Hoosier culture

mstang67chic

Going Green
GUIDELINES FOR UNDERSTANDING "THE HOOSIER CULTURE"

1. Know the state casserole. The state casserole consists of canned green
beans, Campbell 's cream of mushroom soup, and dried onions. You can safely
take this casserole to any social event and know that you will be accepted.

2. Get used to food festivals. The Indiana General Assembly, in an effort to
grow bigger athletes, passed legislation years ago requiring every incorporated
community to have at least one festival per year dedicated to a high-fat food. It is your duty as a Hoosier to attend these festivals and buy at least one
elephant ear.

3. Know the geography. Of Florida , that is. There are Hoosiers who couldn't
tell you where Evansville is but they know the exact distance from Fort Myers
to Bonita Springs . That's because all Hoosiers go to Florida in the winter.
Or plan to when they retire. Or are related to retired Hoosiers who have a place
in Sarasota . Hoosiers consider Florida to be the Lower Peninsula of Indiana. If
you can't afford to spend the winter in Florida , use the state excuse .. which
is that you stay here because you enjoy the change of season. You'll be lying,
but that's OK. We've all done it.

4. Speaking of Indiana weather, wear layers or die. The thing to remember about
Indiana seasons is that they can occur at anytime. We have spring-like days in
January and wintry weekends in October. April is capable of providing a
sampling of all four seaso ns in a single 24-hour period. For these reasons,
Indiana is the Layering Capital of the World. Even layering, however, can pose
danger. Golfers have been known to dress for hypothermia and end up dead of
heat stroke because they couldn't strip off their layers of plaid fast enough
on a changeable spring morning.

5. Don't take Indiana place names literally. If a town has the same name as a
foreign city --- Valparaiso and Versailles , for example --- you must not
pronounce them the way the foreigners do, lest you come under suspicion as a
spy. Also, East Enterprise has no counterpart on the west side of the state
South Bend is in the north. North Vernon is in the south and French Lick isn't
what you think either.

6. Become mulch literate. Hoosiers love mulch and appreciate its subtle
differences. Learn the difference between hardwood, cypress and pine bark at a
minimum. Researchers think the state affinity for mulch derives from its
relatively flat terrain. People have a subconscious need for topography, and
when it can't be supplied naturally, they are more likely to make little mulch
hillocks in their front yards. (It's great for Impatiens!)

7. You gotta know sports. In order to talk sports with obsessive fans in
Indiana , you have to be knowledgeable on the three levels -- professional,
college and high school. The truly expert Indiana sports fan knows not only the
name of the hotshot center at Abercrombie and Fitch High School, but also what
colleges he's interested in, how much he bench-presses, who he took to the
prom, and what he got on his biology quiz last week.

8. Remember that Hoosiers are never the first to embrace trends. When they do
embrace them, they do so with a Midwestern pragmatism. For example, if you see
a Hoosier with a nose ring, there's a good chance he's had it undercoated to
guard against rust.

9. The best way to sell something in Indiana is to attach the term "Amish" to
it. The product need not be genuinely Amish. This would explain the existence
of Amish moo shu pork.


YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM INDIANA WHEN:

· You think the state Bird is Larry.

· You can say "French Lick" without laughing out loud.

· There's actually a college near you named " Ball State ."

·You know Batesville is the casket-making capital of the world
and you're proud of it.

·Your feelings get hurt whenever someone points out the acronym
for Purdue University is PU.

· You know several people who have hit a deer.

· Down south to you means Kentucky .

·You have no problem spelling or pronouncing Terre Haute .



· Your school classes were canceled because of cold.

· Your school classes were canceled because of heat.

· You know what the phrase "knee-high by the Fourth of July"
means.

· You've heard of Euchre, you know how to play Euchre, and you
are a master of Euchre.

· You've seen a running car, with nobody in it, in the parking
lot of the grocery store, no matter what time of year it is.

· Detassling was your first job. Bailing hay, your second. Or
you could stack hay, swim in the pond to clean off and then have th e
strength to play a couple of games of hoops, all in the same barn lot on
the same day.

· You say things like catty-wampus and kitty corner and know
what they mean.

· You install security lights on your house and garage, then
leave them both unlocked.

· You carry jumper cables in your car regularly.

· You drink pop.

· You catch frogs at the crick.

· If you want someone to hear you, you holler at 'em.

You know that baling wire was the predecessor to duct tape.

· You know that strangers are the only ones who come to your
front door.

· Kids and dogs ride in the passenger seats of cars and the
backs of pickups.

· You think nothing of driving on the roads and being stuck
behind a farm implement in spring and fall. You just hope it's not a hog
truck or a manure spreader.

· High school basketball games draw bigger crowds on the weekend
than movie theaters, IF you have a movie theater.

· Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are
filled with snow.

· The local paper covers national and international headlines on
one page but requires six for local sports.

· You can repeat the scores of the last eight NBA games, but
unless the MVP is a Hoosier, you are not sure who he is.

· You can see at least two basketball hoops from your yard.

· You can name every one of Bobby Knight's exploits over the last few
years.

· The biggest question of your youth was IU or Purdue.

· Indianapolis is the BIG CITY.

· Getting stuck by a train is a legitimate excuse for being
late to school or work.

· Everyone knows who the town cops are, where they live, and
whether they're at home or on duty.

·You've been to the Covered Bridge Festival. And you took back
roads to get there. Why sit in traffic?

· To you, tenderloin is not an expensive cut of beef, but a big,
salty, breaded, & fried piece of pork served on a bun with pickle and
onion.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I am from Cincinnati originally. I am very familiar with Hoosier culture. It is the only kind I have. We made many trips to my Great-Grandmas in Sunman. And one of my geography questions in school was "What State and City are considered the Caket Capital of the World". And that is NOT a joke.

We actually considered it great fun to go to a restaurant in Batesville, then go tour the Casket Factory.

So whatever culture i got, it falls in with Hoosier Culture!
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
French Lick is a spa town in Indiana. It started out as a French trading town and they discovered sulpher springs there. There was a big resort built there and it was recently rehabbed into a big casino.......just what we need in Indiana. Originally known for Pluto water----with the sulpher springs let your imagination run wild as to what would happen when you drank it......supposed to be medicinal........Don't know who suggested the name, but has been around for a looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg time. History lesson done.......
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
As added information, French Lick, I believe, is also the home town of Larry Bird (former NBA player) and is in the general region of Gnaw Bone.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
French lick - what Frenchmen are doing when someone gives them icecream cones.

Gosh I'm from Ohio and I got THAT one - lol.

Cute! Thanks
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Well my old man (husband) is a Hoosier born in Indianapolis and my little N was born in HOBART... not pronounced like you would think!!!

You would say it like- HOBERT... why??? I don't know... and it is near the wonderful... MERILLVILLE... which is not pronounced like it looks either!!! do not dare say the first "L's" only the second ones... When I lived in Valpo and then Chesterton I learned it all from my father in law who was born and raised in Gary,IN!!! That is where my husband company still is!!!
GO GARY STEEHEADS!!!!!
 

SaraT

New Member
You know your in Indiana when there are only 2 seasons: winter and road construction.

Sorry had to add that lol.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
I was in Louisville a couple of years back. Heading down there, one minute there are thousands of orange construction cones. Cross the boarder.......nary a one.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I've been to Gnaw Bone!!! It was always a big family joke when we would go see my Aunt at college!! Once my dad even backed up so we could ALL get out of the car IN Gnaw Bone!!!!!!!

I didn't htink anyone else ever knew of it! Have you been to Gnaw Bone?

Oh, all I remember from the casket factory was a bunch of strange seeming historical factoids about caskets, whoever's idea it was to make them mostly all one size instead of custom sized, and actually seeing them making the caskets. It made for a good laugh with my friends at school, most of who got to go cool placed like, oh, Cleveland for family trips.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
I've never been to Gnaw Bone but might have to at least once just so I can say I was there. I've only seen the signs on the way to "little" Nashville. If anyone ever has the chance to go to Nashville, IN, do! It's a wonderful little town with great shops.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
husband says they have a Ski hill in Little Nashville!!! Yee Haw!!! Arc Em' or Parc' Em'!!!
 
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