From a blog that I just came across.....making fun of Terre Haute....

WANTED: Passionate Sycamore Fanatics. That You?

Register NOW to join our community of die-hard Sycamore fans.

Register Log in
T

TJames

The JSW Level
A guy from Des Moines, Ron Maly, wrote this on his blog about Terre Haute last April....

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

I'm Glad Jake Kelly Likes Terre Haute, Ind.--Everybody Else Is Trying To Get Out Of the Place [Maybe Even the Mayor], But Jake Is Eager To Get There

I posted a message on Twitter about Jake Kelly, the former Iowa basketball player who has the appearance of a 15-year-old ninth-grader -- but has a killer Division I collegiate 3-point shot.

"I hope Jake Kelly likes it in Terre Haute, Ind.," I wrote. "I've been in Terre Haute a few times, and I don't want to go back. The place kind of reminds me of Stillwater, Okla."

After that, Keith Murphy of channel 13 in Des Moines wrote about how much he appreciated it that Kelly returned a call to him, and that Jake's commitment to his family had to be the reason he quit Iowa's basketball team and is now transferring to Indiana State in Terre Haute.

"It's gotta be family with Jake," I messaged Murphy. "Most people are trying to get out of Terre Haute. Jake wants to move there!"

For all I know, the mayor and city council even want to leave Terre Haute.

*

Kyle Ealy of Cedar Rapids, whose mother is my cousin, kicked in with this comment about Terre Haute on Facebook: "It's the Joliet of Indiana!"

Something tells me Ealy isn't going to Terre Haute for a vacation anytime soon.

I've been to Terre Haute for Drake basketball and football games against Indiana State.

I even stayed at the Larry Bird Motel.

Now, Terre Haute was Bird's kind of town. It fit his personality.

Quiet and boring.

But there's no denying Bird made a wise choice moving there.

After transferring from Indiana to Indiana State, he took the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA championship game against Magic Johnson's Michigan State team.

*

I interviewed Larry Bird after he scored a ton of points against Drake one night at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.

Bill Hodge, Bird's coach, said I'd have time for three questions.

"All right, Larry, that's enough," Hodge told Bird after my second question.

Hodge fit in well at Terre Haute, too. For a while anyway.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
You Will Have That..

Sounds like someone was a little bitter and missed the point - that the kid with the "killer 3pt shot" (haven't seen that yet), mother died in a plane crash and he was attempting to carry on with life 3 states away from "home". Some of us cherish a place called home! For me home is Terre Haute, Indiana and it's definitely where my heart is. I couldn't be anymore proud to call this place home!
 
Last edited:
Superfan312 said:
Someone should remind him he lives in Iowa.
Click to expand...

hahaha YES!

But what a joke this guy is. I'm pretty sure he should be less worried about the city of Terre Haute, Indiana and more concerned with how poorly Drake and the Hawkeyes have played this season. They're looking like they're both gonna be the bottom feeders of their respective confrences.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
I have a sister i visit on a yearly basis that lives in Des Moines and to be 100% honest that place reminds me of a lower class Evansville. For a state capitol that has only one thing going for it and thats a horsetrack / casino i would be embarrassed to call Iowa home. Come now if you have ever been there you will know that the souviners you buy at the airport all has something to do with corn .
 
I live in Davenport and I'm from Terre Haute. Funny, but neither city (or state) is as bad or as great as people would like to think. I don't know much about Des Moines. I've lived here 10 years and have never had a reason to do anything more than drive through it. There are plenty of crappy cities here though, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Clinton. I have to say the new downtown Terre Haute is better than anything I've seen up here. Hope it continues to improve.
 
Well I am in Portland OR for the next couple of days and this place is pretty freakin plush! But I have been to Iowa on several occasions and Iowa aint really got to much on Terre Haute. But I prefer not to do what this guy did to Terre Haute, I don't need to post T.H. up against anything else. Because like I said before I am happy to say that this is my home and that guy was punching below the belt for questioning Jake Kelly like that and carelessly taking his frustration about the situation out on Terre Haute.
 
Hey....I am a Terre Haute native....

former northsider...TH North grad....born on the west side....had family who attended TH South and West Vigo.....and I REALLY got tired of all the Terre Haute bashing.....

I've certainly heard enough of it over the years.....now I usually only hear it during Colts training camp....lol......you know the stuff....the smell, nothing to do, no place to go to have fun....all the usual comments.....lol.....

But let me tell you.....when I worked at Indiana State, I had the opportunity to travel around to other schools....those in the Missouri Valley and others.....and so here are my three worst than Terre Haute list....lol.....

1. Amarillo/Canyon, TX (West Texas State, former MVC school)...called by former ISU head football coach Dick Jamieson as the "armpit of the world"....lol......he once said that if you wanted to really end crime, build a large prison in Amarillo/Canyon and force prisoners to go there....lol.....

2. Las Cruces, NM (New Mexico State, former MVC school)...I spent a month there one week during a spring baseball tournament in the late 1990s.....lol.....the only good part was finding a Whattaburger fast food place next to the hotel....and the Tejano sports bar we found down the road......good cold beer, a pool table and good looking waitresses....lol...

3. Macomb, IL (Western Illinois)

By the way, I now live on the west side of Indy.....and it's not all that different than living in Terre Haute....especially the neighborhood that I just moved into last year......that's why I like the neighborhood.....

And as for smells....try driving up by 71st street...and the oil refinery...ooooh baby....lol...makes Terre Haute smell like roses....lol.....or perhaps the foundry works off 70 near Lucas Oil Stadium.....there's also a meat packing plant nearby.....and when those two smells combine......well....Terre Haute smells a lot better in comparison....lol.....
 
Last edited:
Terre Haute does not smell as bad as it used to - getting rid of the Paper Factory really helped with that. The only other thing that sometimes smells is the waste water treatment plant. The only reason that people smell it is because I-70 runs right past it and it backs up against the mall.

If you want to find a way to knock Terre Haute then knock the population which continues to decline, why does that matter? Well if we continue to decline we are going to fall at the next lower level for funding opportunities. Among other things...

I could go on and on forever... I have and will continue to defend my home.
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
And as for smells....try driving up by 71st street...and the oil refinery...ooooh baby....lol...makes Terre Haute smell like roses....lol.....or perhaps the foundry works off 70 near Lucas Oil Stadium.....there's also a meat packing plant nearby.....and when those two smells combine......well....Terre Haute smells a lot better in comparison....lol.....

Try being on the southside of Indy on the day that the humane society has to "get rid of the animals that have died". It absolutely horrible...and I used to work about 2 miles from it. It was terrible!!! Terre Hatue doesnt' smell half as bad as it used to. There is nothing wrong with Terre Haute other than trains from time to time. TH is a decent city with little traffic problems (other than by the mall) and if the economy/job market would improve TH would grow. It has good schools (from HS through college), it has about every restaraunt in the world (chain) and it has some very good local places as we discussed in another thread. There is plenty to do, ISU, Rose Hulman---come on...There is a performance at least twice a week in town of some kind of play, dance troupe, speaker, etc. Not to mention the amazing amount of sporting events that take place in TH. Couple that with the action track and drag racing, there is plenty to do and much of it is very, very reasonably priced.

People just have a bias against TH because of the way it used to be. I remember going to TH when I was a kid in the 80s and it wasn't too nice. Pretty run down, even ISU wasn't near as nice as it is now. If TH gets its head out of its you know what and turns the downtown into a "Broad Ripple" like atmosphere with bars and restaurants, it will help the local economy considerably. You do that and you will start to see improvements in other areas of the town. But that is a different topic all together.
 
The biggest problem with Terre Haute.....in my opinion....

is that there are way too many people who don't want to see or embrace change of any kind....they want Terre Haute to remain a sleepy, small/medium-sized town....I see so many opportunities for Terre Haute.....but we've got too many people who agree with former Mayor Lee Larrison and his comments about snow removal...."God put it here, God can take it away"....lol.....

I just wish somebody would take charge there...Democrat or Republican...it doesn't really matter to me.....and have some new ideas....bring in new kinds of businessess....think out of the box.....somebody needs to come in there and give the city a swift kick in the posterior and say, "Let's make something of this place".......

Sometimes I think people in town hear all the negative stuff and jokes about Terre Haute and after awhile they begin to believe it themselves......it really hurts sometimes when I go back to town and see how some things have been changed for the good...and other things sadly remain in the past......
 
Sackalot said:
Couple that with the action track and drag racing, there is plenty to do and much of it is very, very reasonably priced. .
Click to expand...

Good post Sack - but I am afraid that the Action Track is not going to be up and running next year. DHK Promotions (Mike King, Brian Dorset, Chris Nevotney) took a hit last year with the weather and some poor business decisions (none of which they could really help). I don't think they are going to have racing at the Action Track this coming season, things do not look good and it's a shame. It's really to bad that Don Smith wont just buy that place (Lord knows he has the money) and we wouldn't have to worry about the financial of that place.
 
Honestly, the Riverscape project, if it really gets done, will completely change the face of Terre Haute and Indiana State. Somehow or another, I found the plans online one day (have no idea where I got that...) and it is really exciting. The baseball and football stadiums will be anchors of that project, and it seems as though the city is finally going to embrace the river and use it for something other than an industrial dumping ground.

Being a native Hautean, I, too, see so many possibilities for Terre Haute. But until people stop kicking damned effective mayors out of office because he's a bit arrogant, stagnation is more likely to continue. I have to admit that I have been somewhat surprised with Mayor Bennett, but how could any city not re-elect a mayor that got more done in four years than in the previous 80? I'm not trying to get political, and I don't live there anymore, but come on...

Anyway, Terre Haute's future is looking up. Indiana State's future is looking up. Good times are ahead, let's just hope the momentum continues...
 

Become a Supporting Member to remove this ad and help support the site.
If that guy was as big of a jerk when he interviewed Bird as he was in that article, I'm surprised he got to the second question. So, Larry is quiet and boring? Right. He is a man of few words who could bring thousands of people to their feet. I'll bet Dr. J wished Bird was a little quieter that night when he tried to choke Larry after his 42nd point to Erving's 6.
 
TJames said:
is that there are way too many people who don't want to see or embrace change of any kind....they want Terre Haute to remain a sleepy, small/medium-sized town....I see so many opportunities for Terre Haute.....but we've got too many people who agree with former Mayor Lee Larrison and his comments about snow removal...."God put it here, God can take it away"....lol.....

I just wish somebody would take charge there...Democrat or Republican...it doesn't really matter to me.....and have some new ideas....bring in new kinds of businessess....think out of the box.....somebody needs to come in there and give the city a swift kick in the posterior and say, "Let's make something of this place".......

Sometimes I think people in town hear all the negative stuff and jokes about Terre Haute and after awhile they begin to believe it themselves......it really hurts sometimes when I go back to town and see how some things have been changed for the good...and other things sadly remain in the past......
Click to expand...


I remember Mayor Larrison making that quote and I believe it was Pete Chalos who said "Terre Haute does not have a prostitution problem, it is just the ISU coeds working their way through school".......lol. Tom, I agree with you about the local perception in TH and I believe that Evansville has the same problem. Both of these cities have great potential but are holding themselves back.
 
SycamoreFan317 said:
I remember Mayor Larrison making that quote and I believe it was Pete Chalos who said "Terre Haute does not have a prostitution problem, it is just the ISU coeds working their way through school".......lol. Tom, I agree with you about the local perception in TH and I believe that Evansville has the same problem. Both of these cities have great potential but are holding themselves back.
Click to expand...

Stupid stop lights....




I couldn't resist... LOL Sorry 317 just thought you would get a laugh out of that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top