USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > A standard history of Kosciusko County, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development. A chronicle of the people with family lineage and memoirs, Volume I > Part 27
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Of the industries lately established in Warsaw, probably none is more prosperous than the manufacture which has been developed since 1911 by the Warsaw Overall Company, under the presidency of W. S. Felkner. In addition to the large factory at Warsaw, which employs about 150 hands, there is a branch at Pierceton.
Also worthy of mention are the manufactures represented by the Loehr Acetylene Company, the Warsaw Cut Glass Company, Cruick- shank Brothers' Company (local branch of the Pittsburgh Canning Company), and the DePuy Manufacturing Company (for twenty years makers of splints and artificial arms and legs).
THE WARSAW COMMERCIAL CLUB
For a number of years past, the Warsaw Commercial Club, which has taken the place of the former Chamber of Commerce, is the rep- resentative body of the progressive element of the city in all matters relating to business, commerce and the industries. It has been alert to secure investments of capital not only in the establishment of new industries but in the expansion of those already in operation.
In other words, the Commercial Club is the moving spirit of War- saw and aims to secure the co-operation of all classes of citizens- merchants, manufacturers, professional men, property owners, em- ployers and employees-in order to permanently advance, promote and foster the best enterprises of the community. It is the further desire of the club to bring all classes of citizens together on a com- mon plane of association with a view of developing a profitable ex- change of views, as well as a social fellowship, among the people whose lives and interests are centered in Warsaw.
The Warsaw Commercial Club has a membership of about 150,, with the following officers: William D. Frazer, president; Charles H. Ker, secretary and treasurer. Its directors, besides the foregoing, are A. O. Catlin, L. W. Royse, J. H. Jones, Eugene Alleman, J. W. Coleman, L. C. Wann, W. W. Reed and C. Edwin Stout.
CHAPTER XVI
WINONA ASSEMBLY AND TOWN
FIRST IMPROVEMENTS FOR SUMMER RESORTERS-BEYER BROTHERS AND SPRING FOUNTAIN PARK-CARNAHAN'S MILITARY PARK -- FIRST SPRING FOUNTAIN PARK ASSEMBLY-DR. SOL C. DICKEY APPEARS -- ASSEMBLY SITE PURCHASED OF BEYER BROTHERS-WINONA ASSEMBLY AND ITS FOUNDERS-THE INDIAN MOUND PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS-A PEN PICTURE OF THE WINONA ASSEMBLY BY DOCTOR DICKEY-CAUSE OF FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENT-WINONA ASSEMBLY GROUNDS-THE WINONA BIBLE CONFERENCE-SIDE CONFERENCES-CONFERENCE AGAINST CRIME-THE PROPHETIC CONFERENCE-CHILDREN'S MUSICAL PAGEANT-RED CROSS WORK -THE I. A. E .- SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES AT WINONA LAKE-THE WINONA COLLEGE-WINONA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE-INDIANA UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL STATION - THE WINONA CHURCH - THE TOWN OF WINONA LAKE.
The beautiful cluster of lakes-Pike, Center and Winona-in which are gathered the headwaters of the Tippecanoe River and around which are grouped so many of the natural and artificial out- door attractions of Kosciusko County, also constitute the material center of an intellectual, moral and spiritual movement which has brought to this section of Indiana a high and still mounting fame. Some features of the splendid Winona Assembly have temporarily languished, but that fact does not affect the general and the vital success of the movement and its institute.
FIRST IMPROVEMENTS FOR SUMMER RESORTERS
The restful, reviving and picturesque region covering the assem- bly grounds and the incorporated Town of Winona Lake, has no early history; in the southern sections of Wayne Township occurred the pioneer settlements. Thirty years ago the stretch of country and lakes now covered by charming beaches and shores, lined with pretty cottages and alive with pleasure craft and pleasure seekers,
297
cJuD
Golf
5ROUNDS OF
WINONA ASSEMBLY -- AND ---
SUMMER SCHOOL
ASSOCIATION
WINONA LAKE
INDIANA
KEY
1. Auditorium in center of central ring, with band stand and Commercial building to north; Inn to the south- west and Marshall Home and Moody building to the south.
2. Biological Station and Kosciusko Lodge to the extreme southwest, and Chicago Hill the farthest point south.
3. Indian Mound, east of Biological Station.
4. The Laguna bounds McDonald Island on the east.
5. Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne R. R. cuts through northern part grounds. south of Golf Links and Golf Club House.
6. Map reduced from large drawing, courteously furnished by the Winona Assembly and Summer School Associa- tion.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
as well as those who are seeking mental and spiritual uplift amid the healthful inspirations of nature, was naught but a region of farms, herds and industrious agriculturists. Then the birds of the air and the fowls and fish of the waters had pretty much their own way in all the region around Winona (then Eagle) Lake. One of the first organizations which attempted to provide some of the con- veniences and recreations required by the average tourists was the Warsaw Summer Resort Association, but their efforts in that direc- tion were directed toward Center and Pike lakes, especially Mineral Beach, a tract of land upon the high bluffs on the east shore of that body of water. Lakeside Park was the result, to which plied a pleas- ure steamer and trains of the Pennsylvania Company.
BEYER BROTHERS AND SPRING FOUNTAIN PARK
The purchases and improvements which laid the basis of the Winona Assembly and the Town of Winona Lake were made by John F., C. C. and J. E. Beyer. They were wholesale dealers in dairy products. These gentlemen bought a large tract of land east of Eagle Lake in 1888, and first erected upon it a creamery and a wayside inn, or hotel. Within a couple of years the Beyer brothers had developed their land into a popular and heantiful resort for people of all classes and widely known as Spring Fountain Park. The park and Eagle Lake were located very near the water-shed of Northern Indiana, separating the waters of the Great Lakes from those of the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi valleys. The region there- fore occupies the highest ground in the state.
By the year 1890, Spring Fountain Park was one of the most popular places for pienie parties and assemblies of a social, educa- tional and religious nature in Northern Indiana. The secret and benevolent societies, the Grand Army, the Spring Fountain Park Assembly and a dozen other associations were making it their sum- mer meeting place. Cottages now lined winding paths and roads, and a large auditorium graced the hillside in the southern portion of the park near what was known as Garfield Park. The latter was laid out in a shady grove around a living spring, which, by means of a huge hydraulic ram brought from the Mentor farm of ex-Presi- dent Garfield, forced the water to the cottages on the assembly grounds and vicinity.
The elegant Eagle Lake Hotel had been erected, the finest hos- telry in any Indiana watering place, with its tall observatory, wide verandas and abundant supplies of water, sunlight and fresh air.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Besides the usual provisions of steamers, boats and bathing accom- modations, special picnic grounds, a driving park of fifty-five acres, a switch-back railway, and a baseball diamond, Spring Fountain Park offered several features far from the ordinary.
Near the deer park and at the foot of the hill upon which most of the cottages were then located was a large maple tree and from its trunk burst a clear cold spring water, which was carried through acres of the surrounding grounds. It is one of many living springs in that section of the park, but is the only one which has found its way to the surface of the earth through such a remarkable medium. There were many fountains scattered through the grounds, the most conspicuous being the Sheridan Fountain in the center of the park.
CARNAHAN'S MILITARY PARK
Stretching out into the lake was a level stretch of ground twenty acres in extent, known as the Carnahan Military Park, named in honor of the Indianapolis general. It served as an ideal parade ground and such organizations as the Uniformed Rank Knights of Pythias and the National Guard took advantage of its good qualities upon several occasions.
The main gateway to the park was the arched entrance erected by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, and not far within was the huge cyclorama of the Siege of Chattanooga, or the battles of Chattanooga, Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain. It was the out- come of five years of labor by the late Professor Harry J. Kellogg, who served under General Thomas with the typographical engineers during the siege.
FIRST SPRING FOUNTAIN PARK ASSEMBLY
The first gathering of the Spring Fountain Park Assembly was held in the hall erected for that purpose in the southern part of the grounds, July 16-28, 1890. As the association which organized it and conducted it for three years thereafter was, in a way, the nucleus of the Winona Assembly, a short pause is here due to notice it.
The original teachers of the assembly consisted of the following : Superintendent of instruction, Rev. D. C. Woolpert, M. D., D. D., Warsaw; normal classes, Rev. T. W. Brake, Warsaw ; school of philos- ophy, Prof. T. J. Sanders, A. M., Ph. D., Warsaw; chorus class and voice culture, Prof. D. A. Clippinger, Chicago; young people's interview, Rev. T. W. Brake, Warsaw; ministers' institute, Rev.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
M. M. Parkhurst, D. D., Greencastle, Indiana; school of pedagogics, Prof. T. J. Sanders, Warsaw; kindergarten, Miss Ella Clark, War- saw; Bible school, Rev. M. M. Parkhurst; art department, Miss M. E. Tibbals, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Sunday School synod, Rev. M. M. Parkhurst, Greencastle; boys' and girls' convention, Miss Mary Cos- grove and Miss Hattie Long, Warsaw; school of stenography and typewriting, Profs. MeDermut and Whiteleather, Fort Wayne, In- diana; Sunday School superintendent, W. D. Page, Fort Wayne, Indiana ; conductor of music, Prof. D. A. Clippinger, Chicago; the wit and wisdom of the crayon, Prof. W. M. R. French, Chicago; elocu- tion, Prof. Mark B. Beal, Albion, Michigan.
The first officers of the Spring Fountain Park Assembly Associ- ation were: Dr. D. C. Woolpert, of Warsaw, president; J. A. Funk and J. S. Baker, Warsaw, and W. D. Page, Fort Wayne, vice presi- dents; S. W. Oldfather, Silas W. Chipman, P. L. Runyan and Wil- liam B. Funk, directors ; J. E. Beyer, Warsaw, secretary ; J. F. Beyer, Warsaw, treasurer; C. C. Beyer, North Manchester, Indiana, superin- tendent of grounds.
Prominent speakers were called to address the Assembly from all parts of the country, and with the growth of the movements new departments were added and the scope of those already established greatly expanded. A summer school was opened under the imme- diate superintendency of Prof. T. J. Sanders of Westerville, Ohio, and a woman's department, under Mrs. Gertrude Sanders.
DR. SOL C. DICKEY APPEARS
In the meantime a movement essentially of a religious nature was heading toward the Assembly, the headquarters of which were at Spring Fountain Park. In 1894-96, Sol C. Dickey, D. D., was serv- ing as superintendent of home missions for Indiana, and in the prog- ress of his work he realized the need of a common meeting place for rest, counsel, recreation and inspiration ; "a kind of a religious Chautauqua," as it has been well described. The first place selected was Bass Lake, Starke County, Indiana. There 160 acres were pur- chased and arrangements made with the citizens to build a short spur from the nearest railroad to the lake. The citizens failed to do their part in providing the necessary funds to build the railroad and another location was sought.
A few days later Doctor Dickey met one of the Beyer brothers on the train and incidentally mentioned his difficulty. "Come and see Spring Fountain Park at Eagle Lake," was the prompt invita-
MENZ CHELE
REV. SOL C. DICKEY, D. D.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
tion. "We have just what you need and we want to sell." The in- vitation was accepted, and within a few days the purchase was made. From that day to the present Doctor Dickey has lived and worked for the Winona Assembly.
ASSEMBLY SITE PURCHASED OF BEYER BROTHERS
The land originally purchased of Beyer brothers comprised about 160 acres, and extended from the Winona depot on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and along the northeastern and eastern shores of Winona Lake. From the purchase price of $100,000 the
MCDONALD ISLAND
sellers donated $25,000 to the furtherance of the project and ac- cepted $20,000 additional in stock.
WINONA ASSEMBLY AND ITS FOUNDERS
Winona Assembly was incorporated on January 22, 1895, with Charles H. Conner of New Albany, Indiana, as its first president. He not only contributed the first $1,000 to the enterprise, but was the first to purchase a summer home at the new location. Mr. Con- ner's business and financial abilities, joined with his enthusiastic and persistent religions work, made him an invaluable president while the foundations of the Assembly were being laid, and his resignation, because of ill health, was a great loss to its strength.
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In the same class is also Rev. E. S. Scott, of Marion, who so long served as recording secretary. President Conner, Doctor Dickey, the general secretary, and Mr. Scott all visited Chautauqua, New York, in order to become familiar with the management of that famous assembly before actually formulating their plans for the Winona institution. There they conferred with Bishop John H. Vincent. Doctor Dickey also visited Dwight L. Moody, the evangelist, at North- field, Massachusetts, and obtained good advice from that great re- ligious leader and organizer.
Another of Winona's useful early friends was Alexander Mc- Donald of Cincinnati. When the site of the grounds was purchased,
CONSECRATION OF INDIAN MOUND
the one unsightly and apparently valueless piece of land was a penin- sula of about thirty acres extending into the lake west of the audi- torium. On account of insufficient outlet, this land was subject to overflow. Later the lake outlet was enlarged by the county com- missioners, and now the water level is entirely under control of Winona by means of a dam at the lower end of the lake.
The situation being explained to Mr. McDonald, he ordered the purchase of a large dredge and the construction of a seventy foot canal across the broad end of the peninsula; also the deepening and straightening of the shore lines. The earth thus obtained was spread over the island, raising the land surface and making the lots on Mc-
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Donald's Island salable. From that source about $75,000 was real- ized. The use of the dredge also made possible the cutting of two more canals and the creation of so many islands.
THE INDIAN MOUND
On the southeastern shore of the lake is a mound of ancient origin and at its summit is the grave of an old Indian trader named Hamil- ton, who, in 1833, was buried by his red friends. He had won their regard by his fair dealings, and it is said that as a token of their grati- tude his grave was placed on this eminence that it might receive the last rays of the setting sun.
PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS
Many other landscape improvements were made by the Winona Assembly and Bible Conference, but the chief building additions were in the extensions of the cottage areas, and the erection of such structures as the Bethany Girls' and the Chicago Boys' club houses. Tennis courts were laid out, new beaches opened, and the grounds otherwise beautified and adapted to the coming of a larger and a more varied attendance than was usual in the old days. But such forms of amusement as the driving park, the cyclorama and the switch-back railway, which did not seem to serve any good purpose as an auxiliary to mental or spiritual stimulus, though innocent physical activity, were discontinued.
PEN-PICTURE OF THE WINONA ASSEMBLY BY DOCTOR DICKEY
If anyone can write of the Winona Assembly as "one having authority," it is Dr. Sol C. Dickey, its general secretary. In re- sponse to a letter of inquiry sent to him by the editor of this work, he drew a pen-picture of the fine and strong movement of which he has been the guiding spirit from the first. It was written in December, 1918, and presents the record, in brief, virtually up to the present. Liberal extracts taken from Doctor Dickey's letter follow :
Emphasizing the fact that the Assembly was started by the Synod of Indiana while he was state superintendent of home missions, he called attention to the other fact that "it is, and has been through most of its history, inter-denominational, requiring of its speakers only two conditions-that they believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Scriptures;" also that it "was founded Vol. 1-20
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
on the two ideas of Chautauqua and Northfield." The doctor con- tinues: "I received my main inspiration for the work on a visit to both Chautauqua, New York, and Northfield, Massachusetts, and cheerfully recognize the cordial reception and advice which I received from Bishop Vincent at Chautauqua and from Dwight L. Moody, at Northfield."
CAUSE OF FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENT
Regarding Winona's financial embarrassment : "The chief cause of financial trouble was the building of the Interurban Railway from Peru to Goshen. Whilst the Winona Interurban Railway has always been a separate institution, yet the funds for the building of the same were furnished by Winona's directors and friends. No one could foresee the increased use of automobiles and the opposition of the Legislature to all railways, including interurban.
"Winona directors invested in the Interurban Railway $1,500,000 of their own funds, in the fond hope that the railway earnings would be sufficient to not only pay the interest on their investment, but yield a fine revenue for Winona Assembly; the directors holding all of the common stock in trust for the Assembly. A number of our directors and principal givers suffered financial failure and twenty- eight of them died, leaving nothing in their wills to Winona Assembly. The last four years have been years of reconstruction, and have dem- onstrated Winona's place in the hearts of its friends and its useful- ness to the public.
"The new organization will, by its charter, keep free of debt and cannot declare dividends. If there should be earnings above expenses, the same must be used in improvements or educational work. The men on whom responsibility chiefly rests today are con- servatively confident that Winona Assembly in the coming years will be able to successfully develop the plans formed for a great institu- tion.
"Winona Assembly proper will confine itself to its legitimate work, and all subsidiary institutions located at Winona will be financed separately and will form no part of its responsibility.
"It should be understood that the directors of Winona Assembly personally furnish three-fourths of all the money necessary for its establishment, and one-half of the funds raised for the Winona In- terurban Railway. The directors not only cheerfully bore their loss, but have furnished the necessary funds with which to reorganize. Special interest is taken by the old directors and friends in the
RESTFUL SCENES ON WINONA LAKE
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
$100,000 fund which is being raised, and which will be distributed through a committee to former creditors who are in absolute need. About $60,000 of this fund has already (December, 1918) been sub- scribed in five annual payments, and $21,000 has been disbursed.
"We believe that Winona has a great work to do, and that the Evangelical church of the middle West will rally to her support as never before."
WINONA ASSEMBLY GROUNDS
The physical home of the Assembly is an harmonious combination of the beauties of nature and the artifices, comforts and restful sur-
ASSEMBLY GROUNDS
roundings provided by men and women. The park grounds cover nearly two hundred acres, extending along the eastern side of Lake Winona and running back from the shore lines an average distance of 1,600 feet. The northern portion of the grounds rises somewhat abruptly and furnishes the sites for most of the finest cottages. Still beyond are the choicest resident sections of the town, and the two colleges.
These pretty slopes, covered in places by groves of oaks, elms and maples, overlook the auditorium, the old military parade grounds (turned into a camp by the exigencies of the late war), the inn, the
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Moody Building, the fire engine house, stores and quite an array of cottages. McDonald's Island is cut off from the main body of the park by the. canal which cuts across its western sections, while still farther to the southwest are the biological station, the Indian Mound and the Chicago Hill, on the side of which is the Chicago Boys' Club House. Cement walks and good drives wind through pretty grass plats and groves, bordering the lake, and the grounds near the audi- torium and Moody Hall are ornamented with several bits of artistic statuary, with a gem of a lily pond thrown picturesquely into the landscape. The girls of the assembly are especially honored by the Bethany Girls' Lodge House, from which every member radiates health, happiness and spirituality. There every Christian girl knows she has a home.
THE WINONA BIBLE CONFERENCE
The greatest single movement within the purview of the Assembly is the Bible Conference. William Jennings Bryan is president of this, as well as of the Winona Assembly. This is a session at which religious teachers and lecturers of acknowledged eminence present to the public, in form at once attractive and educational, subjects that relate to the Holy Scriptures. Also Christian statesmen, writers of ability, leaders in reform and sociology, captains of industry, spe- cialists in every field of righteousness and correct living, who have messages based upon experience and Bible analysis, contribute to the general treasury of the Bible Conference at Winona Lake. The an- nual attendance averages 10,000 Christian workers.
The Conference of August 16-25, 1918, was typical of the general nature of such gatherings, and, added to the usual programme, were the special messages brought by Christian workers from the horrors and spiritual elevations of the battlefields overseas. Besides Presi- dent Bryan, such speakers as the following took part: Bishop Thomas Nicholson, D. D .; Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D., moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church; Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes, D. D .; Rev. A. T. Robertson, D. D., professor of New Testa- ment Interpretation in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky; Rev. Frank N. Palmer, D. D., director of Winona Summer Bible School; Rev. Paul Rader, pastor of Moody Church, Chicago; Rev. Sol C. Dickey, D. D., general secretary and director of the Bible Conference; and Rev. W. E. Biederwolf, assis- tant director Bible Conference.
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
SIDE CONFERENCES
During the ten days covered by the Bible Conference were also held a number of side conferences, a mere mention of which illus- trates the scope of the Assembly activities. Notable among these was the Dry Workers Conference, over which Mr. Bryan presided.
The Conference of Jewish Workers was headed by Rev. Joseph Cohn, secretary of the Williamsburg Mission to the Jews.
There was a Conference of Resene Mission Workers, with Rev. Mel E. Trotter as leader.
The Winona Older Girls Conference in July was organized for
ON THE SHORES OF THE LAKE
those between thirteen and twenty-four years of age and its purpose was to prepare them for leadership in church, Sunday School and community work. It was under the auspices of the Sunday School Department of Winona.
The Boy and Religious Conference was in charge of Rev. A. Christy Brown, D. D., and the training class was in connection with the boys' work in the Young Men's Christian Association and the boys' clubs in touch with the Assembly.
A number of societies, associations and churches hold their an- nual conferences on the Assembly grounds, thus adding to the absorb- ing interest of the general programmes of the Chautauqua and the
CHICAGO BOYS'CLUB
Boy City Bathing Beach, Winona Lake, Indiana.
CHICAGO BOYS' CLUB IN BATHING
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HISTORY OF KOSCIUSKO COUNTY
Bible Conference. Of these mention may be made of the Christian Citizenship Institute, controlled by the National Reform Associa- tion and owning a hall for its meetings on McDonald Island. As indicating the importance of these citizenship institutes, it may be said that their staff of speakers includes such men and women as Dr. James S. Martin, general superintendent of the association; Frank J. Cannon, former United States senator from Utah; Mrs. Lulu Loveland Shepard and Mrs. Marion Williams, of the far West-the latter a polygamous wife for many years.
The Christian, Brethren and United Brethren churches all held annual conferences in 1918, and special summer meetings were held by the Presbyterian young people and the Winona Woman's Mis- sionary Society.
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