“Greentown on the Ballot”

Involvement of local citizens in the political process

   A new exhibit will open at the Greentown Historical Society, 103 E. Main Street, on August 4.  It will feature information about Greentown area people who have held political office or been involved in government on several levels.  There will be items from the personal collection of Bob McCann, who was on the election and re-election committees for several presidents, and worked from the White House during the terms of Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan.  There will also be several interesting photographs and memorabilia involving presidents from Lincoln to Obama.     The exhibit will run through November 25. 
   From Aug. 4 through Sept. 10 the Society will host a traveling exhibit from the Indiana Historical Society.  Named “Faces in the Crowd; Indiana and the Political Process,” it is not the story of the candidates behind the microphone, but the individual citizens in the crowd – each of whom play a crucial role in ensuring the electoral process works. 
    A series of presentations will supplement the exhibit.  On Saturday, August 18, at 2:00 p.m., Bob McCann’s presentation, “From Greentown to the White House,” will include highlights of his 35 years of White House and Capitol Hill experiences.  The program will be at the History Center, 103 E. Main Street.   On October 21, Eastern High School students will give a background of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and recreate portions.  This program will also be at 2:00 at the History Center.
   November 1 will be the annual meeting and dinner of the Greentown Historical Society.  The time and place will be announced later.  At this meeting, attendees will enjoy some political campaign songs through the years and there will be a reprise of the Lincoln-Douglas presentation. Alan Zirkle, who was a member of the Indiana Legislature, will speak about his experiences on Saturday, November 3, at 2:00 p.m. at the History Center.

Hats Off to Farmers

                                                                                                               Photo by Rachel Jenkins
All 4th grade classes of Eastern Elementary recently visited the agriculture display at the
Greentown Historical Society.  In the above photo, exhibit committee member, Bonnie
Middlesworth, shows Jacob Powell and Pacey Parrow one of the 48 farm-related hats on display.

   The Greentown Historical Society will declare “Hats Off to Farmers Day” on Saturday, June 9, from 9:00 to 4:00 at the Historical Society, 103 E. Main St., Greentown. The public is invited.  Drinks and doughnuts will be served early.
   Visitors are invited to look over the 48 hats on display along with old farm tools, local farm-related business histories, state champions, and many other interesting items that tell the story of “Agriculture Through the Years.” There is a large collection of aerial photos of local farms.  Histories are displayed of the only two implement dealers still in Howard County.  Children will enjoy seeing the miniature farm, complete with animal replicas.  This outstanding exhibit will close on June 24.
   While in town, visit the Farmers Market and the Historical Society garage sale, each open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Exhibit on Early Farming

   The Greentown Historical Society has a new exhibit highlighting the pioneer's progress in farming practices of Eastern Howard County.  Included in the current exhibit are antique farm tools, aerial pictures of farmsteads, plat maps, agriculture business histories and miniature farmstead models.
   The exhibit, 'Agriculture Through the Years' will run through June 24, 2012 at the History Center, 103 E. Main St., Greentown, IN.  Hours are Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays  1:00 - 4:00 p.m.  Appointments during holidays can be arranged by calling 628-3565.  Schools and Home School visits are welcome.  Call 628-3800 for arrangements for school visits.
Program on Agriculture in China
     On Sunday, March 18 at 2:00 p.m. local farmer and businessman, Denny Maple, will present a program at the Historical Society Annex, 101 E. Main St., Greentown, concerning his recent Agriculture Tour to China.
   Included will be pictures and information concerning China's farming customs and progress in adapting modern technology.  The group he toured with visited 5 provinces and 4,500 miles, meeting each day with leading Chinese agricultural leaders.  They traveled through the forested area and observed the modern architecture of the cities with time spent at a street fair.  The public is invited to attend this informative presentation.  The facility is handicap accessible.
   

Steadfast in Care

   A progression of people have maintained and managed the New Hope Cemetery, located one-half mile south of Phlox in Union Township.  The New Hope Monthly Meeting (Friends Church) established the cemetery in 1885.  The land was donated by James A. Ellis.  The first woman to be buried in the cemetery was Miriam Overman and the first man was Joel Adams.  The cemetery is sometimes referred to as Ellis Cemetery (after the donor) or Phlox Cemetery. 
   The cemetery association was incorporated in 1919 with the new directors being Carl Tennell, James Sanders, Oscar M. Fox, Job Russell, Robert Stack, Ollen Moorman, and Rollo Shockney.  As time as passed the board membership has changed.  Currently it is Jim Smith, Jim McCauley, Lamoine Clouser, Leonard Smith, Francis Hannah, Tim Singleton and Dave Buck. 
   Jim Smith was a close friend of Elden Kepler, sexton of the cemetery.  Jim helped Elden open graves with
a shovel.  Jim has been president of the cemetery association for 47 years. 
   The cemetery finances are in good shape but there are expenses each year, primarily for grounds upkeep.  The association has been able to fund that from interest on savings until recently, when interest rates dropped to nil.  Perhaps there are existing members of the families buried in the cemetery who would feel moved to make a donation in their honor.  Those surnames are
ABBOTT, ADAMS, ADDISON, ANDERSON, ARMSTRONG, AYERS, BAKER, BANNON, BARRETT, BEASLEY, BENEFIEL, BERGAN,
BERRY, BESS, BONE, BOYLES,

Historical Political Participation with a Local Emphasis

   The Greentown Historical Society will be presenting an exhibit and programs July through December 2012 on political participation.  It will feature candidates from eastern Howard County as well as those who have had special political involvements.  It will include state and national candidates and office-holders who visited Greentown. 
   The committee is gathering a list of people who held office or ran for office, particularly at the county level and higher.  Any material such as newspaper clippings, certificates, campaign items and other memorabilia is sought for consideration for display.
   Information may be sent to greentownhistory@comcast.net, mailed to Greentown Historical Society, P.O. Box 313, Greentown, IN 46936, or by calling Rachel Jenkins, 765-628-3564, or Wayne Frakes, 765-628-2014.

Christmas Season at Historical Society

   The continuing exhibit at the Greentown History Center on Early Settlers of Eastern Howard County now features a historical depiction of Christmas celebrations in the era of 1850 to 1900.  An exhibit of the collection of  "Old World Santas" provided by Steve and Pam Carpenter are on display, as well as antique toys loaned by Dwight Schaaf.  Gift items can be found in the Gift Shop including ornaments and U.S.A.-manufactured pottery featuring Greentown, Indiana.
   Children are welcome.  The facility is handicap accessible and free to the public.  The History Center is at 103 E. Main St., Greentown. Hours are Saturday, Sunday and Monday 1:00-4:00 through Sunday, Dec 18, 2011. 
   Watch for the Farm Exhibit opening in March 2012.

Neal Wilson Returns to Hometown to Speak

                                                                photo by Bruce Shrock

   Neal Wilson, Eastern High School graduate (class of 1956) returned to Greentown and spoke at a reception sponsored by the Greentown Historical Society on Oct. 14 at the Eastern High School.  Neal currently lives in Mesquite, Texas, with his wife of 52 years, Nancy.
   Neal desired to be a police officer from an early age.  Upon graduation, he was advised to go into the military and get Military Police training to make himself more employable in police work.  He did just that and was stationed in Korea for 15 months and Fort Sam Houston for 14 months.  He was then employed in the Mesquite Police Department from 1959 to 1970, working his way up to Assistant Chief.  He then turned his attention to administration and teaching, serving as Director or Dean of various academies and training centers, as well as working in the Governor’s Office.  He developed the Eastfield Criminal Justice Training Center which has graduated over 2700 police officers.  He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in education and police administration and has lectured at several colleges and universities.  He has also authored criminal justice text books.  
   Neal reminisced to the reception audience about people and places which were important to him as a young person growing up near Greentown.  He congratulated the Greentown Historical Society on their achievements.  He stressed the importance of preserving tangible history as a way of gaining an understanding of how people lived in former years.  He hopes to make future visits to Greentown. 
   The reception was part of a Capital Fund Drive to raise money to pay off the mortgage on the building at 101 E. Main Street which serves as meeting, exhibit, storage and office space.  Tabulations are being made of receipts and donations are still being accepted.  In addition to paying off the mortgage, the Society has identified some projects and programs which will increase their community outreach and support for preserving local history. 

Changes to Look for at the Fair

                            Disassembly of the Armfield-Moyers barn at Guy began in mid-May.

                                 The foundation of the round barn as of June 25, before the Fair

Visitors to this year’s Howard County 4-H Fair will find some changes to the grounds.  The walkway running from the east side of the Lions Cafeteria building northward to the edge of the Pioneer Village has been blacktopped.  A small shelter southwest of the little cabin on the knoll has been converted to a blacksmith shop. 
   The most dramatic addition is the foundation for the round barn which will be erected north of the Pioneer Village.  The barn, formerly located at Guy, three miles south of Greentown, has been disassembled by Trillium Dell Timberworks of Knoxville, IL.  A footer was dug by Hugh Wyrick Excavating.  Kendall Masonry did the block work of the foundation and CCI poured the concrete floor.  It now awaits Trillium Dell to return and construct the frame.  The plan is for the work to be going on during the fair, July 11-16, so fairgoers can watch the progress.

Historical Society Honors

photo by Rachel Jenkins

                                                                                                                

left to right: Barbara Middleton and Marissa Middleton, Brandon Thomas (His senior citizen was
Paul Nicholson.), Jolene Rule and Braden Swisher, Zach Johnson and Carolyn Johnson, and
Lisa Stout, representing Greentown Historical Society.

   Eastern’s 7th grade students participated in the annual project, “History Close to Home: A Living Biography” in which they interviewed a senior citizen of their choice.  Social studies teacher, Brad Shrock, stated, “Our history lives in our parents, grandparents, friends and acquaintances, and beyond, and it is our responsibility to demonstrate personal involvement with an age group that has so much to give.  The sayings, ‘history repeats itself’ and ‘history is alive,’ mean very little in print, but when we are exposed to living examples we can more easily see a connection and make appropriate adjustments for the future.  People, faces, names and places make our history meaningful.”
   The Greentown Historical Society selected four biographies for