The day Nick and I launched this website on October 15th, 2017, our traffic tallied 9 total page views. We were delighted, until we realized the page views came from Indianapolis and Northwest Indiana: our locations. The actual number was 2 pageviews: a start.
In 2019, we happily averaged 2500 views and 1500 visitors daily, with many of you returning. We have three story collections for sale on Amazon, and have sold over 850 copies among them. We now welcome over 42,000 friends on Facebook. We couldn’t be happier, but our hard work is nothing compared to your patronage and support. Thanks to you, 2018 was good, but 2019 was great.
What’s coming in 2020? We’ve got the Johnny Mundo book in the works, our first nonfiction book with a likely release this upcoming spring. You’ll also see our Mysteries of the Midwest collection for sale very soon on Amazon. Finally, we hope to make several public appearances, giving us the chance to interact and share some of our favorite Indiana and Midwest history.
I promise 2020 will be better than great, but I’m not sure which adjective best eclipses great. Instead of an adjective, I’ll use my favorite dessert to describe 2020.
Friends and fellow Hoosiers, here’s to a Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait 2020! Happy New Year’s!
Nicholas Orange & Tim Bean
Here’s our now-traditional way of putting a bow on the passing year—a list of your five favorite stories from the last year. You might find some favorite on this list, or perhaps a story you missed. Enjoy!
Discover the story of the manufacture, storage, and eventual destruction of the US stockpile of the world’s most dangerous chemical weapon, VX nerve gas. The former Newport Chemical Depot in Terre Haute once held over 90% of our nation’s supply.
Most of us have heard of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima, but most never heard of the Bunker Hill “Broken Arrow” Accident, when a 100-foot bomber and 14,000 gallons of jet fuel roasted bombs dangerous enough to wipe out Indianapolis. Twice.
These limestone columns were carved over the millennia by the rushing waters of the Mississinewa River just outside Peru, Indiana. The Seven Pillars would become a sacred site for Indiana’s Native-Americans and one of the state’s most visited natural wonders.
During the early morning hours of June, 1977, two men assaulted a gas station attendant, knocking him to the ground and pummeling him with punches and kicks. Then a car door clicked open, and a familiar Mississippi drawl said, “I’ll take you on.” 100% surreal and 100% true.
An Indiana visionary created Rose Island to become one of the Midwest’s most popular tourist attractions and vacation spots. For awhile, it was. Rose Island weathered the Great Depression, but it could not weather the Great Ohio River Flood of 1937.
And, as a celebratory bonus, here’s another link you might also enjoy.
Exploring abandoned astronomy. Digging up the legends of lilac bushes. Mourning Chicago’s forgotten tragedy. Uncovering a Capone Tunnel. Remembering Indiana’s sand mountain melted down to glass. Your favorite stories of 2018, all right here.
