Sunday, February 13, 2022
‘Chase-ing’ a Dream
Southwestern High School’s Kindness Week convocation on Friday, organized by the Sunshine Society, included games such as musical chairs and cup stacking. Corporation superintendent Curtis Chase (above, provided photo) was the surprise recipient of the annual “Special Person” award. Chase is returning to his alma mater, Rushville High School, to serve as director of operations. Jason West, math teacher and varsity girls basketball coach, “won” the Change Wars by collecting $136, and a subsequent slime bath. (photos below by JACK BOYCE)
New Councilman Sworn In
New District 3 County Councilman Brett Haacker (R) participates in a swearing-in ceremony on Friday, performed by Judge Trent Meltzer. Haacker was caucused in by the party to fill former councilman Jordan Caldwell’s seat, and is the only Republican to run in the District 3 primary. He will face Democrat Michael Daniels in the fall.
Last week, Daniels noted in a newsletter that Haacker told The Addison Times he would “be focused on making sure that the ways we’re using and investing these tax dollars are the best path toward a vibrant and successful future. While economic development is certainly a big piece of that, it can’t be the only consideration.” Daniels agreed, and went further: “I’d extend that to say that economic development without economic mobility and equity is just corporate welfare, and something that isn’t good for county residents.” Daniels then outlined several questions he would ask prospective incoming businesses. “I want to build partnerships that uplift our entire county and every resident in it, not that just create jobs that convert the unemployed poor to the working poor and export profits to other cities, states or nations.”
Haacker and Daniels are among several candidates participating in a Town Hall/Meet the Candidates event, Saturday, March 5, 1 to 3 p.m., organized by the Northwest Shelby County Concerned Citizens Coalition, at the Fairland Fire Station. The Addison Times will cover the event.
Dear readers,
It is Super Bowl Sunday. Last year, I asked readers what their favorite Super Bowl memory was. It ended up being a tie between Super Bowl XLVI, when Kate Upton was featured eating a Carl’s Jr. Southwest Patty Melt, and Super Bowl XLIX, when Charlotte McKinney introduced the Carl’s Jr. All-Natural Burger.
This year I decided that there is enough pregame Super Bowl talk on TV. So, I’ve decided to give an update on Judge Tolen’s muzzleloader. But first, a couple of readers share memories from those days of shooting guns out at Brady Meltzer’s farm.
Loyal reader Barry Graves told me he knew my grandfather Brady and visited the farm in the mid 1950s. Barry also built his own muzzleloader at Bob Tingle’s machine shop. Barry promised to share some stories in the future.
Sandra Howley reports that her Uncle Hayes McFadden was one of those early muzzleloader enthusiasts, along with the group of men mentioned in my column. Sandra remembers attending one of the shoots held at Brady’s farm in the early 1970s. Her uncle lived on London Road and had converted an old chicken house into his gun shop.
Judge Tolen’s left-handed muzzleloader that Jeff Linder dropped off at my house a couple of weeks ago has arrived safely in Arizona. Rich Wetnight, the gun’s maker, was able to fix the broken stock. Rich says that the barrel is still in good shape. The metal has developed a beautiful patina and the gun is better than when he made it 50 years ago. It has something it didn’t have back then: a great story.
Dazzling readers with my knowledge of government cheese last week brought me a question from a reader about this recent item featured in “THIS DAY IN SHELBY COUNTY HISTORY”:
70 YEARS AGO: 1952
A piece of equipment that had been a fixture on the Walter Meltzer farm for 25 years - a 15-ton, 20-horsepower steam engine, was removed from the farm after it was sold to a Henry County resident. Meltzer, who was the father of Sheriff Robert Meltzer, said the steam engine was built in 1928 and was used on the farm to provide power for wheat threshing and in the Meltzer sawmill. It was purchased originally by Jacob Meltzer, Walter’s father. Either wood or coal could be burned in the engine to provide heat to develop the steam power to turn the heavy wheel.
The reader wondered if “horsepower” for steam engines was measured the same as “horsepower” for gas engines. And if so, how a “20-horsepower” steam engine could weigh 15 tons and run a sawmill?
I don’t know. Do any of you readers know anything about horsepower and how it is measured? I remember a long time ago an old-timer told me that a steam engine’s power came from having a large flywheel. I noted that the story did mention “steam power to turn the heavy wheel.”
If any old-timers, engineers, or old-timer engineers can answer the reader’s steam engine horsepower question, email me at kmeltzer@yahoo.com.
BELOW: Graham Hicks, Brady Meltzer's great-great-grandson stands in front of a flywheel that once was on one of Brady's steam engines. Graham is a first-grader in Mrs. Huffman's class at Waldron Elementary.
NOTEBOOK:
The Class A No. 1-ranked Waldron High School girls basketball team will roll into semi-state after two wins yesterday to claim the Southwestern regional title. The Mohawks opened the day with a win over Bloomfield, 46-26, and finished with a 50-45 victory over Bethesda Christian. It is the second regional title in the program’s history; the first was in 2010.
The Indianapolis Star covered senior night at Morristown High School, featuring Quinton Batton: He was supposed to be Morristown's best player. Then came leukemia. 'I'm just happy to be here.'
Shelbyville High School swimmer Karissa Hamilton on Friday earned 23rd in the state in the 50 free and 26th in the state in the 100 free event.
HOOSIER NEWS: An outbreak of the bird flu has been reported on a turkey farm in southern Indiana and nearly 30,000 turkeys have already been euthanized in efforts to control the spread. This does not present an immediate concern to public health, federal officials said, but it does have agriculture and industry folks worried. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the confirmed case of the H5N1 strain of avian flu at a farm in Dubois County. It is a highly pathogenic strain, meaning it is lethal to all poultry that contract the disease. This is the nation’s first confirmed case of the flu in a commercial operation since 2020 and six years since it was last found on farms in Indiana, when hundreds of thousands of birds were killed as a result. (IndyStar)
This Week in Shelby County" works by George L. Stubbs Sr. are owned by the Shelby County Historical Society (Grover Center) and used with permission.
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.
20 YEARS AGO: 2002
The Shelby County Council approved a Capital Improvement Plan to allocate EDIT dollars to a “Life Long Learning Fiber Optics” park within two years.
30 YEARS AGO: 1992
Police Capt. Gary Henderson warned that a man had been stealing mail from Riley Village mailboxes. “I don’t know what they are after, maybe tax checks,” Henderson said.
40 YEARS AGO: 1982
Mayor Dan Theobald was named to the National League of Cities’ Community and Economic Development Steering Committee.
Unclaimed boxes of cheese lined the west wall of the county commissioners’ office at the courthouse. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to give the five-pound boxes of processed American cheese hadn’t gone over as well as expected. Sources at the courthouse said the USDA had put the word out to “get rid of the stuff any way possible.” Shelby County had received 16,500 pounds of cheese. The excess cheese would be sent to the Seventh Day Adventist Church for distribution.
50 YEARS AGO: 1972
The Custom Carriage Corp. opened at 34 E. Broadway. A 1924 Hoosier-built Marmon boat tail roadster was visible through the window. The new-to-Shelbyville firm focused on restoring cars was owned by Lance Rawley and Bob Welsh, the latter of which was president of Welsh Kitchens. Although the Marmon could easily cruise 70 miles per hour, Rawley said the ride to Shelbyville from the car sale in Auburn was chilly because of the lack of windows or sidecurtains. Also in the shop were a 1938 Packard limousine and a 1923 Buick.
60 YEARS AGO: 1962
A newspaper photo showed off the new Fountaintown Volunteer Fire Department truck. Pictured were Bill Oltman, assistant chief; Bob Reed, lieutenant; Carlos Jeffries, chief; Harold Trees, sales representative; and Bob Miller, president of the corporation.
Women who had served as president of the Charles Major School Parent-Teacher Association were honored at a Founder’s Day program at the school. Among those in attendance were Mrs. Hatmaker, Mrs. Meloy, Mrs. Day, Mrs. Coers, Mrs. Thralls, Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. McClain, Mrs. Inlow, Mrs. Burkher, Mrs. McCabe, Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Beck.
70 YEARS AGO: 1952
R.V. Bishopp, of Bishopp Hardware Store, was named a national winner in the General Electric Company’s sales contest. He and his wife were awarded a trip to San Francisco.
Local gas station owners ignored an Indianapolis area price war, refusing to slash the price of gas here despite significant reductions in Marion County. The last gas war had been 20 year prior, The Republican reported.
80 YEARS AGO: 1942
Passenger car sales, which has been frozen by a federal order since Jan. 1, were still on hold locally. The ban had been scheduled to end, but necessary forms from the government had not yet arrived here.
90 YEARS AGO: 1932
Bertha Monroe filed a charge of slander against Mrs. Taylor Adams. Monroe contended that Adams had accused her of having a “loathsome disease, circulating this assertion among her acquaintances,” The Republican said.
The Capital Loan Company moved from the Query building in the southeast corner of the square to 18 S. Harrison St., the space formerly occupied by Gartner Delicatessan. F.A. Carlson was manager of Capital Loan.
100 YEARS AGO: 1922
After police gave out numerous tickets to drivers for not using headlights at night, the mayor’s office was filled with “automobile owners, and owners of manure spreaders and concrete mixers” to appeal their cases. So many infractions had been cited that police ran out of tickets.
Joseph B. Hamilton purchased the C.H. Campbell furniture factory, which had been owned by Edwin Porter and others. Other officers of the new company included Emma Hamilton and Lucy Hamilton.
OBITUARIES
Sandra Sue Jones, 80, of Shelbyville, passed away Friday, February 11, 2022, at MHP Medical Center. Born September 8, 1941 in Shelbyville, she was the daughter of Henry A. Jones and Delores N. Jones. She is survived by a special friend, Rhonda Evans of Hope, and preceded in death by her parents and one brother.
Ms. Jones was a lifelong resident of this area and graduated from Shelbyville High School in 1960. She had been employed as a secretary at Fort Benjamin Harrison Federal Finance Center, retiring after many years of service. She was a lifelong member of Hope's Point Baptist Church, and a member of Shelby Senior Citizen's Center. Sandy loved traveling, taking senior trips, and was very involved in her church and church activities, singing in the choir, and cantatas.
Funeral services will be 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at Glenn E. George & Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Road, with Pastor Greg Albert officiating. Burial will be in Lewis Creek Baptist Cemetery. Friends may call on Tuesday evening from 4 p.m. until the time of the service, at the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.