136. Randolph County Misc.

1955. Early Saratoga Schools.

   In 1949, March 2, James Hyde, James Lollar and James Evans, trustees of school district No. 9, leased one fourth of an acre of land from James Lollar. This was to be the site of a school building. The contract stated it was to be possessed by them or their successors as long as it was used for school purposes.
  The first schoolhouse, in Saratoga, was erected on this lot. It is across the street, west from the postoffice. It was made of hewn logs with one door and four windows. The benches were split logs placed along the walls and a wall shelf of the same served as a writing desk. The older boys cut and carried in the wood for fuel for the iron stove. Goose quills were made into pens. The school term lasted about 30 days.
  This schoolhouse was replaced by a frame building in 1863, furnished and equipped according to the standards of the time. The log building was moved across the street and forms a part of the home of Tom Harshman. In 18? a two story brick building was erected by William Smith, trustee.
  An addition of one-half acre was leased for a playground. Some of the games played here were Black Man and a ball game called Tippy-Up, for the girls and the smaller children. The older ones played crack the whip and wrestling and more serious feats of strength were enjoyed by the boys.
  Mrs. Nora McFarland Lollar, Billy Correll and Blanche Hedgepath were some of the primary teachers. The grades were divided between the two rooms.
  In 1898, J.W. Owens, trustee, erected a two story building with four class rooms, halls and coat rooms and moved the school. The school at the original site had become overcrowded and a room was rented in the I.O.O.F. building, and a the year high school class was housed there. For several years the high school was of three years duration. Thomas Johnson was the first high school teacher and he taught the same for twelve years. The pupils were seated and recited in one room, thereby only one teacher was needed. School hours were from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with one hour off for lunch and a half hour recess periods in mid forenoon and afternoon.
  During the fifty years of school life at this place, many able teachers served as instructors. Some of these were William Moulton, Jacob Lucas, Admiral Wall, Lorenzo Sipe, Erastus Lollar, Enos Lollar, J.E. Orr and Victor Hedgepath. Mr. Hedgepath introduced Latin and Algebra by giving an extra course to some who finished the regular term and who wished to acquire more knowledge.
  At the old playgrounds, clean fresh sawdust from the mill nearby was spread in a deep layer over muddy surfaces. This was an occasion for increased activity as the children rolled and frolicked in the dry fragrant sawdust.
  In 1912, Albert T. DeLong, trustee, added a domestic science and manual training room to the latest structure, and two additional teachers were employed. This building served until it became inadequate for the growing needs of the school and was replaced by a modern building with one floor.
  The gymnasium occupies the center, with a large stage across one side and comfortable folding seats for public affairs. This room is surrounded by class rooms on two sides, with extra rooms in the back for cooking classes, cafeteria, where the students are served a complete meal for a nominal fee.
  The building and its facilities also serve a community need for a place to accommodate large gatherings, banquets, etc., sponsored by various organizations of the town and vicinity.
  Ara Huber is principal of the school at the present time, having filled this position for several years. Miss Alice Taylor was primary teacher for many years, beginning about 1906.
  The grounds which are spacious were landscaped by a former trustee, Harry Arthur. A large and lively Parent-Teachers association added much to the beauty and comfort of the rooms by purchasing extras not furnished by the school officials.  Winchester News, Feb., 1955. By Mrs. W.E. Coggeshall.



1924. Bobbed Hair.

  While bobbed hair is not unanimously approved and is strongly condemned by some, it is steadily growing in popularity and by the same token the coffers of the local barbers are being filled as never before, for bobbed hair has brought them a lot of additional business, with the result that the male of the species must wait longer for his barbering and incidentally must be more careful of his utterances in barber shops since bobbed hair became a fad or whatever it is.
  No matter when one enters a local barber shop he is almost sure to find one or more girls or women waiting to be bobbed or are being bobbed, but of course the hair bobbing business is slackest in the forenoons. Nor do the barber shops get all of the bobbing business, for it is said that bobbing is also done by beauty doctors and hair dressers in the city. All of which goes to prove as before stated that hair bobbing has grown mighty popular and has come to stay for a considerable time at least.
  But "it's an ill wind that blows nobody good," and if bobbed hair can be classed as an ill wind it has its good points. For instance, it has improved the barber shop morals a lot with the result that no longer are the off color stories or the occasional profanity heard in the barber shops, when women or girls are present, which were so noticeable, not to say disgusting and ill bred before the days of the bobbed heads.  Union City Times, July, 1924.



1961. 1909 Locomotive at Lynn.

  "You can't hardly find them kind no more." We refer, of course, to the old #98 steam locomotive which made a brief stop at the West Church and U.S. 36 crossing in Lynn, Saturday. With the train was H.A. Grimes, a retired engineer with the Reading Railroad who came out of retirement recently to become a conductor for the Strausburg line. With him was M.W. Shanks, a conductor with the Pennsylvania Railroad local out of Richmond.
  The short stay of the out-moded 1909 locomotive in Lynn caused quite a stir. Halted motorists left their cars to get a closer look at the monstrous piece of railroad metal and almost before you could shake a stick the place was swarming with youngsters. Most of the children, of course, have seen only diesel locomotives and looked at us in disbelief when we said "yes" locomotives of that description actually did pull trains not so many years ago. Made us feel antiquated. As a youngster we lived not far from a railroad track and never tired of the huffing and puffing engines, despite the constant billows of black smoke which caused a lot of extra work. Saturday the engine looked much the same as it must have looked when it was built by the American Locomotive Works in Schenectady, N.Y. 51 years ago. It showed signs of being freshly painted and the solid bronze bell on top gleamed in the rays of the setting sun.
  The engine, "being dead in tow" according to railroad lingo, was on its way to Strausburg, Pa., where it will be put to use hauling tourists over a four and one-half mile scenic route through Pennsylvania Dutch country to Lehman Place. Mr. Grimes told us the train would operate on Saturdays only, with passengers paying $1 each for the ride.
  He also said he had retired from the Reading line four years ago after 47 years of service and had come out of retirement simply as a favor to the Strausburg line. It was evident he was more than pleased with his new job. With oil can in hand, he was climbing over the engine and giving it a most minute inspection.
  The engine was purchased from the Mississippi Central Railroad by H.K. Long, president of the Strausburg line and picked up in Baton Rouge, La. The locomotive last saw service in 1945, when it was used to transport troops after WW II. Since that time it has been in storage.
  Phil Nouse, assistant trainmaster at the Pennsylvania freight yard in Richmond, informed us the engine was transported on the "Shoo Fly" to Fort Wayne and then east to Strausburg.   The Lynn Herald, July, 1961. By Eileen Thorne.



1943. Lowell L. Simmons, WW II.

  Somewhere in the South Pacific, May 5, - A candy box from home, a small piece of a coconut tree and fish guts borrowed from natives were all Private First Class Lowell L. Simmons, U.S.M.C., of Winchester needed to bring music to Marines here. Simmons is the son of Rollie Simmons of 454 Carl street, Winchester.
  The former Anchor-Hocking Glass Corporation worker, now a jeep driver here, made his banjo, called over a couple of buddies and organized a string band.
  The "Rocky Simmons Band" which followed has become an entertainment feature for Marines who previously spent odd moments trying to master the native language or throwing knives at trees.
  The candy box was reinforced with coconut wood to make the instrument's box, the strings were of fish gut and the neck was shaped from coconut wood. Simmons also assisted his buddies in making a mandolin and another banjo shaped from one-gallon alcohol and powdered milk cans, respectively.
  Also in the island string band are Charles J. Voagele, U.S.N. pharmacist mate, third class a guitar player and singer: Corporal Floyd R. Edmonson, U.S.M.C. squad leader, a banjo and guitar player and Corporal Franklin G. Dale, U.S.M.C.
  Besides playing for entertainments, Pvt. Simmons and Pharmacist Mate Voegele have collaborated to compose two tunes-"Ode To The South Seas" and "Hospital Corps Blues," both of satirical nature.
  Private Simmons who formerly played in small Indiana orchestras with his father, enlisted in the Marine Corps in April, 1942, while working at Anchor-Hocking. Prior to that he was a student at Winchester High School.   Winchester Journal-Herald, May, 1943.



1899. Moorman-Diggs-Way Reunion.

  The fifth annual reunion of the Moorman, Diggs and Way Association was held in the Henry A. Moorman grove, Sept. 5, with 105 members present. A bountiful dinner was served in splendid style at the noon hour and the afternoon was spent in a most enjoyable manner.
  For three hours, the gathering indulged in songs and short talks. The elder members devoted their time to interesting reminiscences of the pioneer days.
  A notable feature of the former reunions was the presence of the five sons of Tarlton Moorman. This year but three were present. Rev. John A. Moorman died January 2, 1899, and Thomas Moorman was confined to his room because of illness. He is now eighty-four years old, though very feeble, his mind is clear and his memory good. Richmond Moorman, aged eighty-two, though feeble, was present. Stephen Moorman, aged seventy-six, William Moorman, aged sixty-three, were present. Thomas W. Kizer, aged seventy-five years, whose first wife was Susannah Way, daughter of Jesse and Fanniel (Diggs) way, was present. He is quite feeble, but still looks after his own business affairs. Anthony Diggs and daughter, Anna J., of Lena, Illinois were present. They have attended all the reunions except the first two.
  Anthony Diggs left this county in 1856, and moved to Illinois where he has prospered. His father was Uncle "Billy" Diggs. William M. Way, of Champaign, Illinois, brother of Mrs. Nathan Reed, mother of W.W. Reed and son of Paul W. Way, who laid out the original town of Winchester.
  From 1810 to 1825 the Moorman, Way and Diggs families came from North Carolina to Eastern Indiana. The Moormans are said to have emigrated to America with William Penn and settled in Pennsylvania, from there emigrating to Virginia, then to Carolina and from thence to Indiana in the early part of the century.
  John Moorman, Susannah Moorman and her four sons, Tarlton, (father of Thomas, above mentioned), Thomas, James (Uncle Jimmie), and Jesse, with others of the family, moved from North Carolina to Indiana.
  They have occupied a conspicuous place in the business interests of Eastern Indiana. They are modest and unassuming, yet progressive. They are examples of frugality and thrift, and have accumulated a great deal of wealth.   Winchester Journal, Sept. 13, 1899.



1943. Ridgeville Boy Drowns.

  Flood waters claimed their first victim in Randolph county Wednesday afternoon as John Adams, 15, drowned in the turbulent Mississinewa river at Ridgeville.
  Sheriff Kora Davis and Winchester police called to the scene directed the search but after more than four hours the body had not been recovered. Because of the lack of electric power for lights and because of the possibility of searchers falling into the swollen river, the hunt was postponed around 8 p.m. but will be resumed this morning.
  The Adams youth, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herb Adams of Ridgeville, was one of a party of seven boys who were swimming near the Pennsylvania railroad bridge at the south edge of Ridgeville when the drowning occurred.
  The strong current pulled the victim under water near an abutment of the bridge and he was seen again about 60 feet below the bridge before disappearing from view.
  Jack Bailey, one of the swimmers, was sent to Ridgeville for aid, and others in the party sought to rescue the victim but the swift waters already had carried him out of sight.
  A canoe belonging to Cloy Lewis, Ridgeville, was used in the search for the body until a boat could be brought from Winchester. Because of the strong current the boat was tied to the railroad bridge while Deputy Sheriff Lester Puterbaugh and Winchester Police Chief Charles Bullock used grapp
ling hooks in the water which was approximately 12 feet deep. William (Bill) Poe, Winchester, and Forrest Holdeman of the Winchester police also aided in the search.
  Eugene Barnes 15, of near Ridgeville, one of the youths in the swimming party said that the group was wading and swimming in the river and that the Adams youth had waded near the bridge when the current swept him off his feet and into deep water. He shouted for help, Barnes said, and several boys in the group raced to the bank of the river but failed to reach him before he disappeared.
  Others in the group were Douglas VanSkyock, Carl Smithson, Jim Bailey, and Leroy Mosier. All lived in or near Ridgeville and except for Jack Bailey all were between 13 and 15 years of age. Jack Bailey, brother of Jim Bailey, is about 11 years old.
  The victim's father is employed at the Durham Manufacturing Company in Muncie and the mother is employed in a Dunkirk factory. Both were returning from work just before the tragedy occurred and were notified at their home. Two sisters also survive.
     Body Found:  The youth's body was discovered shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday by Lester Hummel. Ridgeville barber, who was a member of a searching party of Ridgeville citizens.
  The body was submerged along the south bank of the river and was lodged in a clump of willows about 250 feet from the point where the boy was last seen to appear above te surface.   Winchester Journal-Herald, May 20, 1943.



1976. Negro Settlement.

  A unique community began developing near the Randolph & Darke County border during the early part of the 1800's which today shows little evidence of the bustling society which once flourished. Like the legendary city of Atlantis, the small isolated "island" sank to oblivion in the face of the Industrial Revolution.
  It all began in 1822 when Thornton Alexander, Sr., a black former slave, who had been freed at the age of 36, moved with his wife and nine children into the area northeast of Spartanburg and purchased 300 acres of good farm land.
  Shortly after that Mames Clemens, Sr., and Ezekial Lewis and other black settlers began moving into the area.  Most of the new citizens in the new area were freed slaves, coming up from the South where the rights of freed Negroes were not guaranteed by those states that would ultimately secede from the Union in 1860 and 1861.
  It was one of the few settlements in the United States which wanted to be clearly known as a "Negro Settlement"; however, strangely enough, few of the citizens in the community took an active part in working with the Underground Railroad system established at Newport (Fountain City) in Wayne County.
  The community eventually grew to large proportions with settlers concentrated in an area extending approximately five miles east of  S.R. 227 in Indiana, between the southern boundary of U.S . 36 and S.R. 502 in Ohio. Census records from 1875 indicate the area was settled by 404 blacks; however, the figure is not a clear representation of the total population as early census records did not take into account those below the age of 21.
  The settlement was chiefly a rural agrarian community with only a few shops established to necessarily sustain an autonomous existence.
  William Jones, who has lived for the most part in the community since the 1920's has become something of a local authority on the history of the settlement. Jones, now 61 years-old, has been interested in history since a small boy. He has talked with many of the older residents of the area, many who have since died, and carries much of the history and tales of the black community around in his head.
  According to Jones, up until the 1930 Depression years, the habits, customs and livelihoods of the people in the area had not changed much from the previous 100 years. The blacks of the area, many who were lighter-skinned through previous in-breeding with whites, were forced into the isolated life of the community.
  "You have to understand," Jones says, "that the people were doing as much as they could without outside help. Generally they felt, as my mother and her generation, superior to the darker skinned blacks. My mother and her generation were taught not to associate with darker skinned people than they were."
  "They also realized the general hatred the white people had for them, so they preferred to live on this little island among themselves," Jones continued. "I left the community, went into the army and worked for awhile in Washington, and it wasn't until then it struck me how narrow-minded and alone they were on the island."
  The residents of the "island" soon begat a village in the southern part of the community called Tampico. The town numbered a total of 67 persons according to the 1875 census-43 blacks and 24 whites. The town consisted of two saloons and two blacksmith shops among its chiefly residential plat. But trouble soon started. Tampico began getting the reputation as a "rough town" and people became apprehensive about settling in the vicinity.
  A Christmas Eve incident at a Tampico saloon sealed the town's fate. The afternoon before Christmas had been fairly quiet at the bar; however, as the day dwindled into the twilight hours, a drunken gunfight broke out and one man was killed. Another man was badly shot up and, although he eventually pulled through, his life hung by a slim thread for weeks. Another man was severely beaten in the saloon brawl.
  Shortly after that, Tampico turned into a ghost town. Nothing exists of the town today, except two small houses.
  After the demise of Tampico, the people in the community decided they wanted to establish a post office in a central location within the settlement. At first it was decided that the post office and surrounding houses, at the intersection of the Hollandsburg-Tampico road and Singley road, be called Bethel because of its proximity to the Bethel Wesleyan Church. However, the idea was scrapped as not everyone in the community was affiliated with the church. The community leaders got their heads together and decided to name the evolving town after a new settler who had gained all their respect-a blacksmith named Long.
  Long, a white man, had recently returned from Kansas, presumably searching for land. Not being able to lay any claim to land out west, Long turned around and started back east. Somewhere between Kansas and Darke county, long bought the blacksmith shop, which had already proved a financial disaster, from a fast talking dealer trying to unload the business.
  According to all accounts, Long, who had bought the shop sight unseen, was certainly surprised when he pulled up to the front of his store in the predominately black community. But Long stuck the business out and made a go of it. The people in the community respected Long for making the best of an awkward situation and asked him if they could name the town after him. Long consented and the village name was recorded.
  Around the early 1900's the town of Long had two or three blacksmith shops along Singely road, a Masonic Lodge Hall and two churches in addition to the post office. Jones remembers hearing about the large Memorial Day parades the town had during the turn of the century. Many of the local residents would show off their new buggies, wagons and spirited three-gaited horses. It was a day of good food, tall tales, jubilance and horse races.
  The churches also provided much interest in the community. One, the Bethel Wesleyan Church, is still established at the intersection, although it's a much newer building. The other, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, was originally built in Indiana, but moved across from the Bethel church sometime between 1880 and 1885. Competition between the two churches was stiff, each trying to upstage the other and competing for attendance figures.
  Competition between the two churches was one thing," Jones says, "but, personally I think that kept interest in the community. There were about 950 residents for Ohio and another 150 in Indiana around the years from 1880 to 1890 before the factories started draining the population, so there were enough people for the churches.
  The African Methodist Episcopal church moved to a new church about a mile east of the crossroads sometime between 1921 to 1923, and dropped out of the AME conference in the 1930's to develop a community church. However that failed to work as the population began to dwindle. "There just wasn't enough residents in the community to support more than one church," Jones stated. The new church never got off the ground and now stands in a dilapidated state of repair.
  It was really between 1890 and the years of World War I when the factories began destroying the closely knit community around Long (later called Longtown by area residents). Many of the skills that were necessary for self subsistence were lost as the older residents passed on and the younger ones moved to work in the city.
  "There were several carpenters, plasterers and other skilled people in the area," Jones said, "but up through the 20's and 30's a lot of these skills were lost. It seems like all the skills the people once had have passed on with them."
  About the only reminder that a village or isolated "island' existed at the crossroads are the two well-kept cemeteries in the area. But there are no longer any jubilant Memorial Day parade processions to commemorate the founders of this once bustling community.



1978. Dr. Shallenberger.

  A combination birthday party and open house is being community-planned for Sunday afternoon, May 7th, 1978 at the Union School Cafetorium, located one mile west of Modoc. The community is honoring the 75th birthday of a mutual friend, Dr. Henry R. Shallenberger.
  Since this is the 40th year that Doc and his ever-patient wife, Gertrude have served the Modoc-Losantville area and have shared many of the happy times, as well as some sad ones, a special honor salute is scheduled at 3 p.m. Included will be a special register for "Doc's Babies", so please notify all children so they can plan to attend.
  Doctor Shallenberger began his medical career following graduation from the University of Pittsburgh in 1933.  He began his general practice in a little town of Union Deposit, Pa. Later he practiced in Hershey, Pa., and Rabbit Hash, Ky. and Grayson, Ky. Many of his patients lived in log cabins in the hills that were reached by him driving up a creek bed in the car in the summer or on horseback in the winter. It was while in Grayson that the first Wonder Drug Sulfanilamide made it's appearance. Dr. Shallenberger was one of the first doctors in the community to use it.
  In 1938 they moved to Modoc. Doc recalls the first child with pneumonia on whom he used sulfathiazole with dramatic results. At the start of WW II he volunteered for duty but was not permitted to serve because he was declared essential to the community.
  It was toward the end of the war when penicillin became available. Osteomyelitis, a disease considerable to be incurable was completely eliminated in an 11-year-old girl who was the first to whom he gave penicillin.
  His long, weary hours of service to patients during the war years have become his way of life. He still makes house calls day and night, plus regular office hours day and night. He can regularly be seen each morning on his way to the Henry County Memorial Hospital of which he is an active staff member. He is also a member of the Randolph County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Assn. and the American Academy of General Practice.
  Doctor Shallanberger and Gertrude are the parents of three children, Hugh (Darsie) of Columbia, Missouri, Ruth Christine of Winter Haven, Florida and Eleanor Penelope of Fairland, Indiana. They have six grandchildren.   Winchester Journal, May, 1978.