Monday, December 22, 2025
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SCUFFY Has a New Artist, and She Knows Him by Heart
An example drawn by Dawn Adams last year while she was the art teacher at Hendricks Elementary is one of her many SCUFFY art pieces created over the years. | submitted
For seven decades, SCUFFY has been a familiar face in Shelby County, a red-hearted symbol of generosity tied to the work of the Shelby County United Fund for You.
Founded in 1955, the countywide fundraising effort launched its first campaign on Jan. 1 of that year, raising $75,249 to support local agencies. Several original partners, including the Boys & Girls Club, remain part of SCUFFY’s mission today. Over the decades, the organization has marked major milestones, including the election of Rose McNeely as both the first woman to chair a SCUFFY drive and later serve as board president.
Through it all, one constant has been SCUFFY himself, and the artists who bring him to life. This includes Rachael Ackley, who volunteered from 1990 to 2014, playing a significant role in adapting the SCUFFY logo to reflect each drive chair and their profession. This year, that responsibility passed to Dawn Adams, a retired elementary art teacher whose connection to SCUFFY runs deep.
“I used to joke about someday doing this,” Adams said. “As an elementary art teacher, I drew SCUFFY about three times per class, so that was 30 times a week, once a year, for 19 years. I would kid that nobody knew SCUFFY like I did.”
By her estimate, Adams has drawn SCUFFY more than 600 times, not counting demonstrations.
“I would often show my classes how I could do a ‘winning’ poster in one class time,” she said. “They usually took four class times to do it.”
Adams becomes just the third official SCUFFY artist since the character’s creation. The original artwork was done by George L. Stubbs Sr., followed by Dee Bonner, who carried on the tradition for nearly three decades after Stubbs’ death in 1994. Bonner stepped down this year, prompting SCUFFY leaders to look for someone who could honor the character’s legacy while guiding it forward.
Kent McNeely with SCUFFY reached out to Adams earlier this year.
“When they contacted me, I said, ‘I’m not a graphic artist. I’m a hands-on artist,’” Adams recalled. “That was way out of my comfort zone.”
Still, she agreed to attend a meeting and quickly realized she could make the transition.
“I thought, I can do this,” she said. “I’ve drawn him so many times, I could draw him with my eyes closed.”
Using an iPad and Apple Pencil, Adams adapted her decades of classroom experience into digital form, carefully preserving SCUFFY’s classic look, the round head and heart-shaped body, while tying the artwork to the theme of this year’s campaign.
Because the 2025 drive chair, Joni Martzall, works in health care, Adams dressed SCUFFY in medical attire.
“She’s a nurse, so I put him in a white jacket with a stethoscope and his little SCUFFY hat,” Adams said. “That part was hard, drawing layers and making sure I didn’t cover up his name. But they seemed to like it.”
Adams said she appreciated the opportunity to follow Bonner and continue the tradition.
“It’s just an honor,” she said. “It’s a feather in my cap, but mostly, it’s just an honor, a true honor, to be able to draw him for this community. SCUFFY was such a big part of my career here.”
BELOW: SCUFFY, as drawn by George Stubbs Sr., at the outset of the organization, 1955.
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NOTEBOOK:
The second annual Candy Canes with Santa event, hosted at Beth Prince State Farm Insurance, 308 N. Harrison St., Shelbyville, is set for tomorrow, Tuesday, 2-5 p.m. Santa will be on hand, as will Barnyard Party Pals’ Jingle Ponies.
Editor’s Note: Thank you so much to each donor who has generously contributed to our $100,000 campaign. The following are among our recent donors: Brian & Jill Meeke, Gary & Michelle Nolley, Rich Adams, Judy Montgomery, Steve & Christi Drake, Mark Drake, and Mike & Kathy Thomas. (Many of these are on behalf of families.) Reaching our fundraising goal for 2026 will allow us to expand high-quality coverage countywide. Donors of $100 or more receive a commemorative January print edition and donors of $500 or more will be recognized in that edition. Contributions can be made online through our donation form or by mailing a check to The Addison Times, 54 W. Broadway, Ste. 13, Shelbyville, IN, 46176. Again, thank you so much for your loyal support of this endeavor. - Kristiaan Rawlings
HOOSIER NEWS: NPR’s weekly news quiz “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” will be recorded live at IU Auditorium on the Indiana University campus at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Hosted by Peter Sagal, the program features a rotating panel of comedians and commentators discussing the week’s news and will be broadcast nationally on NPR.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Krispy Kreme has agreed to sell its Japan operations to private-equity firm Unison Capital for about $65 million in cash, a move the company said will be used to reduce debt. The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, includes a development and franchise agreement that will take effect at closing. Krispy Kreme’s Japan business includes 89 locations and nearly 300 delivery access points across major cities, and marks the company’s first international refranchising deal since launching a turnaround plan in August. (WSJ)
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This Week in Shelby County Archive
by GEORGE L. STUBBS
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This Day in Shelby County History
Local headlines reported on or around this date in Shelby County history. Selections are curated by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: Work was progressing on the Lee Boulevard extension, a new route designed to improve traffic flow on the city’s east side. Workers had laid down the road that would go from Rushville Road to State Road 44, and construction of the bridge that would cross Little Blue River had begun. In the spring, the city planned to straighten and widen Lee Road to eliminate the curve. Once school was out, the crew would work on the intersection of Rushville Road and Knightstown Road, eliminating the awkward angle to create a more perpendicular one.
1995: Fairland Boy Scout Mark Lytle coordinated a Christmas Giving Tree project as part of his Eagle Scout service work. Working with St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Salvation Army, the project collected and distributed more than 400 gifts to individuals and families in the Fairland area.
1985: A Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours drawing delivered an improbable run of luck when the first three names pulled belonged to event sponsors - ACI Photography, Mark Concrete, and Neeb-Blickhahn Insurance Agency - all ineligible for the door prize. After laughter from the crowd, the drawing continued and the prize ultimately went to Dominic Solomone of Deloitte Haskin-Sells, who attended as a guest of Central Indiana Bank president Robert Barger.
1975: Shelbyville fireman Bob Brant and Shelbyville police Lt. Mike Alley killed an unusually large 11-pound goose while hunting in Illinois near the Crabapple Game Preserve in Williamson County.
1965: Shelbyville High School received a four-cylinder diesel engine, transmission and differential valued at $2,000 for use in a new automotive mechanics course. The equipment was presented by service manager Don Graham and sales manager Paul Graham of Shelbyville Motors, along with Ford Motor Co. service representative Bob Mix, to SHS Principal George Boyd.
Letter to Santa: “I am a little girl 4 years old. For Christmas I would like a Baby Boo doll, an oven like mommy’s, some dishes, some cake mixes and some surprises. Please bring my little brother, Bobby Joe, some toys, some cloth books and some surprises. He is 9 months old. We think we have been good children. We’ll leave you a snack under the tree. Thank you, Your little friends, Kathy Anne and Bobby Joe Landerwerlen.”
1955: Retail sales in Shelbyville surged to record levels just days before Christmas, with merchants reporting what they described as the largest buying spree in city history. Store managers said sales were rivaling or exceeding the previous peak year of 1953, aided by extended evening shopping hours.
1945: Mrs. Morris Blaich of 127 E. First St. received a Christmas-time telephone call from her husband, who was stationed in Leghorn, Italy. During the conversation, he informed her that he had just been promoted to the rank of first sergeant. Blaich had been in service since September 1944 and overseas for approximately a year.
1935: Employees of the Monte Glove Company gathered for a Christmas party Saturday night at the company’s East Jackson Street plant, sponsored by members of the Monte Merry Maids. The group presented a piano to the company as a Christmas gift and announced plans to deliver baskets to local families on Christmas Eve. The program included music and readings by Myrtle Shepple, Flora Lightfoot, Cora Courtney and Esther Hamilton, with additional performances by Lenora Wilcoxon, Frances Thomas, Letha Applegate, Thelma Sipes, Mary Benefiel, Audrey Courtney, Mary Degelow, Mae Kercher and Thelma Wainscott.
1925: Letter to Santa: I am a little girl two years old. I thought I would write and tell you what I want. I want a box of candy, a pair of shoes, a box of handkerchiefs and a mama doll. Don’t forget the oranges and nuts. - Rosmond Ilene Talbert.
1915: Local donors, headed by Mrs. K.M. Hord, funded a Victrola for the Orphans’ Home, made possible through contributions from the King’s Daughters organization. The group drew $35 from its regular bank deposit, supplemented by individual donations, to purchase the instrument.
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OBITUARIES
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The article about SCUFFY was very educational, I learned a lot. I had no idea it was created in 1955, starting in 1956 I was sure I’d win the bicycle for best scuffy. Maybe next year is my year