Saturday, October 25, 2025
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Shelby Shake Connects Students and Community Leaders
More than 80 community leaders and high school student representatives served as facilitators at yesterday’s Shelby Shake event. The annual professional development program gives 50 Shelbyville Middle School seventh-graders the chance to rotate through a series of one-minute stations where they answer questions, ask questions or think critically to solve challenges. Pictured above, not in order, are the facilitators: Theresa Adams, Stephanie Amos, Brian Asher, Jeff Bate, Amy Berthouex, Joanne Bowen, Beth Browning, Amanda Bunton, Areli Cadena-Moreno, Beth Case, Beth Chaney, Dave Childres, Chloe Claxton, Brady Claxton, Ryan Claxton, Annette Creed, Arica Crose, Erin Crouch, Camelia Cucuruz, Seth Cunningham, Sophia Cunningham, Megan Davis, Amy Dawson, Christine DeBaun, Amy Dillon, Reagan Dillon, Andrew Fansler, Anne Marie Fansler, Carmen Fansler, Mollie Fansler, Dr. Jackie Fischer, Mayor Scott Furgeson, Allie Garrett, Dr. Kate Garringer, Melissa Gerline-Clagg, Philip Haehl, Matt Haehl, Scott Harper, Mary Harper, John Hartnett, LaTisha Idlewine, Shea Idlewine, Sophia Idlewine, Brody Jeanette, Amy Johnson, Maddy Jones, Claire Kamplain, Father Mike Keucher, Amber Knopp, Laura Land, Chief Doug Lutes, Collin McCartt, Gaye McKenney, Mark McNeely, Rep. Jenny Meltzer, Troy Merrick, Jan Meyer, Kathleen Miltz, Jeremy Musgrave, Kieran O’Connor, Nick O’Connor, Charles O’Connor, Melissa O’Connor, Dr. Jon Orem, Greg Parks, Mackenzie Pickerall, Denny Ramsey, Dr. Kristiaan Rawlings, Sarai Rawlings, Brady Rife, Nathan Runnebohm, Shay Schiloski, Carol Showers, Winnie Soviar, Sylvia Spurling, Dr. Carolyn Statler, Magdalena Paiz Tadeo, Brent Thoman, Tony Titus and Sophia Wainscott.
Below: Dr. Carolyn Statler, co-owner of Three Sisters Books & Gifts, portrays an airline passenger to spark an extemporaneous conversation with a student during the Shelby Shake event. Also pictured is Major Hospital president and CEO Ryan Claxton, who answered a student’s question drawn from a container, including prompts such as, “What’s the toughest challenge you’ve faced at work, and how did you overcome it?”
Below: Kyler Bayless delivers an “Oscar acceptance speech” as Gaye McKenney presents the award, instructing students to give a 45-second speech thanking those who have made a positive impact on their success.
Keeping History Alive: Cemetery Restoration and Preservation, Part I
Editor’s note: Part II of this article will appear in Monday’s edition.
by GEORGE YOUNG
Across Shelby County, the quiet cemeteries scattered among fields and towns tell the story of who we are and where we came from. Time, weather, livestock and neglect have worn away many of these sacred places, leaving gravestones cracked, sunken or swallowed by overgrowth. Each stone represents a life once lived, a story once told, and now it’s our turn to make sure those stories aren’t lost forever.
That’s why three people with deep Shelby County roots, Brycen Bowling, Judy Williams and George Young, decided to act. Though separated by miles, their shared passion for preservation brought them together.
Judy, founder of the Shelby County, Indiana, History and Genealogy Facebook page, had long seen discussions about forgotten cemeteries spark passionate responses online. Brycen, a young amateur archaeologist from New Palestine, brings fresh energy and curiosity to the cause. George, a genealogist and historian from Washington state, contributes from afar with research and archival materials. Judy and George represent the baby boomer generation, while Brycen proudly carries the torch forward as part of Generation Z, a fitting symbol of how history connects generations.
Their unlikely collaboration began during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Judy launched her Facebook group from her home in North Carolina. It quickly grew to nearly 4,000 members, all eager to share and preserve the county’s past. George soon joined, contributing his extensive collection of vintage Shelby County postcards. Around the same time, Brycen began tracing his own family history, discovered the group and was immediately hooked.
Now united by their shared love of local history, they’re working to restore and preserve Shelby County’s cemeteries, beginning with one headstone in the historic Shelbyville City Cemetery on West Pennsylvania Street, home to more than 1,700 memorials dating back to the 1820s.
When Brycen searched the cemetery for a candidate for preservation, one simple marker caught his attention: a weathered granite stone that had endured more than a century of rain, pollution, frost and neglect. Lichens, moss and mildew had begun to consume its surface, eroding both the stone and the memory it bore. Many other ornate stones also needed attention, but this one touched his heart.
Lichens, though seemingly harmless, can be destructive to old tombstones. They trap moisture against the surface and secrete acids that dissolve limestone, granite, marble, sandstone, concrete and mortar. They send tiny rootlike filaments into the pores of the stone. As these growths swell and shrink with changing moisture, they slowly crack and flake away the surface, and over time, can destroy a monument entirely. It’s a small but powerful reminder that preservation requires care, and the right kind of care.
It is a no-no to use harsh chemicals, wire brushes or pressure washers to clean grave markers, which can cause permanent damage. Instead, preservation calls for gentle hands, soft brushes, clean water, a proven biological solution and knowledge of how to protect each stone safely.
Shelby County has more than 150 cemeteries, each one a chapter in our shared history. Each cemetery has different levels of need, some pristine, others totally overgrown. Restoring and protecting them isn’t just a matter of maintenance; it’s an act of respect. When we tend these grounds, we honor those who built our communities, teach future generations where they come from and keep our local heritage alive.
One stone at a time, we can make a difference: one name remembered, one marker restored and a whole history revived.
If you’d like to get involved, whether by volunteering, sharing knowledge or simply spreading awareness, join the conversation on Judy’s Facebook page or visit your local cemetery. Together, we can ensure that the people who shaped Shelby County are never forgotten.
Stay tuned for Part Two: Madison Estes’s stone preservation efforts and his life story.
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NOTEBOOK:
Shelbyville High School defeated Connersville last night, 35-14, in sectional football action. It was the first victory in sectionals in 10 years for the Bears. They travel to Bedford next Friday for the second round.
HOOSIER NEWS: Pulte Homes of Indiana LLC plans to build 28 three-story town houses on a 4.4-acre site north of West 106th Street between U.S. 31 and Illinois Street in Carmel. The $500,000 to $550,000 units would include front-load garages, two acres of open space and tree preservation areas. The currently undeveloped, tree-covered property is bordered by Forte Sports Medicine to the north, Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance to the south and the Spring Mill Heights neighborhood to the west. Pulte is seeking to rezone the property to the Illinois Street Townhomes Planned Unit Development. A Carmel Plan Commission committee will review the proposal Nov. 4. (IBJ)
NATIONAL NEWS: The financial impediments to installing a rooftop solar system in the United States dwarf those of some peers. Americans pay a median price of $28,000 for a 7-kilowatt system, vastly more than the $4,000 an Australian will pay or the $10,000 a German would. While solar panels on the roof can be a great deal that pays off long term, cutting about $1,600 annually from a household’s utility bill, or $56,000 over the 25-year life of a typical system, that upfront sticker shock keeps them out of the realm of possibility for many. (Numlock/Heatmap)
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YELLOW BOOK LOOK-BACK
1988
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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: Shelbyville native Kimberly Fisher had been among those caught in Hurricane Wilma while vacationing in Cancun. Fisher, her boyfriend Chad Everette, and his mother were trapped in their hotel as the storm approached, and later evacuated to a small university four hours away.
1995: The Shelbyville Post Office received its first shipment of self-adhesive “no-lick” stamps. Postmaster Bob McGill said demand was immediate, with customers eager to try the new stamps that simply peeled and stuck. While most residents welcomed the change, local stamp collectors were less enthusiastic. The first generation of adhesive stamps, released in the early 1970s had used an adhesive that caused the artwork on the front to yellow after a number of years.
1985: Triton Central second-grader Mike Haverly was invited to the White House to meet President Reagan and join the ceremonial Rose Garden signing of the proclamation regarding the Year of Liberty, marking the 100th year since the Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a gift from France. Mike had raised $5,000 to help restore the Statue of Liberty. His first efforts had been circulating a plastic ice cream pail at a Triton Central PTO meeting.
1975: The Shelbyville High School band debuted its new uniforms, the the first new outfits for the Bears since 1963. They had been paid for through donations. Steve Frazee was the drum major.
1965: A two-hour open house was held at the Fuller Center to highlight agencies supported by SCUFFY.
1955: Despite state officials telling newspapers that Joe’s Glass Bar, 636 S. Noble Street, had been suspended for 30 days, owner-operator Joe Boyer said he had received no notice from the state, so he remained open.
The County All-Stars were set to take on the County Coaches in a basketball game at the Morristown gym, with tickets priced at 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for students. The All-Stars included Branson of Morristown; Cox and Cassady of Waldron; Asher of Boggstown; John Leap of Fairland; and Spegal of Moral. The County Coaches lineup featured John Hawkins of Boggstown; Larry Cline of Morristown; Art Cook of Moral; and Joe Rawlings of Flat Rock. Three players, Mike Hanahan of Boggstown, Larry Sweany of Flat Rock, and Ted Thompson of Moral, were unable to compete due to college eligibility, and were replaced by Eddie Shipp, Dave Sullivan, and Dale Schilling of Moral, along with Kenny Barlow of Boggstown. Bob Wade of Flat Rock coached the All-Stars, while Bill Doig of Waldron led the County Coaches.
1945: The Office of Price Administration announced that shoe rationing could end as early as late October, bringing relief to Shelby County residents still adjusting to wartime restrictions, The Republican reported. Red point values for meats would remain largely unchanged, and sugar rationing was expected to continue into 1946 due to limited imports from the Philippines and Cuba.
1935: Ralph Leffler, 222 West South Street, reported that four boys, in a premature Halloween celebration, had removed a cement block from a brick column of his porch and carried away his porch swing.
1925: A printing mistake on Shelbyville’s Third Ward city election ballots, listing Republican candidate Edwin E. Stith as “Edwin C. Stith,” was resolved through an agreement between both parties. Democratic leaders Herbert C. Jones and Paul K. Shepherd met with Republican chairman Ralph Adams and Stith, agreeing there would be no election contest regardless of the outcome. The city board of election commissioners, consisting of two Democrats and one Republican, also signed the agreement to count all ballots cast for “Mr. Stith” as votes for Edwin E. Stith, avoiding the need to reprint ballots. Adams had initially caught the mistake.
1915: Sheriff Henry Terry and Deputy James Whissman raided a camp northwest of Shelbyville on Frank Crosby’s farm, opposite the Red Mills on Sugar Creek, after receiving complaints that liquor was being brought to the site and distributed to visitors. William Anderson of Walkerville was charged with gaming and placed under a $500 bond in Mayor Henry Schoelch’s court. Officers confiscated six gunny sacks of beer bottles, a whisky bottle, a glass and 100 poker chips.
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OBITUARIES
None today.