DOWN MEMORY LANE
BACK TO THE FUTURE:
STORY BY ARTHUR FOULKES PHOTOS FROM ARCHIVES
THE ROSE SHOW The annual Rose Show allowed students to show off a variety of innovative projects for their time.
W
orld fairs were in their heyday in the early 20th century, thrilling crowds with the wonders of the maturing industrial age. By 1927, the leaders of Rose Polytechnic Institute chose to start their own miniature version of this global phenomenon, calling it The Rose Show. Every two years from 1928 to 1940, this popular public event featured exhibits from each of the institute’s academic departments and student clubs, along with outside companies and organizations. The early shows took place over three days and attracted thousands of visitors to campus. The first, directed by Professor Clarence C. Knipmeyer, featured 225 exhibits, including 48 by the Department of Electrical Engineering alone. Visitors paid to attend the show, and printed material
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assured guests that exhibits were “arranged in such a manner that there will be no danger to any spectator” as long as they obeyed signs and followed directions. Total attendance at the first show was posted at 3,486. By 1932, attendance reached its peak with 6,765 people visiting 285 exhibits. Attendance remained well over 5,000 until the last show of this original period.
Designed to impress the public with the remarkable work taking place at Rose Poly, the show was advertised on radio, posters The Rose Show placed around Terre Haute, and by was a significant athletic coach Phil Brown and the event on campus traveling Rose Glee Club. In later and provided years, the original shows included an opportunity educational exhibits and others for students to that were purely entertaining. The demonstrate and Department of Chemical Engineering explain the work had 25 exhibits in the 1928 show, they were doing to a general audience.