Collett Park

Josephus Collett had a busy lifestyle building railroads and making money. In 1883, he donated something to Terre Haute that made a difference in the community. 21.1 acres of wooded land about a mile east of the Wabash River on the city’s north side. More than a century after Collett died, the public park that carries his name is on its seventh generation.

The Action Track

The Action Track is a popular dirt-racing track in Terre Haute. There have been many professional race car drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Pancho Carter, Mario Andretti and Tony Stewart. The track was designed originally for horse racing back when it first opened in 1952. Currently its used for quarter midget association and drag racing. Anton “Tony” Hulman leased the land for the races. The track was operated by the Fraternal Order of Police for its first 20 years. This is a mainstay in Terre Haute due to the fact that it has been around for so many years and it’s something different and exciting for people to attend.

Square Donuts

935 Wabash Avenue is a popular place for donut eaters since 1967. With the custom cutter, Square Donuts is able to turn 150 dozen round doughnuts into 350 dozen square doughnuts using the same amount of dough. There are four employees that have worked at this Square Donuts for more than 20 years. Rick Comer is the third generation owner now. His father retired in 2004 after working 48 years. Rick’s grandmother, Eva Monkhouse, started the family business nearly a half century ago. The MSNBC did a special on this Square Donuts and interviewed a regular. Tom Keller is a businessman from Chicago. His business brings him to Terre Haute often enough to be a regular at Square Donuts. “I’ll tell our drivers, and they’ll say they’ve never heard of Square Donuts. They like them. They are very unique.” This is a different kind of obscure fame for Terre Haute as being the only place in America to find square doughnuts. Square Donuts has been recognized by the “odd-but-good eateries” for PBS and the HollyEats.com web site. Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC “Countdown” show interviewed Square Donuts. I have tried these delicious treats in the past and I must say that they are better than the average doughnut. You can’t beat the price of $4.50 for a dozen.

National Road Heritage Trail

The trail starts at what was built in 1935 as a highway rest area along U.S. 40. The Twigg Rest Area closed in 1976, and was reopened in 2001 as a spot to start and stop on the trail. It stretches 6.8 miles of asphalt from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, past the ISU’s football stadium, through Indiana State University and ends at the corner of 4^th street and Cherry. To me, jogging is a stress reliever and the National Road Heritage Trail is a complete 180 world compared to what Terre Haute has now become. I highly recommend everyone to experience this trail.

Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr

Terre Haute would not be what it is today, if it was not for Tony Hulman. While he was alive, he invested a lot of money in to the town of Terre Haute. Some of his major accomplishments include Hulman Links, the Hulman International Airport, the Hulman Center, Hulman Memorial Student Union, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the Vigo County Historical Museum, and the Clabber Girl Building. His most famous accomplishment has to be the creation of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He was born February 11, 1901 and he died October 27, 1977. He seemed to be in good health, he was fit and active for his age. His cause of death was heart failure, he ended up dying during surgery.

Hulman Links Golf Course

Hulman Links golf course is one of the Terre Haute’s attractions. Built in 1978 by the architect David Gill; Large funds and land was donated by Terre Haute’s Famous Anton “Tony” Hulman. Its tree-lined fairways make the course a championship layout. The slope rating for Hulman Links is a whopping 144. Hulman Links has been recognized for hosted several major events such as the Indiana State Open, Indiana PGA Match Play Championships and the NCAA Division III Men’s Finals. The following list is some of the accomplishments Hulman Links is known for in the golf world:

Golf Digest- 8^th “Best Public Course” in Indiana, 1996.

Golf Digest- Ranked 61^st nation-wide “Top 75 Public Courses” in 1990.

Golf Digest- Ranked 1^st nation-wide “Top 75 Public Courses” in 2009.

Golf Digest- Ranked 10^th “Best in State” public course for 1997 and 1998.

Indiana Business Magazine- 6^th toughest public golf course in 2006.

Birney Safety Cars of Terre Haute.

In December of 1918, Terre Haute went under a little reconstruction of public transportation. In December of 1919, almost all of the city services was safety-car mileage. What use to be 26 transportation cars, was now replaced with 53 up to date safety cars. The old cars could only travel at 8 or 9 miles an hour but these new Birney Safety Cars traveled at a 10 to 11 mph pace. Allowing people to get to their destination faster than before. In the above photo, the man you see standing in the middle of the road, at the bottom of the picture, is actually a traffic officer. This officer stopped vehicles traveling on Seventh Street to give the right-of-way to the Birney streetcars on Wabash Avenue. Some of the stores on left side of the photo are: United Cigar Stores, Patsy Mahaney's Candies, the Crescent Theater, and Doctor Frank Anshutz, dentist.

Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown

Mordecai Brown lost most of his right index finger in a piece of farming equipment. Not long after, he fell while chasing a rabbit and broke his other fingers. The result was a bent middle finger, a paralyzed little finger, and a stump where the index finger used to be.

Mordecai led the Terre Haute Tots to the first ever Three-I Championship, posting a 23-8 record. Mordecai joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1903. After joining the Cubs in 1904, Mordecai's record was 15-10 and his ERA was 1.86. Brown still holds the Cubs record for most shutouts, since 1900, with 48 and lowest career ERA of 1.80. In addition, Brown is the Cubs record holder for most wins a single season, with 29, in 1908. Another record He holds for the Cubs is the lowest ERA in a single season, with 1.04, in 1906. Mordecai's greatest years was with the Cubs from 1904 to 1912. He won 186 games and had six straight seasons, from 1905 to 1910, while posting 20 or more wins. During that time he led the Cubs to two World Series Championships.

His best year was 1906 when his winning percentage was .813. He pitched nine shutouts that year, and his 1.04 ERA is baseball's third best in a single season. The Cubs won a remarkable 116 games in 1906 but lost the World Series to their cross-town rival, the White Sox.

In 1919, Brown went back to Terre Haute to manage his former semipro team. Mordecai later owned and operated a gas station in Terre Haute.

Charles "Bud" Taylor is considered to be one of the toughest fighters to step into the ring. Charles became a professional fighter at the age of 17. Don't let his 5'6", 120 pound frame fool you. Bud Taylor fought 163 times in 11 years. He grew up here in Terre Haute and was a well known fighting machine. At the International Boxing Hall of Fame website, I found Charles "Bud" Taylor with a amazing record of 71 wins, 23 losses, 6 draws, 63 no decisions and 37 of his wins were by knockout. He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005. Charles Taylor was a fighter that nobody wanted to face. When people say, big things come in small packages, Charles Taylor now comes to mind.

Emil Bildilli

Emil Bildilli was a Major League pitcher for just five years. He signed with the Monessen, Pennsylvania team in 1936. Emil played for the Terre Haute Tots in the Three I League finishing with a 7-7 record in 92 innings. Emil was also with Johnstown Johnnies in the Middle Atlantic League where he finished 5-4 in 45 innings. Emil didn’t get his official Major League debut until 1937, when he was sold to St. Louis. His debut was a sad sight for everyone. Emil made it to the forth inning and was taken out after giving up 5 runs. Emil pitched in only 4 games that year with St. Louis, while giving up 12 runs. The St. Louis Browns then sent Emil to Springfield for the 1938 season to get some extra work in. Emil led the league with 185 strikeouts with a 3.07 ERA and an 18-4 record. The St. Louis Browns wanted Emil back in their rotation, but only got a 1-2 record in five games that season. In 1939, Emil pitched for San Antonio Missions. Having another great season with a 22-9 record. Emil pitched 287 innings that season with a 3.20 ERA.

The St. Louis brought him back for another go. Emil appeared in 28 games, with 11 starts and 17 relieving situations. His best performance was against the Yankees, throwing a two-hitter at Yankee Stadium. That 1940 season, Emil was 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA. The Browns sent Emil Bildilli to Toledo to play for the Mud Hens, posting a 5-9 record.

After that season Emil decided to quit baseball and take a job working for the Muncie Indiana Fire Department. Emil continued to play semi-professional baseball on his days off. But on September 15^, 1946, Emil fell asleep while driving and sideswiped a tree and plowed through a fence. Suffering from multiple injuries, Emil died the next day, on his 34^th birthday. Emil was 4-8 in 41 games and a lifetime ERA of 5.84 in 148 innings pitched.

Gerstmeyer High School

Gerstmeyer High School was open from 1925 to 1971. Only having five principles in its 46 year span. The reason for the closing in 1971, was the consolidation between Gerstmeyer and Garfield high schools to start Terre Haute North Vigo High School. Gerstmeyer's mascot was a black cat and their school colors were black and orange. Below is a picture of Gerstmeyer's typewriting class in 1945.

The high school was located on Locust street where the IGA currently is. Looking up the address for Gerstmeyer High School, I noticed that 12th street used to run between the current IGA and Chauncey Rose Middle School. Chauncey Rose Middle School is on the corner of Locust and 13th, as well as a memorial of Gerstmeyer.

Gerstmeyer's gym burned down in 1930. The plan for a new gym was introduced in 1943, but was not built til 1950. Gerstmeyer shut down in 1971, and one year later, Chauncey Rose junior high school was built. Gerstmeyer was torn down except for the new gym, which is still used by the Chauncey Rose Middle School. The junior high school taught 7th, 8th, and 9th grades and was altered to 6th, 7th, and 8th grades when it was switched to middle school.

Memorial Stadium

Memorial Stadium is currently the home stadium for our Sycamore football and soccer teams. But Memorial Stadium was once a home for many minor league teams. Back in 1925, The Terre Haute Tots played the first game at the stadium and the last baseball game was played in 1956.

The inventions of the television and air conditioning allowed fans to watch the games in the comfort of their own homes, instead of being out in the dreadful weather conditions. The stadium was used for high school and college football and baseball teams, professional boxing, circuses, fireworks, ice skating and other small events.

Memorial Stadium transformed from a minor league baseball field to a football stadium for our Sycamores in 1967. Which would make Memorial Stadium the first intercollegiate field with AstroTurf nation wide. The only remaining parts of the baseball stadium is the outfield wall and the arches.

'100 year flood'

On June 7, 2008, 15 inches of rain fell in less than 12 hours causing one of the worst floods Terre Haute has seen. It had been over 100 years since the last flood in the area. Many homes and businesses were ruined; and roads were torn apart with large chunks missing. Many people were stuck sitting on their roofs while they were waiting for help because their house had been taken over by the water. Many houses in Terre Haute had around a foot of water inside them, which made them unsafe, causing many people to abandon their houses. The river looked like an ocean with the amount of flooding. Levees were breaking and this was causing even more flooding.

Many businesses were a tremendous help; these include the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the United Way. These places helped with food, clothing, housing, and even appliances to get their homes started again. There were 17 counties in Indiana that were declared a natural disaster area. The flood killed 200 people statewide and displaced over 200,000 people.

Indiana State Normal School

Indiana State Normal School was built in 1865 and opened in 1870. Normal School was created to train high school graduates to become teachers; while establishing standards or norms teaching.

Indiana State Normal School changed names is 1929 to the Indiana State Teachers College. Thirty-two years later they renamed the school to Indiana State College because they started offering more degrees other than teaching degrees. Four years after that the school was named Indiana State University to further expand their growing community.

Indiana State Normal School was destroyed by a fire on April 8, 1888. The fire was reported around 8:30 am and there were about 600 people inside the building at the time, due to classes just starting that day. The fire was very rampant destroying nearly everything in the building. The only pieces that were recovered were 13 microscopes, 3 physics pieces and a couple library books. There was only one day of classes missed because the community came together and allowed them in to their businesses to hold class. The community also gave money to help rebuild the damaged property.

ISU Baseball's First Reconstruction

Indiana State University's first baseball field was built in 1977. One reason for the build, was the convenience of a field closer to campus. The baseball team originally played at memorial stadium which is where the football stadium currently is. This made it undesirable for students to attend the games. Another reason for the newly built field was to provide the Sycamores with their own field, rather than sharing with other community based teams. The Sycamores first game on the new field was March 29, 1978.

The Field is named Bob Warn Field; named after the most successful coach ISU has had. Bob warm coached from 1976-2006. Bob Warn had a career record of 1,050 wins, 711 losses, and 9 ties.

Now it being 2010, the baseball team is finally getting the first reconstruction in 33 years. The work started around October of 2009 and should be completed before our first home game this season. The reconstruction consists of new locker rooms, new concessions, new grand stand bleachers from dugout to dugout behind home plate, along with new dugouts and infield turf. And even though the field is not completed yet, I have provided you with the most recent picture of the field.