This week in Indiana’s history …
1884 – William “Will” Cuppy was born in Auburn. He graduated from Auburn High School and went on to the University of Chicago. A talented writer, he became a popular humorist and literary critic, remembered best for his satires on nature and history. His best-known work is The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody.
1889 – President Benjamin Harrison returned home to Indianapolis to help lay the cornerstone for the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument on the Circle. While he was in the city, he spoke at Tomlinson Hall to Civil War veterans who had been members of his 70th Indiana Regiment.
1928 – Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly was on stage at the Lyric Theater in Indianapolis. The champion pole sitter had recently completed a 100-hour stay at the top of the flagpole of the nearby Denison Hotel. Flagpole sitting, a fad in the 1920s, required the participant to perch atop a pole for hours and sometimes days.
1929 – The Paramount Theater opened in Anderson. Designed by famous architect John Eberson, the lavish interior is in the style of a Spanish village. The theater, with its original Page Pipe Organ, is still a popular venue for movies, stage shows, and social events. There were once over 100 Eberson movie palaces in America. Only 12 remain. Two have survived in Indiana: The Paramount in Anderson and the Embassy in Fort Wayne.
1969 – Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb was on hand for the opening of the 117th Indiana State Fair. The star-studded entertainment program included Bob Hope, Glen Campbell, Anita Bryant, The King Family, and the hit recording group The Association. General admission tickets for the shows ran from 50 cents to $1.50.
2014 – History was made as Judge Loretta Rush was sworn in as Indiana’s first female Supreme Court Chief Justice. Appointed to the Court by Governor Mitch Daniels, she succeeded Brent Dickson as Chief Justice. She had earlier served 14 years as a judge in Tippecanoe County.