TERRE HAUTE — Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
1999
• “Third and Margaret Makes Hit List.” The intersection was ranked ninth on the State Farm top 10 list for Indiana. However Pat Martin, chief transportation planner for West Central Indiana Economic Development District of Terre Haute, said the U.S. 41 and Davis Avenue intersection ranked highest in the county with 86 accidents during 1997.
• Danielle Fisher, Terre Haute South Vigo sophomore, was invited to compete in the World Sports Exchange’s American High School swimming team in Sydney, Australia.
• Tom Jones and Nancy Groth regained their Hulman Links Club championships. This was Jones’ fourth time overall and Groth’s seventh overall title.
• The Dairy Castle, a West Terre Haute restaurant at 423 W. National Ave., was destroyed by fire. Owners Jim and Lori Dowers planned to rebuild.
• Members of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Solar Phantom team, which finished third, were happy with their improvement. The team had finished 20th in 1990, 15th in 1993, 14th in 1995 and 5th in 1997.
• The Bethesda United Methodist Church, located on Thorpe Road west of West Terre Haute, celebrated 150 years.
1984
• The annual WTHI/Pabst Raft Race was staged at Fairbanks Park on the banks of the Wabash River. Entertainment was provided by Art Nevill and the “Country Cousins” and the “Country Connection” family band.
• The Indiana Department of Highways announced the U.S. 40 bridge over the Wabash River linking Terre Haute and West Terre Haute was scheduled for replacement as part of the 1984-86 Highway Improvement Program.
• The Clean Air Service team won the Hammond Hall of Fame softball tournament championship, their fourth consecutive tournament win. Mark Lane and Gus Solomon were the team offensive and pitching leaders.
• A study of community flows in the Terre Haute Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area showed that 40,718 of Vigo County’s 43,471 workers were employed in the county. Reporter Dale Long concluded, “That means Vigo County is 93.7 percent self-sufficient in providing employment for the residents, far and away the highest figure in southwestern Indiana based on the 1980 census.
• Tony Nading and Terri Wiser won the third annual Mayor’s Cup Mile run down Wabash Avenue preceding the 39th annual Frontier Day Parade.
1959
• The public wedding of Georgene Kracy and David Lee Williams was staged in front of the arcade of the new Southland Shopping Center. Both were Gerstmeyer High School graduates. Kracy was employed at Hook Drugs at the shopping center and Lee worked for Owens Oil Co.
• Sections of Tom Parks’ Shrine Circus began arriving in Terre Haute for two performances at Memorial Stadium. The Shriners had sponsored the circus since 1937 to raise money for the Zorah Shrine crippled children’s fund.
• Terre Haute with an estimated population of 73,000 was the seventh largest city in the state. Indianapolis, Gary, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend and Hammond were larger.
• The Rea Park Men’s Club led by Bob Arnett and Warren Artz won the ninth inter-club tourney at Rea Park.
• A spectacular demonstration of firefighting highlighted activities at Hulman Field as part of the state training program sponsored by the Indiana Volunteer Firemen Association. Some 1,000 IVFA members and visitors were present for the event held in cooperation with the Indiana Air National Guard.
History
Looking Back: 1984: Annual WTHI/Pabst Raft Race staged at Fairbanks Park on Wabash River
- History
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes








