Terre Haute

Tuesday afternoon we did push our way out of Grand Rapids south towards the Indiana border. We battled 25-30 mph winds with occasional strong gusts and watched our already meager miles per gallon plummet into single digits. Angry gray clouds flew by overhead. (We later learned that we had experienced a "weather bomb" where there is an intense low pressure system that generates tremendous winds, rain/snow!) 

The further south we went, the sunnier the skies became. About 80 miles out from Terre Haute, the long, straight, flat highway was encompassed by a vast, circular wind farm of huge, graceful, three-armed, white windmills steadily turning in the wind.

We arrived at Mandeville’s house after dark. They had even waited dinner for us!

Wednesday was a relaxed day with Teri. Saw a bit of Terre Haute again and walked the bike path where Peter’s memorial bench swing and plaque are located. It was a long wonderful walk with Lucy the dog straining out front of us in the autumn sunshine.

25. Indiana--The Crossroads of America/Hoosier State

From the internet….Where does the name Hoosier come from? The origins of Hoosier are rather obscure, but the most likely possibility is that the term is an alteration of hoozer, an English dialect word used to refer to anything unusually large. The first recorded instance of Hoosier meaning "Indiana resident" is dated 1826. Senses of the word recorded later in the Dictionary of Americanisms, included "a big, burly, uncouth specimen or individual; a frontiersman, countryman, rustic”. As a nickname, Hoosier was but one of a variety of disparaging terms arising in the early 19th century for the inhabitants of particular states. For example, Texans were called Beetheads, Alabamans were Lizards, Nebraskans were Bug-eaters, South Carolinians were Weasels, and Pennsylvanians were Leatherheads. People in Missouri might have had it worst of all-they were called Pukes. Originally, these names were probably taken up by people living in neighboring states, but belittled residents adopted them in a spirit of defiant pride, much as American colonists turned the derisive term Yankee into a moniker for their spirit of rebellion. Today, most of these frontier nicknames have disappeared from the landscape. A few like Okie still exist with much of their original animus. Others survive as nicknames for the sports teams of state universities-the North Carolina Tarheels, the Ohio Buckeyes, and so on-fighting words only on the playing field or court.      Well, I found it interesting..............