The name Indiana means the "Land of the Indians," and is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States. Indiana is bounded on the north by Lake Michigan and the state of Michigan; on the east by Ohio; on the south by Kentucky, and on the west by Illinois. Indiana residents are called Hoosiers.

When I think of Indiana, I think of peaceful two-lane roads lined by cornfields or southern byways unraveling over roller-coaster hills. Transportation routes have been important to the state since the National Road was built in the 1830s. They made Indiana a crossroads, a meeting place of different essentials central to the Midwest. The Great Lakes give way to vast plains of corn, farmers share freeways with factory workers, and rural countryside borders on large cities. There is even diversity in the way people talk -- the high, sharp Midwestern accent of the north to a slight southern drawl near the Ohio River.

My townhome

South Bend/Mishawaka, Indiana is my home town. It is located in Northwest Indiana, and is within driving distance from three major metropolitan areas-Chicago, Indianapolis, and Detroit. It is only 45 minutes from the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan. Mishawaka is named after the Shawnee Indian Princess Mishawaka who developed a romance with a white trapper and was then abducted by her jealous Indian suitor. In the late 1880's, Mishawaka was known as the "Peppermint Capital of the World" due to the large amount of mint grown in the area.

Our neighboring city is South Bend which lies 4 miles south of the Michigan border and 90 miles east of Chicago. The St. Joseph River, which runs through South Bend, rises in southern Michigan running its course in a southwesterly direction into Indiana, then makes a "U-turn" and returns into Michigan. This is how "South Bend" got its name.

The history of South Bend/Mishawaka is as old as some of the great oak trees that have been growing on the banks of the St. Joe River for hundreds of years. Before the white settlers, native Americans lived here. Chief Elkhart and Princess Mishawaka were two legendary members of the Pokagans, one of the many local tribes. In the 1600's, French explorer LaSalle, passed through this area on his way to the Mississippi. He negotiated an historic treaty between the Miami and Illinois Indian tribes here.

One of the earliest pioneers was Pierre Navarre, the first permanent European settler in the region. The log home of Navarre and his Potowatomi Indian wife is located in Leeper Park in South Bend, preserved in its original condition.

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY

Our anchor and one of the areas most visited locations is the University of Notre Dame because it is the home of the "Fightin Irish" football team.

The University of Notre Dame was founded in 1842 by Fr. Edward J. Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Probably the most famous landmark on campus is "The Golden Dome" of the Administration Building. Inside, on the main floor, the hallways are lined with Columbus murals of Luigi Gregoori, a portrait painter at the Vatican Museum in the 1860's. Other places of interest on campus are the art galleries, the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and one of the world's largest college libraries.