Saturday, August 24, 2024
Civic Theatre Opening Planned for February
Construction at the new Wortman Family Civic Theatre on the west side of town is progressing rapidly. A hard hat tour this week showed off the incoming 180-seat Shelby County Players facility under construction at 1416 Miller Ave., Shelbyville. The building, which was once a bowling alley and is now being expanded, currently resembles a steel maze, but drywall will be installed next month, and the first production is set for February 2025.
The following are highlights from the tour, led by SCP’s Cindy Leahy.
The lobby (facing Miller Ave.) will feature a similar blueprint as previously used by SCP, but the restrooms have been relocated and a small stage will allow for performers before the show or maybe youth theater. The area will accommodate flexible seating arrangements.
Most of the public areas will not have drop ceilings. “You’re going to see the rafters,” Leahy said.
“Backstage” (actually on the south side of the building, closest to First Church of Pentecost next door) will include a costume design shop with sewing machines, ironing boards, a washer and dryer and adjacent storage areas, including a second-floor area. “You're going to hear me talk about storage, storage, storage, because theaters never have enough storage,” Leahy said.
A scene shop on the east side of the building will allow for set creation.
A roll-up door on the back north side of the building will allow easy access for vehicles with supplies to pull in.
The back of the stage area is on the north wall. A hoist system will allow for easy movement of lights and set pieces. “This is the same lighting system and hoist system that is going into Fort Wayne’s Civic Theatre,” Leahy said.
There are 200 donated seats onsite waiting for installation.
Runnebohm Construction is the general contractor. “They’ve been wonderful,” Leahy said.
SCP is $500,000 short of the $4.5 million needed to complete Phase One, which includes opening the building with the organization’s existing sound and lighting systems. “It was supposed to be only $2.5 million in 2019 (when planning began),” Leahy said. Although SCP hopes to raise the funds by February, the completion date isn’t dependent on a last-minute fund drive. “We have a line of credit for $1 million from the bank,” she said. “We're hoping we don't have to tap into that, but we know that we can get in here before the end of the year, get our stuff in here, and our first production will be in February.”
SUNFLOWERS IN BLOOM
Sunflowers are in bloom at Blue River Memorial Park. This shot was taken overhead by a drone. | photo by JOHN WALKER
NOTEBOOK:
The annual free Arts in the Park program will be held Saturday, Sept. 14, at Blue River Memorial Park. The event features a range of activities, from Taekwondo demonstrations to painting and performances by the Blue River Community Choir and Scot Shrader. A full schedule is here.
Shelby County Democrats will hold their monthly meeting, which is open to the public, next week, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m., at the Shelby County Public Library’s Carnegie East Wing.
The 35th Ohio Renaissance Faire in Waynesville, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, will feature Shelby County native Lucy Furiak-Taylor as a cast member. The Faire runs on weekends from Labor Day to Halloween.
A vehicle struck a pole in the Harbor Freight parking lot, leaving paint transfer on the vehicle but no damage to the pole. In a separate incident, a vehicle struck and broke a Duke Energy pole in the 819 S. Harrison St. parking lot.
NATIONAL NEWS: It’s Crayola’s big month with back-to-school, and all summer the crayon maker has been cranking out 13 million crayons a day from their factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, a rate 8 percent higher than the rest of the year. Half of Crayola annual sales happen in the nine weeks leading up to Labor Day, and the Easton plant produces 350,000 24-count boxes every day. The wax that goes into the crayons is stored molten in silos that hold a three-day supply at a time. Pigment arrives in sacks that weigh 3.85 pounds each, and the facility goes through 450,000 pounds of wax every five days. (Bloomberg/Numlock)
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580 West Taylor St.
Editor’s Note: The following is the next installment in a serialized version of “580 West Taylor Street,” by Joseph E. “Joed” Landwerlen.
by JOSEPH E. LANDWERLEN
Wanderers, Part I
My parents were always wanderers. They rarely worked on Sundays, and we as a family always seemed to have a destination to look forward to on the weekends. Being somewhat poor and a large family didn't mean that we stood still. Some of the things and places I remember going to were an orchard on the old Columbus Pike near Mount Auburn, where we picked apples from the ground. They were cheaper but just as good as the ones in the bushel baskets that were picked by the farm hands. We bought some cider and were assured of having apple pies for a couple of weeks.
We drove to Brown County in the spring to visit an old bearded man called only “Berry”, who raised and sold strawberries on a hillside, and you had to pick your own. Berry supplemented his income by mining the small hillside streams for gold, and at that time, gold was only worth $2.35 an ounce. While we were down in Brown County, Mom had to get her a wreath of bittersweet vines to hang on the wall at home to bring us prosperity and good health throughout the year. We also visited Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home in southern Indiana and Dad wanted us to be aware of our history, so he took us to various historical sites such as George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes.
Most of the time, weather permitting, we would spend Sunday at one of the many State Parks in Indiana. Mom would fry up a couple of chickens the Saturday night before, make some potato salad, some baked beans, and we all picked our flavor of some Kool-aid, and off we would go to one of the parks that we knew well. We would eat the cold food that Mom had prepared the night before. Our favorites were McCormick's Creek, Clifty Falls, Versailles, and Turkey Run. We kids would be turned loose to roam the trails and woods with the stern warning to take care of the little ones. We always had a great time and returned home tired but already looking forward to the next time.
About 1951, Dad and Mom decided to go to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, so began the planning and financing for the trip. This trip was a huge undertaking, as there were eight of us going. We had an older '46 year Willys Station Wagon that was said to hold seven people comfortably for short distances. The trip was planned for the late summer of 1952, but several things worked against that: a very young baby girl, a vehicle that was starting to give us trouble, and low finances, so the decision was made to put it off a year.
SHS Courier Archive Highlights:
December 3, 1958, Part II
Approximately 600 parents had attended the second annual Open House at the high school, held as part of National Education Week. Miss Blanche Ashby of the SHS commerce department, served as chairman of the event.
A public service announcement encouraged students to eat breakfast. “Authorities say the following is an ideal breakfast menu for teenagers: fruit or juice, a serving of cereal, three slices of toast, two eggs and two cups of cocoa,” the article said.
Hi-Y would again operate a coat check at all home basketball games. Charles Kysar, Greg Fowl, Dean Sheneman and Langdon Scott would be in charge of the first game. Others volunteering at future games included Charles Barnett, Steve Moberly, Phil Mings, Jim Sleeth, Dee Bonner and John Stieneker.
Junior girls continued to sell candy during lunch hour for the spring prom. Susan Scott, Sharon Murphy, Becky Moore and Diane Lu were on the most recent lunch duty.
The roster for the 1958-59 Golden Bears basketball team was published: Jon Osborne, Bill Reimann, Forrest Theobald, Dan Thurston, David Barnes, Chester Vaughn, Tom Graham, Steve Mohler, Doug Lackey, Steve Slaton, Jerry Smith and Steve Totten.
The Courier provided an update on recent Kiwanis Football Medal winners. Two of the winners, Jack Tindall (‘56) and Jack Krebs (‘57), were enrolled at Indiana Central and Butler University, respectively. Richard Moorehead (‘54), Bob Cowherd (‘55) and Frank Mullen (‘56), who shared honors with Tindall, were all in military service. Ronnie Arehart (‘53) was living in Mississippi after his discharge from the U.S. Marines.
An unnamed sophmore student had written that the president was chosen by “the electrical college,” The Courier said.
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: The third installment of Dancing with the Shelby County Stars was planned. The cast included Linda Swickard and coach Mike Dooley; Anna Hurst and coach Dooley; Macy Carter and coach Ben Davis; Dr. Lloyd Lewis Jr. and coach Lee Sakellaries; Debbie Mathies and coach Steve Mech; Rod Meyerholtz and coach Monica Lung; Father Aaron Pfaff and coach Salley Dooley; Greg Smith and coach Patrea Matteis; Kim Tandy and coach Patrick Clements; and Nancy Nolting and coach Mike Merritt. The Shelby Senior Services and Shelby County Players benefit had raised over $40,000 the year before. The event’s first two annual winners were Gabe Caldwell and Jordan Caldwell.
2004: The brick Moral Township Volunteer Fire Department sign was damaged after a driver left I-74 and crashed into it. The driver was arrested after failing a standardized field sobriety test.
1994: Morgan’s Bar & Grill (formerly Walt’s Bar), 49 E. Washington St., featured a one-man band.
A public meeting brought out 25 people opposed to Mayor Bob Williams’ recycling plan. “I don’t know if the nation is ready for (recycling),” one resident said.
1984: The Shelbyville Elks Club swim team won the state Elks Club swim championship. Team members were Heath Ewing, Todd Yoder, David Barrett, Jeremy Yoder, Chris Fewell, David Carwein, David Warble, Blair Dovidas, Todd Ewing, David Wallace, Bart Smith, Pat McNeely, Derek Thopy, Damon McFarland, Peter DePrez, Anne Bishopp, Shelby Isaacs, Sarah Peters, Christy Zimny, Tracey McNulty, Misty Smith, Laura Haehl, Ann Dennis, Emily Wheeler, Tara McFarland, Jennifer Rohlfing, Sara Rohlfing, Susie Anewalt, Jennifer Mahan, Andy Whitfield, Brian Mings, Trae Roberts, Jeff Gibson, Barkley Ewing, Jamie Vestweber, Chris Ewing, John Wallace, Angie Hartley, Martha Jane Haehl, Nicole Tindall, Stephanie Lux, Megan Rieman, Celis Wheeler, Tumpa Banerjee, Brooke Haehl, Brendon Thopy, Emily Ramsey, Marje Learned, Tim Boring, Noreen Banguis, Eileen Banguis, Tim Ewing, Jay Boring, Chris DePrez, Eric McNamara, Chris Dovidas, Eric Learned, David Dayhoff, Jennifer Hartley, Kathy Gibson, Melanie Barrett, Angie Smith, Tricia Carwein, Melanie Lu, Chris Kinder, Mike Blanner, Megan DePrez, Becky Kiefer, Rusty Tindall, Julie Wetnight, Susan Ashley DePrez, Michele Miller, John Fero, Brad Kiefer, Lori Mahan, Jenny Gottlieb, Annette Woollen, Elizabeth Hart, Nicole Gordon, Deanna Fewell and Steve Bartels. Jim Slater was the coach and Oliver Abeleda was assistant coach.
1974: Brian Shilling, Boggstown, won the dairy cattle grand champion showman award at the Indiana State Fair.
James Ayers, 52, announced his candidacy to run for Shelby County Sheriff on the Republican ticket. Ayers had been affiliated with the Dellekamp Parts Store and service station at Broadway and Harrison St. since 1947 and had purchased the business five years’ prior. He had served as a special deputy under Sheriff Otha Bishop. Ayers would oppose Democrat incumbent Sheriff Norman Murnan.
1964: Earl Pope, a Kokomo resident, won the Shelbyville Elks Country Club golf championship, edging out Frank Coffin and Maurice Gardner to win by one stroke. Other top finishers were Phil Cramer, Dan Thurston, Ted Wwalton, Bill Reimann Sr., John Grigsby and Fred Gardner.
Local Democrats hosted a Teen Night on Public Square with a candidate speech and free “record hop” dance, with Jay Reynolds as DJ, until 11 p.m.
1954: Ruth Ann Thorpe, Shelbyville, was one of six women from central Indiana cities who won a two-day trip to Chicago due to winning the 4-H dress revue. The trip was sponsored by the Goodman-Jester stores.
1944: Sargent’s Wallpaper and Paint Store moved to the Shelby Hotel building.
1934: Food supplies and other equipment of the Addison Township Commissary was moved to the organization’s new location, in a business room just east of the Indiana Bell Telephone Company office on West Broadway. The building was owned by A.J. Thurston. The commissary provided groceries for Addison Township families in need.
1924: Chief of Police John Thompson warned motorists, including taxi drivers, not to speed to and from the fairgrounds. With an influx of traffic into the city due to canning operations, Thompson appointed 11 special officers to enforce the matter.
1914: Clinton Amos was badly injured by a horse kick. Amos, who lived one mile west of Fairland, had been working on John Tomlinson’s farm when the injury occurred.
OBITUARIES
None today.