6AM City In-house

The disappearance of Abe Martin 🔎

The disappearance of Abe Martin
The Kin Hubbard Memorial Park sign with Abe Martin cutout
Abe may have survived an Indiana winter, but was no match for one mysterious Hoosier. | Photo via Irvington Historical Society
It’s the year 1910. You crack open the Indianapolis News + go straight to the comic strips. You skim through the black-and-white drawings until you find a man with patterned pants, a dark jacket, and hat.

Who is he?

It’s Abe Martin, your friendly Brown County cracker-barrel philosopher.“You can take a voter to th’ polls, but you can’t make him think.” That’s just one of the quips you’re likely to read from the cartoon, which appeared in nearly 300 newspapers in the early 1900s and was drawn by long-time east-sider Kin Hubbard.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Kin has a small park memorializing him. You’ll find it on the corner of Emerson Avenue + New York Street close to Irvington. The park’s sign even had a cutout of the famed Abe Martin leaning against it. Key word “had,” that is.

Where did he go?

Twice now, it’s been stolen, most recently during the evening of September 12, 2022, when someone removed its bolts + sawed him right off. Though we don’t know what anti-comic culprit would do this, we can tell you that a clone will take the lost cutout’s place sometime later this fall.

We also know that if you’re interested in learning more about Kin or Abe, you can explore a plethora of information at the Bona Thompson Memorial Center (5350 E. University Ave.), where the two have a permanent exhibit. While you’re there, you might consider contributing to the Center, which has now created three copies of Abe Martin’s cutout.

Why Indy?

While Abe might be from Brown County, Kin Hubbard resided in Irvington, not far from the park in his honor. The Ohio-born artist moved to the Circle City after a friend showed his drawings to the Indianapolis News owner + editor at the time, John H. Holliday (yes, as in Holliday Park). For $12 a week, Kin worked at the paper for three years, left for a bit, then came back to work at the Indianapolis News until his death. Despite repeated job offers from other cities, he said he stayed in Indy because "[he’d] rather stay here where [he’s] known and can play in the band.”

Now that you’ve met Kin Hubbard, which other famous cartoonist is from Indiana?
A. Matt Groening
B. Jim Davis
C. Charles M. Schulz
D. All of the above
HIT US WITH THAT HOOSIER
6AM City In-house

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Wednesday, Nov. 9
  • Coburn Place Open House | Wednesday, Nov. 9 | 7 a.m.-7 p.m. | Coburn Place, 604 E. 38th St., Indianapolis | Free | Drop into the historic building for a tour to learn about the nonprofit’s mission + programs.
  • Strange Consensus! | Wednesday, Nov. 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Loom, 1901 E. 46th St., Indianapolis | Free | Play a Family Feud-style trivia game with host Emilie Strange.
Thursday, Nov. 10
  • Electronics Recycling Special Event | Thursday, Nov. 10 | 3-7 p.m. | Brookside Park, 3500 Brookside Parkway South Dr., Indianapolis | Free | Join the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability and RecycleForce in dropping off your unused, outdated, or broken electronics.
  • OnyxFest 2022 Fall Theater Festival | Thursday, Nov. 10-Saturday, Nov. 12 | 6:30-8 p.m. | IndyFringe Basile Theatre and IUPUI Campus Center Theater, 719 E. St. Clair St. and 420 University Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46202, Indianapolis | $15 | Experience Indiana’s first and only theater festival dedicated to the stories of Black playwrights.
Thursday, Nov. 17
  • Indy Fuel vs. Fort Wayne Komets | Thursday, Nov. 17, Friday, Dec. 9 | 7 p.m. | Indiana Farmers Coliseum, 1202 E. 38th St, Indianapolis | $16-$48 | Watch Indy’s minor league hockey team take on Fort Wayne.

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
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How ugly can you get? | Graphic by 6AM City
It’s sweater weather, and we want to make it count.

Send us your ugly Christmas sweatshirt designs for a chance to be featured on our all-over print sweatshirts + added to our online Six & Main store.

We don’t want to see the good, just the ugly.
SEND YOUR DESIGNS HERE

Weather
  • 70º | Sunny | 2% chance of rain
Development
  • A number of hotels that were announced pre-pandemic have opened, but 15 out of 20 have not made substantive progress. Two of them have been canceled: a Fairfield Inn planned south of Lucas Oil + the hotel planned for the Morrison Opera Place has pivoted to apartments instead. Find out about the others. 🏨 (IBJ)
Traffic
  • As of yesterday, 10th Street will be closed under the interstate between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. this week. Don’t worry, bus riders. This is not expected to impact IndyGo routes. 🚧
Sports
  • The Colts fired head coach Frank Reich on Monday. This followed a 26-3 loss on Sunday against the Patriots. Frank had been coaching the Colts since 2018 + will be temporarily replaced by former Colt Jeff Saturday. 🏈 (WRTV)
Travel
  • IND is flying into the future with its new Order Now system, which allows users to skip the line for a quick pickup on their way through the airport. The mobile ordering feature includes local spots like Sun King, Tinker Coffee + Shapiro’s Delicatessen. 🤳 (IndyStar)
Community
  • An old IndyGo bus could become a mobile market for fresh produce by the end of the year, thanks to several partnerships + city COVID funds. Working as an extension of Eskenazi Health’s Fresh For You Market, it will also provide nutrition education and help troubleshoot food stamp issues. 🥕 (IBJ)
  • Carmel is getting its first mosque almost a decade after the founders dreamed up the idea. Al Salam’s Islamic Life Center will sit at the corner of 141st Street + Shelborne Road. The groundbreaking was held on Saturday and attendees said they felt like it was “a holiday.” 🕌 (WISH)
Today Is
  • Election Day. FYI — all Indy Parks facilities will be closed to normal activities today in observance, except for the locations open for voting. Regular facility hours + programs will resume on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Find your voting center. 🗳️
Edu
  • Do you have an idea to make the world a better place? Any high school junior or senior in the world can compete in the University of Evansville’s High School Changemaker Challenge. Pro tip: Your idea could win you a scholarship, too. Juniors + seniors can pitch their concept by Thurs., Dec. 8. 💡 *
Announced
  • Things are about to get ugly because we want to see your best ugly holiday sweater design. If it’s selected, it will be featured on a sweatshirt in our INDYTtoday Six & Main shop for purchase. How ugly can you get? Email your design to us. 👀
DYK
  • Did you know there’s still time to share your Black Friday deals with our INDYtoday readers? Promote your business with us by submitting a deal to be included in our Fri., Nov. 25 newsletter. Pricing varies by market + must be submitted by Wed., Nov. 16.
Beauty
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Government

An update on Indy’s Window to the World
A rendering of the mall's interior with umbrellas hanging from the ceiling and shoppers walking around
Year-round indoor “streets” are planned to mirror worldwide scenes. | Rendering via Sojos Capital
Almost exactly one year ago, we told you about a $200 million redevelopment happening on the city’s northwest side. Window to the World is planned to transform the outdated Lafayette Square Mall into a hub that has a little bit of everything, including:
  • Senior + traditional apartments
  • Boutique hotel
  • Office space
  • International concert center
  • Bike shop
  • Movie theater
However, due to the current “construction climate,” the developer, Sojos Capital, has decided to keep the building closed until revitalization is complete. Current tenants of the building have the option of relocating to a free, temporary space in a former anchor store so they can continue doing business. It’s unclear whether the project is still on track to reopen on Monday, Nov. 21, but we’ll keep you updated.
6AM City In-house
THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Anna.

Editor’s pick: James Whitcomb Riley has found his way into another INDYtoday newsletter. In researching Kin Hubbard, I discovered that he ran into the famous Hoosier poet on the street, where he told Kin, “Kin, your book is bully: You’ve found yourself. You’ve got a great character in Abe and there is no end to his possibilities.” That certainly was true, as even after Kin’s death, the newspaper continued to re-run his Abe Martin comics for another 50 years.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Eat around the globe at these international grocery stores.
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