Thursday, March 21, 2024
Kid Quill to Perform at Carb Day
Kid Quill, the stage name for Shelbyville native Mitchell Quilleon Brown, is shown here at last year’s Indy 500 Carb Day event. | photo by B.J. Jensen
Shelbyville native Kid Quill (Mitchell Brown) is joining the Gin Blossoms and George Thoroughgood and The Destroyers at the Indy 500 Miller Lite Carb Day concert, Friday, May 24, starting at 2 p.m.
“As an independent artist, Kid Quill has amassed more than 200 million streams, became a global ambassador for the Indiana Pacers and was selected for Soundcloud’s First On Soundcloud Class of 2021. He will release new music leading up to his highly anticipated upcoming album scheduled for spring 2024,” a media release said.
Ticket and event information here.
Shelby County History: Local Politician Beneficiary, Victim of Patronage System
Editor’s note: Today’s 1934 selection for “This Day in Shelby County History” mentions Pleas Greenlee, who built and lived in the red brick home where Morristown Road meets State Road 9, near the present-day Culver’s. Greenlee was the subject of one of the late David Craig’s class columns, published below.
by DAVID CRAIG
A Shelby County man held one of the most powerful positions in state government from 1933 to late 1935. Pleas E. Greenlee was appointed executive secretary under Gov. Paul V. McNutt. The patronage system that gave Pleas his power would be his downfall in the end.
Pleas Greenlee served in the United States Army during World War I. Greenlee’s first job after the war was with the Shelby Democrat paper. John Day DePrez hired Pleas to manage the advertising department. Pleas did well with the paper and soon became a co-owner of the Michigan City News.
Greenlee laid the foundation for his political career as an officer in the American Legion. Shelbyville’s Victory Post #70 elected Pleas as commander in 1925-26 and again in 1926-27. This was the first time one man had served consecutive terms as commander. While commanding the Shelbyville post, Pleas was chosen as Tenth District commander.
While serving the Tenth District, Pleas became friends with Paul V. McNutt, who became Legion state commander and later national commander. Greenlee soon rose to the rank of state adjutant.
The election of 1932 was a given for the Democrats. A group of Legionnaires led by Pleas Greenlee secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination for Paul V. McNutt. Once in office, Gov. McNutt appointed his old Legion friend, Pleas Greenlee, as patronage secretary. The patronage secretary hired and fired anyone on the state government payroll. He was one of the most feared men in the statehouse. Greenlee began to fire every Republican employed by the state and replace him or her with supporters of the Democratic party. Below is a sample of the letter received by many Republican employees.
Dear Mrs. Jones: The reason for your dismissal was not because of your work, but because of the fact that you are a Republican. We have some 47,000 loyal Democrats that are looking for work at the present time, and if we were to leave Republicans in their jobs we certainly could not expect their help in the campaigns to come. As a result, you were replaced by a Democrat. We are very sorry that we had to do this, but under the circumstances, it was the only thing that we could do.
Pleas Greenlee’s power was so huge that he ousted the state Democratic chairman. Then he secured the nomination of Sherman Minton for United States Senator, a position won by Mr. Minton, which only enhanced the power of Greenlee.
At this point, Pleas was at the height of his power. But he was greedy for more power and recognition. This is the point Pleas Greenlee decided to challenge the state Democratic organization and seek the nomination for governor.
During the summer of 1935, Pleas announced he would seek the Democratic nomination for governor. The announcement angered Gov. McNutt and on Jan. 2, 1936, Greenlee was dismissed as executive secretary. The party organization wanted Cliff Townsend to succeed Paul McNutt in the governor’s office.
The reason given by Gov. McNutt for the dismissal was an unwritten law that no one should campaign for an office while currently in a state government position. Greenlee argued that Sherman Minton was on the Public Service Commission while he ran for state senator.
The dismissal of Pleas Greenlee caused near panic at the statehouse. The friends he had placed in government jobs feared they would be replaced. The patronage system was an accepted part of state politics in the 1930s.
During the second week of January 1936, the first Greenlee for Governor Club was formed in Shelby County. The club was to be non-partisan. Dr. L.C. Sammons was elected chairman. Other officers were Mary Hack, vice chairman; Joe LaBarbera, secretary; and Woodbury Barlow, a Republican, treasurer. The M & D building served as headquarters for the Greenlee for Governor Club.
As most politicians do, Greenlee began his campaign in friendly surroundings. A crowd of nearly 2,000 packed Paul Cross Gym on the evening of Feb. 13, 1936, to help Pleas open his campaign. The main speaker was Sen. Sherman Minton. The crowd yelled and stomped their feet on the wooden bleachers. One man had a car horn that created a deafening noise.
In his speech that February evening, Greenlee did not become negative. He supported the programs of Gov. McNutt and pledged to continue the great work of the last four years. He stated he was in a fight with the party establishment, and he would go down swinging.
Over the next five months, Pleas campaigned hard for the nomination. He stood by his theme of continuing the progress of the current administration. When the primary election was held, Pleas Greenlee did well in many counties. He was strong in 14 counties, where he captured 162 delegates out of a possible 244.
The patronage system that had given Greenlee his power was put into play by the Democratic organization. They threatened to fire Greenlee delegates if they did not switch their support for Townsend. This was too much of a barrier for the Greenlee organization. At the convention in June, Cliff Townsend was handed the gubernatorial nomination by the Democratic establishment.
In the late 1930s, the Greenlees built a brick home at the intersection of Morristown Road and State Road 9. After the campaign, Pleas was placed on the board of the National Bituminous Coal Commission by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Then, from 1946 to 1948, Greenlee was state Democratic chairman. From December 1950 until August 1953, Pleas was Shelbyville Postmaster.
In the early fall of 1954, Greenlee became very upset about his failing health. On Sept. 29, 1954, Pleas Greenlee took his life. He will always be remembered as a man with the courage to fight the establishment.
NOTEBOOK:
NATIONAL NEWS: A phenomenon now seen on job boards is the “ghost job,” or a job posted by a company that is seemingly never filled, up indefinitely, and used, if anything, to pretend that a company is growing or to cache resumes for when an actual job does, in fact, open up. A survey of hiring managers found that 40 percent list jobs that are not actively being filled, and one analysis of LinkedIn estimated that 1.7 million potential jobs there are in fact likely “ghost openings” that have been posted for long periods of time and are not actually being filled. (BBC/Numlock)
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This Day in Shelby County History
2014: Shelbyville police arrested a woman with upwards of $100,000 cash in her vehicle on I-74. The woman said she was paid $2,000 to deliver the money from Texas to Chicago. Police had pulled her over for following a semi-tractor trailer too closely. She was then discovered to have a suspended license, leading to the search.
Triton Central Middle School’s eighth grade girls basketball team won the Shelby County Tournament. Hailey Schneider led TC with 11 points, Bella Cooper finished with 10 and Rachel Dewey added nine. Members of the team also included Colleen Sanders, Madison Ewing, Taylor Stover, Abby Eck, Maddison Garner, Rynisha Holly, Karessa Jines and Alyssa Zell. David Berry and Adam Hammond were coaches.
2004: Waldron High School defeated White River Valley, moving one win away from a state basketball title. Justin Barnard finished with a school-record 49 points and 20 rebounds.
1994: A second inmate was injured as a result of furniture issues in the new jail. One inmate was hurt while climbing into a top bunk in his cell when the metal stool he was standing on came loose from the concrete. Another inmate had been injured when he sat down at dinner and a steel table came loose from the floor. The man fell and the table fell on top of him.
The Shelbyville boys basketball team lost in semistate action against Muncie Central. Muncie’s Bonzi Wells, a Mr. Basketball candidate, made several key plays in the game. (Note: Wells, who played in the NBA for a decade, is now an assistant coach at Georgia Tech.)
1984: Waldron won the Shelby County eighth grade girls basketball tournament. Players were Tonya Stewart, Corinne Lee, Andrea Reddick, Michelle McDaniel, Beth Taggart, Lonna Williams, Leigh Ann Weaver, Trina Roell, Hannah Holmes, Amy Absher, Susan Fischer, Suzanna Rife and Bonnie Sipes. Sandy Shaw was coach.
1974: Former Deputy U.S. Attorney General William Ruckelshaus spoke to over 500 in attendance at the Shelby County Lincoln Day event. Ruckelshaus had also been the EPA’s first director and former acting director of the FBI. He had resigned from his role as deputy attorney general after refusing an order from President Nixon to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox in the Watergate scandal.
TRW Cinch announced additions would be built to both Cinch facilities, the main plant at 513 E. Hendricks St. and the Knutson Division plant at 630 S. Noble St. The additions would provide more manufacturing space and new lunch room facilities.
Waldron High School students put on “Love Me or Leave Me,” a play written by Waldron teacher Kenneth Sever.
1964: Shelbyville High School prom queen candidates were named: Michelle Dellekamp, escorted by Wayne Kennick; Judy Haas, escorted by Christopher Rehme; and Jane Cord, escorted by Bob Chambers. Don Wilson, president of the SHS junior class, would crown one of the girls at the May event.
1954: Shelbyville’s 86 school safety patrol boys collected empty soda bottles from local homes to raise funds for their annual outing. Two trucks were used in the collection efforts. Lt. Earl Trees, head of the traffic and safety division, said both trucks had sideboards and none of the boys would be permitted to stand or hang onto the sides of the truck.
1944: William Robinson, junior at Manilla High School, received first prize in a national contest for best criticism of the movie, “Dust to Dust.”
A Shelby County grand jury convened to conduct an investigation into the fatal shooting of an alleged window-peeper. Paul Merritt, 28, 126 Walnut St., had been charged in the case. According to police, Merritt had fired a rifle after calling for the alleged window peeper to halt. The victim died several minutes after police arrived on the scene. Several neighbors had reported being “annoyed” by the window peeper in days leading up to the shooting.
1934: State officials announced plans to pave State Road 44 from Shelbyville to Rushville, with adjustments to provide a straighter road that paralleled the Pennsylvania railroad tracks at most points. “The tentative paving plans would eliminate most of the numerous sharp turns now impeding travel on this road and, by straightening the right-of-way, would save five miles of paving,” The Republican said. Shelbyville’s Pleas Greenlee had advocated to Governor Paull McNutt for the improvements. The state said paving State Road 44 between Franklin and Shelbyville was not yet on the priority list.
1924: Indianapolis Mayor Lew Shank spoke at the Shelbyville city opera house to drum up support for his gubernatorial run.
City Council announced bids would be accepted for six stone light posts, to be placed on the inside lawn of Major Memorial Hospital. Four of the posts were to be placed on the Washington St. side of the hospital and two on West St.
1914: Harry Jones was arrested on S. Harrison St., where he was “drunk” and “making a little noise,” The Republican said. “When taken in charge by the officers he was asked his name. His reply was, ‘I don’t know my name and I don’t give a d—n. If you want to call me anything, call me Smith, Green, Brown or anything you d—n please,” the paper said. Jones was fined $5. When he couldn’t pay, he was jailed 15 days.
The Parent-Teachers Club of Building No. 5, corner of Hamilton and Pennsylvania St., had a large turn-out at an evening meeting. Local attorney Isaac Carter spoke “on the necessity of several things in the schoolroom - promptness, regular order of procedure and unquestioning obedience,” The Republican said.
OBITUARIES
Joseph (Joey) H. Lytle, 59, of Shelbyville, passed away Saturday March 16, 2024 at MHP Major Hospital. He was born August 3, 1964 in St. Mary, GA. to Kenneth Lytle and Charlotte (Cooper) Lytle.
Joe was a truck driver for 25 years. He enjoyed going fishing, camping and he loved to bake. Joe always had a pepsi in his hand everywhere he went. His favorite sports to watch were, Nascar and the Colts. One thing about Joe is he loved his family very much.
He married Kathy Lynn (Blocher) Lytle on May 13, 2017 and she survives. Joe is also survived by his daughters, Jessica Lytle, Molly Lytle, Dekota Lytle, Dawn Hart, Ashley Barnes, Latasha VanDuyn and Erica VanDuyn; his sons, Clayton Lytle and Justin VanDuyn; and several grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and son, Christopher Hunter.
A Gathering of Friends will be Friday, March 29, 2024 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Moscow Christian Church, 9098 River Rd., Milroy, IN. 46156. A Celebration of Life will follow at 5 p.m. at the Church. There will be a dinner after the service at the church. Funeral Directors Greg Parks, Sheila Parks, Stuart Parks, and Darin Schutt are honored to serve Joe’s family. Online condolences may be shared at www.murphyparks.com.
Michael William Nigh, 82, of Brownsburg, passed away Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at Brownsburg Healthcare in Brownsburg. Mike was born on February 19, 1942, in Indianapolis. He was the son of Robert William and Ruth Elizabeth (Waltermire) Nigh. On June 29, 1962, Mike married his wife of 62 years, Judy Ann Weber and she survives. Mike is also survived by two sons, Douglas William Nigh of Pittsboro and Matthew Wayne Nigh of Jamestown; and his brother, Stephen Brett Nigh and wife, Sue, of New Palestine. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his nephew, Brett Andrew Nigh.
Mike graduated from Morristown High School in 1960 and from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1965. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity while at GMI. He worked at Allison Transmission in Speedway, Indiana, for over 47 years. Early in Mike’s career he had a 5-year assignment in Maryland and a 4-year assignment in the Netherlands. While working for Allison, Mike traveled much of the world. After moving back to Indiana and later in his career, Mike completed a Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University. He had many interests and adventures during his life which included scuba diving, golfing, sculling at Eagle Creek, running marathons and racing open-wheeled Midget cars in NAMARS and USAC. Mike made numerous scuba diving trips to the Caribbean plus a diving trip to Palau. The highlight of his short (10 year) racing career was participating in the once-a-year Chili Bowl event in Tulsa, Oklahoma during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had many dear friends from high school and college, his career at Allison Transmission, and from his various interests whom he kept in contact with his entire life. Mike loved life and truly enjoyed all of his interests.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, March 25, 2024, at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Frazier Chapel, 124 E. North St., in Morristown. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m., Monday, at the funeral home. Interment will be at Asbury Cemetery in Morristown. Memorial contributions may be made to the Christian Appalachian Project, PO Box 55911, Lexington, KY 40555-5911. Online condolences may be shared with Mike’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.
Patricia Ann Ogden, 88, of Shelbyville, passed away Thursday, March 14, 2024 at MHP Medical Center. Born August 5, 1935 in Piqua, Ohio, she was the daughter of Richard Ivan Sillman and Rosemary Ann (McKinney). She married William Ogden on April 12, 1964 and he preceded her in 2015. Survivors include a daughter, Renee Ann Brewer of Shelbyville, son Richard Herring (wife Rebecca) of Shelbyville; six grandchildren, Betsy Means-Davis, Amanda Thoman, Edie, Kyle, Jamy, Kaci Herring; 18 great-grandchildren including Lillian Gant, Jacob Treon, Brant Davis, Cooper Thoman, Camden Thoman, Kendall Thoman; and 21 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and her spouse.
Mrs. Ogden had lived in this area for most of her lifetime. She had worked as a billing/line department assistant for REMC/Rush Shelby Energy for over 40 years, retiring in 1997. She was an active member of the Diligent Diggers Garden Club.
Patricia enjoyed gardening, traveling, antiques, watching golf and football, but most of all she loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
Funeral services will be at noon on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Glenn E. George & Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Road, with Rev. Mike Keucher officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Friends may call on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. until the time of the service, at the funeral home. Memorial contributions can be made to the Blue River Community Foundation Scholarship Fund in honor of Patricia Ogden. The address is: 54 W. Broadway St. #1, Shelbyville, IN. 46176. Online condolences can be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.
