Local traditions and culture in Indiana

The Bill Monroe Memorial Beanblossom Bluegrass Festival is the world's oldest, continuous bluegrass festival! Big names in bluegrass travel from all over to participate in a week of live music, food, and fun. The music starts in the early afternoon and carries on until midnight. Many of the stars have made it big performing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Friday night the festival even has a sunset jam session where anyone can bring their instrument and join in the musicmaking fun. I would say this festival is a MUST SEE as it takes place in Beanblossom, the Bluegrass capitol of the world and is a really unique look at southern Indiana.

Indiana limestone, also called Bedford limestone or Salem limestone, is the highest quality of limestone found in the United States. It is a type of rock primarily composed of calcium carbonate that was formed over millions of years as marine life accumulated and decomposed at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered the Midwest during the Mississippian Period.

Nowadays, the most productive area for quarrying Indiana limestone is between Bloomington and Bedford in Monroe and Lawrence counties. There are currently nine active quarries that take out 2,700,000 cubic feet (76,456 cubic meters) of limestone per year.

Limestone is mostly used on the exterior of buildings. Indiana limestone is used in construction across the United States, and covers such notable buildings as the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, the Rockefeller Center, and Yankee Stadium in New York City; the Pentagon, the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum, and numerous other public buildings in Washington, D.C.; and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It was also used extensively to rebuild Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

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This is one of the largest concentrations of covered bridges in the world. At one time, Pennsylvania and New England had more, by they've lost many. Today, Parke County, Indiana has nearly 20 wooden covered bridges still standing. Many are still open to road traffic.

While most of Burr Arch designs, there are a sampling of other styles, Kings Post, Queens Post and Howe Truss.

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the State Motto is: Crossroads of America

the state tree is: the tulip tree

the state bird is: the cardinal

Indiana has the nickname "The Hoosier State" (hoo is anglo-saxon for hill or large, so a hoozer is a hill person or a large person)

The State Flag has 19 stars (13 original states and 5 next states and one large star for Indiana) and a torch (enlightenment)

The State Seal: woodsman chopping a tree; bison on plains; sunset over the hills.... these are all figures of the Northwest Territory of which Indiana was a part

You got it! I never saw Port Tenderloin on a menu (that I could remember) until we came to Indiana. Every restaurant has it. I hear that it is common south of the Ohio River, which means it should be common in southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and southern Illinois. (Central Missouri based on some old friends who said southern Missouri was more nothern and central Missouri was really the south).

Well, here in Indiana, Pork Tenderloin is everywhere. Try and find a restaurant that doesn't have it. Okay, I do know a few, but I can't afford to eat regularly in those places.

So If you're in Indiana, have a Port Tenderloin sandwich. Oh, that's right, I've not seen but a few ever ordered. But they're always on the menu.

On April 2nd 2006 many Hoosiers (Indiana residents) had to "spring ahead" and change their clocks for the first time in more than 30 years. Indiana was one of only three U.S. states (Hawaii and Arizona are the others) which did not follow the Spring ahead in April from "standard" to "daylight saving" time or Fall back in October from daylight saving to standard time. Most of Indiana, 77 counties, stayed on Eastern Standard Time (EST) while 10 counties were in the Central Standard Time Zone and observed daylight savings and 5 other counties that were in the Eastern Time Zone and observed daylight savings.

All this made it very confusing to travel or do business in Indiana and lawmakers, claiming that it hurt commerce, voted to change it so that all counties observe daylight savings. 18 counties are now on Central Standard Time and 74 are on Eastern but all of us observe the rather annoying practice of changing our clocks twice a year.

Those counties that are on Central Standard time are the ones closest to Chicago in Northwest Indiana and the ones closest to Louisville Kentucky both of which are on Central time.

Every year the Circle City turns the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument in the middle of the circle into a lighted Christmas tree and decorates the circle with toy soldiers and other festivities. This makes for a really romantic setting at which to sip hot chocolate at the South Bend Chocolate Company (on the circle), or catch a carriage ride, or just take a stroll.

One of the most beloved individuals in Indiana's history is the poet, James Whitcomb Riley who is known as the The Indiana Poet. He was inspired by Lockerbie Street in Indianapolis, and even wrote about it in one of his poems. I was also inspired by the historic districts found in Indianapolis, "Lockerbie Square" being one of the finest.

You are able to take a self-guided tour of the area where you will no doubt marvel at the wonderful restorations of the Queen Anne's, Vernacular Cottages, and Italianate architecture.

While touring the neighborhood, be sure to visit 528 Lockerbie Street to see the James Whitcomb Riley Home and Museum where you will be able to take a wonderful guided tour of the home and yard.
His home (where he was a paying guest of a friend for 20 years) was built in 1872 and is an Italianate style brick home.

The citizens of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana should feel proud of the push for saving the beautiful architecture for the generations to follow.