This week in Indiana’s history …
1833 – Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio. He became an attorney and moved to Indianapolis. He served in the Civil War and earned the rank of Brigadier General. In 1888, he waged a “front porch” campaign from his home on Delaware Street and was elected President of the United States.
1911 – Over 200 Statehouse workers enjoyed a watermelon feast hosted by State Treasurer William H. Vollmer. The Indianapolis Star reported 100 Knox County melons “bore the brunt of the attack.”
1933 – Dr. Dorothy C. Stratton was named the first full-time Dean of Women at Purdue University. She saw the enrollment of women increase from 500 to more than 1,400. Three modern female residence halls were built. During World War II, she was commissioned the first director of the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard.
1940 – Elwood, Ind., made national news as Wendell L. Willkie accepted the Republican nomination for President. Over 250,000 people crowded into Willkie’s hometown on a day that saw the temperature rise to 102. The Pennsylvania Railroad ran 29 extra trains that day. Willkie waged an energetic campaign but failed to prevent President Franklin D. Roosevelt from winning a third term in November.
1968 – Janis Joplin performed on the main stage of the ballroom at Indiana Beach in Monticello. The lead singer for a rock band called “Big Brother and the Holding Company,” she was still unknown to most of the audience. Her fame began to grow the next year at the music festival in Woodstock, N.Y.
1972 – The 1972 Indiana State Fair presented a wide variety of popular shows, automobile contests, animal competitions, and other entertainments. In live appearances, famous stars included David Cassidy, Mike Douglas, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Cash, Sonny Bono, and Cher Bono. Cher is the only one who is still alive these 50 years later.