Friday, February 24, 2023
SAY CHEESE!
Ian, 5, and his mother, Luz Aponte, enjoy lunch yesterday at Porter Coffee, 1220 Miller Ave., former location of a credit union. The new establishment is owned by Jake Brattain and Will Worley, according to Mr. Worley. The business namesake comes from Worley’s middle name, he said.
BELOW: Selma Hirschauer, Keshia Spears and Will Worley work the counter. Porter Coffee offers homemade sandwiches and coffee which is brewed and served fresh.
photos by JACK BOYCE
Town Council Makes Calls on Nuisance Property
Amidst overgrown trees and reported rampart vermin at 217 E. Fletcher Street, Morristown, is a home that at least two investors want to purchase.
But the Morristown Town Council on Wednesday set parameters by formally upholding an order to deem the property unsafe while also giving the company that holds receivership a 10-day extension to handle pressing safety concerns. Within that time, the receiver must post a $40,000 cash bond, secure the property and seal it from vermin, and take care of a nearly uprooted tree.
“I give it the next windstorm, and that thing will fall and cut that house clean in half,” neighbor Kelli Fair - who added the property’s back yard “looks like Sanford and Son” - said.
If the receiver handles these matters satisfactorily, an additional 50-day extension is possible.
After Morristown Planning Director and Building Inspector Jesse Berling agreed the property was a “nuisance,” the representative from the receiver, DLP Lending Fund, LLC, asked for the extension, noting that both prospective buyers wanted assurances they would be able to bring the property into compliance before a “complete rehab” and resell.
The representative, who was agreeable to the council’s decision, said he would immediately inspect the property.
“Bring your coveralls,” an audience member said.
LOCAL HISTORY IN PHOTOS
The above photograph from the files of Doug Linne shows Orebaugh Bros. Photographers in the first block of West Broadway, Shelbyville. The Chafee Studio, owned by Arthur Chafee, took over the building in 1952.
NOTEBOOK:
Shelbyville High School girls basketball players Kylee Edwards and Ava Wilson have received HHC All-Conference honors.
The northbound lane of Tompkins Street from Hendricks to Broadway will be closed from 9 a.m. to noon today for repairs.
Editor’s Note: Upon our final edition next Wednesday, March 1, the system will automatically refund anyone with a credit on their account. (This is for those with a card on file; paper checks were sent out late last year to those who had paid by check.) As always, you can respond to this email with questions. Again, thank you so much for your support! - Kristiaan Rawlings
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: The Shelbyville Police Department is and has been a nationally accredited agency since 2016. CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) maintains an access portal which allows public comment and feedback as an opportunity for comments, commendations, and other information regarding the agency's quality of service or other information relevant to the accreditation process. The link for this portal can be found at: https://cimrs2calea.org/265. The purpose of this portal is to receive public comments regarding an agency's compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence and this new approach works to further that objective.
HOOSIER NEWS: The proposed site for the construction of a new Madison County jail in Anderson is located on Broadway Street to the west of the Captain D’s restaurant. The Madison County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the conceptual drawing for the new facility provided by Eric Weflen with RQAW architecture, headquartered in Fishers. The 43-acre site is owned by Meijer, which at one time considered opening a second store in Anderson. Commissioner John Richwine said it’s possible the county will seek to obtain the property through eminent domain. (Anderson Herald Bulletin)
NATIONAL NEWS: The FDA has given the all-clear for plant-based beverages like almond milk, oat milk and soy milk to continue selling themselves as “milk,” much to the chagrin of the cow milk crowd. The move comes after 13,000 comments to the agency since 2018 on the matter and the ensuing rise of plant-based milk as a fairly significant industry. Retail sales of plant-based milk hit $2.4 billion in 2020 according to the FDA, and as far back as 2016 already a third of U.S. households were enjoying them. (The Wall Street Journal)
SHELBY COUNTY PEOPLE & PLACES: CONRAD SCHROEDER
Editor’s note: In the mid- to late 1940s, The Shelbyville Republican published a series of articles by Ave Lewis and Hortense Montgomery covering community people and places. Below is one of those features.
The somewhat unusual experience of training a youth quite a few years ago, the drug store business and then ending a 50-year career in the business with that same "youth" as his "boss" is one chalked up by Conrad Schroeder, of 509 South Tompkins Street. Mr. Schroeder remembers, as he relaxes with an open collar on the cool porch at his home, that Ralph Worland, by whom he was employed from about 1933 until his retirement a little over a year ago, came to work for him when just a lad and worked for a long while before and after school, doing the same things that boys do now on part-time drug store jobs: sweeping out, arranging stock and in general learning the business from the ground up.
Long a familiar figure behind the counter at the Worland Pharmacy, soft-spoken "Cooney," as he is known to hundreds of people, looks back on his years as a druggist with a great deal of satisfaction. But he maintains that the drug store business itself hasn't changed much with the years. Other than new articles which are discovered and put on the market from time to time, people pretty much ask for the same things year after year - and the crowds of young people coming in after school and the nightly shows and those dropping in for a "coke" over which to exchange the latest bit of gossip or discuss current problems haven't changed much either.
Mr. Schroeder was born in Shelbyville, and after graduating from high school here went to Purdue, where he graduated from the School of Pharmacy in 1894. There were 31 in his class, and so far as he knows 14 of them still are living. He went back for a class reunion not long ago and since then has been presented with a gold certificate by the university for 50 years of service as a druggist.
In May 1896, he went into business in a store located where the Worland establishment now stands. He and George Ensminger were in partnership and their place was known as Ensminger and Schroeder's. That same year, in December, he married a home-town girl, Miss Nellie Russell Green, a sister of Dr. Green who formerly practiced medicine here. After Mr. Schroeder and Mr. Ensminger had respectively sold their interest to Peter and Phillip Hoop, he started a store of his own just two doors south of the present Haag Store. He recalls that there were eight drug stores in town then. Now there are six. After a few years in that location, he moved next door and his next step was going to work at Worland's.
He retired on April 6, 1946, and now, although Mrs. Schroeder says with a laugh he isn't the best "mechanic" in the world, he putters about the home doing those odd jobs which need to be done and in general takes life easy. He's quite a baseball fan but doesn't take in many of the games. "My feet and ankles aren't what they once were," he says. He likes a daily afternoon nap (this information also was provided by his wife and their only child, Mary Jane) and enjoys nothing more than moseying down to the Elks Club to chin with the "boys." Incidentally, he is a "Charter Member No. 1" at the club. He was the first man to sign the charter when the Elks lodge was installed here on December 2, 1898, and is the only living charter member.
This Week in Shelby County" works by George L. Stubbs Sr. are owned by the Shelby County Historical Society (Grover Center) and used with permission.
THIS DAY IN SHELBY COUNTY HISTORY
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.
20 YEARS AGO: 2003
Architects reviewing the Porter Pool bathhouse said water had washed away some of the foundation over the previous 20 or 30 years, but the site could still be converted into a tourist and visitors’ center with room for the Chamber of Commerce and/or other groups. The bathhouse had been in use from 1930 to 1998.
30 YEARS AGO: 1993
Christian Ballast, M.D., a new pediatrician/internist, would begin practicing at Shelby County Family Medicine in July, hospital officials said.
40 YEARS AGO: 1983
A gunshot was heard in the vicinity of the General Electric wire mill and Wellman Thermal Systems Corp. - the second such incident in less than 24 hours. No one was found in the Elston Drive area, where the shot apparently occurred.
50 YEARS AGO: 1973
Robin, “The Boy Wonder” of “Batman & Robin,” autographed pictures of himself for $1 at Skip Karmire Ford. A newspaper photo showed Burt War, who had portrayed Robin on Batman, with Lisa Mann, Tony Denny, James Erle Cecil and Tommy Henderson from Addison School.
60 YEARS AGO: 1963
Members of the cast for “Life O’ the Party” at the junior high were named: Sally Horton, Jennie Sleeth, Susan DePrez, Mike Lindsay, Judy Mullins, Sherry Graham, Lucia Jester, Marv Lucas, Mike Branson, Bob Craig and Ricky Kelly.
70 YEARS AGO: 1953
One hundred and sixteen “mighty lucky” Shelbyville fans won sectional tickets in a random drawing by the SHS activities committee, The Shelbyville News reported.
80 YEARS AGO: 1943
Harry Sherritt, chief air raid warden for Shelby County, was honored by the Shelbyville Kiwanis Club as “Citizen of the Month” at the Strand Alcazar.
90 YEARS AGO: 1933
One of the new 1933 model Fords would be on display in the Grinstead & Kocher garage at 22 West Jackson Street, salesman M.R. McCollum, announced.
100 YEARS AGO: 1923
Postmaster George E. Young ordered that everyone install a mail receptacle at their home by March 1, 1923. No specifications were given for construction of the box. A list of those failing to comply would be sent to federal authorities, Young warned.
INCIDENTS
Thefts were reported in the 500 block of E. Chestnut St. and first block of E. Broadway, Shelbyville.
JAIL BOOK-INS: Jessica L.N. Back, 29, theft; Stephanie A. Deviese, 38, probation violation; Gregory J. Pendergress Jr., 35, domestic battery; Johnny K. Ware Jr., 30, unknown hearing, hold for another jurisdiction.
OBITUARIES
Sharon Joy Huffman, 83, of New Whiteland, passed away Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at Greenwood Village South in Greenwood, surrounded by family. She was born September 9, 1939, in Shelbyville, the daughter of Roy and Janet (Jessup) Sipe. On October 18, 1957, she married Harland Leon Huffman, and he preceded her in death on July 30, 2014. Sharon is survived by her daughters, Terri Bowman and Jeff Lane, of Fountaintown, Cathy Murray and husband, Steve, of Greenwood, and Linda Huffman of Whiteland; brothers, Steve Sipe and wife, Mary, of Mission Viejo, California, and Rick Sipe and wife, Pat, of Clarkston, Michigan; sisters, Cinda Andis and husband, Steve, of Morristown, and Connie Cunningham and significant other, Rick, of Spiceland; grandchildren, Brad Huffman, Jared Bowman, Amber Norton, Justin Smith, Jennifer Rice, Heather Huffman and Jessica Huffman; 20 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to Harland, Sharon was preceded in death by her parents; son, Scott Huffman; great-grandson, Gavin Huffman; and great-great granddaughter, Riverlyn Napier.
Sharon graduated in 1957 from Morristown High School. She formerly attended Morristown Christian Church. Sharon formerly worked in the personnel department at Sears. After retirement, she worked at Taylor Distributors. She enjoyed watching sports, especially Indiana University basketball. Attending her grandchildren’s activities was very important to Sharon.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, February 27, 2023, at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Frazier Chapel, 124 E. North St. in Morristown. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at the funeral home., with Bill Farmer and Pastor Fred Hickman officiating. Interment will be at Asbury Cemetery in Morristown. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Indiana Chapter, 50 E. 91st St., Suite 100, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240; Indiana Parkinson’s Foundation, Cell Therapy Foundation, 351 W. 10th St., Suite 505, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202; or Families of SMA, 925 Busse Road, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007. Online condolences may be shared with Sharon’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.
David L. Holt, 74, of Waldron, passed away Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at Community Hospital South. He was born October 24, 1948 in Indianapolis to Charles R. Holt and Martha A. (Ford) Holt.
David graduated from Triton Central High School in 1968. He proudly and honorably served in the United States Navy. David retired from Freudenberg-NOK in 2014 after 42 years of service. He worked in maintenance and loved to tinker with anything mechanical. He always stayed busy trying to fix things and making them work “his way.” David had a curiosity with how things worked which drove his passion for “tinkering.” He also enjoyed reading, especially science fiction novels. His family was very important to him and his favorite times were spent with them.
He married Suzan F. (Jones) Holt on November 1, 1968, and she survives. David is also survived by his daughter, Caren Clark (husband, Chris); son, Steven Holt (wife, Lisa); grandchildren, Bradley Clark and Sarah Clark; brothers, Daniel Holt (wife, Karen) and Jon Holt; and sister, Kathryn Freeman. He was preceded in death by his parents and aunt, Mary Nichols.
Visitation will be Wednesday March 1, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Murphy-Parks Funeral Service, 703 S. Harrison Street, Shelbyville, IN 46176. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville with military rites conducted by our local veterans’ organizations. Funeral Directors Greg Parks, Sheila Parks, Stuart Parks, and Darin Schutt are honored to serve David’s family. Online condolences may be shared at www.murphyparks.com.