Muncie in 150

About the Book

Muncie in 150 started as a look at the community’s sesquicentennial celebrated in many ways by the summer of 2015. The story about Middletown USA evolved into history in the making with several events that offered once in a lifetime experiences for the people and leaders of the community. As Europeans moved to the Midwest after the 1818 Treaty of St. Mary’s with Native Americans, Muncie grew along the banks of the White River until railroads charted the course for trade, commerce and later industry in Indiana. The community’s post Civil War development along with its turn of the 20th Century industrialization offered progress at every turn along with a growing higher education and health care system making it a regional center. Many of Muncie’s celebrities are featured like that cat from Albany drawn by Jim Davis and his associates who are looking to China for the next market for Garfield.. There’s also the tragedy of National Football League star Dave Duerson who was an All-American and won two Super Bowls. Duerson took his life and had his brain used for research into chronic brain trauma. There’s also some reads on what’s happening in Muncie today like a no contest city election and a failing school system. Muncie in 150 offers a view for those here and there to a community in the Midwest that always puts quality of life and place before crime and poverty.

About the Author

Rick Yencer is a writer, activist and now author of the new book, Muncie in 150, that chronicles the people and places of the Midwest community also known as Middletown USA. Growing up on a farm near Roll, Yencer learned how to write from mentor Ed Henderson who taught journalism in Hartford City and Muncie schools. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Ball State University and went to work for The Muncie Star and later The Star Press. Over 35 years, he wrote about government, business, crime, education and the people of Muncie and Indiana. Yencer also has been active in political, faith and environmental groups besides continuing to tell stories as he did over the last half century.