Yester~Year

The Republican has published local news weekly since 1847. We offer this column as a look back at events from our archives and to help connect today’s readers to the people and events in our past.

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of March 26, 1896

New Winchester: Aunt Melinda Sharp, aged seventy-six, rode to church on horseback Sunday.

The “old maids” of Avon and vicinity held a leap year convention at the home of Miss Ora Bartley, one evening last week. “How to be Happy tho’ Married” was the title of a thoughtful paper by Miss L.S. She insisted that by judicious management, a married woman could have her own way and yet have the husband under the impression that he was the sole boss of the ranch, so to speak.

Plainfield: Miss Mary Clark won first prize in oratory and Miss Merritt won first in declamation at the Academy Contests.

Mont Clair: Bill Howard, formerly employed at the buggy and wagon factory of Mr. Olsen at Pittsboro, is now engaged in blacksmithing at this place.

Rainstown: Milt Armstrong has had a new milk house built at the base of his windmill.

Mont Clair: Jovial Isaac Mendenhall is highest and surest footed in favor of McKinley than any man in the county. That is, he is seven feet tall and wears a No. 14 shoe.

Lizton: A.M. Thompson, in one shipment on Dec. 14th, shipped from this place 19,940 pounds of dressed poultry on which the freight was $149.55 and has handled, during the seson just passed,a total of 45,000 pounds of dressed poultry for which he paid the farmers in the round numbers $6,000. He assures us that the business is only in infancy.

New Winchester: Dr.Osborne had a pleasant drive two miles north of New Maysville, Putnam County, that horrible stormy night, at midnight, seven miles from here. It was enough to kill a man made of sheet-iron.

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ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO Issue of March 24, 1921

Despite what the weather man and Uncle Mike Rodney may have up their sleeves for the future, there are some sure signs of spring. Saturday, the blind man was singing on the streets, his cup being extended for the change of people passing. The first medicine man of the season held forth all afternoon and evening and raked in the dollars in exchange for the cure-alls he sold.

Judge Dougan thought he almost had the infant class before him when three Washington township lads, ages 14, 13 and 12, were charged with petit larceny, the alleged offense being in taking chickens from the hennery of the Methodist parsonage at Avon.

A Carnival is to be given Saturday night, April 2, at the D.H.S. building in which we will have “An Old Mill Fish Pond, Swimming Match, Fortune Teller, Smallest Baby in the World, Some Excellent Belgian Hares and a Merry-go-round.” Also a vaudeville and roof garden with swell music.

Clayton: The new fence about the high school grounds is nearing completion. Shrubbery, trees and hedges are shortly to be planted with appropriate exercises by the high school on Arbor day.

According to the calendar, spring officially arrived last Monday, when the sun crossed the Rockville road and the wind and rain storm cut up “high jinks,” as usual, followed by clearing and colder weather.

Miss Mildred Musgrave closed her studio, this week, to attend series of lectures, at Indianapolis, on advance photography.

Thad S. Adams received a special shipment of eight gallons of Miami county pure maple syrup from Mr. and Mrs. Will Howes of Peru. Two gallons of it were immediately expressed to his sons, Campbell and Donald Adams, New York City.

Hazelwood: Tom Mix at “The Cozy Theater” Saturday night in “The Untamed.” Good comedy.

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SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of March 28, 1946

Clayton: The Seniors added $100 to their Washington trip fund from concession rights and dance following the donkey basketball game, Saturday night.

Sammy Eggers, employed at Thompson Drug Co., is driving the first Dodge to be displayed at E.J. Roberts’ garage. Everett Long, living near Clayton, bought the second Dodge the same day.

Since the opening of the Frozen Food Locker plant, an average of over 3,000 pounds of processed meat per day has been taken care of.

The newly organized Hoosier Symphony

Orchestra will make its debut, Sunday afternoon, April 7, at 3 o’clock, in the Central Normal College gymnasium, with Percy Grainger, world-famous pianist-composer-conductor, as guest artist.

The Danville High School Warriors’ regional tourney basketball team was entertained at a dinner at Spring Hill and a hockey game at the coliseum at Indianapolis, Sunday evening, by House of Hadley, Moore Insurance Agency, Danville Drug Store, H.H. Disney and son, Hursel, Jr.

Dr. Harlan H. Tyner of Indianapolis has purchased the office and residence of Dr. R.E. Jones at Clayton and will move his family there within the next week. Dr. and Mrs. Jones will move to California for permanent residence.

Amos Shelton of New Winchester , former basketball coach at Amo, is walking on crutches as a result of the donkey basketball game at New Winchester, Saturday night, when his foot was injured.

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FIFTY YEARS AGO Issue of March 25, 1971

The new Reno substation, energized January 25, will highlight the accomplishments at the 35th annual meeting of the Hendricks County Rural Electric Membership Co-operative, Saturday, at Cascade High School.

Mrs. Evelyn R. Nye has been promoted to Post Master at Amo.

Hursel Disney, president of the First National Bank & Trust Co, Plainfield, has presented an original signature of President Martin Van Buren to the Historical Room of the Plainfield Library.

“Aerial” was the word that kept Cindy Newell of Pittsboro from winning the Hendricks County Spelling bee last week at Plainfield. Larry McClane of Cascade Junior High School corrected the word and then spelled “benevolent” correctly to take first place.

Bruce Gibbs, R.R. 1, Clayton, has been named to receive a special award for his excellence in corn growing from Funks G-Hybrids.

A daughter, Kelly Maureen, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Elvin Cassity of New Winchester, March 20, at Hendricks County Hospital. The Cassitys also have a 4-yearold daughter, Colleen Marie. __________

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of March 21, 1996

“Clycler,” a recycled robot, spoke to Grade 2 students last Monday about ways we can help reduce, reuse, and recycle to reach the goal of Half the Trash by 2001.

Monday night, the Danville Twin Bridges Recycling and Disposal Facility presented their plans for connection to the Town’s sanitary sewers for leachate.

The North Salem Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, North California street, will dedicate its recently refurbished sanctuary on Sunday, March 24. The current sanctuary was built in 1903.

Cole Warren Dugan was born on March 15, 1996 at the Hendricks Community Hospital, Danville at 6:24 a.m., weighed in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 inches long. Cole is the son of J.R. and Tammy Dugan.

Clayton Pruet of Danville exhibited the reserve bull calf champion at the 1996 Indiana Angus Futurity Show & Sale at Franklin. The winning entry is named Pruet Executive 16E.

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TEN YEARS AGO Issue of March 24, 2011

Avon resident Ralph “Zoc” Zoccolillo of the Indiana Blue Star Salute program was honored for his work in support of veterans and their families at the Indiana Social Work Celebration.

The luck of the Irish was with Judge Jeffrey V. Boles on March 17 as he was declared winner of the annual Dash to the DQ by default when his competitor, Emory Lemke, Executive Director of Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau, did not show up on opening day.

On March 22, a tribute was made to the late Bob Carroll, building program manager of the Hendricks County Engineering Dept. for more than 30 years. A portrait was unveiled that will hang outside the Circuit Court Room with a plaque recognizing Carroll’s “commitment and unwavering dedication to restoring and preserving the integrity of the Hendricks County Court House.

Hendricks County Arts Council announces the establishment of the Susan Miller Carter Scholarship for Fine Arts and Philanthropy

Plans are underway to renovate the aging concrete block Amo Community Building that was dedicated in 1959.

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Birthday parties, new babies, anniversaries, visits from long-lost cousins -- these items that make up the kind of news you only find in the pages of The Republican.

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