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Oolitic also has a statue to no longer famous comic strip character Joe Palooka. They're very proud of it.
I come from Bloomington, which is just north of Oolitic. It's well-known where the limestone from the Empire State Building came from if you live there, but I never saw the actual quarry before.
It looks like they carved out the building from the ground and lifted it all in once massive piece
Joe Palooka
I looked up that comic and found it very familiar ... I've seen those before but I can't place it. I'm thinking it was bubble gum wrappers or candy wrappers or something. But I've definitely seen those comics before in some small format in candy, popcorn, cereal or something. I'm up in Canada in Ontario and this was all in the 80s. I know the comic is old but I remember seeing this comic when I was a kid somewhere.
You're thinking of Bazooka Joe.
Also known as Donald Trump's favorite philosopher.
Neat picture! Was this essentially a one time use quarry? I understand that the Empire State Building is very large, maybe it exhausted the stone. I wonder what the "ponds" are used for now?
As far as I know, yes. But there are a ton of other limestone quarries in the area. As for what is done with the ponds, I'll let the movie Breaking Away (filmed in Bloomington) let you know about that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYog3Id5EoU
That specific quarry has been filled in, sadly. I'm told there is a lot more security around them these days too. I can't 100% blame them for that, it's not like it's totally safe to swim there. I'm told you can do some good fishing in them as well, but that was never my thing.
I'm not sure I've seen that movie but I do remember one where some kids (or one kid?) rode bikes into an old quarry. I grew up near old quarries in southern Ohio and heard the same things you mentioned, and likewise never did those things. My Aunt worked at IU in the 60s, I am going to ask if she ever heard about this if she can remember. She was a librarian there.
You should ask her if she remembers the library being set on fire in the middle of an anti-Vietnam War demonstration. The students got the blame until it turned out it was a disgruntled ex-employee (I think it was a custodian). My dad was a professor there and told me about it. Apparently one of his colleagues actually started pointing a finger at the students and yelling, "YOU DID THIS!" at them.
What?! That's incredible. I think I can say with confidence it wasn't my Aunt 😬 Incredible story, I'm going to ask.
I always thought oolitic limestone took the name from carbonate ooliths present in the rock and had no idea it was a locality.
You thought correctly. The locality is named after oolotic limestone not vice versa.
This brings back memories of my sedimentology field trip when I was at IUPUI.
You and Captain Janeway. 🖖
Yes indeed! There's a statue of her there now, although I've never seen it in person.
I’ve spent some time in Bloomington, working for IU. Never got a chance to venture outside of tow much while I was there.
Really the only nearby place worth going to outside of Bloomington for any length of time, but it's really worth it, especially in the fall is Brown County, because it's beautiful. Nashville used to be fun, but it's been taken over by chains that pretend to be local and rustic.
If I’m ever out there again, I’ll check it out. I enjoyed Bloomington, what I saw of it. Only restaurant I remember is Mother Bear’s. They had some good pizza.
Yes, the best pizza in town when I lived there.
