Wednesday, January 8, 2025
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: STEPHENSON RIFE ATTORNEYS
Rings a Bell
These photos, submitted by Carmen Hawk, show the old Victory Bells, girls’ on the left and boys’ on the right, on display last weekend at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle. As noted in yesterday’s edition, the (new) bells travel to the winner of the Shelby County Tournament, which is this weekend. | submitted
NOTEBOOK:
Last year continued a promising trend of new residential development in Shelbyville. By the end of 2024, permits had been pulled for 103 new single-family homes, 138 apartment units and four condo units. The types of permits pulled each year vary, naturally, depending on the types of housing developments in the works. Single-family home permits continue to trend up, with 38 in 2017, 84 in 2021, and 103 in 2022 and 2024, and 52 in 2023. The number of apartment units fluctuate year-to-year, with 120 in 2017, 168 in 2022 and 138 last year, while there were no new apartment units from 2018 to 2021. There were 27 commercial construction permits pulled in 2024, down from the average of 41 over the previous seven years. There were nine industrial construction permits in 2024, up slightly from the seven-year average, and the highest since 12 in 2019.
The Shelbyville Board of Public Works approved cleaning up the property at 569 W. Taylor and assessing the costs to the Texas-based owner.
Thank you to every donor for your continued support of The Addison Times. Donors of $100 or more receive a quarterly print publication in the mail. 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. Thank you for your continued support of daily local news and history. I appreciate each of you. - Kristiaan Rawlings, Editor
The Addison Times is pleased to offer free milestone announcements. Forms are available here: Engagement Announcement, Wedding Announcement and Anniversary Announcement.
NATIONAL NEWS: This week marked the beginning of Monday Night Raw’s 10-year deal with Netflix. It was the wrestling/sports entertainment show’s 1,650th episode. The series goes back to 1993 and is now the longest-running weekly episodic series on television. (The Verge)
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!
Courier Extra: Big Hearts Come in Small Packages
by Jim VanNatta, February 1978
Doorknobs, belt buckles, and occasionally, headlights, are all close to eye-level. Ants and spiders seem a little bit bigger and about two feet closer. Getting down from a chair takes longer because the feet have to travel to the ground from a higher distance. This and more is just a “small” part of the life of Vaughn Wilson. Vaughn, the four-foot one-inch musical tenor, is a freshman here at SHS. He is living proof of the old saying, “Good things come in small packages.”
Randy Newman, in his new hit song, “Short People,” says that “short people got nobody to love.” According to Vaughn, this just ain't true! He says that shorter people are just like everyone else, in that people vary no matter what. About the song in general, Vaughn, with feet dangling, stated, “It's not one of my favorite songs.” Just being around Vaughn for a short time, one can easily tell that he steals the hearts of everyone.
One advantage of being Vaughn’s size, is that you can get into movies cheaper. He will, however, have a harder time getting into an “R-rated” movie later. When asked about his favorite movie star, Vaughn said that his was Chewbacca, the eight-foot-giant Wookie from Star Wars. On the tube, he likes shows like M*A*S*H, Baretta, and Baa Baa Black Sheep. He likes rock music the best, and says that KISS is his favorite group.
Outside of his regular school work, Vaughn tries to keep busy. His hobby is collecting different types of beer cans. He says he has a mountain of them in his bedroom, which has occasionally tumbled down. Vaughn is also a tenor with Jim Carr’s Music Men and played the part of a student in the play “The Mouse That Roared.”
Vaughn says that the ribbing and teasing he gets about his size doesn't bother him as much anymore. He also said that since he’s been here at SHS, the students aren't as mean because, “They seem to be more grown-up.” Vaughn enjoys being around people and says that he “...likes to be with a crowd.”
Vaughn says that most people don't know about him. He says, “People mix me up with a midget, but I've just got something wrong with my pituitary gland. I've got two brothers over six feet tall, and a sister about six feet tall also."
Vaughn has found several friends during his short visit here at SHS, and it's easy to see why. Most people should have only a half of the personality of this four-foot one-inch, lovable freshman.
SHS Courier Archive Highlights:
Jan. 30, 1931, Part II
C.H. Dunn, owner of Dunn’s Pharmacy, presented to SHS students. He expressed concern about chain stores. “Do you know that they literally rob the town in which they are?” he said. “The independent merchant has to take great losses in order to compete with them, and the worst of it is that the money leaves the community. People can’t seem to understand that everything they cut they make up on something else.”
As part of the national Americanization program of the American Legion, the Shelbyville Victory Post No. 70 announced plans to present a medal to one eighth grade boy or girl in each township who would be chosen on the basis of scholarship, leadership, courage, honor and service. A banquet would be held to celebrate the winners. The nomination committee was composed of Basil Nash, Dr. J.E. McDonald, Lewis Neu, Walter Myers and Lester Ketner.
The Courier interviewed Dr. L.T. Freeland, pastor of the First M.E. Church. He said the high school curriculum was too rigid. “No one should be forced to take some subject which is impossible for him to understand.” He recommended more hands-on options, and starting those options at younger ages.
After a two-week break, the basketball team was returning to action on the road against Greensburg. A large group of locals planned to attend. Shelbyville had won the previous encounter earlier in the year, 25-23.
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.
2005: Flooding continued to be a major concern. Residents in Clover Village in Fairland had water in their basements and garages. Some even had water in their heating ducts, preventing them from turning on their furnaces.
1995: The county budget was $700,000 short, the result of underestimating how much Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) the county needed for the new jail. The tax had been established in July 1991. Officials were banking on revenue from the jail to make up the difference.
1985: The Shelby County Sheriff’s office purchased a Columbus telephone number so residents who had Hope and Edinburgh telephone numbers would be able to call without having to pay long distance. Sheriff Rick Isgrigg spear-headed the project. The service would cost the county $16 a month plus an additional charge for each call. The service was approved on a 2-1 commissioners vote, with one voting against because “county residents could surely spend a quarter to call the sheriff’s department if they need to.”
Several locals attended one or both of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” tour shows in Indianapolis. The shows had sold out in less than two hours.
1975: Additional space was under construction at Triton North Elementary School. Two open courtyards had been roofed after concrete floors were poured. The areas would provide large multi-purpose rooms which could, if needed, be partitioned off into four new classrooms.
The Shelbyville Boys’ Club 17-18 age group basketball team won the state Boys’ Club title over the weekend. Team members were Kevin Moore, Tom Brown, Eric Steffey, Keith Everhart, Bryan Sprong, Rick Haas, Brad McQueen, Brad Jones and Terry Junken. The coaches were Greg Jones and Dennis Rhodes, and Swifty Bennett, club staff, traveled with the team.
1965: The temperature hit a high of 63 for the day, although snow was in the forecast.
Shelby County had 421 businesses, an Indianapolis consultant reported. That number did not include some service and professional businesses such as beauty and barber shops and real estate brokers.
1955: A 19-year-old Decatur County basketball fan posted $500 bond in Shelby Circuit Court, where he faced assault and battery charges for allegedly hitting a referee in the mouth at a Flat Rock basketball game. The referee’s injury required stitches.
Frank Worland retired from Admiral Corp. after 29 years of service.
1945: The Morristown Yellow Jackets won the Shelby County rural high school basketball championship after handing Flat Rock a 43-27 defeat at Paul Cross gym.
1935: Lillian (McFerran), 74, married Jonathan Talbert, 70, in Justice of Peace Clifford Newton’s court. It was her eighth marriage, and his fourth. “Mrs. Talbert took the precaution of placing herself in such a position that the grain in the floorboards would not ‘go against’ herself or her husband,” The Republican said.
Charles Gobel started his 18th year on the city police force. He had worked for chiefs George Haehl, John Thompson and Earl Trees, and had served as chief himself before being demoted when a new mayor took over and named Trees as chief.
1925: Bennett Webb, 70, who lived near Fountaintown, had been suffering from the “hiccoughs” for two weeks. Three physicians had tried in vain to help.
An open house was held at the new First Christian Church parsonage on West Franklin Street. The new parsonage was stuccoed, had eight total rooms and a bathroom, as well as a full basement and garage.
1915: Robert Eichelsdoerfer, a young man who wrote for The Republican, was arrested for smoking a cigarette while attending the show “One Girl in a Million”. The arresting officer, Elmer Marks, then went over to the City Opera House and arrested Garrett Phillips for carrying a few bottles of beer. Phillips slapped Marks on the face during the encounter and spent the night in jail.
ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: Freeman Family Funeral Homes & Crematory
OBITUARIES
Douglas E. “Doug” Ellerman, 66, of St. Paul, passed away Sunday, January 5, 2025, at Indiana University Hospital. Born on September 27, 1958, in Shelbyville, he was the son of Tommie E. Ellerman and Donna Sue (Davis) Ellerman. He married Sherry E. (Sayers) Ellerman on August 31, 1999, and she survives. Other survivors include four children: Sara McGee of St. Paul; Stacy Peyton (Jason) of Elizabeth, Colorado; Tara Teague (Brandon) of St. Paul; and Twyla Brantley (Josh) of Greenville, Kentucky; four aunts: Sandra Holzhausen of St. Paul; Barbara McCracken (Roger) of St. Paul; Karen Streeval of Noblesville; and Rita George (Tony) of St. Paul; and 11 grandchildren, Taylor, Alexa, Brice, Kean, Gage, Landon, Hayden, Skyler, Alana, Piper, and Gracelyn. He was preceded in death by his father Tommie; his uncles, Garry Streeval and Leslie “Bud” Holzhausen; and father-in-law John Sayers and mother-in-law Vicky Sayers.
Doug was a lifetime resident of St. Paul and graduated from North Decatur High School in 1976. He was a member of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle and was owner/operator of Ellerman/Double E. Roofing of St. Paul his entire lifetime. He also bought and sold real estate and enjoyed flipping homes. Doug enjoyed good food, and was always looking for a new restaurant he would share with family. He loved all his dogs and animals, enjoyed woodworking in his shop and dearly loved his wife, family and grandchildren. He also enjoyed family get-togethers and his trips to Wisconsin for snowmobiling and fishing.
Funeral services will be 7 p.m., Friday, January 10, 2025, at Apostolic Truth Tabernacle, 1114 Westridge Parkway, Greensburg, Ind., 47240, with Pastor Jeff Sangl officiating. Burial will be in Paul Hill Cemetery in St. Paul. Friends may call on Friday from 3 p.m. until the time of the service, at the church. Memorial contributions can be made to Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Building Fund, in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.