State pie on Senate menu
INDIANAPOLIS--In a session weighted down by the economic crisis, cream pies took charge the Senate floor Thursday.
Sen. Allen Paul, R-Richmond, introduced a resolution that would make sugar cream pies the official state pie and honor an Indiana-based company, Wick's Pies.
Wick’s Pies, based in Winchester, sells about 12 million pies and pie shells each year. They employ about 100 people and have been an Indiana treat for over 60 years. They sell a variety of the confections, but they’re most famous for their cream pies.
So is Indiana.
The sugar cream pie was invented in the early 19th century on the eastern side of Indiana and is sometimes called “Hoosier pie.” If the resolution passes, the nickname will become official and the sugar cream pie will be the official state pie.
Paul defended the resolution, saying it celebrates the best Hoosier values.
“This is who we should be honoring in Indiana,” Paul said. “People who employ people.”
Students from Ball State University and the Indiana Foodways Alliance teamed up to gain recognition for the Hoosier-born pie.
The Foodways Alliance’s logo features a cream pie behind their name--just one way to salute Indiana’s sweet heritage. Now they’re looking to give it more recognition, along with Wick’s Pies, the state’s largest cream pie manufacturer.
Paul wanted the pie recognized not only for it’s uniquely Hoosier history, but also for Wick’s contribution to the state’s economy.
“This is what you call commerce,” Paul said. “This is Indiana commerce.”
Company president Mike Wickersham spoke to the Senate about his father’s company. Duane “Wick” Wickersham died in November at the age of 94, but his son said he would have been proud to see the Hoosier pie become official.
“This is a culmination of a true career,” Wickersham said.
