What's a Hoosier

As a born and bred Hoosier and an Indiana University Hoosier (and darn proud of it) I remembered my hometown poet James Whitcomb Riley's lighthearted explanation of the word as being "who's ear." Riley says the name was coined the morning after a bar brawl with someone hollering, "who's ear."

When I was growing up I remember my Dad telling me it the name came from early pioneers, living in remote areas hollering out as they approached a homestead. Residents would holler out, "whose thar?" If they didn't get an answer they were likely to fire their shotguns in the direction of the stranger.

Speculation about the origin of "Hoosier" began as early as 1833. There is a report that the "Indiana Democrat" newspaper reprinted an article from the "Cincinnati Republic: that stated among other theories that the term was coined by Ohio boatmen and referred to those boatmen who lived on the Indiana shore.

That same article referred to a statement made by former Indiana Governor James B. Ray claiming he was going to start a Greencastle newspaper in 1833 called "The Hoosier."

Other reports say the word is derived from the Saxon word "hoo" meaning cliff, ridge, rise or hill. Hence, a Hoosier was someone who lived in the backwoods on a ridge, rise or hill. That works in southern Indiana, might be passable in central Indiana but forget it for northern Indiana where it's flat, flat, and more flat.

The next explanation is that the English brought it to the southern United States and intended it as a slur denoting a rustic, bumpkin, roughneck or unskilled fellow such as the early Indiana pioneers.

Of course, everyone knows there is more than corn in Indiana but the Indians here had a word for the vegetable. They called it "Hoosa." So some say Hoosier is a derivative of that word.

At Indiana University the word Hoosier is a signature of pride. Those of us who attended school there are proud to call ourselves Hoosiers.

All things considered, the best explanation and the one I'm going to give to people from now on is that one embroidered by Bob Hardwick's mom that hangs in his office.

It says: "Hoosier (Hoo-zar)--a person born or living in Indiana, industrious, hospitable, down home folk who enjoys popcorn, Indiana summers, race cars and basketball."

I don't know anyone who has ever said it better.