255. Randolph County News

Arba area boy Drowns

A six days search for the body of Elbert Alexander, 15 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Alexander of near Arba, who had been missing since Sunday, July 20, ended Saturday afternoon, when his body was fished out of the gravel pit west of Lynn.

  Since the boy had been missed, continuous efforts had been made and every contrivance possible had been used to recover the body, but to no avail. On Saturday morning, Clifford Cooper, whose home is in Florida, but was formerly of Lynn and at this time was visiting in Lynn, went to the pits, taking with him a fishing line to which three large hooks had been attached for the purpose of casting for the body of the missing boy. His casting was at random for he had no information from anyone as to where to cast the line. He had been casting the line for about five hours when O. A. Study appeared on the scene and through information he had gained from the boy's sister, directed Mr. Cooper where to cast his line. The sister of the boy pointed out the place where she saw her brother about ten minutes before his disappearance. They with a number of others were wading in shallow water and it is thought the boy stepped off in a deep hole made by the dipping of gravel, while the others were returning to the bank. It was upon their return to the bank that he was missed and the search begun.

The body was found at the exact place Mr. Study directed which was about fifty feet deep, west of the spring board and one hundred feet south, practically the middle of the pit. The line was cast by Mr. Cooper and the body was pulled to shore by Mr. Study about ten minutes after the exact spot was designated. The body was in good state of preservation It was recovered at 4:20 Saturday afternoon, after plans had been made to start Monday with the draining of the pit. One large pump had been placed at the pit, while two more were to be installed.  July 31, 1930.

Farmland Stills

  Federal prohibition officer, W. A. Ray, assisted by Deputy Sheriff Eldon Reichard, swooped down onto a real still two miles west of Farmland, on the Interurban line, last Friday. They found two stills in the basement at the house of Edward Burr, one a fifty gallon and the other a twenty gallon which, from all appearances had been in full operation, not at the time of the raid, however, as no one was at home but the stills were taken and arrest of the parties was to follow. The officers found a gallon and a half of liquor in a jug hidden behind the place and in the woodhouse they found a wooden churn which contained more of the "white mule." This still business may be a profitable investment for a time, but in the wind-up it may prove to be rather an expensive proposition to the parties who engage therein. Burr was arraigned in court Monday. He was fined, cost and all, $507.90 and sent to the penal farm for ninety days.  Dec. 21, 1921.

Old Time Sayings by Harry Karns of New Dayton, Randolph County.

  When there is a circular around noon on a Sunday, tells there is a storm coming at night. Count the number of stars in the circular and tells how many days of storm there will be.

  Sun dogs in the evening or morning also tells there is a storm coming, and also when the cat washes its face and rubs its paws over its ears. When it hollows in the day you must look out as there will be hurricane or blizzard the next day. When the hogs jump and play and you see cattle lying in piles, or when you see bunches of birds on the ground when it sounds loud and you can hear your echo or trains, when your feet are hot and burning, when creeks begin to run even if dry, when roosters crow before midnight, some wells get riled and muddy before a storm, your old bones ache, your head itches, when leaves and corn blades curl-all this tells of snow or rain.

  When you can't get a house warm no matter how hot a fire, tells that its going to get warm outside. Also when fire burns you, when trees and houses pop and crack, its a sign of warmer weather. When fire pops and snaps, thats a sign of snow or rain.

  When you see lots of women out in their gay colors, talking and having a good time, thats a sure sign of rain. When chickens stay out in the rain with their tails down, thats a sign it will keep raining but if they run for shelter its a sign it will soon be over.

  When the bull rings his tail and puts it over his back and snorts and paws and gets in a dead run, look out-there is mischief in the air.

Moon signs-  Clapboard roofs, they should always be put on in dark of the moon, also shingles to keep them from turning up. Fence posts also should be set in dark of the moon so they can't work up. Lay down a board on grass in light of the moon, it will turn up and grass will grow up from under it. Lay it down in dark of the moon it kills grass and stays tight to the ground.

  All things that grow above ground should be planted in light of the moon that bears its fruit, such as corn, oats, wheat, beans etc. Things as potatoes, onions, beets, turnips should be planted in dark of the moon.

  Butcher a hog in light of the moon, it fries up to grease, but butcher in a dark moon, it fries whole and tender.

  When iron sweats and your hair is curly, also a sign of thawing or rain.

  An old timer said he planted all his crops in the ground and that all crops failed in dry weather, of course, he is right in a way, for nothing will grow in dry weather.  Feb. 26, 1941.

  

254. Harry Karns Remembers.

April 5, 1940.

  Well, we had an old time chat some time ago so I decided to have another one with you as my other article on olden times or bygone days interested quite a few.

  Those old days of Grandpa and Grandma sitting by the old-fashioned fireplace are gone with the wind but are nice to think of once in awhile.

  Father would sit there smoking his old pipe of clay, mother with a ball of knitting yarn making socks or mittens. You would freeze on one side and be warm on the other. Have to change quite often to keep warm. The old dog and cat would also be lying  by the fireplace.

  I remember several years ago when they drove horses, a nitro-glycerin wagon went through Stone Station. It crossed the railroad and got a little ways east by a big tree. Somehow or other the cans got loose and jarred together. Set them off, blew wagon, cans, horses and driver all to pieces. Biggest piece they found of the man was his head up in that big tree. I guess the ducks ate the rest of the pieces, as I was told. The explosion was so powerful it cracked a brick house some thousand feet away. This house belongs to Tom Payne and I guess the crack is still there today.

  Also remember the train wreck in Stone Station on the G. R. & I. (Grand Rapids & Indiana RR.) Seth Hinshaw owned the farm west of the burg. His son, Logan, was plowing corn just east of the house next to the railroad. He had just got his team turned around and looked up to see that big locomotive and train coming right at him. "Boy," he said if ever anyone made horses move I made that team get-and scared within an inch of my life. I guess I plowed up some of dad's corn getting away. It was a very hot day and made the rails spread and buckle, come apart, so it derailed the train. Engineer was killed and the fireman badly hurt, as the engine lay on her side not far from where Logan turned his team around.

  Also several years ago there was another blowup west of Stone Station, the old Wesley sawmill, killing three or four. The main engine man was trying to teach another as I remember it and the new man had a big fire and discovered he had no water in the boiler and decided to put some in, and he did, but not much, till the old boiler blew up, killing all in reach and putting the sawmill out of business.

The Old Tile Factories.  One was located west of Stone Station where the sawmill blew up. The ground is very low on the farm at the corner where they got clay dirt to make tiles. Also one was located on the old Adams farm 2 miles north of Winchester. I guess John Burton owns the ground now. Also one was located 1 mile south of Mull (Lickskillet) on the corner of the Luellen farm. It was called the Strahan mill. Ground is all low east of the factory to mark the spot where they got their clay to make the tile. Also one of the most interesting was the old Martin factory just a quarter mile northwest of Winchester just across the road from the old fairgrounds. (Martin St. at the north edge of Winchester today,2025.)

253. Winchester News.

 Jan. 19, 1952.   Have you ever called the Winchester police station and received no answer? Here's the reason and a suggestion by Chief  'Fozy' Holdeman. There's no radio hookup like most modern towns have, so when the officer is out in the patrol car, nobody is in the station. However, when a phone call comes in, the light bulb goes on at the top of the courthouse tower, day or night. That's the signal for the cruising policeman to get back to the station right away. Many times however, when they do get there the caller has "hung up." So Chief Holdeman's suggestion is simply this- "Hang on until you get an answer."  

Aug. 3, 1921.   Winchester Youth Meets Frightful Death.  Kenneth Ross, age 5, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Ross, of Winchester, was struck by an east bound freight train at 10 o'clock Friday morning. The accident occured at the intersection of the Big Four railway and Union street. The child was amusing himself by tapping the side of the cars and lost his balance and fell beneath the cars severing his head and left arm from his body. The child was playing with a little boy who ran to the Ross home and told about the accident to Mrs. Ross. The mother was the first to arrive on the scene and found the decapitated body. Her screams brought the father to the scene who had returned from his nights work at the city ice plant. The childs home was only two doors from the railroad track and he was playing along the right-of-way.

252. Body Of Baby Found In Old Well.

  

The Winchester Herald, January 22, 1919.

  Sunday afternoon, January 19, the coroner, Dr. G. C. Markle, was called to the farm owned by Mrs. George W. Fox, one and a half miles north of Carlos City. In an old abandoned well in an unoccupied house there had been found what was supposed to be the body of a baby. On examination there was nothing left but the trunk. The legs, arms and head had not been found. It was undoubtedly a portion of the body of a human being. This house had been unoccupied since the first of April, 1918. It is situated back from the road quite a little distance and was very seldom visited by the owners of the farm. On last Sunday, John A. Shoop of Richmond, father of Mrs. Fox, was visiting with the family and he and George Fox, in a ramble over the place, got a whiff of a skunk and thought they would find the hiding place of said animal, as the fur at these times is a very valuable article. Thinking probably they would find some trace of it under the floor of the old house, they approached it and started an investigation. In fishing around they found the old well, from the bottom of which they pulled the deceased body of the baby, which Dr. Markle is certain had been there about three months. The well is fifteen feet deep and nearly full of water. There was no way, of course, of telling whether or not the baby had ever breathed, what sex, or anything else except that there was enough left of it to tell that it was a human being. The doctor is certain that it was a plain case of murder by some unknown person who wished to get rid of a baby. (In reading following newspapers, nothing more was said about the baby.)  mh

251. Orphans' Home At Modoc.(1912)

 250.  Orphans' Home At Modoc.

  An orphans' home sprang up in a day in the vicinity of Modoc last week. Mr. and Mrs. Croker of Chattanooga, Tenn., business men of that city arrived on the train from the east with twenty-seven colored orphan children, for the summer outing and they are now located in an old store building near the depot, entirely too small for convenience.
  Tents and provisions have been shipped here and they will soon be living in the open air on the outskirts of this little city. There are to be 80 children in their new Modoc home.  Published in the Union City Times, May, 1912.

The Winchester city council has purchased six silent policemen to be placed at the four corners of the square and one to be placed on the corner of North and Meridian streets and on the corner of North and Main.  April 27, 1921.

249. Randolph County Trivia

In 1850 The Indiana Gazetteer listed the population of Randolph County as about 14,000. It gave the area as about 450 square miles, a little over a 1/4 million acres. It says it is mostly level and at times wet and swampy, appearing to be low, but actually it is about the highest in the state. Randolph County is the beginning of several rivers, including the Big Miami, White River, Blue River, White Water, Mississinewa, Salamonie, Wabash and the St. Marys. These rivers run in all directions and take their rise here.The Indiana Gazetteer was a book showing each county with roads, settlements, streams and general information on the land.

November 3, 1933. Approximately 5000 people crowded the streets of Winchester in the first municipal Halloween celebration which the city has enjoyed in many years. Masked individuals marched around the square and on the last lap they passed across a platform before the judges and the first elimination for prizes began. Dancing began on the south and west sides of the square. On the south side there was old fashioned square dancing and on the west, modern dancing went on in full tilt until after 10 o’clock.

May 25, 1921. The formal opening of the Winchester golf links was held at the Miller field adjoining Winchester on the northwest. The ground is the property of the Winchester Golf Club which was formed a few weeks ago. Golf is the great international game and is popular and prevalent in in practically all cities of any pretension, thus locally we were somewhat slow in preparing for and participating in this great game. The club has a limit on its membership to fifty, with the consequence that the waiting list is well filled. The links are required to have the minimum of hazards and if many of the members develop into expert players here they will have excellent chances to enter matches on any other links. The opening was one that promises a successful future as practically all were new to the game but so interested did they become that they are advocates of the daylight saving plan. During the evening the members enjoyed picnic lunches. As a testimonial of their appreciation of the services of John P. Clark for the club he was presented with a box of golf balls. Mr. Clark has been untiring in his efforts to have Winchester have the best golf course in this section.

March, 1921. The first high school basketball tourney ever held in Winchester will occur March 4th and 5th. Prospects for a successful tourney are bright and the 300 season tickets were divided equally among the competing schools and many Winchester fans are disappointed in not being able to see the games. Only a few single admission tickets will be sold. Ridgeville is being picked by the deposters to win the tournament but will be hard pressed by Selma. Ridgeville has not lost a game this season to any of the competing teams, but Selma received a decisive defeat at the hands of Farmland. Winchester has won ten games and lost three to the competing teams and may be the “dark horse” of the tournament.

February 2, 1921. The County of Randolph now has a hospital, known as the Randolph County Hospital and this week it was formally opened and a large crowd of visitors came and went throughout the entire day. At three o’clock a short program was given with David Cox, county commissioner presiding. Thomas Hutchens, county attorney, made a short address and on behalf of the Randolph County Board of Commissioners turned the hospital over to the Board of Control. Philip Kabel, president of the Board made the speech of acceptance. In the year 1914 this building was erected by Mrs. Hettie Voris, to be used as a home for aged ladies, and on account of lack of support, the home was closed and Mrs. Voris donated the grounds and buildings with all of the furnishings to the County provided the building be converted into a county hospital. In the addresses of both Mr. Hutchens and Mr. Kabel they paid a tribute to Mrs. Voris who so generously gave this great gift to the county. The hospital contains reception rooms, large corridors, two suite of rooms, seven private rooms, a woman’s ward, X-Ray rooms, two surgeries, sewing room, nurses’s dining room, kitchen and laundry which is fully equipped with electrical appliances. Miss Nelle Moist, a graduate nurse of much experience, is the superintendent of the hospital and personally directed the furnishing and the placing of all equipment. Miss Zelphia Gilbert, a graduate of Winchester High School and a graduate nurse of the Cincinnati Hospital, is a member of the staff. The members of the Randolph County Medical Association have donated their services to the indigent poor of the county and treatment will be given in the hospital. Dr. J. S. Robison, of Winchester, has charge of the laboratory and R. W. Reid of Union City has charge of the X-Ray department.

June 21, 1916. The child recently born at the Randolph County Poor Farm to Lulu Wood of Winchester and which was made a ward of the county by Judge Shockley has seemingly found a good home, having been legally adopted by Rollie R. And Belle Howell of Muncie. Mrs. Howell read of the baby having been made a ward of the court and being desirous of a child immediately came to Winchester, visited the child who had been taken to the Moorman Orphanage and consulted Judge Shockley. She was pleased with the child and as the Judge gave his consent to the adoption if she would submit to the court evidence of her and her husband’s financial and moral responsibility. She returned to Muncie and secured the necessary proof and an outfit for the baby. These she submitted to Judge Shockley and the adoption will be made legal in the circuit court. The husband earns good wages and it is believed that the child has a promising future. The new mother christened the girl Georgia Lucille Howell

248. Lyric Theatre To Open September 1, 1924.

 May 22, 1924. Work on dismantling the old wood frame building at 115 S. Main street has begun. The new Lyric Theatre is to be erected there and construction will begin shortly with the opening expected to be September 1st. Miss Charlotte Tilson has moved her flower shop one door north to the Arrow Confectionary and McCullom's Jewelry store has moved to Carl Puckett's insurance office on the south side of the square. The theatre is being built by the Main Street Realty Company. Winchester Journal-Herald.

May 18, 1921. Goodrich Park Being Beautified.

 The improvement of the John B. Goodrich Park is progressing nicely. The ball diamond has been put in first class condition for the playing season. A cinder track is now completely coated with cinders and last week a splendid flowing well was completed at the pool and another is under way. Two tennis courts will be completed in a very few days. A wading pool is now under construction for the kiddies. It will be 36 feet in in diameter with concrete bottom and sides. The water will be supplied from the flowing well on the east at the foot of the beech woods. Hundreds of young trees have been planted and are coming along nicely.

 The D. A. R. have taken over a section at the north end of the woods, west of the main drive and have planted a number of trees, shrubs and flowers. They expect to take care of this part of the park and add to the things already planted from time to time.

 The park is open to anyone who cares to use it for any kind of picnics, reunions, etc. This beauty spot is a great addition to Winchester and will in time add fame to our fair city. Parents should encourage their children to play there and also urge not to swing on or molest the young trees nor pull the flowers.

Additional facilities will be added, but no funds are available just now. A tool house is badly needed but no funds are available this summer. Also a bath house must be provided if any use is to be made of the pool this summer. Perhaps someone will find it within their hearts to furnish some of these much needed additions to the park. Walk out and look it over next Sunday. You will be repaid by watching the thron of women and children enjoying the park. If you have a native tree or shrub you wish to plant in memory of someone, take it to the park. Stace Catey will look after it for you. Winchester Journal-Herald.

December 21, 1921. Two Stills Taken By Officials.

 Federal prohibition officer, W. A. Ray, assisted by Randolph County Deputy Sheriff Eldon Reichard, swooped down onto a real still two miles west of Farmland, on the interurban line. They found two stills in the basement of the home of Edward Burr, one a fifty-gallon and the other a twenty-gallon which from all appearances had been in full operation, not at the time of the raid, however, as no one was at home but the stills were taken and arrest of the parties was to follow. The officers found a gallon and a half of liquor in a jug hidden behind the piano and in the woodhouse they found a wooden churn which contained more of the white mule. This still business may be a profitable investment for a time, but in the wind-up it may prove to be rather an expensive proposition to the parties who engage therein. Burr was arraigned in court and was fined, cost and all, $507.90 ($8,951.89 in 2025), and sent to the penal farm for ninety days. Winchester Journal-Herald.

July 16, 1913. Aeroplanes And Moving Pictures.  

 Winchester's first experience with aeroplanes and moving picture machines was so successful and enjoyable that all of the large crowd that was here last Thursday are anxious to see them again while those that were not permitted to be here are desirous of having an opportunity of seeing those modern inventions. The weather was all that could have been desired and the crowd was a large, happy and peaceable one. All that was advertised for the occasion was presented and there were none but what were satisfied. The automobile parade was not held until after dinner when the moving picture operator caught all who participated two or three times on the North side of the square. In the morning "movies" were taken of the business houses who were on the guarantee fund. Immediately after the parade the crowd congregated at the ball park in the field West of the Willard school building. The Randolph and Metropolitan ball clubs entertained the people both before and after the biplane flight with a five inning game that resulted favorably to the Randolph by a score of 8 to 2. Also before and after the flight the aviator's machine, a Columbian biplane, was viewed by all interested. At three o'clock the aviator, Mr. Beeckley, of Chicago, started a flight that was successful and concluded with a landing which his manager stated was the most perfect ever made. He flew to the Northwest against the wind, back over the ball ground and crowd, up over the business section and back to the grounds making a low circle to the Southwest before alighting, which he did within a short distance of where he made the start. He did not fly very high nor did he perform any stunts, nevertheless he was given an ovation when he alighted and turned the machine over to his mechanic. No mishap occurred and the hundreds of people who had the pleasure of witnessing an aeroplane flight for the first time were more than satisfied. Indian Joe gave an exhibition of bronco busting, and uptown trick bicycle riders amused and entertained the crowd before and after supper. At night the ball park again contained a large crowd to witness the fire works and no one went away disappointed as it was the most pretentious display of pyrotechnics ever given here. A set piece "Boost Winchester" with Winchester marked by a glowing light in a map of Indiana was admired and applauded as was also a set piece representing the American flag. No accident marred the day and the crowd which was composed of people from all over the county went home well pleased. The affair will do much to advertise the week of enjoyment and pleasure that is planned to be held here beginning on October 4. Winchester Herald.

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Randolph County, Indiana 1818-1990

Commonly referred to as "The Red History Book"

Compiled by the Randolph County Historical Society, 1991, Second reprint 2003.

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