Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: STEPHENSON RIFE ATTORNEYS
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The descendants of Brigadier General D. Wray DePrez, the second and longest-tenured owner of the Charles Davis Mansion, 103 W. Mechanic St., traveled to Shelbyville from across the country for Thanksgiving weekend to reunite at the home and throughout town, including the above gathering at Blessing’s Opera House on Public Square. | photo SUBMITTED
USHERING IN THE SEASON
The Shelbyville High School lobby is ready for the season. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
INTERURBAN MAPS
Editor’s note: The good fortune of sitting next to Noah Henderson at a recent Grover Center event meant I would learn something new about our county’s history. In this case, we discussed the old interurban train tracks (maps above provided by Henderson). The Indianapolis & Cincinnati (I&C) purchased the Shelbyville & Southeastern Traction in 1906, including a connection to Greensburg. The company’s successor disbanded in 1932 in favor of buses. The old “car barn” on Boggstown Road, which originally housed a power station for the interurban line, was demolished in 1974. The building had been bought by Shelby Steel, and the property used for warehouse expansion.
There are a few remnants of the interurban in town. A large picnic table in Laura Morrison Park (file photo below) was built out of interurban train rails. “In 1934, Parks Department employee Herbert Davis saw the tracks being removed from Harrison Street and decided to salvage them for projects around the parks. This picnic table is now the last of his projects left in Morrison Park,” the 2022 Bicentennial post said.
NOTEBOOK:
Mainstreet Shelbyville’s Mistletoe Market will be next Friday, Dec. 6, in conjunction with the holiday parade. Festivities including the outdoor holiday market, carriage rides, visits with live reindeer, Ferris wheel, visits with Santa, community holiday parade, and more, beginning at 5 p.m. and continuing until 8 p.m. The Mistletoe Market will be on E. Washington St.; live reindeer in the northeast quadrant of Public Square; Santa’s house and a free hot chocolate station are in the southwest quadrant; carriage rides start on S. Harrison St., $5/ride load - cash only; the Ferris wheel on the E. Washington St. Public Parking lot for $5/ride load - cash only; and food trucks on S. Harrison Street. The following road closures will be in effect: E. Washington St., from Harrison St. to Pike St., closed 1-10 p.m.; Public Square, from Franklin to Broadway St. (N to S), and Pike to Union St. (E to W), closed 3-10 p.m.; and southbound bridge at Boggstown and N. Harrison St., closed just before 7 p.m. and reopening following the parade.
“Elf” was on at The Strand last night, a Black Friday tradition started in 2009 and continuing annually outside of the pandemic. Live pre-show music was provided by Lisa Bruno on the clarinet and John Reed on the saxophone. Upcoming holidays events at The Strand include “Polar Express” on Saturday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.; “A Carpenters’ Christmas” concert, Sunday, Dec. 8, 3 p.m.; “Elf”, Friday, Dec. 13, 5 p.m.; “A Christmas Story” movie, Friday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.; and Circle City Sound featuring Elevate, the Shelbyville Middle School Show Choir, Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 3, is GivingTuesday, a day to encourage constituents to give back to the local community. So many of our readers have given toward keeping The Addison Times sustainable in 2025 and beyond. Thank you! This past year, we’ve covered city and county meetings, our students, local business, primary and general elections, commercial and residential development, and, of course, daily local history. This GivingTuesday or before, please consider a one-time or monthly donation to The Addison Times, either online or via a check to The Addison Times, 54 W. Broadway, #13, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176. We will once again provide a quarterly publication with extra news and photos in 2025 as a gift for your support of $100 or more. Any amount raised above the goal will be placed in a rainy day fund for 2026 operations and beyond. Thank you for your continued support of daily local news and history. I appreciate each of you. - Kristiaan Rawlings, Editor
HOOSIER NEWS: The historic Spring Mill Inn in Mitchell, Ind., reopens for lodging Dec. 6 after two years of renovations. The inn is located at Spring Mill State Park. Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped build the original 73-room property in 1937. The building needed significant repairs and remodeling. Ginger Murphy, the Deputy Director of Stewardship for Indiana State Parks, worked with the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology to maintain the inn’s historic character during renovations. “When folks stand in front of the inn, when they drive up to unload their suitcase after we open on December 6th officially,” Murphy said. “They won’t notice anything different on the outside.” Improvements include new windows, doors, a sprinkler system and an updated HVAC system. For better accessibility across floors, the inn will have an interior ramp and a second elevator. Guest rooms have updated furniture, bathrooms and decor. The Millstone Dining Room at the inn has also been updated and will reopen Dec. 6. (Indiana Public Media)
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Courier Archive Photo: Dec. 2, 1979
SHS Courier Archive Highlights:
Oct. 2, 2002
The year’s first dance, a “must win” football game and class challenges at the pep rally were all part of the week’s upcoming Homecoming events, Christine Duerstock reported. The parade started at 5:30 p.m. at the Boys’ Club, with the pep rally beginning at 6 p.m. “There will not be a bonfire this year because parents did the bonfire last year, and not the Student Council,” Mrs. Kellie Schmidt, new Student Council advisor, said. In addition to Powder Puff, Whipped Cream Twister, Mountain Dew Chug, Tug-of-War and the Ice Cream Game would all be featured at the pep rally.
Krista Kelsay’s “15 Minutes of Fame” column asked students random questions. Jesse Pacheco’s favorite singer was Avant, while Chad Manley’s was Tupac. Chad’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Morrow, while Misty O’Neill’s was Mr. Kenemore. Dustin Prosser said his favorite teachers were “Mrs. S (Schwickrath) and Mr. R. (Russ) Smith.”
Adam James wrote an article on “Seniors in the Spotlight.” Jon Phares, who had spent the previous summer in basic training with the U.S. Army, planned to continue his training after graduation. He was enrolled in the ROTC program through Indiana University.
Jenna Kramer reported on Marching Band, which had new uniforms: black one-piece pantsuits that had matching overlay jackets. Drum Major Jessi Gelinas said the uniforms were “just as hot as our old ones” but offered “a more professional look.”
Excerpts from “Speak Your Mind”: “Mrs. Davis, How many linking verbs are in Speak Your Mind?”; “I wish there were more people like Mr. Palmer.”; “Why can girls carry purses but guys can’t carry backpacks?”; “How am I supposed to run from the 400 wing to the 200 wing with all of these slow freshmen in my way?”
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.
2014: Faith Trinity Pentecostal Church received city council approval to build a new fellowship hall across the street from the church at 505 W. Pennsylvania St.
A dog was returned to its owner after no evidence was found it had actually bitten someone during a fight between two people in a local home. A witness suggested the man had been hit by a padlock, not bitten by a dog. However, the owner of the home had five dogs, and city code did not allow more than four animals of the same kind. The owner said a friend was taking one of the dogs.
2004: City officials announced plans to extend the city’s River Road Sanitary Sewer Project given Knauf Insulation’s $150 million expansion project. Some of the sewage lines to be replaced were more than 100 years old. The pipes would be expanded from 18 inches to 36 inches in diameter. The project would begin at Sunset Park at the Conrey Lift Station, run along River Road to Harrison Street, cross the street, go down John St., turn at Pike St., go to the CSX Railroad tracks and down the center of Pennsylvania Street, ending at Walnut St. Affected streets would be reconstructed to become four feet wider.
1994: Shelbyville resident Steve Sider won $50,000 in a Lucky 5 drawing conducted by the Hoosier Lottery. The truck driver had purchased his ticket at Western Supermarket.
Fire Inspector Paul Lay was named a special police officer to ticket people for parking illegally in fire lanes and running into stores, leaving their car unattended. Fire Chief Kenneth Scott said the issue typically worsened during the holiday season.
1984: Fourteen musical groups from throughout the county performed in the annual Zonta Christmas Sing at the Shelbyville Junior High School gym. The program was carried live over WSVL.
1974: A special dedication service was held at the new Town and Country Christian Church building. Tom Stark delivered the dedicatory address.
The new State Bank of Waldron building was complete, including a drive-up window. Paving and landscaping still needed to be completed before opening day, which was scheduled for late January.
1964: Steel framework was set for the new Shelco Motors display room and garage, under construction on State Road 44 near the intersection of Progress Road.
1954: The Harlem Globetrotters, including Bill Garrett of Shelbyville, played in a double-header at Butler University’s fieldhouse.
1944: Griffey Bros., “The Game Center of Shelbyville,” advertised Carom boards, which included 57 games in one and were “Pre-War Quality”, for $5.95.
1934: A 50-year-old man from Hope was arrested for panhandling. He had approached numerous homes in Shelbyville begging for food. Since he couldn’t pay the $35 panhandling fine, he was sent to the state penal farm for 35 days.
1924: A “well-known farmer of Shelby County” told several locals of a good way to kill rats: he said to use the exhaust pipe from an automobile with a hose attachment, place it in the den opening, and the rats would “come out and die within a short distance of their place of habitation,” The Republican reported. The farmer said a Ford worked well to do the job.
1914: Jack Halsall, of Shelbyville, had won $2,000 with his trotting horse Early Dreams in the 1914 season. He had turned down a $10,000 offer for the horse.
The Marshall Bros. store in Blue Ridge held a demonstration of Majestic ranges and Empire cream separators.
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: Freeman Family Funeral Homes & Crematory
OBITUARIES
None today.
I have a great story about that table at Morrison Park that involved "Cowboy" Davis as we called him when we worked for the Parks Department. Just can't write about it! Some participants might still be alive! Don Thompson