Tipton Magazine March 2022

MARCH 2022

MAGAZINE

GOOD TIMES, GREAT GAMES MATT WADDELL REFLECTS ON BASKETBALL CAREER

CENTER OF ATTENTION C.W. MOUNT COMMUNITY CENTER AND BANQUET FACILITY HOLDS RICH HISTORY

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GOOD TIMES, GREAT GAMES MATT WADDELL REFLECTS ON BASKETBALL CAREER Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Justin Sicking

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M

att Waddell has fond memories of his time playing basketball at Tipton High School. Though he played his freshman year at Western, his last three years were at Tipton, where his dad was an assistant basketball coach.

“Tipton was a great experience,” Waddell says. “Fans were really supportive and we had a full gym at every home game.”

Following games, he and his teammates would hang out at one of their houses or go to Pizza Shack by the track.

Waddell recalls their games against rival Tri-Central as always being loud. The teams faced off each year around Thanksgiving to vie for the Pilgrim Cup. During his junior

and senior year, they played Anderson at the a practical joker who liked to laugh, make fun of himself and make fun of us. I liked Wigwam in front of a giant crowd. that balance.”

“I remember walking into gyms like that where they didn’t expect Tipton to be much Having Glenn Robinson as a teammate was or bring much, and then showing them what a dream. we could do,” Waddell says. “Those were fun “Playing with Glenn made my job easy games.” because he was so good every single night,” He describes playing for Purdue University’s Waddell says. “Our job was to get him the ball in the place he could score.” former Coach Gene Keady as difficult but enjoyable. Keady had a passion and excitement for the game and for his players As Robinson often got double teamed, Waddell and his teammates needed to be that was palpable. available to hit open shots. That’s precisely what happened during one of Waddell’s “What I appreciated about Coach Keady all-time favorite matchups - when Purdue was that when he walked onto the court there was nobody more competitive, but off played Michigan. It was the second to the court he had fun,” Waddell says. “He was last game of the 1994 season and the TownePost.com / MARCH 2022 / TIPTON MAGAZINE / 5

Boilermakers were half a game behind in the Big Ten. At the time, Michigan still had four of the famed Fab Five recruiting class members (Chris Webber had left) and was leading the Big Ten. “It was a game where we jumped off early and got a bit of a lead,” Waddell says. “They came back and it was tied at halftime. In the second half they jumped out, we were behind 10 to 15 points with three or four minutes to go, and then we went on a run during the last two minutes.”

Waddell hit a couple of three pointers, and Robinson hit one and got fouled. After fighting their way back, Robinson hit a shot with a couple of seconds left to win the game. The Boilermakers won the next game at home against Illinois, securing the Big Ten title that year.

The August before his senior year of college, Waddell was practicing at Mackey Arena when he tore his ACL. “I lost a lot of opportunities I thought I was going to have after my senior year from a basketball standpoint,” Waddell says regarding the injury. He spent the year

trying to recover.

he played Amateur Athletic Union ball.

“I wasn’t really healthy until the last 10 games or so, but by the end of the season I was exhausted,” he says. “My senior year was a blur in some respects because I was rehabbing all the time.”

Waddell and his wife Kari, a radiologist, have a blended family of five children Taylor, Brian, Emily, Grace and Jack. These days Waddell gets pleasure from watching his son Brian play for the Boilermakers.

After graduating he was ready to take a breather so his body could heal and his mind could rest.

“It’s awesome seeing him take off,” Waddell says. “He’s worked so hard on his game to be where he’s at. He’s earned it.”

“It was a stressful but successful senior year,” he says. “I needed to decompress. It can be a jolting experience when you’re accustomed to going 100 miles per hour with training, practices and playing college ball, to transitioning to a full-time job.”

Unfortunately Brian, a redshirt freshman, followed in his dad’s footsteps and blew out his ACL.

Waddell had always had his sights set on obtaining his pharmacy degree, which is a major reason he chose to study at Purdue.

Since then he’s enjoyed a career in the pharmaceutical industry. He worked for a couple of different companies before moving to Eli Lilly, where he’s been since 2002.

In 2017 Waddell was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Hoosier great Alan Henderson, with whom

“I told him this was the one part of the Waddell experience he could have skipped,” he says.

Waddell played with and briefly roomed with Matt Painter back in college. Now his former roommate is coaching his son.

“I like Matt’s honesty, transparency and directness,” Waddell says. “I just love what he has built and is building at Purdue. He’s not done yet. He’s got great players coming in and he’s got them playing the right way.”

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CENTER OF ATTENTION C.W. MOUNT COMMUNITY CENTER AND BANQUET FACILITY HOLDS RICH HISTORY Writer / Julie Yates Photography Provided

Ever since it opened in 2001, C.W. Mount Community Center and Banquet Facility has served as a gathering place for the people of Tipton. The initial concept and funds that established the self-sustaining nonprofit were provided more than half a century ago, through a bequest from Cleon Wade (C.W.) Mount. At the time, Mount was a pillar of the community and hoped his gift would help the town flourish. Today that wish is especially timely, as Tipton is increasingly becoming known as a boutique shopping destination where new businesses are opening.

Mount lived an extremely colorful life.

Born in 1880, he died in 1954 at the age of 74 and is buried in Fairview Cemetery.

When he was 16 he ran away to fight in the Spanish-American War. Later he got a degree from Butler University and followed in the footsteps of his father Walter Mount by becoming a lawyer. Both father and son were circuit court judges.

The younger Mount held the position for two consecutive terms until 1953. In addition, he organized the first company of the Indiana National Guard, secured the National Guard Armory in Tipton and was instrumental in starting an American Legion post.

Mount was also a businessman. Besides owning hundreds of acres of farmland, he was president of both the Tipton Telephone Company and the Farmers Loan and Trust.

In his will he set up a trust to provide funds to be used for a community center upon the death of his wife Neva. In the 1950s there was concern about juvenile delinquency, and he wished to provide a place for teens, TownePost.com / MARCH 2022 / TIPTON MAGAZINE / 7

teen center is. We have pickleball multiple times a week in the gymnasium and we have several different basketball leagues that we rent it out to. We also have a volleyball league who uses the gym. People who just want to rent it for an hour can come to shoot some hoops. There is also a walking track above that requires a membership.”

“ THE PLAN IS TO GET MORE EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY TO COME IN AND ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER WITHIN THE CENTER, WHETHER IT’S USING THE GYMNASIUM OR HOSTING AN EVENT.” —CARLY BAKER as well as public and social meetings for adults.

After Neva Mount died in 1997, plans began for the Community Center. The building is anchored by a gymnasium and large, flexible banquet facilities. There is also a catering

kitchen and space for rental.

“I believe the building has always been used to full capacity since it began,” says Carly Baker, the new facility manager. “There was a Lifetime Fitness where the Anytime Fitness is, and the senior center where the

The banquet hall spans 5,280 square feet that can easily be separated into three separate areas with partitions. Within it is a beautiful hardwood dance floor, a sound system, and enough 60” round tables to accommodate 250 people. When the room is divided it becomes the C.W. Mount Room for 120 people, the Sagamore Room with theater seating for 120 people, and the Cardinal Room, which is next to the kitchen and holds 72 people.

“I think the kitchen gets overlooked,” Baker says. “There are so many different things that could potentially happen within the kitchen - a meal-prepping company who is just starting out, luncheons for churches, and people who bake in bulk, among other things.”

The staff hopes the facility will become even more of a community center. Through the years it has hosted many events such as baby showers, wedding showers, weddings,

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luncheons, business meetings, dance lessons, basketball practices and game nights. Baker, who recently took over as facility manager, is excited for the future.

“The center has many different moving points to it and is really for anyone,” Baker says. “We have Anytime Fitness, the Boys & Girls Club, the gymnasium, an industrialsized kitchen, and of course the banquet hall. I think it opens up so many new opportunities within the community and even bordering counties. The plan is to get more events and opportunities for the entire community to come in and enjoy what we have to offer within the center, whether it’s using the gymnasium or hosting an event.”

The C.W. Mount Community Center and Banquet Facility is located at 341 West Jefferson Street in Tipton. Call 765-6759966 or email cwmount@tds.net for availability and pricing. Visit cwmount.com for more information.

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