Friday, September 20, 2024
Theobald, Law Inducted Into SHS Hall of Fame
New Shelbyville High School Hall of Fame inductees Dan Theobald (’66) and T. Scott Law (’81) check out their plaques immediately following the unveiling ceremony. | photo by JACK BOYCE
by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
Teresa Elliott was working at a local grocery store deli counter in 1980 when new Mayor Dan Theobald came in to order. She didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Mayor, you should hire my boyfriend over the summer,” she said.
That “boyfriend” was fellow Shelbyville High School graduate Joe Harlan, then a junior in the business school at Indiana University.
Theobald told Elliott to have Harlan “come and see me.” He did, and Theobald offered him a summer job in the Clerk-Treasurer’s office. “Can you help us put together the budget?”
“Of course,” Harlan recalled at last night’s Shelbyville High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony, “I was a junior; I knew nothing, but I said, ‘Sure, I would be glad to.’”
Harlan spent the next few weeks working with his childhood “idols” such as Fire Chief Meredith Mann and other department heads organizing the city’s $1 million budget.
“That job gave me self-confidence, and you should know, sir, that’s why I needed to come here tonight. I didn’t want to miss thanking you,” Harlan, a long-time national business executive and Shelbyville Boys and Girls Club board member, said. (He and Teresa later married.)
Thankfulness was the theme of the evening, as Dan Theobald and T. Scott Law thanked their families and friends, and several of those publicly thanked the new inductees in return.
Law, class of 1981, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zotec Partners, spoke about his fond memories of playing school athletics, even if he wasn’t the best on the team.
“It taught me one lesson: you have to play to win,” Law said. “And if you’re going to play, you might as well play to win.”
He thanked his parents for creating “a wonderful environment” at home and teaching him that he could accomplish anything with hard work. He also thanked his siblings and former teachers, noting that Principal Ray Craft had encouraged him to go to Butler University, where he met his wife.
Law shared five principles to consider when making decisions: 1. Passion (“If you don’t have a passion for doing something, don’t do it.”); 2. Persistence (“Adversity is going to come. Everybody amongst us has had some adversity.”); 3. Predictability (“You have to be trustworthy.”) 4. Perspective (“You have to take into consideration others’ perspectives.”); and 5. People (“Surround yourself and have great people around you, and every day you will enjoy your life that you built.”).
With that, he offered additional thanks to those who had nominated him.
“I feel an incredible sense of warmth and family when I come to Shelbyville, because it's always going to be my home and my family's home,” he said.
Following Law’s speech, Jeff Bate, Doug Brown and Scott Olinger shared platitudes regarding Law’s character and career achievements.
Former three-term mayor Dan Theobald thanked those responsible for nominating him, namely Terry James, who was in attendance. He also thanked his family, including Peggy, his wife of 55 years.
There were also a number of his former staff members and close colleagues on hand, including Jack Boyce, Dick Kiefer, Pat Owens, Mary Jo Phares and Linda Sanders.
“The team we had at City Hall was probably the best: young people, ready to go fight and get things done,” Theobald said.
He later worked as Executive Director of the Shelby County Economic Development Corporation, and he thanked Debra Tracy, long-time assistant, who he called “the person really responsible for economic development in Shelbyville.”
Several spoke on behalf of Theobald, including John Hartnett, David Finkel, Linda Sanders, James Garrett Jr., James Garrett III and Mary Jo Phares.
Past inductees are invited to a tailgate before tonight’s football game against Greenfield, putting Theobald in a bit of an awkward position.
“I live in Greenfield. I have three grandchildren here who go to school at Greenfield,” Theobald confessed, but then added to cheers from the audience, “I’m a Golden Bear. I’ll always be a Golden Bear. Go Bears!”
The SHS Hall of Fame is in its 15th year. Current selection committee members are John Hartnett Jr., Jeff Bate, Dr. James Rees, Bri Kompara, Rick Zimny and Andy Hensley. Several past inductees and representatives were on hand at the event, including Gary Long, Joe Harlan, Scott Olinger and John Hartnett, and James Garrett Jr. and James Garrett III representing Bill Garrett, Mike Asher representing Jan Asher and Doug Brown representing Phil Brown.
BELOW, top left: SHS Assistant Principal Bri Kompara and Dan Theobald pause for a photo shortly after the presentation; (top right) Jim Law, T. Scott Law and Dan Theobald chat before the ceremony; (lower left) T. Scott Law delivers remarks; and (lower right) Audience members listen to the presentations. | photos by JACK BOYCE, except lower left by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
PHOTO: Joseph Fountain
The restored Julius Joseph Fountain is center of this downtown photo, looking west. | photo by JACK BOYCE
NOTEBOOK:
Andy Hensley, Director of Student Services at Shelbyville Central Schools, was recognized by The Arc of Shelby County as Outstanding Education Professional of the Year. Other Arc awards were presented to Susan Bass, SCS Special Education Teacher; Harmony Vitz, Preschool Teacher, Morristown; The Randy Tucker Family, Fairland, Aktion Club Family; Jane Webb, Shelbyville, Action Club Member; Samantha Burchette, Shelbyville, Aktion Club Consumer. The VC Aktion Club also inducted new club officers: Sam Hoagland, president; Ashley Marks, vice president; Angela Woollen, secretary; and Johnny Dishman, treasurer.
A driver hit the wrong pedal in the Wendy’s drive-through and stuck another vehicle.
The Shelby County Public Library will host Edgar Award-winning novelist Mindy McGinnes on September 26, 7 - 9 p.m. to discuss her new young adult novel, “Under This Red Rock.” McGinnes is also a blogger and podcaster and has been featured on NPR and PBS.
NATIONAL NEWS: In the NFL, teams can take out insurance policies on star players. Some teams do this religiously, while other teams don’t do it at all; it comes down to things like the frugality of ownership and the willingness to gamble the payroll on any given tendon. Not taking out a policy can blow back on teams, like when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles after four snaps and the Jets had to eat the $37 million salary because they didn’t spend $1 million to $4 million insuring him. It turns out, though, that the insurance racket is a bit of a clever loophole when it comes to the salary cap, as teams like the 49ers have figured out: The Niners tend to buy a policy on any guy they’re paying more than league minimum, and for a couple of years there San Francisco earned millions back in end-of-year salary cap adjustments. Over 10 years they racked up $54.3 million in insurance credits and other salary cap hacks, double the amount of the team with the second-highest value of adjustments. (ESPN/Numlock)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights:
November 16, 1960, Part II
Twenty-eight new members were initiated into S-Club in the SHS Student Center. Rev. Ronald Felty of the First Presbyterian Church spoke at the event. The initiation rites preceded a dinner for all members in the cafeteria. Following the dinner, Mr. Arthur Barnett, club sponsor, presented a film, “Big Ten Highlights of 1958-59.” New members were Tom Brinson, Fred Eaton, Eugene McKinney, Larry Waterman, Tom Helbing, Dave Jones, Dick Moore, Bill Stohry, Larry Moberly, Tom Kremer, Wilfred Coers, Mike Brunner, Steve Lancaster, Don Harris, Don Sexton, Mike Mount, Tom Patterson, Mike Thomas, Jim Kremer, Sonny Schnippel, Ken Cawood, Leo Thomas, Jay Clapp, Larry Cochran, Mike DeBusk, Rick Sandefur, John Harding and Phil Cramer.
Mike Mount was elected president of Show Group. C.M. Hepp and Sue Worland were elected vice president and secretary-treasurer, respectively.
Shelbyville High School graduate Jerry Barlow (‘58) was named station manager of WFCI, the first educational FM station in Johnson County. Jerry was a junior at Franklin College.
Hi-Y was sponsoring a record hop following the first basketball game of the year, against Silver Creek. The hop would be held in the SHS cafeteria from 10 to 11:30 p.m.
For the first time in the history of Hi-Y, sophomores had been admitted to the membership.
New officers for the SHS Robed Choir were Roger Whitcomb, Ted Honey and Loretta Sutton.
Three Shelbyville Central Schools teachers who had retired the previous year were honored at a dinner at St. Joe. They were Ethel Osborne, Hendricks; Pearl Ray, Major; and Edith Wiley, JHS. The three had a combined 117 years of teaching experience.
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: Triton Central routed Scecnia to claim the school’s first ICC (Indiana Crossroads Conference) girls soccer championship. The team’s seniors were Samantha Dewey, Natalie Stephenson, Sarah Glackman and Lauren Wentworth.
2004: The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department’s Operation Pull Over Blitz netted 227 vehicles for various violations, included 105 for speeding. Recent Blitzes had raised local arrest statistics by about 20 percent.
1994: Eric Oliver, Triton Central High School, earned the highest score in the 1994 statewide history contest. The contest, sponsored by the American Legion, asked high school juniors about current events - “Name your U.S. representative” - to general history, such as the only time a U.S. flag may be flown upside down (“SOS”). Oliver had been a Boy Scout for nine years.
1984: The Detroit Steel plant near Morristown was back in full production after union workers had voted to accept a three-year contract, ending a two-week strike.
Demolition began on the former Golden Bear restaurant, directly across from the junior high school (former high school building). The restaurant had been popular with students in the 1950s and early 1960s.
1974: Hercules Mfg. Co. acquired 52 acres of ground on the northwest corner of Old Road 421 North and Road 100 N (Mausoleum Road), extending west along the north side of 100 N to the Penn Central Railroad tracks. Max DeJonge, president of Hercules, said the company was planning to expand. Hercules’ plant at the corner of Noble and Franklin streets employed 30. The company had been formed by Shelby Steel in 1970 to manufacture heavy hydraulic machinery. It was originally located in Fairland.
1964: Washington Court Apartments, on the north side of the 200 block of East Washington St., neared completion. The L-shaped complex would include 10 units.
New elected officers of the St. Paul High School junior class were Jim Hasecuster, Frank Bailey and Karen Davis.
1954: Kracht’s Variety Store, the new, modern self-service “five cents to $1” store at the corner of Broadway and Harrison, in the former Alhambra Theater space, held its grand opening. Ed Kracht, owner, had previously been manager of F.W. Woolworth’s local store.
1944: For the second time in a week, a local company received the “Approved Quality Control Rating” award for quality manufacturing of Army Air Force equipment. Chambers Corporation had received the award days after Kennedy Car Liner and Bag Company.
Government officials notified the families of Lt. Adrian Carew and Pfc. Walter Adam Jr. that the men had been killed in action in France. Lt. William Porter had been reported missing in action in France.
1934: After city officials had cut lighting downtown area streets at night for a year, local business owners asked the city spend the $27,000 necessary to provide street lights again in 1935.
A new and wider bridge over Brandywine River on State Road 29 opened. It had been Shelby County’s only Public Works Administration project, and provided employment for 30 men.
1924: Guy Bower, assistant superintendent of the Davis Construction Co., was severely injured while helping pave Michigan Road. A machine had tipped on his foot. Bower returned to work the next day on crutches.
1914: Steps were taken to form a Knights of Pythias Club to run the Knights of Pythias building. Herman Pettit, who was in charge of the lodge hall until the club could be formed, said pool and billiard tables would be installed soon, but no gambling or “intoxicants of any sort” would be allowed.
OBITUARIES
Francis M. Miller Leffler, 102, of Texas, passed away on Monday, September 16, 2024, at Advance Rehab in Wichita Falls, Texas. She was born on December 29, 1921, in Rush County, Indiana, to Harry and Hetty (Orme) Tucker.
Frances graduated from Shelbyville High School with the Class of 1939. After marrying, she devoted herself to the demanding work of running a farm alongside her family. Later, she went on to work for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company for 10 years. A dedicated member of the First Baptist Church, Frances found joy in gardening and lawn work. Above all, she loved crafting and sewing, always making time for her passion.
She married Donald Miller on November 21, 1940, and they shared many years together until his passing on October 19, 1973. She later married William Leffler on April 11, 1987, and they were together until his death on August 14, 2003. Francis is survived by her daughters, Donnarita Haley, Gwendolyn Kirk, Marjorie Dailey, and Melody Bedwell; her stepdaughter, Pamela Heck; her stepsons, Kerry Leffler and Jim Leffler; her daughter-in-law, Lourdes Lorenz-Miller; seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her daughters, Cheryl Howell and Mary Francis (Franny) Lorenz-Miller; her twin sisters, Louise Meek and Jeanette Randal; and one grandchild.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, from 10 a.m. to noon at Murphy-Parks Funeral Service, 703 S. Harrison Street, Shelbyville, IN 46176. Funeral services will follow at Noon at the funeral home, with her grandson Rev. George Howell officiating. Burial will take place in Forest Hill Cemetery. Funeral Directors Greg Parks, Sheila Parks, and Stuart Parks are honored to serve Frances’s family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cancer Association of Shelby County, 31 Public Square, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176. Online condolences may be shared at www.murphyparks.com.
Daniel V. Wickizer, 68, of Shelbyville, passed away Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at Franciscan Health Indianapolis. He was born December 13, 1955, in Shelbyville, Ind., to Donald J. Wickizer, Jr. and Deloris (Moxley) Wickizer.
Dan graduated from Shelbyville High School with the class of 1974, where he excelled academically and was active on the swim team. He then went on to graduate from Ball State University in 1982, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. In May of 1985, he earned his CPA certificate on his first attempt on the test. Dan had a love for music. He played saxophone as well as many other instruments during his years with the Shelby Community Band. He was also active with the Shelby Arts Council. Dan was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, where he served as a member of the choir, a cantor and a lector. He was an avid reader and enjoyed crossword puzzles and playing Tetris. He enjoyed sports and watching the Pacers play. Dan’s favorite times were spent making memories with his family, especially his grandsons.
He married Cynthia (Wolter) Wickizer on July 19, 1980, and she survives. Dan is also survived by his sons, Matthew (wife, Mary) Wickizer of Greenwood and Benjamin Wickizer (Sunny Heis) of Shelbyville; his grandchildren, Liam and Isaac Wickizer; his sister, Diane (husband, Tim) Barrick of Shelbyville; his brother, David Wickizer; several cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and nephew, Justin Barrick.
A Rosary will be recited Sunday, September 22, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. at Murphy-Parks Funeral Services, 703 S. Harrison Street, Shelbyville, Ind. Visitation will follow from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, September 23, 2024, at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 125 E. Broadway St., Shelbyville, Ind., with Father Mike Keucher officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made in his honor to Daniel’s Grandchildren Fund in care of the funeral home. Funeral Directors Greg Parks, Sheila Parks and Stuart Parks are honored to serve Dan’s family. Online condolences may be shared at www.murphyparks.com.