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Memory, Identity, and Heritage in the Great Depression: The LaPorte, Indiana, Centennial of 1932 as a Case Study
George W. Boudreau
| In 1932, residents of LaPorte, Indiana, commemorated their city's centennial by compiling a written history, reconstructing a log cabin, transforming downtown shops into a citywide museum of historical artifacts, and presenting a massive outdoor pageant. Such a celebration was not in itself unusual; many early twentieth-century American communities hosted similar anniversary celebrations that embraced local and national icons, entertained citizens, and heralded the past as a foundation for future greatness.1 Unlike other commemorations, however, LaPorte's coincided with the local arrival of the worst effects of the Great Depression, including the sale of the town's largest manufactory. As the Depression grew worse around them, townspeople crafted a celebration that would acknowledge carefully selected aspects of the town's heritage—triumph over economic hard times, pioneer perseverance, and community spirit—while ignoring other parts of its history. LaPorte's centennial celebration offers an intriguing case study of the ways in which Americans utilized their community heritage to combat the crisis of the Depression on the eve of the New Deal—before federal aid offered small American communities any hope of beating the psychological and economic crisis. |
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THE DEPRESSION AND SELECTIVE COMMEMORATION | |
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LaPorte in the early 1930s was a city shaped both by its agricultural environment and by the industries that had developed in the town. LaPorte's 1931 directory noted the city's proximity by train to Chicago, South Bend, and Indianapolis. In booster rhetoric typical of the era, the directory's editors lauded "The Maple City" for its "tree lined streets and avenues affording an ideal setting for its beautiful homes," adding that "[i]t has the best in educational, social and health advantages." Most importantly, the city—situated just east of the Chicagoland area known affectionately today as "da Region"—possessed urban advantages without urban concerns: "Being eighty-five minutes from the Chicago Loop, it is near enough away to be free from the perplexing problems incident to manufacturing in a large city."2 |
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Early discussions of LaPorte's pending centennial reflected this booster ideology. The April 15, 1926, LaPorte Herald-Argus reported that local insurance agent Ralph W. Roderick had proposed that the local Lions Club "sponsor preliminary plans for the celebration," including a "pretentious pageant." Planned in a club meeting of local boosters, the commemoration originated as a celebration of local accomplishments and progress. As to its likely timing, Roderick reminded the group that the first land grants for the town of LaPorte had been given on October 19, 1831, while incorporation had taken place in 1835. The decision to celebrate either in 1931 or 1935 could be made by city officials and by leaders of the LaPorte County Historical Society. Historical society reports from the late 1920s mention the commencement of planning for a 1932 celebration, but the society remained largely dormant in the era, and no action followed. Only after the economic transformation that began in October 1929 did LaPorteans begin actively to pursue the idea of a celebration of heritage on a local level.3 |
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