Terre
Haute: The Has-Been Capital of North America
From Chuck Luckenheimer, THG
Features
Do you
ever wonder what happened to all of those great musical acts of the 1970’s and
1980’s? The ones you rocked out to and whose posters you had plastered on your
bedroom wall? You are in luck; The Hoosier Gazette has been able to ascertain
the whereabouts of many of these all-time greats.
Terre Haute, Indiana.
That’s
right, the city once considered as one of the worst in The Hoosier State is
changing its image. In 2003, it has been the gracious host to such former
mega-stars as Sir-Mix-A-Lot, Digital Underground, Tiffany, Danny Wood, Jordan
Knight, and the Oak Ridge Boys.
This
town in the Wabash River
valley is turning itself into THE entertainment destination for music fans
across western Indiana and eastern Illinois. How did Terre Haute, once referred
to as a “model of stagnation”, go from being an industrial wasteland to “Las
Vegas of the Midwest”? By hosting acts 15 years after they were popular.
“City
planners felt Terre
Haute needed a new
image,” stated Mayor-elect Kevin Burke. “They began to act like our city’s
numerous dumpster-divers, ‘mining’ for things discarded by other cities
realizing that ‘one man’s trash is another’s treasure’.” Burke added, “We
needed top-notch entertainment, the kind you usually have to drive to
Indianapolis to see, to draw tourists to the city and that is exactly what we
got. Using older but still popular acts allowed us to incorporate this plan
into the city’s poor economic picture.”
Photo from Tiffany’s concert at Meadows
Shopping Center in Terre Haute, August 23, 2003.
Terre
Haute’s policy has
paid off in 2003. The city was able to obtain high-caliber musical talent at
rock-bottom prices.
But not
everyone is happy.
Skeptics wonder if this was a plan aimed at revenge for the last entertainer of
any prominence to visit Terre Haute.
Comedian Steve Martin visited Vigo County in his salad days and proclaimed Terre
Haute to be “the armpit of America.” By amassing so many dated and tired acts
in one location over the short period of a year, wouldn’t the culmination of all
these acts make a mockery of the entertainment business? When asked about the
allegations, Burke stated “No comment.”
Despite
critics of the program, Terre Haute
citizens, for the most part, are happy to see their idols from years past. Many
are “star-struck” by being able to witness the best musical performers of 1989
without having to drive out of town.
A CVS
Pharmacy employee was overwhelmed with emotion following a close encounter with
Jordan Knight, formally of New Kids On The Block. Mr. Knight entered the
drugstore on a beer run. Nearly five minutes after his departure, the clerk was
still trembling with delight. “I’ve never met a real star before,” she
exclaimed excitedly, “ I mean I’ve been to ‘Muppets on Ice’, but nothing like
this.”
The
local media has also taken a great interest in the performers. FM radio station
Mix 100.7 sponsored a contest where locals could win breakfast in bed with
Jordan Knight. Another former New Kids On The Block performer, Danny Wood, also
made a successful stop in Terre Haute. With two of the original five members of
the teen band making tour stops, Mix 100.7 tried to parlay this into a much
anticipated reunion concert to be held at the Hulman Center. As of this date,
the attempt has been unsuccessful
In
hosting has-been musical groups, Terre Haute
really has taken a cue from the numerous dumpster divers residing within the
city limits: you might just find a useable piece of junk if you search long
enough through the things that others throw away.
