Some Great Things About My State (Or Regional Area) Are...

A thread on another forum got me thinking about what makes Hoosierville (AKA Indiana) so great. I figured we can all post about what makes our state or regional area great.

For Indiana, the number one thing must be The Indianapolis 500, the greatest spectacle in racing. Then of course, you have John Dillinger, who some would consider a modern-day Robin Hood. We have Indiana Limestone, which has been used for several important buildings including, but not limited to: The Pentagon, Biltmore estate, the Empire State Building, The New Yankee Stadium as well as several OTHER states capitol buildings. Larry Bird, one of the greatest basketball players of all time came from a little town called French Lick. Only in Indiana can you say the words French Lick & be referring to a town & not something naughty! Abraham Lincoln spent his childhood from age 7 to 21 in southern Indiana. James Dean & Karl Malden came from Indiana. One of the most famous musicians, Michael Jackson came from Gary. James Whitcomb Riley, Jim Davis & Ernie Pyle all came from Indiana.

I could go on.

What or who makes your state or regional area famous?

Thanx!!!
Charlie
Want to

Edna St Vincent Millay was born and raised here.

The granite to build the original Penn Station was quarried on an island across the bay from here.

Andrew Wyeth used to stand on the corner eating a hot dog here.

Clyde Sukeforth, the scout/coach who signed Jackie Robinson, was a blueberry farmer just down the road from here.

President Roosevelt came ashore here after signing the Atlantic Charter.

The World's Biggest Lobster Cooker is located here.

Here are a few from Arkansas..

In the actor group you can go from "Broncho Billy" Anderson [Little Rock], Dick Powell [Mountain View],Gail Davis [Little Rock], "Gil" Gerard [Little Rock], Ben Murphy [Jonesboro], Tess Harper [Mammoth Spring], Mary Steenburgen [Newport], Billy Bob Thornton [Hot springs] and Alan Ladd [Hot Springs] among many more.

Some famous authors ...

John Gould Fletcher [Little Rock], Charles Portis [El Doraldo], Laurell Kaye Hamilton [Heber Springs],and John Grisham [Jonesboro] .

Famous Musicians...

Johnny Cash [Kingsland], Glenn Campbell [Delight], Shirley Brown [West Memphis], Al Green [Forrest City], Patsy Montana [Beaudry], Ne-Yo [Camden], Charlie Rich [Colt] and "Levon" Helm [Elaine] among many many others.

Sports figures...

Lou Brock [El Dorado], "Bear" Bryant [Fordyce], "Dizzy" Dean [Lucas], Sonny Liston [Sand Slough], Barry Switzer [Crossett] and DeAngelo Williams [from my home town WYNNE]

Political figures...

Bill Clinton [Hope], "Mike" Huckabee [Hope]

Military figures...

Douglas MacArthur [Little Rock], Carlos Hathcock [my first cousin, Little Rock]

Arkansas Social figures...

Daisy Lee Gatson Bates [Huttig], Eldridge Cleaver [Wabbaseka], Joycelyn Elders [Schaal]

Others of note....

"Bill" Doolin [Johnson County], Amarillo Slim [Johnson], Rex Humbard [Little Rock], William Thomas Dillard [Mineral Spring] Charles Kemmons Wilson [Osceola]

South side of Chicago! Nothing else needs to be said. South Side is the Best Side!

We have a baseball team that has won a World Series in the last century!

Famous natives to my area (south suburbs) include Chad Smith (drummer for RHCP), rapper Lupe Fiasco, Eddy Curry (of the Miami Heat), Nelsan Ellis ("Lafayette" in True Blood).

One thing I found out recently, the novel and movie(s) "So Big" were inspired by famed residents of my hometown (South Holland, IL). There was a 1932(?) movie that starred Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck!

Eastern North Carolina has the best bar-b-que in the entire world. To say more would be gilding the lily.

AF

World's most persistent cloud cover.

But the scenery here (Puget Sound region) is truly spectacular, on those rare sunny days when you can actually see it.

another great thing about indiana is we have freindship indiana home of the nmlra spring and fall shoot (google it people ive got my sat buzz rocking and am unsure of how much typeing i have left) and not least we have jimmy hoffa born in brazil indiana and for all we know could be buried there :eeek: plus the brickyard 400 the nhra summer nationals plus we have the show the middle based on us:eusa_clap ooo by the way i hail from henry county the county that the novel and movie raintree county is based on and the american beauty rose was invented here

I have a very poor attitude regarding the state I live in. How can you be proud of a state that boasts more former governors in prison than any other?

But, my attitude towards my home town is completely different. I really do love my home town of Rushville, Illinois.

It has roughly the same population it did 30 years ago, 3300. It has a beautiful down town square. I wish it had a little more business, but when you can drive an hour and be in a city that has every store you might want, what can we expect? The brick streets around the square were recently refurbished, and it looks great.
This is the gazebo / band shell at the center of out little square. Each summer, the community band plays 4 concerts in it.

We have excellent White-tail deer hunting. Just down the hill at the Illinois River there is ample duck hunting and coon hunting. Fishing is pretty good, but there is the chance an Asian Carp may jump out of the water and hit you upside the head.

We have a celebrity in our midst, our very own Dr. Russell Dohner has been on the Today show numerous times - in addition to other nation-wide TV shows.
This is him from a piece in People magazine.

In history...the town played host to Abraham Lincoln. He came to do some lawyering, but later to do some politicking. It's my understanding that a group of rowdy women folk hung out of a window, within earshot of the candidate and his audience, and yelled jeers and so forth.

The local newspaper was started by some enterprising folks who left Rushville to go to another Illinois town to start up a paper. You may have heard of the Chicago Tribune and the Scripps family. The local hospital and public park/golf course both have ties to the multi-media multi-millions family.

This year's Miss Illinois grew up here. She was officially representing a different city when she won the state-wide competition, but this is where she calls home. The experts say going with a dress that isn't white will cost a Miss America contestant. I don't know if that's true, but the red dress looked pretty good. I can admit that I watched more of the pageant than perhaps ever before.

I could go on and on, but the last thing I am compelled to share is Smiles Day. Smiles Day is an event that began in 1919 as an official welcome home to the young men who had been serving in WWI. Today it has been combined with the high school homecoming, but it still has a very patriotic feel. At the first Smiles Day the mayor made an official proclamation that any adult oberved to not have a smile on their face, would be fined $1. Here's a shot from 2009 when all veterans were encouraged to walk the parade route as collective "Grand Marshalls".

I don't know what you can say about my town...

- Melbourne has the largest tramway/streetcar system in the Southern Hemisphere. Established in 1885, the streetcars were originally cable-pulled trolleys, much like the ones in San Francisco.
...but the public transport still sucks.

- Melbourne has the largest of many things in the Southern Hemisphere. The S.H. not being very big. Other largest things include the annual Melbourne Pen Show (every November), largest residential tower, and largest railway station, I believe.

- Down the road from Melbourne at Fort Napean, the coastal artillery cannons fired off the first Allied shots of any nation, for both the First AND Second World Wars. Despite the fact that both wars started on the other side of the world, and electronic communications by telegraph were relatively slow at the time.

- In the 1950s, Melbourne was used to film a movie about the End of the World. The director picked Melbourne because it was so sleepy and quiet and nothing much happened around here.
...Sixty years later, not much has changed.

- Melbourne boasts a significant number of grand Victorian buildings. The State Library, the State Parliament, the Mint, the main railway station, the Windsor Hotel, and the General Post Office. All funded, directly, or indirectly, from the 1851 Gold Rush.

- During the Victorian era, Melbourne was, at one time, more productive and profitable than London. A visiting writer coined the term "Marvellous Melbourne"...which the city still uses to this day.

- An easy way to remember the north-south streets in the center of town, going from left to right:

The SPENCER family, along with KING / WILLIAM and QUEEN / ELIZABETH, took their SWAN(ston) to RUSSELL'S / EXPEDITION on SPRING Street.

The state I reside in the few weeks a year I am back in the US is Texas. The greatest thing about it is its Texas. If you live here and love the place you know what that means. From a long term Californian who never looked back.