[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 119 (Monday, July 27, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S5923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MUNCIE, INDIANA 150TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, I wish to honor the city of Muncie on 
its 150th anniversary and to recognize the many contributions of 
Muncie's citizens to the great State of Indiana and to our country.
  Muncie's history dates to the 1790s when the Lenape Native Americans 
settled the area and named it Wapicamikunk. As early European settlers 
moved into the area, it was named Munsee Town after the dialect of the 
Lenape Native Americans, who spoke Munsee. When it was incorporated in 
1865, Munsee Town became the city of Muncie.
  The gas boom helped establish the city of Muncie as an important 
manufacturing center for the Nation. In 1880, the Ball brothers founded 
Ball Corporation where they specialized in manufacturing glass bottles. 
The company was moved from Buffalo, NY to Muncie in 1887 to take 
advantage of the ample amounts of available natural gas. The Ball 
Corporation provided jobs, local business funding, and philanthropy 
that propelled Muncie into a thriving city.
  As business boomed for the Ball Corporation, new businesses opened 
and Muncie grew. In the early 1900s, manufacturing and industrial 
companies including Delco Battery, New Venture Gear, BorgWarner, and 
General Motors opened factories and businesses in Muncie. Muncie is 
also home to one of the famous early 20th century ``Middletown'' 
studies, which helped to measure social trends in the U.S.; Muncie is 
considered one of most studied communities in the country. Over the 
years, the city continued to grow and innovate with the addition of 
railroads, higher education institutions, and health care facilities.
  Today, Muncie is one of the 10 largest cities in Indiana with a 
population of more than 70,000 citizens. Top attractions in the Muncie 
area include the north Walnut Street Fieldhouse, Emens Auditorium, 
historic downtown Muncie, the National Model Aviation Museum, the 
Cardinal Greenway trail system, Minnetrista Cultural Center, and Ball 
State University.
  Ball State opened in 1899 as a small, private teacher training 
school. The university was founded in 1918. Ball State attracts 
students from around the Nation and 43 different countries, and is 
currently one of the top employers in the city of Muncie. Ball State is 
home to about 21,000 current students in undergraduate and graduate 
programs, and it recently experienced the largest 5-year increase in 
on-time graduation rates of any Indiana public institution of higher 
education. A report released by the Indiana Commission for Higher 
Education found that between 2009-2014, Ball State's 4-year graduation 
rates increased by 12.1 percentage points. Distinguished Ball State 
graduates include David Letterman, former host of CBS's Late Show and 
Jim Davis, creator of the iconic comic strip Garfield--recognized as 
the world's most widely-syndicated comic strip. With the addition of 
Ivy Technology Community College and Harrison College, Muncie has shown 
a continued commitment to higher education.
  The city of Muncie reflects our Hoosier values, and its citizens 
serve as an example of how hard work and dedication lead to success, 
opportunity, and prosperity. It is a great honor to represent the city 
of Muncie in the Senate. On behalf of the State of Indiana, I 
congratulate each and every citizen of Muncie on the city's 150th 
anniversary and wish you continued success and prosperity in the 
future.

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