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. 

Check out www.tiffany.org for Tiffany’s fan club.

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.                                                                                                                                                                                        

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