Writing History One Day at A Time

I N S I D E T H I S S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
WRITING
HISTORY
ONE DAY
AT ATIME
Eckhart
gives
Auburn
huge gift
E5-E6
Steuben
citizens make
Pokagon
happen
E7-E8
War hero
gets a
special
tribute
E12-E14
Kentucky
residents
arrive in
droves
F1-F2
Tornadoes
rip through
LaGrange
County
F3-F5
An auto
museum is
born in
Auburn
F6-F7
Dekko
builds a
thriving
foundation
F8-F9
Hispanics
become
majority in
Ligonier
F10-F11
Tri-State
renamed
Trine
University
F12-F13
Auburn
automobile
company has
finest hour
E9-E10
10s
20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 00s
Booming industry,
horrific disasters, monumental
achievements: For 100 years
KPC Media Group has been
giving you the news
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
The
Star
THE NEWS SUN THE HERALD REPUBLICAN
kpcnews.com $1
E2 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
Writing a century of local history
Welcome!
For the past 100 years, KPC
Media Group Inc., and its
predecessor newspaper
companies, have been
writing the history of our
communities in DeKalb,
LaGrange, Noble and
Steuben counties one day at
a time.
Founded as Kendallville Publishing
Co. in August 1911, on Main Street,
Kendallville, KPC Media Group has
grown into a multi-media firm serving
an expanded area of northeast Indiana.
Our products include the daily
newspapers based in Auburn, Angola
and Kendallville, along with weeklies
in Garrett, Butler and Ligonier.
We publish the Fort Wayne
regions only business weekly
newspaper, a family magazine, local
phone books, total-market saturation
shopper products and free monthly
Allen County community newspapers.
In addition, our websites are major
news and advertising vehicles for the
region. We also operate commercial
printing and direct-mailing operations.
While our products and geograph-
ical area have grown, we continue to
be family-owned and operated
committed to meeting the present and
future needs of the communities in
which we live and work.
In your hands you have a taste of
what we have covered as news and
feature stories since the consolidation
of the two daily newspapers in
Kendallville on Aug. 7, 1911. We
hope you enjoy these glimpses of
what was happening in each of the
last 10 decades and the stories of
some of the companies sponsoring
this section.
Northeast Indiana is rich in history.
I encourage young and old to seek
more opportunities to learn about our
past.
We can take pride in those who
forged our path. Inspired by their
fortitude, we continue to strive to
improve the communities we call
home.
TERRY G.
HOUSHOLDER
President, publisher of
KPC Media Group Inc.
Store Locations:
403 W. North (US 6), Kendallville
1707 S. Wayne, Auburn
Serving Noble, LaGrange & DeKalb Counties
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260-347-0758 800-441-0799
1910 2,700,876; up 7.3 percent
1920 2,930,390; up 8.5 percent
1930 3,238,503; up 10.5 percent
1940 3,427,796; up 5.8 percent
1950 3,934,224; up 14.8 percent
1960 4,662,498; up 18.5 percent
1970 5,193,669; up 11.4 percent
1980 5,490,224; up 5.7 percent
1990 5,544,159; up 1.0 percent
2000 6,080,485; up 9.7 percent
2010 6,483,802; up 6.6 percent
Population growth fluctuates over the years
Noble County
1910 24,009
1920 22,470
1930 22,404
1940 22,776
1950 25,075
1960 28,162
1970 31,382
1980 35,443
1990 37,877
2000 46,275
2010 47,536
LaGrange County
1910 15,148
1920 14,009
1930 13,780
1940 14,352
1950 15,347
1960 17,380
1970 20,890
1980 25,550
1990 29,477
2000 34,909
2010 37,128
DeKalb County
1910 25,054
1920 25,600
1930 24,911
1940 24,756
1950 26,023
1960 28,271
1970 30,837
1980 33,606
1990 35,324
2000 40,285
2010 42,223
Official U.S. Census records of the population of the four northeastern Indiana counties: U.S. Census figures for
Indiana 1910-2010:
Steuben County
1910 14,274
1920 13,360
1930 13,386
1940 13,740
1950 17,087
1960 17,184
1970 20,159
1980 24,694
1990 27,446
2000 33,214
2010 34,185
Did you envision the type of
growth KPC has experienced
when you first moved here in
1962? Did you envision that
future generations would
eventually be part of KPC?
GEORGE O. WITWER: Yes
and no. I thought I could make
great improvements at The
News Sun. I had seen the new
offset technology while
working in the East. I drove to
the first successful daily offset
newspaper in New York state
to witness the miracle. I felt it
would (and should) replace
letterpress printing. It would
improve the quality of our
photos and reduce our costs. It
was a very exciting time with
great changes in the
newspaper business all for
the better. As for my children,
they were all little things then
and I did not expect them to
ever change much. I liked
them the way they were.
DOROTHY WITWER: No.
What are you earliest
memories regarding Kendall-
ville and Kendallville
Publishing Co.?
GEORGE O. WITWER: A nice
little town and a newspaper
with integrity but behind
the times. The owner and
publisher of The News Sun
was a 97-year-old lady named
Mrs. Alice Merica. Once I
restored her dividend, I could
do no wrong. In most ways,
she was a great boss. She
seldom interfered with my
management, except she
would not allow me to sell
ads to business outside of
Kendallville that might be
competitive with stores inside
Kendallville. This was a big
problem. Even Mrs. Avis
Dickey, our wonderful
business manager who helped
me understand so many
perplexing issues in those
early days, had no advice.
Mrs. Merica allowed me to
change the policy when an
Albion attorney pointed out to
us that policy refusing
competitive ads from Albion
merchants might be restraint
of trade. A law suit could
follow, he threatened.
Meanwhile, my little kids
were bragging to their friends
they met at school that their
dad worked for Miss
America.
DOROTHY WITWER:
Kendallville was a very
friendly place with
hardworking community-
minded citizens. Downtown
was a place where you could
find all your familys basic
needs including groceries,
meats, bakery, clothing for
children, men and women,
shoes, Singer sewing
machines, fabrics, post office,
business at the newspaper
office, paint and wallpaper,
hardware, drugstores, medical
and dental, insurance,
furniture, restaurant and more
including a soda store and a
movie theater. Kendallville
had an excellent school
system and a beautiful park
and a good-for-swimming
lake.
I remember The News Sun
was a small newspaper with
old linotype equipment and no
way to print local pictures. I
put all four children in the car
and traveled with our photos
to Churubusco where their
printing department had a
Fairchild scanner and got our
pictures ready for printing in
the paper.
Avis Dickey was the
amazing lady who handled
billing, accounting, circula-
tion, newsboys, customer
service and kept The News
Sun office running. When she
retired it took two full time
women and one part time
woman to replace her.
What were some of your
innovations?
GEORGE O. WITWER: Two
years after Lee and I and the
children arrived, we began
converting to the offset
printing technology. We were
the first newspaper in the
United States to receive our
wire news by satellite, rather
than land line. After we
bought The Auburn Evening
Star (now The Star), we
became one of the first dailies
to print two dailies on one
press. And I guess I might
mention that we were one of
the earliest newspapers to
perfect a reliable skip delivery
system so that those readers
who chose not to buy the
newspaper would get some of
the ads in our shopper.
What, if anything, has not
changed?
GEORGE O. WITWER: Well,
I guess the things that make a
good page one story a
story should be both
interesting and significant. If
it passes those tests, its page
one.
DOROTHY WITWER:
Kendallville is still a city of
friendly people who work
hard to effect community
improvements and social
services.
What parts of being a leader
in small town journalism are
most enjoyable? Most
challenging?
GEORGE O. WITWER: I
guess the most enjoyable
aspect of small town
journalism is telling other
peoples life stories. You need
to be part of the community
but not consumed by it. You
need to be empathetic, but
objective.
DOROTHY WITWER: The
most enjoyable is satisfaction
from providing a necessary
service and the pleasure when
we get to know our readers.
The most challenging part is
keeping the business growing
and profitable.
What have been some of the
biggest news stories you
helped report during the past
50 years?
GEORGE O. WITWER: Well,
I had been in Kendallville
only a few weeks when our
only black resident died. She
was a large black lady with a
hearty laugh. A very popular
person every one liked.
Before we went to press with
the obituary, I received a
phone call from a stern-voiced
woman who said, Did you
check the death certificate,
Mr. Witwer? Then she hung
up. I phoned John Hutchins at
the funeral home. All right,
John. Do I have to come
down and check the death
certificate? John admitted
that the woman was not a
woman at all, but a man. He
took care of of two sisters,
one of whom was bed-ridden.
The sisters, daughters of a
wealthy Kendallville
merchant, moved to Chicago
during the halcyon 1920s,
then moved back to Kendall-
ville with the black lady in the
1950s. John and I discussed
what we should do. I argued
that we could not ignore the
fact that the person was not
quite a woman. John pointed
out the problems in the deep
Depression that would force a
man to conceal his sex in
order to get a job. I came up
with the word hermaphro-
dite, the meaning of which I
hoped most readers might not
exactly know. The story was
picked up by UPI and AP.
Soon I was receiving requests
for photos from smut
magazines in Canada.
Much later, there was
scandal when Henderson
Lake began to smell no,
actually, stink. This went on
for several months until a
summer News Sun editorial
intern studying to become a
doctor figured it out. We held
up printing the story in
exchange for the company
involved agreeing to install
some expensive purifying
equipment.
Stories involving a young,
pretty News Sun reporter who
spent a few days with
followers of The Way in
Rome City produced some
excitement.
What are some of the major
changes you have experi-
enced through the years with
KPC?
GEORGE O. WITWER: We
have needed to expand our
services to different types of
publications in different
adjacent locations.
Looking ahead 50 years, what
do you predict for KPC and for
journalism as a whole?
GEORGE O. WITWER: We
will use wireless technology
more to reach our readers. Our
websites will improve with the
use of video cameras. Our
websites will be used more for
basic shopping and other
information.
DOROTHY WITWER: Skilled
reporting with high journalism
standards will still be
necessary, but more and more
of the news will be online for
readers. KPC will still be
serving northeastern Indiana.
What advice do you have for
community journalists?
GEORGE O. WITWER: Do
what you love to do. Stay
alert. Stay optimistic. Stay
humble. Stay happy.
DOROTHY WITWER: Be
respectful of your sources,
friendly, honest and ethical.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME E3
Tell life stories be part of the
community but not consumed by it
George O. Witwer, publisher emeritus:
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
George O. and Dorothy Witwer, who will be celebrating
their 60th wedding anniversary Oct. 12, 2011, enjoy
laughter at a 2010 Christmas gathering in Kendallville.
Parents of four children and grandparents of 14, they
have one great-granddaughter. The Witwers have been
part of 49 of KPC Media Group's 100-year history.
Retired, George O. Witwer is publisher emeritus of
KPC Media Group.
We were the first
newspaper in the United
States to receive our UPI
wire news by satellite,
rather than land line.
After we bought The
Auburn Evening Star
(now The Star), we
became one of the first
dailies to print two
dailies on one press.
George O. Witwer
Publisher emeritus
BY GRACE HOUSHOLDER
graceh@kpcnews.net
Founded in 1911, Kendallville
Publishing Co. is celebrating its 100th
anniversary. KPCs publisher emeritus,
George O. Witwer, and and his wife
Dorothy Lee Witwer have experienced 49
of those years. Here are some of their
recollections and predictions.
1880-2011
Ministering to the spiritual needs
of our community for 131 years.
Ef?[UZSW^
fZW3dUZS`YW^BSd[eZ
1098 CR 39 (Corner of CR 10 & Old 27) Waterloo
1880
1880
2011 2005
2011
In 1940, four very
good engineers
started Air Products.
Our humble beginnings
took place in a
warehouse in Detroit,
MI, then later moved
to Allentown, PA.
Today, the Butler, IN facility
is a proud supplier to Steel
Dynamics and many major
local companies.
Butler, Indiana www.airproducts.com
Celebrating over
one million safe miles!
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
The News Sun staff of 1966 included, from left, George O. Witwer, editor, C. William
West, city editor, Wendell Jollief, sports editor, Bill Gisel, photographer and reporter,
Jeanette Hetrick, society editor, and Marguerite Sand, wire editor.
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
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Every print
subscription
includes access
to online material.
Visit
kpcnews.com
today!
1911 2011
1
0
0
Yea
r
s
First Row (L to R): Jan Richardson, Barb Braley, Brenda Cureton, Michele Conrad, Tracey
Robideau, Terri Myers, Holly Law-Bireley, Brenda Butters, Cindy Miller, Trina Abrams, Patti
Prumm, Karen Bloom, Mary Lou Monesmith, Val Strycker, Melinda Ellert. Second Row (L to R):
Brandy Montel, Vicki Coats, Karen Elliott, LeAnn Robinson, Charlene Condon, Sue Dunlap, Jenny
Ernsberger, Kelly Wallen, Jodi Arington, Shelly Junk, Susan Green, Joie Dameron, Brenda Wert,
Chuck Fischer, Michelle Herron, Gary Crager, Chris Lamotte. Third Row (L to R): Matt Getts, Jennie
Rollins, Dennis Nartker, Bruce Hakala, Dave Ober. Not Pictured: Karen Atkins, JB Barker, John
Bolitho, Brenda Farmer, Nancy Freeman, Anne Hakala, Sabrina Hunley, Ron Headrick, Chad Kline,
Bill MacPhee, Mark Newland, Sue Poe, Judy Renkenberger, Cindy Ringler, Ann Saggars, Jessica
Shaw, Kristina Sliger, Joey Swartz, Jeanne Vignau Berley, Harlow Watson, Mindy Brown, David
Egly.
First Row (L to R): Nancy Sible, Vi Wysong, Grace Housholder, Terry
Housholder, Donna Scanlon. Second Row (L to R): Erin Doucette, Stevie
Lockridge, Becky Sliger, Nadine Kline, Heather Moses, Felicia Prumm,
Crystal Sheets, Matthew Peters. Third Row (L to R): Ralph Prater, Tammy
Huff, Jenny Kobiela-Mondor, Carol Ernsberger, James Fisher. Fourth
Row (L to R): Mark Lee, Corey Cooper, Ryan Baird, James Tew, Bob
Buttgen, Bob Braley, Brian Glick.
First Row (L to R): Jamie Perkins, Rebecca Gamble, Tabitha
Steel, Dawn Call. Second Row (L to R): Beth Cureton, Martha
Arnold, Nathan Clapp, Kerri Bell, Craig Haupert, Tianna Fortier,
Mike Yoder. Third Row (L to R): Brian Ciolko, Tim Gregg, Dave
Butts, Chris Fiedler, Dave Cook. Fourth Row (L to R): John Riser.
Angol a Of ce
First Row (L to R): Elane Light, Ken Fillmore, Art Condon, Machele
Waid. Second Row (L to R): Dawn Oberlin, Daisy Reinhart, Mike
Marturello, Amy Oberlin, Janie Minick, Jennifer Decker. Not
Pictured: Misty Easterday, Violet Grime, Andrea Leady.
Aubur n Of ce
First Row (L to R): Suzanne Cunningham, Rebecca Koverman,
Lynda Wolfe, Lisa Myers. Second Row (L to R): Christy
Day, Sue Carpenter, Maleah Leitner, Kathryn Bassett, Art
Condon. Third Row (L to R): Nichole Hacha-Thomas, Connie
Trowbridge, Michele Trowbridge, Bob Culp, Jeff Jones.
(One employee added to this photo with Adobe Photoshop
computer program.) Not Pictured: Mark Murdock.
For t Wayne Of ce
First Row (L to R): Lynn Sroufe, Janeen Pierr, Valerie Caviglia,
Kit Anguiano. Second Row (L to R): Lynette Donley, Beth Welty,
Ramona McGown. Third Row (L to R): Mary Schmitz, Linda Lipp,
Brenda McLay. Fourth Row (L to R): Doug Leduc, Sasha Boehme.
Fifth Row (L to R): Don Cooper, Kelly McLendon, Maryann Ulmer.
Sixth Row (L to R): Tom Reynolds, Rick Farrant, Bret Jacomet.
Seventh Row (L to R): Barry Rochford. Not Pictured: Mike
McCormack, Tom Anderson.
KPC principal owners George O. and Dorothy Lee Witwer.
K endal l vi l l e Of ce
THE NEWS SUN
Noble & LaGrange Counties
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kpcnews.com fwdailynews.com
KPC Media Group Inc., was founded 100 years ago
as Kendallville Publishing Co. with the consolidation of
Kendallvilles two daily newspapers on Aug. 7, 1911. The
family-owned company has expanded over the years and now
has more than 150 full- or part-time employees with over 1,300
years of experience.
We are proud of our century-long history of serving the
communities in northeast Indiana. I give credit to the great staff
of employees, past and present, for our success. We continue to
have a team that is dedicated to serving our readers, advertisers
and our communities.
KPC Media meets the news, information and marketing needs of readers and advertisers
with its various print and online products listed below.
ADVERTI SER
Terry G. Housholder
President, Publisher
KPC marks a
century of service
Family
GREATER
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Magazine
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E4 kpcnews.com WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
1910s
BY JANDRA SUTTON
Charles Eckhart is a
name that rings
familiar in Auburn,
as he contributed to
much of what the
city now holds dear,
from the Eckhart
Public Library to
the Auburn
Automobile Co.
An avid philanthropist,
Eckhart dedicated himself to
people, leading him to play a
crucial role in Auburns
history.
Born on Feb. 24, 1841, in
Germantown, Pa., Eckhart
was no stranger to the hard
life. His father was an
alcoholic, and young Charles
was pulled out of school for
work at 8 years old.
He worked steadily until
1860, when he enlisted in the
Union Army under the 104th
Regiment of the Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry. Although
he was discharged in 1863 for
heart problems, Eckhart re-
enlisted in 1865 and served
until six months after the Civil
War ended.
He traveled to Waterloo in
DeKalb County in 1866, and
on Oct. 30, 1866, he married
Barbara Ellen Ashleman. The
next year their first child,
Frank, was born, and the
family moved to Pennsyl-
vania.
Returning to Auburn with
his family in 1874, Eckhart
brought with him the Eckhart
Carriage Co., a successful
enterprise that continued to
flourish even after he retired
in 1895.
A dedicated and hard
worker, Eckhart also
committed himself to his
principles as a Christian and
Prohibitionist. He began to
focus on these ideals, as well
as a recognition of the
importance of knowledge,
after his retirement.
As president of a newly
formed library board, Eckhart
wanted to give the people of
Auburn the best there was to
offer. In 1909 the library board
was granted
$12,500 from
well-known
philanthropist
Andrew
Carnegie to
erect a library
building.
Eckhart
had donated
land for the
library site
and pledged himself to
furnishing the building, but he
believed Carnegies grant
would not be enough to build
the library he had in mind.
The grant was canceled, and
Eckhart took it upon himself
to fund the entire project.
Carnegie wrote the library
board commending the action,
stating, I should like to shake
him (Eckhart) by the hand as a
fellow-worker in the good
cause. Happy man, who can
console himself through life
with the thought that because
he lived one little spot on earth
has been made better than it
was before.
History writer Scott
Bushnell adds that Eckhart
held other motives as well.
Charles believed that there
was a responsibility that came
with success, Bushnell said.
Other cities had benefactors
championing development, but
Bushnell said Eckhart stands
out.
He had a formidable
record for any citizen in the
19th and 20th centuries,
Bushnell said. Hes built a
world-class building serving
the needs of the community
(and) hes not doing this
for the top 1 percent, hes
doing it for the whole
community.
Unlike most benefactors,
Bushnell emphasized,
Eckharts contributions
werent a monument to
himself, but to knowledge.
The library was completed
and dedicated Jan. 20, 1911,
with gifts of land, building,
and furnishings totaling
approximately $40,000.
Eckhart continued his
generous donations to the
library. In November 1913 he
purchased an ornamental
fountain for the library park,
and he provided an additional
$15,000 grant to cover
operational expenses. That
same year Eckhart and his
son, Frank, donated two other
treasures to the city of
Auburn: Eckhart Park and the
YMCA building. The latter
donation an investment
worth nearly $70,000 at the
time made Auburn the
smallest city in the United
States to be home to a YMCA.
I think Charles Eckhart
established a baseline for
philanthropy in this town,
Bushnell said of Eckharts
influence over Auburn. He
represents the best we have to
offer.
Eckharts legacy lies not
only in the buildings he
erected, but in the example he
left behind. He didnt want to
make Auburn a better place
for himself, he did it because
thats what he believed the
people of Auburn deserved.
Auburns The Evening
Dispatch published an article
on Eckhart on May 13, 1910.
The newspaper praised him,
saying, His virtues will shine
as a beacon light to guide men
in the paths of goodness and
helpfulness, and the good that
he has done, will be an
everlasting benediction to his
memory.
Eckharts lasting gifts set example
Charles Eckhart made gifts of land, a handsome
building and furnishings totaling approximately
$40,000 to create Eckhart Public Library in Auburn in
1911. He donated more than three times the amount
that philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had offered
Auburn to build its library.
KPC FILE PHOTO
BY MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA If there ever
was an icon for Angola and
Steuben County, if not northeast
Indiana, it could very well be the
Steuben County Soldiers
Monument in downtown Angola.
Rising up over the center of
town, the monument has stood
the test of time for 94 years in
commemoration of the Civil
War and the 1,278 men
including 280 that didnt return
home Steuben County sent to
that divisive conflict among the
states.
The Steuben County Soldiers
Monument was erected in 1917
and dedicated on Decoration
Day, the predecessor to
Memorial Day. School children
attended, and a great dance was
held on the square or the
mound as it is still often called
the night before the dedica-
tion.
America was, at the time,
sending off her sons to yet
another battle, this time the first
world war. Even though there
was a party the night before,
there was little fanfare at least
in the printed press for the
occasion.
The monument has undergone
two restoration projects, in 1953
and in 1993. The most extensive
restoration came in 1993 at a cost
of nearly $80,000. The work was
done by the Venus Bronze Works
of Detroit.
The monuments original cost
was about $17,000. Like the
extensive restoration of 1993, it
was funded mainly through
private donations.
The monument was designed
by architect J.M. Ayres,
Mansfield, Ohio, and constructed
by Erastus Hetzler, the owner of
the Angola Monument Co.
On the west side of the
monument, a plaque reads,
Erected 1917 by the grateful
citizens of Steuben County to
commemorate the valor and
patriotism of her soldiers in the
Civil War 1861-1865.
The monument is built of
barre granite. The statues are
made of copper. On each corner
of the monument are statues
representing the branches of the
military of its time, cavalry,
artillery, infantry and navy.
Columbia, a symbol of peace,
stands up over the top of the
monument.
Lore has it that Columbia was
supposed to face south, to remind
people where the great war took
place. The architectural design
shows Columbia facing west,
supposedly to greet tourists who
arrived on the west end of town
via train. According to historical
accounts, rope used in the
mechanism employed to hoist
Columbia to the top of the
monument became entangled,
and she ended up landing in the
east-facing position she holds
today.
A worker involved in the
project reportedly told
complainers that all monuments
fact east, to the nations capital.
SEE PHOTO on cover.
Steubens icon: Soldiers Monument
From 1910-1918, DeKalb County
native Rollie Zeider played nine
seasons at the top levels of
professional baseball. Zeider
took the field as a versatile
infielder for the White Sox and
briefly for the Yankees, played
two seasons for Chicago in
the rival Federal League
and ended his Major
League career with the
Cubs. Born in Auburn,
Zeider later lived in
Garrett,
where he died in 1967
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Eckhart
BY CRAIG HAUPERT
chaupert@kpcnews.net
TOPEKA A janitor lit
the furnace in Sycamore Hall
at around noon on April 16,
1915. He was warming the
building for students who
were scheduled to use the
facility in the afternoon.
About an hour later, people
reported seeing flames
coming from Sycamore Hall.
It was not long before one
of Topekas most important
buildings of the 1900s burned
to the ground.
It was the finest reading
hall in LaGrange County, and
Topeka was very much the
center of the literary society in
the county because of it, said
Harold Gingerich of the
Topeka Area Historical
Society.
Sycamore Hall hosted
many different events,
including debates, lectures,
plays, concerts and gradua-
tions from 1905 to the late
1960s.
Sycamore Halls roots can
be traced back to the mid
1800s, when a group of
people near Topeka formed
the Star Literary Society.
They sponsored debates in a
one-room schoolhouse west
of Topeka until the schools
superintendent told them to
take a hike in 1879 for
unknown reasons. The society
responded by purchasing a
building from a local church
and moving it to Sycamore
Corners, north of Topeka near
the intersection of C.R. 700W
and C.R. 600W. The society
renamed itself the Sycamore
Literary Society and
continued to use the building
until a member J.N.
Babcock decided to build
another, more grand structure.
Babcock and other society
members solicited $5,000
apiece from Ligonier
merchant Jacob Strause and
famous philanthropist Andrew
Carnegie. Funding in hand,
the Sycamore Literary Society
built Sycamore Hall in
downtown Topeka. The
dedication took place Nov. 24,
1905, and was attended by
Hoosier poet James
Whitcomb Riley and Gov.
Frank Hanley, among others.
Sycamore Hall thrived as
the countys literary and
cultural hub until it burned in
1915.
Gingerich said Topeka
residents rebuilt Sycamore
Hall within a year. It was
roughly the same size as the
original and seated about 500
people. Country music
legends Loretta Lynn, Red
Foley and Little Jimmy
Dickens played there in the
late 1950s and 60s. The
building remained the center-
piece of the community until
falling into disrepair and
finally being torn down in
April 1980.
I remember the day when
I couldve bought it for a
dollar, but I didnt know what
Id do with it or renovate it,
Gingerich said. Today, if Id
had the chance, we wouldve
bought it and wouldve done
whatever to save it.
E6 1910s WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
BY DENNIS NARTKER
dennisn@kpcnews.net
ROME CITY One of
Indianas most widely read
authors and one of the worlds
first nature photographers is
buried along with her only
daughter on the Sylvan Lake
shore site that was once her
home.
Gene Stratton-Porter and
her daughter, Jeannette
Stratton-Porter Meehan, are
entombed near the
Wildflower Woods cabin
she and her husband Charles
built in 1912 that is now the
Gene Stratton-Porter State
Historic Site. Nearly 75 years
after her death, her remains
and those of her daughter
were moved from California
to the site.
Stratton-Porter published
12 novels, seven nature
studies, three books of poetry,
childrens books and magazine
articles. Its estimated she had
more than 50 million readers,
and her works found in public
libraries around the country
remain popular today.
Visitors can tour the cabin
and 25 acres of gardens
Stratton-Porter created and the
woods where she did her
nature studies.
Stratton-Porter was born
Aug. 17, 1863, in Lagro in
rural Wabash County to Mark
Stratton and Mary Shellen-
berger Stratton. She was the
youngest of 12 children. At an
early age, she enjoyed the
outdoors, exploring in the
woods and picking flowers.
On April 21, 1886, she
married Charles Porter, a
successful druggist and
businessman. They moved to
Decatur, with Charles
traveling to his stores in
Geneva and Fort Wayne. Their
only daughter, Jeannette
Stratton-Porter, was born Aug.
27, 1887, and the family
moved to Geneva soon after to
be close to Charles store. In
1894 the
family built a
14-room
house called
Limberlost
Cabin near
the Limber-
lost Swamp.
Stratton-
Porter began
her intense
study of
nature and
recorded her observations
through writing and photog-
raphy while hiking through
Limberlost Swamp and
tending to her gardens and
orchards. Several of her
writings and photographs were
published in magazines.
She wrote her first novel,
The Song of the Cardinal, in
1903 while at the Limberlost
Cabin. Other novels followed:
Freckles in 1904; At the
Foot of the Rainbow in 1907;
A Girl of the Limberlost in
1909; The Harvester in
1911; and Laddie in 1913.
Her style of combining her
knowledge and love of nature
with stories of romance and
hardship, adventure and
memorable characters won her
fame and fortune.
Her first nature book,
What I Have Done With
Birds, was published in 1907.
People were fascinated
with her description of
Limberlost Swamp, and many
came to Geneva to visit her.
The attention she was getting
and the draining of the swamp
for farmland distressed
Stratton-Porter. She wanted
privacy to continue her nature
studies and writings.
In 1912 the Stratton-Porter
family moved to Sylvan Lake
in Rome City and built a cabin
on 125 acres in the woods on
the shoreline. The vast forest
allowed Gene Stratton-Porter
to concentrate on her nature
studies, writings and photog-
raphy. She created wildflower
gardens that exist today to
preserve endangered Indiana
plants. Her novel Michael
OHalloran was published in
1915.
In 1918 the Stratton-Porter
family moved to California,
and Gene formed Gene
Stratton-Porter Film Co. Eight
of her novels have been
adapted into motion pictures.
Six more novels and three
nature books were published.
She died Dec. 6, 1924, in
Los Angeles from injuries
suffered in a traffic accident.
The Gene Stratton-Porter
Memorial Society Inc. was
formed in 1945 to assist in
acquiring 20 acres of buildings
of the Stratton-Porter Sylvan
Lake property. The society
dissolved after the property
was transferred to the state. In
1974, the 16-room log cabin
was placed on the National
Register of Historic Places,
and the formal garden was
registered in National Gardens
of America in 1987.
In January 1976, the
society was reorganized to
promote activities and
programs at the site. In 1999,
the society raised money to
build the Carriage House
Visitor Center and donated it
debt-free to the state.
The family cabins in
Geneva and Rome City are
preserved and maintained as
state historic sites. Both
properties are open to the
public April through mid-
December.
(Information compiled from the
Gene Stratton-Porter State
Historic Site website.)
Author, naturalist found paradise on Sylvan Lake
Gene Stratton-Porter and her daughter are buried at
the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site on Sylvan
Lake near Rome City. Her burial site can be observed
on a walk through the Wildflower Woods from the
public parking lot to the Stratton-Porter cabin.
DENNIS NARTKER
Sycamore Hall rises from its ashes
Stratton-
Porter
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The original
Sycamore Hall in
Topeka was
hollowed out by a
fire on April 16,
1915. It was
rebuilt in less
than a year and
stood until 1980.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
1920s
BY MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
LAKE JAMES
To some, Pokagon
State Park is one of
the finest gifts ever
given to the state
of Indiana.
The creation of Pokagon
State Park was a gift of the
people of Steuben County to
all of Indiana and beyond.
And the spirit of giving
continues to grow the park
today.
In 1925, Steuben County
citizens raised money to
purchase what was the
original 532 acres of farmland
that created the park on the
shores of Lake James and
Snow Lake. The following
year, the state Department of
Conservation acquired more
land to bring the original park
to about 700 acres. And in
1927, the original Potawatomi
Inn was built.
It was a gift from the
people of Steuben County,
who, in the mid1920s, raised
the money to buy the first 532
acres and then gave it to the
state of Indiana as a Christmas
gift in 1925, said Fred
Wooley, Pokagons interpre-
tive naturalist. Its been a gift
for millions of people who
have come here for vacations,
camping trips, weddings,
family and company picnics,
Christmas parties, meetings,
conferences, or just a stroll in
the woods or a pause on a
bench to seek peace and
solitude, away from the
demands of everyday life.
When the land was first
proposed to become Indianas
fifth state park, its name was
going to be Lake James State
Park. The DNR later changed
it to Pokagon to reflect the
rich heritage of Leopold and
son Simon Pokagon of the
Potawatomi tribe.
Today, Pokagon offers
visitors such amenities as two
beaches, 15 miles of trails
providing the opportunity to
view native wetlands, a
pristine kettle lake and a wide
variety of features created by
the forces of a glacier,
including a kame, known as
Hells Point. The park also
boasts a refrigerated toboggan
slide, cross country skiing,
horseback riding and boat
rentals, not to mention
camping and lodging at the
Potawatomi Inn Hotel and
Conference Center.
Over the years, through
acquisitions by the Indiana
Department of Natural
Resources and through
additional gifts from the
people of Steuben County,
Pokagon has grown to more
than 1,200 acres, which
doesnt include its sister
property, Trine State
Recreation Area, another
approximately 200 acres to the
east of the park, surrounding
the pristine Seven Sisters
Lakes. That, too, was a gift.
In 2005, ACRES Land
Trust acquired 28 acres of
land that originally had been a
motel dating to the 1950s for
inclusion to the park.
At the time, park officials
said some major out-of-state
donors stepped forward to
provide the funds for the
addition, which was the site of
the former Pokagon Motel.
Local residents, particularly
students from local public
schools, provided support for
the expansion, which received
funding from the state of
Indiana through the National
Heritage Trust environmental
license plate program. While
all Department of Natural
Resources properties receive
an allotment of the environ-
mental plate money, the
Pokagon expansion was put
on a high importance list at
the time.
In 2006, Ralph and Sheri
Trine of Lake James bought
the former Oakhill camp
across I-69 from Pokagon,
then donated it to the DNR for
inclusion in the parks system.
The property was dedicated
June 1, 2007.
The property became an
early project for the Steuben
County Lakes Council Land
Trust. The Land Trust, at the
time, was a new organization
formed from members of the
Lakes Council.
The major partners in the
drive to protect the property
were the DNR, The Nature
Conservancy and ACRES.
These groups and others had
shown interest in prior years
when the property was
available for sale. Joining in
the effort was Wood-Land-
Lakes Resource Conservation
and Development, Blue Heron
Ministries, the Steuben
County Community Founda-
tion and the McClue Nature
Reserve Board.
The Trines agreed to work
with these groups to protect
the land and see that it
became a part of the public
trust managed by the DNR.
In addition to verbal and
moral support, some of the
local groups also provided
financial support. Local
individuals have also made
contributions to the final
project and further funding
will be sought to supplement
the purchase and begin to
manage the property.
The $2.8 million purchase
and gift marked one of the
largest private donations to
the DNR.
It is the spirit of giving that
makes Pokagon and perhaps
is reflective of the tradition of
generosity of the people of
Steuben County.
We know the tangibles
the beautiful, rolling, wooded
hills, the kettle hole lake, the
undeveloped shores, the open
meadows with scattered
wetlands, the 15 miles of
trails that connect it all, the
inn and campgrounds, the
toboggan run and ski rental,
Wooley said. It might be the
intangibles, however, that
strike the sweetest notes.
Thats Pokagon State Park,
a gift.
Citizens of Steuben make generous donation
Pokagon State Park's Lake Lonidaw is a short hike east from Potawatomi Inn. Lake
Lonidaw, shown here in October 2010, is a kettle lake, meaning it is nearly perfectly
shaped like a bowl, having been dug out that way by a glacier.
FRED WOOLEY
The entrance to Pokagon State Park is framed by the
pink blooms of redbud trees. Later in the spring, the
blooms of the redbud are backed by the white
blossoms of dogwoods.
FRED WOOLEY
BY KEN FILLMORE
kenf@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA Lake
James resident Hermon
Edgar Phillips was an
accomplished runner and is
Steuben Countys lone
Olympian to date.
Phillips (1903-1986)
placed sixth in the 400-
meter run in the 1928
Summer Olympic Games in
Amsterdam, finishing the
race in 49 seconds.
Phillips was a force in
the 440-yard run in the mid-
1920s, winning Amateur
Athletic Union champi-
onship in the event in 1927,
and he was the NCAA
champion for Butler Univer-
sity from 1925-1927.
His personal-best times
were 47.1 seconds in the
440-yard run and 47.4
seconds in the 400 meters.
Phillips was a 1927
Butler graduate. During his
college years, he was
captain of the track team in
1924, 1926 and 1927 and
was captain of the cross
country team from 1925-
1927. He won five gold
watches one year at the
Penn Relays.
Phillips competed for the
Illinois Athletic Club in
Chicago, then went on to
coach. He coached at Butler
from 1927-1937 and at
Purdue University from
1937-1945. He also
established and directed
several summer camps for
boys and girls.
Phillips was the
developer of Tony Phillips
Bay Estates in Fremont. He
also tried to develop the
U.S. Track and Field Hall of
Fame in rural Fremont.
Phillips places sixth
in 1928 Olympics
FROM STAFF REPORTS
A testimony to the success
of its owner, the McCray
mansion rose on Kendall-
villes East Mitchell Street in
1928.
Elmer E. McCray had
influenced life in Kendall-
ville during the 20th century
more than anyone up to that
time. At one point, it was
said that his McCray Refrig-
erator company sustained
one-third of the families in
the city.
McCray
had begun
humbly,
assisting his
fathers
produce
business as a
young man.
Realizing
the need to
keep food
from spoiling, McCray and
his father built a cold storage
room and in 1882 received a
patent for their invention. In
1890, at the age of 30, Elmer
McCray founded McCray
Refrigerator and Cold
Storage Co., later known as
McCray Refrigerator Co.
McCrays manufacturing
operations grew from their
first quarters on West
Mitchell Street to a large
factory on the north side of
Kendallvilles east-west
railroad tracks. McCray
Refrigerator Co. became the
citys largest employer and
the worlds largest manufac-
turer of commercial refrigera-
tion equipment.
McCray himself became
known for generosity to his
employees and community.
In 1923, he established a
pension plan for retired
employees the first in the
city.
He donated half of the
money needed to build
Lakeside Hospital, a
forerunner to McCray
Memorial Hospital, named in
his honor. He helped develop
the Kendallville park system,
owned Kendallville Country
Club and donated generously
to build the original 4-H
buildings at the Noble County
Fairgrounds in Kendallville.
For himself, he built a
Colonial Revival home
designed by a Chicago
architect on the site of the
McCray familys former
residence a one-acre site
occupying five city lots.
McCray died from a heart
attack at the age of 77 in the
Atlanta home of his only
daughter, Sarah Candler. She
had married Dr. Robert
Candler, an heir to the Coca-
Cola fortune.
On the day of McCrays
funeral, Jan. 2, 1938, some
300 employees walked
together from the McCray
factory to his home. Trustees
and employees of Lakeside
Hospital also visited the
home in a group to show
their respect for Kendall-
villes leading citizen.
Kendallvilles leading citizen,
Elmer McCray, builds mansion
BY CRAIG HAUPERT
SHIPSHEWANA When
the first auction was held in
1922 on George Curtis 80-
acre farm in Shipshewana, no
one could have predicted how
large the business would grow.
Almost 90 years later, the
Shipshewana Auction attracts
approximately 1 million
people annually, according to
Kevin Lambright, co-owner of
the auction.
Kevin and his brother,
Keith, run Shipshewana
Auction Inc., just off S.R. 5 in
downtown Shipshewana.
The auction is open for
business every Tuesday and
Wednesday from early May to
late October. It is home to the
Midwests largest flea market,
also held every Tuesday and
Wednesday. Hundreds of
vendors sell everything from
fresh produce to Amish-made
furniture at the flea market,
while livestock and other
items go to the highest bidders
at the auction.
It is not unusual to see S.R.
5, also known as Van Buren
Street, crowded with vehicles,
buggies and pedestrians when
the auction and flea market are
open.
Shipshewana fuels
LaGrange Countys growing
tourism industry, which
pumped more than $112
million into the countys
economy in 2009, according
to a 2010 study by Certec Inc.
In 2005, the county generated
$90.3 million from tourism
and travel.
As one of Shipshewanas
most popular tourist attrac-
tions, the Shipshewana
Auction and Flea Market
contributes heavily to the
tourism industry. Kevin
estimates theyve had as many
as 37,000 people visit there in
one day.
It is a major draw here in
Shipshewana, there is no
question, said Beth
Thornburg, executive director
of the LaGrange County
Convention and Visitors
Bureau. Essentially, I think
the Shipshewana Auction and
Flea Market is what put
Shipshewana on the map.
Our No. 1 tourist
question, still, is Is Shipshe-
wana open? And thats
because the flea market is
seasonal. They associate the
flea market with Shipshewana
being open, and we wrestle
with that a little bit. Of course,
the people that live here know
that Shipshewana is a town.
It is hard to believe the
Shipshewana Auction began
with the sale of six pigs, seven
cows and several head of
young cattle at the home of
Curtis in the early 1920s.
It did not take long for
Curtis auction to catch on.
Business grew so rapidly that
he built the first sale barn at
the same location in 1926.
Fred Lambright purchased
the Shipshewana Auction in
1946 and made several
changes the following year.
He built a new sale barn and
put a roof over the flea
market. A large scale was
installed, and fat hogs and
cattle were sold by the pound.
An auction restaurant was
built in 1950, seating between
50 and 60 people.
The Shipshewana Auction
changed hands again in 1961
as Lambrights nephew Walter
Schrock purchased it.
In 1968, Schrock expanded
the flea market grounds from
100 to 400 vendors and more
than doubled the amount of
auctioneers from four to 10 for
the miscellaneous auction.
Fire destroyed the sale barn
and holding pen on July 7,
1979. With help from the
community, including a young
Kevin Lambright, the barn
was rebuilt within three
months.
The fire brought the
community together, Kevin
said. The outflow of help
from people was incredible.
So many people wanted to
help do what they could and
were very supportive. I think it
showed just how important the
auction was to the
community.
Two years after the fire,
Robert Lambright and his
sons, Keith and Kevin,
purchased the Shipshewana
Auction.
The Lambrights expanded
the flea market to 1,000
spaces in 1984 and built a
new, 250-seat restaurant in
1988.
Keith and Kevin assumed
control of the business after
their father passed away in
1992.
The Farmstead Inn, an 85-
room hotel, was built across
the street from the auction in
1997, and the Antique Gallery
was built next door to the
Farmstead Inn in 1998.
Seventy camping sites
were put in on the south side
of the flea market parking
area, creating the Shipshewana
RV park.
Six little pigs start huge auction
Kendallville High School reached the
Sweet 16 of the 1927 Indiana high school
basketball tournament, where Franklin
Prentice of Kendallville won the Gimbel
Medal for Mental Attitude and Spirit.
I N S P ORTS
The Shipshewana Auction and Flea Market has become one of the areas largest
tourist draws since opening in 1922.
FILE PHOTO
1977 OR 40, Auburn, lN 46706 260-570-6738 260-925-1347
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Brinkerhoff ~ Trusted Since 1902
James Delano Brinkerhoff, after graduating from Indianapolis College of
Law and conducting missionary work in the Middle East, began practic-
ing law in Garrett in 1902. His son, James Delano Brinkerhoff, Jr., joined
him in practice in 1939, establishing the law rm of Brinkerhoff &
Brinkerhoff. J. Daniel Brinkerhoff followed in the footsteps of his father
and grandfather and joined the rm in 1974. J. Darrick Brinkerhoff most
recently joined the rm in the fall of 2008 making the fourth generation
of Brinkerhoffs proudly serving Garrett, Auburn, Ft. Wayne, Hamilton,
Waterloo, and all of Northeastern Indiana which includes DeKalb, No-
ble, Steuben, LaGrange, Allen and surrounding counties.
J. Daniel Brinkerhoff
Dan Brinkerhoff is a lifelong resident of Garrett, Indiana. Dan now con-
centrates his practice in real estate matters, estate planning and munici-
pal law, being general counsel for the City of Garrett, and the towns of
Hamilton, Waterloo, and Corunna.
J. Darrrick Brinkerhoff
Darrick Brinkerhoff, as the great-great grandson of the founder of
Brinkerhoff & Brinkerhoff, became the fourth generation to practice law
in DeKalb County. Darrick will concentrate on domestic relations, crimi-
nal defense, civil litigation and collection matters.
The McCray Mansion today on East Mitchell Street in Kendallville.
DAVE KURTZ
McCray
FILE PHOTO
The Shipshewana Auction and Flea Market in earlier
days.
BY DAVE KURTZ
dkurtz@kpcnews.net
AUBURN In
1931, the Auburn
Automobile Co.
enjoyed its finest
hour from a bottom-
line perspective.
Its greatest triumphs in
automotive design still lay
ahead, but they would come
out of desperation as the
innovative company
struggled to survive.
The companys collapse
by 1937 seemed an unlikely
outcome. Auburn Automobile
had moved into its gleaming
new headquarters in 1930. A
resdesign of its Auburn
model for 1931 led to record
sales.
With handsome new lines
drawn by Alan Leamy, the
31 Auburn combined
luxurious looks with sound
performance for as little as
$945, auto historians said
later. It became a runaway
hit.
Expected production of
2,000 Auburn cars per
month had to be doubled in
1931. The companys
Auburn and Connersville
factories were working at
capacity. Some 300 new
workers were hired at the
Auburn plant, bringing
employment to 592. Auburn
moved from 22nd to 13th
place in sales among the
nations car companies.
In the final accounting,
Auburns 1931 net sales
soared to $37.2 million, with
earnings of $4.1 million.
It would be the last time
Auburn Automobile Co. ever
showed a profit.
Auburns success of 1931
could not erase the harsh
reality of the Great Depres-
sion that was gripping
America.
Another type of gloom
was affecting Auburn
Automobile Co.s bold
leader, E.L. Cord. His wife,
Helen, had died of cancer in
September 1930.
After Helens death,
everything slipped, Lee
Beck and Josh Malks wrote
in Auburn & Cord, their
history of the Auburn
Automobile Co. The
widowed Cord remarried
quickly, moved away from
Auburn and began to lose
interest in his first business
success, shifting his focus to
aviation.
The automobile company
lost $1.1 million in 1932 and
did even worse the next year,
showing red ink of $2.5
million.
The company closed
factory operations in Auburn
in 1933, leaving only the
administration and service
departments, while all
production took place in
Connersville. Bickering
broke out among rival
factions in management.
Surrounded by that
unlikely atmosphere, a
remarkable burst of brilliance
was occurring in the design
and engineering wings of the
Auburn headquarters.
The desperate company
set loose young designer
Gordon Buehrig of its
Duesenberg line to shoot for
a miracle. Working under
severe budget constraints and
amid management chaos,
Buehrig and his team created
two of the most beautiful
automobiles in history.
First came the 1935
Auburn Boattail Speedster
with its daring shape and
outlandish speed. Engineers
introduced a supercharger
that boosted horsepower
from 115 to 150. Test driver
Ab Jenkins drove a
supercharged Auburn
Speedster to 70 new records
at the Bonneville Salt Flats in
Utah, including 104 mph for
a flying-start mile.
The Auburn Speedster
captured attention, but didnt
spur sales. The company lost
another $2.5 million in 1935.
In spite of the bleeding
bank balance, Buehrig and
colleagues were working
feverishly on the companys
final masterpiece. The 1936
Cord would take a giant leap
forward in automobile design
and engineering with its
graceful lines, absence of
chrome, disappearing
headlamps and slew of
technical firsts. More than
merely beautiful, the Cord set
a world speed record by
averaging 101 mph for 24
hours.
Crowds swarmed around
the new Cord at automotive
shows, and publications filled
their pages with accolades.
The company could not build
them fast enough for a while,
but financial losses continued
to mount, and production
slumped to five cars per day
by May 1937. The last Cords
the final cars made by
Auburn Automobile rolled
off the line in August 1937.
Even earlier, the company
had moved its offices out out
of the handsome building in
Auburn and relocated to
Connersville in May 1936. A
bankruptcy court officially
shut down Auburn Automo-
bile Co. on Dec. 11, 1937.
Though its history
stretched back to the dawn of
the 20th century, Auburn
Automobile had burned most
brightly for a brief time in
the early 1930s before
flaming out.
Historians say the Auburn
story would not have been as
romantic if the company had
survived to build ordinary
cars for the mass market.
Beck and Malks wrote,
Without the flair, without
the pizzazz, Auburns
wouldnt have been Auburns,
they would have been, well,
just cars.
H.E. Johnson & Sons
Funeral Homes
4 Generations of Trusted Service
Since 1914
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Those who are familiar with our services always choose
us with the utmost condence. They know from experience
that we can be depended upon to deliver a service that is
complete and suitable in every way in their time of need,
and yet not pay a high price.
We offer a wide variety of services for your choosing
and what one pays here is determined by themselves.
ANGOLA
108 S. West Street,
Angola, IN 46703
260-665-2211
BUTLER
212 N. Broadway,
Butler, IN 46721
260-868-2127
www.hejohnsonfh.com
1930s
Car company shines brightly, burns out
At the height of the companys success around 1931, Auburn Automobile Co. workers lower bodies onto cars on an assembly line in the
Auburn factory complex.
PHOTO COURTESY AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM
PHOTO COURTESY AUBURN CORD DUESENBERG AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM
E.L. Cord, shown in 1925
at the start of his leader-
ship of Auburn Automo-
bile Co., would lead it to
fame as a builder of fast,
luxurious and stylish cars.
ACDA MUSEUM PHOTO
Gordon Buehrig created two of the
worlds most celebrated automobile
designs, the 1935 Auburn Boattail
Speedster and the 1936 Cord 810, in the
final days of the Auburn Automobile Co.
TO THE STAR,
You and your predecessors have recorded the
history of DeKalb County, our towns and cities, and
our citizens for the past century.
Your reporters have been present at hundreds of
governmental meetings over the years. When I was
City Attorney for Auburn, I attended all City Council
meetings. I always considered Dave Kurtz, sitting on
the front row of the spectator section, as representative
of the eyes and ears of the 10,000+ citizens of Auburn.
You record our lives, from birth until death. In
between, you report our school activities, our honor
roll listings, our scholarships, our college choices,
our military service, our marriages, the birth of our
children, our club and organization activities, our
wedding anniversaries, along with all of the important
aspects of our collective lives.

You indeed provide the rst draft of our history.
I have used you extensively in my historical research
and writings.
Most of your back issues are available on microlm
or digital form at DeKalb County libraries.
DeKalb County has been fortunate to have had
an outstanding daily newspaper over the past century.
Thanks goes to the Buchanan family, the Nixon
family, Witwer/Housholder family, and to editors
Verne Buchanan, Don Nixon, James Kroemer and
Dave Kurtz.
As we enter the digital/online era, keep up the
good work! We need you!
John Martin Smith
DeKalb County Historian
John Martin Smith & Thompson Smith, P.C.
Attorneys at Law
507 South Jackson Street
Auburn, Indiana 46706
260-925-4560
counselorsmith@mchsi.com
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AFTER
BEFORE
Indiana State Library digitization grants are funded by the Library Service and
Technology Act (LSTA). LSTA grants are a federally funded program of the
U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The Genealogy Center needs your help. Through a
grant by the Indiana State Library we have been able
to create electronic digital copies of some historic
newspapers from DeKalb County. However, there are
many years of newspapers missing. We need you to
check your attics, garages, basements and throughout
the house for any old newspapers. We are especially
interested in Auburn newspapers from 1918 to 1932.
Reward...
Feeling good about preserving the past!
FROM STAFF REPORTS
LAKE JAMES
Numerous public works
projects throughout Indiana
serve today as reminders of
the Franklin Roosevelt
administrations make-work
programs that helped
rebuild America and get
people working during the
Great Depression.
Perhaps none of the
projects is as unique as the
structures built at Pokagon
State Park.
One of Indianas original
five state parks, Pokagon
features the unique work of
the Civilian Conservation
Corps, whose members
lived and worked at
Pokagon from 1934 to
1942. The boys of the
CCC built the beautiful
stone and log structures
that dot the park landscape
and provide accent to the
rolling wooded hills,
wetlands and open
meadows.
Some of the structures
are on the National Register
of Historic Places.
Other works of the CCC
include a rustic bridge that
still carries traffic over one
of the park roads.
Perhaps the most unique
of all of Pokagons
structures is the refrigerated
toboggan slide, originally
built by the CCC boys.
Company 556 of the
CCC may have ended its
work in 1942 with the
advent of World War II, but
the work and the boys are
not forgotten.
Each year, Company 556
reunites at Pokagon on the
last Sunday of July.
Following the 50th
reunion, the Golden
Anniversary of the
gathering in 2003, it was
thought to be the last. We at
Pokagon would not hear of
ending what is believed to
be the longest running
reunion of CCC veterans in
the country, said Pokagon
interpretive naturalist Fred
Wooley.
When the boys of the
CCC gather and their
numbers keep dwindling
the public is invited to learn
about the great and hard
work that was done, the
memories that were made
and the good times that
were had by the boys who
were at the park in the CCC.
Even with each passing
year more is learned,
Wooley said. The CCC vets
continue to bring artifacts,
photos and memories to
add to Pokagons archives
and knowledge of this great
time in the parks history.
Work of the boys of the CCC lives on
This bridge at Pokagon State Park was
built by members of the Civilian Conser-
vation Corps who worked in the park
from 1933-1942. Many of the field stone
structures found in the park, as well as
the tower that supports the toboggan
slide, were build by the boys who built
Pokagon.
FRED WOOLEY
FROM STAFF REPORTS
KENDALLVILLE
Jobs were disappearing at a
rapid pace in the depths of
the Great Depression, but
thats exactly when Kraft
Foods came to Kendallville
to begin more than 70 years
as one of the citys major
employers.
In 1927, local citizens
built a plant on Krafts site
to attract the Breyer Ice
Cream Co., which bought
the building as soon as milk
receipts reached 50,000
pounds per day. The plant
condensed the milk to
supply Breyers plants in the
East.
In 1934, Kraft purchased
the plant from Breyer and
began making cheddar
cheese in Kendallville.
At the same time, Kraft
was beginning to experiment
with making caramel base at
a factory in Wisconsin.
Within a year, Kraft moved
the caramel base operation
to Kendallville, because it
was closer to the production
site in Chicago and was the
center of an excellent milk-
producing area.
Four years later, the
Kendallville plant stopped
making cheese and devoted
itself to making bulk
caramel, shipping it to
Chicago for cutting,
wrapping and packaging.
By 1950, Kraft enlarged
the Kendallville plant so it
could house the entire
caramel process from
receiving milk to packaging
the final product. Kraft
became the citys third-
largest employer.
Production of
marshmallow and
marshmallow creme came to
the Kendallville plant in
1961, with peanut brittle,
Partymints and chocolate
added the following year.
Marshmallow bits joined the
product line in 1963.
Favorite Brands Interna-
tional bought the plant in
1995, and Nabisco
purchased Favorite Brands
in 1999. But in 2000, Kraft
bought Nabisco and again
became owner of the
Kendallville operations.
Kraft today employs
nearly 400 people at
Kendallville, and they make
more than 150 individual
products.
Kraft comes to Kendallville
during Great Depression
Don Lash of Auburn competed in
the 1936 Olympics at Berlin in
the 5,000- and 10,000-meter
runs. Although an Olympic medal
eluded him, Lash won seven
national cross country champi-
onships and held the world record
for two miles. In 1938, he won the
Sullivan Award given to the
nations best amateur athlete.
Sports Illustrated magazine called
him the first great American
distance runner.
IN SPORTS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E kpcnews.com E11
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State Road 9 North, Wolcottville
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260-347-0950
Young Family Funeral Home
Joseph & Fanny
Berhalter founded a
furniture store and
undertaking parlor in
Kendallville in 1860.
They began a tradition
of service that continued
through their family. In
1935, the funeral home
moved from Main Street
to its current location at
222 South State Street.
In 1958, John Berhalter
Hutchins joined his
parents, Myron and
Beverly Berhalter Hutchins,
and the rm name was
changed to Berhalter-
Hutchins Funeral Home.
Herbert Davis
founded the funeral
home in Wolcottville
in the late 1930s.
Upon his death,
Roger and Margaret
Williams purchased
the funeral home.
In 1974, John and
Sherry Hutchins
purchased the
funeral home from
the Williams and the
name was changed to
Hutchins-Williams
Funeral Home.
In 2006, Pat and Kathy Young purchased both funeral
homes and the name was changed to Young Family
Funeral Homes. Kathy began her career in funeral
Young Family Funeral Homes offer a variety of
services to the community, including traditional
funeral services, veteran services, cremation
services, graveside services, memorial services, pre-
planned funeral arrangements, aftercare support,
bereavement support groups, holiday support service, availability of
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The principles of honesty, integrity, and service set forth by Joseph and
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1940s
BY BOB BRALEY
bobb@kpcnews.net
ALBION He will
be featured on this
years Tombstone
Trail, yet he isnt
buried at the stop
where he will be
remembered.
Lt. j.g. Donald H. Spangler
was killed in action Nov. 13,
1942, while serving aboard
the USS Atlanta. His
accomplishments and
sacrifice in World War II
would prompt the United
States to name a ship, the
USS Spangler, after him.
Spangler was born in 1918,
one of six children born to
Martin and Myrtle (Blue)
Spangler. A Nov. 30, 1942,
article in The News Sun about
Donald Spanglers death
called Martin Spangler an
attorney who was well-known
in Kendallville.
The Spangler boys,
including Donald
nicknamed Red, according to
a news item about his death
delivered the evening
newspaper in Albion growing
up.
Donalds brother, Robert
Spangler, recalled in Michael
McCoys book, Every Town,
USA, that the boys would
gather at the Weber house on
their south route.
They were a wonderful
family, Robert Spangler is
quoted as saying. The fact
that they had a pony didnt
hurt either.
Donald Spangler graduated
with honors from Albion High
School in 1936, McCoy said.
He completed two years at
Purdue University before
accepting a Congressional
appointment to the U.S. Naval
Academy.
Spanglers class of 1942 at
the Naval Academy graduated
early due to the war, McCoy
said. They
were
commis-
sioned Dec.
19, 1941, just
12 days after
the Japanese
raid on Pearl
Harbor that
prompted the
United States
to declare war.
Less than a month later,
Ensign Spangler was assigned
to the USS Atlanta. It served
at the battle of Midway,
screening for the aircraft
carrier USS Hornet.
In August, the Atlanta
downed five Japanese dive
bombers. In October, it
bombarded enemy positions at
Guadalcanal.
McCoy said all these
battles came without a single
casualty on the Atlanta,
earning it the nickname
Lucky A.
But the luck didnt last.
On Nov. 13, 1942, at Guadal-
canal, the Japanese battleship
Atasuki, as it was sinking,
struck the Atlanta with a
torpedo, rendering it largely
powerless, McCoy said.
Darkened, the ship
became caught in a crossfire
from both sides of the battle,
McCoy said.
He quotes the ships
operations officer, Stewart
Moredock, as saying, It was
moments after the torpedo
blast that all hell broke
loose. There was just
Captain Jenkins, the skipper,
and myself left on the
bridge. As far as I am able to
determine, all others, about
60, in the area including
radio and navigation stations
had died.
Among those at his radio
station was Donald Spangler,
by this time a lieutenant
junior grade. He died at his
post, killed in action. Robert
Spanglers investigation
would reveal his brother had
died a quick death, probably
never knowing what hit him.
The Atlanta eventually
was scuttled to keep it from
enemy hands or costing more
lives. Two survived the
attack. That day 3,500 men
lost their lives on nine
American and six Japanese
vessels.
Donald Spanglers body
would never return home, but
an old trunk full of his things
made it back. It was finding
that trunk, years later, that
was inspired McCoys
writings about Spangler.
Red Spangler was a
fine boy, said a Dec. 2,
1942, newspaper item. His
exemplary character, his
admirable qualities were well
known.
In 1943, the largest ship
ever built on the Great Lakes
needed a name. Spangler, a
fallen Midwestern hero, fit
the bill. The USS Spangler, a
destroyer escort, was
christened in July 1943, with
Martin and Myrtle Spangler
on hand.
The USS Spangler saw
action in World War II,
according to the website
devoted to the ship, ussspan-
gler.com. In 1944, it served
in and around Guadalcanal,
where the man for whom it
was named had gone down
with his ship.
In 1945, the Spangler
moved along the islands
toward Japan, serving at
Guam, Saipan and Iwo Jima
on its way to Okinawa,
where it was stationed at
wars end.
After the war, the USS
Spangler continued in
service. While it was still in
operation during the Korean
War, it saw no action in that
conflict. It was decommis-
sioned Oct. 8, 1958, and sold
for scrap Nov. 20, 1972.
Spanglers body is not at
Rose Hill Cemetery in
Albion, where he will be
remembered on the 2011
Tombstone Trail, and the ship
named for him is gone. But
his memory lives on.
War heros sacrifice remembered
Lt. j.g. Donald H. Spanglers parents,
Martin and Myrtle Spangler, join officers
at the dedication of the USS Spangler in
1943. The ship was named for Donald
Spangler.
PHOTO CONTRI BUTED
BY M I KE M ARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA Tri-State
College went from ghost
town to boom town in the
months and years following
World War II.
The college, now Trine
University, faced a boom of
students enrolling, about 90
percent of whom took
advantage of the G.I. Bill
offered to those who had
served in World War II.
In the spring of 1946,
Tri-State would end up with
enrollment of 935 students.
Two years earlier, in the
height of the war, enroll-
ment was less than 200, said
From Carriage to
Computer, Beth Orloskys
1984 history of Tri-State.
The peak of the
onslaught of students
enrolling after World War II
would push enrollment as
high as 1,650 students
before the impact of the G.I.
Bill started to wane in the
1950s.
The impact was felt
throughout the community,
not just on campus.
The greatest need was for
housing. The federal
government helped out, but
the community had to
furnish such things as sewer
service, sidewalks, streets
and water. On the southeast
side of town, the Hendry
Park Trailer Camp was
opened and accommodated
some 100 students in 1946
alone. The Tri-Stan Housing
Project would end up
housing more than 300
students. This housing
project was on land now
known as Commons Park on
the citys southeast side, not
far from Hendry Park. The
Tri-Stan housing was
surplus Army barracks
provided by the federal
government. The housing
accommodated 234 single
students and 74 married
students.
On Dec. 12, 1945,
college president Burton
Handy put out this plea:
Unless we can get
assurance of more rooms
being opened up to students,
it will be necessary to turn
away fully 200 before the
opening of the January
term.
In 1949, it was
announced over an Associ-
ated Press radio account that
the university no longer
could accept students other
than commuters who did not
require university housing.
In addition to bringing
more housing to Angola
specifically to house
students, local residents
started taking in students,
offering rooms for rent in
homes that never before had
been used as boarding
houses. Due to a lack of a
zoning ordinance, people
started putting mobile
homes in their yards in
hopes of getting in on the
newfound windfall.
Speaking of windfalls,
the Tri-State board, at the
time a for-profit operation,
decided to increase tuition
in June 1946 from $80 for
four classes in a 12-week
term to $120. This led to a
great student protest and the
eventual reorganizing of the
college to a nonprofit
corporation and other
reforms that came post-
World War II.
G.I. Bill fills campus, homes in Angola
Coach Keith Showalter
led Auburn High School
to the 1949 state finals
in basketball, where Red
Devils center James
Schooley won the Trester
Award for mental
attitude. Schooley then
played at Indiana
University as a member
of the 1953 NCAA
championship team.
I N S P ORTS
The USS Spangler has full colors flying in this undated
photo.
PHOTO CONTRI BUTED
Spangler
It was moments after the torpedo blast
that all hell broke loose.
Stewart Moredock
Operations officer on the USS Atlanta
Trester Award winner

James Schooley later
became a distinguished
scientist for the
National Institute of
Standards and
Technology.
KPC FI LE PHOTO
E12 WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 1940s WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME E13
FROM STAFF REPORTS
GARRETT On Oct.
25, 1948, in the final days
of his successful campaign
for president, Democrat
Harry S. Truman spoke
from the rear platform of a
train that stopped in Garrett
on the way to Chicago.
The Garrett Clipper
reported on the historic
occasion, the only visit to
the four counties of
northeast Indiana by a
sitting president, in a story
headlined: GOP is aiding
Reds, declared president
here.
The story began,
President Harry S. Truman
accused the Republican
Party of adding the
communists in attempting to
bring about his defeat in the
coming election in an
address in Garrett Monday
morning. An estimated
3,000 to 4,000 people
greeted him.
The story added, The
special arrived at 9:48 a.m.
and departed 10 minutes
later. Garrett schools were
closed during the time in
order to allow students to
see the president. The
Garrett, Auburn and
Waterloo school bands
played.
Garrett Mayor Fred L.
Feick introduced Edward H.
Kruse Jr. of Fort Wayne, the
Democratic candidate for
Congress, who then
presented the president.
Truman implored the
crowd to vote for Kruse and
former Gov. Henry
Schricker, a Democrat
seeking a return to the
governorship.
The president accused
Republicans of helping a
third party, which he
claimed had been taken over
by communists, in order to
take votes away from him.
The Clipper reported,
Mr. Truman then asked,
Would you like to meet my
family? A shout went up
and Mrs. Truman and then
Miss Margaret Truman
walked onto the platform,
smiling and waving to the
crowd. All three smiled and
waved as the train pulled
away.
The story said three local
residents boarded the train
to shake hands with the
president: Mrs. Herbert N.
Grimm of Waterloo, DeKalb
County Democratic vice
chairman; Robert Riddle of
Auburn, county chairman;
and Harold Kelly of Angola,
district chairman.
According to the The
American Presidency
Project online, based in
Santa Barbara, Calif., this is
the full text of Trumans
speech in Garrett:
Thank you very much. I
am certainly glad to be here
in Garrett this morning and
to talk to you about this
great campaign. I appreciate
the introduction by the next
Congressman from this
district, Mr. Edward H.
Kruse, Jr. I know you are
going to send him to
Congress, because you need
that sort of representation
there these days.
I was most highly
entertained and well treated
while I was in Indiana
before by your great
Democratic candidate for
governor, former Governor
Schricker, and I am looking
to see Indiana in the right
column all the way down
the line this time.
It has been a good
campaign for me. It has been
a hard campaign. I have
traveled from one end of the
country to the other, telling
millions of people about
peace, prices and places to
live, and the other issues
which face the nation today.
My opponent has talked a
great deal, too, but he said
almost nothing about where
he stands on the major
issues facing the American
people today. He just keeps
on giving the people high-
level platitudes. You know,
thats what G.O.P. means in
this day and age it means
Grand Old Platitudes.
The Republican
candidate has gone from one
doubtful state to another
trying to bail out the
campaigns of hopeless
reactionaries who ran the
Republican 80th Congress.
He is trying to help those
birds that ran that good-for-
nothing 80th Congress. He
is trying to get them all re-
elected. One of these salvage
operations is being carried
on right next door here in
Illinois.
The Republican
candidate is hoping to save
that hard-shelled
isolationist reactionary,
Curly Brooks, who has
been the senator from
Illinois for quite some time.
I think that should give you
a pretty good idea of just
how meaningless all these
fine words are.
You know, one of the
high-sounding lectures we
have been hearing from the
Republican candidate over
and over again concerns
communism. The Republi-
cans are trying to pretend
that my administration has
been friendly to
communism. That bit of
campaign propaganda
reminds me a lot of the
stories we heard during the
war and are now hearing
from the communists in
Russia.
They believe that if you
tell a big enough lie,
somebody is bound to
believe it. If anybody in this
country is friendly to the
communists, it is the
Republicans who are trying
so hard to be elected. Its not
the Truman administration
I can tell you that.
The communists are
doing everything in their
power to beat me. They have
taken over the Third Party
and are using it in a vain
attempt to split the
Democratic Party. The
Republicans have joined up
with this communist-
inspired Third Party to beat
the Democrats. They finance
the situation right here. The
Republicans financed the
Third Party to get on the
ballot right here in Indiana
in a number of counties. We
have got straight-out
evidence on that, and I can
prove it.
Right here in Indiana
the Republican State
Committee did its best to
get that Third Party on the
ballot. Over in Illinois the
Republicans are still trying
to get the Third Party on the
ballot. They even went all
the way to the Supreme
Court to get them on there.
By their friends ye shall
know them.
Dont fall for their cheap
promises. Vote for the party
that has a program for peace
and for prosperity and for
places to live. Vote for the
future of this nation. And the
way to do that is to vote for
your friends.
You know, you are the
government, when you
analyze it, when you
exercise the privilege of the
vote on Election Day. You
control the government
absolutely, and you get the
kind of government you
want when you vote. Back
in 1946 about two-thirds of
you stayed at home and
didnt vote, and you got the
80th Congress and look
what you got!
Now, dont do that this
time. Go to the polls on
Election Day and vote the
Democratic ticket straight
and you will be voting for
yourselves and your own
interests.
NOTE: During his remarks the
president referred to Edward
H. Kruse Jr., Democratic
candidate for representative
from Indianas 4th District,
former Gov. Henry F.
Schricker, Democratic
candidate for governor, and C.
Wayland Brooks, U.S. senator
from Illinois.
Truman gives whistle-stop speech in Garrett
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President Harry S. Truman during his 1948 campaign.
FILE PHOTO
It has been a good campaign for me. It has been a
hard campaign. I have traveled from one end of the
country to the other, telling millions of people about
peace, prices and places to live, and the other
issues which face the nation today. My opponent
has talked a great deal, too, but he said almost
nothing about where he stands on the major issues
facing the American people today.
Harry S. Truman
Excerpt from speech given in Garrett on Oct. 25, 1948
Veterans return with stories from war
260-636-2113 800-933-7362 nobleremc.com
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1915 S. Wayne St. Auburn 260-925-4168
Founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, more than 65 years ago, OmniSource Corporation has
grown to become one of North Americas largest processors and distributors of scrap and
secondary metals. We collect, process, and resell a wide variety of scrap metal. The com-
pany, in 2010, shipped 5.2 million gross tons of recycled steel and 961 million pounds of
nonferrous scrap.
OmniSource was born during the pursuit of a dreamthe American Dream, which has at-
tracted so many to these shores with promises of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity.
Escaping the chaos of revolution and civil war, Irving Rifkin, still just a teenager, emigrated
from Russia to America in 1920. He came alone, virtually penniless. He didnt speak English,
but he quickly learned enough to work and provide for himself and later, a growing family.
OmniSource played an important role in the birth of Steel Dynamics in the early 1990s.
SDI became OmniSource's parent company in 2007. As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Omni-
Source continues to provide a large portion of the ferrous resources SDI uses to make new
high-quality steel.
BY BOB CULP
bculp@kpcnews.net
AUBURN Soldiers
who returned home to
DeKalb County after
serving their country during
World War II came back
with stories about victory
and tragedy.
Many of the Greatest
Generation grew up
listening to their parents talk
about World War I. They
came to age struggling
through the Great Depres-
sion and Franklin Delano
Roosevelts New Deal.
They remember where
they were when the
Japanese bombed Pearl
Harbor the moment the
United States was pulled
into the large scale, two-
front war.
The Department of
Veterans Affairs estimates
more than 1,000 World War
II veterans die each day.
During the last three years,
the National Military
History Center in Auburn
has taken part in a nation-
wide effort to record the
oral history of World War II
veterans through video
interviews. Here is one of
their stories:
Bob Andrews of DeKalb
County was among the first
to fly long-distance
missions over Germany for
the Army Air Forces, the
predecessor of the U.S. Air
Force.
Andrews said the air was
calm on June 25, 1943
until German fighters started
firing on his formation.
Machine gun fire
surrounded the plane. One
engine was hit. Then,
another engine started
smoking.
The plane started losing
altitude. Andrews and his
other crew members
parachuted out of a small
hole in the underside of the
plane.
Soldiers are taught not to
release their parachutes until
the last moment. Thats easy
to learn inside a classroom,
but when youre falling
from 15,000 feet, the body
works on its own.
Andrews said he pulled
the release cord as soon as
he started falling. His chute
opened, and he fell into a
grain field outside a small
German village.
I peeked my head out of
the grain. Soldiers and a big
dog were approaching, so I
threw my hands up and
surrendered, Andrews said.
The soldiers escorted him
to a barbed-wire enclosure.
His navigator already was
sitting there. The soldiers
had captured him earlier.
After about a week,
Andrews was on a train to a
prisoner-of-war camp. He
was put into a cell with
other American soldiers.
Prison life wasnt that bad,
Andrews said.
We did our own
cooking, cleaning and
laundry in prison, he said.
It was better than being
shot at every day.
Andrews said the prison
had plenty of potatoes and
cabbage to eat and each
person had a bread ration.
The camp had a central
kitchen that always fixed
soup for prisoners, he said.
The guards were kind.
Most spoke English and got
along with the Americans,
Andrews said.
At the end of January
1945, the Germans marched
Andrews and the other
Americans to another
prison. They spent about a
week on the road, walking
and traveling in boxcars on
a train, he said.
The Russians were
getting close. Prisoners had
to be moved.
Andrews entered his final
prison camp in February.
There were rumors the tide
of the war was turning.
Allied forces were gaining
steam on the Eastern and
Western fronts.
Gunfire was heard in the
distance during mid-April.
Soon, the guards left.
On April 27, 1945,
Pattons 3rd Army liberated
Andrews camp.
We saw Patton drive
into the gate in his Jeep, he
said. The first two things I
made sure to get were a hot
shower and white bread.
We saw Patton drive into the gate in his Jeep.
The first two things I made sure to get
were a hot shower and white bread.
Bob Andrews
DeKalb County resident, on his release from a war prison
WWW.ALBRIGHTSONESTOP.COM
Corunna, Indiana Phone 260-281-2691
Selling Quality Meats Since 1954
ONE STOP GROCERY SHOPPING
ALBRIGHTS SUPERMARKET
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Jack & Lois Albright purchased the original store in 1954. The current store was built in 1968
and opened in 1969. Albrights was originally a one-stop because you could purchase groceries,
clothes, shoes and other household goods there.
Today, Albrights is a grocery store with a full service meat counter. It still remains in the Al-
bright family. It is owned by David Albright and his sister, Suzanne Stafford. Their sister, Kay
Brennen, also works at the store. The store has a real sense of family as Daves wife and daugh-
ter and Suzannes two children are all employees at Albrights.
The store still has the feel of an old mom and pop grocery. They have a helpful, caring staff
and carry some items hard to nd elsewhere. They even carry your groceries outside and load
them into your car.
This year Albrights will celebrate its 57th anniversary. Its big-city variety and small-town ser-
vice has been key to the success of this family-owned grocery store. Jack Albright knew from
the beginning the store would thrive. Success in a private enterprise is there for those willing
to work. And I guess that is what we have done. ~ Jack Albright.
Albrights Supermark et
The biggest grocery store in the smallest town ~ Jack Albright
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1956
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David Albright
Rosanne Stafford,
Derek Stafford,
Janel Noll
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E kpcnews.com E15
Expanded Services.
Familiar Faces.
Since 1964 DeKalb Memorial Hospital has served people in our
communities through every stage of life. Over the years, as the
healthcare industry has changed, we have grown to be so much
more than just a great independent, not-for-prot hospital.
Now it is time to recognize that evolution, as we reaf rm our
commitment to DeKalb County and surrounding areas. While this
represents more than a mere name change, it does not signify a
change in the most important thing of all, our people. Under the
leadership of CEO, Kirk Ray, our physicians, medical staf and
employees continue to be your friends and neighbors who are
committed to caring for you and your family. On their behalf,
we wish to say to you: Welcome to DeKalb Health.
www.DeKalbHealth.com
E16 kpcnews.com WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
1950s
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME F1
BY TERRY HOUSHOLDER
terryh@kpcnews.net
KENDALLVILLE
From the late 1940s to
the mid-1960s,
hundreds of men from
the coal-mining region
of southeastern
Kentucky were lured to
Noble County to fill
jobs in foundries and
growing manufacturing
firms here.
Today, more than 10 percent
of Noble County over 5,000
people can trace their roots to
the Appalachian Mountain
region.
Coal had been southeastern
Kentuckys economic mainstay
for several generations. But the
years following World War II
through the 1960s were
generally bad times for coal;
oil was replacing it as a heating
and industrial fuel and
machines were placing men in the
mines.
With jobs plentiful in Kendall-
villes three major foundries
Newnam Foundry, Kendallville
Foundry and Lane Foundry
families from Kentucky began
coming to Noble County in large
numbers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Claude Lane, manager of
Newnam and Lane foundries, was
instrumental in bringing many of
the men from Kentucky. He sent
emissaries to the poverty-stricken
rural counties of Knott, Perry and
Floyd counties, in Kentucky, to
offer jobs to the former coal
miners. They readily agreed to
pull up stakes and head north to
begin earning paychecks again.
The Kentuckians, many used
to a life of isolation in the hills
and hollows, chose to live in
small settlements through
northern and eastern parts of
Noble County.
Many came to Rome City,
while others chose to be within
walking distance of the foundries
in Lisbon and on the south edge
of Kendallville.
Later, as even more jobs in the
area emerged, hundreds more
came from southeastern Kentucky
to work in the recreational vehicle
factories in LaGrange and Elkhart
counties and manufacturing
operations in Ligonier.
Many of the people who first
came to Noble County from
Kentucky were in poverty and
poorly educated. For some of
them, in those early years, their
homes exhibited their economic
status.
But over the years, the second,
third and fourth generations of
those families improved their
standards of living and entered the
middle class that is prevalent in the
blue-collar communities of Noble
County today.
The Southerners who moved to
Noble County had an influence on
the local society. Many
fundamental Christian churches
today in the Kendallville area got
their start from those with
Kentucky roots.
They also had an influence on
local politics, in Noble County,
first voting overwhelmingly for
Democrats in the 1960s and 1970s,
and then bolting away from the
liberal national Democratic Party
beginning in the 1980s when social
issues dominated the national
scene.
Kentuckians lured by jobs
Noble County native
Ford C. Frick became
commissioner of Major
League Baseball in
1951 and would
continue in that role
until 1965. He
previously had been
president of the
National League,
following a career as a
sportswriter and
broadcaster.
I N
S P ORTS
BY KPC MEDIA GROUP INC.
www.rpwakefield.com
RP Wakefield
first began
in a building
that was once
a church.
It was Wakefield
Plywood until 1962,
when RP Wakefield
bought it.
Auburn Hardwood Mouldings
was formed in 1988.
FILE PHOTO Ford Frick, left, chats with
Babe Ruth.
F2 1950s WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
Kendallville Main Street Facing North
Financing History for 148 Years.
We like local history because we have been a part of it for 148 years. So whether youre looking at old pictures
with horses and buggies, model T Fords or big fnned cars of the 60s, Campbell & Fetter Bank was there. We
take pride in our 148 year history of providing our customers with a secure place for their funds and sensible
approach to fnancial services. Visit any of our locations in Kendallville, Angola, Albion, Ligonier, Auburn,
Warsaw, Fort Wayne and Goshen.
Main Ofce 260.347.1500
NMLS # 416300 2011 Campbell & Fetter Bank
TM
Sensible Banking for Sensible Lives
www.campbellfetterbank.com
From our Automotive Heritage
to Worldwide Festivals,
Antique & Specialty Shops,
and Tasty Restaurants,
DeKalb County offers
the Visitor
an Experience of
Indianas Small Towns. Ask for Passport When
Attending Museums
DeKalb County Visitors Bureau 500 S. Grandstaff Drive Suite C Auburn, Indiana 46706
BY JENNIFER DECKER
jdecker@kpcnews.net
BUCK LAKE Buck
Lake Ranch is known as
the Nashville of the North.
The legendary Steuben
County campground has
hosted oodles of famous
rock and country music
singers over the years
including: Elvis Presley,
Buddy Holly, Jan and
Dean, Count Basie, Dolly
Parton, Johnny Cash,
Tammy Wynette, Loretta
Lynn, Porter Wagner,
Jimmy Dean, Roger
Miller, George Jones,
Alabama, The Judds and
Hank Williams. Those are
only a few of the hundreds
of stars who have graced
the Buck Lake Ranch
stage over the years.
Almost everyone who
was anyone in country
music during the 1940s
through 1970s performed
on Buck Lakes rustic
stage, along with rock
pioneers, comedians, TV
and movie stars. A few
former heavyweight
boxing champions came to
referee wrestling matches
at the park.
Buck Lake has long
been known as a
legendary place of action
in Steuben County. It has
attracted Christian, gospel
and bluegrass artists. In
addition, its a
campground, fishing spot
on scenic 23-acre Buck
Lake, a place for hikers
with trails sprawled over
70 acres, special events, a
flea market and auctions.
The ranch has been
restored to look the same
as it did in the 1950s and
1960s.
Harry Smythe and his
wife, Eleanor, started
Buck Lake Ranch after
World War II in 1947. The
family entertainment
complex is a few miles
west of Angola.
In a YouTube video,
Capt. Carl Unger, Buck
Lake Ranchs current
owner, said he appreciated
all of the stars appearing
over the years there.
They had to be
entertainers, Unger said.
Bill Anderson, a
member of the Country
Music Hall of Fame, said
Buck Lake was his
favorite place to perform
his music. He said playing
at parks like Buck Lake
was a huge part of
performing.
In the video, it was also
said Buck Lake Ranch
was kept going by the
family man as a destina-
tion that had a little bit of
everything to appeal to all
tastes.
Buck Lake: aka Nashville of the North
Buddy Holly
and the
Crickets
perform at
Buck Lake
Ranch on
July 4, 1958.
Also
performing
with the
legendary
rocker on
that date was
Frankie
Avalon.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
1960s
BY CRAIG HAUPERT
TOPEKA
LaGrange County
historian Ezra Miller
will never forget the
afternoon of April
11, 1965.
That day, multiple
tornadoes blew through
several states, including
northern Indiana, and claimed
more than 250 lives. The so-
called Palm Sunday
tornadoes are believed to be
part of the most destructive
storm system to ever hit the
Michiana area.
Miller and his family were
riding in an automobile in
Shipshewana when the storm
hit. They witnessed its
destruction firsthand.
I saw when the twin
tornado hit (S.R.) 5 and (U.S.)
20 junction. There were high-
voltage poles that followed
U.S. 20 that were literally
tossed around like
matchsticks, he said. When
it hit, when the power lines
struck each other, it just
looked like lightning I
mean huge sparks
everywhere. After it passed
through, everything went
quiet.
Records from the National
Weather Service say Indiana
was one of six Midwest states
to be hit by 47 tornadoes that
day. In Indiana, 137 people
were killed and more than
1,200 injured by 10
tornadoes.
Records obtained from the
LaGrange County Historical
Society indicate that 76
people were killed in the
counties of Elkhart, LaGrange
and St. Joseph, Mich.
As a member of his
districts Civil Defense unit,
Miller was tasked with
helping clean up after the
storm. He said his unit found
19 bodies between Rainbow
Lake and the intersection of
S.R. 5 and U.S. 20.
I personally found three
bodies, and they were so
badly defaced and matted that
you could not recognize
them, he said. We just put
white sheets over them until
someone came with a station
wagon to take them to the
hospital for identification.
Miller said it is the worst
storm he has ever seen.
Homes, barns, churches and
businesses were reduced to
rubble.
He recalls seeing one
home that wasnt flattened,
but whose draperies were
hanging on the outside of the
house, caught between the
roof and the ceiling.
It must have lifted part of
the roof off, sucked the
draperies out and dropped the
roof back on top, he said.
There were things like that
all over.
Natures fury strikes
northeast Indiana
People survey the damage after a tornado leveled a
home a quarter-mile west of U.S. 20 and S.R. 5 in
Shipshewana on April 11, 1965.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EZRA MILLER
PHOTO COURTESY OF EZRA MILLER
A car tossed by the Palm Sunday tornado of 1965 landed on a flipped tree near
Shore Mennonite Church in Shipshewana.
BY JENNIFER DECKER
jdecker@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA David Field
of Angola recalls spending
five years working as a
project engineer on I-69
construction, facing peat
excavation issues and snakes.
Field retired after serving
36 years as an engineer for
the Indiana Department of
Transportation. Between 1962
and 1967, he worked on I-69.
I was in on staking rights
of way, supervising and
testing compaction, Field
said. When youre building,
you have low areas. There
was an awful lot of peat
excavation.
Field spent the first four
years as a project helper.
Most of the project was
five-mile sections. I started
down at Auburn. By 1967, I-
69 was all done, he said,
explaining many rights of
way had to be secured by
condemnation.
Field said some of the
staking was tricky.
Going along Buck Lake,
I couldnt get through the
right of way to stake because
of water, he said. I was
swimming with a rope around
me with snakes coming at
me. A lot of it, you never hit
bottom. Some of it was so
deep.
Another challenge on the
I-69 project, Field recalled,
was working with contractors,
keeping them in line to do
what theyre supposed to.
Sometimes, that meant
holding their pay until work
was done properly.
In the end, Field said the
finished product allows
people to now hop in their
cars and jump on I-69 to head
down to Fort Wayne more
quickly and safely.
I-69 serves as a major
transportation vein for
Hoosiers running from
northeast Indiana southward.
While it impacts the whole
state, it especially affects
Steuben and DeKalb counties.
According to published
reports, the construction of
I-69 caused controversy and
angered environmentalists.
Part of the route ran through
wetlands, existing farmland
and forested areas, cutting
through geologically
sensitive topography, which
environmentalists argued
threatened underground
water systems and harmed
the rare species that live
there.
Angola Mayor Dick
Hickman said he cant
imagine life without I-69,
which makes it easier to
travel and for industry to
thrive and get products to
market. Hickman recalled
driving through Angola
before I-69, when travel
meant backups along U.S. 27.
The biggest difference
now is the safety of the road,
Hickman said. There were
quite a few backups, and
Buck Lake was busy. A story
I have heard is at one point,
they talked about putting I-69
east of town. That may have
changed the complexity.
Auburn Mayor Norm
Yoder recalls the construction
of I-69, which happened in
phases.
I can vaguely remember
the construction where the
routes went, he said. In
Angola, theres not as much
latitude. Auburn grew out to
I-69.
Yoder said the major
Indiana roadway helped
Auburn grow, as restaurants,
gas stations and businesses
stretched one-half mile
outside city lines to be close
to I-69 to attract motorists.
It went through northeast
Indiana and created jobs and
(provided) easy access. Its
good for all industry, Yoder
said. It changed the traffic
patterns in Auburn now
theyre predominantly east-to-
west and it changed
driving habits, with east-west
stop signs. Trucks dont go
through the city.
In addition to helping
Auburn grow, Yoder said I-69
has helped all of northeast
Indiana.
Its been a positive.
Without it, we wouldnt have
industry, he said.
According to published
reports, a route from
Indianapolis northeast via
Fort Wayne to I-80/I-90 near
Angola was added to the
proposed Inter-regional
Highway System by the early
1940s. Unlike most routes, it
was not drawn along an
existing U.S. highway
corridor, except north of Fort
Wayne, where it used U.S.
27.
The extension beyond
Angola to I-94 near Marshall,
Mich., actually started as part
of what evolved into I-94.
The Interstate 69 designa-
tion was assigned to the
Indianapolis-Angola route in
1957.
Snakes, peat
challenge
I-69 builders
BY LUCY FOLTYNIAK
Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it
is the only thing that ever
has. Margaret Mead
The ACRES Land Trust
started with 12 people
getting together in a living
room in Allen County,
Indiana, and 60 bucks,
ACRES Land Trust executive
director Jason Kissel said.
The story began 51 years ago.
The mission the founders
of ACRES Land Trust
committed to a half-century
ago was to ensure the preser-
vation of woodland areas.
ACRES now owns and
manages more than 77 nature
preserves with more than
4,700 acres scattered over
northeast Indiana, southern
Michigan and northwest
Ohio.
ACRES was the first, but
now there are 26 land trusts
in Indiana, protecting about
50,000 acres of Hoosier land.
ACRES Land Trust is a
nonprofit organization; it is
Indianas oldest and largest
land trust. All of its properties
are protected; most of the
nature preserves are open to
the public, from dawn to
dusk; other properties will
open to the public eventually.
In late 1959, Jane Dustin
called a meeting of people
concerned about the
increasing loss of natural
areas in Allen and nearby
counties. Creating a formal
organization was considered.
The group contained
biologists, naturalists,
teachers, a soil scientist, a
surveyor, engineers, dedicated
conservationists and persons
with administrative skills.
Early in 1960, that group,
with a lawyer added,
continued to meet.
On March 12, 1960, a
corporation with 12 directors
was approved as Allen
County Reserves Inc.
(ACRES). These initial
directors, as well as all
subsequent directors, have
served without compensation.
The directors first sought
land in Allen County without
success. Fortunately, Edna
Spurgeon donated her Noble
County land in 1961. Like
other early (and many later)
donors, she was motivated
by her love of the land, not
its economic value. Her gift
proved to be ACRES seed
land.
Land acquisition soon
followed with Beechwood
Preserve in Steuben County,
the Edna Spurgeon addition
in Noble County in 1964,
Woodland Bog in Steuben
County (at a tax sale with
donated funds in 1965) and
the Bender Preserve in
Noble County in 1966.
Not until 1974 did
ACRES obtain land in Allen
County, a property called
Fox Fire.
ACRES close relation-
ship with The Nature
Conservancy remains very
important.
The Art Hammer
Wetland Nature Preserve in
the Rome City area was
acquired in 1986. With 373
acres, it is ACRES largest
nature preserve.
As our cities and towns
expand, with more and more
rural properties being
claimed for development,
there is an increasing need
to preserve what is left of
our forest, prairies and
wetlands. It is these natural
lands that produce the air
we breathe, distill toxins
from the water we drink,
and provide a natural beauty
and order that stir our souls
and settle our minds.
BY GRACE HOUSHOLDER
graceh@kpcnews.net
Womens study clubs
have been an important part
of the history of the small
communities of northeast
Indiana.
Kendallvilles oldest
study club, Tuesday Club,
was founded 115 years ago,
in 1896. Originally its 18
members wore hats and
gloves to meetings and met
weekly.
Today Tuesday Club
meets monthly, October
through April, and members
dress more casually.
In the early 1900s, one of
Tuesday Clubs members
was Mrs. Alice Merica,
owner of Kendallville
Publishing Co.
The 2010-2011 Tuesday
Club program theme was
Planting Seeds for Noble
Countys future.
This article is based on
information gathered by
Lucy Foltyniak of Kendall-
ville, who gave a 2010-2011
Tuesday Club program on
ACRES.
ACRES preserves woodlands for future generations
In Noble County, home of the original seed land
which started ACRES Land Trust on its path, ACRES
Land Trust owns 12 nature preserves. Lonidaw Nature
Preserve, pictured, with 30.2 acres, was acquired in
1979. Lonidaw is a Native American name meaning
Spirit of the Woods.
TERRY HOUSHOLDER
BY DENNIS NARTKER
dennisn@kpcnews.net
KENDALLVILLE
Before the 1960s, Indianas
public education system
consisted of more than 4,500
rural schools, many one-room
schoolhouses, controlled by
township boards.
The model dated back to
the 19th century.
By the early 1920s, critics
of the system concluded its
primary weakness was the
low quality of rural schools,
and the township trustees
were the primary cause of this
weakness, according to Noble
County historian Bob Gagen
in his News Sun column
School control was slow to
change, published Dec. 18,
2008.
Gagen was moved to
comment about the history of
the states public school
system because the Indiana
General Assembly was
investigating a proposal to
consolidate small school
corporations to save money.
In 1925, a committee
considering the township
trustees power over public
schools concluded the only
way to correct the problems
with the trustee system was to
abolish it. The committees
report said township trustees
possessed too much power
over schools, because they
chose each countys superin-
tendent of schools.
So began the march to
school consolidation in
Indiana. Gagen pointed out
that between 1920 and 1945,
one-teacher schools in Indiana
were reduced from 4,500 to
616. State officials assumed
more control over the public
education system, including
teacher licensing and renewal
and teacher tenure.
Schools in the 1920s
struggled with inadequate
funding and facilities.
State legislators noted the
problems with Indianas
public education system
through the 1920s, 1930s and
1940s, but it wasnt until the
1950s that the debate over
control of the schools heated
up again. The General
Assembly passed the School
Reorganization Act of 1959
that mandated school district
reorganization. Each county
was required to set up a
committee within the
following three months to
plan for consolidation of
township schools.
Supporters argued school
consolidation would raise the
educational standards and
school corporations could
operate more efficiently, save
money for taxpayers and
provide higher levels of
service to students.
Small-school advocates
opposed the sweeping change
in public education, arguing
high schools were the focal
point of pride for many small
towns. Class sizes and the
school administrative bureau-
cracy would increase with
consolidation, they warned.
A Noble County school
reorganization committee
recommended the county be
divided into three consoli-
dated school districts
comprised of East Noble
(Kendallville and Allen,
Wayne, Orange and Swan
townships), West Noble
(Ligonier, Cromwell and
Wawaka and Perry, Elkhart
and Sparta townships) and
Central Noble (Albion and
Wolf Lake with Jefferson,
York and Noble townships).
The issue was put to voters
in each district on Nov. 8,
1960. The vote for forming
East Noble was 3,440 in favor
with 3,130 against, and the
heavy vote in Kendallvilles
seven precincts overcame
widespread opposition in
Avilla, Rome City and rural
areas. The East Noble School
Corp. was created Jan. 1,
1961.
A committee of students,
teachers and administrators
from Kendallville, Rome City,
Avilla and LaOtto
recommended turning high
schools in Rome City,
Kendallville and Avilla into
junior high schools, and
constructing a new high
school in Kendallville at the
site of South Side Elementary
School and the South Side
Gymnasium.
The vote for forming West
Noble was 1,847 in favor with
1,033 against, and the West
Noble School Corp. also was
created on Jan. 1, 1961.
Incorporated were Wawaka,
Perry, Cromwell, Ligonier,
Kimmell and Washington
Center schools. Included
within its geographic
boundaries are the communi-
ties of Ligonier, Cromwell,
Wawaka and Kimmell and
Elkhart, Perry, Sparta and
Washington townships.
The late 1960s found
deteriorating conditions in
some school buildings,
continued population growth
in Ligonier and updated
education requirements,
which prompted the need for
a new school. West Noble
High School was completed
in 1971, and West Noble
Middle School was built in
1976.
Voters in the Noble Central
District rejected consolidation
by 1,794 to 1,572, but with
another vote, the Central
Noble Community School
Corp. was created in July
1966. It incorporated high
schools in Albion and Wolf
Lake, and schools in Albion,
Jefferson, York and Noble
townships. The new Central
Noble High School in Albion
was completed in 1972.
Voters in LaGrange
County approved creation of
the Lakeland School Corp. on
July 18, 1961. The school
district made up of schools
in Bloomfield, Greenfield,
Johnson and Lima townships
and the towns of Brighton,
Howe, LaGrange and
Wolcottville was officially
incoporated Jan. 3, 1962.
In 1955, Shipshewana and
Scott schools in LaGrange
County consolidated, and then
Westview School Corp. was
formed in 1963. Westview
Junior-Senior High School
opened in 1966.
Voters approved the
creation of Prairie Heights
School Corp. on Jan. 1, 1963.
Prairie Heights High School
opened in 1966.
By 1968, the number of
school corporations had
declined from 939 to 382 and
more than 90 percent of
Indiana students attended
consolidated schools.
In 2007, there were 293
school corporations governing
1,918 public schools. An
elected board of trustees
retains control over each
school corporation.
Voters approve school consolidations
East Noble High School, a consolidation of Avilla,
Rome City and Kendallville high schools, opened in
August 1966 in Kendallville.
DENNIS NARTKER
A committee of students, teachers and
administrators from Kendallville, Rome City, Avilla
and LaOtto recommended turning high schools in
Rome City, Kendallville and Avilla into junior high
schools, and constructing a new high school in
Kendallville at the site of South Side Elementary
School and the South Side Gymnasium.
TRADITION. INNOVATION. PROGRESS.

Auburn Essential Services (AES), a division of the Auburn Electric Department, is a
municipal project that provides phone, internet and television* services over a
community-owned fiber optic network to a select service area. *Television services
coming soon. Visit www.auburnessentialservices.net to learn more.
Auburn Essential Services congratulates KPC Media Group
on recording a centurys worth of historyone day at a time.
P H O N E l N T E R N E T T E L E V l S l O N *
COUNTING!
&
26 YEARS
.\HYKPHU(\[VTV[P]L
1900 S. Center Street
Auburn, lN 46706
EOE M/F/H/v
Guardian Automotive has been in Auburn, lN, producing
high quality glass products for the automotive and alternative
energy market since 1985! Guardian lndustries began as the
Guardian Glass Company in 1932 when we manufactured
windshields for the automotive industry. ln 1970, we opened
our frst glass manufacturing plant. Since then, Guardian has
added foat lines and several fabrication plants around the world,
diversifed its automotive and building products businesses and
formulated three distinct business units - Glass, Automotive
and Building Products. Today,
Guardian employs over 20,000
people and operates facilities
throughout North America,
Europe, South America, Asia,
Africa and the Middle East.
Guardian has a unique
culture that focuses on
results, playing to win and
rewarding employees for their
commitment to excellence. We are currently expanding our
workforce in production areas. New hires will make $12.75
after the frst year. Guardian employees are provided excellent
benefts, including a matching 401k plan.
In the year 1880, the Norris Chapel Building was
constructed, consisting of a one-room structure without belfry and
altar. In 1899 the belfry and altar were added.
1940 1968
Norris Chapel United Methodist Church
4793 CR 40A, Auburn, IN 260-925-1096 www.norrischapel.org
Sunday School starts at 9:15 AM Worship time starts at 10:45 AM
Norris Chapel is a community of faith that
exists as the family of God. Our mission is
to reach out through worship, fellowship,
love, service and acceptance to all persons.
Worship
in the Park
Sun., Sept. 11
at 10:00 AM
in pavilion at
Auburn Eckhart
Park. Potluck
dinner following
service. Please
bring a covered
dish to share.
HOOSIER AIR MUSEUM
Banquet & Meeting Facility
=Founded 1993 >
Banquet &
Meeting Facility
Museum
HOOSIER AIR
MUSEUM
home oI the hoos|er warb|rds
2822 0o0oty 8oad 62
A0b0ro, |h 46706
Phooe/Fax: 260-927-0443
The museum banquet hall
has a maximum seating
capacity of 250 people,
and a resource center for
smaller meetings of up to
35 people. Our complete
approved caterers list and
rental prices are available
by contacting Rich Mawe
at 260-925-2916 or
bmawe@locl.net or leave
a message at the museum
at 260-927-0443.
Aircraft on Display:
1946 Stinson Gullwing
1935 Speedbird (One of a kind)
1946 Cessna UC-78 (T-50 Bamboo Bomber)
1979 Bell AH-1 Cobra Helicopter Gunship
1946 Aeronca 7AC Champion
WWI Neuport 17, 7/10th scale replica biplane
WWI Neuport 11, 75% scale replica biplane
RHC-1 Mini-Copter single seat helicopter
3-Place Military Training Helicopter
1962 Wayne-Loving Roadable Homebuilt
Pitts Special Skeleton
Jet Engines, Radial Engines, Allison V-12 Engine
Off Site:
1965 7/10 Scale F-51 Mustang Replica
1936 Stinson SR-9
1945 Piper J-3 Cub (85 HP)
1942 Boeing Stearman
Fokker DIV WWI Biplane Full Size Replica
1944 Pratt Read 2 Man Training Glider
BY KATHRYN BASSETT
kathrynb@kpcnews.net
AUBURN It was
described as the biggest
single project in which the
people of DeKalb County
have ever participated.
Campaign leaders and
observers acclaimed it as a
miracle victory.
DeKalb Countys long-
awaited dream was realized in
1963 with the dedication of
DeKalb Memorial Hospital.
Wonderful! Wonderful!
one visitor was quoted as
saying in a Dec. 2, 1962,
newpaper report of the
hospitals dedication day.
Another visitor from out of
town said, We have two
hospitals in our town, but
cant appreciate them because,
unlike you in DeKalb County,
we put nothing of ourselves
into these hospitals.
The seed for the project
was planted in 1956 when the
Auburn Lions Club secured
professional hospital
consultant Dr. Herman Smith
to determine the feasibility of
a county hospital.
At that time, there were
three privately owned
hospitals in the county with a
total capacity of 79 beds,
Smiths report led to the
formation of an eight-member
board, the DeKalb County
Non-Profit Hospital Associa-
tion.
In December 1957, a
citizens committee was
formed. The committee
circulated a petition requesting
formation of a board that
would meet with the DeKalb
County Commissioners to
examine the need for a
hospital and how it could be
financed.
A report, completed in
1960, recommended that the
hospital should be citizen-
owned.
Formed in the fall of 1960,
the hospital board included
Glenn Rieke as president, C.J.
Maxton as vice president,
Richard O. Fink as treasurer
and Otis Fisher as secretary,
along with 19 township
directors.
The board retained Dan
Carmichael of Columbus,
Ohio, as the architect and
selected a tract of land on S.R.
8 on the east side of Auburn as
the site for the hospital.
The board also secured the
services of professional
fundraiser Paul Young, who
would direct a group of 1,400
volunteers. In January 1960,
the fundraising campaign
began when the 1,400
volunteers gathered in the
Auburn High School
gymnasium to receive their
instructions. Just 17 days later,
the campaign goal had been
exceeded with $1.5 million
raised.
The largest donation came
from W.H. Willennar of
Auburn, who donated 1,000
shares of Lincoln National
Life Insurance stock, valued at
$230,000. A total of $610,000
in federal Hill-Burton funds
also was available for the
project.
Groundbreaking took place
April 29, 1962, and construc-
tion began immediately.
The cost of the fully
equipped hospital was $2.5
million, with $1.8 million of
that spent on the building
itself.
Enough funds were
available to cover operating
costs for the first year of the
hospital, after which time the
hospital would be self-
sustaining.
When it opened, the
hospital had 75 beds that were
staffed, along with 15
additional beds that would be
available as needed.
An estimated 12,000
people attended the hospitals
open house and dedication on
Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with tours
extended three additional days
because of the interest.
The hospital formally
opened in Jan. 2, 1964.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 1960s WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME F5
Miracle campaign raises
hospital funds in 17 days
DeKalb County residents break ground for the building
of DeKalb Memorial Hospital on April 29, 1962, on the
east side of Auburn.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY DEKALB HEALTH
The new DeKalb Memorial Hospital as it looked when it opened Jan. 2, 1964.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY DEKALB HEALTH
David A. Kruse
Andrew D. Kruse
Wm. Joseph Carlin, Jr.
www.kruselaw.com
260-925-0200
Fax 260-925-1228
Kruse &
Kruse P.C.
Attorneys at Law
501 S. Broadway
Butler
260-868-2191
800-292-6568
Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
SEBERT
OIL COMPANY, INC.
A of local,
family service
Our roots go back to 1947 with
Dwight Sebert.
Were still here today
providing that same
service youve come
to expect.
Don Gura, Agent
633 N. Main Street, Kendallville
260-347-FARM (3276)
www.dongura.net
State Farm, well known for being a good neighbor
by being there for our customers, was founded in
1922 by retired farmer and insurance salesman George
Jacob G.J. Mercherle. A mutual company owned by its
policyholders, State Farm is currently ranked number 34
on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies.
Mecherles original vision for State Farm was simple:
operate fairly and do the right thing for our customers.
While his vision still guides us today, our continued
mission is to be the rst and best choice in the products
and services we provide
Originally a single line auto insurance company, State
Farm now offers nearly 100 products and services, in ve
different lines of business, to help customers manage
today and prepare for tomorrow.
State Farm not only does the right thing for our
customers, we do the right thing for communities. We
are heavily involved in and support communities through
sponsorships, safety programs, education leadership,
and service-learning.
locaI agcnt has bccn
Great Neighbor
sincc 2005
502 N. Main St., Auburn 260-925-3918 www.pinnington-mccomb.com
Remembering the Past,
Looking Forward to the Future!
Pinnington-McComb Funeral & Cremation Services of today has roots
that go back almost to the turn of the century. Although names have
changed over the years, the business has provided compassionate care
and quality services since 1904.
1924
Current
In January 1960, the fundraising campaign began
when the 1,400 volunteers gathered in the Auburn
High School gymnasium to receive their instructions.
After finishing second to Gary

Roosevelt in 1962, Ashley High won
the 1963 state championship in cross
country over West Lafayette. Dwight
Graber coached the Aces to the
stunning upset, reminiscent of the
Milan Miracle
in basketball a decade earlier.
IN SPORTS
k
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c
n
e
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s
.com
BY TERRY HOUSHOLDER
terryh@kpcnews.net
ALBION Earl L. Butz,
a farm boy from York
Township, became one of
Noble Countys most famous
native sons of the 20th
century. He served two U.S.
presidents in the Cabinet role
of secretary of agriculture in
the 1970s.
Graduating from Wawaka
High School in 1927 as class
president and valedictorian,
Butz was among the five
original 4-H leaders in
Indiana. He earned a
bachelors degree in agricul-
ture from Purdue University
in 1932 and in 1937, he
earned the first doctoral
degree in agricultural
economics given at Purdue.
In a 1989 News Sun
interview, Butz said he had
the good fortune of being
born into a nice family with
loving, caring parents who
emphasized the work ethic.
His farm parents instilled the
concept that work itself is
good for the soul.
Butz joined the staff of the
Purdue Department of
Agriculture Economics in
1937. He served as depart-
ment head from 1946 to 1954.
He was dean of agriculture at
Purdue from 1957 to 1967.
Butz served under three
presidents. He was assistant
secretary of agriculture from
1954 to 1957 under President
Dwight Eisenhower. He was
secretary of agriculture from
1971 to 1976 under Presidents
Richard Nixon and Gerald
Ford.
Butz was a free-market
advocate and credited with
revolutionizing federal
agricultural policy by
reforming many New Deal era
farm support programs.
He left the Cabinet post
after repeating a religious and
racial joke that caused a
national political uproar.
After his fall from power,
Butz returned to West
Lafayette, and was named
dean emeritus of Purdue
Universitys School of
Agriculture. He traveled
extensively as a lecturer and
consultant. He hosted his own
radio program and worked for
several farm-related
businesses as a board member.
Butz drew headlines again
in 1981 when he pleaded
guilty to federal tax evasion
charges, for having under
reporting income he had
earned. He was sentenced to
five years in prison, however,
all but 30 days of the term was
suspended. He was fined
$10,000 and ordered to pay
$61,183 in civil penalties.
Over the years, Butz
returned to his native Noble
County on several occasions.
His last appearance at an event
in Noble County was at the
first Noble County 4-H
Alumni Banquet in April
2000, held at the new log
community building at the
Noble County Fairgrounds in
Kendallville. Butz was
impressed when he learned
that 850 youths in Noble
County were part of the 4-H
program. Thats tremendous
in a county like this, he said.
They will become a part of
that leadership class that is so
scarce. I encourage you to
keep it up.
In 1999, Butz donated $1
million to Purdues Depart-
ment of Agricultural
Economics.
On Feb. 7, 2008, Butz died
at the home of his son in
Washington, D.C. He was 98.
At the time of his death, he
was the oldest living Cabinet
member from any administra-
tion. His funeral and burial
were in West Lafayette.
1970s
F6 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
Noble Countys Earl Butz
serves U.S. presidents
BY DAVE KURTZ
dkurtz@kpcnews.net
AUBURN After
nearly four decades
of neglect, the
Auburn Automobile
Co. headquarters
reopened July 6,
1974, ready to begin
a new life as an
automobile museum.
Inspired by the growing
interest in Auburns automo-
tive history, volunteers
formed a nonprofit organiza-
tion, bought the building,
restored it and created the
Auburn Cord Duesenberg
Museum.
The building had opened
in 1930 as a showroom and
headquarters for Auburn
Automobile, which stood on
the brink of its finest years.
Built at a cost of $450,000, it
featured a grand stairway,
ornate chandeliers, a
patterned terrazzo floor and a
brick-and-limestone exterior.
Fourteen plate-glass
windows, standing 18 feet
tall, illuminated the
showroom.
Seven years later, all
activity had ceased in the
building, and Auburn
Automobile Co. met its fate
in bankruptcy court.
In 1938, Dallas Winslow
of Detroit bought the
remaining Auburn and Cord
automobile parts for $85,000
and paid $25,000 for the
administration building.
Historians later would say
that Winslows new company
kept many of Auburn
Automobile Co.s future-
classic cars running, but
nearly destroyed the building
by turning the showroom into
a machine shop.
As the 1970s arrived, the
building housed a clothing
factory, a motorcycle shop
and a tent-camper company.
At the same time,
admirers and owners of the
cars built in Auburn were
growing an annual festival
about the autos into a major
event.
In 1971, the Auburn
Chamber of Commerce
sponsored an auction of
collector cars on the citys
west edge. It racked up
$750,000 in sales, including a
$61,000 price for a Duesen-
berg that made national news.
Suddenly, history buffs
who wanted to save the auto
company headquarters and
create a museum had found a
way to pay for the project.
They formed two nonprofit
corporations Auburn Cord
Duesenberg Festival Inc. to
operate the festival and raise
money and Auburn Automo-
tive Heritage Inc. to buy and
restore the building and
eventually operate a museum.
Continuing the annual car
auctions conducted by the
Kruse auction company of
Auburn, the community
raised enough money to buy
the building in late January
1974 for $105,000.
Volunteers set to work
cleaning and polishing their
investment making roof
repairs and removing the
grime of more than 35 years.
News reports said they spent
more than $50,000 on the
renovation.
By May, they had it ready
for an open house to show
the community what they had
done. The new museum
opened to visitors on July 6,
1974, with a sampling of
Auburn-built cars arranged in
the main showroom.
although the years
had not been kind to the
majestic Auburn-Cord-
Duesenberg building, the
living generations are
restoring it, making it
beautiful again, giving the
city a focal point for its
impressive heritage, Jane
Kempf, city editor for The
Evening Star, reported.
More improvements
followed before the grand
opening on Labor Day
weekend 1974, during the
Auburn Cord Duesenberg
Festival. An estimated 10,000
people toured the museum.
Its just like it was back
then, except the floor was in
better condition. Of course,
the building has been used
hard since then, said L.M.
Teeters of Garrett, an Auburn
Automobile Co. employee
from 1931-33.
The community had saved
what one expert called one of
the finest examples of art
deco architectural style in the
nation, saying it remained
remarkably unscathed in
more than 40 years.
Other antique car
museums jam their jewels
bumper to bumper in barn-
like structures which detract
from the vehicles elegance.
Not at Auburn. Here the
building provides the perfect
setting, wrote George O.
Witwer, editor of The
Evening Star and The News
Sun.
Still thriving 37 years
later, the museum was placed
on National Register of
Historic Places in 1978 and
became a National Historic
Landmark in 2005. Today it
is known as the Auburn Cord
Duesenberg Automobile
Museum.
Automobile museum is born in Auburn
Garrett High Schools Railroaders won the Class A state championship in
football in 1974, finishing an 11-0 season under coach Dave Wiant.
The Railroaders defeated North Knox 20-6. Garretts Paul Rassell won the mental attitude award.
I N S P ORTS
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museums main showroom gleams in its early days in the 1970s.
KPC FILE PHOTO
Gen. Hershey
a decorated
military man
Earl Butz, a
Wawaka High
School
graduate, went
on to serve
under three
presidents,
acting as
assistant
secretary of
agriculture
under Dwight
Eisenhower
and secretary
of agriculture
under Richard
Nixon and
Gerald Ford.
FILE PHOTO
BY MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA Perhaps the
most decorated military man
to come from Steuben County
was Gen. Lewis B. Hershey.
He also was one of the
more controversial figures in
the military
during the
1970s during
the height of
the Vietnam
War, when
he served as
the director
of the
Selective
Service.
To this day, Hersheys
memory lives on in Hershey
Hall on the campus of Trine
University.
Hershey was a graduate of
Tri-State College and his
legacy lives on at Trine not
only in the athletic facility.
Hersheys personal
momentos from his lengthy
career he joined the
National Guard in 1911 are
in a collection at Trine. It
includes everything from
uniforms and medals to his
papers.
Hershey grew up in
Steuben County and attended
public school. He received his
degree from Tri-State and later
an honorary doctor of law
from the school.
In 1970, Hershey Hall was
dedicated. It was during the
height of the Vietnam War,
and some came to Tri-State
University to protest the
general.
As the former head of the
Selective Service, he was
viewed by some as the man
responsible for sending many
young men to their deaths in
the war.
He also was viewed as the
man responsible for the
growth of college protests
against the Selective Service
and the war.
In October 1967, Hershey
issued an order known as
The Hershey Directive.
It held that anyone who
demonstrated against military
recruiters on college campuses
could be subject to reclassifi-
cation of their draft status,
meaning demonstrators could
be drafted immediately.
A U.S. Supreme Court
ruling in 1970 voided the
order, and he was removed
from his post by President
Richard Nixon after becoming
the focus of anti-war protests.
Later, Nixon would name
Hershey one of his advisers
and promoted him to full
general. At the time, he was
the only four-star general to
reach the rank without having
served in combat.
He was a huge proponent
of conscription.
I hate to think of the day
my grandchildren will be
defended by volunteers,
Hershey was quoted as having
said.
Hershey, born in 1893,
died in Angola on May 20,
1977. He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery.
Hershey
I hate to think of the
day my grandchildren
will be defended
by volunteers.
Gen. Lewis B. Hershey
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HIXSON
SAND & GRAVEL, INC.
Drain & Sewer Tile
Culvert Pipe
Crushed Limestone
Top Soil & Trucking
2 Locations
6178 CR 7, Garrett
(260) 357-4477
Fax: (260) 357-0447
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(260) 635-2280
1980s
BY DENNIS NARTKER
dennisn@kpcnews.net
KENDALLVILLE
What began as a
hand-operated
toggle clamp for
rubber molding,
developed on Chet
Dekkos dining room
table, grew into a
sophisticated organi-
zation of integrated
resources with more
than 50 facilities in
five states.
Today, Group Dekko
International Inc., based in
Garrett, employs approxi-
mately 1,500 people in 11
facilities in three states and
Mexico and a manufac-
turing partnership in China.
The late Chester E.
Dekko, co-founder of Lyall
Electric, now Group Dekko
International, was the son of
Norwegian immigrants and
grew up in a small farming
community in Minnesota.
He co-founded one of the
largest privately held
industrial
firms in
northeast
Indiana. In
1981, he
started the
Dekko
Foundation,
now one of
the largest
foundations
in Indiana.
The 1980s were boom
years for Group Dekko
International, but the
company began in 1952 as
Lyall Electric with five
employees producing ready-
made wiring assemblies or
harnesses for manufacturers
of commercial refrigerators.
After three years with
Aluminum Co. of America
and a stint as a salesman for
a small Fort Wayne
company, Dekko staked all
he owned on a partnership
with Lyall Morrill, owner of
Lyall Electric Inc. in
Kendallville.
By 1956, Dekko set a
goal of a 20 percent growth
rate for the company,
compounded annually.
Dekko and Morrill believed
manufacturers of commer-
cial refrigerators could
benefit from ready-made
wiring assemblies,
eliminating the labor
intensive practice of hand-
wiring cabinets. Their belief
took off, and Lyall Electric
experienced extraordinary
growth.
The company acquired
Pent Inc. in 1962, and
expanded its core competen-
cies to include engineering
design, testing and certifica-
tion, electrical advance-
ments, wire-winding
technologies, metal fabrica-
tions, powder coating,
injection molding, profile
extrusion, fluid controls and
LED lighting solutions.
At one time, Group
Dekko included 16
companies with more than
50 small plants nationwide.
Forty-two of those were in
northeast Indiana.
In 1988 Dekko purchased
the remaining Morrill family
interest and became the
groups owner, changing the
name to Group Dekko
International Inc.
Dekko retired in 1990
and died in 1992. His legacy
and vision continued under
family-influenced leadership
until the company was sold
in 2006. Group Dekko
International remains
privately held and is led by
Jon A. Jensen, president and
CEO.
Chester Dekko grew up
during the Great Depression
and believed that education
was the element that lifted
him beyond those difficult
years to a life of economic
freedom. He attended the
University of Minnesota
under the Naval V-12
program and graduated with
a bachelors degree in naval
technology. He was
commissioned an ensign in
1946, and in 1947 earned a
degree in mechanical
engineering. In 1948, he
received a masters degree
in economics.
He established the Dekko
Foundation in 1981 with a
mission to foster economic
freedom through education.
He was especially impressed
by the good that could be
done through small grants
placed in the hands of people
dedicated to their communi-
ties. He was determined the
foundation would help those
people develop grassroots
initiatives. It was important
to him that the foundation
would help communities help
themselves, not do things for
them.
His business and financial
assets came to the foundation
after his death in 1992. This
sparked a period of financial,
staff and program growth.
Dekkos children, C.E. Tad
Dekko, Erica Dekko and
Lorene Dekko Salsbery,
replaced by her husband Phil
Salsbery after her death,
serve as the foundations
board of directors.
The foundations
geographical focus is in the
communities where Dekko
did business during his
lifetime: DeKalb, LaGrange,
Noble, Steuben, Whitley and
Kosciusko counties in
Indiana; Limestone County,
Ala.; Collier County, Fla.;
Clarke, Decatur, Lucas,
Ringgold and Union
counties in Iowa; and the
community of Ada in
Minnesota.
The board has focused
the foundations
grantmaking on young
people from birth to age 18
in three targeted areas:
quality early childhood
education; child-centered
education; and the sustain-
ability of youth-serving asset
building organizations.
Charitable projects over
the years have included
capital campaigns for
libraries, YMCAs,
community parks, recreation
areas, operating support for
organizations that promote
positive youth development,
materials, equipment and
training for public and
private schools and support
to build community founda-
tion endowments.
According to the founda-
tions 2010 annual report for
the fiscal year ending Aug.
31, 2010, the foundation had
$194.6 millions in total
assets, and dispersed just
under $9 million in grants
with total dispersements of
$11.3 million.
Dekko started Freedom
Academy in 1991 with adult
continuing-education
programs at convenient
locations in six different
northeast Indiana counties.
His goal: To enhance the
quality of life for those who
are willing to enrich their
education.
Dekko builds thriving foundation
Dekko
BY MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
LAKE JAMES For
nearly eight decades Bledsoes
Beach served as a place of
entertainment, a social
gathering spot, a postal station
and more.
It was like the seat of
government for Lake James
and neighboring lakes on the
Lake James chain. You could
get everything you needed at
Bledsoes, from a postage
stamp to a fresh cut of beef,
from a few rays of sun to a
smooch from your sweetie
while dancing the night away.
Bledsoes was a lake hot
spot for decades. During the
Big Band era, numerous
national acts came to play at
the facility, which held
dances seven nights a week
and even on Sunday
afternoons, which was
criminal for a time. The cost
was a five-cent dance ticket,
pretty pricy during the 1920s,
and men and women came
dressed to the nines.
In their heyday, the
Bledsoe brothers, Roy Sr. and
Charles, not only operated
the flagship property on the
second basin of Lake James,
but also had a dance hall at
the property that is now home
to Lake James Christian
Assembly, on the first basin,
and an open-air dance facility
on Lake Gage. The dance
floor at Lake Gage was
concrete that had embedded
crushed, colored glass. When
the bare light bulbs overhead
were turned on at night, the
floor sparkled.
After the Big Band era
waned, the record and sock
hop era followed, and the
dance hall continued to be a
hot spot. Fort Wayne radio
station WOWO used to
broadcast sock hops from the
facility.
During the 1960s, rock
bands were brought in, and
the excitement on the lake
continued.
In the 1970s, the dance
hall was used less frequently
it did become home of the
Lake James Jazz Festival
though the other facilities on
the massive property,
including the beach and
basketball camp, continued to
bring visitors to the area.
banquet hall was developed in
the 1980s, yet its use declined
after the Hoosier Basketball
Camp moved away from Lake
James.
The beginning of the end
of an era came in the early
morning hours of Sept. 24,
1980, when fire broke out at
the Bledsoes Beach complex,
destroying much of the
facility.
This week, on Thursday,
the Bledsoe properties will be
up for auction.
Bledsoes Beach hub of Lake James for nearly eight decades
Women and children are shown catching some
sunshine on one of the docks at Bledsoes Beach, Lake
James, in this photo from the 1950s.
FILE PHOTO
BY TERRY HOUSHOLDER
terryh@kpcnews.net
AVILLA No one living
in this small southeastern
Noble County community in
1983 will forget the shocking
slaying of 29-year-old Avilla
Town Marshal William D.
Miner Jr.
Miner was killed in the
early morning of May 28,
1983, while he was investi-
gating a report of a vehicle
vandalism south of the
towns railroad viaduct on
S.R. 3.
During a struggle with
Allen Lewis Snyder of Fort
Wayne, Miner was shot in
the back with the officers
own handgun by 18-year-old
William J. Spranger of Fort
Wayne. Miner was
pronounced dead at the
scene when the Noble
County EMS arrived at 4:30
a.m.
A massive 24-hour-a-day
investigation began immedi-
ately with nearly every
police department in
northeastern Indiana partici-
pating.
On May 31, 1983, the day
of the town marshals
emotional
funeral at
Calvary
United
Methodist
Church,
Avilla,
attended by
more than
400 family,
friends and
colleagues,
two murder suspects were
arrested. The case broke
when Indiana State Police
Detective John Barrett
received a phone tip that led
to the arrests of Snyder and
Spranger.
Two separate trials were
held in Richmond, both
resulting in convictions.
Snyder was convicted of
involuntary manslaughter
and sentenced to eight years
in prison. Spranger was
convicted of murder and
given the death sentence by
Wayne Circuit Court Judge
James C. Puckett.
In 1995, the Indiana
Supreme Court reaffirmed
Sprangers conviction, but
overturned the death
sentence which resulted in a
resentencing to 60 years in
prison.
The state Supreme Court
said the following mitigating
circumstances caused it to
reduce the sentence for
Spranger: No advance plan
or scheme to murder, 18
years old at the time of the
murder, capable of rehabilita-
tion, poor social controls,
impulsive and extremely
susceptible to influence of
others, no prior criminal
record, intoxication and
stress on the day of murder,
accomplice received a dispro-
portionate easy plea, cooper-
ation with law enforcement.
Miner was buried at
Butler Cemetery in DeKalb
County with a full police
memorial salute by more
than 200 officers. He was
survived by his wife and two
young children.
Miner is among the fallen
federal, state and local lawn
enforcers honored at the
National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
Slaying of town marshal stuns community
BY DAVE KURTZ
dkurtz@Kpcnews.net
The early 1980s brought
double-digit unemployment
rates to northeast Indiana.
But by the middle of the
decade, industry was bouncing
back in DeKalb County,
thanks to the efforts of a
private nonprofit group.
Auburn Industrial Develop-
ment Corp. recruited
industries for the entire
county.
Auburns mayor at the
time, Burt Dickman, described
AIDCO as a matchmaker. He
said AIDCO, as a private
organization, could work
quietly with companies
considering the area for
factory sites.
In a 1989 interview,
Dickman recalled how he and
Allen Graber made a trip one
day to woods and cornfields
on Auburns west side to
discuss the lands potential for
industrial sites.
By the mid-1980s, west
Auburn had become home to
Magnavox, Contech and
Auburn Packaging, with still
more development to come.
In one of its first steps
toward success, AIDCO
obtained a $1 million state
grant to build an industrial
sewer for west Auburn.
In its busiest period,
AIDCO showed sites in
DeKalb County to a prospec-
tive industry about once a
week. The efforts paid off
with a flurry of ground-
breaking ceremonies in 1984
and 1985.
The year 1984 saw 11
companies begin operating or
start building new factories in
DeKalb County. They created
1,682 jobs immediately, with
several plants expanding over
the next few years. Guardian
Automotive of Auburn opened
in 1985 and employed 350
people two years later.
Although AIDCO hoped to
reduce the countys depend-
ence on the automotive
industry, about half of the new
companies were involved in
making automotive parts.
With 20 percent unemploy-
ment in the early 1980s,
AIDCO could not be too
choosy about potential
employers. But it did turn
away some companies
because of their low wages.
There arent any $4-an-
hour jobs that weve
recruited, Jeff Turner, vice
president of AIDCO, said at
the end of the decade. There
isnt one minimum-wage job
that weve brought to the
county.
Industry bounces back
from high unemployment
www.provena.org/sacredheart
AT HOME IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Home is where the heart is. Maybe its a clich. Maybe not.
515 N. Main Street, Avilla 260-897-2841
Welcome to the Provena Sacred Heart neighborhood.
1896
1896
1876
Provena Sacred Heart Home, in the
small rural community of Avilla, Indiana,
has been where the heart is for more than
a century.
The story that led up to establishing the
Sacred Heart Home began when Father
Dominic Duehmig, pastor of St. Mary
of the Assumption Parish and Bishop of
the Fort Wayne Diocese, placed an ad in
a German newspaper that Sisters of the
Sacred Heart could relocate to Avilla.
There was most certainly a connection,
not a coincidence. Fr. Duemig was
originally from Baden in Germanys Black Forest. The
sisters were from Baden as well. They were under the
throes of religious persecution. The Grand Duke of
Karlsruhe felt the Sisters were merely a nuisance.
Half of the congregation responded to the invitation
and set sail for America, arriving in New York in May
1876 and made their way to Indiana. The Sisters
purchased the Thomas Storey farm in Avilla for $12,000
and took possession of their new home on the Feast of
Corpus Christi. It wasnt long before Fr. Duehmig offered
the Holy Sacrice in a new little chapel.
A section of the old farmhouse was used to care for the
elderly and was the beginning of Sacred Heart Home. The
rst Old Peoples Home opened in January 1896 and
the Sisters were embarking upon a new eld of endeavor,
the care of the aged. Ironically, the very rst residents
were Mr. and Mrs. Storey.
The Sacred Heart Home as we know it, opened on
75 beautiful, peaceful acres on North Main Street in
1978, more than 100 years after the Sisters arrived in
America.
Fast forward with us to
this new century.
Provena Sacred Heart Home today is a
Continuum of Care Community. That
means we ensure our residents a smooth
transition through the different levels of
care we all need as we age.

Specialized care, skilled nursing care,
independent living in patio homes,
assisted living, and long-term care for
the aged are all offered right here on
our Avilla campus. An Alzheimers wing was established
in 1990 and skilled nursing care was incorporated in
1995. Most recently, April 2011, Private Medicare
Suites were built on for short term rehab stays.
Sacred Heart Home is an integral part of Provena
Health, a Catholic health system that specializes
in building communities of healing and hope by
compassionately responding to human needs in the
spirit of Jesus Christ.
Provena is well respected for its responsiveness to
community needs, quality, value and innovation. The
ministries are sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of
the Sacred Heart, the Servants of the Holy Heart of
Mary and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
Despite this ever-changing world ~ some things
never change. The caring, compassionate feeling that
has always permeated Sacred Heart Home is still
present today. Everywhere you turn.
INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTED LIVING
MEDICARE SUITES MEMORY CARE UNITS
Today
BY BOB BRALEY
bobb@kpcnews.net
KENDALLVILLE
Former Kendallville Mayor
John Riemke said the citys
industrial boom of the
1980s can be summed up in
two words tax
abatements.
At a time when the city
had 16-percent unemploy-
ment, Kendallville was
consistently finishing
behind Angola, Auburn and
Ashley in drawing jobs,
Riemke said.
At the time, the city had
never offered tax
abatements to any
businesses.
He recalled a conversa-
tion in which businessman
Jim McFarland asked, Will
you give us a tax
abatement?
Riemke replied that the
city never had, but he would
see if it could.
Riemke said McFarland
replied, Let me put it this
way. If you dont give it, we
dont come.
It was the granting of the
citys first tax abatements
that opened the doors for
companies such as Sterling,
James River and The Budd
Co. to open facilities in
Kendallville, and for No-
Sag to expand its business
in the city, Rienke said.
The city had set a goal of
bringing in 200 jobs a year
for three straight years,
Riemke said.
We ended up creating
1,200 jobs in 18 months.
The other major asset the
city had in the 1970s and
80s was Indiana NorthEast
Development, headed by
Lincoln Shrock, Riemke
said.
Another key element was
that everyone was in
agreement on what to do,
Riemke said.
Back then, the (city)
council was very coopera-
tive. I had a lot of latitude
from the council. They gave
me some broad guidelines
and pretty much turned me
loose, he said.
It all came together, and
it worked primarily because
we had one contact person
and we had everybody
pulling on the same harness.
We had one common goal,
and everybody worked
toward it.
Factory Sites Inc. helped,
too, providing money for
water lines and helping get
grants for sewers, Riemke
said.
The result was that most
of what now exists in the
citys East Industrial Park
was established, Riemke
said.
Riemke served as
Kendallville mayor from
1972-1991.
The auto industrys
problems caused many of
that eras jobs to leave the
city in the early part of the
last decade, and the national
recession made things
worse, but the memory of
the boom still lingers.
Kendallville business booms
DeKalb High School won a pair of state championships in the 1980s. The baseball team
claimed the trophy in 1980 with a 1-0 win over Muncie North in eight innings.
In 1986, DeKalb won the Class 4A state championship in football, 28-7 over Franklin Central.
Coach Dale Hummers Barons compiled a 13-1 record behind a punishing ground attack.
I N S P ORTS
Miner
1990s
For More Than 95 Years
Around 1915 the Golden Garage was started at the former Wendys site in Angola.
In 1931 the Golden Garage became incorporated and the name was later changed
to Golden Auto Parts Inc. Around this time the company began doing business with
a new organization called the
National Automotive Parts
Association, known as NAPA.
Beginning in the 1950s the company
expanded into other towns where
their present locations are.
Above: Original store at the former
Wendys location early 1940s.
Right: Golden Auto Parts Wrecker
in early 1940s.
FARM PARTS - HYDRAULIC HOSES - FILTERS - BELTS
AUTO - TRUCKS - TRACTORS
SMALL ENGINE PARTS MACHINE SHOP SERVICE RETAIL & WHOLESALE
Were The Guys The Pros Go To!
GOLDEN AUTO PARTS INC.
701 N. Wayne, Angola 260-665-3128
ALSO KENDALLVILLE 260-347-2211, LAGRANGE 260-463-2107,
MONTPELIER, OH 419-485-4550
d
the quality of life for
seniors & others for
to
DeKalb Co. Council on Aging, Inc.

Heimach Senior Activity Center
1800 E. Seventh St., Auburn
260-925-3311 or 888-220-2242
DART Transportation
AFFORDABLE public transportation throughout DeKalb County for everyone.
Hours of operation: 6 AM-6 PM
BY DAVE KURTZ
dkurtz@kpcnews.net
BUTLER Keith
Busse liked the work
ethic he saw in
northeast Indiana
during 15 years as a
manager for Nucor
Corp. at St. Joe.
Busse left St. Joe in the
late 1980s to manage the
building of the nations most
modern steel mill for Nucor
at Crawfordsville.
When the job was
finished, Busse and two of his
colleagues broke away from
Nucor to start their own
company, naming it Steel
Dynamics Inc.
In 1993, Busse said he
wanted to build an even better
steel mill for his new
company and he set his
sights on returning to DeKalb
County.
In December 1993,
DeKalb Countys commis-
sioners and council pledged
to do everything we can
within the bounds of fiscal
responsibility to make the
mill possible. Butler
business leaders Bert
Hollman and Jack Bercaw
assembled a team of 20
volunteers to work on
recruiting SDI.
After considering sites in
Garrett, Whitley County and
Ohio, Busse announced in
February 1994 that SDI had
chosen rural Butler as the site
for its mill.
Gov. Evan Bayh joined
Busse for the announcement
at the DeKalb County
Airport.
But making the mill a
reality would not be an easy
road.
Neighbors of the proposed
mill raised concerns about
traffic, noise, possible
pollution and the impact of a
massive new power line on
health and property values. In
May 1994, 550 opponents of
the mill signed a full-page
advertisement in The
Evening Star. The county
Board of Health issued a
letter citing its health
concerns about the mill.
A majority of county
officials stood by their initial
pledge and voted to approve
the mill site southwest of
Butler and a massive
incentive package. It included
a $17.6 million bond that
would be repaid partly by a
new county economic
development income tax.
Does this thing make
economic sense for the
county? I think the answer is
a resounding yes, said
Daryle Doden, a county
councilman at the time.
When SDI began
accepting applications for
jobs that would pay $50,000
per year, nearly 2,800 people
lined up at Kruse Auction
Park south of Auburn on Oct.
10, 1994.
The newly hired workers
built the mill themselves, and
the company began making
steel in the fall of 1995.
Fourteen months from
start of construction to rolling
is the shortest cycle time for
the completion of an entire
steel works that we are aware
of, said Dick Teets, one of
SDIs three founders.
SDI produced some of the
lightest-gauge steel ever
made by a hot-rolled mill,
giving the company a
significant price advantage.
In March 1996, SDI chose
the Butler site for expansion
with a cold-rolling mill that
would put a higher-quality
surface on it steel and boost
employment from 250 to 425.
Steel-processing
companies sprouted around
the mill, bringing hundreds
of additional jobs.
From its start in DeKalb
County, SDI grew into the
fifth-largest steel company in
the United States.
Now based in Fort Wayne,
SDI employs more than
6,000 people and operates
five electric-furnace mini
mills.
Steel giant rises from DeKalb County fields
An employee watches giant rolling stands during the early days of the Steel Dynamics steel mill near Butler.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
BY CRAIG HAUPERT
WOLCOTTVILLE
David Rogers Memorial
Park was established in
1970 as LaGrange Countys
first official county park.
The county has
established five more parks
since then, but none have
the rich backstory of the
first.
The park is named after
the man whose grave is
found upon it Dr. David
Rogers, who died in 1871.
When Rogers died, his will
bequeathed his fortune and
all of his LaGrange County
land to the commissioners
of LaGrange County to set
up a trust benefiting the
countys poor and orphaned.
An orphanage was built
north of the park.
In Rogers honor, the
LaGrange County Parks
Department holds an annual
festival David Rogers
Days.
He exhibited a sense of
caring that we want to
remember and that we want
to use as an example, said
Scott Beam, LaGrange
County naturalist.
According to records
from the LaGrange County
Historical Society, Rogers
came to LaGrange County
from New York in the
1830s. He bought about
1,500 acres of LaGrange
County land for $1.25 an
acre and made a fortune
reselling it. He took an
interest in herbal medicine
and did not charge for
medical services provided to
those who could not afford
it.
A monument to Rogers,
who was born in 1786, can
be found in the park. An
inscription on the
monument reads: He was
the friend of the invalid,
gave medicine without
money and without price.
Beam said a lot can be
learned from Rogers life.
We are trying to
remember Dr. Rogers
coming here as a pioneer
and the others who also did
so, Beam said. It takes a
lot of courage to relocate
your family. They came here
and established farms and
businesses hoping to start
the beginnings of a good
life for their families. That
same courage is something
we have to tap into today.
The establishment of
David Rogers Memorial
Park occurred in the same
year the countys park board
was formed, 1970.
The development of Delt
Church Park began in 1975.
Dallas Lake Park and
Maplewood were added in
the mid-1980s, although
Maplewood Nature Center
was not constructed until
1988.
The first David Rogers
Days Festival was held in
1991.
The countys newest
park, Pine Knob Park,
opened in 2007.
Park honors generous pioneer David Rogers
A monument to Dr. David Rogers stands
at David Rogers Memorial Park near
Wolcottville. It was the first park
established by LaGrange County.
CRAIG HAUPERT
BY MATT GETTS
mattg@kpcnews.net
LAGRANGE From his
home in LaGrange County, he
held the purse strings for the state
of Indiana.
Its kind of ironic, isnt it?
said Robert Bob Meeks.
Meeks retired from the Indiana
Senate in 2008. When he left
office, he was chairman of the
powerful Senate Appropriations
Committee that was responsible
for state spending.
I liked working with
numbers, Meeks said. I liked
having responsibility.
Responsibility has been a big
part of Meeks life.
He worked four years for the
Allen County Sheriffs Depart-
ment. He then spent 21 years with
the Indiana State Police, retiring as
commander of what was then the
Ligonier Post.
In 1984, he sought public office
for the first time, winning a seat on
the Lakeland School Corp. board
of trustees.
I had kids in school, and I still
felt I had something to give back,
Meeks said.
In 1988, he won a seat in the
Indiana Senate, eventually taking
over the reins of the Appropria-
tions Committee.
The hours were
difficult at
times he would
work between
16 and 18 hours
a day. When he
was home on
weekends, he
would sit down
with the
numbers and
work some more.
I wanted to do what was
right, Meeks said. I wanted to do
the best I could.
Meeks played a critical role in
the state cutting a $600 million
deficit and making good on $750
million in late payments.
My mantra was There is no
money, Meeks said.
When his years as a police
officer and government public
servant are added together,
Meeks said he has served his
community and state for more
than 51 years.
His most memorable moment?
Meeks said it happened
shortly after being elected to the
state Senate. He said he
remembers standing above the
Senate chambers, looking down.
I got that warm feeling of
responsibility, Meeks said. I
had that same feeling when I
joined the Indiana State Police.
In 2010, the state honored
Meeks by naming the new
Indiana State Police Toll Road
Post at Bristol after him.
Still active on various
corporate and civic boards, Meeks
said his wife and children have
always been behind him.
They were my rock-solid
people, Meeks said.
Responsible senator
controls state budget
Meeks
Weicht Funeral
Home
207 N. West Street Angola, IN
Phone: 260-665-3111
Fax: 260-665-3112
www.weichtfh.com
weicht1854@yahoo.com
The Weicht Funeral home has been owned and operated
by 6 generations of the Weicht Family. Leopold E. Weicht
immigrated to the United States from Baden, Germany
in 1854 and established the L.E. Weicht & Son Funeral
Home, which was also known as Weicht's Undertaking
Establishment. By the end of the 19th Century Leopold's son,
Henry Weicht, had joined his father and ran the business
along with the Angola Casket Company. As the years went
by the name offcially changed to Weicht Funeral Home.
Henry was followed in the family business by his son Paul
J. Weicht. By the 1930's Paul was joined by his son, Joseph
Henry Weicht and they ran the business together.
n 1956 at the age of 16, Paul E. "Gene Weicht along with is
mother Olive E. Weicht got involved when his father, Joseph
Henry, passed away.
The Weicht Family and its generations also ran an
Ambulance Service for Steuben County from approximately
1915 to 1972.
The business is currently owned and operated by Paul
E. "Gene Weicht and his wife Susan, their children John
J. Weicht and Beth Weicht Lee. Christopher J. Burton,
Funeral Director and Jim Hulbert, Pre-Need and After Care
Counselor complete the funeral home family.
Our Family Serving Your Family For 157 Years.
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atzfurniturecompany.com
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for over 80 years.
Thank you for
your patronage!
- Joe & Theresa Atz
Coach Troy Neeleys Westview Warriors
won back-to-back state championships in
Class 2A boys basketball. The Warriros
defeated Paoli 71-52 in 1999 and downed
Winchester 59-53 in 2000.
Aaron Willard coached Eastside to a Class
A state championship in girls softball in
1998, winning the final game 3-1 over
Riverton Parke.
DeKalbs Luke Recker became
the areas only Mr. Basketball
in 1997.
DeKalbs Brad Weber won the
mental attitude award for
football in 1994.
Mental attitude award winners in cross
country were Andrew Begley of
Westview in 1994 and Matt Stout of
Lakeland in 1997.
IN SPORTS
BY MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA A legend on the
Steuben County industrial scene
came to an end on Nov. 21, 1993.
That was the day that Dana
Corp. came to an agreement with
members of its unionized
workforce to close the Dana
Weatherhead plant in Angola that
had employed, at times, some 600
people.
At the time, it was the largest
factory in the county and at its
apex, the company employed
hundreds of people in its brass mill
that started in the mid-1940s.
When the plant finally closed its
doors following a 19-month strike
that spawned violence, lawsuits and
bankruptcy protection being sought
for UAW Local 1406, there were
about 350 people in the workforce.
When it all ended that day on a
vote of union members meeting in
the newly opened Steuben
Community Center, many of the
aging members of the Dana work
force took retirement options.
Others talked about staying on with
the company in other plants in
northeast Indiana, or several states
away. Some talked about starting
new careers. It was estimated by
union president Terry Swager that
about 100 of the workers would be
able to retire with full benefits and
a cash severance.
Part of the settlement included
the company excusing an $832,000
settlement it had been granted in
Steuben Circuit Court against the
union through a contempt case.
Union officials estimated it
would cost the company approxi-
mately $10 million to settle with its
workers, though company officials
at the time would not comment
about it.
Dana hung on to the property on
Weatherhead Drive until 1996,
when it was sold to Univertical
Corp., at the time based in Detroit.
Univertical has been in operation at
the facility since 1997. It currently
employs about 65 people in its
highly automated operation that
employs extensive robotics.
Angolas Dana
Weatherhead plant
comes to an end
BY BOB BUTTGEN
bbuttgen@kpcnews.net
LIGONIER Like many
small towns in the Midwest,
Ligonier has gone through
significant changes over the
past 30 years.
Ligonier saw a rise in
manufacturing facilities over
the past three decades, with
several factories offering a
high number of good-paying
jobs. On the downside, the
number of small, locally
owned retail businesses in the
downtown area has dwindled
at a steady pace, especially in
the last 20 years or so.
One other dramatic differ-
ence in Ligonier is the
makeup of its population.
According to the 2010
U.S. Census, 52 percent of
Ligoniers residents are of
Hispanic heritage, making it
one of only two cities in
Indiana with a Hispanic
majority. East Chicago is the
other.
Ligoniers population was
set at 4,405 by the 2010
census, an increase of only 48
residents compared to the
2000 count. But from 2000
to 2010, many more Ligonier
residents identified
themselves as Hispanic or
Latino. In 2010, that number
rose to 2,270 up from
1,451 in 2000, an increase of
819.
Many fewer Ligonier
residents identified
themselves on their census
reports as not Hispanic or
Latino. That category was
set at 2,135 residents in
2010, down from 2,906 in
2000. Thats a decrease of
771 non-Latino residents.
Those changes have, for
the most part, been absorbed
by the city without much
strife.
Like other cities in the
Midwest that have experi-
enced an influx of Latinos,
Ligonier and the West Noble
School Corp. have had to
deal with language barriers.
Many of the documents sent
home with students from
West Noble schools are
printed in both Spanish and
English.
About half of the small
businesses in Ligoniers
downtown area are owned by
people of Latino heritage.
Not all of these new
residents come directly from
Mexico. Many migrated to
Ligonier from Texas.
Census reports from years
past also document the
dramatic rise in Hispanics in
the last 10 and also 20 years.
In the 2000 count, Ligonier
was reported to have one-
third of its population being
from Latino background. In
1990 that number was just
9.3 percent.
Studies of the 1980
Census failed to show any
recording of the percentage
of Hispanics living in
Ligonier.
This changing makeup of
the citys population has been
documented in other ways.
In 2004, a book, Apple
Pie and Enchiladas: Latino
Newcomers in the Rural
Midwest, was published.
Written by Ann V. Millard
and Jorge Chapa, the book
devoted much of its research
to the city of Ligonier. Ken
Crane, credited as a
researcher by the authors,
spent months in Ligonier
documenting the citys
changing population.
The cover of the book
featured a photograph of a
welcome sign to Ligonier.
Sometime in the 1980s or
early 1990s, someone vandal-
ized the sign. Instead of
Welcome To Ligonier,
someone spray-painted the
word Mexico over
Ligonier. The sign was
quickly fixed, but the
photograph lives on as a
reminder that not everyone
endorsed the influx of
Spanish-speaking residents.
In March of this year, an
academic study was done by
Goshen Colleges Center for
Intercultural Teaching and
Learning (CITL), in collabo-
ration with Notre Dames
Institute of Latino Studies.
The report was published
in a three-volume report, and
provided a look into the
Latino population of northern
Indiana including Ligonier. It
is available through the
Goshen College website,
goshen.edu.
Hispanics become majority in Ligonier
School reports back
up census findings
The fact that Hispanics are
now a majority of Ligoniers
population, while surprising
to some, has always been
hinted at in the Minority
Language Report (MLR)
done each year by the West
Noble School Corp., which
serves Ligonier and the
surrounding area.
Of West Nobles 2,544
students, 1,110 are
Hispanic, according to the
MLR that is required each
year by the state of Indiana.
Another 42 students are
considered multiracial, seven
are African-Americans and
11 more are either Asian or
Native Americans.
At Ligonier Elementary
School, the number of
students who come from a
home where Spanish is
spoken is 56.6 percent,
according to school officials.
In general, to be counted as
language minority, the
student must speak at least
two languages, with the
primary home language
being something besides
English.
The cover of this book,
Apple Pie and
Enchiladas, which
profiled the Latino
immigration into
Americas small towns,
featured a sign in Ligonier
that had been vandalized.
The word Mexico was
spraypainted over the
word Ligonier.
FILE PHOTO
Ligoniers Changing
Population Mix
1990 Census
TOTAL POPULATION: 3,443
HISPANIC RESIDENTS: 321
(9.3 percent)
2000 Census
HISPANIC RESIDENTS: 1,451
(33.3 percent)
2010 Census
HISPANIC RESIDENTS: 2,270
(51.5 percent)
My mantra was:
There is no money.
Robert Meeks
Retired tate senator
Recker
MIKE MARTURELLO
mikem@kpcnews.net
ANGOLA There
was much fanfare as
Tri-State University
became Trine
University in a
ceremony on Aug. 1,
2008.
Bells pealed, a small
plane pulled a We are Trine
University banner
overhead, a new flag was
raised, several hundred
people applauded and Tri-
State University officially
became Trine University just
before noon on a bright,
sunny Friday before the start
of the 2008-2009 school
year.
A great picnic celebrated
the dawn of a new chapter in
the local universitys history.
But it wasnt all rosy
leading up to that historic
day. Alumni voiced opposi-
tion, writers of letters to the
editor objected. Many in the
community did not want to
see part of the name dating
to 1884 changed.
But change it did, and
three years later it seems as
though the new name has
become as much a part of
the community as had the
old Tri-State, which had its
roots in the founding of the
school as Tri-State Normal
College. The school later
became Tri-State College,
then Tri-State University.
Im excited about the
name change, state Sen.
Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn,
said after the unveiling of
the new Trine University
sign and the flag-raising. I
know its tough (for some
people) but in the long
run it will be very beneficial.
It is forward-thinking. Its an
easier name for people to
remember, and it identifies
the school as a unique
university.
Kruse added that he likes
the fact that the university is
named after people who are
living and still involved with
the school.
Ralph Trine is a 1961
graduate of Tri-State
College.
The Trines moved the
family company, TS
Equipment, to Angola in
1982 from Jackson, Mich.
The company was started by
Ralphs father, Donald.
Ralph and Sheri Trine
have three children, Cari,
Barry and Donald. Barry
works at Vestil Manufac-
turing and Cari also works
for the company. Donald
died in a tragic car accident
while in college in Miami.
Vestil, the first manufac-
turing facility to open a plant
in Angola Industrial Growth
Park, is a materials handling
equipment manufacturer,
making a wide variety of
materials-handling
equipment everything
from loading dock
equipment to carts and
dollies.
In his remarks immedi-
ately prior to Ralph and
Sheri Trines unveiling of the
new name at the universitys
entrance, university President
Earl Brooks II commented
the Trine name represents
transformational change.
But he emphasized that the
schools core values will
remain the same.
Brooks said the university
is helping to propel
northeast Indiana to a new
level of prosperity and
economic vitality. He
thanked the Trines for their
insight, advice and
unselfish leadership that
helps build team spirit. He
said every corner of the
campus has evidence of their
support.
Sheri Trine noted the
university is growing not
only architecturally it has
numerous significant new
buildings but also
academically.
We are humbled and
overwhelmed, Ralph Trine
said.
601 R.E. Jones Rd.
Butler, IN 868-5811
Serving the
Butler Community
for over 25 years!
BUTLER PLANT
OPENS
August 1985
2000s
New chapter begins for local university
Tri-State College alumnus Ralph Trine unveils the
new Trine University sign during a celebration
Aug. 1, 2008, on the campus. The event marked the
official name change and was complete with a flag
raising, lunch and acknowledgements to alumni,
donors and community members.
BY BOB BRALEY
bobb@kpcnews.net
AVILLA For most of
the first decade of the 21st
century, Avilla was one of
Indianas fastest-growing
cities or towns on a per-
capita basis.
That growth was
reflected in the 2010 U.S.
Census, which listed Avilla
as seeing the biggest popula-
tion growth in Noble County
and that was after what
Avilla town manager Bill
Ley said was a drop-off in
the last few years of the
decade.
Most of the growth was
in the first half of the
decade, Ley said.
Avillas population boom
really began in the early
1990s, Ley explained. It
continued until 2007.
During that period, we
were seeing about 30 to 35
new homes built every year,
Ley said.
New developments such
as Cranberry Acres sprang
up during that time, and
even the Avilla Mobile
Home Park expanded,
adding new lots.
During some of the peak
years of the boom, Avilla
ranked in the top 20 cities
and towns in the state for
population growth as a
percentage of the towns
previous population.
The 2000 Census put
Avillas population at 2,049.
From 2000 to 2003, the
towns population grew by
9.3 percent or 191
people to 2,240, said
INContext, a publication of
the Indiana University
Kelley School of Business.
That ranked Avilla as the
17th fastest growing
community in the state.
With an 11.4 percent
change from 2000 to 2004,
the town had grown to
2,284, the Indiana Business
Research Center said. That
was good enough for 19th
fastest growing community
statewide.
There were a couple of
reasons for the rapid growth.
A lot of it was marketing
from developers, Ley said.
Another factor was the
availability of good jobs,
both in Avilla and in nearby
communities, he added.
At one time, there
werent enough people for
the jobs we had. Now its
just the opposite, Ley said.
The economic downturn
that hit northeast Indiana
and the nation in 2008
ended Avillas population
boom, Ley said, adding,
We may actually have
declined in the last two or
three years.
Still, Avillas population
of 2,401 in the 2010 Census
was good enough to make it
the fastest growing
community in Noble County
over the prior decade, the
Indiana Economic Digest
said.
Avilla population booms
East Noble graduate Amy Yoder Begley
ran the 10,000-meter race
for the United States team in the
2008 Olympics at Beijing, China.
She later won the 10,000-meter event
at the 2009 USA Track &
Field Championship.
DeKalb had two state mental attitude
winners in the decade cross country
runner Kaleb Van Ort in 2001 and
basketball player Alex Kock in 2003.
Kock went on to win honors as a
national small-college player of the
year for Huntington College.
IN SPORTS
PHOTOS BY BY KARLY TEARNEY
Sheri Trine enjoys a laugh just after
unveiling the new Trine University
sign (formerly Tri-State University)
along with her husband, Ralph,
during a celebration Aug. 1, 2008, on
the Angola campus. The family is a
primary donor with the university
and has dedicated many hours to
developing the campus.
Kendallville native Brad Miller,
a 7-foot-center, was chosen
for the NBA All-Star team
in 2003 and 2004.
East Noble won the Class 4A
state championship in football
for 2000. Coach Tim Ables
Knights defeated Plainfield 28-7
in the title game.
The Knights returned to the
state finals in 2003, finishing as
runner-up, with Jeff Wedding
winning the mental attitude
award.
Our Mission
publishes top quality news and
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advances, KPC is a leader in
print quality as well as in the
use of the Internet. KPC will
continue to meet the needs of
readers, advertisers, commer-
cial print customers and the
communities of northeast
Indiana with innovation and
integrity, dedicated to contin-
uing a strong, locally-owned
company making a positive
contribution to the lives of its
employees and their
communities.
History
Kendallville Publishing Co.
Inc., the predecessor of KPC
Media Group Inc., was
founded by O. E. Michaelis
and George W. Baxter after
merging their Kendallville
daily newspapers into the
Kendallville News Sun on
Aug. 7, 1911. The company
was sold to C. O. Merica in
1913. He died in 1918 and his
wife, Alice Merica, became
the principal owner of the
company for the next half
century. At the time of her
death on Jan. 25, 1969, at the
age of 103, she was the oldest
newspaper publisher in the
United States. George O.
Witwer, who came to Kendall-
ville as editor and general
manager of The News Sun in
1962, became the principal
owner and publisher in 1969.
Witwer family members
continue as the owners and
operators of the company.
Terry G. Housholder, who first
went to work for the company
while in high school in 1969,
has been president and
publisher since 2001. The
companys name changed to
KPC Media Group Inc. in
2005, to reflect its expanded
geographic market and
additional products and
services. KPC stands for
Keeping People Connected.
The companys main office is
at 102 N. Main St., Kendall-
ville, in the same building
where the publishing firm was
founded a century ago. The
companys other offices are in
Auburn, Angola and Fort
Wayne.
produces a variety of publica-
tions and hosts websites.
The News Sun
The News Sun is the daily
newspaper serving Noble and
LaGrange counties in
northeast Indiana. It traces its
history back to the spring of
1859 or 1860 in Kendallville
when Judson Palmiter began
publication of the Noble
County Journal, renamed the
Kendallville Standard in 1870.
In 1877, Dr. A.S. Parker
launched a competitor to the
Standard called the Weekly
News. The two weeklies
coexisted until 1898 when the
publishers of the Standard hit
the streets of Kendallville with
the Daily Sun. Eight years
later, in 1906, the Weekly
News followed suit and began
publication of the Daily News.
Daily competition existed
in Kendallville for only five
years. On Aug. 7, 1911, the
Daily News and Daily Sun
were consolidated into the
Kendallville News Sun. In
1965, the publishing company
converted its letterpress
printing operation to the offset
process with the purchase of a
four-unit press and folder. It
was the third daily newspaper
in Indiana to convert to the
cold-type process. On July 2,
1984, with a redesign of the
newspaper, the city name was
dropped from the page one
flag of The News Sun,
reflecting the newspapers
growing circulation area. On
March 12, 2000, the
newspaper added its Sunday
edition. On April 6, 2009, it
converted to a morning
newspaper seven days a week.
David R. Kurtz, with KPC
since 1974, is the executive
editor of KPC newspapers.
The Star
The Star is the daily
newspaper serving DeKalb
County, Ind. The Auburn
Courier began publication as a
weekly in 1871. Three years
later, it had a competitor in the
weekly Auburn Republican,
renamed the Auburn Dispatch
in 1885. They later merged.
In 1913, the Courier and
Dispatch, a twice-a-week
publication, became a daily
named The Evening Star. The
paper was owned and
published by Verne Buchanan
from 1916 until 1968, when it
was purchased by Nixon
Newspapers of Wabash, Ind.
In December 1971, The
Evening Star was purchased
by KPC. On March 12, 2000,
the newspaper added its
Sunday edition. On April 6,
2009, it converted to a
morning newspaper seven days
a week and its name became
The Star.
The Herald Republican
The Herald Republican,
serving Steuben County, Ind.,
traces its roots to the pre-Civil
War publication, the Steuben
Republican, first published in
May 1857. The Angola Herald
began publication as a
Democratic newspaper in
January 1876, as a counter to
the Republican viewpoint.
Both newspapers published
continuously as separate
newspapers, although printing
of the two newspapers was
consolidated in 1925 with the
formation of the Steuben
Printing Co. The two newspa-
pers maintained separate
ownership until the 1960s with
the death of Angola Herald
publisher and owner Harvey
Morley. The Herald was then
purchased by the Willis family,
which had owned the Steuben
Republican since 1907.
The Willis family continued
to publish the Herald and the
Republican weeklies
separately until 1979 when the
two newspapers merged,
becoming the Herald-
Republican. Then, in
December 1982, the Willis
family sold the Herald-
Republican to Home News
Enterprises of Columbus, Ind.,
Home News expanded the
newspaper to twice-weekly in
April 1989, publishing first on
Wednesdays and Fridays, and
then Wednesdays and
Saturdays, starting in
September 1997.
purchased the newspaper in
August 2001, and expanded
the paper on Sept. 12, 2001, to
a daily newspaper. The editor
is Michael Marturello.
The Advance Leader
The Advance Leader,
serving western Noble County,
Ind., became part of KPC
Media Group Inc. in May
1975. The weekly Cromwell
Advance, founded in 1912 by
Forrest Robbins, was
purchased from Jim and
Greta Wallace. The weekly
Ligonier Leader, founded in
1880 by E.G. Thompson, was
purchased from Norm Davis.
The two mastheads were
merged to form The Advance
Leader, with the first issue
published on May 14, 1975.
The first editors was Grace
Witwer Housholder. The
editor and general manager
today is Robert Buttgen, who
joined KPC in 1996.
The Garrett Clipper
The Garrett Clipper,
serving the Garrett and area
community in southern
DeKalb County, Ind., was
purchased by KPC Media
Group Inc. on Oct. 1, 1999,
from Wayne and Pat Bartles.
The Clipper of Garrett was
formed in 1885 by A.J. Little
and H. E. Little and is the
oldest operating business in
the city. The editor and
publisher is Sue Carpenter,
who joined KPC in 1974.
The Butler Bulletin
The Butler Bulletin, serving
eastern DeKalb County, Ind.,
was purchased by KPC Media
Group Inc. in December 2005,
from publisher Joe Shelton,
who founded it in 1976. The
editor is Jeff Jones, who has
worked for the weekly since
1985.
Greater Fort Wayne
Business Weekly
The Greater Fort Wayne
Business Weekly, a newspaper
dedicated to covering local and
regional business news,
debuted on March 14, 2005. It
serves Fort Wayne and the 15-
county region surrounding the
Summit City. The editor is
Barry Rochford.
Greater Fort Wayne
Family magazine
The Greater Fort Wayne
Family magazine was
launched is February 2005.
The monthly magazine is
distributed in the multi-county
region surrounding Fort
Wayne. Grace Housholder,
who has worked at KPC since
1975, serves as editor.
Times Community
Publications
The Times Community
Publications, with free-distri-
bution newspapers serving
communities in Allen County,
was purchased by KPC Media
Group Inc. in December
2006, from founder Bill
Fahlsing. The monthly
publications are: the St. Joe
Times, the East Allen County
Times, the Dupont Valley
Times and Aboite & About.
The Smart Shopper
KPC has produced total-
market-coverage print
products since the mid-1970s.
The Smart Shopper is a free
newspaper and advertising
publication that serves the
residents in LaGrange, Noble,
DeKalb and Steuben counties.
This publication is delivered
to more than 42,000
households every week.
KPC Phone Books
KPC has had a Phone
Book Division since
purchasing The Herald
Republican in 2001. The
previous owners had
published the Steuben County
phone book annually since
1986. In 2003, in addition to
publishing the Steuben book,
KPC published the first
Noble/DeKalb Couny book.
In 2004, KPC expanded to
three books with a separate
book for DeKalb County and
a combined Noble/LaGrange
County book. KPCYellow-
Pages.com was added in
2006.
LeAnn Robinson is
manager of the KPC Phone
Book Division.
Commercial Printing
In addition to the daily and
weekly production of its own
publications, KPC Media
Group Inc. prints a wide
variety of other publications
on its high-speed Goss SSC
16 unit press with four-color
capabilities. Printing on
broadsheet, tabloid and mini-
tab formats is offered as well
as bindery, inserting and
composition services. In
addition, a direct-mailing
operation was recently added.
Websites
KPC Media has offered a
local news Internet presence
since 1996. A KPC report in
October 1996 showed that the
number of users per day of
our website was nine. The
same report indicated that at
least four of the users were
our own employees and one
was our publisher, so the
actual number was probably
four users per day. Today,
KPC interacts with thousands
of daily users of our sites.
KPC also offers full-customer
web services, including
website development. KPCs
main website is kpcnews.com.
120 W. King St., Garrett 357-3133
1341 S. Randolph St., Garrett 357-6680
811 Mill Lake Rd., (Pine Valley) Ft. Wayne 637-5045
www.garrettstatebank.com
Member FDIC
1920
Today
Service From The Past...
...Products For Your Future
Serving the needs of
Northeast Indiana
since 1893
9LKLZPNU9LUL^Recreate
Make your cher|shed jewe|ry new aga|n.
H|stor|c Downtown Auburn
S|nce 1901
108 E. 7th St. Auburn
925-3113
Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

Find us on
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN AUBURN
Part of
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN AUBURN
since 1901
www.carbaughjewe|ers.com
F12 LOOKING BACK WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
KPCs history dates back to Aug. 7, 1911
Keeping People Connected
in print and online
BY MATT GETTS
mattg@kpcnews.net
HOWE Only in
America could a boy who
spent part of his formative
years living in a rented
farmhouse one day walk the
halls of power in his nations
capital.
In fact, U.S. Rep. Marlin
Stutzmans rise from farmer
and small businessman to
Congress could be described
as the American Dream
come to fruition except
Stutzman says he never
dreamed he one day would
be elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives.
Stutzman became a
congressmen when he
defeated former Fort Wayne
City Councilman Tom
Hayhurst by a 63 percent to
33 percent margin on Nov.
2, 2010.
Stutzman said he learned
a lot watching his parents as
he was growing up. The
family did not have a lot of
money, but he said his mom
and dad worked their tails
off. He recalled that his dad
and grandfather were quick
to come to someones aid.
They just helped
people, Stutzman said.
Now, Stutzman walks
through the U.S. Capitol
when he goes to work.
Its a really neat
feeling, Stutzman said after
nearly eight months in
office. Ive learned so
much. Ive met so many neat
people.
For
inspiration,
Stutzman
said he
looks to the
first
president of
the United
States,
George
Washington.
He was a farmer,
Stutzman said of
Washington. He was a
surveyor. He was self-
taught. He just did things
like a farmer.
At 34, Stutzman became
the youngest person to
represent northeast Indiana
in Congress since 29-year-
old Dan Quayle took office
in 1977. He is younger than
his eight Hoosier colleagues
in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
He also became the first
person from LaGrange
County to serve in Congress
in 101 years. Clarence
Chauncey Gilhams, a native
of Brighton, served in the
U.S. House from 1906 to
1909.
As a 26-year-old political
newcomer, Stutzman upset
five-term state Rep. Dale
Sturtz, D-LaGrange, by 249
votes (51 percent to 49
percent) in 2002 to become
the youngest member of the
Indiana General Assembly.
He won re-election to the
state House in 2004 and
2006. In 2008, he was
elected to the Indiana Senate
after the retirement of state
Sen. Robert Meeks, R-
LaGrange.
Stutzman said he was
inspired to run for a seat in
the Indiana General
Assembly after the terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
I just thought I could
make a difference in a small
way, Stutzman said.
He recalled that shortly
after being elected as a state
representative, he was
approached by someone in a
grain elevator in the Howe
area. The person told him he
should be thinking about
setting his sights on
Congress.
Stutzman said he
dismissed the idea.
In his time in
Indianapolis, Stutzman
voted to balance the state
books and left the state in
much better financial shape
than surrounding states.
Buoyed by what the legisla-
ture was able to accomplish
in Indiana, Stutzman
decided to make a run for
U.S. Senate in 2010.
You could get good
results, Stutzman said. I
just felt we needed the same
type of determination and
political will in
Washington, D.C.
Stutzman lost to eventual
winner Dan Coats in the
May 2010 primary for the
Senate nomination, but
when U.S. Rep. Mark
Souder announced his
resignation just weeks later,
Stutzman had the political
apparatus in place to run for
Congress.
Its not exactly a rags-to-
riches story, but Stutzman
sees a lesson to be learned
from his successes.
You dont have to be
born in a certain bloodline,
Stutzman said. Opportuni-
ties like this can only
happen in America.
BY DAVE KURTZ
dkurtz@kpcnews.net
The rise of women into
leadership became clear in
local communities during
the past decade, as women
took charge of the areas
two largest school corpora-
tions and second-largest
city.
Suzanne Handshoe
became mayor of Kendall-
ville in 2003. Sherry Grate
was named superintendent of
DeKalb Central schools in
2009, and Ann Linson rose to
superintendent of East Noble
schools in 2010.
Handshoe won election as
mayor of Kendallville eight
years ago in her early 40s.
Voters re-elected her in 2007,
and in 2011,
she is set to
win a third
term without
opposition.
I hope
Ive served
the citizens
well, and I
want to
continue
serving them, she said
when announcing she would
seek a third term.
Handshoe, a Republican,
lost her first bid for mayor
in 1999 by 138 votes, but
came back to win four years
later by a 115-vote margin.
Handshoe served 24 years
with the U.S. Marine Corps
and earned a combat action
ribbon by commanding 27
Marines during Operation
Desert Storm in 1991.
Grate ascended to the top
at DeKalb Central after
arriving as principal of
McKenney-Harrison
Elementary School in
Auburn in 2000. She became
assistant superintendent the
following year.
Im extremely excited
about this new opportunity
and challenge, Grate said
after the school board
elevated her to superin-
tendent. It has been a
privilege to work in the
district for the past nine
years, to be here this long,
and for the school board to
have this confidence in me
to take the district to the
next level.
Grate said she aimed to
provide a model of her
expectations for others.
I would never expect
someone to do something
that I wouldnt be willing to
jump in and do myself,
Grate said. I just believe that
modeling is so important.
Linson brought 30 years
of educational experience to
the position of superin-
tendent. Before joining East
Noble in 2003 as high school
principal, she served as the
assistant director of the Four
County Area Vocational
Cooperative based in
Kendallville. In 2007, she
moved from East Noble High
School principal to assistant
superintendent.
I am honored that the
school board has selected me
to be the next superin-
tendent, Linson said upon
her promotion.
In addition to Handshoe,
Grate and Linson, Patty Fisel
serves as mayor of Ligonier,
and Risa Herber serves as
superintendent of the
Lakeland school district.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 2000s WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME F13
Supporting Family Values
- Christ-Centered Academic Excellence
- Preschool through eighth grade
- Caring, experienced staff
- Small class sizes
- State accredited
Our school
participates in the
Indiana Choice
Scholarship Program.
CONTACT US FOR
DETAILS!
301 S. Oak Street, Kendallville
260-347-2444
www.stjohneagles.org
St. John
Lutheran School
999T56'7$'0(170&#6+10T14)
1701 N. Wayne St., Angola, lN 46703
(P) 260-665-6656 (F) 260-665-8420
Email: sccf@steubenfoundation.org
Weconnectpeoplewho
carewithneedsthat
mattertoourcommunity.
ServingSteubenCounty
since1992.
Pictured left to right: Neal Patterson, F. Mayo Sanders, David Ballinger,
Charles Sheets, Carl Akers, Jr., James Stock, Michael Zdyb
In 1991, twelve local citizens had the passion and vision to establish a non-prot
organization that would serve the citizens of Steuben County for generations. The
Steuben County Community Foundation was started, and Founding Directors Carl Akers,
Jr., David Ballinger, George Gilbert, Richard Kenyon, E.F. McNaughton, Neal Patterson,
F. Mayo Sanders, Charles Sheets, James Stock, Sheri Trine, Bob Wyne, and Michael Zdyb
charted its course. The primary objective of these dedicated people was to ensure that
resources would be available to support the great work of the many charitable groups and
organizations in our area and enhance the quality of life for those who live here.
Twenty years later, and through the ongoing generous donations of businesses,
individuals, friends and supporters, the Community Foundation now holds 204 funds
through which grants and scholarships are awarded each year. During the 2010 scal
year, over $400,000 was awarded to benet areas such as health, education, the arts,
humanities, technology, womens issues, the environment, recreation and human services.
After two decades, the Steuben County Community Foundation continues to
Connect people who care with needs that matter most to our community.
Congratulations KPC Media Group on
100 Years of providing our communities with
news that matters.
The Steuben County Community Foundation is
celebrating 20 years of connecting people who
care with needs that matter to our community.
jesus.
relationships.
relevant teaching.
making disciples who make disciples
christian center
new hope
www.NewHope.in
900 S Wayne St - Waterloo
260.8J7.J6J1 - ofce@NewHope.In
Just 1/2 mIle north of 0eKalb HIgh School, across from Feller Funeral Home
www.color-master.com
Color Master, Inc. was started in 1991 in Avilla, IN.
Celebrating our 20
th
Anniversary in 2011
We now have 70 employees in two facilities.
Butler, IN - Headquarters
Kendallville, IN - Compounding Facility added in 2009
Women take charge of cities, schools
Stutzman sprouts up from farm to Congress
Stutzman
Grate Linson Handshoe
F14 WRITING HISTORY ONE DAY AT A TIME SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011
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and Papa Johns has been going strong ever since. Today, Papa
Johns is the recognized leader of the pizza category and now owns
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Charleston Metal
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350 6raot $t. water|oo, |h (260) 837-8211
0NP west 0|v|s|oo 0or0ooa, |h
h & h 0|v|s|oo $e|ma, |h
Proudly
Celebrating 65 Years
Thank you to all our current and former
employees and customers for allowing us
to continue to grow.
2011
80||d|og reoovat|oo at the I0t0re s|te
oI 0NP west 0|v|s|oo, 0or0ooa
2003
xpaoded, reoovated 0NP, water|oo
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Scan with your smart phone for immediate redirect.
At Harold, you still
get the same honest
straight-forward
buying experience
in the same relaxed,
friendly helpful
environment
as always.
Steuben Countys undisputed #1 volume new car dealer. We are extremely
proud to make a lifelong commitment to our growing community.
Watch for exciting changes on the way in 2012!
Since 1989
We dont want to sell you a car
WE WANT TO SELL YOU
ALL OF YOUR CARS!
R
E
M
E
M
B
E
R
W
H
E
N
?
A
R
O
U
N
D
1
9
6
8
!
Sales Team (L to R): Jeff Jordan, Brad Fuller,
Mark Chamberlain, Blain Snyder,
Walt Schroeder, Denny Fulton, Tom Kopf,
Chris Barrow, Joe Hysong, Mike Fry
O ce Team (L to R): Melissa Palmer,
Ashley Price, Debi Ladd
Not pictured: Jason Smith, Finance;
Cyrus Dillinger, Offce Manager
Service Team (L to R): Roy Allen,
Dave Cameron, Dave Cole, Kent Palmer,
Allen Mason, Dan Brooks, Jared Beer,
Brian Boyer, Bill Waters, Kevin Smallwood,
Dave Fredrickson
We cannot predict the changes
that will occur in the next four to
five generations. We know KPCs
growth and diversification and
how life in northeast Indiana has
unfolded could never have been
predicted by anyone at KPC. The
only thing of which we can be
certain is that there will always be
news; there will always stories to be
told. Skilled, committed people
always will be needed to tell those
stories as well as to help share
advertising information. Freedom of
the press and free enterprise are the
foundation of our democracy, our
economy and our future.
We are proud of KPCs century-
long history of serving the
communities in northeast Indiana. I
give credit to the great employees,
past and present, whose skill and
dedication have been the cornerstone
of our success. We continue to have
a team that is dedicated to serving
our readers, advertisers and our
communities. Joining me as senior
managers of KPC are, Donna
Scanlon, our chief financial officer,
and Don Cooper, our vice president
of sales and general manager. We
have many other longtime depart-
ment managers and co-workers who
are committed to excellence. We
also have a board of directors,
composed mainly of family
members, that views KPC as an
integral part of northeast Indiana.
The board knows that if KPC meets
the needs of the people it serves
KPC and northeast Indiana
will have opportunities for growth
and a bright future for many years to
come.
Above all, thank you to you, the
reader, for sticking with us. We look
forward to connecting with you on a
regular basis, in print and online.
TERRY G. HOUSHOLDER, president
and publisher of KPC Media
Group Inc.
Keeping People Connected:
The next 100 years
What does the next century hold for
KPC Media Group?
KPC PHOTO
KPC PHOTO
KPC Media Groups corporate office today, 102. N. Main St., Kendallville. Other offices are in Auburn, Angola and
Fort Wayne.
KPC Media Group stays close to its
community with its downtown corporate
headquarters. Parts of the building have
been with the newspaper for all 100 years.
Writing History One Day at a Time was coordinated by
KPC Media Group executive editor Dave Kurtz, designed
by presentation editor Erin Doucette and created by efforts
from our entire staff. Additional copies (sections E & F
of todays newspaper) may be purchased for $1, while
supplies last.
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Like The Star, were celebrating a special anniversary this year. For the past decade, Worldwide has provided the serious motorcar collector with a vast range of services -
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but we always stay true to our roots. Auburn has long been our home town. We celebrate its heritage, but most of all, we are dedicated to building its future as the
undisputed Classic Car Capital of the World. Join us this Labor Day Weekend for a celebration of all things classic, and experience the new tradition in town.
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1927 ROLLS-ROYCE PICADILLY ROADSTER
Beautifully Restored and Tour Ready
1970 PONTIAC GTO JUDGE CONVERTIBLE
Four-Speed, Numbers Matching
1931 CORD L29 CABRIOLET
Single Ownership for 50 Years
1958 PORSCHE 356 SPEEDSTER
Freshly Restored and Sorted, Factory Black
1955 HUDSON ITALIA GT COUPE
The Finest Example Extant
1912 ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER GHOST LONDON TO EDINBURGH TORPEDO TOURER BY MANN EGERTON OF NORWICH
One of the Most Sought After Ghosts in Existence
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1934 CHEVROLET INSTIGATOR
Ridler Award Great 8 Finalist, $500,000+ Build Cost
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1954 JAGUAR XK 120 ROADSTER
1957 LINCOLN MK II
All Original, 35,000 Actual Miles
1949 CADILLAC COUPE DEVILLE
1955 DODGE ROYAL LANCER RED RAM CONVERTIBLE
1969 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 429 SPORT COUPE
Diamond Award Winner, 13,000 Actual Miles
1931 CADILLAC V12 DUAL COWL SPORT PHAETON
Fully Optioned and Show Ready
1964 DODGE CHARGER S/FX
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1937 CORD 812 CUSTOM BEVERLY SEDAN
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1925 BENTLEY 3-LITRE TOURER
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The Only Known 20HP Example
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011 WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E kpcnews.com F15
www.steeldynamics.com
Weve had a lot of help along the way as weve risen to become one of Americas top
steel producers in a short 15 years. Were indebted to our talented employees, the Indiana
communities that have supported us, and our valued customers.
Steel Dynamics got its start in DeKalb County in 1996 with the rst shipments from the Butler
at-roll mill. SDI now operates ve steel mills with a combined capability to produce more than
6 million tons of steel each year. In addition, our OmniSource operations make SDI one of the
nations largest metals recyclers.
In 2010, SDI posted sales of $6.3 billion, and the company now has a nationwide workforce
of more than 6,000 employees. Steel Dynamics ranks No. 363 on the 2011 FORTUNE 500,
and is one of Americas most protable steel companies. We were recently honored when
American Metal Market named SDI Steel Producer of the Year.
Our success is driven by the hard work, dedication, creativity, and ingenuity of our employees.
Their can-do work ethic, high level of motivation, and strong sense of teamwork have made
SDIs Butler facility the most productive at-roll mini mill in the United States. Our employees
are key to our achieving the high product quality and top-notch customer service for which
weve gained recognition from our customers.
All successful businesses exist in a community context, and we cant stress enough that
the encouragement and help weve received from citizens, community leaders, and other
businesses in northeast Indiana have meant the world to us. Steel Dynamics is proud
to have become a major employer and supporter of economic development in our area,
and we continue to contribute to the community in a variety of other ways as well.
Again, thanks. We appreciate your support, and well continue to do what it takes
to maintain your trust.
Keith Busse
Chairman and CEO
Mark Millett Dick Teets
President and COO Executive Vice President for Steelmaking

Thank you.
F16 kpcnews.com WRI TI NG HI STORY ONE DAY AT A TI M E SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2011

Writing History One Day at A Time

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I N S I D E T H I S S P E C I A L S E C T I O N

Trester Award winner

TRADITION. INNOVATION. PROGRESS.

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DeKalb Co. Council on Aging, Inc.

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