard County how to go about it. She was enthusiastically acclaimed by the press and her ideals applauded. "She has performed a most valuable service," said the Kokomo Tribune, "in stirring up interest in the Centennial and in awakening the people of Howard County to the importance of having a creditable part in it."
Plans for an ambitious and thoroughly historical celebra- tion were announced, the principal feature of which was to be a pageant portraying the proud history of Howard County. C. H. Havens was chosen to write the pageant and entered with zest upon this difficult but alluring task.
So far, so good-very good, in fact. And then-enter the dollar mark, star villain of all patriotic enterprise. Cele- brations and pageants cost money to be sure. The Centen- nial Committee didn't see how to finance the enterprise and lost its nerve. As a result it went into partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, whereby the former contributed the good name and the latter assumed the financial responsibil- ity. Thereafter, it was "The Big Industrial Exhibition and Centennial Celebration," so far as emphasis was concerned. The Chamber of Commerce put on the usual industrial exhibit at so much per booth, lasting a week, September 4 to 9. The much heralded pageant degenerated into a display of fire- works, featured as "a pyro-historical spectacle," with an ap- parently honest attempt made to make it really historical. Featured with the pyro-spectacle, were "The Royal Huzzar Girls," "Rusty Rube," etc. Thus went the pageant.
There is a lighter side however. Chairman Haworth per- severed in his efforts and saved the day in part by getting to- gether from all over the county a splendid exhibit of pioneer relics, which attracted wide attention and much favorable comment.
Howard County was represented in the Centennial Caval- cade at the capitol by Miss Juanita Brunnemiller.
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HUNTINGTON
Huntington County put a Centennial crimp in the doctrine that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It of- fered a revision that the first shall be first, clear up to the last. It staunchly supported the amendment in more ways than one. To begin with, it held the first county celebration in the State. It challenged the other counties to the rank of first in the thorough Centennial spirit-educational, histor- ical and patriotic-which pervaded its observance. At the last great rally on County Day at the state celebration, it led all comers in the Centennial Cavalcade to the very letter, with its representative, Miss Furste, as Miss Indiana.
The Huntington chairman, J. M. Scudder, superintendent of the Huntington city schools, was one of the county chair- men who received his vision of the year's work at the Decem- ber conference at Indianapolis. And having received it, he imparted it with effectiveness to others, who faithfully as- sisted him in the realization of that vision. The celebration , was worked out from the bottom up, in place of being merely put on at the top, being made a splendid educational move- ment with the young people.
As a matter of fact, county organization was effected largely through the school officials of the county, with the result that with the schools as centers, practically the whole county had participated in local observances before the county celebration in May. These began in February and continued through March. The date of March 3 was made a special Centennial Day by County School Superintendent Clifford Funderburg. Many of these observances incorporated the idea of Patrons Day, bringing the parents together with the pupils in all-day exercises, with picnic dinner at noon. Nearly all the schools collected from their respective communities an array of relics which were placed on display as a part of the program. Papers on local history were read, Indiana poems recited and Indiana songs sung. In the consolidated high schools, extra preparations were made. The Hunting- ton schools observed Indiana Products Day on February 22, as did other organizations in the city.
In the regular school work, books on Indiana history were read and discussed, and local history was stressed throughout the year. Centennial emphasis was also placed in the music
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and art work. The Centennial spirit permeated the graduat- ing exercises.
The county celebration took place May 2 to 6, at Hunting- ton, May 5 being the anniversary of the creation of the county. It was primarily educational and constructive. One day was given to athletic events, drills and the reproduction of scenes in Indiana history, before thousands of people, gathered at the fair grounds. But the center of observance was at the court house, which for the time was turned into a veritable museum, in which the whole county had a part.
One department consisted of such special features as the reproduction of the old Indian trading post which was lo- cated at the junction of the Little and Wabash rivers near Huntington; a remarkably accurate reproduction of early Huntington and the Wabash canal, with boat in transit through the locks; a pioneer schoolhouse of Huntington, pioneer homes and surroundings; a model in one-third scale of an old stage coach. Many other highly creditable repro- ductions were contributed from over the county, the work of the students themselves.
The part of the exhibit in which Chairman Scudder was of right particularly proud was the display of the written productions of the school children of the county on all phases of local history, industrial, biographical, educational and re- ligious. The best of these were later collected into seven , bound volumes and placed in the public library.
Each evening of the celebration a musical program con- sisting of Indiana and patriotic selections, was given in the court house by the school children. One day was given over to old settlers who fairly revelled in the atmosphere of their youth. During the week, the important historic spots in the county, which had been picked out by the D. A. R., were marked with national flags.
In summary, the general content and spirit of the Hunt- ington celebration may be given in the letter of commenda- tion addressed to Mr. Scudder by the Director of the Commission.
Mr. J. M. Scudder:
Since my most pleasant visit to Huntington Saturday, I have been thinking of your wonderful Centennial Exhibit, and am more and more impressed with what I saw. And not merely with what I saw, but even more with the spirit and work involved behind the exhibit. I wish
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to commend and congratulate you and your efficient helpers most heart- ily, on behalf of the Commission, for the splendid way in which you have risen to the Centennial occasion.
In the first place, you worked out your observance in entire keep- ing with the high purposes of the Commission. It was primarily edu- cational, historical and patriotic, those things being eliminated which would have cheapened it. In brief you made a clear distinction between a fitting Centennial celebration and a street fair or carnival. You took sufficient time to work out your plans thoroughly and in a way to make your work educational in the highest sense. Your school children and young people thereby got a vision of what Centennial really means and will be better citizens accordingly. The teachers of Huntington County deserve great credit for their effective cooperation toward this end.
In the second place, you made it a county and not a mere county seat observance, by seeing that the various townships were adequately rep- resented. You thus carried out our ideal of a representative county celebration.
As I think of the relic room under the supervision of Mr. H. M. Purviance, the department of "Huntington County Artists" headed by Miss Alice Gray, the individual townships and rural school exhibits, managed by Professor F. A. Loew and Miss Etta Walters, the "Better Health Exhibit" arranged by Mrs. Mae Baker, the reproductions of such historic scenes and objects as the Old Trading Post, the Wabash and Erie Canal, the old stage coach, the log schoolhouse and log cabins, the marking of historic places of town and county, under the leadership of Mrs. Barnhart and others, the exhibits of 1916 handicraft supervised by W. A. Shock and Miss Mary Grayston, and last but not least the biographical, historical and descriptive manuscripts on Indiana and Huntington county supervised by Miss Mary Cox, I wish again to thank you and all concerned for having in the first county Centennial cele- bration set a standard which all other counties may well emulate.
Very sincerely yours,
W. C. WOODWARD.
Huntington County did not close its Centennial account with a successful celebration of its own. When the plans were announced for County Day, the same zeal and determina- tion were shown which had characterized the work in the spring. Miss Dilla K. Stults, was given charge of the con- test for the selection of the young lady to represent Hunting- ton and aroused such interest that the largest vote in the State was polled, an average of a vote from one out of every ten citizens in the county. As a result, Miss Mary Furste, who received the highest vote, was declared Miss Indiana, with the honor of leading the Cavalcade, and the second con- testant, Miss Elva Summers, rode as the representative of Huntington County.
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Proud of its success, Huntington rallied to its colors in such a way that it led the procession on County Day, figur- atively as well as literally. It costumed elegantly its young lady representatives, each of whom had as mount a white Arabian horse. It furnished a beautiful decorated float and was the only county in the State to be led by its own band. A large delegation of Huntington County people accompanied its representatives. No county participated so heartily, and the honors of the day, following the consistent work at home, were well deserved.
JACKSON
Thanks to the diligence and loyal interest of County Chair- man T. A. Mott, Superintendent of the Seymour schools, and to the hearty cooperation accorded him, the Centennial spirit prevailed very largely throughout Jackson County. Indeed the county as a whole seemed to grasp the true meaning and significance of the Centennial better than did its principal city, as will appear.
Chairman Mott effected a complete county organization by townships. It was more than a mere paper organization, too, as is indicated by the fact that it gathered monthly to discuss and plan the work. As a result of such faithful effort the Chairman reported that each township in the county had a school celebration and several conducted observances of wider scope. In fact the school celebrations, so called, were largely community affairs, in which patrons and friends took an act- ive part. Collections of relics were made, and reminiscences were told by early residents. Much interest was manifested in papers on various phases of local history, on which hun- dreds of essays were written by school children, according to Mr. Mott. Sometimes, as in the joint celebration of Cortland school and Hamilton township, more ambitious efforts were attempted, and scenes from Indiana history were portrayed. Appropriate addresses were made on these occasions, the County Chairman himself responding to frequent calls.
The Medora and Carr townships schools, in connection with those of Medora, combined the Centennial observance and their graduating exercises. In the afternoon an address on "One Hundred Years of History," and in the evening one on "Uncle Sam" were delivered by Rev. L. E. Brown, of Con- nersville.
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Brownstown, the county seat, prefaced its Chautauqua week with features embodying the Centennial idea. A two- day observance was held at Vallonia when a Bedford stone memorial marker was placed with due ceremony on the site of old Fort Vallonia. An interesting incident connected therewith was the presence of an old man aged ninety years whose parents were married within the fort and who himself had been within its enclosure.
As an early and concrete expression of this widespread interest in local and state history, the Jackson County His- torical Society was established while the Centennial year was still young.
The climax of county observance was planned to take place at Seymour, where a week of celebration was announced. Un- fortunately for the good record of the county, the enterprise was apparently turned over too largely to the management of those in whose minds a Centennial observance was little more than an excuse for bringing people to town to gape at Madam Pontifix and her high diving horses and dogs, the Cycling Whirlwind, and other "high class" attractions which come in the "too numerous to mention" class. The veil of oblivion may well be thrown over much of the so-called week's celebra- tion of September 11 to 16.
Better far had the observance been restricted to the beau- tiful pageant presented at Shield's Park on the afternoon of September 16. Original in arrangement, colorful and ap- pealing in presentation, it was a thing of beauty and impres- siveness, an eloquent disclaimer of the garish and the vulgar as the true embodiment of the Centennial spirit. It was arranged by Miss Kate F. Andrews, principal of the Seymour High School, assisted by Arthur I. Beriault as pageant di- rector, and by T. A. Mott as Chairman of the Pageant Committee.
Nearly every county pageant contributed a distinctive fea- ture. That of Jackson County at Seymour deftly introduced the Shakesperean motif in keeping with the tercentenary an- niversary by an opening scene of merrymaking on the village green just outside the walls of London and in the vicinity of the Shakespeare Playhouse. As the scene progresses, Shake- speare, led by imagination and followed by his creations, goes to take possession of the theatre, while at the same time the
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English Puritans and French traders, who have been in the background, move toward the West and the new land of Amer- ica. This gave excellent opportunity to introduce the May Day revelers, offset by the staid Puritans, and to present the background of American and thus of Indiana history.
The pageant, cast on broad lines, was national and state in character, was wholly a pantomime production, and par- took largely of the nature of a spectacle as distinguished from a pageant portraying the life and aspiration of the commu- nity. The history of the State was presented in each of the three centuries, on the background of American history, with effectively arranged symbolic interludes. About 500 people took part.
Mrs. Earl Cox represented Jackson County in the Centen- nial Cavalcade at Indianapolis on County Day.
On December 11, the schools of Seymour held exercises in recognition of the Centennial.
JASPER
The Centennial annals of Jasper County are soon writ- ten. On a visit to Rensselaer before the school year opened in 1915, the Director of the Commission secured Chas. R. Dean, Superintendent of the city schools and teacher of his- tory, as County Chairman. Organization of the county was never energetically undertaken, and the Commission is not inclined to hold the people of Jasper wholly responsible for the fact that the Centennial idea did not make greater head- way. There is no apparent reason why aggressive and cap- able leadership would not have met the splendid results achieved in other counties-in the adjacent county of White for instance.
In the schools, recognition of the anniversary was given in the setting apart of March 10 by County Superintendent Ernest Lamson as a day of observance in both town and rural schools. Mr. Lamson published and circulated a pamphlet of suggestions and information relative to the program of the day, with a short list of reference books on Indiana history. Special programs are reported from Remington and Rens- salaer.
The women's clubs of the county evinced some interest in the Centennial in incorporating to a greater or less extent the
11-15997
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Indiana motif in their programs. The D. A. R. planted a tree in Milroy Park, Rensselaer, as a memorial to the pioneer men and women of Jasper County.
The so-called County Celebration was held in the high school auditorium of Rensselaer on the evening of October 21. Short addresses were made on early life and history of Jasper County, and an address given on Vocational Education in In- diana by Miss Adelaide Steele Baylor of the State Depart- ment of Public Instruction. A set of lantern slides on early Indiana history was exhibited.
JAY
Like its next door neighbor, Randolph, a near-governor apparently tended to absorb a good deal of Jay County's Cen- tennial interest and enthusiasm. In August, 1915, Dr. W. D. Schwartz, of Portland, accepted the county chairmanship, manifesting no little interest in the cause. But though some commendable things were accomplished, so far as a real county observance is concerned, Jay County never arrived.
The movement never took hold of the county at all. No county organization was effected and there was not even any- thing approaching an organized or concerted work in the schools, which was a rare lapse in Indiana in 1916.
The one thing which Jay County or Portland did well, was the putting on of an Indiana Products Day Dinner, Febru- ary 22nd. Indeed the office of the State Commission awarded the "Up-State" honors to Portland for the following most original, unique and Centennially flavored menu :
1816-MENU-1916 Printed by Hoosiers on Indiana Paper
GEORGE WASHINGTON CHERRY SALPICON Grown on Jay County Trees Tecumseh Tomato Bisque Hot Tippecanoe Wafers Corydon Celery Hearts Pickles from Old Vincennes Smothered Chicken Giblet Gravy
POTATOES AU GRATIN Grown on Jay County Soil "Pride of the Wabash" Corn Souffle Canned by Hood Hot Rolls Currant Jelly
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COMBINATION SALAD Contains Something from Each Township in Jay County Cheese Wafers Indiana Brick Cream
Frozen in 1916 Riley Cake Hoosierized Coffee Centennial Mints
Much of the success of the dinner was due to the zeal of H. B. Grimsley, the energetic young secretary of Portland's Commercial Club.
Jay County was represented on County Day of the State celebration by Miss Topin Shank, daughter of the Union Cav- alry General, J. P. C. Shank, riding in the Centennial Caval- cade. The county is to be commended for arranging so appro- priate and patriotic a representation.
Although not wholly Centennial projects, few counties have left more substantial permanent memorials than Jay. Early in the year, $20,000 was raised for a county hospital, and work begun on a fine new court house. The laying of the corner-stone of the latter was made the occasion of a belated "Centennial Celebration and Jubilee Sales Event" with ap- parent emphasis on the "sales" end, as fostered by the thrifty business interests. This began October 28 and was strung out till November 6, so as to incorporate Hallowe'en and the presidential election !
JEFFERSON
Historic Jefferson made a poor start in the Centennial field. It was not until late in the year that a leader was se- cured, so that her possibilities were greatly limited. After H. H. Cope accepted the chairmanship, however, good progress was made, a very creditable celebration resulting.
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