CROTHERSVILLE
Jackson County turned 200 on Jan. 1, and Indiana hits that milestone Dec. 11.
To celebrate both occasions, Crothersville is selling banners and T-shirts so people will be able to remember the bicentennials for years to come.
The personalized 29½-by-59½-foot vinyl banners will hang on light poles through town along Armstrong Street or U.S. 31. The red T-shirts have images of the Crothersville water tower, an American flag, a train and a tiger in white print with a blue border.
Both are available for viewing and ordering at Crothersville Town Hall, 111 W. Howard St., during regular business hours. The banners are $60, and the T-shirts are $10. Orders will be taken through mid-February.
The project was the idea of Chad Wilson, owner of Full Court Press Apparel, and Brenda Holzworth, president of the Crothersville Historical and Cultural Arts Association. Proceeds from banner and T-shirt sales will benefit the association.
“How many times does your state have its 200th birthday?” Holzworth said. “That’s what spurred us to do it because we have the bicentennial. It’s just a natural event to do something like this.”
In August, Wilson presented a design of the banners to Holzworth and suggested it be a fundraiser for her association, which conducts plays and other events at Hamacher Hall in Crothersville.
The project was put on hold for a period of time while both Wilson and Holzworth ran for election to the Crothersville Town Council.
Now the election has passed and both are settling into their roles on the council, Wilson and Holzworth are promoting the sales of the banners and T-shirts.
The banners are for individuals, businesses, industries and organizations with Crothersville ties.
They feature a black background with white lettering of “Crothersville” across the top and “Indiana’s bicentennial” and “1816-2016 200 years” toward the bottom over an outline of Indiana.
The banner also will be personalized with a photo that is submitted, and the name of a person or a business will appear across the bottom.
The banners will be displayed in town from spring to summer, and whoever purchases each banner will be able to keep it when it is taken down.
“We’re a unique community, and we want to just do something that people can be proud of when they drive through town,” Wilson said. “We’ve had banners, but really nothing this personal. I think it’s important that the citizens get to keep the banners just as a keepsake because a lot of them will be memorials for loved ones or businesses.”
Holzworth said she is grateful for Wilson giving her association a chance to earn a little extra money.
Any proceeds, contributions and other funds raised are used for the improvement and maintenance of Hamacher Hall and the annex building. Contributions are tax-exempt.
“We want everybody to be sure to buy these,” she said of the banners and T-shirts. “It will benefit our organization, but it will also just benefit our community to have these (banners) out. It’s worth it to us because it’s a historic event. History is one of our big emphasis, so it fits in with that, too.”
2016 also is a historical year for the county seat, Brownstown. Its bicentennial is April 8.
Crothersville, which was established in 1858, celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2008.
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Crothersville is selling banners and T-shirts to commemorate the bicentennials of Indiana and Jackson County.
The personalized vinyl banners are $60, while the T-shirts are $10.
To view samples of the banners and T-shirts and to pick up an order form, visit Crothersville Town Hall, 111 W. Howard St., during regular business hours.
For information, contact Chad Wilson with Full Court Press Apparel at 812-530-1181.
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