Postcards from the edge (of Lake Maxinkuckee) From the 1900s through the 1950s, life at Culver Military Academy and Culver Summer Camps was documented through a rich assortment of black-and-white, sepia toned, and colorized postcards, often with exceptionally fine photography. The postcards represent various aspects of Culver — the military, buildings, horsemanship, sports — plus scenes off campus. It is not known how many postcards were actually produced. Several collectors have more than 300 unique postcards. (There are about 400 images posted on the Digital Vault.) Postcards are relatively inexpensive to acquire and can be found on ebay, at flea markets, and antique stores. Some of the rarer postcards can cost from $30 to $50. There is a postcard on ebay of the 1915 baseball team with an asking price of $240. It is the only one ever seen, according to Bill Githens, a collector and the assistant curator at the Academies Museum.
dinnerware still serving Some 25 years ago, when the town of Culver’s Emily Jane Culver Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star No. 484 lodge merged with the Plymouth (Indiana) Masonic Temple, the chinaware associated with the OES became expendable. The Plymouth lodge wanted only the cups, saucers, and dessert plates. The dinner plates were handed off to the Culver Lions Club. Several years ago, having served its purpose, the Plymouth lodge boxed up all of the Emily Jane Culver china and was on the verge of taking it to the dump when it was discovered by lodge member Verlin “Verl the Barber” Shaffer of Culver. Shaffer relayed that fact to the Academies Museum which, of course, was interested in the unwanted china. In 2014, the Plymouth lodge donated all of the china back to the museum, as did the Culver Lions Club. Assistant Curator Bill Githens said the museum has been selling off the four-piece place settings piecemeal as well as donating it to the Culver Parents Association and the Culver Boys and Girls Club auctions.
Got milk bottles? Among the most coveted of artifacts among Culver collectors and dairy memorabilia collectors alike is the halfpint glass CMA dairy bottles, circa 1915. Thanks to a tip, this bottle was acquired at a Lafayette, Ind., auction by Jerry Ney. For a brief period, Culver Military Academy pasteurized the milk it served in the Mess Hall and bottled its own milk as well.
CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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