This week in Indiana’s history …
1871 – Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute. He graduated from high school in Warsaw and attended Indiana University. As a journalist, he interviewed many notables of the era, including Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison. As a novelist, he wrote of the changing social order in America. He is best known for the best-sellers Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy.
1904 – Hoosiers by the thousands made their way to the St. Louis World’s Fair for “Indiana Week.” The Indianapolis News “Newsboy Band” led the local delegation onto the grounds, followed by Governor Winfield Durbin and other state officials. The Big Four Railroad ran eight trains a day to the event. A round-trip ticket was $9.
1920 – Mary Bostwick of Indianapolis became the first woman in Indiana to serve on jury duty. She was also a newspaper reporter who pursued adventure of all kinds. She took part in balloon races and flew with barnstorming pilots. With 500 winner Howdy Wilcox at the wheel, she was the first woman to ride around the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (at 110 mph).
1939 – The Wizard of Oz premiered across the nation. Thousands of Hoosiers saw the movie for the first time at such theaters as Loew’s in Indianapolis, the Tivoli in Richmond, the Sipe in Kokomo, the Rivoli in Muncie, and the Logan in Logansport. It played at the Colfax in South Bend, where Wyman’s Department Store advertised an exact copy of Dorothy’s dress for $1.98. The ad said, “You can look like a movie star yourself!”
1955 – Two people were killed and dozens injured in a terrific explosion and fire at the Standard Oil Refinery in Whiting. The blast, felt up to 100 miles away, set 40 acres on fire and destroyed 67 storage tanks. Tons of debris went into the air and hundreds of area homes were damaged. Train cars and railroad tracks melted in the fire that burned for eight days.
2009 – Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Among the crew was pilot Kevin A. Ford from Montpelier, Ind. A graduate of Blackford High School in Hartford City and the University of Notre Dame, he served many roles at NASA, including that of commander of the International Space Station.