USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Bloomington > Historic treasures: true tales of deeds with interesting data in the life of Bloomington, Indiana University and Monroe County--written in simple language and about real people, with other important things and illustrations > Part 31
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Sorosis Club-Mrs. C. G. Malott, Mrs. Harriet Hughes, Mrs. Harriet Steele, Mrs. R. G. Miller, Mrs. Ralph Cosler.
Swastika Club-Mrs. J. L. Norman, Mrs. L. B. Hunter, Mrs. Wm. Graham, Mrs. A. J. Thompson, Mrs. J. Kent- ling.
Tri Kappa-Mrs. Jesse Fulwider, Mrs. Hubert Beck, Mrs. N. O. Pittin- ger, Miss Mary Hicks, Mrs. Eleanor Barclay.
Unique Club-Mrs. C. R. Pleasants, Mrs. H. E. Strain, Mrs. J. B. Brid- well, Mrs. Charles Sears, Mrs. George Bridwell.
War Mothers of Monroe County -- Mrs. J. H. Huntington, Mrs. R. H. East, Mrs. John Rogers, Mrs. H. E. Strain, Mrs. J. P. Kemp.
Wednesday Club-Mrs. G. W. Bol- lenbacher, Jr., Mrs. W. W. Harris, Mrs. S. F. Teter, Mrs. F. H. Batman, Mrs. Lillie Troutman.
Woman's Club-Mrs. John Cravens, Mrs. R. E. Lyons, Mrs. U. G. Weath- erly, Mrs. D. M. Mottier, Mrs. J. A. Woodburn.
Woman's Relief Corps-Mrs. Alvin McConkey, Mrs. AI Smith, Mrs. Wm. Lake, Mrs. Frank Rairden, Mrs. Eph Hughes, Mrs. Mary Whitely.
Woman's Self Government Associa- tion-Miss Susie Kamp, Miss LeMay Ryan, Miss Dorothy Wolfe, Miss Ruth Frisinger, Miss Rosalind Schu.
Young Woman's Christian Associa- tion-Miss Mildred Foster, Miss Mabel Kearns, Miss Lois Stonebraker, Miss Janet Woodburn, Miss Gayle Hammond.
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Small Corner in Largest Furniture Factory in the World
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
MONROE CHAPTER AMERICAN WAR MOTHERS
On Anther
You gave to us the breath of life, And in your trusting, guiding love You made our path, in bitter strife A path of praise to God, above.
Man, though he may stray away From the things his mother taught Will turn to good-there to stay- When his mother comes to thought.
Then, praises be for you, my dear, For all the good we've known; May you, in comfort and good cheer Live on, mother dear, my own. -YOUR SON
While we honor the memory of our soldiers, so bravely fighting for our country's honor, we must not forget that the truely great power which produced that brave courage of our fighting man was his mother. She it was who suffered all the agonies of suspense, the dread and horror of the unknown, feeling that her boy was going into war and she knew not what dangers. It was she who must brave- ly urge him to know how proud she felt that her son was not afraid. She dare not let him see her tears, nor allow him to know that her very heart was being torn from her soul, lest he falter. To the war mothers we owe a tribute which can never be paid.
When the members of the Indiana Food Commission were seeking ways and means of conserving food in 1917, Mrs. Alice M. French of Indianapolis, Ind., was appointed to organize the mothers of sons and daughters for service. This being done, the result was American War Mothers came into existance September 29, 1917, at
Indianapolis, Ind. Don Harold of the food commission suggested the name "War Mother". The following year the organization became a national organization. Mrs. John W. O'Har- row of Bloomington, Ind., was ap- pointed to represent Monroe county. She was the county's first War Moth- er.
The initial meeting of the Monroe County War Mothers was held in the city library of Bloomington, Ind., at eleven o'clock A. M., February 12, 1918, with the following original members:
Mrs. John W. O'Harrow, War Mother ; Mrs. John L. Dillman, secretary-treasurer ; Mrs. D. M. Mottier, historian ; Mrs. L. V. Buskirk, Mrs. Harry Fowler, Mrs. Eliza Riddle, Mrs. Charles Dunn, Mrs. Edward Robinson, Mrs. Wm. Hessler, Mrs. J. M. Rice, Mrs. Mary Bowers, Mrs. Thomas Cunningham, Mrs. Ed- ward Bougher, Mrs. Edward Barnhill, Mrs. L. B. Hunter, Mrs. Wm. Rawles, Mrs. L. D. Rogers, deceased; Mrs. George Setzer, Mrs. Mary Reed, Mrs. R. J. Young, Mrs. Wm. Harris, Mrs. John Wells, Mrs. Charles Springer, Mrs. Otto May, Mrs. Henry Sim- mons, deceased ; Mrs. J. L. Norman, Mrs. Frank Wilson, Mrs. J. F. Regester, Mrs. W. H. Beeler.
Each township was organized with the exception of one. The Monroe County War Mothers assisted in all war drives and activities during the war. Up to October 1, 1918, 816 boys were in the service and 504 mothers were eligible to membership in war mothers organization of Monroe coun- ty. For the year 1919 Mrs. O'Har- row was elected war mother. They adopted a French orphan-Claudia Jaffre; also furnished and maintained a two-bed ward in the city hospital. This organization affiliated with the local council of women of the city of
Bloomington in July, 1919, and in Au- gust, 1919, a charter was granted this chapter with 68 members. The Gold Star records of this county have been published complete in the State Gold Star Volume, but to date the Blue Star records are not complete.
On May 24, 1919, Mayor Weaver and the city council of Bloomington, Ind., gave and deeded a plot of ground in Rose Hill Cemetery to the War Mothers organization of Monroe county in honor of the Gold Star men who fell in the world war, for a suitable monu- ment to be placed with the names of these men upon it.
The first decoration day was held on May 30, 1919, with a wooden cross with 34 Gold Stars on it, representing the 34 Gold Star men of the county. The objects of the organization are:
1. To assist the government in every way possible toward 100 per cent Americanization.
2. To affiliate mothers of sons and daughters who served in the world war.
3. To perpetuate the memories of the spirit of the men and women who achieved peace and independence to the world.
4. To erect monuments in honor of our dead heroes and the preserva- tion of documents and individual rec- ords for state and county history.
At the national and state conven- tions in 1920 a law was passed that all officers of the organization be elected biennially. The War Mother elected for Monroe county for the years 1921-1922: Mrs. John Hunting- ton. The War Mother elected for Monroe county for the years 1922- 1923: Mrs. Homer E. Strain.
More than 250,000 women of the British isles were made widows dur- ing the world war.
Bloomington's Beautiful Modern City High School Building
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
PARTNERSHIP FORMED IN FIRST SCHOOL DAYS LIVES 74 YEARS WITHOUT A DISAGREEMENT
"Comrades, Comrades, Ever since we were boys-
Sharing each other's sorrows,
Sharing each other's joys."
Seventy-four years partners, without a fuss, not even a hint of an argument nor mistrust-ever harmon- ious, each thinking more of his part- ner's opinion and desires than his own is the almost super-natural history of two of Bloomington's premier busi- ness men of the older generation. These men, although both seventy- nine years of age, are strong physi- . cally, and clearer mentally than the average youth of twenty-one, and take pride in the statement, that in all their numerous business ventures, they have never had a fuss, never went broke, nor ever got rich.
Partners At School.
James A. Karssell, 621 North Wal- nut street, and S. W. Collins, 620 North College avenue, Bloomington, Ind., were each born on a farm near Xenia, Ohio, in the same year, 1842, and formed their first partnership when they started to school in the lit- tle old school house.
These boys grew up much as most boys in their immediate neighborhood grew up, trapping and hunting in the winter along with their chores on the farm when not attending school, and as they became more mature doing their share of farming. Still they did not grow up as the other boys in the neighborhood grew up-when one of these partners of school days was in-
terested in a thing that was the thing in which the other was interested. All boys swap, and Ohio has ever been noted for the "David Hiram" inclina- tion of its men folk-therefore, we may know that the youthful partners had many speculative adventures be- fore their maturity.
Although one partner was never married, it never made any difference in the relations of the partners when Mr. Karssell took a bride-if any- thing, the partnership became more harmonious, as the principals realized that the firm must succeed in its busi- ness ventures more surely, now that one of the partners was rearing a family which must be educated and taught how to conduct business in fu- ture ages.
Bloomington a Mud Hole.
In the year 1873, when Blooming- ton was little more than a mud-hole town, these young men, now old enough to vote, left their native farm homes, and started out to "make their fortunes", which led the partners to Bloomington, Ind. The firm of farm- er boys made a step such as few men of the present day would have nerve enough to undertake, even as adven- ture, and succeeded.
They established the "Collins & Karssell Bakery" in Bloomington, and taking into consideration the fact neither knew anything about the bak- ing trade as a craft, the success of the firm was marvelous.
The first day the firm opened for
business in Bloomington, the partners were quite proud of the day's sales, which amounted to $6. These men had their discouragements, more than we can realize, in building up the credit of their firm and establishing their product in the market-but, through all the discouragement, and later success, there was never a fuss between the partners, although the partnership had numerous occasions to protect their rights in the business world.
Now, while Mr. Karssell is not ac- tive in business, having turned his later established business, the Kars- sell Mills to the management of his sons, who have incorporated the busi- ness as The Bloomington Milling Com- pany, it is understood that he and Mr. Collins are still silently interested in other business in as harmonious a manner as when they swapped off their first Jack knife, back in the days of the little old rural school house in Ohio.
Mr. Collins, the other partner of the firm of Collins & Karssell, is still in business in Bloomington in one of his ventures, and is the head of the Collins, Woodburn Grocery Company, one of Bloomington's largest retail grocery concerns. Both are interested in the National Stone Company.
When asked what had impressed him most since coming to Blooming- ton, Mr. Karssell dryly replied: "The fact that we stayed in this town after we came here, and the fact that in seventy-four years of partnership, Mr. Collins and I have never had a fuss, never went broke, and never got rich."
It has been impossible to obtain an interview from Mr. Collins.
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Bloomington Hospital and Nurses' Home
BLOOMINGTON'S MODERN HOSPITAL EXAMPLE OF CIVIC PRIDE IN COMMUNITY WELFARE
With the many superior qualifica- tions which helps Bloomington to far outshine, as a modern city, any other town of equal population within the State of Indiana, we are rather proud of the Bloomington Hospital, and the efficient work of the much-needed community institution.
The Bloomington Hospital was or- ganized and incorporated in 1904, and the first work of this civic enterprise was carried on in the old brick resi- dence building (in the right edge of the picture), but it was soon esti- mated that this building would not long be adequate to meet the needs of the growing city of higher learn- ing. This building is now used as the housing quarters for nurses and is known as the Nurses Home.
The new, modern hospital building was started in 1916, but owing to the world war and other problems con- fronting the whole community, the building (in the accompanying illus- tration) was not completed until No- vember, 1919. Although the hospital had proven a wonderful benefit to the community, the financial needs of the project ever had to be met by other means than the actual earning power of the local institution, until the year 1921, when accounts were balanced with just a small sum showing on the profit side of the book, above all ex- penses and mpirovements.
In the fall of 1920, Miss Harriett Jones, a practical nurse of more than ordinary executive ability was in- duced to take over the actual manage- ment of the Bloomington Hospital,
and a great part of the success of the institution in the last year is due to her understanding and co-operation with Bloomington physicians, selec- tion and teaching of practical nurses, along with giving sick people mother- like service in everyday practice.
During 1921 there were at different times 683 patients taken care of in the hospital, along with 58 child
births. The present working staff of this institution is composed of four graduate nurses, and ten undergradu- ate nurses in the three-years train-
ing course required by law before a license can be granted a graduate nurse. The standard of efficiency re- quired of nurses in the Bloomington Hospital compares favorably with the great hospitals of the country, and of course, the salaries paid for these efficient nurses is better than in the average small-town hospital, and many of the great city institutions.
The control and support of the Bloomington Hospital is primarily in the hands of the Woman's Council, an organization of Woman's Organ- izations of Bloomington, which acts through a Hospital Board. This board, as elected for the present year, is as follows:
Mrs. J. B. Wilson, president; Mrs.
Operating Room in Bloomington Hospital
Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
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Charles Springer, vice-president; Mrs. Jennie East, secretary; Mrs. Claude Malotte, treasurer; Mrs. J. K. Beck, Mrs. J. E. Henley, Mrs. Chester Ev- ans, Mrs. W. W. Black, Walter Wood- burn, Fred Matthews, and Dr. Robert C. Rogers.
Rocking-horses with hollow bodies were recently used for smuggling contrabrand goods into India.
COUNTY LICENSES IN 1921.
County Clerk John P. Fowler, issued a report stating that the marriage licenses issued in Monroe county during 1920 were 279 and those issued in 1921 were 303, an vorces filed during 1920 were 75; dur- ing 1921, 81; showing an increase of 991; in 1921, 1,229, which report shows 239 more licenses issued in 1921.
ELLETTSVILLE FIRST NAMED RICHLAND WAS MARKED BY ONE TAVERN AT BEGINNING
George Parks Brought in First Hand-Mill to Township in 1817-Post Office Received Name Ellettsville, Then Town Changed Name-First Store Run by Alonzo Beman in 1838-Reuben Tompkins Laid Out First Lots-Events in Pioneer Social Life Recounted.
Away back in the year 1817, before Monroe county was organized, when there was no such place as Richland township or Ellettsville on any map as the name of a community, George Parks, brought into the territory a rude hand-mill, which was the first grist mill in the neighborhood, and probably one of the first mills of any kind in Monroe county.
This old hand-mill was patronized by the whole community of pioneer set- tlers in Richland township, until the
Mt. Tabor grist mill was built by old man Burton (mentioned elsewhere by the writer), in 1820. The old hand- mill of George Parks was yet in ex- istance in the year 1883, when it was operated on Old Settlers Day by John- son Sharp, who owned it at that time.
Richland Became Ellittsville.
Ellettsville, Monroe county, Indiana, did not have as early origin as sev- eral towns in the county. The place was at first named Richland, and Edward Ellett kept a tavern there for
several year before it was considered a village. He also conducted a black- smith shop which was well patronized.
Ellett later started a small, old-fash- ioned "up-and-down" saw mill, and, it is said, he later put in one apartment of the mil building a set of rude stones, and for a number of years ground corn and probably some wheat for his trade. Needless to say, Ed- ward Ellett may be truthfully credit- ed with "starting the town," although in the month of February, 1837, Reu- ben Tompkins employed John Sedwick, Monroe county surveyor, and laid out four lots on section 9, Richland town- ship, and named the village thus founded Richland.
During the same year, an effort was made to secure a post office for Rich- land; but, as there was another post office in the State of Indiana by that name, it was changed to Ellettsville, in honor of Edward Ellett.
In the spring of 1838, Alonzo Beman laid out an addition of seventeen lots, and at this time the name of the vil- lage of Richland became Ellettsville, the same as the post office.
Opens First Store.
Mr. Beman, at this time, opened the first store in the place, his stock con- sisting of a general assortment of goods, worth probably $1,000.
Within a short time, Beman was joined by F. T. Butler, who became a partner, and who was then in business
Casts
M.C. HerMy
2/4/15
Scene Among Monroe County Hills
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
at Mt. Tabor, packing pork and manu- facturing hats on quite an extensive plan.
In 1839, Jefferson Wampler opened a liquor store in the little village; and about the same time, or perhaps late in 1838, Ellett & Barnes started a good store of general merchandise in Ellettsville.
In 1840 there were two stores, one liquor shop one blacksmith shop, one grist mill, one saw mill, a post office and about five families in the make-up of what is now the second largest city in Monroe county.
James Whitesell started a store in 1841, continuing until about 1846. Johnson Stites sold liquor in 1840. Isaac Wampler sold liquor in 1841. A man named Manville was in busi- nes about 1846. H. R. Seall opened a good general store in 1848, and continued in business for about ten years. S. B. and O. A. Harris started in business with $1,000 worth of goods in 1848. Emanuel Faulkner opened a store in 1849; Parks & Coffey started soon afterward, as did John H. Reeves, Harris & Dean and Dowell & Moore. The McCallas, of Bloomington had a branch store in the village about this time.
Dowell & Stearns and G. B. Moore were in business in 1850. R. W. Akin & Co., opened a general store in 1856. W. H. Jackson opened a store about 1865. Parks & Puett were early bus- siness men of the village, as were the Perry Brothers, who later became ex- tensively engaged in the developement of the stone industry. J. M. Campbell started in business about the begin- ning of the war of Rebellion, and F. E. Worley began some time during the war.
Among the business ventures of the village have been the saw mill of San- ders and Knighton, Houston's stream saw mill, started in the fifties and sold to Perry & Sedwick, and later destroyed by fire; David Allen's grist mill which cost about $13,000, and later became the property of Jesse Draper, then W. H. Jackson, who was the owner when the mill burned down in 1882-83.
S. B. Harris built a grist mill in 1870 and later installed machinery and did wool carding. It is said that John Whisenand carded wool in the village as early as 1842, his motive power being a tread wheel. Early in the fifties, Gilbert May started a cab- inet shop. Shook & Faulkner began the manufacture of carriages about 1875.
First Bank Opned.
F. E. Worley opened a private bank about 1870 or 1871, with a capital of $40,000 to $60,000, and soon won the confidence of the people, and in the decade of the eighties his residence was considered one of the finest, if not the most magnificent in Monroe county. During the seventies, George Fletcher started a plaining mill in Ellettsville, and a man from Indiana- polis started a spoke factory, which was sold to Sedwick & Grant. Later, in the eighties, William Walls con- ducted a wagon shop, and Judson San- ders started a steam saw mill in 1883.
In 1850 the population of Elletts- ville was about 60; in 1860, it had grown to about 250; in 1870, about 450; in 1880, about 585, and in 1883 the place began to show its real strength of growth, as the population showed 625 in that year, and has grown ever since until today the pros- perous little city is next to Bloom- ington in towns of Monroe county.
In June, 1866, the population of Ellettsville being 388, upon petition a plan to incorporate the town of El- lettsville as laid out at the time, com- prised of 202 acres, was voted upon in an election ordered by the county commissioners for June 16. A major- ity of votes cast in this election being in favor of incorporation, in Septem- ber, 1866 the county board declared Ellettsville to be duly incorporated Officers were elected, but elections were abandoned for several years, when the municipal government was revived and continued to the present day.
Rawlins First School Teacher.
The first school in Richland township was taught in what is now a part of Ellettsville, where the old residence of William Draper was built. The building was constructed of round logs and contained a great fireplace which could be induced to take in logs six feet long and fully two feet in di- ameter. The building had one log left out of the wall on the south side about brest-high, over which opening greased paper was fastened, to serve the pur- pose of a window.
William Rawlins, son of Roderick Rawlins, the first treasurer of Mon- roe county (mentioned elsewhere by the writer), was the first teacher in this school building.
The school term was three month long, and the children of James Parks, Benjamin Parks, Lewis Noel, Coleman Puett, Samuel Ellett, Joseph Reeves, George Sharp, George Parks, William Milligan (two miles away), and Wil- liam Edmundson attended school in this old log structure under the tutorship of young Rawlins, who taught them how to read, write and cipher.
In about five years this old build- ing was abandoned for school pur- poses for a more modern structure of hughed, logs, which was erected near the old cemetery, and used until the township was divided into dis- tricts, in the decade of the forties. Various school houses were used in Ellettsville prior to 1855, at which time a large frame house with two rooms was erected, and used until the $7,000 brick building was erected about 1871 or 1872. Major H. F. Perry was one of the first teachers in the vru frame house. The teachers in Elletts- ville in the winter of 1880-81 were, Mary Moberly, H. M. Edmundson, J. E. Edmundson, Nellie Wingfield and J. W. Bray, holding class in the frame, while J. V. Foster and M. E. Dickson taught in the brick building.
Early Church Life.
The old Vernal Baptist church was one of the very first, if not the first church organized in Monroe county, as
meetings were held as early as the winter of 1817-18, although it is prob- able no actual organization of the church was effected until several years later. Among the first members of this congregation were the families of James . Parks (mentioned elsewhere in the history of Monroe county), Lewis Noel, Leroy Mayfield, John San- ders, the Coffeys, Shreeves, Martins, Frank Hall and others.
A rude log church building was erected in the Sanders neighborhood about 1826, and was used until about 1838, when a frame church house was built further north and within three- fourth of a mile of Ellettsville at that time. The old log structure was so open that in bad weather meetings had to be held in the home of James Parks who for many years was Deacon of the church.
The Rev. James Chambers was the first minister, and was succeeded in a few years by the Rev. Leroy May- field, who was pastor for more than thirty years.
The Bethany Baptist church was also organized quite early, its first members being the families of John Wilburn, William Sparks, Abe May, Henry Flood, William H. Treadway and Henry Sanders.
Cumberland Presbyterian.
Another famous early church of the community was the Cumberland Pres- byterian church of Richland town- ship. Citizens of Bloomington of this faith often attended services there. It was organized in 1830, and among its members were the Sharps, Constables, Figgs, Johnsons, Halls, Clays and others.
The church building was erected on Section 4, and named the pleasant Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Thomas J. Sharp donated the land for this edifice of worship.
The North Liberty Church of Christ was also organizen in the thirties, and numbered among its congregation the families of Plesant York, Andrew Reeves, James Everman, Wesley Acuff, James Hall, J. H. Houston and others.
The old Wesley Chapel Methodist Church was organized in Richland (later Ellettsville) in the twenties, and among its members were the Ker- bys, the Smiths, Hopewells, Sedwicks, -Reeves, Knightons, Stineson, Moots, Sharps, and others.
Other denominations were probably organized in and about Ellettsville in the pioneer days, both early and in later years, but we find that the Meth- odists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Christians, remnants of the old pio- neer organizations of Richland town- ship have churches at the present time in Ellettsville.
More than 100 tons of wood are con- sumed in the world daily in the form of matches.
It is said that prehistoric men were more skilled in trephining than our present-day surgeons.
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"INDIANA, WE'RE ALL FOR YOU"
(By Robert P. Huang)
(Robert P. Huang, of Tienstsin, China, a Chinese student, who came to America for the first time in Sep- tember, 1921, to take his senior work in Indiana University, has graciously written the following article especial- ly for "Historic Treasures" that we may realize with what honor Indiana University and Bloomington are now thought of in his native country.)
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