The Indiana Bicentennial Commission has organized a “torch relay” in celebration of the state’s 200th birthday. The torch, representing the torch on the state flag, will pass through all 92 counties and will begin in Corydon, the first state capital, and will end at Bicentennial Plaza in Indianapolis. The torch will pass through Marshall County on October 4th between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The state torch committee provided the route through Marshall County as it enters from Elkhart County and exits into Fulton County.
Representatives from Marshall County’s bicentennial committee further defined the route with specific stops and hand-offs of the torch as it moves through Bremen, LaPaz, Plymouth and Culver. The torch, which will be escorted by a large caravan, will also pass by the Chief Menominee monument on Peach Road on its way to Culver.
The committee divided up the townships into the four towns that the torch will travel. Bremen will include torch bearers from Bourbon & Tippecanoe, LaPaz will include Polk, Plymouth will include West, and Culver will include Walnut & Greene.
Marshall County was allotted twenty torch bearers for the relay and worked with the state torch committee to solicit nominations for carriers through January 31st. More than fifty individuals from Marshall County were nominated to carry the torch. The local committee also wanted the county’s high school students to be represented in the relay, which resulted in the invitation by area juniors to submit an essay on “What does it mean to be a Hoosier?” Six of the county’s school corporations submitted a finalist and runner-up to carry the torch during their senior year. This decision to include students in this way is unique to Marshall County. The local committee felt that the bicentennial celebration should be as much about future generations as the past. The committee will have the essays archived with the Marshall County Historical Society and will share them with the media once the selections are finalized.
The local torch committee has forwarded twenty names including the essay finalists, and two alternates to the state bicentennial torch committee for final approval. The state torch committee will make the final determination on torch bearers and will be announcing the names selected to the public in May. The local committee will be working with the communities through which the torch will pass to further establish the events surrounding the relay.
