HISTORICAL TRIVIA

1986-1990

Fulton County, Indiana

From The Rochester News-Sentinel

Selected, copied and indexed by Wendell C. Tombaugh

Special thanks to Jack K. Overmyer for suggesting the Title..

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GEORGE S. JONES

Defies Mathematical truism

The Sentinel, January  10,  1986

By WILLIAM FREYBERGEditor The Sentinel

            George S. Jones of Rochester is (take your choice)

            * A diminutive, dapper fellow with a jaunty step and quick smile who wears a summer hat a lot of the time.

            * A long active participant in the Boy Scouts of America who years ago received the highest honor the local Scout Council can give an adult.

            * A man of principle.

            People who know George Jones knows he is all of these - and more.  He is a living contradiction of a mathematical truism.   Somehow, the sum of George Jones is greater than his parts.

            This is an appropriate time to pause in reflection of George Jones because, after 38 years, he no longer is making the business calls that have made him one of the community’s familiar figures.

            It was just like him to run an advertisement stating: “My wife, Hazel, and I thank my customers, present and past, for enabling us to raise our five children and enjoy a rewarding life in this splendid community.

            George and Hazel gave just as much to this community as they received.

            Jones grew up in Berne, a community smaller than Rochester in Decatur County eight miles from the Ohio line.  His first experience with Scouting came when he and several other 12-year-olds formed a troop with a school teacher as scoutmaster.   The next year the teacher changed jobs and the troop died because nobody else would take the scoutmaster’s job.

            Jones vowed then that when he became an adult no community in which he lived would experience a similar situation.  That pledge eventually was of great benefit to Rochester.

            After getting a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1934, Jones became a salesman for four furniture manufacturing firms.   Rochester was part of his territory.  In 1940,

“seeing that the war was coming,” he activated the Army ROTC commission he had received in college.       

          Jones was mustered out of service in April 1946.   The job he had before going on active duty wasn’t there when he returned, so he went looking.  After a year with Eversharp in Chicago, during which Rochester once again was in his territory, he decided to go into business fiir hunself,.

          He wanted something in wholesaling, and he noted that Rochester did not have a home-based wholesale of tobacco, candy and such sundries.

          In July 1947, shortly after marrying Hazel, who had been an Army nurse during World War 11, Jones established George S. Jones & Co., with its warehouse in a building at 624 West Sixth St., where Markley Well Drilling now is located.

          For 15 years, Jones delivered his wares over a wide area in Fulton and adjoining counties.   Groceries, gas stations and drug stores were his main customers.  (“There were a lot more of them then than now.”)

          At its height, his firm was grossing half a million dollars a year and employing six people fulltime and several others parttime.   But in September 1962, fire wiped out his warehuse and he didn’t have enough insurance to recoup,   He went out of business.

          He went out of business, but didn’t retire.  He became a salesman in this new area for Lake City Wholesale Co., Warsaw - a firm similar to his own - and was with that company for the next 22 years until retiring at the age of 73 years last December 31.

          About that straw hat, common to salesmen from way back.  Jones says: 1.  Nobody mistakes a salesman in a straw hat for an employee in the store the salesman is visiting; 2.  The hat’s top provides a handy hard surface for writing orders.

In his 38 years here, Jones and his wife not only have raised their five children, they have seen their four sons become Eagle Scouts.   Jones put in enough effort as a Scouting volunteer to receive in 1975 the Sagamore Council’s Silver Beaver award, the top Council honor for an adult.

          Jones started his Rochester Scouting work in 1956 when his oldest son became eight years old and joined the Cub Scouts.  He’s still at it, helping with the monthly paper collections and the setting out of American flags on holidays, and helping that oldest son who now is a Scoutmaster in Logansport.

          His interest in young people led him to accept the call of then-judge Wendell Tombaugh of Fulton Circuit Court to become part-time county probation officer in 1967.   For 11 years, he worked with youths who had run afoul of the law, serving in effect as counselor and social worker as well as an arm of the court.

In 1976, Jones changed church affiliations “as a private matter of principle,”   He joined the Mormon Church, a denomination he had become familiar with as sponsor of more Scout troops and Cub packs than any other institution in the United States.

          “As a Mormon, you know what you believe in,” he says.  “It’s in black and white.”

          Besodes Mormon tenants, Jones believes in the men and women who served, and still serve their country in the military.   He is the service officer and chaplain for the Rochester American Legion post and a life member of the VFW.  His wife qualifies for both organizations, too, and belongs to both.

          George Jones has retired, officially.   But, considering his church work, scouting work and veterans organizations work, it’s difficult to imagine him retiring in fact.

A&W DRIVE-IN

Pur Jasper Dulin

The Sentinel, February   4,  1986

          Jasper and Sara Dulin of Rochester have purchased the A&W drive-in at East Ninth Street and Lake Shore Drive from Robert and Judy Timbers, also of Rochester.

          Dulin said he will change franchises and will open the business on Wednesday, Feb. 26, as Rochester B&K drive-in.  He said the reason for the change is that there are many more B&K drive-ins than A&W in Northern Indiana.

          He emphasized that the switch in franchises, and the addition of Monday openings, will be the only changes at the drive-in.

          Dulin and Timbers said that Timbers will continue with the business as co-manager and that no changes will be made in the menu, preparation of food, or the car hop service. - - - -

          Dulin formerly was a partner in the Brown and Dulin construction firm of Rochester and Fulton.   He and Jim Brown of Fulton dissolved the partnership upon Dulin’s purchase of the A&W.

          The Timberses had two stints of ownership of the drive-in - from 1962-69 and from 1977 until selling to Dulin.   They will continue to have their residence in Rochester, Timbers said.

KNAPP BLDG

Now Named Century Tower

The Sentinel, February   4,  1986

          Rochester’s only four-floor business building has a new name and a new occupant.

          James and Marilee Zimmerman of Rochester announced today that they have named the former Knapp Building on the northwest corner of Nnth and Main streets the Century Tower.

          They said there are two reasons for the designation.   The address is 100 W. Ninth St., and the building is a century old, and more.

          Built as a three-story structure in 1875 for the Rochester Odd Fellows, the building became unique in 1965 after its purchase by E.R. “Torchy” Knapp.

          By dividing the high-ceilinged third floor into two floors, Knapp transformed the structure into a four-story building without making it taller.   The Zimmermans purchased the building last July.

          The newest occupant is the headquarters of Video Connections of Kokomo, owned by the Zimmermans’ daughter, Kimberly Ann Zimmerman.  The firm’s computer word-processing and payroll center now occupies two offices in the building, under, management of Mrs. Dan (Elizabeth) Drotar of Rochester.

          Ordering and placement of videotapes and equipment for Video Connections’ two outlets in Kokomo and one in Burlington will be handled from the Century Tower offices.   No retail sales or rentals will be made from the Rochester office.

          Miss Zimmerman also announced that a fourth outlet of Video Connections will be opened on Feb. 21 - in Fulton.   She also said that Chris Grogg of Rochester has been named to the new position of manager of Video Connections 11, the second outlet in Kokomo.

COMMAND SECURITY CO

Doug Kelly, Locksmith

The Sentinel, March   4,  1986

          Doug Kelly of Rochester has started Command Security Co., a locksmith business, at his home on Meridian Road, a mile-and-a-half south of Division Road.

          “It’s very important that people have peace of mind in their own homes,” he said Monday.

          Initially, Kelly will offer lock repair, combination chnging and Key cutting along with responding to calls to help people unlock their cars or ouses.   Kelly said he specializes in unlocking foreign cars.

          Kelly hopes within the next nine months to sell all types of security systems, locks of all kinds and safes from his shop.   He also hopes to provide service to the surrounding counties of Kosciusko, Marshall, Pulaski and Miami.

          “My main motivation is to help people,” he said.

          Kelly comes from a family with a background in security services.   His grandfather was a Kokomo chief of police and his great-grandfather was a Kokomo marshal, he said.

          Kelly is on emergency call 24 hours a day.   Command Security Co., is open from 6 a.m., to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Its telephone number is 223-3482.

WALKERS SHOES

Closing Business Sale

The Sentinel, March   20,  1986

          Walter’s Shoes at 726 Main St., began a going-out-of-business sale today that will see the store empty by the end of May, according to manager Jeff Walker.

          Walker said, “economic conditions” forced him and his father, Bob Walker, to decide to close the business.  Jeff’s father owns both the Rochester store and the Weick Shoe Store in Columbia City.

          Jeff Walker said this morning, “We’re making ends meet but we’re not making any money.   People here want a full store, but they don’t want to support it.   They’re going to the major markets out of town.”

          He said the store will close before the current lease ends May 30.

          Mrs. Wade Jarrette of Rochester, owner of the building, said this mornng that her plans for the store quarters “are a bit unsettled right now.”   She said she hopes to find another occupant.

          Jeff Walker said that his personal plans also are unsettled, but that he might return to the Weick store where he worked before the Walkers opened the Rochester store in June 1984.

          He said the Columbia City store is doing well, even though it is only 20 minutes from the large Glenbrook shopping center in Fort Wayne.  “It’s funny,” he said, “but people in Fort Wayne come to our store for the personalized service and Columbia City people go to Glenbrook.”

          There has been a shoe store at 726 Main St., for more than 70 years.  Previous shoe-store owners have included William Brinkman (Rochester’s second Mayor), Hubert Taylor (for 37 years), Robert Truitt and John Karn.

HALTERMANS EVOLVES

From Grocery Days

The Sentinel,  April   18,  1986

          The long time business site at Indiana Avenue and East Fourth Street that has housed a grocery store for at least 70 years is being converted into apartment and storage spaces, according to owner Otis Halterman.

          When completed the building will house a two-bedroom apartment and five storage spaces for rent.   The outside of the building will have rough-sawed wooid kindling and an awning.

          For almost 30 years, from October 1947 through Jan. 1, 1977, Halterman’s Grocery was a landmark at the intersection.

          Former Rochester Mayor Harrison “Het” Halterman purchased the building in 1947 from Robert Waltz who operated Waltz Grocery Store with Merrill and Ort Waltz.  Harrison’s wife Eileen is the daughter

of Ort Waltz, and her brother is Robert Waltz.

          Harrison was Mayor of Rocester from 1963 until Dec. 31, 1971.           Otis Halterman hoined the business in November 1947 as a partner with his brother Harrison and they operated the store until Jan. 1, 1977.

          Harrison sold his half-interest in the business to Otis when the former became Fulton County auditor.

          Owners of a grocery store at the site before the Waltzes were Roy Adamson, Perry Jones, Swihart & Johnson and Sam Powell and Son.

          On Jan. 7, 1978, Otis sold Halterman’s Grocery to Wayne Arnett.   On March 8, 1979, Arnett sold the business to Roger and Pam Cooksey.

          After the Cookseyss operated a grocery store at the site for time, Richard and Viola Smith operated Vi’s Bait Shop there until the current remodeling began.

          Vi’s Bait Shop is now located at 324 Ohio Avenue, in the alley to the east of the former grocery store site.

DAVIDSON READY

To take it Easy

The Sentinel,  June   27,  1986

          Leiters Ford Postmaster Paul Davidson started at the top.

          He will retire July 3, after being at the top for 25 years.

          Davidson, 68, was one of the last postmasters to be appointed by a U.S. President.   John F. Kenned gave him the nod in 1961.

          Prior to his post office appointment, Davidson operated Overmyer Grocery Store with his aunt, beginning in 1945.   It was at the corner of Main and River streets, a site most recently occupied by Bill’s Grocery.

          “People”; That is what has meant the most to the Leiters Ford native.

          “I never wanted to be a postmaster anywhere else.   They-re just good peple and they’ve been good to me.  They-re friendly, considerate and forgiving,” he said.

          He was born, went to school and has lived most of his life in Leiters Ford.

          “You don’t hang around any place that long without kind of standing back and reflecting a little bit.   It just has been real nice.

          “These hve been pleasant years for me,” Davidson said of the good friends he has made over the years and what he labels as a “nice” association with people.

          Davidson doesn’t sort mail for rural carriers.   There aren’t any assigned to the Leiters Ford post office.   He doesn’t lug a mailbag around the Tippecanoe River community every morning, stuffing

mailboxes.

          People in Leiters Ford come to the post office to get their mail.

          Even some people in the country around Leiters Ford come to the post office to get their mail, “becaise of the security,” he said.

          His retirement plans call for trip to the western U.S. with his wife Rosemary, when the weather turns cold.   He hopes to end up in Florida before returning home next spring.

          The Davidsons have two daughters, Laura Davidson lives in Cambridge, Mass., and Paula Hoesel of Rt. 2, Akron.

E.T. FIRE EXTG SVC

Ewen & Thomas

The Sentinel,   August   1,  1986

          Lindsy Ewen and Steve Thomas have started E.T. Fire Extinguisher Sales & Service.

          They took over the fire extinguisher business formerly operated by the six fulltime Rochester firemen.

          E.T. operates out of Thomas’s garage at 700 Jay Street.

          Thomas can be reached by calling 223-6869 and Ewen at 223-3376.

STINSON-WYLIE REUN

Centennial Park, Plymouth

The Sentinel,   August   5,  1986

          The Centennial Park, Plymouth, was the site of the 30th Stinson-Wylie family reunion July 27.

          Harold L. Reese began the carry-in picnic with grace.  A 43rd wedding anniversary cake, baked by granddaughter, Kelli Roger, and decorated by daughter, Jenean Roger, was presented to Amos and Wanita Foor.

          Announcements made were:   Walter and Mary Bowen were married 56 years July 26.   He has been a resident of Miller’s Merry Manor, Nursing Home, Plymouth, since May 27; the death of Bernice Stinson Gould, Altadena, Calif., March 16, the uoungest and last living of the five daughters of Web and Hattie Gould Stinson.   All had been born on the Stinson homestead one mile west of the Prill School on the old Ft. Wayne Rd., now the Hurndon Rudd residence.

          Mary Bowen related that she had received a letter from an old classmate whose family had taken a boat trip this summer.   The captain of the boat, Richard C. Wylie, told them that his ancestors were pioneers of Fulton County.   He is the third cousin of Mary, Helen and Mildred Wylie.   He spent a year researching the Wylie genealogy and published the book, “The Wylie Eighth Generation”.   He found that Robert and Rebecca Wiley came to this community in 1834.  Robert is listed as one of 30 white men living in the vicinity at the time.  Their

son, George Washington Wiley, is recorded as the first white child born in Fulton County, July 2, 1835, the year Fulton County was legalized.  George changed the spelling of Wiley to Wylie.

          The group wrote a letter to Frank and Helen Stephenson, Sawyer, Mich.   Both are ill.

          Reese was elected president for 1987, with Helen Reese as secretary-treasurer.   The ‘87 reunion will be at the same site July 26.

VANLUE REUN

Chloris Barkman, Home

The Sentinel,   August   7,  1986

          Mr. & Mrs. Chloris Barkman entertained 54 members of the Vanlue family Saturday in their home.

          Those present were:   Mr. & Mrs. Ron Vanlue and family, Ft. Wayne; Mr. & Mrs. Bill Vanlue, Winter Springs, Fla.;   Mr. & Mrs. Hubert Vanlue and David, and Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Vanlue Jr. and family, all of Indianapolis;   Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Wallace and Mrs. Mildred Vanlue, all of Greenwood;   Mr. & Mrs. John Boggess and sons, Lafayette;   Mr. & Mrs. David Vanlue and family, Mrs. Eloyce Vanlue, and Mrs. Diana Elliott and daughter, all of Syracuse;   Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Miller, and Mr. & Mrs. Dick Minglin and sons, all of Warsaw; Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Fuller and family, Springfield, Ohio;   Mr. & Mrs. Robert Metzger and family, Mr. & Mrs. Jim Barkman and sons, and Mr. & Mrs. C.R. Barkman, all of Rochester.

          Guests were Allene Biddinger, Maleta Borden, Margaret Masters, and Harold and Marjorie Maddux all of Rochester.

FEECE-HARTMAN REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   August   18,  1986

          On Sept. 7 the Ezra Feece family will host a reunion at the Rochester City Park for members of the Hartman and Feece families.

          The first of these reunions was held in 1914 in the home of the Rev. William Feece in Starke County.   William R. Feece Sr., 7500 Union Rd., Plymouth, grandson of the Rev. Feece, hosted the 60th reunion at his home in Donaldson on Aug. 13, 1972.

          A picnic lunch will begin at 2 p.m.   A history of the Feece and Hartman families is available.   The Feece history dates back to 1331.   Also, history collected by Roland Fiess, Germany, is available.

VIDEO PLUS

Opened at 230 E. Eithth

The Sentinel,   September   16,  1986

          Wade Frauhiger of Warsaw has opened Video Plus, 230 E. Eighth St., the city’s seventh location to rent video tape movies.

          “We will have the largest selection in Fulton County,” Frauhiger said.

          The business in the same building with Quick Clean Laundromat which Freuhiger also owns, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

          Video Plus rents VHS tapes and VCR players and sells televisions and Sylvania, Quasar and Sharp VCR players.   It services all kinds of VCRs, radios and televisions and sells all types of VCR tape related equipment.

          Memberships are offered.

          Fraufriger also owns Video Plus in Wabash.

REESE REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   September   24,  1986

          The 29th annual Reese reunion was held Sunday at the Rochester City Park with 39 present.

          Those attending from Akron were Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Reese, Mr. & Mrs. Orville Reese, James, Gary and Angie, and Mr. & Mrs. Randy Reese, Tammy and David.

          Mr. & Mrs. Forest Geiselman attended from Culver; Mrs. Francis Carlson, Valparaiso; Mr. & Mrs. Merlin Fish, Virginia, Evan Fish, Warsaw, and Diane Fish, Kansas City, Mo.

          Attending from Rochester were Armilda Eshelman; Mr. & Mrs. Leroy Eshelman, John Eshelman, Brett and Karn; Mr. & Mrs. Harold Reese, Mr. & Mrs. Dale Fish; Mr. & Mrs. Bill Reese, Ben, Paul and Mark; Mr. & Mrs. Gene Reese, and Mr. & Mrs. Lary Reese and Allen.

COAST TO COAST

Larry Eschbach, owner

The Sentinel,   October   15,  1986

          Larry and Jean Eschbach are the new owners of the Coast to Cost Store, 709 Main St.

          They purchased the store from Mr. & Mrs. Harry Miller of Plymouth, who will continue to own and operate the Coast to Coast store in that city.

          “The people of the community have been great with their open arms and that’s the reason we decided to buy the store here in Rochester,” Larry Eschbach said.

          The Eschbachs had traveled 30,000 miles looking for a Coast to Coast store to buy before choosing Rochester “because of its people,”Larry Eschbach said.

          “It’s a family owned business,” he said, noting that the couple’s children will work in the store.   Kathy, 9, Aimee, 13, and Chris, 14, “grew up in the Frankfort Coast to Coast Store” that the Eschbachs operated for nine years before coming here, the father said. - - - -

The Eschbachs are originally from Washington.  They are now living in Rochester. - - - -

COLE BROS CIRCUS

History by F.E. Sanders

The Sentinel,   December   16,  1986

          A definitive history of Cole Brothers Circus, the first ever to be published, is off the presses and niow on sale at Video Plus Store, 230 E. 8th St.

          The 286-page book, which contains over 150 illustrations, is the culmination of eight years’ research and writing by Francis E. Sanders of Rochester.   A longtime circus buff, he first became entranced by the world of sawdust and spangles as a child when the Cole Circus had its winter quarters in this city.

          His work tells in detail the story of the Indiana Circus Corporation and the circuses it created:   Cole Brothers (1934-40) and Robins Brothers (1938 only).

          The last major railroad circus to be put on the road in America, the Coile show was founded in Rochester by Jess Adkins and Zack Terrell.   It kept its base here until the 1940 fire that destroyed winter quarters on the northeast edge of the city and also killed many valuable wild animals.

          Sanders’ book relates the astonishing success of the Cole show in chronological fashion, injecting interesting Rochester historical facts with that story.

          The book already has met wide acceptance among circus aficionados.  Through a pre-publication offer, copies have been sent to readers in every continental U.S. State as well as to Canada, said Sanders today.   The book is priced at $21 including tax, and is available during regular Video Plus Store hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.  A limited supply of books has been set aside for Rochester and Fulton County.

          Included in the book are interviews by the author with persons who had close association with the Cole Brothers Circus during its palmiest days.  Among these are reminiscences by the widow of co-founder Zack Terrell,  Mrs. Estrella Terrell Sims of Owensboro, Ky., and by Mrs. Hugh (Martha) Barnhart of Rochester.

          Mrs. Sims met her first husband while a performer with the Cole show as a member of the Nelson family acrobatic act.   Mrs. Barnhart’s late husband led the local civic effort to locate the circus here.   She traveled with the show for three months in 1937 as a guest of the Terrels, riding in the daily street parades with the Wild West performers.

          Also interviewed in the book are Rochester residents Johnnie Zoppe, Willie and Clara Lamberti, Malee Johnson and Darlene

Lasssiter, all former performers; and Jim Wilkes, Albert Bailey and Tony DeMarco, onetime Cole emplohees.

          The book is dedicated to Karl Hartisch of Peru, circus historian and author, who assisted Sanders in his research but who died before the book’s dedication could be made known to him.

TUXEDO JUNCTION

Rochester’s Big Band

The Sentinel,   December   23,  1986

          Rochester’s big band, Tuxedo Junction, has cut an album and copies are for sale at $7.   Call Ed Bisch, 223-8690, or Mike Deniston, 223-3307, for delivery.

          The album, called ‘A Million Dreams Ago,’ is dedicated to Jim Cummins, who originated the band in 1975.   It was recorded Sept. 21 in Lafayette.

          As the name of the 11-piece band indicates, the music is from the big band era.  Among the selections are “Mood Indigo,” “Basic Basie,” “Sugar Blues” and “Cherry Pink.”

          Bisch thinks the album would be a great choice for last-minute Christmas-gift shoppers.

FULTON CO JAILER

Mike Deniston, Leaves

The Sentinel,   April   10  1987

          Mike Deniston will leave his post at Fulton County Jail commander to join the state Board of Tax Commissioners on April 17.  He will continue to reside in Rochester with his wife Barb, he said.

          Deniston said he will work in either the appraisal or the budget divisions of the state agency.   He will learn more about his duties later, he said.

          Deniston joined the County police department Jan. 1, 1984 as jailer and radio dispatcher.   When county police occupied the present jail building in 1985, Deniston became fulltime jail commander in charge of admission and dismissal of prisoners.

          His replacement has not been named.

STREAMLINER ROCH.

Second Calhoun

The Sentinel,   April   10  1987

          What in effect will be a second Streamliner Restaurant will be built in Rochester this year, Larry Calhoun announced today.

          He and his wife Gloria have owned and operated the Streamliner at the south edge of the city for 23 years.

          Calhoun said, “we have outgrown our capacity to serve our customers the way we want to serve them, so we’re going to build

another restaurant with the same concept as the Liner.

          There will be no change in the operation of the present Streamliner, he added.

          Tne new restaurant will be on the southeast corner of Ninth and Madison streets, diagonally across the street from the courthouse.

          The former gas station building on the corner and the two houses directly south on Madison Street, will be removed.   Calhoun hopes to start construction on the new building in late May or early June, and looks for opening of the restaurant in the fall.

          The Rochester Fire Department will burn the two houses.   The first burning of the southern most house, is set to start at 7 a.m. Sunday.   The former service station building will be torn down.

          The Calhouns own the entire quarter block.   The large white house to the east of the former gas station, which is an apartment building, will remain as is.

          Calhoun said the new restaurant will be “a family type restaurant with no alcoholic beverages.   It will not be franchise operation.   In effect, it will be a second Streamliner.

          The new restaurant will be different from the present one in that it will not have drive-in, outside service.   However, it will have a pick-up window for carry-outs.

THE ROCH SENTINEL

Christine Graham, Joins

The Sentinel,   April   10  1987

          Christine Graham has joined The Rochester Sentinel’s newsroom to cover police and local government.

          She was police and court reporter for the Rensselaer Republican daily newspaper for nine months before joining The Sentinal Thursday.

          Graham, 23, is the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Graham.   She resides at 1100 Franklin Ave.

          She was a swim star at RHS, from which she graduated in 1981, and for three summers coached the Rochester Royals community swim team.

          She was a 1985 journalism graduate of Ball State University and was a design intern for the National Aquatic Design publication before leaving Rochester.

SWEANY TIRE

Ron Sweany Opens Soon

The Sentinel,   May   15  1987

          Ron Sweany of Rochester plans to do what he knows best - fix tires - and be his own boss, too.

          He announced that he will open Sweany Tire in the nex few weeks in the former Motor Masters building on Indiana 14 West -

across the street south from Rochester Middle School.

          Sweany was assistant manager of the Goodyear Farm Tire Center for eight years until the store closed.   He has 13 years’ experience in the tire business.

          The business will sell and service farm, truck and auto tires, and provide on-site farm tire repair and road service.   Sweany plans to hire one fulltime employee.

          His wife Judy and their daughter will handle office duties.

          The building is not ready and stocked for business yet.   But Saweany already is offering on-site farm tire repair and road service.

He can be contacted at 223-6790.

RHS ATHLETICS

Bill Schroer

The Sentinel,   June   2,  1987

By BRIAN WANTUCH

Sports Editor, The Sentinel

          There’s a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time - and even more for standing the test of time.

          Rochester High School athletic director Bill Schroer should know.   In 1961, Schroer was Dean of Boys at RHS when principal Loren Betz asked him to take over administration of the school’s sports programs.   Schroer, who competed in softball, basketball and track at RHS and had a goal of someday coaching the school’s varsity basketball team, accepted the offer.

          And the rest is almost history.

          In a few more days he will be taking some time for himself.   Starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday he will duck cheery one-liners at a dinner in his honor at the RHS cafeteria.

          Schroer never did become varsity basketball coach, but in the past 26 years he has done more to influence athletics at RHS than any coach could ever hope to do.

          His contract runs through June, but when the baseball and golf seasons run their course, so will Schroer’s duties of supervising 14 RHS sports.

          “There will be a lot of personal contact with the coaches and the kids that I’ll miss, but I haven’t really had any second thoughts,” says Schroer.   “I’m looking forward to having the freedom to choose what I want to do during the afternoons and evenings.

          Not all of Schroer’s time will be his own, however.   He has asked to be reassigned to a social studies, physical education or health classroom, or to be a counselor.   He plans to be available if his successor needs guidance on the intricacies of the ever-expanding athletic program.“I don’t think a lot of people realize what goes into this job,” he says.
          “I started with about five or six sports and grew with it as others were added.”   Schroer handled the athletic director duties and served in other administrative and teaching capacities until three years ago when the Rochester Middle School sports programs were added to his responsibilities and he became a full-time A.D.

          Next year will be even more hectic.   With the planned resurrection of the boys’ and girls’ swim teams, RHS will compete in 16 sports.   Including junior varsity and freshman teams, 24 squads will represent the high school.

          For an athletic director, that means 24 different schedules and hundreds of game and officials’ contracts to prepare, not to mention the conference and state athletic association paperwork, press relations and the supervision of events almost every day and evening.

          As principal, Betz handled the A.D. Duties before he passed them on to Schroer.   “There was only one way to go after me, and that was up,” quips Betz.

          “He fit right in to what I was looking for,” says Betz.   “He was involved in area athletics as an athlete and coach.   For the most part, he knew the people he was dealing with.   He was able to work with people beautifully because he’s a people person.

          “From the start, I was never disappointed.”

          In 26 years, Schroer has seen many changes in high school athletics.   Perhaps the biggest was the addition of girls’ sports to the Indiana High School Athletics Association line-up.   That was during the 1975-76 school year.

          “When I started n 1961 I think we had four girls participating in sports and they were cheerleaders,” says Schroer.

          “Then instantly, we had the addition of volleyball, basketball and track which meant more time and responsibility.

          “Overall, the additions have changed the picture of high school athletics,” Schroer says.  “Financing has become a major, major issue.”

          Indiana is one of a handfull of states that doesn’t allow tax money to be used to support high school athletics.   “The time will come when there will have to be a rethinking of the financial situation,” says Schroer

          Counting just gate receipts and season ticket sales, Rochester falls $7,000 to $10,000 short of its annual budget of $22,000 each year.   The school must count on money from concessions, program ads and the volunteer Rochester Athletic Boosters to make up the deficit.

          “There’s a tendency to say that people aren’t supporting the programs,” says Schroer.  I think we have a solid core of fans, but the breakdown is different.

          “If a person attends a wrestling match or a volleyball match during the week, he or she might not be as likely to attend a basketball

or football game, which are our big money-making events.

          “There’s so much going on every day that choices have to be made.”

          Financing has been perhaps Schroer’s biggest headache over the years.   Partly because of consolidation, most of the schoiols in the Northern Lakes Conference - a league he helped found in 1963 - have as much as doubled in enrollment.   Rochester’s numbers have stayed constant and over the years the school’s teams have found it difficult to be consistently competitive in the money-making sports.   Successful teams naturally attract more than the loyal fans, but Rochester’s attendance revenues and its athletic budget has remained constant for almost a decade.

          It was with those programs in mind that Schroer spearheaded a drive to switch to a more balanced conference over the past two years.  It wasn’t easy.   A proposal to join the Mid-Indiana Converence in the late summer of 1985 was killed by the schoiol board and a motion to join the Three Rivers Conference in March of 1986 barely passed - by a 4-2 vote.

          Rochester leaves the NLC at the end of the spring sports season and Schroer feels it is only appropriate that he takes a leave of his A.D. duties at the same time.   “I thought it was the perfect breaking point,” he says.   “It’ll be a fresh start for the new athletic director and the school.”

          Schroer is understandably proud of his role in creating the NLC. Rochester was a member of the Central Indiana Conference, a collection of schools ranging from Plymouth and Warsaw on the north to Alexandria on the south.  Because of travel time, teams didn’t play every other leage team in every sport.

          “There were a lot of schools in our area that were 35 or 40 miles away,” says Schroer.   “The idea was that if we could get them all together, we could compete against everyone in every sport.”

          Rochester, Warsaw and Plymouth quit the OFC and joined forces with Bremen, Nappanee and Manchester.   Three Rochester students - Glen Cunningham, Rick Foust and Sonny Brouyette - won a contest among the six schools to name the league.   On Feb. 5, 1963. The NLC was established with Schroer as its secretary-treasurer, a position he held until this past school year.

          “I’m biased, but I really think the NLC has to be one of the finest conferences in the state,” says Schroer.   “I don’t know of any conferences that are better organized.”

          Almost all the present NLC teams (Manchester has dropped out, Nappanee became NorthWood, and Wawasee, Concord and Goshen have joined) have won state championships.  Plymouth and Warsaw won boys’ basketball titles in 1982 and 1984, respectively.   Concord won three straight gymnastics crowns from 1964-66.  Wawasee won

a girls’ track title in 1975.   Warsaw won girls’ basketball championships in 1976 and 1978.   Plymouth and Goshen won football titles in 1977 and 1978, respectively, and Rochester won the state golf title in 1980.

          Schroer puts the golf title at the top of his list of memorable moments.   “The biggest thrill is when the kids and the community are proud of an accomplishment and nothing is as big as a state title.”

          He also fondly remembers the boys’ basketball sectional championship in 1971.   Rochester’s first in 22 years - “This town went nuts,” he says - the undefeated team of 1974 and the early success of the girls’ basketball program with All-Staters Shelly Newell and Laura Newcomb.

          As an athlete and member of the community, Schroer produced his share of memorable moments.   In basketball, he set an RHS free-throw record of 80.2 percent during the 1944-45 season.  After serving in the Army for 18 months as a member of the occupation forces in Nuremberg, Germany, following World War 11, he became the national free throw champion at Valparaiso University.   He made 59 of 68 for 87 percent during his sophomore season of 1944-45 and earned the nickname “Sure Shot.” Schroer was honored for his highschool hoop accomplishments in 1970 when he was named to the Indiana Silver Anniversary basketball team.

          Many of his contemporaries remember Schroer’s esploits on the softball diamond.   “We first played together on a team my family sponsored,” says Culver Community High School athletic director John Nelson, who grew up with Schroer in Rochester.   “Bill was a very good pitcher, he didn’t lose too many games and I played third base.   I bet we played with the same guys for nine or 10 years.”

          “He could be dominating when he was pitching in softball,” says Phil McCarter, a former coach and current teacher at RHS.   “The ball didn’t come in hat fast, but it seemed to rise and the batters just had a terrible time hitting it.”

          In community affairs, Schroer served 16 years on the Rochester Park and Recreation Board and 15 years on the City Council.

          Schroer was chairman of the Park Board when it took action to build the Municipal (now Mill-Creek) Golf Course amd City Pool.  Concern over money that had to be raised locally and future expenses caused some to call the project “Schroer’s Folly.”

          “I’ve been involved in a lot of things as a public official and athletic director, and in 26 years I think there has been a minimum of problems.   In my own mind, I feel like I’ve done my best,” says Schroer.   He is quick to take a low key approach to issues, preferring to talk them over with those involved.   “I think that makes both sides feel better,” he says.

          There have been many more highlights than lowlights during
Schroer’s reign as RHS athletic director.   Among them Dave Foellinger’s state football scoring record of 218 points in 1969 and Jim Swank’s record-breaking 242 points in 1971, Bruce Grimm’s 730 points during he 1972 basketball season, Terry and Todd Smith’s back to back state golf mental attitude awards in 1980 and 1981, Todd Smith’s state golf medalist title in 1960 and Chris Smith’s state medalist title in 1965.   Many of the events were described by Schroer in a book he wrote entitled “Z Roots (A History of Rochester Sports},” which was published in 1982.

          Another of Schroer’s favorite memories involves Steve Norris, Rochester’s basketball All-Star in 1966 and now a teacher at Carmel High School.  “He was an All American type of kid, a good athlete and student,” says Schroer.  “Of course, he was our only boys’ basketball All-Star and he was a standout in track.   He only stood 5 feet 8 inches, but he high jumped 6 feet 7-1/4 inches on the old field when we had nothing but sawdust to land on.

          “We gave him the first lifetime pass (to RHS athletic evemts}.” Schroer adds.   “I heard from him after he graduated and he asked me to make up another pass because he misplaced his wallet.   He said it was one of the things he was most proud of.  That made me feel good.”

          An athletic director is judged not only on a school’s athletic reputation, but on the quality of the athletes on and off the field.   “The thing that makes me feel proud is the number of kids who were able to do well here,” says Schroer.

          “A lot of things have gone right for me,” he says, perhaps thinking of one day in 1961 when he unknowingly traded in a possible seat on a basketnall bench for a permanent desk and chair.  “A lot of times, I’ve been extremely fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”

SHIPS IN SCALE MAG

John Tombaugh

The Sentinel,   June   2,  1987

          John Tombaugh’s assembly plans for his scale model of a World War 11 submarine chaser get a good review in the July/August issue of Ships in Scale Magazine.

          The Rochester resident’s plans are expensive but the price is not unreasonable.   Becaise of the wealth of detail and the fact that research on such ships is difficult, the magazine says.

          The plans are available from John’s Hobbies, Rt 3. Box 300, Rochester.
ELKS LODGE

Delworth No. 1 in Indiana

The Sentinel,   June 4,  1987

          John J. Delworth Jr., of Rochester, a 40 year member of the Elks, will be installed as state president Sunday.   The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the French Lick Springs Hotel.

          Delworth was initiated into the Elks in Valparaiso in June 1947.  He was a member of the Gary Lodge when he lived in that city, and he became a charter member of the Rochester Lodge in 1959.

          He will be the first local lodge member to become state president.   He has been exalted ruler of the Rochester Lodge twice, is a past district deputy grand exalted ruler, and for five years has been a member of the Grand Lodge Committee on Judiciary of which he now is chairman.

          A native of Valparaiso, Delworth is a graduate of Valparaiso High School and Valparaiso University with a law degree.   After serving in the U.S. Navy, he established a law practice in Rochester in October 1957..

          He is a former attorney for the City of Rochester and a former judge of Fulton Circuit Court.   On July 1, 1977, he was appointed the first judge of the newly-created Fulton-Pulaski County Court.   He was elected to four-year terms in 1978 and 1882, and to a six year term last year.

          Delworth and his wife Nora have five children and two grandchildren.

SHENANIGAN’S

To Become Margaritta’s

The Sentinel,   June   17,  1987

          Longtime Rochester restauranteur Maggie Covington will open Margaritta’s American-Mexican Family Restaurant and Lounge July 1.

          It will be in the E.J. Shenanigan’s building on Indiana 25 South, just south of the Rochester Plaza.

          Covington is excited about the venture.   “I’m going to need a vacation when I’m done opening,” she said.   “Everyone I’ve talked to is so enthused it just keeps the adrenaline running,” she said.

          Getting the food and hiring the 30 or so employees is all that is left to do before opening.  - - - -

KIDS PORT KLOTHES

Opening at Akron

The Sentinel,   June   25,  1987

          Kids Port Klothes will open in Akron the first week of July with Violet Gagnon of Akron as manager.   The store will feature name brand merchandise at discount prices.

          The store will be on Indiana 14 west of Indiana 19 where Bud Gray’s Men’s Wear Store formerly was located.

HARMON REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   August   8,  1987

          The 65th Harmon Family Reunion was held July 26 at the Rochester City Park with 35 present.

          Following the noon basket dinner, pictures of earlier reunions were shared.

          Marjorie Maglesic and Marcia Nethercutt were elected as officers for 1988 reunion which will again be held the fourth Sunday in July.

GORDON REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   August   8,  1987

          Also attending the Gordon family reunion August 2 at the Rochester City Park were Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Cranmer and Mr. & Mrs. Dale Cranmer, all of South Bend

FULTON MARKET

Leased, Jack Townsend

The Sentinel,   September 8,  1987

          Jack Townsend, owner for three years of Townsend’s IGA Foodliner in Rochester, has leased the Fulton Market from Bill Cooksey. Townsend will take over operation of the store next Monday on a lease with option to buy.   It has been leased for the last year by Jim Gundrum.   Cooksey also owns the Freezer Fresh Dairy Bar in Akron.Jack Townsend Jr., an employee at Wilt’s Food Center on Main Street for several years, will manage the Fulton store.   The meat cutter will be Bill O’Blenis of Rochester, who has cut meat for many years in Rochester. The store’s name will be changed to Townsend’s Foodliner.   It will not be an IGA store because it does not qualify in size for that designation, the elder Townsend said.   But he said it will have “the same price structure as our Rochester store.” - - - -

CARR REUN

Dick Clary Home

The Sentinel,   September  10,  1987

          A reunion of the Carr family was held Aug. 30 at the home of Dick and Pat Clary, Rochester.  Those attending from Rochester were Sam, Jann, Allyson and Tiffany Futrell; Bernice Hoffman, Art and Lela Hoffman; Larry, Pam, Lisa, Heather and Cara Carr, Clarence Carr, Homer and Marianne Carr; Oscar Carr; Mr. & Mrs. Mike Lett; Mr. & Mrs. Cleo Drudge; Mr. & Mrs. Pat Gamble; Mr. & Mrs. Westel Carr;

Chris and Doug Baxter, Joe and Susie Batts; Joanna Janna;   Clarabelle Rockwell, and Dick and Pat Clary.

          Those attending from out of town were Russell and Joan Carr, Terry, Lorena, Sara and Tera Knapp, Gerry. Cheryl, Brett, Scott and Chera Hizer, and Mr. & Mrs. Dennis VanLake, and family, all of Kewanna;   Phil, Caren, Todd and Chad Boldry, Macy; Nancy and Bill Hoffman, Plymouth; Jim, Beverly and Erick Clary, and Earl and Betty VanMaalen, all of Peru;   Dale and Marijnane Clark, and Mr. & Mrs. Jack Enyeart, all of Fort Wayne;   Marie Carr Cordell, and Dorothy Bowen, both of Indianapolis;   Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Carr, Akron;   Cathy Carr Davenport, South Bend;   Bob and Jean Brandt, Florida;   and James Hoffman, Zionsville.

          Another Carr Family Reunion will be held Aug.29, 1988 at noon at the Rochester City Park.   A committee comprised of Susie Barts. Clarabelle Rockwell and Bernice Hofman will plan the reunion.

LOWERY-BATTY REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   September  19,  1987

          The fifth annual Lowery-Batty reunion was held at the Rochester City Park Sept. 6 with Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Lowery acting as hosts.

          Forty-seven people attended.   They were:

          Mr. & Mrs. Don Hettinger and Donna, Ladysmith, Wis.;   Mr. & Mrs. Steve Sheetz, Brian and Teresa, Galveston;   Connie, Andy and Roger Baker and Mr. & Mrs. Richard Lee Holloway, Alex, Della and Boyd, all of Rochester;   Evelyn, Jodie, Julie and Jennifer Poe, Barbara, Mikell, Shane and Monica Flachman, and Mike Myers, all of Peru;   Mr. & Mrs. Walter Sparks, Monticello;   Mr. & Mrs. Keith Smith, Kokomo;   Mr. & Mrs. Mike Smith, Tricia, Melissa, Kerrie, Becki and Ryan, Clarks Hill;   Verla Rexstrew. New Carlisle;   Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Ernsperger, Granger;   David Rexstrew and daughter, Misty, and Janice Arndt, all of North Liberty;   Opal Coby, Rochester; and Janet Miller, Culver.

REMEMBERING

Willie Lamberti

The Sentinel,   September 22,  1987

To Editor, The Sentinel:

    I’ll always remember:

          His support of our schools and community.

          His love for our young people.

          His tennis ability and great love for that sport.

          His ever-present smile and the sparkle in his eyes.

          His energy, enthusiasm and spunk.
          His subtle sense of humor.

          His enjoyment and appreciation of life.

          His positive attitude.

          His friendship

Willie Lamberti

                             - - - Dave Hales

REESE REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   September   30,  1987

          The 30th annual Reese Reunion was Sept. 13, at Rochester City Park.

          Merlyn Fish led in prayer before the meal.   President Dale Fish conducted the business meeting.   It was voted to retain the officers for another year.   Dale read a magazine article written by Jon Reese about antique tractors he and his dad owned.   Bill Reese reminded the 53 present how the reunion was started.   The youngest present was 10-day old jami Reese, daughter of Jim and Mila Reese, Indianapolis.  Armelda Eshelman was the most experienced.

          Guests attended from Argos, Akron, Warsaw, Culver, Macy, Peru, Indianapolis, Noblesville and Rochester.

MANITOU JOINS ROCH

Population Now 7,050

The Sentinel,   December   30,  1987

By CHRISTINE M. GRAHAM

Staff Writer, The Sentinel

          The population of Rochester increased by about 2,000 to an estimated 7,050 at12:01 a.m., today when the annexation of Lake Manitou took effect.

          Fulton County’s prime recreational asset, and many of the most expensive homes, are now part of Rochester.   A 60-day remonstrance period, during which property owners could have taken the move to court, expired at midnight without a filing in Fulton Circuit Court.   The Rochester City Council approved the annexation Oct. 26.

          State law requires a municipality to be able to provide five of seven services in order to annex.   Mayor Don Cook said, Rochester can do that.   Fire and police protection, street maintenance, sewer and water service will be available.   The other two services are parks and street lights, he said.   Rochester has city parks and street lights are being considered for the lake. - - - -

FULTON INDUSTRIES

Promotes Jeff Bitterling

The Sentinel, January   14,  1988

          Jeff Bitterling, a native of the Rochester area, has been promoted to supervisor at Fulton Industries Inc., on U.S. 31 at the west edge of Rochsster.

          A 1982 graduate of Rochester High School, he held jobs in manufacturing and quality control with Fulton Industries.

MOORE PLANT

New Manager

The Sentinel, February   24,  1988

          Kevin A. Schindler is the new manager of the Moore plant in Rochester.

          He replaces Lewis A. Howell, who now is manager of the Moore plant in Charleston, Ill.

          Schindler joined Moore in 1973 as an industrial engineer at the Visalia, Calif., plant.   In 1976 he transferred to Moore’s offices in Oakland as production staff assistant; he became manufacturing staff assistant in 1978.

          In 1982, Schindler became manager of ink jet imaging systems at Thurmont, Md.  When other imaging technologies were added at the start of 1987, he became manager of systems imaging.

          The Rochester plant is one of 31 Moore facilities in the U.S.   It produces business forms and related products

COOK BROS FURN STORE

Dillman Liquidates

The Sentinel,   April   14,  1988

          For now, the former Cook Brothers Furniture Store at Seventh and Main streets is just that, a former store, says Dwight Dillman.

          Its stock is being liquidated by the firm that Dillman owns - Dillman Furniture Systems.

          But Dillman told The Sentinel he would like to make the store into a Dillman Furniture Factory Outlet like those in Peru, Kokomo and South Bend.

          Dillman signed a one-year lease for the Cook building in March.  He also bought the leftover inventory from Cook Brothers Furniture.  Whether or not Dillman stays in Rochester depends upon what happens to the building, which is now for sale.- - - - -

          Kokomo resident Jack Gentry manages the store here.   There are 10 employees.

          Dillman started his business in 1976.   The corporation employs about 80 people.    Its main office is in Peru, as is the main warehouse and trucking company.   Dillman trucks take furniture directly from

the factory to the warehouse, he said.

          Cook Brothers Furniture of Plymouth, owned by brothers including former Rochester Mayor Don Cook, closed the Rochester store shortly after Don Cook lost his re-election bid last November.

FARMERS STATE BANK

Frank N. Manwaring, Director

The Sentinel,   May   11,  1988

          Frank N. Manwaring has been named a director of Farmers State Bank of Mentone.

          A graduate of Mentone High School, he attended Purdue University, then became vice-president of Manwaring Leghorn Farms Inc., at Mentone.   He also became general manager and vice-president of Midwest Poultry Services Inc.

          Manwaring is a director of the Indiana State Poultry Association and vice-chairman and a director of the Midwest United Egg Producers Inc.

          He resides at Rt. 1, Mentone, with his wife Mary.   They are the

parents of three children - Jennifer, Fort Wayne; Julie, a senior at Indiana University, and Sam, a senior at Tippecanoe Valley High School.

NIPSCO

Manuk Eryman, Retired

The Sentinel,   May   11,  1988

          Manuk Eryman of Rochester has retired from Northern Indiana Public Service Co., after 40 years of service.

          A gas serviceman in the Plymouth District, he joined NIPSCO in 1948 as a laborer at Gary.

          He is a member of the Moose Lodge.   He and his wife, Mary, have two sons and a daughter.

KINGS JESTERS

Attend WBBM Reunion

The Sentinel,   May   17,  1988

          Fritz Bastow and George Howard of the former “The Kings Jesters” attended the 65th reunion of the Chicago radio station WBBM, May 5 at the Nikko International Hotel, Chicago.

          The “Jesters” first appeared on WBBM in 1930.   Fritz and George both live at Lake Manitou.

ROCH TEL CO

Former Employees Meet

The Sentinel,   May   27,  1988

          Former Rochester Telephone Co., employees met May 19 at Karen’s Restaurant for supper.

          Those attending were Berneice Thompson, Adelphia, Md.; Martha West, Mesa, Ariz.; Janet Riffle, Martha Cloud, Gladys Hall, Ruth Bailey, Donna O’Dell, Margaret Boardman, Helen Reese, Virginia Weidner, Carol Bridge, and Tony and Willetta Miller.

          Helen Reese then invited the group to her home and showed them some of her antiques.

WHITMER GYM

Bids For Purchase

The Sentinel,   July   1,  1988

          Bids for the pirchace of the old Whitmer gym property will be accepted by the Board of Public Works and Safety beginning July 25.

          Details of the process were completed during the board meeting Thursday.

          The board will accept bids for up to 30 days.   The city wants the former gym building removed within 90 days of contract awarding.   Building removal will be required of the property buyer.

          “We will not transfer the title until the building is gone,” Thompson said.

          Payment of at least half the purchase price will be reqired upon acceptance of a bid, with the balance being paid after the building’s removal. - - - -

WAGONER REUN

Talma Community Bldg

The Sentinel,   July   15  1988

          The descendants and families of Fred and Amanda Wagoner met for their annual reunion Sunday at the Talma Community Building.

          Mrs. Larry Zellers said the grace before the noon meal.   The afternoon was spent visiting.

          Attending were Gordon and Lila Wood, Austinburg, Ohio; Janice and Rod Zellers, LaFontaine; Patricia Egbert, Fort Wayne:   Brian, Daron, Christa and Jared Sult, all of Argos;   Dan, Donna, Deann and Dustin Zellers, Merrel and Mildred Wagoner, Gary, Connie, John and Michael Houser, Russel and Mabel Wagoner, Fred and Willa Wagoner,   Robert and Rose Wagoner, and Richard and Betty Hassenplug, all of Rochester.

SAFFORD REUN

Jack Doke Home

The Sentinel,   July   16  1988

          Jack and Colleen Doke, Elkhart, were hosts for the Charles and Louise Safford family reunion Sunday with 42 people attending.

          They are:   Bobby and Erika Doke, Michelle Kline, Mr. & Mrs. Tom Doke, Mr. & Mrs. Max Cripe and Jody and Mark, and Mr. & Mrs. Lowell Safford and Alisha and Angelica, all of Elkhart; Mrs. Jack King, Naples, Fla; Mr. & Mrs. Harold Bailey, San Diego, Calif.;   Mr. & Mrs. Don Safford Jr., and Lauri, all of Naperville, Ill.; David Safford, Michelle Parlow and Bobby Safford, all of Bolingbrook, Ill.,; James Safford, Crete, Ill.;   Dr. & Mrs. Ralph Bailey and Chris and Cara, all of Munster;   Mrs. Tom Scott and Katie and Chrissy, and Mr. & Mrs. Albert Safford, all of Indianapolis;   Charles Safford and Dr. & Mrs. Richard Bailey and Karen, all of Noblesville;   Mr. & Mrs. Walter Safford, Akron, and Mr. & Mrs. Earl Bailey, Rochester.

          Members of the family were fishing, swimming and visiting.   The Cripe family furnished barbecued burgers’ other dishes were carried in.

COLLINS REUN

Howard Holloway Home

The Sentinel,   July   20  1988

          The Collins family reunion was July 3 at the home of Howard and Edna Holloway, Rochester, with 65 people attending.

          They were:   Howard and Edna Holloway, Steve, Beverly, Derrick and Corey Thomas, Lori Fry, Richard & Bertie Smith, Carl and Ruth Collins, Buryl and Eva Reese, Barb and Jason Grube, Mooche Lewis, Mel and Gladise Collins, Ken, Karen and Kaleigh Collins and Gary and Chris Bryant, all of Rochester;   Barry Parkhurst, Beth Jackson and Dave, Teri, Ben and Todd Iler, all of Columbus; Charlie, Sharon and Christopher Alderfer and Tim Robertson, all of Etna Green;   Don, Evelyn, Sissie and Donna Walker, all of Indianapolis;   V.J. Sheila, Mindy and Mandy Ratlifff. Wendy Holcomb and Jason Dugan, all of Akron: and Lisa, Christopher, Michael and Tony Ortiz, all of Goshen.

          Also, Ronnie, Norena, Rick and Dawn Collins, all of Gas City;   Shirley and Brad Parkhurst, Plymouth;   Merle and Beverly Collins, Coal City, Ill.   Olin, Frances, Lawanda and Jamie Miller, all of Champaign, Ill.;   Paul and Ruby Miller, Martinsville, Ill.;   Leota Parks, Jolliet, Ill.;   Norris and Thelma Warren, Blue Springs, Mo., and Linda Kamp, Naples, Fla.

          The youngest person attending was Todd Iler, 8 months.   The oldest person attending was Thelma Warren, 74.

GAERTE. JOE

Race Car Driver

The Sentinel,   August   3  1988

Ny BRIAN WANTCH

S[prts Edotpr. The Sentinel

          ROSSBURG, Ohio - Joe Gaerte has two things most race car drivers don’t.

          One, the legendary name, was an accident of birth.   The 22-year-old sprint car star is the son of nationally-known engine builder Earl Gaerte.   He grew up in his father’s Rochester shop learning the racing business from the ground up.

          The second is a knack for winning.   It was in no way an accident.  It was more of a coming of age.   The young man is very fast.

          In the midst of his sixth season as a sprint car driver on the All Star Circuit of Champions, Gaerte (pronounced Gertie) is enjoying his second straight campaign of major success.   He won four All Star feature races and the circuit championship last year by a whopping 678 points.

          Although winless this year, he is very much a leader n the race for another points championship.   After racing Friday and Saturday, July 22-23, at Eldora Speedway here (about an hour and one-half east of Marion, Ind.,) Gaerte was second in the standings, a little over 100 points behind Rocky Hodges of Des Moines, Iowa.   There were 15 stops remaining on the 47-event All Star circuit.   Racers stand to earn up to 110 points in each event.

          But changes are in the air.   This will probably be Gaerte’s last year on the All Star tour, which is in the eastern half of the United States.   Next year he is stepping up to the bigger-budget World of Outlaws circuit.   It will take him to tracks from New York to California.

          Joe’s plans also include marriage.   He and Terri Cohagan will wed Dec. 30.   About a month later, he’ll be on the road for as much as two weeks at a time for a good nine months of the year.

          “You have to really want to do this,” says Gaerte.   “When I first started, it was nothing like I thought it would be.  It may look easy to climb into a car and go around a track, but there’s a lot of hard work involved.   On the scale that we do it, it’s a full-time-job.”

          “It’s what he’s wanted to do all his life,” says Cohagan, a 1985 Rochester High School graduate.   “When we went into this relationship, we both knew this was the way it was going to be.”

          Cohagan didn’t know what a sprint car was when she began dating Gaerte three years ago, but now she thrives on the sport.   “Joe did a good job of preparing me for the traveling he has to do, the noise and the long days,” she says.   I liked it right away because I knew

what to expect.”

          Her work, as a vocational trainer of mentally handicapped adults at the Marshall-Starke Development, keeps her away from the track more than she would like.   And she knows things will be even worse next year when Gaerte travels cross-country.

          “I’ve tried to get myself adjusted to staying home alone a lot,” Cohagan says.   “It’s another part of the package we both have to live with.”

          They also live with danger.   Gaerte was invlved in the front end of a five-car accident Friday at Eldora and, with his fiance watching, just missed being involved in a major four-car pileup in Saturday’s feature race.   Three racers were taken to the hospital after the wrecks

          “It could have been me as easily as them,” says Gaerte.   It’ a risk that everyone out here has to take.

          “I really worry more about him driving home or going to a race,” says Cohagan.   “I trust the professionals he races with more than the strange driver on the road, and I’ve found out that when it’s a part of life, you don’t worry about it as much.”

          Still, 24 cars going more (than) 100 miles per hour between the four turns on a quarter or half-mile of dirt, is a lot of torque.   It happens.

          Gaerte and Jimmy Sills of Sacramento, Calif., touched wheels during Friday’s All-Star feature.   Sills tried to pass between Gaerte and the wall heading into a turn.   He got sideways and started a chain-reaction pileup involving pointsleader Hodges, Kevin Huntley of Bloomington, Ind., and Ron Milton of Springfield, Ill.   Sills and Hodges were taken to the hospital.   Both were released the same night.   Joe Gaerte kept driving.   He finished fifth.

          The next night, with a first-place purse of $50,000 at stake, four drivers were involved in a first-lap incident in the 24-car King’s Royal feature.  Doug Wolfgang, the winner of Friday’s race, and Brad Doty came together in the middle of the track and both cars started doing barrel-rolls.

          One of the cars flew past Gaerte’s No. 7TW.  “I don’t know who it was, but I swear one of them went right over the top of me,” Gaerte said later.

          Doty was trapped in his car for 10 minutes.   They later used a helicopter to take him to a Dayton hospital with a serious spine injury.  Gaerte finished 10th.   He had started 17th.

          “It’s not a matter of being brave,” said the yet-uninjured Gaerte. 

“Everyone knows that something could happen out there, but you can’t think abot it and drive well at the same time.”

          Driving well is something Gaerte is known for on the circuit.

          “He’s extremely smoth on the track,” says Rodney Duncan, who trailed Gaerte by 299 points in the All Star points race heading

into Friday’s program.   “He’s aggressive, but he’s under control at the same time.   Joe’s fun to race with   You don’t have to worry about him doing something stupid.   I see him maybe 60 or 80 times year, and I’ve never had a problem with him.”

          Gaerte has a workmanlike philosophy about his time on the track.  Being on top at the end of the season is every bit as important as winning on any given night.

          “When you run for a points championship, you have to be consistent,” he says.   “I go into almost every race trying to finish in  the top five.  I’m out to win, but I also want to save my car.   A lot of people might not agree with that, but I’ve won my share of races, and I’ve been able to finish high in the standings at the same time.”

Since 1983 Gaerte has won eight All Star events, good for a tie for 13th place on the all-time victory list.   He’s finished among the top 10 leaders in points in each of the last four seasons.

          He figures his early start as a racer has a lot to do with his success.   He didn’t have a driver’s license when he began in 1982 at the age of 16, but he had a sense of place.

          “I started out knowing I had to be patient and work my way up,” he says.   “I still feel I’m fighting inexperience.   That’s something you can’t buy.   Most of the drivers I go up against are in their 30s, and they’ve seen about everything.   We run at a lot of tracks, and the more times you see them the more of an advantag you have.”

          At least one All Star driver is younger than Gaerte, Jeff Gordon of Pittsboro, Ind., will be 17 on Aug. 4.   He likes the idea of startng early.

          “He’s someone I really look up to,” adds Gaerte.   “He’s given me a lot of help since I’ve been on the circuit.   I think he can see where I’m coming from.

          Gaeret won the points title last year as the driver and owner of his own car.   Now he’s driving for car owner Tom Wimmer, a trucking and transport entreprener in Fairmount, Ind.  Gaerte and Wimmer plan to remain a team for next year’s move to the Outlaws.

          Last season, Gaerte spent most of the week working with mechanic Mark Shambarger, preparing his championship, 30 car for upcoming races.   Now with the team’s two cars and Shambarger based at Wimmer headquarters in Fairmount, Gaerte has a lot of time on his hsnds.   He spends most of it at his father’s shop, working on the team’s five engines.   Four are cast-iron, each worth $19,200.  The other engine has an aluminm block and is worth $22,000.   The powerplants last up to 12 races before being overhauled.

          The engines are rotated between Fairmount and Rochester, with one or two in Rochester at any given time.   “If that doesn’t keep you busy.   I usually help out at the shop or work on my house,” says Gaerte.   He recently bought a home south of Bellwood Acres.

          If it’s convenient, Gaerte will meet the Fairmount crew and ride with them to a race.   Otherwise, he’ll drive his own car to the track.

Estimated travel last year: 30,000 miles.

          Joe Gaerte rarely works on the car at the track on race night.   “I help out if they need it, but there’s usually more than enough people to get things done,” he says.   At Rossburg, the crew consisted of Shambargher, a RHS graduate who has been with Gaerte since he started racing in 1982, Mike Simpson of Fairmount and Phil Lucas of Westfield, Ind.

          For the most part, he endures a hurry-up-and-wait routine at the oval.

          The crew often works more than eight hours at the track, while Joe is lucky to spend an hour racing.   Sprint cars can cover a half mile in less than 20 seconds.   A featire race rarely lasts more than 40 laps.  A racer who advances out of his qualifying heat and into the feature race faces a long wait.

          “That’s what we want to do, we want to save the equipment as much as possible, but the waiting can get to you,” says Gaerte.   He spends his free time visiting other drivers or watching other qualifying races.

          “I usually don’t hang around the car,” he says.   “If I do I get too involved in the little things that they’re doing to the car.   I can concentrate on driving.   That’s the big thing, to read the track and concentrate on how I am going to drive.

          The ability to concentrate can result in a big payday, but to run in a race costs $600 to $700 in parts, labor and travel.   Such expense makes top finishing high important.  Gaerte figures that finishing in the top five consistently means a profit, in the top 10 means breaking even, or close to it.

          He came out ahead last year.   Aided by sponsorship deals and a

$10,000 award for the points title, the team made between $20,000 and $30,000.

          “I remember in school, people would say that racing would be a good hobby,” says Gaerte.   “I said that someday it would be the way I would make my living.   They didn’t understand and probably still don’t that it could be that way.”

          Joe Gaerte may be only 22 years old, but he has been going fast for a long time.   His mother, Alice, recalls he was born a week early.

          He started going to the races at age 2.   At 5 he could identify drivers on the track by their helmets.

          “Earl used to own a dragster and we have pictures of Joe when he was five crawling underneath that car and taking out the oil pan,” says Mrs. Gaerte.   “When Earl opened his shop in 1969, Joe was always there, doing different jobs and learning about things.”

          “I’m fortunate because I was able to learn about the engine

business and I have the shop to fall bacvk on if my racing doesn’y work out,” says Gaerte.   His Mom doesn’t think that will happen.

          “Joe has always wanted to race,” she says.  That’s something that I think will never change.”

MORRIS REUN

Akron Park

The Sentinel,   August   18  1988

          Sixty-five members of the Morris family met at the Akron park on Aug. 14 for their annual reunion.

          John and Becky Hill served as president and secretary.   There was a business session after the carry-in meal.  Ron Schultz will serve as president and Mike Morris, vice-president for 1989 with their wives as secretaries.  Births, deaths and marriages were recorded.   Robert Morris, the youngest of the 12 Monroe and Amanda Morris children and the last survivor, died on June 22.   His wife, Ruby, was the oldest member attending.   Adam Ruprecht, 9 months, was the youngest.

          Members who had not attended for several years were:   Mrs. Jack D. Morris, daughter Michelle, and her three children from California; a daughter Robin Easley from Kentucky, and the Frank Morris family who have returned to Indiana from the east.

          Others in attendance were from Niles and Camden, Mich.; South Bend, Lapaz, Silver Lake, Auburn, Roann, Claypool, Andrews, Macy, Argos, Fort Wayne and Akron.

CARLILE REUN

Chas. Boardman Home

The Sentinel,   August   24  1988

          The Carlile family reunion was Sunday at the home of Charles Boardman, Rochester.

          Herb and Setta Carlile’s 55th wedding anniversary was observed and many family stories were reviewed.

          In attendance from Rochester were:    Mr. & Mrs. Russell Walker, Mr. & Mrs. Herb Carlile, and Charles and Eileen Boardman.   Those from Hebron were:   Mr. & Mrs. Doug Walker and daughter, and Mr. & Mrs.  David Walker and daughter.

          Coming from Boswell were:   Mrs. Gladys Durr, Mr. & Mrs. Jim Carlile, and Mr. & Mrs. Harlan Witt.   Attending from Elkhart were:   Mr. & Mrs. Gene Carlile and Agnes Fowler.

          Others attending were:   Mr. & Mrs. Wendell Meyers, Midland, Mich.; Jennifer Meyers, Carmel; Mrs. Bill Hall and son, Findlay, Ohio; Mr. & Mrs. Roy Carlile, Warsaw; Mr. & Mrs. Lowell Carlile, Otterbein; Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Carlile and daughter, Williamsport; Janet Powell, Granger; Diane Boardman, Indianapolis, and Mr. & Mrs. Robert

Carlile, Freeport, Ill.

HOLLOWAY REUN

Attending

The Sentinel,   August   25  1988

          Attending the Holloway family reunion on July 31 from Rochester were:   Bob, Vera, Karen, and Deanna Holloway; Kim Johnson and Gloria Chapel; Howard and Edna Holloway;   Bernie, Grace, Dave, and Greg Holloway;   Rose Mary and Brenda McGlothin;   Diana McGriff, Conne, Shayn and Trey Mitchell;   Mike, Carol, Brian, and Heather Bright, George Holloway;   Edith Overmyer; Bernice Cummins; Marvin and Mary Ellen Holloway; Tom, Tamie. Jess and Brtt Holloway; Chris, Tracey and Todd Holloway;   Dee and Marge Holloway,’ Wamda Chalk, Bill snf Pat Parmon and Brandi Joe Morrow, Jo Ellen snf Krystal, John and Mike.

          The following came from Akron:   Andy and Michael Holloway, Sheila, Mindy and Mandy Ratliff, and Rod and Mario Hudson.

          Those from Logansport were:   Leota Holloway, Trudy and Cliff Jones; Pam Maxwell, Bob and Chick Zimmerman, Melissa, Lawrence and Breanna Horace; Jennifer, Brad, and Nathan, Dexter.

          Others present were Mark, Kim, Jemica, Amenda and Mark Glass, Kokomo;   Dick and Ben Holloway, Niles, Mich.;   Edgar and Tina McKee, Leiters Ford;   Lisa, Justin and Matthew Schnurpe, Indianapolis.

          The youngest attending was Mark Glass, Kokomo, 4 months;   the oldest, Edith Overmyer.   Edith was given a gift certificate.

HOLLIE’S HALLMARK SHP.

Moving to Roch. Plaza

The Sentinel,   September   15,  1988

          Hollie’s Hallmark Shop on Main Street added an eye-catcher in its window Thursday - a sign announcing that the store will move to the Rochester Plaza Oct. 1.

          Owners Norman and Dorothy Snyder, Warsaw, have owned the business at 730 Main St., for eight years.   They want to expand. - - - -

          The new location, near the Hook’s Drug store in the plaza, offers the Snyders close to 4,000 square feet.   Mrs. Snyder said she and her husband plan to have the new store carpeted in the near future.   They also have plans for a grand re-opening.

          Hollie’s previously Elaine’s Hallmark Shop, is one of the four Hallmark stores the Snyders own.

          “We like Rochester and it’s been good to us,” said Mrs. Snyder.  “That’s why we need to expand, to offer more to Rochester.”

LOWERY-BATTY REUN

Attending

The Sentinel,   September   22,  1988

          Out of state guests attending the Lowery-Batty family reunion on Sept. 4 were:   Mr. & Mrs. Don Hettinger and Donna Hettinger, Ladysmith, Wis.;   Mr. & Mrs. David Montpetit, Osceola, Wis.;   Mr. Everett Hettinger, Mantorville, Minn.;   and Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Rans, Jacko, and Jessica Rans, Brighton, Mich.

SUPERIOR SAMPLE CO.

Opening Plant in Roch.

The Sentinel,   October   12,  1988

          Superior Sample Co., of Ligonier is opening a plant in Rochester and plans to hire about 30 people by Oct. 31, when production is scheduled to begin.

          Hiring began Tuesday.

          The firm produces sample cards, folders and books for the upholstery, clothing and wallcovering industries.   It also produces residential wallcovering books and binders.   Another plant is located in Carrollton, Ga.

          The local plant will set up in the former New Holland building on Indiana 25 North, across from the Fulton County Airport.

          “The current location is being leased temporarily,” said Barbara Howkinson, executive director of the Rochester and Lake Manitou Chamber of Commerce.   “They are very, very hopeful they will be able to build a place at a new site.”

          Marge Staton, vice-president of Superior Sample, and Carl Kavanaugh, Rochester plant manager, visited the area Tuesday.- - - -

ROCH 3D STORE

Bankruptancy

The Sentinel,   October   12,  1988

          Employees of the Rochester 3D store were awaiting word from the company today about the parent firm’s bankruptcy filing.

          “We didn’t know anything about it until we read the paper this mornin,” said assistant manager Darrin Bolt.   “We hope to hear something by this afternoon.”

          The store, a charter occupant of the Rochester Plaza, opened June 4, 1980.   It has about 25 employees.

          Maxway Corp., a retail chain-store firm that bought Danners Inc., in 1987, filed for protection under federal bankrupty laws in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in North Carolina late last week.

          Maxway President C. Wilson Sawyer said Tuesday he was not ready to comment on the fate of the 18 3D stores in Indiana and Michigan. - - - - -

JOE GAERTE WINS

2nd Straighit Sprint Car Title

The Sentinel,   October   17,  1988

By BRIAN WANTUCH

Sports Editor, The Sentinel

          Joe Gaerte is only 22 years old, but he aged a bit Saturday night before he wrapped up his second straight All Star Circuit of Champions sprint car points title.

          The Rochester racer went into the All Star Finale race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, tied in the standings with Rocky Hodges of Des Moines, Iowa.   Both drivers had 4,147 points.

          Gaerte fell back to as far as ninth place in the feature race, but started gaining on the leaders as the track got slick.   “We were running on hard tires and it took a while to get the right conditions,” said Gaerte, who started moving up 10 laps into the race.   Gaerte eventually caught leader Kenny Jacobs, built a solid lead and won going away.

          With the victory, Gaerte finished with 4,247 points.   Hodges, who never challenged and placed seventh in the race, finished with 4,233 points.

          Late in the season, Hodges looked to be the points champion, but Gaerte won four of the final five All Star races to defend the title he won last year by a margin of 678 points.   “Last year was easy.  This season was a nerve-wracking experience,” Gaerte said.

          Gaerte and car owner Tom Wimmer earned $10,000 for the championship and awards worth approximately $6,000.

          On the season, Gaerte won six All Star races and 11 events overall.   Over 300 All Star racers competed at 25 tracks in nine states.  Almost 60 races were held.

          Gaerte’s season isn’t over, however.   He leaves Tuesday for Phoenix, Ariz., to race for a month in United Sprint Association events.  Eleven races in Arizona, Texas and Tennessee are slated.

          And next season, Gaerte is planning to take the next step up in the sprint car scene and join the World of Outlaw circuit.

WHITMER GYM

Is Coming Down

The Sentinel,   November   3,  1988

          Thanks to the Industrial Managers group, the Whitmer Gymnasium is coming down.

          McMahan-O-Connor Construction Co., crews, with help from city and county workers, could begin demolition as early as Monday.

          The Rochester Board of Public Works and Safety today accepted a bid for the property from the group that plans to create a tree-filled green space on the land.

          The Industrial Managers, a local group, agreed to underwrite acquisition of the property and to provide manpower and equipment to tear down the building and clean up the area.

          The deed for the land will be sold for $1 to the Friends of the Fulton County Public Library, which will hold it until sfficient funds are donated to retire a near-$20,000 debt that remains on the property.  Maor Phil Thompson said the deed will state that the area become and remain a “strolling and visual library.”

          Ultimately, the title to the property will be turned over to the library board of trustees.   The land adjoins the library.

          Jim Heyde, a member of the industrial managers group who is spearheading the project, said the master plan for the strolling visual library is being devised, but it will include lots of trees and grass.

          Mayor Thompson said he had referred Greg Miller’s bid for the Fulton County Family YMCA’s racquetball court to the Industrial Managers.

          The Fulton County Family Y was organized June 14, 1974, headed by the Rochester Rotary Club.   About a year later on Oct. 13, the Y moved into the old Whitmer Gym, Sixth Street and Fulton Avenue.   The deed of ownership transferred to the Family Y from the city of Rochester on March 8, 1976, including the land east of the gym.

          The building has been empty since Feb. 10, 1986, when the Y ceased operations.

          Two years later, on Feb. 9, Mayor Thompson decided the building should be demolished.

          Since then, there have been proposals to convert the building into a roller rink and a center for teens, but no official bid had been made until today.

FULTON COUNTY LIBRARY

Director Lu Lasher, Retires

The Sentinel,   November   8,  1988

          Lu Lasher, director of the Fulton County Library since Aug. 1, 1985, will retire from the position effective Dec. 31 to devote full time to the Perrysburg Baptist Church.

          Mrs. Lasher recently was ordained a Baptist minister.

          Her retirement was accepted by the Library board during its annual reorganizational meeting Monday.   Only the 10th head librarian in the Library’s 84-year history, Mrs. Lasher succeeded the late Claire Zehner 16 months after the present building was opened.

          She came here after being assistant director of the Greenwood Public Library for eight years.   She had been msic librarian at Butler University from 1968-72 and also had worked at the State Librsry in Indianapolis.

          Mrs. Lasher holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from

Denver University and a degree from Eastern Baptist Seminary at Philadelphia.   At the time she came here, she also had done graduate study at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary.

          Her successor here must have a college degree in library science.   The forthcoming opening has been listed with the statewide library newsletter called “Focus.” -- - - -

WILT’S FOOD CENTERS

Expected to be Sold

The Sentinel,   December   1,  1988

          The sale of 10 Wilt’s Food Cemter stores,. including the two in Rochester, should be completed by the end of the year, according to Brad Myers, president, chairman and major stockholder.

          Buyer:   Super Valu Stores Inc., of Edem Prairie.., Minn, a grocery wholesaler that can be expected to look for a buyer of the Wilt’s stores, Myers said.

          Negotiations for the sale were announced in September, with the 400-some employees of the Elkhart-based firm receiving notices about the possible transaction.

          In Rochester the Ninth Street store employs about 47 people and the Main Street store, formerly Snyder’s Market, opened in December 1965.  Ten years later, Wilts bought the former Marsh Supermarket on Main .

          No word has been received at either local store about what to expect after the sale is completed.

          “I’m still working for Wilt’s right now,” said Main Street store manager Dick Wappenstein.   Ninth Street store manager Steve Fellers was unavailable this morning, but assistant manager Gary Easterday said nobody at that store knows what to expect for the future.  - - - -

CANTERBURY MANOR

Sold to Life Care

The Sentinel,   December   2,  1988

          Canterbury Manor Nursing Home, whose Rochester roots go back 31 years, has been sold to Life Care Centers of America by Mrs. Carl W. (Helen) Miller and her son, William.

          Life Care operates 85 other nrsing homes in 25 states.   It is based in Cleveland, Tenn.

          The only major change in personnel since the sale on Nov. 1 is the placement of Betty Montgomery as administrator.   The department heads remain the same - Margaret Clark, director of nursing; phyllis Selig, activities director; Robin Morrison, social services director; Nancye Herrald,, dietary supervisor’ Pat Hayden, laundry supervisor; Tammy Eskeridge, housekeeping upervisor; Joe Morrow, maintenance supervisor, and Pam Reed, nursing coordinator. - - - -

Canterbury Manor is a 157-bed intermediate care nursing center on County Road 50 North just west of City Park.   It was opened in 1969 with 52 beds.   Wings were added on the south side in 1972 and the north side in 1984, creating the present area of 41,223 square feet.

          The business was called Miller Nursing Home when the late Carl Miller and wife Helen opened it at 719 Madison St., in 1957.   They changed the name and added their son to the firm, when the present building was occupied.

          The family continued to operate the Madison Street facility, which had 41 beds, until the first addition to Canterbury Manor which increased that building’s capacity to 117.   The Madison Street facility then was closed.  - - - -

INVESTMENT FIRM

Expands to Rochester

The Sentinel,   December   2,  1988

          Edward D. Jones & Co., one of the fastest growing financial services firms in the industry, may be new to a number of towns across the country, but its tradition of excellence in serving the needs of conservative investors dates back over a century.   Greg Beckman, recently named to serve as the Investment Representative for the firm’s new office in Rochester, is determined to continue that tradition.

          John Bachmann, managing partner, (said) “We’re excited to bring our services to the citizens of Rochester, and confident that Greg Beckman will build his business with a genuine concern for his clients’ interests._- - - -

          Beckman is a native of Huntington, Indiana.   He graduated from Manchester College with a B.A. in Business Administration.   He and his wife, Sheila, and their son, Brian are enjoying their introduction to the community.- - - - -

WILT’S ROCH STORES

Become Lynn’s Supermarkets

The Sentinel,   December   30,  1988

          Rochester’s two Wilt’s Food Centers became Lynn’s Supermarkets today following their purchase by SAC Groceries of Fort Wayne.

          SAC is owned by Dennis Schmidt and Chuck Christensen of Fort Wayne, both former executives with Super Valu Stores Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn. - - - -

BOUNSALL SHOES

Store opening in March

The Sentinel,   January   4,  1989

          Dick Bounsall, who came to Rochester in January 1987 as manager of Danners 3D Store, and wife Marge will open a downtown shoe store here in March.

          Bounsall Shoes and Accessories will be at 723 Main St., formerly occupied by Heishman’s Bakery.   The couple plans to open the store before Easter, which falls on March 26.

          It will be the city’s first store specializing in shoes since Lahman’s, next-door south, closed in the summer of 1987 and became part of the Farmers and Merchants Bank’s expanded quarters.

          Bounsall (pronounced Bon-sul) said lines of men’s, women’s and children’s shoes will be carried, along with sports shoes, handbags, scarves, and a small line of jewelry.

          Although this is the Bounsalls’ first venture into self-employment, he has 27 years’ experience in department store-type retail merchandising with Danners.

          He has managed both the discount-type store such as Rochester had and the variety store.   The latter, similar to a “dime store,” usually was in the downtown business section of a community.

          Bounsall is from Indianapolis.   His wife, a registered nurse who works two days a week at the Argos Medical Center, is from Mishawaka.  - - - -

          Danners’ parent firm filed for Chapter 11 protection and went out of business late last year.   The Rochester store, one of the ast to remain open, closed in mid-December as Bounsall was closing out his second year as manager.

          They continue to reside at 1805 Oakwood Drive.   They are members of Trinity United Methodist Church, he is a member of the Rochester Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce, and she is an associate member of Delta Theta Tau philanthropic society.

          The Bounsals have two grown sons, Phil, Indianapolis, and Jeff, Terre Haute.

POST OFFICE BLDG

New May Be Far Off

The Sentinel,   January   4,  1989

          The house that stood at 535 E. Ninth St., is gone, but its replacement apparently is some months, even years, away.

          A new Rochester post office will be built at the site across the street from J’s Steaks and Subs.   But nobody knows when, because the “priority list” for post office work in the area that includes Rochester is being redrawn.- - - -

          The Rochester site was purchased - for $211,000 - because the

money for construction was not available. - - - -

          The Rochester site consists of the lot formerly occupied by the Country Classics house, the vacant lot to the east and the vacant half-lot to the west.   The size is about 1-1/2 blocks wide and extends to varying depths. - - - -

DEAN FOODS

Promotes Thomas Ravencroft

The Sentinel,   January   5,  1989

          Rochester native Thomas Ravencroft became senior vice-president of Dean Foods Co., when this year began.

          The son of Vivian and the late Edward Ravencroft of Rochester, he joined Dean’s in 1954, shortly after graduation from Rochester High School.

          He served in various capacities, including manager of the Rochester plant, until January 1970 when he became vice-president-corporate planning.   He has been a company director since 1979.

          In his new position, he will be responsible for several divisions of the dairy and diversified foods company, including Amboy Specialty Foods, DFC Transportation, Elgin Blenders, Food Products, and Ryan Milk.

          The corporate planning and development function will continue to report to Ravencroft.

          Ravencroft attended Manchester College and graduated from Purdue-University with a degree in dairy manufacturing.   He and his wife, the former Janet Gohn of Rochester, reside in Barrington, Ill., where he is on the Administrative board and finance committee of the Barrington United Methodist Church.

          The couple has two grown children, Catherine and Timothy.

YELLOW CAB CO

Dick Bair, Owner

The Sentinel,   January   6,  1989

          There’s a new business in town and it’s going places.

          Anywhere you want to go is where - the Yellow Cab Co., at 710 Main St., will take you.

          Dick Bair, who owns Yellow Cab in Logansport, wondered about expanding into Rochester.

          “Why not have a cab service in Rochester?  You got the Yellow Cab in Logansport.   Peru has one (taxi service),” he said.   “I think it will work.   It’s going to take three to four weeks to get started, but I think we”re going to do very well.”

          Yellow Cab will take its customers “anywhere - if you want to go to South Bend, that’s where we’ll go,” he said.

          Bair took his idea to Mayor Phil Thompson.   “I just called him

and said, ‘Hey, what do you think?’   He said he saw a definite need for a taxi service in Rochester.”

          Right now, Bair is the only driver for the 24-hour service, and he doesn’t look to hire another one for about a month.  “I can’t have more drivers until business picks up,” said Bair.

          The taxi cab office, next to Bailey’s Hardware, has several video and pinball mahines.  They-re for anyone to use from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., weekdays, and 10 a.m. to10 p.m. or later on weekends.   But “at 9 on a school night, kids go home,” Bair emphasized.- - - -

JAPANESE GIANT

Buys Into Future of Roch.

The Sentinel,   January   24,  1989

          It won’t be especially noticeable, but somethng very good is happening in Rochester.

          Bryce Burton - now somewhere near Australia on a cruise ship - has sold Burton Mechanical Contractors and its Airvac Division to an enormous Japanese conglomerate by the name of Ebara Corporation.   It is a thoughtful legacy that should be enduring and most beneficial to our community.   He could have sold Airvac and liquidated Burton Mechanical and come out of it with a pile of cold, hard cash big enough to fill a couple dozen of those vacuum stations he makes, but he didn’t.

          “Everybody (prospective buyers) wanted Airvac,” says Al Johnson, the new man in charge of the Third Street Burton hedquarters.  “Nobody wanted Burton,” Part of that is because of the nature of contracting businesses, which often do not outlive their founders.   Part of it is because Airvac, which makes vacuum sewage systems capable of drawing effluent uphill, has a whole potful of potential customers the world over.

          “He hung in there for someone who would buy it all and keep it alive,” says Johnson.   What he got was a commitment to keep Burton Mechanical alive, and in Rochester.   We should be grateful for that.  “Part of why Mr. Burton chose Ebara is because they made a commitment to keep the company intact,” Johnson said.

          Says Johnson:   “I obviously didn’t move to Rochester to bury a company.”   He figures Burton Mechanical will grow, and return to the size of its heyday when it had as many as 20 active jobs at a time.

          Airvac will grow, too.   Outlook:   Big deals.  Ebara brings a global sales network into play.   This is something that Airvac did not have the wherewithal to do.   Anywhere the land is rocky or swampy, Airvac systems can function quite nicely, thank you.   They already are working in England, France, Holland, Italy, Australia, and the U.S., including Lake Manitou.   Japan, for instance, is only 30 percent sewered.   Suffice it to say there is a big market for the expertise to

make you-know-what roll uphill.   And Rochester makes what it takes.

- - - - - Johnson, a 22 year veteran of the construction industry who has moved here from Carmel with his wife Sue and children Deana, Fred and Tom, is very high on his new employer.   “Why would a big monster of a company from Tokyo come to Rochester when they could have cloned our product?” he asks.   “They could have bought a couple of valves and gone to work making them themselves.   They didn’t.   I think that speaks to the integrity of the Japanese and of Ebara.

          Amen.   Welcome to Rochester, Ebara.   We’re simply tickled to have you here.   And to Bryce Burton, we say thanks for thinking of your people and their future - and the future of Rochester.

ALLSTATE INSURANCE

Dave Clark Joins Staff

The Sentinel,   February   2,  1989

          Dave Clark has joined the Allstate Insurance Company staff as an agent in the firm’s sales office at 528 Main St.

          Clark will sell a complete line of inurance, automobile and homeowners insuance.

          Clark earned his bachelor of science degree from Purdue University prior to joining Allstate.   He and his wife, Margeret, reside in Rochester with their children, David, Christina and Kevin.

HEISHMAN’S BAKERY

Pur Walter Scobie

The Sentinel,   April   12  1989

          The name is the same, but Heishman’s Bakery has new owners in Walter and Susan Scobie of Rochester.   Their purchase of the shop at 515 E. Ninth St., from Mark and Mary Anne Heishman became effective last week.

          Scobie, former manager of Fulton Industries, has taken over the bakery route that Mark Heishman handled.   Mrs. Scobie, a partner in Caywood and Associates real estate firm, is doing the bookwork.

          No changes are being made in personnel, altough the Scobies said they may expand services and hours after a while.

          Heishman now is with Dave Ginther Construction of Rochester while his wife continues as a fourth grade teacher at Riddle School.

          The Heishmans purchased the bakery from Ray and Sue Schrader in September 1983 when it was at 723 Main St.   They built the present building last year, occupying it in September.

HERITAGE JEWELERS

Neag Opens Shop

The Sentinel,   June   8  1989

          On Tuesday, Heritage Jewelers, 728 Main St., became the newest store in town.

          Owned by watchmaker Ron Neag, it is in the remodeled location once occupied by DeBruler Studio Inc.   Neag bought the building about a year ago.  - - - -

          Neag’s fiancee Debbie Gibbons and Kelly Myers also work at the Rochester store.

          Neag started in the jewelry business 18 years ago with repairing work for other jewelers, such as J.C. Penney.   Seven years ago he and former partner Jim Eikenberry opened the first Heritage Jewelers store in Wabash.   Neag later bought Eikenberry’s share in the business and since opened another shop in Warsaw, which he closed and moved to Rochester.

          A Rochester resident, Neag said he has had plans for several years to open his store here. - - - -

ENGINE SERVICE PARTS

Opened by Paul Jared

The Sentinel,   June   9,   1989

          Engine Service Parts, located on County 300 South, east of Old U.S. 31, is open for business,

          Owner Paul “Frenchy” Jared said he has worked on various motors since 1973 and has been self-employed since 1984.   Jared said he will buy and sell used parts and repair anything with a small engine such as a chainsaw, lawn mower or motor boat.   He also sells used motors and mowers he has rebuilt.- - - -

WAGONER REUN

Talma Community Bldg

The Sentinel,   July   12,   1989

          Descendants of Fred and Amanda Wagoner held their annual reunion Sunday at the Talma Community Building.   A picnic dinner was attended by 36 family members in the afternoon.

          Attending from out of town were Art and Peggy Visser, Niles, Mich.;   Lila Wood, Ashtabula, Ohio;   Donald and Adrea Irmiger, South Bend;   Amanda Bechtold, Rachelle and Keith Sorg, North Manhester;    and Patricia Egbert, Fort Wayne.

          From Rochester were Merrel and Mildred Wagoner;, Russell and Mabel Wagoner, Robert and Mary Kline, Bob and Rose Wagoner, Jim and Carolyn Wagoner and children, Jim, Jamie and Jeff, Connie and Gary Houser and sons, John and Michael, Dale Wagoner and daughters, Kimberly, Angela and Ashley, Richard and Betty
Hassenplug, Dan and Donna Zellers and children, Deann and Dustin.

          Next year’s reunion will be July 8, 1990 at the Fulton County Museum communiy room.

LIBRARIAN HIRED

David Ewick

The Sentinel,   July   25,   1989

          David Ewick, 30, Indianapolis, will become director of the Fulton County Library next month.

          He will replace the Rev. Lu Lasher, who left the position Dec. 31, to devote full time to the Perrysburg Baptist Chuch.   Mrs. Lasher was ordained earlier last year.

          Ewick is completing study at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis for a master’s degree in library science.

          He previously was children’s libarian at Shelbyville for two years.

          Unmarried, he is the son of Ray and Joann Ewick of Indianapolis:  his father is director of the Indiana State Library.

          Ewick graduated from Mount Zion, Ill., High School after the family moved to that small town when his father became librarian in nearby Decatur.

          He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University and a master’s degree in counseling from Indiana University.

          With two classes remaining for his library science degree, Ewick has temporary crtification for a librarian’s position.

          He said today that the date of his first day on the job here has not been decided, but that it will be either Aug. 21 or Aut. 22.

          He already has rented apartment at 800-1/2 Pontiac St., a block south of the Library.

JESTERS’ SUCCESS

No Dream

The Sentinel,   July   25,   1989

By NANCY NEFF

Staff Writer, The Sentinel

          While they jest that their claim to fame is being the oldest musical trio living, an exhibit of The King’s Jesters at the Fulton County Historical Museum proves differently.

          The exhibit includes clippings, records, sheet music and photos of the three Rochester men who made it big on radio and television and performed with jazz greats Paul “The Kng of Jazz” Whiteman and Benny Goodman.

          The Jesters - Fritz Bastow, John Ravencroft and George

Howard - visited the exhibit this month.

They started their musical career in 1925 as “Howard’s Melody Syncopators,” a four-man instrumental group.  Bastow played guitar and Banjo, Howard the drums and Ravencroft both saxophone and clarinet.   The fourth member of the band, Ayrton Howard, George’s brother, was the arranger.

          It was while they were traveling to and from engagements that they began to sing and harmonize.

          “While we were going to dances, we would sing in the back seat,” said Ravencroft.   “We practiced current tunes and copied Rhythm Boys records.”

          From time to time, the group would serenade at dances.   While they were performing at a dance in 1929, piano player Ray McDermott heard them and asked if they would be interested in auditioning for a radio spot at WLW, a station in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Then called the “Howard Trio,” they auditioned and won the job.

          The Jesters were with the Cincinnati station for a year.   In 1930, they got a taste of big show business when they joined Whiteman’s band.  The trio replaced the Rhythm Boys, who had broken up and left the band.   One of the Rhythm Boys was Bing Crosby.

          With Whiteman, the local trio was renamed again, this time, “The King’s Jesters,” since they performed comedy as well as vocals for “The King of Jazz.”   When Whiteman went to Chicago, he took the Jesters with him and the boys polished their comedy on a WBBM radio show called the “Nutty Club.”

          Ravencroft said the program aired from midnight to 3 a.m., with the Jesters performing last.   Music for the show was provided by Whiteman’s band.

          Two years later, the Jesters were free-lancing on radio shows and changed names several times, including “The Gentlemen from Indiana.”   Finally the group bought the rights to the name “The King’s Jesters” from Whiteman.

          In 1942, the Jesters signed with WBBM and had a successful career there until 1962 when their contract with the station expired.  When they first signed with the station, the Jesters performed on the Ben Bernie Show.

          Bastow said WBBM just celebrated its 65th anniversary, “and I know we were the oldest (people) there,” he laughed.

          The three attended high school here.   Their high school music teacher, Edith Thomson, now resides at Canterbury Manor.   Although the Jesters were talented in music, they still had problems in school.

          Howard said he got in trouble when he was in high school because he would read sheet music and learn the words to songs during assembly.

          Ravencroft found himself kicked out of the high school chorus when he told the instructor that the lead singer was singing flat and

and he could not sing with someone off key.   “I’ve got a good ear,” he chuckled.

          While they listened to the big bands on the radio and records, the future Jesters never really dreamed of being successful.

          “It just happened,: said Howard.   “We loved music so much.  It was what we wanted to do.

          Ravencroft’s parents were actors with the Holden Brothers Theatrical Company and the family had a vaudeville act that included a quartet.   The act, called Rube Ravencroft and His Comical Kids,” was while John was 9 or 10 years old.

          Bastow came from a musical family.   His father, the late Ira Bastow, played guitar and fiddle and his sister was a pianist.

          Both Bastow and Howard reside at Lake Manitou, while Ravencroft lives in Skokie, Ill.

BROOKER REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   August   2,   1989

          The 39th annual Isaac Brooker Reunion was held July 23 at the Rochester City Park Shelter House with approximately 35 in attendance.   Prayer before the 12:30 p.m. Basket dinner was given by Mrs. Dennis Taylor.

          Vince Hudkins, Honolulu, Hawaii, son of Mr. & Mrs. Virgil Hudkins, Rochester, sent Kona Coffee by Federal Express to Lois Crill, Kewanna.   He is employed at a coffee company there.

          Dennis Taylor, president, presided over the business meeting.   Mrs. Randall Friedland, Portage, read the secretary-treasurer’s report. Mrs. Paul Crill, vice-president, will be president for 1990.   Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Hunneshagen, Jr., of Bruce Lake and Bradenton, Fla., were elected vice-president and secretary-treasurer.

          The oldest member present was Mrs. Hugh Hunneshagen Sr., Rochester, and the youngest, Terra Re’lyn Kruger, 10 month old daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Ron Kruger, Akron.   Newest addition is Courtney Brianne Taylor, born July 19 to Mr. & Mrs. Sam Taylor, Logansport.   Traveling the farthest was Mr. & Mrs. John Cornell 11, Taylors, S.C. and their son, John 111, of Easley, S.C.   John 111 told of his geneaology activities and members tried to identify people in a 1922 picture of the 6th annual Zeller-Brooker-House reunion in Winamac.   The triple reunion was started in 1916 by Jonathan House, South Bend.   As it became quite large, each family broke off into separate reunions.   The Brooker descendants have met since 1950.

          A table bouquet of multi-colored zinnias was presented to Mrs. William Hudkins.   The 40th reunion will be held the fourth Sunday in July 1990 at the Shelter House.

HARMAN REUN

Roch City Park

The Sentinel,   August   7,   1989

          The annual Harman reunion was held at Rochester City Park July 23.   There were 29 persons for the basket dinner at noon and afternoon visiting.

          The group decided to hold next year’s reunion the fourth Sunday in July at the park on the porch of the pavillion.

CRAIG REUN

F.C.Hist. Museum

The Sentinel,   August   10,   1989

          Descendants of Wilbur and Pearl Craig met for their annual reunion Aug. 6 at the Fulton County Historical Museum meeting room.

          Marilyn Craig gave the blessing before the basket dinner.  Fifty-four family members were present.

          Attending from the Rochester area were Russell and Mabel Wagoner, Lloyd and Rachel Craig, Raymond and Lorna Craig, Vernice and Dale Rhodes, Esther and Al Bowen, Paul and Sharon Holloway and son, Sue McFarland and sons, Rebecca Conwell, Dan and Wanda Brower and grandchildren, Greg and Alice Mow and daughter, and Merrel and Mildred Wagoner.

          Attending from out of town were:   Donald and Adria Irmiger, South Bend,  Alan and Marilyn Craig, Kokomo;   Karen Sommers and family, Lucerne;   Bob and Joyce Clendenon, Peru;   Dan and Cheryl Burns and son, Wabash;   Judy Shepherd and family, Warsaw;   Michelle and Todd Hubenthal, Metea;   Martha Craig, Kokomo;   Kandy Zellers, Indianapolis;   and Patricia Egbert, Fort Wayne.

EWEN-SKIDMORE REUN

Howard Ewen Farm

The Sentinel,   August   15,   1989

          Howard Ewen, Lindsy Ewen, and Mr. & Mrs. Jim Ewen hosted a group of Ewens and Skidmores at a family reunion at the Howard Ewen farm west of Rochester Saturday and Sunday.

          Following a noon carry-in dinner Saturday, old pictures were shown and past experiences recalled.   Activities included fishing, games, and several families brought camping equipment to spend the night.

          Those present were Mary Skidmore, Judy Finley, Kay and Scott Mywea, all of Fort Wayne; Norine and Max Bailey, Milton, Fla;   Matt and Beth Ewen, Twelve Mile;   Nancy Noftsger, Peru;   Bob and Bonnie Ewen, Martha Ewen, Todd and Jana Ewen, Terrell, Teresa and Janner Ewen, all of Salem;   Steve, Susan, Emily and Ruth Skidmore,
Kenneth and Gadys Hall, Garrett Ewen, Louise and Travis Skidmore, and Lois Ewen, all of Rochester.

F.C. PUBLIC LIBRARY

New Librarian, Ewick

The Sentinel,   August   22,   1989

By W.S WILSON

Managing Editor, Roch Sentinel

          A brief interview with David Ewick Monday, his first day as Fulton County librarian, taught us this:

          This guy is very personable.   He has impressive credentials, having been a children’s librarian in Shelbyville and an audio-video librarian at the Greenwood-Franklin library.   He expects to earn his Master’s degree in library science in May.   He already has one in Education.   He reads a lot of science fiction and medieval fantasy.   He is 6’6” (I”m just growing into my height,” he says.   Having beern that tall but 140 pounds in high school, he was too slender for hoops and has come to enjoy the game of volleyball.   He is a clown, really, and can juggle.   He is single, with a now-distant lady friend.   He is very impressed with the Fulton County library operation.

          The last book he read is a science fiction work entitled “The Red Lord’s Reach.”

          Ewick’s easy manner figures to go a long ways.   He is already scheduled to work a bit at the check-out desk, and has lots to say about how much he enjoys working with people.   He likes the small town environment.   “You get into the bureaucracy, and you are hidden from the public,” he says of bigger places.

          A native of south suburban Indianapolis, David Lee Ewick was born 30 years ago, to two librarian parents.    He began his schooling with plans to become a guidance counselor.   One of the two remaining classes he needs for that library degree is at IUPUI, on Saturdays.   It is about money.   “One of the things we want to do with the Fulton County library is create an endowment,” he said Monday.   “So one of the classes I’m taking is on philanthropy.”

          The young man is looking ahead.   He sees computers.

          “Libraries are now changing almost faster than we can keep up with,” he said.   “Maybe I shouldn’t say libraries, but information is changing faster.   Luckily for us, the technology is growing.   It is there to help us be able to keep track of all the information.   More information is printed monthly now than would have been printed annually 100 years ago.”

          This means changes in the art and science of being a librarian.   “In the past, librarians were considered keepers of knowledge, almost protectors,” he said.   “Our main goal now is to help people wade through the tons of information to find what they need.”

He expects libraries to automate, in a big way.   That means blinking screens to help patrons sift their way along, and a staff that is reader friendly.  Computers promise to make circulation more convenient and quicker.   Computerized card catalogues some day will guide inquisitive browsers through seemingly endless mountains of information with finesse and patience, and with speed now unknown.   “Trying to pick what is needed by Fulton County people is the trick,” he said.

          Ewick sees the notion of inter-library loans as a regular computerized growth industry.   The library now is linked to other libraries in the area, and can provide patrons with books not on shelves here by contacting participating libraries elsewhere.   “I see a time when the entire state is connected,” Ewick said, “and I think it will happen in my career.   First the computer will search here in our library, then regionally, then Statewide.”

          And, spoken like a true sci-fi fan:    “Sooner or later, the whole world is going to be connected.   That will not be in my career, but as computers get better, we will have full text data base.”   He picks up a note pad.   “Eventually, you will pick up a little folder like this and you will just type (a book title) in over here and then just scroll down.  The entire text will just scroll down.”

          Ewick did a little checking on the Fulton County library before coming here.   He liked what he found quite a lot.

          For one thing, there is the new buildng, dedicated June 3, 1984.   That speaks to the vision and commitment of our community leaders.   For another, there is the fact that 65 percent of the people in the area served by the facility have library cards.   State average: 40 percent.  For another there is the fact that the average Fulton County Library patrons checked out 17 books last year.   By way of contrast, library buffs in Washington checked out an average of 9 last year.  In Lebanon, the figure was 6.5 in Chesterton, 7.

          “This is what I looked at,” he said.  “People here support the library.   People use the library.”

          You read it here first:   With a winner like Dave Ewick around, more people are going to use our splendid library than ever before.  Our community promises to be much the better foir his having come.

Random note:   The person who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the person who cannot read them.

PIKE LUMBER CO

Company Picnic

The Sentinel,   August   23,   1989

          The largest crowd ever attended the seventh annual Pike Lumber Co. Picnic at the Pike Memorial Park in Akron on Aug. 12.

          Two hundred and fifty co-workers with their families, friends and neighbors enjoyed a noontime hog roast with baked beans, homemade ice cream and cake.

          The afternoon entertainment included a peant scramble for the kids, Bingo and a live animal act.  Potted Norway spruce trees were given as door prizes.

FARM PROGRESS SHOW

Farm Capital of U.S.A. - Roch.

The Sentinel,   September   6,   1989

By W.S.WILSON

Managing Editor, The Sentinel

          Rochester, Ind. - This year, hordes of farmers from all over the world will swarm to Rochester.

          They will come for a three-day exposition of equipment, comraderie and technique called the Farm Progress Show.

          The event, sponsored by Prairie Farmer magazine, is a really big show, a whopper.   It draws in farmers and ag businessmen from virtually every state and 20 or more countries from all hemispheres of the globe.

          The 1989 version will be on ground farmed by Tom Weaver and George Krom 111 north of Indiana 14 between Rochester and Athens.   It will run from 7:30 a.m., to 5 p.m.  Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 26-28.   Admssion is free.   Parking is free.

          How big is it?

          Here are some approximate numbers.   It is so big that it involves the following:

          * 25,000 cars daily parked on 120 acres

          * 600-700 buses

          * 1,300 campers

          * 600-700 airplnes

          * Rochester traffic updates on radio

          * 5 tons of hamburger

          * 5 tons of pork burger

          * 3 tons of ham

          * 1 ton of hot dogs

          * 5 big food tents staffed by area churches

          * 15,000-20,000 gallons of soda pop marketed by the FFA

          * 150 portable toilets

          * 1,100 volunteers a day

          * 350 exhibitors    

          * Placement of a temporary air traffic control facility

          * 50 new telephone lines

          * 44 new power poles in a 65 acre exhibition field

          * 1,000 stakes to mark off exhibiton plots

          * The harvesting of 900 acres of corn and soybeans

          * Displays of 450 corn varieties by 43 companies

          * Displays of 250 soybean varieties by 30 companies

          * Displays of 94 alfalfa varieties by 24 companies

          * Displays of 38 grain sorghum varieties by 10 companies

          * At least 73 zillion pieces of farm equipment

A main man

          It will be the first time around the track as show boss for Dave Roepke.

          This year will be a little different for the show.   Instead of cattle, he will ride herd over not only a fledgling livestock display involving breed associations, but also, a substantial grain operation.   There will be 450 acres of soybeans and 450 acres of corn to harvest and till in three das.  “They will be running 9-11 a.m., and 1-3 p.m.,” he says.  “With all of the companies here, they can knock down a 50-acre field pretty quick.”

          And there will be a lot of companies.   Perhaps 350 of them.  For example, the people from Deutz-Allis, formerly Allis-Chalmers, expect to bring between 80 and 90 pieces of equipment, according to product repreentative Len Schreiber.

          “The money investment they have is pretty substantial,” Ropke says of the big exhibitors.

On the tour

          Len Schreiber works the major farm show circuit for Deutz-Allis, ramrodding five or six big displays a year.

          It is his full-time job.   He hits the Wisconsin Progress Show, the Sunbelt Show in Moultine, Ga., the Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., the equipment show in Louisville and meetings here and there.   His 13-month-old pickup has traveled 47,000 miles.   “I saw that the other day and told the boys I ought to change the oil,” he deadpans.

          This man is not opposed to proffering opinions on various farm matters.

          * The Farm Progress Show is, even by his standards, bitt.   “You can’t see it all in one day.   You are talking about an 80-100-acre city of nothing but farm merchandise. And that is just the static display.

          * State police will direct traffic.  “You will go one way.  They do a fantastic job on traffic.  In the last 10 years I have not heard anyone

bellyaching that they had a hard time getting in.

          * This is what he says abut ‘89 hosts Krom and Weaver:   “They don’t yet now that they are going to be driven absolutely nuts for three or four days.”

FULTON INDUSTRIES

Kenneth E. Jurss, Controller

The Sentinel,   October   31,   1989

          NEW CONTROLLER - Kenneth E. Jurss has joined Fulton Industries as controller, president John Razzano announced.   Jurss, a Warsaw resident, has worked for Gneral Motors, Philip Morris, and National Cadd Pro.   He earned a masters degree in management accounting at Marquette University.

RAILROAD SECTION GANG

36 Years of Memories

The Sentinel,   January   3,   1990

By LOREN FRY

Fulton, Ind.

          This is about the railroad through Fulton from Cheviot, Ohio to Griffith, Indiana, as told to me by older workers, and my own experience from 1941 to 1977.

          It was built in 1901 and 1902 by contractors.   Each one had so many miles.   This was by horse power and man power.   They used what was called “slip-scoops.”   These were pulled by horses but a man had to hold the handles to let loose quickly or you would land between or on top of the horses.   It would flip you.

          The first conveyance the workers or section men had was a hand pump car.   Each man had to pump his share.   If someone thought all weren’t doing their job or share they could give a quick jerk and derail the car.

          Around 1925-27, the first motor cars came out, with no windshield or top.   It was direct drive.   The crank-shaft was hooked to the back axle.   If you stopped the car, you had to shut the motor cars.   In the mid-thirties they came out with windshields on the motor vstd.  In the mid-forties the cars had a top and short sides in front.   The guys took canvas and made side-curtains.

          The motor on the car would run forward or backward.   You could push them or crank them to start them.   Most sections had eight miles, and figured one man for each mile.   This was years ago.   The fastest speed of the motor cars was 60 mph.   Most ran 40 mph.   One “extra gang” had a Model A Ford motor in it.   It would run a good 60 mph.   Ralph Ditmire, said that to come from half-way from Kewanna to Fulton, which was around five miles, it took 45 minutes.   This was on the pump car.

          Nov. 1, 1964, the company put out four sections together and gave us 32 miles.   The headquarters were at Kewanna.   They also furnished a truck instead of a motor car.   Two or three men would patrol the track on the motor car almost every day.   The rest of the gang used the truck to get to their place of work.   There were 13 men in that gang and I am the only one still livng.

          As I remember what I was told, the first rails were 33 feet long and were 70 pounds weight.   That means that every three feet of rail weighed 70 lbs.   Later the standard rail was 30 feet long and as time went on they kept making them heavier.

          There has been new rail laid at least five times.   Ribbon rail has been laid two times, first in the early 60’s, the second time when Amtrak was put on here.   Part of this was a government project.

          What they call ribbon rail consists of four rails that make a mile.  After it is laid, it is welded together.   That makes one track without joints.   In extreme heat or extreme cold, ribbon rail was a problem.

          When it was cold they would break and pull apart 6 to 8 inches.   We would get rolls of insulation and cut it into strips three inches wide and lay it on the base of the rail about 100 to 150 feet on each side of the break.   Then we would pour kerosene on the insulation and set it on fire and keep it burning until the rail ran back together.   We would keep heat on it until we drilled holes and put angle-bars on it to make a joint.

          Sometimes it would pull apart again at the same place and we had to heat it again and put in new bolts.   It would take about 30 minutes to run it tgoether.   It would take between 25 to 40 gallons of kerosene to burn it together.   A very messy job!   The insulation could be used two to four times, then you must get new.    If some of the ties were too old they would catch fire and must be put out by throwing snow or dirt on them.

          In extreme heat ribbon rail would expand and you would have too much rail, and it would kick out of line.   Then we would cut a 12-foot section out of the track and put back a rail about 11 feet, 6 inches long.

          In 1908 the depot burned at Fulton and they used a boxcar for a depot until a new depot was built.   There was also a water tower west of the depot.   V.L. Barker was the agent here.   He put softener in the tank and took care of it also.

          In the early railroad days there was a pay car that came through to pay the men individually.   It came on the10th and 25th day of each month.   Later the checks came by passenger train.   There was a supply train that came through every four to six months.

          In the mid forties the Union got for us a five day week instead of six and also a one-week vacation a year.   Before I returned if you had 25 years in, you got five weeks vacation plus 10 to 12 holidays off with

pay.   When I got up where things were good, I was so worn out I had to quit.  I was also old enough to quit, and ready to quit.   I worked on the railroad 35-1/2 years.

          Let’s back up just a little.   In 1950 to 1955 CTC (Centralized Train Controls) was put in from Cheviot, Ohio to Griffith, Indiana.  The dispatcher was at Peru, and he could control the switches on the passing tracks from Cheviot to Griffith.   All other switches on the main line were electrically locked, and you had to call the dispatcher to get them unlocked.   The diesels came in the late 40’s and early 50’s.

          We had a lot of funny things happen and some not so funny.  I had just worked a few days when I heard the end of the first fuss I ever heard on the railroad.   I had gone to a farm house to get a can of drinking water.  When I got back I heard the boss “The first guy I catch standing is taking his dinner bucket and heading for home!  But no one ever headed for home.

          The Hoover gang went into the depot at Twelve Mile one day and one guy laid down on the floor and went to sleep.  (It was probably rainng.)   He woke jup and there stood the supervisor, Jack Eastund.   They said he neary kicked a hole in the floor trying to get up/

          During World War 11 there were a number of young fellows hired to work at Fulton.   There were 17 workers all together and most days was a circus.

          The steam engine and the diesel would set grass fires.   A broom is a good thing to fight a grass fire with.   At one fire someone soaked the boss’s broom with kerosene.   Everywhere he hit he set one more fire.   H wasn’t very happy.

          One of the bosses was told by the supervisor certain things to get done.  When the supervisor returned he asked if he had done it yet and he would say, “Not yet.  I’m just getting ready to do it now.”

          On this side of Beardstown there was a rail that was broken in the joint.   The men knew it was broken but were watching it.   A big official came one day and he found it and told the boss to change that rail.  He said he would sometime.  The official said, “If you work tomorrow, you will change it today.

          Years ago the secton men went by sight of smoke and hearing the train.  One morning one guy said he heard a train.   The boss said he just heard a rooster crowing, to go ahead.   They met a train just west of Fulton and barely got the motor car off without being hit.

          A certain man gave a big shove and the motor car went down the bank.   The boss had to get Carl McCroskey to bring a horse and pull the motor car up to the crossing.  It cost him a dollar, which was a day’s salary in those days.   I wonder if the boss listened the next time.

          The Kewanna gang had a shack in Wilson’s woods east of Kewanna about the mid-thirties.   One day Steve Ryan, a supervisor,

came by and caught them in there.   One of the guys fried rabbits for lunch.   They probably caught them that morning and Mr. Ryan stayed and ate lunch with them. .  He bawled; them out before he left for being in the shack after helping eat their food!

          One gang was bad to drink on the job.   The supervisor went up to lecture them about it.   He sat down on the water keg, but it had beer and ice in it.   He lectured them as he sat there anyway.   He probably suspected it had beer in it and on any other occasion would have helped them drink it.

          This is the first report that has been made of this story.   It wasn’t reported to the company.   We used to cut rails with a chisel and a sledge hammer.   The guy using the hammer missed the chisel.   Another guy laid his finger on top of the chisel and said, “Hit right here, right here!”   While he was showing where to hit the guy hit and took the end of his finger off.   Now it’s reported!

          Now the railroad here is a thing of the past.   The rails are gone, the ties are gone.   The memories are all that are left.

SPORTSMAN’S INN

Oprs, Wilson & Carey

The Sentinel,   February   13,   1990

          Sportsman’s Inn, formerly Sportsman’s Landing, opened on the southwest corner of Lake Manitou.

          It is managed and operated by Kent and Christine Wilson, formerly of Kokomo, in partnership with Kevin Carey of Kokomo. - - -

          Wilson, from Kokomo, was executive chef at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club until buying Sportsman’s.    The Wilsons live on Wolf’s Point Road on the southwest side of Lake Manitou, near the inn.

          Sportsman’s Landing was opened in September 1953 and operated under that name with a succession of owners until its sale to Wilson and Carey.

McDONALD’S

Ground-Breaking Set

The Sentinel,   February   15,   1990

          McDonald’s will break ground at 3 p.m. Friday for its 125-seat restaurant on Indiana 25 South.

          Complete with tandem drive-through, children’s outdoor playground and truck parking, the building will be on the east side of the highway directly south of Margaritta’s Restaurant.

          Officials are aiming for an opening about the Fourth of July.

          The structure will be 37 feet wide and 116 feet long, and will be ‘an 80 series, our latest design,” according to Joe Plank, construction engineer for the Rochester project.

          Tandem drive-throughs consist of a two-speaker ordering site, a

booth where the money is paid, and a separate spot for receiving the order.

          Plank said it won’t be difficult to find the restaurant.   It will have two signs, oine 40 feet tall, the other 125-feet tall.   The latter, about 10 feet shorter than the Rochester water towers, is expected to atttract traffic from U.S. 31 to the south, Plank said.

          There will be one entrance-exit drive, but it will be almost as wide as Indiana 25, Plank said.   The McDonald’s drive will be 30 feet wide, while the highway is about 40 feet wide, he said.

          There also will be “lots of landscaping,” said Plank.

          The owner-operator is Lawrence Hartgraves, of Marion, who has two McDonald’s in Marion, one in Peru and one in Gas City.

          Plank said the restaurant probably will start with about 100 employees, and that the work force will “shake down to about 85 full-timers and part-tmers.

KLINE TV & APPLIANCE

Purch Mike Robinson

The Sentinel,   March   13,   1990

          Mike Robinson of Logansport and a silent partner have purchased the Kline’s TV and Appliances store at Ninth and Franklin streets.

          Manager Brad Baker said today there will be no changes in name or personnel.   Robinson was not available for comment.

          Baker said that Robinon bought the Kline store in Logansport last summer.

          Tim Kline, who owned Kline’s stores in Rochester, Logansport and Peru, now is privately employed in relatively-new aspect of business called network marketing.   He continues to reside in Peru.   He sold the Peru store some time ago.

          Baker joined Kline’s a yearr ago and became manager upon the departure of Chuck Dreibelbis last November.   Other personnel are salesperson Donna Grooms, a Kline’s employee of nine years;   Joe Gamble, sales and delivery, and Clarence “Wally” Wollenhaupt, delivery.

          The sale also includes the Radio Shack franchise in an adjoining building.   Baker said personnel there will remain the same also.   They are Larry Metzger, manager;   Terry Baldwin, sales, and part-timers Phyllis Gerkan and Brent Wagoner.

          The Kline’s store opened here Aug. 6, 1976 at 126 E. Eighth St., a site occupied for many years by Baker Hardware and now part of the Smith, Sawyer and Smith insurance quarters.   Kline’s built its present building in 1981.

          The original Kline’s TV and Appliances was opened by Raymond Kline in Culver.   He expanded to Plymouth, then to

Rochester with son Tim s Rochester manager and son Paul as Plymouth manager.   Upon Raymond’s retirement, the Culver store was closed and his sons took ownership of their respective stores.

BAXTER DRUG STORE

Purch Harry Webb

The Sentinel,   April   6,   1990

          The Baxter Drug Store name will continue, as it has for almost 50 years, but ownership of the business has changed to Harry Webb.

          A pharmacist at the store for five years, the 30-year-old Webb purchased the firm from Ernest Baxter and son Parke effective Wednesday.

          The elder Baxter has retired, but his son will contnue as a fulltime pharmacist, Webb said.

          There will be no changes in staff, which numbers 17 to 21 on full- or part-time basis, the new owner said.

          A native of Monticello, Webb graduated from Twin Lakes High School in 1977 and received a degree in pharmaceutical science from Purdue University in 1982.

          He was a pharmacist for Ribordy Drugs in Hammond and for Hively’s Pharmacy in Monticello before moving to Rochester with his wife Jackie five years ago.

          Webb is a member of the Rochester Kiwanis Club, the Rochester and Lake Manitou Chamber of Commerce, the Fulton County United Way board of directors and the Society of Consultant Pharmacists.   He is the consulting pharmacist for Life Care Center of Rochester.

          Ernest Baxter established Baxter Drugs in 1941 at 724 Main St., when he bought the Blue Drug Store at the site for some 50 years by Alex and Fred Ruh.   There has been a drug store there for more than 100 years.

          There have been two major expansions of the store.   One doubled the space with an addition to the rear of the building in 1961.  The second also doubled the space with extension into the former Felts Cigar Store next-door north in 1972.

          Predominate use of blue in the decor of the expanded business was in connection with the former name of the drug store at the site.

HEYDE OIL

Closing 2 Stations

The Sentinel,   April   26,   1990

          The last of the Heyde Oil Co., gasoline stations will close in a few days, victims of a new federal regulatin concerning underground storage tanks.

          Owner Jay Heyde of Lake Manitou said this morning that the Ninth Street station will close when it “runs out of product by this

weekend.”   The Main Street station closed Wednesday.

          Heyde said he decided not to go to the expense of meeting the new rule which requires underground tanks that are 20 years old as of this year to be inspected for leakag and to be replaced or recovered if leaks are found. - - - -

          The Heyde Oil Co., was started by Jay’s father, Forest, in 1936 and at one time there were Heyde stations in eight northern Indiana cities.   The Heyde station on Main Street was one of the first two built in Rochester, Forest Heyde told his son.

          In 1958, Jay Heyde took over ownership and management of the business.   Seven years ago, he began selling all the statons except those in Rochester.

          “The stations were becoming obsolete because everybody was going to convenience store gas stations,” he said.

          Heyde said this morning that “One of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever had was telling the boys I was closing.”

          He was referring to Ninth Street Station emploees Rod Border, who has been with Heyde for 28 years, and Fred Brouyette, hired in 1972.

          Heyde said he and his wife Beverly will continue to reside at the lake.

RECYCLING DAY

Plans Take Shape

The Sentinel,   June   6,   1990

          Recycling Day will arrive in Rochester this month, and the committee in charge hopes all of Fulton County will take part.

          The Community Recycling Council, created less than three weeks ago, still is working on the details.   The date has not been set.

          But chairman Gretchen Coplen asked everyone in the county to get ready by separating recyclable trash from non-recyclables in their homes and businesses.

          On R-Day, the appropriate materials can be taken to the recycling center, where volunteers will put them in designated bins.

          To avoid space problems in the home, Mrs. Coplen suggested that all recyclables be placed in one container each day and that when it’s full, it be taken to the garage or basement for separation of the various materials.

          Here’s what will be accepted on the first R-Day:

          * Rinsed glass - no lids or rings; sorted by color (green, brown, clear)..

          * Rinsed plastic, such as milk jugs, 2-liter pop bottles and detergent bottles - no lids or rings..

          * Rinsed tin food cans - no labels...

          * Aluminum cans.

* Cardboard boxes, such as used for cereal, cake mixes, dry detergents - liners removed.

          * Corrugated cardbard - no staples.

          * Newspaper, computer paper, white office paper - no staples.

          Mrs. Coplen said that at this time, such things as writing tablet paper, colored paper, envelopes, magazines and plastic containers such as those used for cottage cheese and yogurt cannot be accepted.

          But cash donations will be accepted to help defray costs of getting the program started, she said.

          Contributions can be given to her or any other member of the council.

          Members of the Community Recycling Council besides Mrs. Coplen are City Council members Pat Thompson, Becky Meade and Bill Schroer, and citizens Penny Del Real, Amy Whirledge, Mary Ann Conrad and Joe Gady.

          The Recycling Council was formed during the May 22 City Council meeting at which considerable interest was shown in a recycling program for the community.

          The members were appointed by Mayor Phil Thompson, all of them volunteered.

          Since then, the members have been visiting recycling centers and communities with recycling programs.   They also plan to attend seminars on the subject.

          They will put their information into a report to the City Council at its next meeting (7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 12, City Hall).

          People wishing more information can contact Mrs. Copllen at 223-6037.

FAMILY REUN

Sportsman’s Landing

The Sentinel,   June   15,   1990

          A family reunion was at the Sportsman’s Landing Saturday night.

          The following attended:   Alan and Sissy Heeter, Lenora L. Sayger, Marge Ellis, Chuck Heeter, Alan Sayger, Ben Ault, Sandy Ault and Wayne and Joan Atkinson.

DAVIDSON REUN

Cent. Park, Plymouth

The Sentinel,   June   23,   1990

          The annual Samuel and Louise Davidson reunion was June 17 at Centennial Park, Plymouth, with 45 people present.   Visiting, swimming, horseshoes, and breaking a pinata were the highlights of the day.  Patricia Bartley, Riverview, Fla., traveled the farthest.

          The following officers were elected:   Eugene Davidson, South

Bend, president;   Russell Davidson, Rochster, vice-president, and Sonya Davidson, Plymouth, secretary-treasurer.

          The next reunion will be June 16, 1991 at the same place.  

KELLEY-LEININGER Reun

Akron Park

The Sentinel,   June   23,   1990

          The Kelley and Leininger families met for a reunion, along with friends, at the Akron Park on June 17.   The reunion was in honor of the 80th birthdays of Omar and Elnora Kelley Leininger, which were June 27 and June 30.

          Hosts for the reunion were the couple’s children, David and Sally Leinnger and Don and Dora Jones, Akron;  Howard and Sara Bunch, Edwardsburg, Mich., Kathleen Leach, Niceville, Fla.;   and Terry and Sherry Leininger, Rochester.

VanLUE REUN

Bob Metzger Home

The Sentinel,   July   20,   1990

          The James W. and Tincy Fultz VanLue family reunion was conducted at the home of Bob and Rosie Metzger. Rt. 3, Rochester.

          The 55 who attended came from Springfield, Ohio;  Huntington, W. Va.;   Quartzsite, Ariz.;   Bemidji, Minn.;   Norfolk, Va.;   Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Warsaw, and Rochester.

          James and Tinsy VanLue farmed on the Old Fort Wayne Road.   Four of their six children are living and were present.   Tney are Anna Vandegrift, Quartzsite, Ariz.;   Hubert VanLue, Indianapolis, and Kathern Barkman and William Miller, Rochester.

ACTION GLASS

Open For Business

The Sentinel,   September   27,   1990

          You don’t have to replace an entire windowshield because of stone chips anymore.

          Rich Smith and Lyle Vandermark, owners of Action Glass, use special tools to repair the chips without having to replace the windsheld, = so long as they get to the glass before the chip grows into a crack.

          The new business is located in the rear of 602 Main St., - formerly the site of Modern Hog Concepts.   In addition to complete auto glass repair and replacement, Action Glass handles a full line of repair and replacement of domestic and commercial glass, mirrors and windows.

          Smith said repairing a windshield chip will cost $35.

          The business also offers free mobile and free pickup service.   No

appointments are necessary.

          “It’s simply first-come, first served,” said Smith. - - - -

          Smith and his wife Michelle are opening another business in the front of the building.   Their Olympic Fitness gym is moving this weekend.   It will offer free weights, aerobics and tanning beds.

SIRKEN DISTRIBUTING CO

Property purchased by City

The Sentinel,   October   22,   1990

          The Rochester Board of Public Works and Safety will buy the Sirken Distributing Co. property adjacent to the city sewer plant and street department garage on Monticello Road.

          The board Thursday signed a resolution to buy the property for storage and additional working area for the city utilities. - - - -

WALGAMUTH

Moves Up

The Sentinel,   November   13,   1990

          Terry L. Walgamuth has been elected president of the Wilbert Manufacturers Association, which represents some 300 Wilbert licencees in the manufacture and distribution of burial vaults.

          He is president of Akron Concrete Products Inc.

          Walgamuth also will be the representative of the association’s District 7, which covers Indiana (except South Bend), Illinois, Kentucky and St. Louis, Mo.

PIKE LUMBER CO

Plants More Than it Cuts

The Sentinel,   December   20,   1990

By ANN KINDIG

Sentinel Correspondent

          Every American man, woman and child will use a ton of wood this year - and more next year and every year thereafter.

          At that rate, it might seem we’s strip our forests bare.

          Fortunately, that’s not so, because, unlike coal, oil or ore, wood is renewable so we need never run out.

          And we never will if the lead set by the lumber industry, including Akron’s Pike Lumber Co., is followed.   At this 86-year-old firm, which also has a plant in Carbon, more trees ar grown annually than are cut.

          This policy has led company president Howard M. Utter to declare that every day is Earth Day.

          He logged in upper Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada on the tail-end of the harvest of the original forest.   Concerned with what he saw, he wanted to start returning what had been cut.

          In 1954, Utter and his wife, Helen, purchased their first tree farm.  Since then, they have acquired nearly 90 such farms in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan and surrounded themselves with professional foresters schooled in silviculture, inventory, marketing and harvesting.

          “Tree farming is more than planting trees,” says Dean Baker, Pike’s executive vice-president.   “Our main thrust is to manage native stands in the most productive manner.”

          After Pike buys a farm, foresters take inventory to determine the species and condition of the trees and then remove the mature ones.   The timber stand is further improved by having undesirable growth, such as grapevine and unmerchantable trees killed, although care is used here because many of these serve as wildlife cover.   Trees are cut,-- harvested, according to lumbering jargon - every seven to ten years, depending on age and condiion.   The harvest is sometimes delayed but seldom speeded up.

          In the past few years, with revived interest in wood heating, the firm has begun removing tree tops and selling them.   This they’ve found, has the added benefit of opening the woods to permit new growth.   Some trees, such as the hard maple, are shade tolerant and will grow in small openings while others, such as the tulip poplar, require more sun and bigger openings.

          If the farm contains open ground, the field is planted with both pine and hardwood trees.   Referring to this type of planting as a plantation, Baker says the pine acts as a nurse crop.   “It cools old, hot fields and converts them to cooler, damper sites.”

          Once the wood lot is established, the pine trees will be harvested first to give room for Pike’s specialty, fine hardwood.

          Plantations and reseeding after harvest require 75,000 or more seedlings per year.   But nature helps, too.   Once an opening is created, the woods tends to seed itself.   Squirrels drop walnuts in fence rows and at the end of the forest where they take root and thrive by the sun.

          Although it will be nearly one hundred years before the last seedlings are harvested, they are monitored regularly.   Any diseased trees are cut immediately to prevent loss of an entire woodlot.

          The Pike approach is what is called “new forestry.”   Its fundamental premise is that forests must be maintained as complex ecosystems rather than tree factories.   What’s left behind on the site is more important than what is taken out.

          “In forestry, you can have your cake and eat it, too,” says Baker.   “You can harvest trees and plant for the future at the same time.   But we think it is vital that we plant more than we harvest.   And we do everything we can to encourage wildlife.”

          Because Pike Lumber Co. Feels so strongly that carefully maintained woodlots are vital to the future, it also has a management

service that helps land owners plant, harvest and market their slowest growing crop.

          With the 21st century just around the corner, news of shortages sometimes makes the future look dark.   But in Pike Lumber Company’s woodlands, there is a bright spot.   They began planting for it more than 30 years ago.   And it won’t be long untl 22nd century trees are seeded.

          Unless some enterprising squirrel has already done it.

INDEX

A&W DRIVE-IN

Pur Jasper Dulin  3

ACTION GLASS

Open For Business  58

ALLSTATE INSURANCE

Dave Clark Joins Staff  40

BAXTER DRUG STORE

Purch Harry Webb  55

BOUNSALL SHOES

Store opening in March  37

BROOKER REUN

Roch City Park  44

CANTERBURY MANOR

Sold to Life Care  35

CARLILE REUN

Chas. Boardman Home  30

CARR REUN

Dick Clary Home  19

COAST TO COAST

Larry Eschbach, owner  9

COLE BROS CIRCUS

History by F.E. Sanders  10

COLLINS REUN

Howard Holloway Home  25

COMMAND SECURITY CO

Doug Kelly, Locksmith  4

COMPANY PICNIC

Pike Lumber Co  47

COOK BROS FURN STORE

Dillman Liquidates  22

CRAIG REUN

F.C.Hist. Museum  45

DAVIDSON READY

To take it Easy  6

DAVIDSON REUN

Cent. Park, Plymouth  57

DEAN FOODS

Promotes Thomas Ravencroft  38

E.T. FIRE EXTG SVC

Ewen & Thomas  7

ELKS LODGE

Delworth No. 1 in Indiana  18

ENGINE SERVICE PARTS

Opened by Paul Jared  41

EWEN-SKIDMORE REUN

Howard Ewen Farm  45

F.C. PUBLIC LIBRARY

New Librarian, Ewick  46

FAMILY REUN

Sportsman’s Landing  57

FARM PROGRESS SHOW

Farm Capital of U.S.A. - Roch.  48

FARMERS STATE BANK

Frank N. Manwaring, Director  23

FEECE-HARTMAN REUN

Roch City Park  8

FULTON CO JAILER

Mike Deniston, Leaves  11

FULTON COUNTY LIBRARY

Director Lu Lasher, Retires  34

FULTON INDUSTRIES

Kenneth E. Jurss, Controller  50

Promotes Jeff Bitterling  22

FULTON MARKET

Leased, Jack Townsend  19

GAERTE. JOE

Race Car Driver  26

GEORGE S. JONES

Defies Mathematical truism  1

GORDON REUN

Roch City Park  19

HALTERMANS EVOLVES

From Grocery Days  5

HARMAN REUN

Roch City Park  45

HARMON REUN

Roch City Park  19

HEISHMAN’S BAKERY

Pur Walter Scobie  40

HERITAGE JEWELERS

Neag Opens Shop  41

HEYDE OIL

Closing 2 Stations  55

HOLLIE’S HALLMARK SHP.

Moving to Roch. Plaza  31

HOLLOWAY REUN

Attending  31

INVESTMENT FIRM

Expands to Rochester  36

JAPANESE GIANT

Buys Into Future of Roch.  39

JESTERS’ SUCCESS

No Dream  42

JOE GAERTE WINS

2nd Straighit Sprint Car Title  33

KELLEY-LEININGER Reun

Akron Park  58

KIDS PORT KLOTHES

Opening at Akron  18

KINGS JESTERS

Attend WBBM Reunion  23

KLINE TV & APPLIANCE

Purch Mike Robinson  54

KNAPP BLDG

Now Named Century Tower  3

LIBRARIAN HIRED

David Ewick  42

LOWERY-BATTY REUN

Attending  32

Roch City Park  20

MANITOU JOINS ROCH

Population Now 7,050  21

McDONALD’S

Ground-Breaking Set  53

MOORE PLANT

New Manager  22

MORRIS REUN

Akron Park  30

NIPSCO

Manuk Eryman, Retired  23

PIKE LUMBER CO

Company Picnic  48

Plants More Than it Cuts  59

POST OFFICE BLDG

New May Be Far Off  37

RAILROAD SECTION GANG

36 Years of Memories  50

RECYCLING DAY

Plans Take Shape  56

REESE REUN

Roch City Park  9, 21

REMEMBERING

Willie Lamberti  20

RHS ATHLETICS

Bill Schroer  13

ROCH 3D STORE

Bankruptancy  32

ROCH TEL CO

Former Employees Meet  24

SAFFORD REUN

Jack Doke Home  25

SHENANIGAN’S

To Become Margaritta’s  18

SHIPS IN SCALE MAG

John Tombaugh  17

SIRKEN DISTRIBUTING CO

Property purchased by City  59

SPORTSMAN’S INN

Oprs, Wilson & Carey  53

STINSON-WYLIE REUN

Centennial Park, Plymouth  7

STREAMLINER ROCH

Second Calhoun   11

STREAMLINER ROCH.

Second Calhoun  11

SUPERIOR SAMPLE CO.

Opening Plant in Roch.  32

SWEANY TIRE

Ron Sweany Opens Soon  12

THE ROCH SENTINEL

Christine Graham, Joins  12

TUXEDO JUNCTION

Rochester’s Big Band  11

VanLUE REUN

Bob Metzger Home  58

VANLUE REUN

Chloris Barkman, Home  8

VIDEO PLUS

Opened at 230 E. Eithth  8

WAGONER REUN

Talma Community Bldg  24, 41

WALGAMUTH

Moves Up  59

WALKERS SHOES

Closing Business Sale  5

WHITMER GYM

Bids For Purchase  24

Is Coming Down  33

WILT’S FOOD CENTERS

Expected to be Sold  35

WILT’S ROCH STORES

Become Lynn’s Supermarkets  36

YELLOW CAB CO

Dick Bair, Owner  38

FULTON COUNTY INDIANA

HISTORICAL TRIVIA

1986-1990

ROCHESTER SENTINEL

Special Thanks to Jack K. Overmyer for suggesting the title.

Wendell C. Tombaugh

TOMBAUGH HOUSE

700 Pontiac Street

Rochester, Indiana 46975

2011

This book, and all other Tombaugh books, are available at no charge on

//www.fulco.lib.in.us/      (Fulton County Public Library website)