(music building) Welcome to Muncie, Indiana, home of Ball State University, unique stories a rich history and us, Ball State PBS.

In fact, there's so much in Muncie to explore that we had to narrow it down to downtown Muncie.

A place where so many people from the Muncie community live in, work in, and play in.

Youre Now Entering...

Downtown Muncie.

Now Entering Downtown Muncie is made possible by Economic Development Alliance of Muncie-Delaware County, Downtown Muncie Development, Pridemark Construction, Colleen Cooper, Raymond James, Three Rivers, and our presenting sponsors, the City of Muncie, First Merchants Bank and McKinney & Company with additional support from Twin Archer Brew Pub, Tribune Showprint, Rojo's Martini Bar, Murray's Jewelers, Corrigan Oil, Holder Bedding, The Campus Edge, Mad Jax, Muncie Action Plan, Scott Trout Family Dentistry and The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County.

- [Chris] My name is Chris Flook.

I am an historian here at the Delaware County Historical Society.

Muncie, despite what lots of people think, there is no Chief Muncie, that person never existed.

Munsee is a language of the Lenape people and there were three languages when the Lenape first lived along the Atlantic Coast, Unami, Munsee, and Unalachtigo.

That's the best anybody can understand.

Eventually, after the Northwest Indian War, all the Munsee speakers lived on the bluff overlooking the White River where Minnetrista is today.

So it was called Munsee Town, and then they were pushed out and he left in the 1820s and then when Goldsmith Gilbert came in and established his Muncie Town, he just took the name because everyone just knew it as Muncie Town.

Goldsmith Gilbert was an early settler and trader.

He arrives from the state of New York in Muncie in the 1820s, early 1820, which means he was a squatter.

He was not allowed to live on native land, but he did anyways.

So then he moves up to Northern Delaware County.

The story goes is that some Native Americans burned his trading post down, and that's probably true, but there's probably more as to why they burn it down than what history has recorded.

He complains to the Indian Agent, which was a federal government agent out of Fort Wayne that then taxes the tribe to basically take some of their annuity money to give to Goldsmith Gilbert.

He takes some of that money and gets into an agreement to buy this huge tract of land, which was called the Hackley Reserve.

It was owned by a woman named Rebekah Hackley.

Her grandfather was Chief Little Turtle, a prominent Miami chief.

She agrees to sell it to him, Gilbert does not pay her, and starts building Muncie Town within this land.

In the 1830s, Hackley sues Gilbert to pay up and goes to court.

The judge requires Gilbert to pay up plus plus penalties.

At that point, then Muncie really becomes a going concern in the 1830s.

- [Sam] I am Samantha Chatwin and I am a tattoo artist and owner of Fox and Sparrow Tattoo in downtown Muncie, Indiana.

Fox and Sparrow was started in 2022 by my husband Joshua and I. I've been tattooing for about 12 years now.

I got my start here.

I actually grew up in Newcastle.

I started getting tattooed up here in Muncie by Sean King, who ended up being my mentor that taught me how to tattoo and how to be in this business.

So Muncie gave me the opportunity to start tattooing, which was a dream of mine that I did not know would be able to be accomplished so soon in my life.

We opened in the downtown location in 2024.

Last year we have always went and got our coffee in the morning before going to work over at the cafeteria and noticed that this building was for sale and we immediately jumped on the opportunity.

I've always liked the way that the storefront looked.

It reminds me of an old-timey tattoo shop vibe.

Fox and Sparrow was started over on Wheeling Avenue, which was next to big box stores and stuff.

So we were kind of the small fish in a big fish area.

Being in downtown is so much different than being neighbors with big box stores.

As soon as we moved in, all of the other small businesses had actually sent us flowers and welcomed us into the neighborhood, always asking if we need anything to let them know, and so the sense of community was so much better.

I love Muncie because of the huge art scene that we have here.

We have many artists that are working hard to beautify our city.

I have so many people in my circle that are working daily to improve downtown and to make it to where it's a destination for people from outside of Muncie to even come.

I'm a strong believer in the grass is greener where you water it.

If my neighbor is doing good, then I'm doing good.

So we kind of work together to try to see how do we bring more people down here?

How do we get people excited about downtown?

I would not want my tattoo shop to be anywhere else but Muncie.

- [Laura] Our building was built Boyce in 1880, so this is prior to the gas boom and he builds this building that we are in right now.

This was kind of the center of town.

It's the oldest surviving building from that era.

William, William C. was the artsy Ball brother and his son William H., so second-generation founded Muncie Civic Theater and they formed the charter of Muncie Civic Theater in 1931, which basically outlined their bylaws.

So forming a non-profit, a 501(c)(3), which we still have that charter.

The idea right from the beginning was that if you want to put together a group of people that want to put on a villain's false mustache and be kind of melodramatic, that sounds like a great deal of fun, but that's not what we're interested in.

We want a very high bar of quality theater.

So right from the get-go, that bar was set very high right from the charter.

It's something that's very important to us to this day.

I went to college for theater and for performance and acting.

My husband and I met each other in theater in about 2008.

We started coming around, auditioning for shows.

I ended up directing several shows.

I went on the Board of Directors and then in 2016 I became the Executive Director.

It's very important to us that we make our auditions for people accessible.

I stand up here on the stage and welcome people before the shows, and then I'm always talking about, "And if this looks like we're having a lot of fun and you would like to be a part of it," and then I talk about audition dates and I say, "We really do try to make it fun."

That's the beauty of community theater is that these relationships that people make with each other for short terms, for six weeks, basically we build something together and then we very gently and sometimes sadly tear it down to build something else, but it's the fabric of the relationships that are formed during those experiences that are really our foundation.

- [Chris] So George Carter was a minor and somewhere in the 1870s he was digging up around Eaton, they uncovered this shaft that had this really foul smelling odor that came out and then someone lit it on fire.

Then there was this huge flame and the apocryphal legend around it was that George Carter believed that he found the roof of hell in Eaton, Indiana.

So they quickly covered it up and then forgot about it, right?

Then 10 years later in Findlay Ohio, something very similar happens, but they in Findlay we're looking for natural gas and oil and they found it.

Carter runs to Findlay, Ohio, sees what's going on.

They lit this huge flame.

You could see it from miles around.

So he comes back, unplugs his roof of hell and they realize that, "Oh man, this is massive supply of natural gas," and then later oil right beneath their feet.

The reasons why Muncie did so well is because it was well-connected by railroads.

Boyce Block was built in 1880 by James Boyce over a handful of days.

James Boyce was a Scots-Irish immigrant to the United States.

- [Laura] His parents died in the Irish potato famine and he came to America all by himself and by the time he arrived in Muncie, Indiana, he was a little bit of an older man probably in his fifties, and he builds this building that we are in right now.

One of the things of James Boyce's story that I really love is that especially when you consider what his early life had been, and he finally as an older man is very successful, the choice might've been to just retire well, but instead he gathered people around him to try to make this town a better place.

So part of that manifested in hearing that there was a man, a family out in Ohio that was from New York state that was scouting land to rebuild a factory.

- The Ball family came to Muncie.

They were looking for a place to build a branch factory after the latest fire at their Buffalo, New York factory.

Frank C. Ball, the president of the company, was in Bowling Green, Ohio when he got a message from James Boyce that said, "You need to come check out Muncie."

- James and a group of businessmen that he puts together offer the Ball family seven acres, $5,000 and a gas well, which had now been discovered.

- They built up the factory here and they just decided one by one that it was easier to come here and all be together, and they were also following their mother's advice and mother had told them to always stick together.

- [Karen] I am Karen Vincent and I'm the Executive Director of the Delaware County Historical Society.

Muncie had been a center of shopping for much of East Central Indiana and one of the major department stores here that started in the late 1800 was the McNaughton Store, but by the early 1900s, they knew they needed a much bigger facility, so George McCullough owned a block downtown and he decided to build a five-story building.

McNaughton's moved into that building, so they moved in 1903, did very well, and then the Great Depression hit.

So by 1934 they were struggling and finally closed down, and at that point, George Ball and Frank Ball said, "We do not want to see Muncie without a major department store."

Through the company, they bought the McNaughton Store, and of course a lot of people lost their job then during the depression, but the Ball family hired back a lot of the people who had worked for McNaughton's, and the Petty family is really the most connected with Ball stores.

Fred Petty, who was Frank Ball's son-in-law and his wife Margaret Ball-Petty, were very interested in retail, so they purchased Ball stores from the company and then they ran it, first Fred, after he died, Margaret ran it, which was unusual for a woman in the forties to be running a major department store.

It was called Ball Stores, not Ball Department Store because it was said that there was 23 stores in one.

Ball Stores had everything from exercise equipment to furniture, to rugs to furs to wedding dresses.

If you couldn't find it at Ball Stores, you couldn't find it.

People who remember it have a very fond memories of Ball Stores because it's where you bought your Boy Scout or Girl Scout clothing and memorabilia.

It's where you bought your wedding dress or your prom dress.

It's where you registered for China when you got married.

When I was going to Ball State many years ago, a friend was getting married and so we went to Collegian.

They had a beautiful wedding section and she bought a dress off the rack, and I can even tell you that it cost $50 and I will say on the sale rack, and it's probably, I would still consider it one of the most beautiful wedding dresses I've ever seen.

Ball stores and Collegian dresse The Economic Development Alliance of Muncie-Delaware County works to connect businesses with resources, data, and local partnerships that support economic growth.

The Alliance offers guidance and information to those looking to explore opportunities in Muncie and Delaware County.

The Muncie Downtown Development Partnership works to foster economic and cultural activity in the heart of downtown Muncie through support for local businesses, arts events and community initiatives, the partnership contributes to the vibrancy of the downtown area.

More at DowntownMuncie.org Pridemark Construction is a full service construction company based in Muncie, Indiana with decades of industry experience in large and small construction projects, design and architecture, Pridemark works on a range of commercial projects and is committed to contributing to the quality of life in the communities it serves.

Katherine Onieal Investment Services can help to create the life envisioned for the future.

Whether building a future or preparing for retirement, Colleen Cooper can help guide each step of the way.

That's life well planned.

Raymond James Financial Services, member New York Stock Exchange SIPC.

Three Rivers Federal Credit Union, giving back to central Indiana communities through financial education, volunteerism, college scholarships, and more.

Serving Muncie, Fortville and Pendleton.

Learn more at ThreeRiversFCU.org.

Thank you to our sponsors.

And now let's get back to the program.

- [Marcy] I'm Marcy Minton.

I'm the president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County.

- My name's Cheryl Crowder.

I'm the Event Director for Muncie Downtown Development Partnership.

- I'm Traci Lutton.

I'm the Vice President of Economic Development with the Economic Development Alliance of Muncie, Delaware County.

I've had a relationship with downtown Muncie my whole life coming down when I was a kid for parades and renaissance fairs and whatnot, but there was a serious decline between my childhood and my adult years.

- I'm going to date myself a little bit here, but I was a teenager in the nineties and you get your license when you're a teenager, and my parents really didn't want me to come downtown.

They were nervous about downtown.

There were a lot of vacancies.

- So in 2000, the city administration along with Ball State University and the hospital in the convention center and the hotels all sort of came to this conclusion that unless they put some energy into downtown, none of them were going to be able to survive the way that they needed to.

- [Marcy] When I went away to college and then started my family and came back, I was shocked at how much had been done and there was clearly some collaborative and coordinated effort to improve our downtown.

- Through lots of hard work with Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, concerted efforts were made to create events and bring energy back into downtown and through those events and bringing people back into the core, people became more interested in opening a business or living downtown.

They found this new energy and cool vibe in our downtown that hadn't been there in a really long time, and I think that was really the game changer.

As simple as inviting people downtown and being intentional about creating experiences for play and fun.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts is a gathering place for artistic expression.

It is a place for celebrations and events, and it is really just a community gathering hub.

- I am Kourtney McCauliff and I'm the Board Chair here at Cornerstone Center for the Arts.

- I'm Rob Jordan.

I'm the Vice President of operations here at Cornerstone Center for the Arts.

- So in 2026, Temple will be celebrating 100 years of existence.

- [Rob] The building was started in 1923 and dedicated in 1926 as a Masonic temple.

The Masons are a philanthropic organization that believes in God, and basically it was networking back in the twenties, thirties, forties, and up to this present day.

We offer many things here at Cornerstone.

- [Kourntey] We offer a lot of art education at Cornerstone.

We do everything from dance to martial arts, 2D, 3D, painting, you name it, we have it regardless of your skill set.

- [Rob] I love Muncie because its such a diverse community and Cornerstone is a big part of that.

We're very welcoming.

It's been a labor of love my whole career here at Cornerstone.

So 2026, I'll have been here about 25 years, one fourth of the building's life, which even amazes me.

- [Kourtney] I think when you look at the building, you can tell the rich history.

You can tell the rich culture.

We have individuals such as Rob Jordan who have loved this building and have continued to care for it and treat it with respect over the years and the decades.

What I love about Muncie is that there is something for everyone in our community, and I love that Muncie creates these spaces for any development and expansion that you may have individually.

My husband and I got married here in 2019 and we love the building.

We love everything that the building stands for, and when I heard that they were in need of additional board members, I jumped up the opportunity to support something that was very important to my family.

Gladys Hearne.

Gladys E. Hearne was a Vaudeville performer.

I believe she was born in the twenties, ran away from home from high school and joined a Vaudeville troupe and performed all over the country.

And then because it was the later days of Vaudeville, as Vaudeville sort of was eclipsed by Burlesque, that became her deal.

That became her specialty, the feathers, the art of the tease, the sequins, the rhinestones, the pearls.

She made her own costumes by hand, and eventually she met a man.

Hearn was his last name, and so then she married him and retired in Muncie and she retired very independently wealthy, which is lovely for a woman at that time that she made her own money.

She came to Muncie Civic Theater, which had already been very well established.

I believe that they were in this building at that time, and she kind of looked around and she thought, "I could help here," and she never wanted a paycheck, and she sewed costumes, eventually built a very big costume rental business for the theater, kind of put us on the map.

The quality of the things that she made was absolutely incredible.

She understood fabric, she understood how to make people look good, and she taught others how to sew.

Her performer's name as a Burlesque artist was Mademoiselle GeeGee.

If there's a costume that she made, it always has a very specific tag sewn into it made by so we know.

And I've been in conversations with her daughter over the years to know she did some time in Hollywood.

She always worked and she was a professional at what she did.

The consistent idea of quality performances is something that I think from the beginning of our charter and what the founders of Muncie Civic Theater wanted for us, and then Gladys bringing her professional experience and teaching.

She was a teacher.

She knew that not a lot of people had the experiences that she had, and I think that she taught in a way that made people feel like they were learning, that they could elevate themselves.

- [Kynda] I am Kynda Rinker, Director of the Muncie Children's Museum.

- [Kira] I'm Kira Childers, Director of Development for the Muncie Children's Museum.

- Well, the Muncie Children's Museum was established in 1977.

There were a group of moms at the time, educators, that felt like Muncie needed a children's museum.

They wanted hands-on and interactive exhibits and activities for children.

- [Kira] It's definitely evolved a lot of ways.

We've started to incorporate a little bit more with technology.

I mean, that's a reality of our world, but we still maintain that kind of hands-on focus.

- [Kynda] And open things up to more collaborative play where we encourage children to a collaborate and learn from each other.

- [Kira] And one thing that we're really passionate about is making sure that young children who come here have the opportunity to see themselves doing a variety of different things that maybe they wouldn't be exposed to in their home.

One thing that we just started doing this year that we're really excited about is we've created a program that's called MCM Access for All.

So if you are a family and you receive something like Medicaid, you can come here and get in for $1 a person with a $5 max per family.

So we're trying to open up access to the museum to everybody, particularly our most vulnerable residents who deserve a place like this to play and to have the same experience that somebody paying full price for admission would get.

- [Kynda] I love Muncie because I feel like it's a great community to raise a family.

We moved here when I was 13 years old.

I went to high school here, and I just feel like everybody always says there's never anything to do in their hometown.

I feel like there's a lot to do in Muncie if you look for it.

- [Cheryl] I have been in the position of Event Director of Muncie Downtown Development Partnership for the last 25 years, so I am your party girl downtown.

I create all of the events and manage the people and the things that go with them.

I have been in Muncie for 41 years.

I discovered that as Ball State student.

It was during the nineties and downtown was pretty much abandoned.

It was some place that needed love, and I had some of that to give.

When I spent my twenties in downtown Muncie, there was no Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

The convention center was here, but there was no Canan Commons, amphitheater.

These things were in plans and there were a lot of people working behind the scenes to make them happen, but they did not exist.

- [Cheryl] Muncie Gras was one of the first major events that we did downtown.

We were able to bring in 17 bars from around the community and just put them up in empty spaces.

We had lots of live performances.

Each bar had their own entertainment.

There were lots of beads.

We did not know it was going to be as big of a deal as it was.

Muncie came out as a whole in big numbers, and everybody started talking about what a great time it was and how long it had been since they had been downtown.

And, "Did you see that new little coffee shop that is there?

Have you seen that new restaurant?"

- [Traci] And of course, Canan Commons.

We have these incredible musicians and performers that come every summer, free concerts for the public so you can really see the investment that was put there paying off.

We see people from all over the country coming for these shows.

- [Cheryl] Three Trails is in its 11th year at Canan Commons.

They're all Grammy Award-winning musicians.

People call and say, "Well, how much are the tickets?"

And you're like, "It's free."

And they're like, "No way."

It has been a great gift to downtown.

Fire Up Downtown.

This will be our fourth year doing Fire Up Downtown.

And it started actually as a dream.

One night I had this dream.

Literally there were balloons in parking lots.

It kind of started small that way.

They're 10 stories high.

Some of these balloons are twice the size of our buildings downtown, and then they do a glow show at the end, so they all twinkle their little lights and glow fire, and it just, it's awesome.

There is so much to do here, and it bothers me every time somebody says, "There's nothing to do in Muncie," because all you have to do is look.

And the thing, if you're invited.

- [Marcy] Somebody once told me that if you set your mind to it in Muncie and you get the right people on the bus, then we will make it happen.

We're that gritty, we're that determined.

And I think that's what happened at downtown.

We had some really determined folks and determined organizations, and I think that really set downtown on the right path.

- I love Muncie because there are a lot of people here who care very deeply about making it a good place for other people.

- I love Muncie because of its rich history.

- I love Muncie for many different reasons, but I think one of the biggest ones is I do think that the people here in Muncie truly care and they want what's better for their whole of their community.

- I love downtown Muncie because it's everyone's neighborhood.

(music) Now Entering Downtown Muncie is made possible by Economic Development Alliance of Muncie-Delaware County, Downtown Muncie Development, Pridemark Construction, Colleen Cooper, Raymond James, Three Rivers, and our presenting sponsors, the City of Muncie, First Merchants Bank and McKinney & Company with additional support from Twin Archer Brew Pub, Tribune Showprint, Rojo's Martini Bar, Murray's Jewelers, Corrigan Oil, Holder Bedding, The Campus Edge, Mad Jax, Muncie Action Plan, Scott Trout Family Dentistry and The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County.