Wabash County Indiana

MARK BENNETT: Get out and see what the Valley has to offer

Nearly 200,000 people live in the Wabash Valley, the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Land Around the Haute, or whatever you want to call it. Any longtime resident has heard others complain about what this community lacks, and some of those gripes are valid. (No Waffle House or Dunkin’ Donuts? Seriously?) But how many of us — content, or ready to pack up — haven’t taken a sharp turn to get out of a rut and see new and different sides of this place we love to criticize? In the process, you might discover some of long-held stereotypes aren’t really true. Pay a (respectful) visit to a neighborhood or institution you tend to bad-mouth. If you think this region lacks unique eateries or entertainment, prove it. Consider this your Put Up Or Shut Up Tour of Summer 2011. Unchain yourself from the Internet, walk into the sunshine or the star light and get acquainted with your community, face-to-face. No, I’m not invoking the ultimatum of a former mayor — “There’s a bus leaving Terre Haute every 15 minutes.” Instead, we at the Trib-Star would like you to share your stories, photos and reflections of what you experienced. (Submit those by email to mark.bennett@ tribstar.com or features@ tribstar.com. Put the words “summer tour” in the message line.) Remember, it’s crucial to get a well-rounded view of the community. Use the check list below — “10 Things to Do This Summer to Get Closer to the Wabash Valley” — as your roadmap. (It’s not comprehensive, but a good starting point.) Afterward, with a well-informed opinion of the local shortcomings and attributes, you can offer constructive criticism. That’s the only real way to improve. While that tug-of-war continues, why not actually see the campus up close and personal? ISU schedules daily tours at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. that are open to the public. Among its must-see elements are the new Student Rec Center and the classic stained-glass rotunda ceiling in the former Fairbanks Memorial Library. (Contact the Office of Admissions at 237-2121.) Ivy Tech Community College, a busy place south of the city, offers tours, too. (Contact Becky Miller, executive director of resource development, at 298-2361 or rmiller@ivytech.edu.) If you’ve never strolled through the grounds of serene, tree-lined St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, do it. (Contact the Office of Admissions at 535-5106.

Wabash County Historical Museum Video or Fun for ... - Little Indiana

-History loving folks will enjoy the Wabash County Historical Museum .

For starters, it’s not so much looking at the same sort of display multiplied by the hundreds. Instead, there are many interactive features and unusual displays–less glass booths and loads more creativity.

You can get up close and personal to many of the items here. For example, there’s a rope you can pull to hear a train whistle, a switch to flip to light up the Wabash County Courthouse, since Wabash was the first electrically lighted city IN THE WORLD, and pick out a Wabash-related CD to play on the jukebox!

Well, I could go on and on about what an awesome museum this was (and I probably will in a post or two to come). The rotating monthly displays on the upper level make it even better! Instead, for now, I’ll let you check out my groovy video.

Wabash County, Indiana, Births from the records of Dr. Robert La Salle, Sr., Wabash County Health Officer

Wabash County, Indiana

Wabash County, Indiana, a record book for the ear marks of livestock

Wabash County Indiana, official farm plat book and directory

Wabash County, Indiana, plat book & index of owners

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