Friday, June 21, 2024
MOON SHINE
A full “strawberry moon” (the June full moon) is above Fire Station No. 3 last night. | photo by JACK BOYCE
Loper Time Capsule Nears Half-way Mark
Editor’s note: The following is the first part of a mini-series, originally published in 2016, on the 1976 Loper Elementary class that buried a 100-year time capsule near the school’s flag pole. I had called retired teacher Mrs. Joan Gardner in April 2016 to ask if she would be willing to discuss the project. I recall meeting at her rather warm Labelle Street home. She had pulled out several photos and clippings of the project, which were used in the graphic above. Her husband, Jim Gardner, a former Prisoner of War who later served as a teacher and guidance counselor with Shelbyville Central Schools, died in August that year. Mrs. Gardner passed away less than a month later.
“My closets are not filled with clothes; they’re filled with this sort of thing,” retired Loper Elementary teacher Joan Gardner, 91, said, motioning to a box stuffed with student papers and memorabilia.
Gardner and her husband, James, were part of numerous educational endeavors over decades of teaching. But perhaps the most famous was her 1976 time capsule project.
One routine day in America’s bicentennial year, Gardner mentioned a news article about a time capsule to her sixth grade students.
“They became enthusiastic about it right away,” she said. “You know, kids by nature are curious about burying things.”
Thus began months of planning, culminating in an event that drew print, radio and television media coverage.
On February 23, the class started writing letters - “almost sixty,” student Bruce Carpenter wrote in a follow-up essay - asking school and community leaders for suggestions on what to place inside the capsule.
Gardner, who spent many late nights coordinating the project, called Farmers National Bank president Carlos Craven.
“They were remodeling,” Gardner recalled. “I had in mind like a (small) bank box.”
Instead, Craven responded, “Well, we have the door off a bank vault.”
That 350-pound door was originally installed in 1896 and had to be burned away from the wall with a blow torch. Blue River Vocational Technical Center staff then transported the door back to the center, where welding instructor Stanley Reynolds engaged his class in repurposing the metal. Steve Prather and Kevin Meredith (Shelbyville), Jacob Younkvich and David Overholser (Triton), and Kenny Thurston (Waldron) designed and constructed the capsule.
Countless others also contributed, such as John Wetnight, who donated the paint, Warren Carmony, who buried and preserved the capsule, and Mark Burial Company, which provided the vault.
“Nobody charged a thing,” Gardner said.
Mark Coers, then a student, still remembers that collection process, forty years later.
“The process of deciding what items would be included, the trips to various businesses and merchants, and visiting the site where the container was being built were all something that I remember being excited about at the time,” Coers said.
He and a few classmates reported on the project to the Parent Teacher Organization, while others requested items for burial, including Shelbyville’s Code of Laws, delivered by attorney Phillip Brown, and a pen from Governor Otis Bowen’s office.
The class, clad in star-spangled jersey shirts, visited Mayor Ezra Dagley’s office, posed on a fire truck outside City Hall, and received a police escort to Jones Monument Company to select the stone. Channel 13 “Eyewitness News” followed the procession.
Carpenter wrote that the group received “a lot of stares, but even more waves, thumbs, winks, and nods,” from the community while cruising proudly through town.
NOTEBOOK:
HOOSIER NEWS: The heyday of pneumatic tubing in office environments was the first half of the 20th century, and as digitization made the speedy transport of paper documents largely unnecessary at the scale previously needed, the tech became obsolete. That said, the tech is having a revitalization, especially in hospitals, where sophisticated pneumatic tubing systems allow samples to be sent all over the increasingly large facilities at a swift and efficient pace. A hospital tube system these days sees lab specimens make up 60 percent of its cargo, pharmaceuticals around 30 percent, and blood products 5 percent. They move stuff at 18 to 24 feet per second, fast enough to pace a sprinter but slow enough so as not to destroy blood samples. The University City Medical District in Philadelphia opened in 2021 and has 12 miles of pipe that handle 6,000 transactions a day. (MIT Technology Review/Numlock)
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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.
2014: Orange Leaf gave away free smoothies all day to promote several new offerings at its Shelbyville location, 2546 E. State Road 44.
2004: A semi transporting 110 cows overturned on I-74. Local farmers brought trailers to assist fire and law enforcement secure the cows.
1994: A citizen’s request to access old city expense records led staff on an hour-long search through boxes to find the receipts, leading officials to discuss the value of purchasing computers to digitize records. The big question was whether residents would support an increase in property taxes to finance the expensive computer systems. The general consensus was no to computers.
Dr. John Fleming, a native of Shelbyville, was hired full-time in the practice of family medicine and obstetrics at Major Hospital. Dr. Fleming, who held a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and had taught at the I.U. School of Medicine, had been working for Major on a part-time basis.
1984: Central Indiana Bank President Robert Barger hired Tom Hession as community relations and marketing officer for the Fairland-based bank. Hession had been a teacher and coach at Shelbyville High School for 16 years and was the District 42 State Senator. His resignation from Shelbyville Central Schools was accepted “with regret,” school board members said. Hession had taught government and economics at SHS in addition to coaching football and baseball.
Local police impounded 15 bikes from kids riding on sidewalks in the business district after several pedestrians had been struck by bicycles. Some parents complained to Police Chief Robert Nolley. “Tough,” Nolley said. “Pedestrians have rights, too. We can either impound their kids’ bikes for two weeks, or cite them in juvenile court. I’d think they would prefer our taking the bikes.”
1974: Western Electric, the manufacturing and supply unit of the Bell System, had spent $777,949 in 1973 with Shelbyville businesses, Allen Elder, local Bell manager, said.
Sider’s Steak House, East 421, offered a daily steak dinner special for $4.50. All dinners were served with champagne.
1964: The Street Department fogged the city during an eight-hour operation overnight. Lee Jurras, with the department, urged children not to follow closely behind the fogging trailer because the density of the cloud could create a traffic hazard if children were in the street near the equipment. He added that the insect-killing fog was not harmful to humans. The fog would hang for approximately 10 minutes.
1954: All local lawyers took the day off for an annual picnic held at the Flat Rock River cottage of Oscar Williams. A fried chicken dinner was served by the women of Geneva Methodist Church.
Shelbyville resident David Howard, 22, received a Silver Star at the Pentagon. Howard, who had scars from a bullet and piece of shrapnel from Korea, had suffered several stab wounds in a Shelbyville knife just before his trip to D.C. Howard was being honored for his heroic actions in the Korean War in 1951.
1944: Pfc. George William Howery, 29, from Fairland, was declared dead by the War Department. Howery had been listed as missing. His brother, Carl, was in the service in England.
1934: The Kiwanis Club hosted a race between an Austin (small) vehicle and a motor bike inside the Golden Glow on W. Hendricks St. “Almost anything but a respectable meeting place for civic organizations was the deplorable condition of the Golden Glow after this thrilling and highly amusing program,” The Republican said.
1924: Alonzo Rice, who lived near Ray’s Crossing, and his two dogs killed 126 rats in 30 minutes at a corn crib on his property.
The first watermelons of the season arrived at local stores. Prices were around $1 (approximately $18 in today’s money).
1914: Mr. and Mrs. G.W. VanPelt and Mr. and Mr. Fred Stephan experienced some excitement on a car trip through Brown County. They had been warned not to climb to the top of Bear Wallow. They did anyway, and realized their car brakes were not sufficient for the trip down the hill. Mr. Stephan turned off the car, but the car picked up rapid speed as it descended. Rather than attempt the turn at the bottom of the hill, he allowed the machine to plow through Bean Blossom Creek. The car hit the creek bank and stopped. The car was only slightly damaged, with a light broken and fender bent. They returned home in the vehicle without further incident.
OBITUARIES
Billy Denny, 89, of Waldron, passed away Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at Waldron Health & Rehab. Born February 14, 1935 in Lancaster, Kentucky, he was the son of Ike Denny and Mollie (Wiggins) Denny. He married Bonnie (Kelley) Denny on September 25, 1953 and she survives. Other survivors include several nieces and nephews including Janet Schoentrup, Fred Rosenfeld (Sharon), Tom Rosenfeld (Earlene), Kathleen Rouse (Terry), Libby Dale (Jim), Pat Rosenfeld (Jeanine), Ken Rosenfeld (Cheryl), Helen Alexander, JoAnn Harris and several special friends; and brother Charlie Denny (Sandy) of Shelbyville. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Donald Denny Jr.; sisters, Lucille Marsh, Marie Kuntz, Edna Lauff, and an infant sister.
Bill had lived in this area most of his lifetime and attended New Salem High School. He worked at Bill Denny Lawn Care for several years, installed septic systems and drainage tile for farmers, and worked for Western Electric for 30 years, retiring from there. Bill was a member of Lewis Creek Baptist Church where he was a lifetime deacon. He was a long-time cancer survivor. He loved his work, collecting antique toy tractors, and was inseparable with his wife of 70 years. It was always “Bill and Bonnie” to everyone.
Funeral services will be noon, Monday, June 24, 2024 at Lewis Creek Baptist Church, 1400 E 600 S, Waldron, with Pastor Harvey Taylor officiating. Burial will be in Lewis Creek Baptist Cemetery. Friends may call on Monday morning from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. Memorial contributions can be made to Lewis Creek Baptist Church, 1400 E. 600 S. Waldron, Indiana 46182. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.