Four giants of U.S. history make their grand return to Noblesville
(ABOVE, FROM LEFT) Sue Votry-Kundich shares Susan B. Anthony’s first name and her passion for women’s rights. When Anthony came to Noblesville in 1879, the local newspaper called her “the most talented and sprightly woman of the United States.” Alex Spearman, an actor with Freetown Village in Indianapolis, gave the same rousing speech that Frederick Douglass gave in Noblesville in 1880, standing before the crowd “not as a slave, but as a man, a man among men.” The great abolitionist orator returned to speak in October of 1884 with Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a crowd in Noblesville, including many Spanish War veterans who knew him as the leader of the Rough Riders. Gib Young of Huntington has been portraying Teddy for the last 20 years, including at the White House and Mount Rushmore. A “fun and non-partisan” crowd turned out to hear Harry S Truman when he stopped in Noblesville as part of his “whistle-stop campaign” for election in 1948. (Reporter photos by Amy Adams)
Last Saturday, the Hamilton County Historical Society and the Hamilton County Bicentennial Commission welcomed four individuals performing as women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, President Teddy Roosevelt, and President Harry S Truman to the Street Dance stage on the corner of 9th and Logan streets. All four past giants of U.S. politics have spoken at Noblesville at different times in history.
In honor of Hamilton County’s 200-year history, County Historian David Heighway, author of the book Hidden History of Hamilton County, Indiana, welcomed back to the Noblesville stage these four notable U.S. speakers. The stirring speeches moved many in the crowd.
