Wednesday, August 26, 2026
www.thepapersonline.com
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties
Know Your Neighbor . . . . . 2➤ Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vol. 56, No. 9
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
HISTORIC HELICOPTER — A Model 47 helicopter used during the Korean War is displayed at the Lawrence D. Bell Aircraft Museum. The helicopters were used to quickly transport wounded soldiers to Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH, units, with a stretcher mounted on the side.
Mentone museums offer history, events Text and Photos By ABBY OLIVER Staff Writer The Lawrence D . Bell Aircraft and Mentone Historical Museums invite the public to explore Mentone’s history through artifacts and events, including Rotors Over Mentone . The museums, open 1-5 p .m . Sundays at 210 S . Oak St ., Mentone, offer a glimpse into the history of Mentone and surrounding communities .
Guests at the Historical Museum can explore Mentone through exhibits co-curated by Alice Keirn, museum board member and curator of the Mentone Historical Museum . Exhibits include the history of Mentone’s Egg, a 3,000-pound, 10-foot-tall concrete egg, the Kosciusko County Basketball Hall of Fame and other exhibits . At 2 p .m . Sunday, Sept . 20, Keirn will give a slideshow presentation on what made Mentone “The Egg Basket of the Midwest .” The presentation will feature egg farms that have been part of Mentone’s history, including Manwaring’s and Creighton’s, as well as the egg show and egg buyers from around
the country . At one point, 14 train cars of eggs were shipped to New York from one of the farms . Keirn will have two Egg Show Queens at the presentation, including one selected in 1950 while she was a sophomore at Atwood High School . The Lawrence D . Bell Aircraft Museum features artifacts about Mentone’s aviation pioneer . Born in Mentone in 1894, Bell became chairman of the Bell Aircraft Corporation . “To me, that is what’s interesting in history, is Larry Bell in particular and the artifacts we have representing him,” said Dave Smythe, board member . “He was involved in the industry basically from the beginning . The fact that he was born in Mentone, and we were able to acquire his history . Mentone is like any other
MUSEUM CARETAKERS — Members of the Bell Aircraft Museum Board stand in front of a historic Huey helicopter. From left: Dave Smythe, board member; Marsha Scott, secretary and Alice Keirn, board member and curator of the Mentone Historical Museum.
little town, with its growing pains and past history .” The museums also preserve military and everyday history . “We honor our service people, the ones that we lost . . . we have their pictures but we also have uniforms of some of the other guys that served from several of the wars,” Keirn said . “We also have a bunch of toys from the 30s or 40s . . . there’s just lots of little things .” Visitors can also participate in the history through a chicken naming contest . The plush rooster and chicken, Henry and Henryetta, have eight chicks that need names . “Every week there would be something different,” Keirn said . “I got it all done and I had eight little chickens out eating .” She described how some helpers hid a little duck underneath one of the chickens, adding a duck to the little plush chicken family . il iv historic C A — M R The contest is open to O IF N ne WOMAN IN U d at the Mento ye la anyone 12 or older, with sp di rm Air Patrol unifo . Dave Smythe, a museum entries accepted through m eu e Gertrud Historical Mus d his mother 5 p .m . Saturday, Sept . 12 . te na do r, iv be C board mem e joined the The museums also he’s uniform. Sh high school. McClane Smyt om fr g tin each count for a location ua ad gr r , when il Air Patrol afte display in 2020 on the America 250 in on t pu as w Her uniform Kosciusko County Pass. she was 95 port contest . County-
wide, 250 artifacts can be found across 12 locations . Visiting all 12 locations counts toward a bonus entry for the grand prize drawing . The museum’s largest event, Rotors Over Mentone, will be held at 11 a .m . Saturday, Sept . 12 . Navy Commander Mike Stock, author of Chasing the Four Winds, will speak . Stock has a 45-year professional flying career, more than 15,000 hours of flight time and has piloted more than 100 aircraft models . He has survived two helicopter crashes and other crashes . American Huey 369, a non-profit organization that restores historic helicopters and honors military veterans, will bring a Huey helicopter from Grissom Air Reserve Base . Rides will be available for a fee . Food will include chicken tenders, hot dogs, chips, pop, cookies and ice cream from the Igloo in Silver Lake . Organizations will offer information on veterans and other topics, and both museums will be open for questions about the artifacts . For more information, visit visitkosciuskocounty . org/250-passport or bellaircraftmuseum .org .