Sunday, August 25, 2024

‘Elf: The Musical’ Coming to SHS

Shelbyville High School freshman Jack Bassett auditions for “Elf: The Musical” last week while faculty members Erin Kaczmarek, Michaela Strausbaugh and Joel Kenemore and student teacher Hannah Meg Weinraub evaluate and Denise Tinsley-White provides piano accompaniment. The musical is set for Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16, in Breck Auditorium. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS

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TAGGING IN

Shelbyville Middle School 8th grade volleyball player Abby Gwinnup (#22) subs in for Mia Robbins (#1) during Thursday’s game against Triton Central. The Golden Bears won a nail-biter in three sets. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS

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NOTEBOOK:

• The Shelby County Master Gardeners are hosting a free Fall Festival, Sept. 14, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Shelby County fairgrounds. The event features special speakers on gourds, composting, gladiolus and invasive plants, live music from the Highwater Troubadours, a cruise-in car show, kids’ activities, craft and garden vendors, raffle prizes, and the Master Gardener “Blooming Bargains” plant and book sale. There will also be a food truck serving breakfast and lunch.

• Former state Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, arrived Thursday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Manchester, Ken., located about 75 miles south of Lexington, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Columbus Republic reported. His release date is June 28, 2025. Eberhart is currently being held at the minimum-security camp, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Randilee Giamusso told The Republic on Friday. Inmates at the camp are housed in dormitories divided into two-person cubicles, according to Zoukis Consulting Group, which claims to have profiled every federal prison. Eberhart, who represented Indiana House District 57 from January 2006 to November 2022, was sentenced in July to one year and one day in federal prison for supporting a bill favoring a casino in exchange for promises of lucrative employment.

• NATIONAL NEWS: A new study from Charles Schwab said that on average, Americans would consider themselves to be wealthy at $2.5 million, up from $2.2 million two years ago. Americans reported needing an average net worth of $778,000 to feel “financially comfortable,” which is down from $1 million last year, though the figure scales upward with age. Gen Z respondents said they would be financially comfortable at $406,000, on average. Americans believed on average that they’d need $1.46 million saved up for retirement, up 53 percent compared to the $951,000 cited in 2020. (Quartz/Numlock)

• 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!

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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 II

Dad traded the Willys Station Wagon for an almost identical-looking vehicle, but it was a 1950 model. We would be going 2,400 miles one way with everything that the eight people needed for the trip carried with us. We had clothes packed everywhere and all of the necessary items that we would require for the trip.

There was Mom, Dad, and six kids, ranging from me, at near-15 years old, to Mary Ruth, at not-quite two years old.

As I remember, we carried bowls for cereal in the morning for Cheerios and Cornflakes. We would stop at a small grocery and buy our milk and cereals and lunch meats every day. Mom and us older ones would fix sandwiches for lunch, while Dad drove, that were usually lunch meats with cheese on white bread, with cookies to finish filling our stomachs.

We would stop in the evening and find a motel: one to four dollars a night, with just a bare room with a bed, dresser, and bathroom with hot and cold running water, but no air conditioning, and the TV probably didn't work. One of the motels in particular that I remember was in Texas, and the rooms were so small that we had to get two of them. What I remember most was the fact that when you stepped outside and looked behind the motel, it was full of long-eared jackrabbits running and jumping all over the place. Then, after cleaning up and stretching our legs, we would find a small diner off the side of the road and eat our evening meal.

We had a few relatives that lived along the route that we would take, so that we would not need motels for those nights.

Our Aunt Nell and Uncle Jesse “Sparky” Sparks lived in Bethalto, Ill., just out of Saint Louis, Mo., which is where we would stay the first night. Then, after resting a day, we picked up Route 66 and went through three long days of driving and motels until we came to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Ruth Harbart's home in Pueblo, Colo., where we stayed with them for three days and kind of rested up. Uncle Charlie took us boys trout fishing up in the mountains, and we caught several small rainbow trout. Uncle Charlie said he would clean them and we would have them for breakfast the next morning. He neglected to inform us that the state of Colorado said that the fish had to be cooked with the heads still attached. We’d go down to breakfast to have the fish we caught yesterday on a plate staring back at us. After getting used to this, they tasted pretty good. We left Uncle Charlie and Aunt Ruth Harbart's home and headed toward Flagstaff Arizona and Uncle Ira and Aunt Mary Harbart's home.

On the way, we stopped at the painted desert and petrified forest, where brother George went against all of the warnings and threats of hefty fines and jail time, and after we got to the Willys and continued on to Flagstaff for the night, he showed us a piece of a petrified tree that he had pilfered. We used that piece, about the size of half a loaf of bread, as a doorstop at home for many years. After arriving late at night in Flagstaff we had a great home-cooked meal with our relatives and slept in relative comfort. We spent one whole day with them and got up early the next morning, my 15th birthday, and started driving to the Grand Canyon. After arriving there, it was everything that we thought it would be and more. To stand on the south rim of the Canyon and take in all that it has to offer to your eyes is spectacular. If you never go anywhere else in your life, you must see the Grand Canyon in all of its splendor.

We then began the long drive home; four days of eight people living together in a small vehicle, with only one driver. The Willys never faltered and we completed the trip on Saturday night, which gave us one day to rest up before starting school on Monday.

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SHS Courier Archive Highlights:

March 5, 2015

• The radio portion came to the SHS radio and television class. The web-based radio would be played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Students were not pleased with the cafeteria’s recent switch from Town House crackers and Saltine crackers to Zesta brand whole grain mini-crackers. “I am pretty mad about the the change, first off, they taste bad; and second, it’s less quantity,” sophomore Erin Diemer said.

• Jessica Ault was editor of The Squib. Staff members were Marissa Akers, Grace Bate, Elizabeth Clark, Haley Eldridge, Cameron Hankins, Holly Harris, Casey Hendrickson, Nora Houchin, Evita Koth, Kyrsten Lux, Emilie Pierce, Chris Piercy, Katie Schwering and Bailey Watson.

• Synergy nearly swept the award table at a Contest of Champions event. The group took best vocals, best female performer (senior Chloe Sandman) and various other awards.

• The SHS cheer program added new standards. To make the varsity team, cheerleaders must be able to perform a standing back handspring.

• Mr. Wheatley had left mid-year to take a new job outside of education in Plainfield. Mrs. Arielle Nance was hired to replace his position.

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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 from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.

2014: An walking track was completed at Coulston Elementary. Two years’ prior, Mrs. Annette Creed’s fifth-grade class had approached the school board with the idea of putting in the track around the playground. The concept was the result of a multistep math problem that measured the distance around a walking path.

2004: Work on a new water main that would bring Indianapolis city water to Triton Central schools got the go-ahead with Shelby County Commissioners approving construction through a county right-of-way. Once the line was finished, homes in northwest Shelby County could hook on to it for a fee, commissioners said. The pipe was designed to enter from Marion County along McGregor Road, then parallel Frontage Road until turning south near the Triton school complex.

1994: Sixteen Japanese “Sister City” students were in Shelbyville for a visit. One student turned 14 while here. Her host family baked a cake and held a picnic party in Morrison Park.

1984: A newspaper photo showed teachers new to the Shelbyville Central Schools system. They were Eric Froedge, Gary Hamner, Frank Wintin, Marty Koderabek, Perry Page, Laura Hudson, Jack Tindall, Patricia Crafton, Teresa Young, Marla Thome, Judy Milburn, Laura Heaton and LaRea Slater, in addition to Gary Gilbert, new principal at Pearson.

1974: The Ames store, on East State Road 44, started opening on Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.

1964: A newspaper photo showed Shelbyville High School head football coach Bob Zimny outlining a scrimmage play, with assistant coach Eugene McNew in the background. The season opener against Madison Heights was set for Sept. 4.

1954: The school book store, at the corner of Broadway and Tompkins, would be open Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., “for the convenience of rural patrons,” the district announced.

1944: Fred Johnson, well-known local race driver and trainer, was injured during a race at the Lawrenceburg fairgrounds. He was brought to Major Hospital for treatment.

1934: The Shelby County Fair board announced a $600 profit from the recent fair. “Several of the fairs held in Shelbyville since 1929 were financial failures and suffered heavy losses,” The Republican said. The 1934 fair was the first “free fair,” in which the board only charged for parking and for seats during the harness races. Attendance had more than tripled compared to 1933.

1924: New carpet for the auditorium, platform and choir loft of the First Methodist Church arrived. “It is the largest carpet ever brought to Shelbyville in one piece,” The Republican reported. Mr. Eschmeyer, the installer, had to rip it into three parts in order to get it in the church and upstairs. The roll contained over 700 yards and weighed almost 1,800 pounds.

1914: A fourth oil well was being drilled on Silas Harrell’s farm in Brandywine Township.

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OBITUARIES

Diana Lynn Sleeth, 70, of Shelbyville, passed away, Saturday, August 24, 2024, at Morristown Manor in Morristown. She was born February 17, 1954, in Indianapolis, the daughter of Kenneth E. and Helen (Hulan) Titara. On June 6, 2015, her husband William Sleeth preceded her in death. Diana is survived by her son, Gregory Titara of Fountaintown; granddaughter, Sophia Titara; brothers, Terry Titara and Mike Titara and wife, Carol; sisters, Penny Ferguson and husband, Jeff and Alberta Burgess and husband, Ron; step-children, Thomas Sleeth and wife, Amanda, David Sleeth and wife, Karen, and Margie Miller and husband, Leonard; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to William, Diana was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Kenneth Titara Jr.; and sister, Elnora Titara.

She retired in 2006, as a driver for IndyGo. Diana enjoyed playing euchre.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Carmony-Ewing Chapel, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville. Funeral services will follow at noon, at the funeral home, with Rev. Bill Titara officiating. Interment will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greenwood. Memorial contributions may be made to the Shelbyville-Shelby County Animal Shelter, 705 Hale Road, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176. Online condolences may be shared with Diana’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.

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Peggy Joanna Hodson, 69, of Shelbyville, passed away, Friday, August 23, 2024, at Morristown Manor in Morristown. She was born September 21, 1954, in Shelbyville, the daughter of James and Martha (Shoaf) Gephart. Peggy is survived by her daughter, Joanna Long and husband, Jason, of Shelbyville; son, Joshua Haehl and wife, Tracy, of Shelbyville; grandchildren, Ethan Long, Ellie Long, Gavin Haehl and wife, Jenna, and Carter Haehl; great-grandchildren, Noah and Soren Haehl; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; grandson, Keaton Haehl; sister, Becky Tracy; and brother, Jimmy Gephart.

In 1972, Peggy graduated from Shelbyville High School. She was formerly employed at CVS in Columbus. Peggy enjoyed reading, crocheting and bird watching. She also enjoyed the companionship of her dog, Charlie.

Services have been entrusted to Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville. Memorial contributions may be made to the Shelbyville-Shelby County Public Library, 57 W. Broadway St., Shelbyville, Indiana 46176. Online condolences may be shared with Peggy’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.