The main question we want you to address is: What do you think and feel about Muncie?
If you start moving south and keep going until the land bunches up and then flattens out again, where the expanse of corn and soy begins to swallow you up…that exact spot…that’s where I’m from. In the late 1970s, it seemed everyone in town had a specific t-shirt. Yellow with light blue lettering, it proclaimed: “Washington, Indiana is my hometown and I’m proud of it”. It left an indelible impression on my seven year old heart and mind, and back then it felt like we were defending our place in the world. I couldn’t tell you what the political or economic struggle we may have been facing as a community back then. Whatever the inspiration for the shirt, real or imagined, these words, in the straight-forward manner of small town Indiana, was powerful. It felt like a call to action. It symbolized the underdog coming out swinging, civic pride during a time of adversity, holding on in the tough times.
- How long have you lived here? If you were not born here, indicate where you came from and why.
I came to Muncie simply because a boy asked me. I met him at college and when he transferred to Ball State, it wasn’t hard to talk me into coming along with him. I packed up and moved to a place I’d never laid eyes upon. It was a leap of faith from a very small pond to a very large one. The first several years here were a struggle. I didn’t love it or hate it. I think that I was too busy surviving to bother with feeling anything particular one way or the other. Happily, fortune changed, and a long with it grew a true love for this place called Muncie. I married the boy. We stayed on long after school ended and I adopted Muncie as my second hometown. Perhaps it is the length of time I have lived here, and the fact that this is now my own son’s true hometown that has given me such a fondness for this place. Now, 23 years later, the transplanted roots have grown deep and the pond seems to have gotten smaller. I don’t plan on leaving. I don’t think I could…the friends I’ve made, the way I feel invested, valued, and a real part of this community…it keeps me tethered.
- Are you happy with where you live? Do you feel like you belong?
As I have grown to love Muncie, so has my appreciation for her history. I live in the original Munceetown. I enjoy learning about and collecting bits of it. I have a collection of antique Muncie memorabilia. My favorite items are the souvenirs that say “Muncie, the Magic City”. These are from her gas boom days. The Magic City moniker came from the impression that out of nowhere the large City of Muncie seemingly sprang to life overnight. Muncie still has a kind of magic for me. A threadbare, found-it-covered-in-dust-up-in-the-attic fascinating sort of magic. A well-spring of untapped (or forgotten at the least) potential that, unlike the gas boom, won’t burn out despite what may come to pass. She’s been mistreated and down on her luck, but I always root for the underdog. “Muncie, Indiana is my adopted hometown and I’m proud of it”, I suppose I could say now.
- Do you think the ways other people think about Muncie are the same ways you think about it? How do you your thoughts and feelings about Muncie differ from its public image (from media or word-of-mouth around the state and beyond)?
Do my attitudes about our city align with that of others? Yes and no. There is a whole cohort of cheerleaders and hand raisers out there and I would count myself among them. Perhaps its easy to be positive and to foster a love for Muncie when you are surrounded by those like-minded. And perhaps it rings even more true if you experience it in firsts and not in seconds (I have no reference points other than the last 20 or so years, as opposed to those who have been here much longer) and when you feel you are a part of the community. These are the people in my community that I surround myself with, that I see at events, that are making things happen. They are the lifeblood of this city and they are from all walks of life and from all across town.
Sure, Muncie has her share of detractors, de-railers, trolls and naysayers, too. Many of them, in my experience, are natives and former residents who see fit to insult Muncie as it is today and unfairly compare her to the Muncie they knew 50 years ago, etc. Many have not laid eyes on or set foot in this city for years. They used to incite me, but I pay them no mind anymore. The fact that they are spending their time poking around to see what’s happening here is more telling about them and how interesting their current place of residence is than a true reflection of Muncie. And for those who live here and have nothing nice to say, I challenge them to get up, get involved or get out, rather than just be armchair activists or complainers. Our local newspaper has not helped our reputation and fed this negativity by selling their soul for a few cheap “clicks”. Historically, Muncie has always enjoyed a sort of notoriety and that’s hard to shake. It can be weird and wonderful all at the same time….especially my little corner of it.
Again, I’m with the cheerleaders. There is plenty of work to be done…that IS being done…we’ve come a long way, and have a long way to go, but things are happening!
There is a copy of a very old photo in my office. It’s of a sign that once hung somewhere along the railroad tracks in Muncie. In fantastic (or what must have been at the time) electric lights is emblazoned the statement “Muncie Offers More”. Just like that yellow tee shirt from my hometown. It is straightforward, promising, powerful and all-you-need-to-know.
- How would you describe Muncie to someone who has never been here? What are its most distinctive characteristics?
If I had to describe Muncie to someone who had never been here, I would be hard pressed to know where to start. I could talk about the giving spirit of our residents, the way our neighbors come together to help each other, the rich history, the points of pride, of being a rust belt near-casualty and the struggle as find our new identity …so many things. But what I think of when I envision my community is more like snapshots. It’s through my son’s eyes….the excitement as we trek through the snow at McCollough Park to sled down Derby Hill (like so many generations before). It’s the debate of whether its “McCollough” or “McCulloch”, in the first place. It’s hot chocolate and snowball fights while they light the tree at Cannan Commons. It’s the first cannonball of the year into Tuhey Pool or the first trip to Hunnicut’s for ice cream. Labor Day on the Resevoir. Trick or treating among the elaborately decorated grand houses of East Washington Street. The secrets of Minnetrista’s gardens. Knowing how to order your breadsticks at Pizza King. The Easter bunny riding in on the fire truck at Heekin Park. Riding bikes on the Greenway. I could go on and on.
Muncie does offer more and its our obligation to do what we can to bolster Muncie, to be proud of what it offers. We will leave it better than we found it. If every generation of Munsonians can carry that forward, imagine what the future may hold.