Did a woman name Kokomo?
Also, Moores get a Pillar Award and Howard County is beefing up its cybersecurity
Women played significant roles throughout history, including Kokomo’s history, and Gil Porter, a local history writer representing the Howard County Historical Alliance, will talk about research revealing that the city’s name may not have been first suggested by David Foster — as long believed — but possibly by his 29-year-old wife.
Richardville County, now known as Howard County, was formed in January 1844. The Fosters donated 40 acres of land to establish the county seat, and the county commissioners named the unincorporated county-seat township “Kocomo” in August 1844.
However, recent research shows the modern-name Kokomo was actually found one year earlier in a church record. “Based on other evidence relating to the start of the first church here,” Porter said, “it’s possible that Elizabeth Foster was the source for the name — and not her husband.”
Calling the community Kokomo may indicate something about the relationship between the Fosters and the Miami Indians, who have lived along the Wildcat Creek for hundreds of years. “That the Fosters chose a Miami tribal name is important to our shared history,” Porter said.
Porter will talk about the recent findings during his presentation, “The Women of the David Foster Family,” at 6 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 8, as part of the Howard County Genealogical Society meeting at the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.
Porter will also share information about the updated Foster family genealogy, recently published by the Howard County Historical Society in the March 2022 issue of Footprints.
The Howard County Historical Alliance is a consortium of the Howard County Historical Society, KHCPL’s Genealogy and Local History Department, and the Kokomo Early History Learning Center Inc.
Moores receive Pillar award
Dick and Margi Moore, long-time owners of Moore Title Co., were given the Pillar of the Community Award by the Howard County Board of Commissioners at its Aug. 1 meeting.
“We wanted to say thank you for the dedication you have shown the community for many years, not just with your business, but in all you have done for Howard County,” said Commissioner Paul Wyman. “It’s extensive, the volunteer hours, the sponsorships, the list goes on and on. It has been a very impactful life you all have led.
“As a result of that, the Commissioners have an award we give out called the Pillar of the Community. We would like to present you with the award in recognition of 50 years of community service and giving back to the citizens of Howard County.”
County enters cybersecurity pilot program
Howard County will be one of five paired communities targeted for a cybersecurity pilot program from the State of Indiana. The county will be coupled with the city of Kokomo for the program, which is intended to evaluate local government’s cybersecurity protocols and build better protective practices involving the sensitive information it possesses.
Chetrice Mosley-Romero, program director of the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity, explained the goal of the pilot.
“When we look at the attacks on the systems of local government, which take place on a daily basis, we are finding that 80 percent of the successful attacks happen because of a person, not a technical issue,” said Mosley-Romero. “While there are a lot of great enterprise solutions, if we aren’t addressing the culture of cybersecurity in each local department, then we’re just limping along.
“We have developed a lot of resources and ties to partners, and now there is money coming from the federal government over the next several years. But before we get to that point, we need to figure out how we can be better at understanding the complexities of cybersecurity and local government.”
The pilot program will be conducted at no cost to the county or city, and department heads will have control over how the culture of cybersecurity is implemented in their offices. But the Howard County Commissioners made it clear that they see value in participating fully in the pilot program.
“Our IT department has been phenomenal and brought really good training, but this issue isn’t going away,” said Commissioner Paul Wyman. “The thing I like about this program is we need to review and take action on items we need to improve. We’ve been through a couple attacks. I’m sure there is information that can be shared back and forth to make sure we are in the best position we can be.”