What is a Hoosier, Anyway?

For almost 200 years, people from Indiana have been calling themselves “Hoosiers”, but every time someone asks where the name came from, an ages-old debate is sparked between favorite wives’ tales and references in literature. It’s time to set the record straight (or at least attempt to do so)! Let’s figure out together what it really means to be a Hoo Hoo Hoo HOOSIER!

The use of the term “Hoosier” first appeared in the 1830s, when a poem by John Finley named “The Hoosier’s Nest” appeared in the Indianapolis Journal in 1833. Since then, the title has been synonymous with the people of Indiana. Several popular theories have sprouted up to explain the word’s origin over time, some more wild and wacky than others. Here are some of the most famous:

  1. Early in Indiana’s beginnings, settlers would answer the door with a quick “Who’s yere?” and the greeting eventually became our title.
  2. Indiana rivermen were notoriously good at silencing subduing their enemies that they became colloquially known as “Hushers”, and the name evolved into “Hoosiers” with our Midwestern accents.
  3. A contractor named Hoosier on the Louisville and Portland Canal preferred to hire his laborers from Indiana, and these men quickly became known as Hoosier’s men”.
  4. The most unbelievable (and gruesome) tall tale comes from James Whitcomb Riley, the famous Hoosier Poet. He stated that the state’s early settlers often took part in rowdy and dangerous fights, sometimes ending in severe bodily harm. Often times, the morning after a major tavern brawl, someone would walk in an find a torn-off ear or two on the floor and ask out loud: “Who’s ear?” Yuck!

What is your favorite theory? I always tell Riley’s story as if it’s truth to all my non-Hoosier friends, just to see the looks on their faces! Do you have any theories on the origins of the Hoosier?

Hoosier Book Challenge on Beanstack!

 

Join us for our Hoosier Reading Challenge on Beanstack! Now through December 31st, every time you read or listen to a book by an Indiana author you can track it on the Beanstack app to earn chances to win our prize giveaway! There will be four challenges: ages 0-7, ages 8-13, ages 14-18, and ages 19+. There will be one winner per age group.

How to Sign Up

Account Set-Up Instructions

If you already have a Beanstack account from Summer Reading, skip to the Tracking and Challenge Instructions.

1. Download the Beanstack Tracker app from your app store or visit eapld.beanstack.org.

2. If using a desktop computer, skip to step 6, otherwise tap Let’s Go!

3. Choose the School, Library, or Bookstore option

4. Tap on Find a Site

5. Search for Aurora Public Library. Make sure to select the one in Indiana!

6. Click Sign Up and follow the prompts to create your account and add readers.

* You may add more than one reader to the same account. For example, one account may include a parent and two children, two parents and one child, two adults with no children, etc.

*Parents who do not wish to participate in the challenges should register themselves as Nonreaders and add their children as Readers. This will allow the parent to track their children’s reading, but will not give them the option to track their own.

Tracking and Challenge Instructions

1. Once you are registered, the correct challenge will automatically populate based on the participant’s age. Click or tap on the challenge to join it. Once you join a challenge, you will see all the badges as well as instructions on how to earn them. There are two types of badges.

        a. Logging Badges: These are earned by logging your reading. To log, tap on the + Button and select Reading. Choose the correct Reader or multiple Readers if everyone read together. You can search by the book title, scan the ISBN, or enter the information manually.

        b. Challenge Badges: These two badges are earned at the beginning and end of the challenge. You will automatically earn the first badge when you join the challenge and the second one when you earn all the logging badges.

2. Every time you earn a badge, you will automatically be entered into the prize drawing. The Beanstack app will randomly choose a winner from the entries accumulated over the course of the challenge.

*If you have multiple Readers on the account you can switch between Readers by tapping on the circle in the top right-hand corner.

Please see a staff member if you have any questions or need assistance with the app.

Adult Recommendations

       

Find more adult recommendations here.

Teen Recommendations

      

Find more teen recommendations here.

Juvenile Recommendations

       

Find more juvenile recommendations here.

Children’s Recommendations

            

Find more children’s recommendations here.