SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
Page A-2
The Republican
Delving Into Yester~Year
Local historian and writer Paul Miner takes items from
The Republican’s Yester-Year column to develop an interesting, informative and often humorous article.
To the Editor: Joseph Clements, brother of former county sheriff William Clements, was granted a $1 monthly pension in September 1896, a “munificent rate,” The Republican reported. I’m guessing Joseph was a Civil War veteran. William was, enlisting in the 51st Regiment on his 17th birthday and serving four years and four months. George W. Scearce and Amos Kersey got the same verbatim 1914 county history tribute for their Union Army service: “Pensions and political power may be thrown at their feet; art and sculpture may preserve upon canvas and in granite and bronze their unselfish deeds; history may commit to books and cold type may give to the future the tale of their sufferings and triumphs; but to the children of the generations yet unborn will it remain to accord the full measure of appreciation and undying remembrance of the immortal character carved out by the American soldiers in the dark days of the early sixties . . .” George, in Company K, 51st Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, during more than three years was in 31 engagements. Captured and imprisoned, and then paroled, he returned to duty and was shot in the hip at Nashville. Mustered out, he re-enlisted as a private and was made second lieutenant. Lincoln’s widow was said to receive a $3,000 yearly pension in 1881, and The Republican took umbrage at the exorbitant sum. “A great howl is justly being raised against what is generally being termed ‘the pension frauds,’” and the widow, “relict” of the slain president, was cited in connection with the howling. Custer’s widow received no pension as of March 1882, according to the paper, “and has been painting plaques for a living.” I think she earned quite a bit writing and lecturing about her foolhardy husband. A local widow of a Revolutionary War soldier was granted an $80 monthly pension in 1871, retroactive to 1867 when she was 100. A local man who served three years in the war, and was shot twice, was condemned in October 1881. “A man of dissipated habits,” the dayworker and father to 11, had “an undue appetite for strong drink.” Until attacking another man, for which he was charged with assault and battery “with intent to commit murder,” he had been considered “an inoffensive and average citizen.” I have to wonder whether our nation’s bloodiest conflict had a role in his behavior, notwithstanding the paper’s judgment of his “depraved appetite.” Had he earned a pension? A county asylum inmate was granted a $13,500 pension in mid-1890. A cavalry veteran of the 1864 Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, he was injured when he was thrown from his horse and hit his head on a rock. Confederates had strung wires between trees. “He had been known as one of the most jovial men in the company, but he gradually grew morose and sullen, until now he is a hopeless idiot.” Oak Ridge’s W.A. Hollingsworth, known as “righteous act,” was granted a $12 pension in October 1889. The Republican could not resist republishing a St. Louis paper’s 1886 jab at Democrats’ reported failure to override Grover Cleveland’s veto of several pension bills: “Unless the patriotic people of the country place the Republicans in a majority of the lower branch of Congress, a man who lost his arm by a mowing machine or in a railroad accident stands a better chance of getting a pension than a maimed soldier of the Union army under this administration.” Jacob Huber, Coatesville, had his pension increased from $14 to $17 per month in March 1898. He served in Company B, 11th Indiana Infantry. His white stone at Danville South Cemetery carries no birth or death date. A former comrade of bachelor shoemaker Harvey Henry, Company I, also 11th Indiana, reached town in May 1882 “in search of evidence to secure a pension,” claiming he walked all the way from Texas. By then, some 269,851 were on the pension roll, receiving $292,634,690 annually. “Upward of 5,000 . . . residences could not be obtained, as they follow the sea for a means of livelihood.” One cited source in 1886 claimed the federal government had paid nearly $750 million in pensions since 1861. “This sum would erect a free library in nearly every town in the country.” Paul Miner Lizton ______________________________________________________________________
East Coast Report by Jerry Vorhnolt Living near the coast, ocean life subconsciously slips its way into your soul without you realizing it. That is, until you move 700 miles away. Growing up in Delaware, little did I appreciate the “normal” experiences of going on a school field trip to catch Chesapeake Blue Crabs in brackish water or seeing thousands of prehistoric horseshoe crabs on the beach laying millions of eggs every spring, or going to the beach with bushels of crabs and beer after the football game then falling asleep under the boardwalk, or the scars left from the sand ripping your skin apart while body surfing the waves. Good times. Over the years my Hoosier wife and kids have come to appreciate ocean life on the coast. From time to time, they, too, crave the curative sound of the crashing waves and the savory taste of boardwalk fries soaked in vinegar. So good. While the daily routines may be different from those in Indiana, the issues facing the community are not too different. Recently, I was able to get back to Rehoboth for a few days and thought you might enjoy a report from: The East Coast office of The Republican. The Boardwalk, A Lesson in 3 Acts: Part I, The Play The first night after arriving in Rehoboth Beach, a friend and I went to see a play at the Clear Space Theatre. Clear Space is a long-standing theatre company in Rehoboth that attracts Broadway talent during the summer months and the shows are always well done. Thornton Wilder’s Our Town was the play. This is a well-known play but I had never seen it performed. The playbill showed this was a 3-act play. After having recently driven for 12 straight hours, I was starting to regret this decision. Like most well written plays, the previous acts build to set up the final act and this play was no different. Not knowing the story, I wasn’t sure where it was going. Then, there it was, the third act took a baseball bat 6 East Main Street ~ P.O. Box 149 to your sensitivities, which Danville, IN 46122 I will share later if you are Phone: 317-745-2777 / Fax: 317-647-4341 not familiar with the play. E-mail: therepublican@sbcglobal.net (Continued next week) BETTY JO BARTLEY __________ Editor SUBSCRIPTION RATE $40 PER YEAR SINGLE COPY 50¢ PUBLISHED WEEKLY
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Emily: “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it... every, every minute?” Stage Manager: “No. Saints and poets maybe...they do some.” Our Town By Thornton Wilder
Thursday, October 7, 2021
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 October 8, 1896 Oak Ridge: J.M. Barlow has raised a pumpkin, “Gov. Mount,” which weighs 86 pounds is of a beautiful golden color. The “Governor” is now at Ben Worth’s on exhibition and draws large crowds. Brownsburg: The sewer is completed which adds another improvement to our town. Amo: A young man from Pecksburg broke out with measles in the school room the first day of school and the result, there are twenty-five or more cases of measles in town and the surrounding country. The pole-raising at Fay Masten’s Saturday was a great success, the crowd being estimated at 1,000. James L. Clark delivered a vote-getting speech. The first month shows an enrollment in the city schools of 370 with an average attendance of 350. The Entre Nous Club was organized at Miss Maude Biddle’s, Monday evening. Albert Orth came in Tuesday noon for a short visit. He will be in Lynchburg this winter. The city schools have been adjourned until Monday on account of diphtheria. There are three mild cases – one each in the families of Messrs. Bolton, Wooton, and Gentry. Maplewood: Our school is too crowded. We are in the need of more room. Why can not Center, Union, and Middle townships united and have a graded school at this place? Rainstown: The Rainstown choir will furnish the music at the soldier’s reunion at Mr. Fulwider’s next Thursday. The Republican hosts of Hendricks County rallied in Danville yesterday in numbers that have been estimated from 12,000 to 15,000. _____ ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO Issue of October 6, 1921 To the amazement of all, the town board met in regular monthly session, Monday night, allowed the usual grist of bills and adjourned without a single indignant citizen appearing to make a kick about anything. The beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Taylor, East Broadway, the first reunion of the Jackson and Whyte families was held, Sunday. Sunday afternoon the body of Oscar Holtsclaw, killed in the Argonne forest, was laid to rest in the South cemetery, the Danville post of the American Legion officiating. Stilesville and community are crazy over baseball. Last Sunday, over 700 fans gathered to see their team beat the Colored Giants of Indianapolis. The score was 5 to 3, and it was some classy game. At a meeting of the local post of the American Legion, Friday night, there was a unanimous vote favoring the appropriation by the county of $35,000 for a county hospital. M.O. Hadley has sold his farm southwest of Danville to John Nickerson. Mr. Hadley is building a modern bungalow on his lot on East Broadway, just east of the S.L. McCurdy property. Oliver Stout, of Cloverdale, is the new Overland automobile salesman for this locality and has opened a salesroom in the Farmers’ Loan Company building, formerly known as the County Fair block. New Winchester: At 3 o’clock Sunday afternoon at the home of Wm. Branson, occurred the marriage of his daughter, Edna, to Abey William Woods, son of Gideon Woods. The color scheme was pink and green. The bride was dressed in white silk with shadow lace and carried a bouquet of pink roses and ferns. A parent-teacher association was organized in Washington township through the efforts of the Civics Home Economics Club. ______ SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of October 10, 1946 The Danville Business and Professional Women’s club have arranged to have their meetings in the club room of the court house. Neil Hagen of Rushville and John Rodgers of Clayton have been chosen yell leaders of Canterbury College. Miss Barbara Halfaker of Danville has been appointed business manager and advertising solicitor for the Ball State News. The total enrollment of the Avon school is 366. Two hundred and eight are in the grades and 88 in the high school.. North Salem: The Dead Leaves Guild of the Woman’s club folded bandages at
the Riley hospital, Friday. Those attending were Mesdames Verne Walton, Fred Smith, R.C. Wyncoop, Thomas Durham, E.R. Cooper and Earnest Hicks. A covered dish luncheon began the new year for the Stilesville Friday club at the home of Mrs. Clara Reitzel. The sixth annual reunion of the Tilden school will be Sunday, October 20. Two new members were added to the Canterbury College board of Trustees: Willis B. Conner, Jr. and Homer P. Hargrave. Born, to Mr. and Mrs. Glen Harvey, at the Witham hospital, Sunday, a son, Max. ______ FIFTY YEARS AGO Issue of October 7, 1971 Lawrence Martin, president of the Avon School Board vowed to fight busing all the way to Congress in his letter dated September 30. Tuesday was the last day for the Little Brick on the Danville Square. The building was originally a covered drinking fountain and later was enclosed for the Danville Police Station. Now, progress has caused it to be razed to make way for widening of Washington street and three sides of the square. Plainfield now has a new five-member advisory park board. Members are Ronald Schultz, Silvia Eastman, Geral E. Glen, Foster Jennings and John Reed. A resolution was introduced and unanimously adopted to change the name of the Danville Park as a way of honoring the man who has so carefully maintained it for the past 40 years, H.D. Ellis. Mrs. Leslie Sandefur, Danville Welcome Wagon hostess, reports new Danville residents include Rev. and Mrs. Ron McDugle from Lima, Ohio. They have two children, Jonathan, age 2 ½ and Melinda, age 7 weeks. Irle Miner and family recently visited her father, Roy Pratt, and wife of Huntington, Ind., then motored through Kentucky and the Cumberland Mountains. ______ TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO Issue of October 3, 1996 The Twin Bridges Recycling Dropoff Center will be celebrating its Grand Re-opening Saturday, October 5, from 8 a.m. to noon. The Center was closed several months due to public abuse. A Brownsburg angler has picked up $280 from the Red Man Hoosier Division Tournament Trail on the Ohio River. Russell Zolles landed two bass weighing 5 lbs. 4 oz. to place sixth. The new neighborhood Sears Hardware store will open its doors on October 21, at 10400 E. US 36, Avon. A petition is being circulated to create a Fire Protection District in Liberty Township. The Danville Flag Fund nears $3,500 according to Roy Walter, who spearheaded the campaign after the present flags have been twisted, ripped and otherwise damaged. The Hendricks Community Hospital Guild is hosting a Bake Sale on Nov. 14 and 1, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in the hospital’s main lobby. The Danville Community High School Choir is bursting at the seams this year with its biggest enrollment in over a decade, 70 members. _____ TEN YEARS AGO Issue of October 6, 2011 The Hendricks county Symphonic Society will open the season with “Heroes and Villains” on Friday, October 17, at Avon Middle School North. Hendricks County Clerk Cindy Spence was recently named the 2011 Outstanding County Clerk by the Association of Indiana Counties. Hendricks County’s first half marathon race started with a chill in the air on Saturday, October 2, on the court house square in Danville. In the shortest session of 2011, the Danville Town Council repealed two ordinances, approved another, and adopted the 2012 budget. Ordinances 2-2007 and 11-1996, prohibiting deadly weapons in public buildings were repealed. Lots of little ones came dressed as scarecrows to take part in the Downtown Danville Partnership’s Scarecrow Look-Alike Contest. First place went to 17 month old Brenden Clements. The Rev. Andy Burnett will deliver his prize-winning sermon at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church on Sunday, October 9. The speech received the Heartland Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association sermon award for excellence in preaching.
