(gentle music) - [Dave] Well, there's nothing here to suggest that this is not Indiana.

Hi, I'm Dave.

I'm from Indiana.

Where are you from?

- I'm from Indiana.

- [Dave] Yes, we're back home again in Indiana, but just where our home is depends on which Indiana you're going back to.

I'm from the state of Indiana.

- Oh, I'm from this town of Indiana.

Indiana, PA. ♪ Back home again in Indiana ♪ And it seems - Indiana's a quaint little community in western Pennsylvania that encompasses some 15,000 plus people.

We also are very happy to claim to be the home of famous actor Jimmy Stewart.

(gentle guitar music) - [Dave] The "Across Indiana" crew flew via Angel Air and straight into Jimmy Stewart Airport in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

There we were greeted by some of the local citizens.

That's Indiana Mayor JD Varner, and that's Bill Morehead, childhood friend of film legend and Indiana native Jimmy Stewart.

And that's our pilot, Jan Johanson.

He's from Sweden.

We were received with all the honors of visiting ambassadors from that other Indiana.

A police escort into downtown Indiana, is that right?

- That's absolutely.

Absolutely.

- [Dave] "Across Indiana" came here to explore the obvious coincidences and confusion which result when a state and a town share a common name.

How you doing?

I'm Dave.

I'm from Indiana.

- I'm Ernie.

I'm from Indiana too.

- No kidding.

- Yeah.

- I'm from Indiana.

♪ Indiana, Indiana ♪ Going back to Indiana again - Well, listen, anybody who had been born and raised in Indiana or who has resided here for any period of time, wherever you go and someone says to you, "Where are you from?"

You say, "I'm from Indiana, Pennsylvania."

- Hi, I'm Dave.

I'm from Indiana.

- I'm Lou Violi from Indiana, Pennsylvania.

- Invariably the next words out of the mouth of the person who asked where you're from says, "Indiana, Pennsylvania?"

Like they can't believe it.

- I'd like you to meet our pilot.

His name is Jan.

He flew us here.

- Oh, that's great.

- What do you think of the state of Indiana?

- Not much.

- We got the greatest state, the greatest town, and this is where Jimmy Stewart came from.

- This is the home of Jimmy Stewart.

We have lived here for 32 years and really enjoyed it.

It's a lovely place to entertain.

- Oh, look at this wonderful old drafty house!

Mary!

Mary!

- Have you met Jan?

He's our pilot.

- Yes, I have.

(bright music) - [Dave] Being the boyhood home of a Hollywood star is not Indiana's only claim to fame.

You see, they can also claim the name.

- We were here first.

(laughs) Preceding the state by some seven, eight months, being that Indiana was incorporated in March 11th, 1816, and the state of Indiana got statehood on December 11th, 1816.

So even though we are the smaller the geographical area, we think we are the predecessor to the state of Indiana.

- And I think anyone would agree, there's a striking similarity there.

- [Dave] Jim Cahalan, an Indiana resident who has studied Indiana history, both of them, points out some spectacular and uncanny resemblances between Indiana State and Indiana County.

- We've got this river, this curving river forming the entire southern boundary, the Ohio here and the Conemaugh River here beneath our county, and then the bullseye roughly in the middle of course is in the one case Indianapolis, your state capital, and in the other case right here where we're sitting in the town of Indiana, our county seat.

- [Dave] If Jim Cahalan sounds somewhat scholarly, it's because he's a professor and represents yet another uncanny similarity between the two Indianas.

You see, Professor Cahalan teaches at, get this, Indiana University.

(triumphant music) Indiana University of Pennsylvania that is.

- Everybody, I mean, that's the natural assumption.

As soon as Indiana comes out, you think state.

You think state school.

Indiana University, Hoosier Town.

Here, the definitive statement is, you know, where is this place?

I didn't even know where this place was on a map until I came here.

- [Dave] The city of Indiana is home to Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

IUP is a fully accredited undergraduate and doctoral institution with an enrollment of about 14,000 students, although their familiar name often precedes them and often in a direction they don't want to go.

- I've heard of an instance of one foreign student who had been here about three days and wanted to know where Bobby Knight was.

- We've been contacted by foreign students that are also basketball players.

A lot of times they think that we are IU instead of IUP.

And to be honest, we don't tell 'em that we're not IU.

We hope that they come here and then they won't know any different.

- [Dave] Kurt Kanaskie is the head basketball coach of the Indiana Indians.

We presented him with an official IU basketball autographed by Coach Bob Knight.

Perhaps it'll help out his recruiting.

I tell you, we are concerned though about maybe a name ID problem.

So wanted to humbly suggest a name change, if I could?

- Okay.

- How about Purdue?

(Kurt laughs) Have you ever heard of Indiana University at Bloomington?

- No, I haven't.

- You never heard of IU in the state of Indiana?

- No.

- I'm a graduate of Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, and I brought along my college transcript right here, and here is my diploma.

And I wanted to know if my credit hours automatically transfer?

- Oh, our faculty would have to evaluate them, but I would guess they'd be pretty good.

- But you haven't heard of IU Bloomington?

- No, I haven't.

- Have you heard of Purdue?

- Yeah.

- Figures.

- I was born in Marian, Indiana in 1961.

- I was born in Kokomo, Indiana.

- And I was born in 1919 in Bluffton, Indiana.

- Well, I'm a Hoosier from the very beginning.

I grew up there.

- [Dave] We found many people in this Indiana with ties to the other Indiana.

Some were born in the state of Indiana.

Some had children or relatives in Hoosier State.

David Kaka, a native Hoosier, married a loyal Pennsylvanian.

- Well, I'm from Indiana, a born and bred Hoosier, so we had to compromise, so we moved to Indiana, Pennsylvania.

So I can live in Indiana, she can live in Pennsylvania, and everybody can be happy.

- [Dave] Somehow all these people, most of them Hoosiers, went from one Indiana only to go to another.

- [All] Hello, Indiana!

(everyone cheers) (band plays) - Therefore be it resolved that the Borough of Indiana, Pennsylvania officially recognize the state of Indiana as its common bond affiliate.

- [Dave] Mayor Varner used our visit as an opportunity to extend official ties between Indiana, PA and the state of Indiana.

- All law abiding tax paying Hoosiers be officially adopted as cousins and honorary citizens of the Borough of Indiana, Pennsylvania.

(band plays) - [Dave] I was presented with a key to the city and among other things, a Christmas tree.

Indiana County, by the way, is generally considered to be the Christmas tree capital of the world.

In turn, I presented a proclamation on behalf of the people of the state of Indiana.

Now, therefore, I, Evan Bayh, governor of the state of Indiana, do hereby proclaim Indiana, Pennsylvania, an honorary adopted city of the state of Indiana, and do hereby extend honorary dual citizenship to the people of Indiana, Pennsylvania with all rights and privileges thereto appertaining except for the privilege of being called Hoosiers.

And one more thing, in the state of Indiana, you can't buy beer on Sundays.

Thank you all very much.

You're now honoree citizens.

(everyone cheers) ♪ Indiana ♪ Home to Indiana - Contact.

- Contact.

(plane whirs) - There's a lot of similarities and I like that.

I'm glad we have this direct tie in with Indianapolis and Fort Wayne and Evansville, Indiana.

But most of all, I think it's also our privilege to say Indiana, Pennsylvania, we were here first.

(laughs) (bright music)