Monday, May 13, 2024
FAIR FAREWELL
The annual St. Joe Festival concluded Saturday following a weekend of good weather. | photo by JACK BOYCE
Staff, Volunteers Give Forest Hill Cemetery a Spring Cleaning
photos by ANNA TUNGATE
Saturday’s Community Day at Forest Hill Cemetery featured beautiful weather and significant progress on several projects, including painting and projects to complement the new paving.
“We've been inundated with rain for the last two weeks, and our crew has done a phenomenal job rebounding from that and making the cemetery look the best it can look for Mother's Day weekend and the upcoming Memorial Day weekend,” board member Carrie Ridgeway said.
Brent Sandman, a fellow board member, said he had already received a call complimenting progress on power-washing the mausoleums.
“It looks fantastic,” he said.
Parks to Retire After Four Decades’ Teaching, Will Continue to Coach
Since the early 1980s, Patrick “Pat” Parks, known to many simply as “Coach,” has taught accountability to Shelbyville students in the classroom, the weight room and on the field. In two weeks, he’ll step down from one of those roles, retiring after 41 years in the classroom and gymnasium.
Even as a kid in northern Indiana, Parks understood the connection between teaching and coaching.
“I had several coaches who kept me accountable to my team, school, family and self,” Parks said.
The Northwood High School graduate attended University of Indianapolis on an athletic scholarship, where he studied education. In 1983, he graduated from college, married Michelle (they now have three adult children, Paige, Chelsea, and Michael) and, in October, accepted a position at SHS after the school year started following a system reorganization.
“As they say, the rest is history. I never left SCS,” Parks said.
He was soon tabbed by head football coach Randy Robertson to assist with the strength and conditioning program, and the next year became an assistant football coach.
“Robertson had a big influence on my perspective about coaching because of his integrity, knowledge, passion, respect for others, and love of the kids,” Parks said. “He truly cared.”
Dennis Hearne was another positive influence for the young teacher-coach.
“Dennis had faith in me and my ability to coach as well as to share my knowledge and passion, too,” Parks said. “You could say that Dennis was my coach.”
Hearne asked Parks to be the track coach, and Hearne was his assistant. The two also started the strength and conditioning program for all sports.
“It was a school-approved, but not financially supported, program,” Parks said.
The vision for all athletes to improve through weight and speed training paid off, and a course, now known as Fitness, was added to the curriculum.
The duo was also responsible for numerous improvements to the Golden Bears athletic programs and facilities through their efforts to find financial supporters in alumni and community supporters.
“We knew as a public school that we had to be patient with the funding of facilities and equipment,” Parks said. “It is a joy and a blessing to see current athletes enjoy and experience the fruits of our labor.”
After 23 seasons as head football coach, Parks stepped down in 2017 and the following year moved to the middle school, where he continued to teach PE and health. While some in the community may only know him as the former football coach, Parks sees the bigger picture, especially as he prepares for his final two weeks with students.
“Being a teacher in the building, whether at SHS or now at SMS, has given me the opportunity to do as my coaches did for me: to encourage and keep accountable.”
Parks, who will continue to coach SHS football on Head Coach Scott Fitzgerald’s staff, said he continues to lean on a Proverb: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
NOTEBOOK:
INTERNATIONAL NEWS: A council in North Yorkshire, England, decided to remove apostrophes from street signs due to potential confusion in its databases. Some locals aren’t too happy about it, even going as far as to grammar-graffiti the apostrophes back onto the signs. (Morning Brew)
The Addison Times publishes essential news and historical content to build our Shelby County community, and is free thanks to the generosity of supporters. Those who donate a minimum of $5 a month (or $45 one-time) receive the three remaining quarterly Addison Times magazines for 2024 as an appreciation gift.
Want the daily edition read to you? Struggling with your email provider filtering out your local news? The Addison Times Substack app will solve those challenges!
This Day in Shelby County History
2014: Restoration on the Carnegie East Wing at the Shelby County Public Library continued. The library had purchased the building in 2007 and created a computer lab and two instruction rooms. A new genealogy area was underway.
2004: The local Salvation Army started a $250,000 capital campaign to expand their kitchen and to pay for the new brick exterior recently put on the building at 136 E. Washington St. Scott Mullins, chairman of the local advisory board, said $57,000 had already been raised quietly by supporters.
1994: Candy McGaha was named Southwestern prom queen. Jimmy Rush was king. Members of the court were Tara Eberhart, Bridget Holler, Kea Barlow, Ryan Clark, Matt Fox and T.J. Clark. Katy Carrico was prom queen at Morristown. Jeff Marcum and Nathan Harding were selected kings after a tie in the voting. Also on the court were Andrea Pine, Erin Wilson, Andrea Geryak, Julie Henson, Cory Brown, Aaron Diefenderfer and Geoffrey Appleby.
The Southwestern school board approved spending $100,000 for a media system that would put television monitors in each high school classroom.
1984: George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were all on the ballot in the primary in St. Paul and the rest of Decatur County. The county was using a brand new punch card computer-type voting system for the first time, and poll instructors had printed ballots with the early presidents’ names to demonstrate to voters the technique of operating the punch card. “Some felt the election was rigged, though,” The Shelbyville News reported, “the only name that ever was punched by the instructor was that of George Washington.”
1974: Ground was broken for a new sanctuary for the Church of God, replacing the previous building located at Colescott and S. Miller St. Members were building the new 2,240 square foot church just north of Shelbyville High School on S. Miller St.
1964: The Indiana Alcoholic Beverages Commission suspended Leland’s Tavern, 1147 E. Michigan Road, for 15 days for selling alcohol to minors.
1954: School officials announced that new students in the fall would need to have birth certificates on file in order to be admitted.
Kenneth and Kermit Graham, owners of Shelbyville Motors, leased the former Sunlit building at Broadway and Pike streets from Nate Kaufman for warehouse and storage. Farm machinery, new cars and some used cars would be stored in the building.
1944: All Italian prisoners were transferred from Camp Atterbury, The Shelbyville Republican reported. An undisclosed number of German war prisoners were on the way.
Snap-On Button Company, which manufactured novelty button and ear-ring sets for women’s garments, was founded in St. Paul, organized with $25,000 in capital stock.
1934: Mothers and daughters at First Baptist Church were treated to a supper prepared by the men and boys of the church. The Republican said the men would “either wash the dishes themselves or employ someone to do this work. (Probably the latter.)”
1924: Viola Kehl, South West St., was reunited with her dad, a Civil War veteran, after a separation of over 50 years. The family had lived in Shelby County when the dad was separated from his wife and left the community while his children were extremely young. No communication had occurred for over 50 years until he was placed in a medical facility and staff reconnected him with his children.
1914: Dr. and Mrs. Winters, of New Castle, spoke at The Alhambra Theatre in an effort to raise awareness about their young daughter, Catherine, who had disappeared from their home in 1913. A Louisville man had created a 1,000-foot long film about the situation. The Winters were traveling the region showing it and discussing their plight. They believed gypsies had taken Catherine. (She was never found.)
OBITUARIES
None today