Monday, July 14, 2025
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MORNING FOG
Fog greeted drivers on W. State Road 44 last week. | photo by JACK BOYCE
NOTEBOOK:
A Community Input Session for Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI) and READI 2.0 will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15, 5 - 6:30 p.m., at the Intelliplex Conference Center. The event will provide updates on ARI and READI 2.0 progress, celebrate local arts and culture assets, and invite residents to help shape placemaking priorities for the region. Community members are encouraged to provide feedback via a survey (access here).
The Grover Center is celebrating the 75th birthday of its home, 52 W. Broadway, previously home to the Elks Club. The party is this Thursday, July 17, 4 - 7 p.m., in the Grover Alley. Featured activities include music by Nick Fischer, a cash bar by Bourbons and Brews, food by Spegals, birthday cake and an artifact display.
HOOSIER NEWS: The Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs offers a reduced-fee hunting and fishing license to honor and support veterans who have served our country. This program allows veterans to enjoy outdoor recreational activities at a reduced cost, $2.75 per year or $27.50 for a 10-year license. To be eligible for the reduced fee hunting and fishing license, applicants must be residents of Indiana, have at least a 0% VA Rated Disability and have an honorable discharge. Additionally, veterans must provide proof of a VA-rated disability (VA Award Letter) and of an honorable discharge (DD-214). To apply for the reduced fee hunting and fishing license, veterans can visit the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website or contact their local Indiana Department of Natural Resources office. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: In 2021, Netflix programs accounted for 80 percent of all the programs that made Nielsen’s weekly list of the top 10 original shows on streaming at some point in the year. So far this year, Netflix is responsible for only 52 percent to make Nielsen’s list. The rise of multiple other streamers has been devouring a market that Netflix once dominated, with robust competition from Prime Video (13 percent), Hulu (10 percent), Paramount+ (9 percent), Apple TV+ (7 percent) and Peacock (4 percent). (Entertainment Strategy Guy/Numlock)
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Shelby County History: Famous, Infamous and Unknown, Part II
Editor’s Note: Part I of this three-part series was published in yesterday’s edition.
by Donna Dennison, Head of Genealogy and History, Shelby County Public Library
Next, we talked about the infamous Mrs. Mollie.
She was born Mary A. Howrey in Shelby County, though her birthdate is questionable—her age seemed to change as often as her taste in men. Mary took the nickname Mollie, and soon she was making headlines with her string of marriages.
In December 1869, she married John Grant, but they soon divorced. By February 1871, she had married William O’Bannon. Less than two years later, in December 1872, she was married to William Nugent. Mollie had two sons with Nugent—Marion and William—but that marriage also ended in divorce. In February 1880, she married John Little.
John must have loved the boys, because from then on, they were known as Marion and William Little, a name both kept for the rest of their lives. Mollie, however, must not have felt the same about John, because by April 1883, she had divorced him and married Lincoln Van Buskirk.
Van Buskirk had been arrested in March 1883 for shooting a man named William Carter at a party at Mollie’s house. A grand jury ruled it was self-defense. He and Mollie married shortly after his release from jail. In 1886, William Carter was arrested for stabbing Van Buskirk outside Mollie’s house. A Shelby Democrat article referred to Mollie’s home as a “house of ill-fame.”
Over the next few years, Mollie divorced Van Buskirk and married husband No. 6, Joseph Corwin. They divorced, remarried, and divorced again.
By May 1889, Mollie was single again. But just three days later, three men came knocking at her door. When she told them to leave, they forced their way in. Mollie shot one in the shoulder with a pistol, then grabbed a shotgun and hit another with a blast of buckshot. The third man later claimed he saw nothing—because he was running in the opposite direction. Mollie was acquitted, having claimed self-defense.
In July, Mollie was awakened in bed by Charles Sutter, who had climbed in beside her and proposed being husband No. 9. When she resisted, he attacked her with a dull hatchet, leaving deep wounds to her head and arms. Thinking she was dead, he fled. Sutter claimed to be going to Shelby Lake to drown himself, but several reported seeing him leave town on a midnight train.
That October, drama returned. Husband No. 6, John Little, and husband No. 8, Joseph Corwin, arrived at Mollie’s home and began fighting in her front yard. Corwin fractured Little’s skull with a rock. At the same time, Little’s second wife reportedly left for Kentucky—with her ex and all of John’s money.
Perhaps realizing it was dangerous not to have a husband, Mollie married husband No. 9, John Cusack, in December.
After that, Mollie disappears from the historical record. No further newspaper articles, documents or reliable records mention her. A Mary Howrey is buried in City Cemetery with no stone or dates. No death certificate has been found that matches her parents’ names.
Maybe she moved on and finally found the love of her life—or maybe she just kept marrying again, and again, and again.
SHS Courier Archive Highlights
March 22, 1968
Jann Beck was named editor of the 1968-69 Squib.
Mary Lynn Haglund, Miss Indiana, appeared as a guest speaker for the Ideal Ladies Tea sponsored by the Sunshine Society in the SHS cafeteria. Haglund had been the first to ice skate in the Miss Indiana pageant.
The 1968 Prom Decorating Committee said they had selected a theme, but it couldn’t be revealed yet. Committee members were Dan Buchanan and Beth Thieman, co-chairs; and Gary Knight, Richard Murphy, Major Jester, Ron McKenney, Terry Wertz, Chris Williams, Louise Brandenberger, Kay Delap, Cindy Knoebel, Ann Zeller and Lisa Hoefener.
Latin Club held its annual banquet, with fried chicken the main dish. Committees were headed by Janice O’Connor, E. Ann Myers, Jim Ranochak and David Dean.
Miss Mead and Mrs. Haughs formed a GAA volleyball team. The players were Kathy Suits, Pat Sautter, Kathy Gardner, Kathy Sullivan, Marsha Pursly, Sherly Randolph, Connie Riggs, Aileen Mohr, Ronda Carrole, Chrystal Bower, Micky Copple and Sandy Reed.
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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 by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: Eric Lee and Mikayla Waggoner received awards of appreciation from Mayor Scott Furgeson for their fundraising efforts on behalf of the Shelbyville-Shelby County Animal Shelter. The pair raised $350.40 by selling cold drinks at a refreshment stand near the fairgrounds during the county fair.
1995: Nationwide Auto Parts abruptly closed its Shelbyville store in the Belaire Shopping Center. Officials with the shopping center said a shoe retail store intended to rent the space.
1985: Shelbyville Mayor Dan Theobald received a call from Channel 9 TV in Cincinnati wanting to interview him about the possible incoming Saturn plant. Theobald informed the reporter that he was probably looking for the mayor of Shelbyville, Ky., not Shelbyville, Ind.
“E.T.” and “Beverly Hills Cops” were on at the Cinema 3.
1975: The Fields team gathered top post-season slow-pitch tourney honors at Triton High School’s diamond. Team members were Robbie Stonebraker, Rob Hillman, Edward Fields, David Fannin, Jim Voelker, Rick Honeycutt, Mike Jonas, Mark Gebhart, Jim Hanahan, Wayne Grandison, Steve Ingle and Steve Oertel.
1965: Mikel Fulk provided an entertaining day for children of Crestmoor neighborhood with a fair held in the back yard of the Harry Reynolds residence, 614 Howard St. Among the various activities were a dart game, merry-go-round, bowling, fish pond and bubble swim. Mikel grossed 60 cents from the event.
1955: John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” was on at the Shelby Drive-In Theatre on U.S. 421.
Flat Rock began hosting its week-long centennial celebration to mark the town’s founding in 1855. An Old Timer’s Dinner honoring those over 75 was held at the Flat Rock Community Hall.
1945: There had been 91,000 visits to the Rec during the previous year, Rev. E.L. Ford, director of the center, reported.
1935: Plans were submitted to Washington for approval for a new Shelby County Courthouse. Lawyers serving on the building committee were Judge James Emmert, Claude Henry, Judge Alonzo Blair, Herbert Jones and George Tolen.
1925: An Indianapolis man who had been arrested here for murder said he was not guilty, but was willing to take a plea bargain in order to be transferred out of the Shelby County jail due to conditions at the facility. Prosecutor Ralph Adams refused to accept the plea given that the man denied the charges. Adams instead said he would consider allowing the man to be transferred to a Marion County jail.
1915: The Adams Express Co. held an auction on Public Square to get rid of items left in Adams’ offices nationwide over the previous year. Bidders could bid on boxes, but did not know the contents of the box until they won the bid. Several winners said the value of their box exceeded what they paid. One Shelbyville man said his box had contained everything from a pack of hairpins to auto parts.
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OBITUARIES
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