[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4781-S4782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 284--RECOGNIZING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDIANA 
                             VETERANS' HOME

  Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 284

       Whereas Indiana has a proud tradition of honoring its 
     veterans and those who serve our country;
       Whereas 3 out of 4 Hoosiers of eligible age served in the 
     Civil War;
       Whereas 1 out of every 10 Union Army soldiers enlisted from 
     Indiana, and only 1 State, Delaware, provided more soldiers 
     in the Civil War based on per capita population than Indiana;
       Whereas the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is located in the 
     center of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana, and when it 
     was dedicated in 1902, the only monument taller in the United 
     States was the Washington Monument;
       Whereas, in 1886, at the annual encampment of the 
     Department of Indiana Grand Army of the Republic (``G.A.R.'') 
     held in Indianapolis, Indiana, Department Commander David N. 
     Foster urged the G.A.R. to establish a State soldiers' home 
     in Indiana to care for the disabled Union Veteran Soldiers;
       Whereas intensive lobbying by the G.A.R. resulted in the 
     Indiana General Assembly of 1888 resolving to found a home 
     for veterans, and in 1890, work toward the home began;
       Whereas a committee was founded to find a suitable location 
     for the home, with a member-at-large and 1 member from each 
     congressional district, including James R. Carnahan (at 
     large), W.H. Tucker, David N. Foster, C.J. Murphy, D.F. 
     Spees, Andrew Fite, H.B. Martin, U.D. Cole, A.O. Marsh, C.M. 
     Travis, W.S. Haggard, D.B. McConnell, Jacob J. Todd, and 
     Jasper E. Lewis;
       Whereas, in the summer of 1892, the committee decided to 
     formally recommend 187 wooded acres in Lafayette, Indiana, as 
     the location of the Indiana State Soldiers' Home (also known 
     as the ``Indiana Veterans' Home'') (referred to in this 
     preamble as the ``Home'');
       Whereas the City of Lafayette and the County of Tippecanoe 
     agreed to donate 200 acres of ground and $5,633 for the Home;
       Whereas General Richard P. DeHart, a local veteran and 
     business man, donated a 2,000 foot strip of riverfront 
     property, which is now known as the Tecumseh Trails Park, to 
     the Home;
       Whereas the committee, having secured a location, prepared 
     a bill to be presented to the Indiana General Assembly for 
     the establishment and maintenance of the Home;
       Whereas, due to lack of time, the bill failed to pass the 
     Indiana Senate, but in 1895, the Indiana General Assembly 
     unanimously passed a bill to create the Home and appropriated 
     $75,000 for its buildings;
       Whereas, on February 23, 1895, Governor Claude Matthews 
     signed the bill, and it became law;
       Whereas the Governor appointed 5 men as the first Board of 
     Trustees of the Home to work without compensation other than 
     their actual traveling expenses;
       Whereas the Indiana General Assembly appropriated 
     $61,723.61 to be used in building an old men's home, a 
     chapel, and an addition to the dining room, constructing 
     sewers, furnishing the different buildings, graveling 
     streets, roads, and sidewalks, and purchasing a pump, a 
     dynamo, and a fire apparatus;
       Whereas, by 1900, numerous buildings had been erected for 
     the use of the residents of the Home, and the applications 
     for residence at the Home were far greater than its 
     facilities were capable of handling;
       Whereas, on October 31, 1900, there were 9 State buildings, 
     39 county cottages, 5 cottages built by the G.A.R., 1 cottage 
     built by the Woman's Relief Corps of Indiana (``W.R.C.''), 1 
     cottage each built by the John A. Logan and Marsh B. Taylor 
     W.R.C. of Lafayette, and 1 cottage built by the John A. Logan 
     Circle, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic of 
     Lafayette;
       Whereas, in addition to these buildings, the Home built a 
     public restaurant, Commandant's home, Surgeon's cottage, and 
     combination carpenter and paint shop;
       Whereas, in addition to the sums donated for the buildings, 
     the W.R.C. and Ladies of the G.A.R. throughout the State gave 
     $1,326.25 to furnish rooms and cottages in the Home;
       Whereas, in his written history of Tippecanoe County from 
     1909, General Richard P. DeHart wrote of the Home, ``If one 
     ever doubted that America appreciates and cares for her 
     defenders, a visit to this beauty spot of Indiana will 
     convince them that not only in times of peril and war does 
     she care for her brave soldiery, but that now after forty 
     years have come and gone, she still seeks to show these old 
     and infirm men that she wishes them all the peace and comfort 
     possible to provide for them, at any cost.'';
       Whereas peak census was reached in the 1910s when the Home 
     housed over 1,400 residents and another 200 staff members;
       Whereas the Home operated as its own little town, complete 
     with a hospital, electric light plant, bakery, fire 
     department, and an assembly hall with a seating capacity for 
     600 people;
       Whereas census in the 1920s had declined to the average 
     number of residents numbering in the 1,000s;
       Whereas this state of affairs continued, and, by 1950, it 
     was apparent that the Home needed a major revamping;
       Whereas this revamping resulted in the destruction of 
     almost all of the original buildings, and today only 5 
     structures remain from the earlier years of the Home, 
     including the Commandant's home, the Administration Building, 
     the Lawrie Library, the bus station, and the cemetery chapel;
       Whereas 9 acres of the Home's land were listed in National 
     Register of Historic Places in 1974, including 4 original 
     buildings--the Commandant's home, the library, the 
     Administration Building, and the post exchange;
       Whereas, in addition, a collection of approximately 165 oil 
     portraits and charcoal drawings of Civil War generals and 
     important political figures, painted by Captain Alexander 
     Lawrie, are housed in the library and add a major cultural 
     dimension to the Home;
       Whereas, in 1974, the Home became a licensed healthcare 
     facility;
       Whereas, on June 4, 1976, the Home's name was officially 
     changed from the Indiana State Soldiers' Home to the Indiana 
     Veterans' Home, and the title of the chief administrator was 
     changed from Commandant to Superintendent;
       Whereas, in 1976, the construction of Ernie Pyle Hall, 
     MacArthur Hall, and Mitchell Hall began and continued until 
     completion in 1982;
       Whereas, in 2009, the Commandant's Row buildings were 
     placed under the authority of the Indiana Department of 
     Veterans Affairs and the Home;
       Whereas census has declined over the decades as Civil War 
     veterans passed, but the Home has averaged 200 residents 
     annually,

[[Page S4782]]

     ranging between 120 to 265 residents from the 1970s to the 
     present;
       Whereas the Home is operated by the State of Indiana to 
     care for honorably discharged Indiana veterans and their 
     spouses and Gold Star parents;
       Whereas there is no wartime service requirement in order to 
     be eligible to apply for admission to the Home, and the Home 
     accepts all periods of service;
       Whereas the Home is a full-service care facility, offering 
     a complete array of on-site services for its residents;
       Whereas the Home currently boasts a small museum of 
     historical artifacts related to various wars, as well as 
     artifacts from the Home's history;
       Whereas the Home provides quality care for veterans, their 
     spouses, and Gold Star parents;
       Whereas there are currently 3,000 graves in the Home's 
     cemetery, which serves as the final resting place for its 
     residents and their spouses who chose internment there; and
       Whereas the Home has played a vital role in assisting 
     Hoosier Veterans and their families in their time of need: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the Indiana Veterans' Home has been, and continues to 
     be, an example of Hoosiers' dedication to their veterans, 
     especially those who served in the Civil War;
       (2) the Indiana Veterans' Home, along with the other State-
     owned and managed war memorials throughout Indianapolis and 
     Indiana, including the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, 
     highlights Hoosiers' appreciation for the service of its 
     veterans;
       (3) the Indiana Veterans' Home continues a strong tradition 
     of providing care to Hoosier veterans at the beautiful 
     property located in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and offering 
     a historical glimpse into the past with its museum and the 
     notable nearby physical locations; and
       (4) the Indiana Veterans' Home should be recognized for its 
     125 years of care to the veterans of Indiana and their 
     families at this beautiful and historically significant 
     property in the State.

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