Larry Bird

The other day in class, we were discussing ways to enhance Indiana State's publicity and increase our fundraising. We discussed inviting Larry Bird to campus and promoting his legacy. The idea behind this was creating a strong relationship with Larry Bird so he would help the university with its financial situation. So, I started thinking of ways to "Larry Birdize" Indiana State and the community in general.

During Larry Bird's college years, he lived in a house across the street from where my grandmother lives now. I thought it would be a good idea to make it a tourist attraction. On Saturday, I went to Larry Bird's old college house, but what I found was nothing. That's right. His college house, were he lived when he was a superstar at ISU, was torn down. Above is a picture of where Larry Bird's home used to be.

Wiley High School

In 1967 , my mom graduated from Wiley High School. Do you recognize this building? Have you ever seen it around town? The answer is no you have not. A few years after my mom graduated, her high school was torn down and replaced with the Vigo County Public Library. When I was little, my mom told me stories about going to school and walking to McDonalds across the street for lunch. She also used to walk to O'Days restaurant for lunch. From the way Mom described it, O'Days would remind me of the restaurant in the movie Greece. It had booths, juke boxes, and milkshakes. The Goody Shop was another restaurant she went to during lunch, which is now the Ohio Building. This place was more like a cafeteria. It would remind me of MCL. The Waffle House was also in downtown Terre Haute. This was a nice place for students to go during lunch because they could get a big lunch for only a $1 or $2. Now, none of that exists. While the Vigo County Public Library is very nice, it is disappointing to see all of my mom's memories from high school be only that, a memory. The only remains from Wiley High School is the top of the school's building which is located in front of the library.

"Horsing Around" in Terre Haute

A couple of years ago, the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute created a fundraiser that captured the attention of the entire community. Portions of the fundraiser still exist today. Throughout town, there are several unique fiber glass colts. For $2000, businesses and organizations within the community could sponsor a colt. For $3000, businesses could buy the colt. Each colt around town was painted by a local artist. The colts created a lot of attention with children and adults. Today, the colts still occupy businesses around town.

College life in Terre Haute

Indiana State University (ISU) accounts for a large portion of Terre Haute's population and employment, not to mention its initial purpose, that of educating students. Many people, along with students, criticize ISU. Some say Indiana State is a bad school, and others say ISU stands for "I screwed up." Recently, Indiana State's enrollment has been dropping which has led to less government funding for the university. I think ISU's enrollment is falling because of the university's bad reputation. If students, faculty/staff, and the community change the way they talk and think, ISU's reputation might increase. This situation would cause more students to attend the university, resulting in more government funding. Indiana State University is not a bad school. It is actually quit the opposite. In order to fix the enrollment problem, we must fix the public relations problem first.

Getting Started

During our first day of class, we discussed some of Terre Haute's interesting facts. I am from Terre Haute, and I have lived here my entire life. Therefore, I already knew most of the information. Terre Haute has had its rise and demise. It used to be a city of scandal and invention. Currently, Terre Haute has a law that prohibits a certain amount of women from living together. This law was initiated from a time when Terre Haute had many brothels. There were several on first and second streets, close to Indiana State University's Campus.

Terre Haute is also the home of the Coca-cola bottle and Clabber Girl Baking company. Clabber Girl now has a deli and a museum, it is interesting and the food is good.

As we discussed in class, many historic buildings have been torn down in the area. An example of this is the Terre Haute House. This was a huge, and very beautiful hotel. However, a few years ago it was torn town and replaced with the Hilton Hotel. There was also an orphan home on 25th and Wabash streets. Now, Starbucks takes its place.

Terre Haute seems to have several "owners" as well. For example, the Hulmans. They have a lot of money and property in Terre Haute.