Friday, February 28, 2025
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: STEPHENSON RIFE ATTORNEYS
1974: Thurston Compares SHS Then and Now
Editor’s note: Accompanying the usual Courier recap, this article from the December 1974 edition compared student life in the 1930s to “now” (1970s).
by SUSAN SHISLER
How many of you students would enjoy earning wages of about $15 a week, if you were even lucky enough to find a job? Or how many of you would like to come to school by the only means of transportation being your own two feet, or a bicycle? Better yet, how would you like to sit through a day of school with the smell of skunk permeating the building because someone had put one on the intake of the ventilation system? If you had gone to school during the depression, these would be some of the things that you would have experienced.
In an exclusive interview with Mr. Arthur Thurston, President of the Farmers National Bank, and his son, Sam, President of the Student Council, many facets of school and social life during the 30s were discovered, in comparison with today.
The elementary school was held in the present Administration Building. What is the junior high today was located in the east wing of the present junior high building. The rest of the building was for the senior high students.
Students either walked to school or rode bicycles, unless they came in from Waldron or other county areas, because SHS was the only high school in the area at that time.
The eating facilities were much the same as they are today: the “Golden Bear” was across the street and then there was always the cafeteria. It was run by Eulaly Mall, who also served as the home economics teacher.
Vacations were almost identical in length to those of today. School was not in session for two days during Teachers’ Institute and Thanksgiving, and two weeks was the length of the Christmas holiday vacation. There was no Spring Vacation. On Friday and Saturday nights, they did many of the same things as we do today. When money was available, people would go either to the Alhambra or Strand theaters. Basketball games, held in the Paul Cross Gym, were one of the favorite weekend activities. There was no drinking, because this was during the time of prohibition, and liquor was just not available, and cigarettes were too expensive.
Mr. William F. Loper was the principal at the time; Loper Elementary School has been named for this man. Classes were very much the same: economics was taught by Esther Kinsley; Delores McDonald taught biology and science; J.O. Trible was the math teacher; Mr. Dinsford was the journalism teacher; and Mr. Pickett taught the business courses such as typing, commerce, and bookkeeping.
Mr. Thurston was the business manager of the Squib in ‘32. Then it was a paperback book with class pictures. It was essentially just like the one today, only on a very modest scale. He was also the advertising manager of the Courier, a four-page newspaper, the same size as the one which is currently published.
After graduating from SHS in ‘32, Mr. Thurston attended Indiana University for four years. He graduated from there in ‘36 and he is presently the President of the Farmers National Bank.
In looking back, it was discovered that school life during the depression was not that much different than life in the '70s, in that kids did basically the same things during and after school with the exception of the cars, but they seemed to take advantage of what was available to them whereas many of the students today seem more to take things for granted.
Editor’s note: In this article, Mr. Thurston mentions that the SCS Administration building at the corner of Broadway and Tompkins St. was the home of the elementary school during the depression.
Looking forward 26 years, the building was then gifted to the Blue River Community Foundation by the Shelbyville Central Schools administration. A short time later, Mr. Thurston established the Arthur M. Thurston Family Fund for Town Hall. This fund would ensure that the historic building would always have funding to stay properly maintained and that the Blue River Community Foundation would always have a home.
Mr. Thurston made a generous gift of stocks worth $123,000 to establish this building maintenance fund. With excellent stewardship of the gift, the Arthur M. Thurston Family Fund for Town Hall has been able to provide over $145,000 to support the building maintenance of the stately red brick building across the street from the Shelby County Public Library while still holding a balance of nearly $190,000.
The power of endowment is strong and provides lasting community impact, but these results are unattainable without the leadership, compassion, and philanthropy of community members like Arthur M. Thurston.
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: FULL CANOPY REAL ESTATE
NOTEBOOK:
Ivy Tech Community College will host an open house for Shelby County high school students and their families, March 6, 6 - 8 p.m., at its Shelbyville campus, 2177 Intelliplex Drive, Shelbyville. The event includes meeting faculty, a tour of the new advanced manufacturing lab, introductions to academic programs and information about financial aid and the Advantage Shelby County scholarship. No RSVPs are necessary. For more information, contact Robin Close, 317-916-6301 or rclose1@ivytech.edu.
CORRECTION (time updated): The Indiana Federation of Business Professional Women will hold a local membership meeting, March 5, at the Shelbyville Moose, 6 p.m. A meatloaf meal will be served for $15. The annual meeting allows prospective members to check out the organization. There are many ways to participate in BPW, including Reality Store, Spaghetti Dinner, Bingo and Scholarship committees. To RSVP for the March meeting or any future meetings, text Joanne Bowen, 317-371-0968.
HOOSIER NEWS: Fifty-six new jobs have been posted for the new Amazon Web Services data centers that are under construction in Indiana. Amazon Web Services or AWS launched in 2006 and is a subset of Amazon that focuses on helping organizations and businesses with cloud technologies, which is described as the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet. AWS is in the process of building data centers along Indiana 2 and Larrison Boulevard between South Bend and New Carlisle that it says will ultimately employ about 1,000 AWS and contract employees. The $13 billion data center campus is the largest single investment by one company in Indiana history. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: The crosstown rivalry between Universal and Disney in Orlando will enter a new phase this year when Universal opens up its new Epic Universe park featuring Nintendo, Harry Potter and more. It advances its long quest to compete with Disney. In 2023 — the most recent year for which there is data — Universal’s parks attracted 61 million visitors worldwide, an increase of 70 percent from a decade ago. This is a far faster growth than the Disney parks which only saw a 7 percent increase over the same period to 142 million visitors. The current estimate from MoffettNathanson is that the new Epic Universe park would poach a million visitors from Disney World from mid-2025 to 2026. (New York Times)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights
December 1974
Laurie Cadieux was named winner of the DAR (Daughters of American Revolution) Good Citizen Award.
John Hartnett and Sam Ardery, called Shelbyville’s “own answer to WNAP disc jockeys Buster Bodine and Chris ‘Moto-Groove’ Conner,” were broadcasting regularly at WSVL-AM.
The Art Department had made significant strides in the previous few years, advancing from just five classes to numerous options. “Assisting Mrs. Mary McCormick during these five years were Miss Ino, Miss Bonnie Schneider, Mr. Paul Mikus, Mr. Daniel Howell and Mr. James Rasp.”
Trinidad del Carmen was the only female exchange student. She was from San Salvador. Her parents owned a ranch that grew bananas and coffee.
For the first time, girls would receive athletic letters, pins and bars.
The swim season was about to start. Mrs. Williams said she needed eight more girls to field a team. The boys’ swimming team managers were Cindy Jones, Joe Hurst and Greg Cherry.
Girls basketball, coached by Lin Chesser, was underway. The players were Donna Dehart, Debbie Lux, Charletta Reynolds, Laurie Cadieux, Liz English, Patty Shaw, Denise Miller, Teresa Marshall, Barb Paxton, Julie Branson, Sue Harding, Jan Griffey, Sue Selack and Beth Lewis.
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: MAJOR HEALTH PARTNERS
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 by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: A semi-trailer had to be towed out of an embankment after getting stuck trying to turn around at First and Jefferson streets. The tilting trailer had lifted the drive wheels of the tractor off the ground.
1995: License branch employees at Shelbyville and other locations throughout the state stayed home from work in a protest over low wages. Several locals who had waited until the last day of February to renew their plates were frustrated. “This is a heck of a day to close,” Gerald Atkins said when he tried the locked doors. Shana Bennett said, “I guess I’ll drive illegally or borrow Mom’s or Dad’s car.”
1985: State officials promised to overhaul I-74, which The Shelbyville News described as “rough and rocky.” The paper added that “cars shake and rattle as drivers attempt to dodge cracks and crevices.”
1975: More than 14,200 new Indiana Bell telephone directories were distributed throughout the county. A full-color painting of Indiana’s state bird, the cardinal, was on the cover.
1965: SHS student Lee O’Mara won a drawing to be the first in line to buy tickets to the Columbus sectional.
A new law mandated that all 1965 model vehicles be equipped with seatbelts, but state law did not stipulate the seatbelts had to be worn.
1955: Vandals damaged the old Cedar Ford covered bridge. Authorities were investigating.
1945: After several incidents of dogs biting mail carries, the post office released a statement noting they would not deliver mail to homes “harboring vicious dogs.”
The license branch remained open until 9 p.m. to take care of those who needed to update their plates. Given the extended hours, police said no grace would be shown to those with expired plates.
1935: After being notified of a fire at William Gray’s home west of Fairland, telephone operator Mrs. Gephart called several people near the residence to form a brigade, which helped save the home. Mr. Gray was the owner of Gray’s Camp on Sugar Creek.
1925: Officials at the Union Building Association on West Washington St. announced plans to add to their office building. The brick addition with stone trimmings would be 18 feet wide and 40 feet long. The wall of the present building would be torn out, making one large room .
1915: The Republican published an op-ed complaining that too many local citizens refused to support development in the community. “What is the matter with Shelbyville? When we have money to bestow upon charity, we generally send it out of town. How proud we are of hospitals and Young Men’s Christian Associations in other towns! But we seem content never to have them here.” A YMCA would give “men and boys” something to do instead of visiting “saloons, pool rooms or worse places.”
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OBITUARIES
Shirley “Trudy” Joan Lewis, 88, of St. Paul passed away Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at Major Hospital. Born on February 15, 1937, in Decatur County, she was the daughter of Merl Jones and Thelma (Johnston) Jones. She married Charles Lewis on January 2, 1956, and he preceded her in death on February 23, 2025. Survivors include two children, Michael Todd (Katrina) Lewis of Cloverdale, Ind., and Anthony “Tony” Joseph Lewis of Decatur County; two sisters, Janet Docter of Florida and Valeta Sullivan of Indiana; three grandchildren, Sarah (Clinton) Johnson, Jenna (Dakota) Lanham, Michael (Arlene) Young; and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, spouse Charlie and two sisters, Wilma Hutchison and Betty Mirguet.
Trudy had lived in this area her entire lifetime and graduated from St. Paul High School. She worked in the claims department for Traveler’s Insurance for many years, Major Hospital, and Community Hospital of Indianapolis. Trudy received her real estate broker’s license in 1985, sold Avon products for many years, was Clerk-Treasurer for the town of St. Paul, and in later years helped deliver for Meals on Wheels, and also served meals at the Senior Center in St. Paul. She enjoyed playing cards with the ladies of St. Paul.
Trudy and her sister spoke on the phone or facetimed every Sunday. If you feel compelled to do something in memory of Trudy, please reach out to a family member or neighbor that you have been meaning to talk to and have just not gotten around to it yet. The family would also like to thank the people of St. Paul that has helped Charlie and Trudy: the staff at Waldron Rehab and the staff at Major Hospital.
No services will be observed as per Shirley’s wishes. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.