Banner Graphic, Volume 14, Number 102, Greencastle, Putnam County, 5 January 1984 — Page 1

Resolution in memory of Sgt. Cline INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Today was the deadline for filing House bills, but senators have until noon Friday as the 1984 Indiana General Assembly gets down to work. The second session day was spent in ceremony and routine matters. The Senate met for about 20 minutes and the House for 45. The Legislature used its first day of the session for an organization meeting in November. In the House, Jesse Villalpando, 24, of Griffith, was sworn in Wednesday, becoming the youngest state representative as well as the only Hispanic. The third year law student from Indiana University at Bloomington succeeds Democrat Peter Katie, now a Hammond city judge. “I’m overwhelmed completely,’’ Villalpando said. The amateur magician was asked to perform a trick and he complied, making multicolored scarves appear on the spokes of the umbrella. The House memorialized Army Sgt. Randy Cline of Cloverdale, killed in Grenada, and Navy Corpsman 2nd Class George McVicker of Wabash, killed in Beirut. The House also congratulated Rev. Jesse Jackson for his trip to Syria and the release of captured American flier Lt. Robert Goodman Jr. State Rep. John Thomas (R-Brazil), who represents all of Putnam County in the Statehouse, co-authored the resolution honoring Sgt. Cline, the late son of Richard (Joby) and Betty Cline, Belle Union. Fifty-five bills were filed in the Senate and 112 in the House Wednesday. A bill to prevent the Public Service Commission from including excess generating capacity in the rate base it considers for utilities was offered by Reps. James L. Davis, R-Frankfort, Donald W. Dean, RBloomfield, and Edward E. Goble, DBatesville. The measure would permit only the power needed “to provide reliable service to the public” to be included in the rate base. Public utilities would be barred from requiring cash deposits from current customers unless they failed to make a minimum payment two months in a row under a measure sponsored by Rep. Robert L. Price, D-Elkhart. Sen. William Costas, R-Valparaiso, sponsored a bill to require the PSC to notify state legislators in the affected service area of all public hearings on proposed rate increases. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles would be required to hire a nonpartisan consultant to study operation of Indiana’s license branches under a measure sponsored by Reps. Richard Mangus, R-Lakeville, and Lloyd Taylor, R-South Bend. Operators of amusement rides would have to carry at least $1 million liability insurance and be monitored for insurance by the state fire marshal and the insurance department under a bill by Reps. Paul Burkley, R-Speedway, Richard A. Thompson, R-North Salem, and Marilyn Schultz, D-Bloomington. Sen. Lindel 0. Hume, D-Oakland City, filed a bill to make the commissioner of Col. 1, back page, this section

50s return by weekend Clearing and cool overnight with low around 30. Mostly sunny and mild on Friday. High in the mid 40s. Little or no precipitation seen during the period. Winds from the west at 10-15 mph overnight. Indiana Extended Forecast Partly cloudy Saturday and very mild. Highs in the 50s to low 60s. Lows in the 40s. Chance for rain Sunday. Steady or falling temperatures in the 30s north and 40s south. Much colder Monday. Lows in the teens north to 20s south. Highs near 20 north to near 30 south. Abby A 4 Bridge B 3 Calendar A 4 Classifieds B 3 Comics A 7 Crossword B 2 Editorials AS Heloise A 4 Horoscope B 3 Obituaries A 8 People A 7 Sports 81.82.84 Supermarket Shopper A 6 TV A«

Banner Graphic Putnam County, Thursday, January 5, 1984, Vol. 14 No. 102 20 Cents ™

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It may have taken four days, but the stork finally delivered with a first baby of the New Year for Putnam County residents. Six-pound, seven-ounce Aaron Thomas was born at 12:09 p.m. Wednesday at Putnam

Romance derailed in over-the-rail tale

By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Managing Editor Ours is a generation lost. Few of us old enough to have seen “I Love Lucy” when it wasn’t in reruns, yet young enough to know that Fleetwood Mac isn’t made up of melted cheese and noodles, know the romance of the rails. THE CLICKETY-CLACK OF the railroad track and a look at the backyards of America have escaped us as we’ve driven super highways and flown supersonic jets from destination to destination. All we know about trains comes from “taking a ride on the Reading" or seeing the movie “Silver Streak.” Oh sure, we grew up riding Chicago “L” to and from Wrigley Field, but the elevated commuter train is to the Amtrak what the school bus is to the Greyhound. But holiday weather wouldn’t leave the driving to us, and so it was that the Crawfordsville-to-Chicago tracks beckoned. The romance of the rails awaited, an unknown variable since the last time we’d taken the train any distance was at age five. It was then, as my mother likes to recall, that the popular song of the day was “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” Spotting two nuns seated nearby, I asked if they were the ghost riders of lyrical fame. FORTUNATELY, SUCH DUMB questions weren’t habit forming, although I had to bite my tongue several times after passengers boarded at Lafayette. I could have sworn Boxcar Willie got on board. But then I was disappointed often by the romance of these Amtrak rails. Not once did the conductor holler “Al-1-1-1-1 aboar-r-r----rd!” Not once did we have to use the cowcatcher to clear the track in front of us. Never once did steam whistle over my shoes with a s-s-s-s-s-s as we walked alongside the train. So much for romance.

Putnam Patter

Night ride of 'Old Fannie' and Phaeton

By DAVID BARR Banner-Graphic Civic Affairs Editor This is the story of “Old Fannie” and her wild night ride with one or more total strangers. To set the record straight at the outset, Fannie was the driving mare of Ernest Herbert, a Manhattan farmer and livestock buyer. And going for a ride, in which she aided and abetted certain of the criminal element, was not her idea. At what hour Fannie left the warmth of her stable is unknown, but she became top news of the day around four o’clock on a January 1917 morning when Herbert received a call from a neighbor concerning a loose horse on the highway. GOING TO HIS BARN some distance from the house, Herbert discovered that his favorite driving mare was also missing along with his nearly new phaeton rig which at the time was the “Cadillac” of country transportation. Tracks in the slushy snow told part of the story. Persons unknown, at least one of whom knew which end of a horse to put the bridle on, were horse thieves - characters by no means highly thought of in that day. Horse and rig tracks were followed from the farm onto U S. 40 and then west. At

County Hospital to Tim and Renda Weiler, 205 W. Franklin St., Greencastle. The new arrival was 18’A inches long at birth. (Banner-Graphic photo by Annie Lear).

Daze Work

BUT I GUESS A 2MrHOUR delay in 10-below-zero weather will do that to a guy. I mean, have you ever tried to kill 2Vz hours in Crawfordsville - especially the morning after Christmas? Once we hit the rails, the clickety-clack soon lulled a weary Bemsee bunch into submission. We were more than willing to plunk down 50 cents for M&M’s and another half-dollar for something that looked like coffee in the case car. Chicago’s unheated Union Station was only three hours away as we roared northward at 80 mph, wondering how two of us would manage two suitcases, three shopping bags, a baby and a five-year-old without the other two hands that helped us board in Crawfordsville. I WAS STILL WONDERING as we rested under a Union Station placard that warned: “Do not accept help from strangers. Watch for pickpockets.” I never realized my mother worked for Amtrak. We waited 90 minutes in Union Station, stomping our feet to keep the circulation going as our 19-minute Burlington-Northern ride to North Riverside loomed. A couple of $2 hotdogs quieted the kids and a $1 box of popcorn did the same for my stomach. We decided to gamble and headed for the gate early,

Reelsville, Herbert and his son, Ray, now living at 326 Greenwood Ave., Greencastle, found motorized transportation. HOMER NELSON HAD a garage at Reelsville and one of his sidelines was a “fresh air” Model-T taxi service. He got the vehicle cranked and with Herbert and son, Ray, he joined the man and horse capture chase. Frequent stops were made along the way to inquire if anyone had seen Old Fannie and phaeton go by. Several had. As a stock buyer, Herbert, with his horse and rig, was a familiar figure on all roads leading out of Manhattan. Later in the day, Herbert’s neighbor, the one who earlier called about a loose horse on the road, recalled seeing Old Fannie and rig going by but he assumed that the man holding the lines was Herbert on an early stock buying trip. NELSON’S TAXI KEPT chugging along down U S. 40 until signs indicated a turn off a short ways east of Brazil. At this point in the story, the law came again into the picture. Before daylight Putnam County Sheriff Howard Harris was routed from his bed and told of the theft. In afternoon of the same day, his “allpoints” bulletin paid off Brazil police of-

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ficers called to report that a farmer in that area had found a horse and abandoned rig on a county highway. The lost had been found. After reclaiming his property, Herbert’s first concern was for Old Fannie, his son Ray said. The animal was fed, watered and curried before he drove back to his Manhattan farm. FROM ALL REPORTS, she had not been mistreated, however, it could be reasonably assumed that whoever took her drove at a lively clip, faster than a trot, until he thought he was out of reach of the law. Witnesses along 40 reported seeing a man dressed in garb common at the Indiana State Farm at Putnamville. If this proves anything, it might be that “baddies” don’t always prefer black horses. Old Fannie was white. And if she had been discovered miles and miles away, Herbert would have had no trouble identifying her. Ray Herbert recalls she had once sustained a deep barbed wire cut on her hip. It was successfully treated by Greencastle’s Dr. T.A. Sigler, but the scar remained like a brand. FURTHER PROOF THAT Fannie’s abductors were probably farm inmates came

Master plan may be in future of city Park Board

By BARBARA CARHART Banner-Graphic Staff Writer The idea of developing a master plan for the Greencastle park and recreational program was tossed about as members of the Greencastle Parks and Recreation Board considered possible long-range repairs at their regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening. A mandate to discuss a master plan was set forth by the Division of Outdoor Recreation in a letter dated Jan. 2. Future land and water conservation fund assistance hinges on development of some longrange goals for the park program, according to the correspondence. ALTHOUGH BOARD president Dr Dale Oliver requested members to return at the board’s Feb. 1 meeting with a definite list of projects, Oliver and board members Paul Wilson and Don Alspaugh toyed with several ideas for improvements. At the top of the board's “want list” is giving the 20 year old city pool a major face lift. “In the master plan we can even talk about relining the pool,” Oliver suggested, “and, I’ve heard the possibility erf constructing a new softball field talked about.” Wilson added that resurfacing of the

finding the inside of the Burlington warmer than Union Station. The train at last lurched forward and we chugged 200 yards from the station into the yard, where the Burlington abruptly stopped THREE WISE MEN, bearing crowbars and incensed looks, trudged into the cold and banged on the engine for a half-hour. Fifty minutes later our 19-minute commuter ride ended. And visions of train delays danced in our heads as we hit the pillows that night at 9:30, the first time I’ve been in bed before the news in 20 years. Willing to chalk up the delays, the cold and the hassles to experience, we were ready for the return trip, which somehow cost $7 more than the Crawfor-dsville-to-Chicago segment. The Burlington was on time and somehow Union Station seemed warmer. But our 5:20 p.m. departure became 6:45. We boarded by walking halfway to Milwaukee with our suitcases, shopping bags and cranky kids. AND WE GOT LESS THAN a mile before deja vu hit. The brakes on our car - under our seats, of course - had frozen. More men with crowbars. More banging. No results. Over a nearby walkie-talkie we heard the conductor advised that the car still didn’t have any brakes. “Go on without them,” he was told. Talk about reassuring. I expected the women and children to be ordered to the next car. And the men to be told to make like Fred Flintstone, using the callouses on our feet for brakes. But being the middle of three cars, being brakeless didn’t seem to matter. We roared through the tiny town of Monon at 80 mph. I hoped no one wanted to get off there. We screeched into the yard at Lafayette. AND SUDDENLY THE romance of the rails appeared as the Amtrak crews began their version of the Col. 1, back page, this section

when Supt. Charles E. Talkington reported that some of his prisoners had broken into a storeroom and made away with clothing. It could well have been that the animal was pulling a double or even a triple load that night. Whoever escaped in the phaeton definitely road in style. The vehicle, purchased by Herbert from the Thomas Buggy Co. in Greencastle, was valued at $l5O and was a flashy conveyance with bright red, rubber tired wheels and under carriage. In the issue of the Greencastle Herald newspaper which announced theft of horse and rig was another story concerning a suspected smallpox outbreak at the penal farm. Perhaps the escapees had a reason to run for it. IT HAS BEEN A LONG time since Ray Herbert had thought about the night Old Fannie was stolen, but he now remembers many of the details although he was a youngster at the time. While Ray didn’t say so, it could be safely assumed that he tad a whale of a good time on that day and found it much more fun than gci’ig to school or whatever else which may Lave been on his schedule.

parking lots and park roads should be a priority. THE CONSENSUS OF the board was that the initiation of the tennis court project in 1976 was the last time an evaluation of park needs was completed. “I think it was then that we had a master plan,” Oliver said. “That’s where the tennis courts came from.” Part of developing a master plan, Oliver said, is determining the amount of people the park serves “I think we would have a number of people that we serve,” the president commented. “We’ll probably need to include Jaycee Park property. If we do, we can get into dam repairs and blacktop.” THE BOARD CONCLUDED that it would be to the taxpayer’s advantage to develop a master plan which would trigger future funding possibilities. “Our taxpayers are going to have to pay for that (grants) whether we use it or not,” Oliver added. “We may as well maintain our facilities ” Also on the agenda of the Feb. 1 Greencastle Park and Recreation board meeting will be scheduling of softball games on the Robe-Ann diamond for the 1984 season. Teams interested in organized play on the diamond this year should send representatives to this meeting.

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GARY LARSON “Far Side" creator

'The Far Side' new B-G comic The Banner-Graphic today introduces “The Far Side,” a usually offbeat daily comic panel drawn by Seattle cartoonist Gary Larson. Only three years old, the panel already appears in more than 100 newspapers throughout the United States, including Chicago Tribune, Cincinnati Enquirer and Los Angeles Times. “THE FAR SIDE” will appear daily on the classified page in the space formerly occupied by “Pavlov,” today on page 83. In turn, “Pavlov” moves to the comic page. Larson, a 33-year-old, self-taught artist, admits that his work is “a little different from the traditional newspaper comic.” His mostly-adult fans find a unique kind of humor in a panel that Editor & Publisher magazine recently said “entertains in such surreal, cerebral, ghoulish, whimsical, crazy, twisted and unsettling ways.” Acknowledging that his own brand of humor was influenced by cartoons from The New Yorker and other publications, Larson frequently uses animals in his panel, a practice that dates to a childhood affection for virtually all four-footed creatures and reptiles. WHILE MAJORING in communications at Washington State University, Larson also studied zoology. After graduation, he played guitar in a band, and then worked in a music store and with the Humane Society. With no formal art training, he managed to have his “Nature’s Way” panel printed weekly in the Seattle Times in 1978. Still a virtual unknown, Larson went unsolicited to the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle a year later and left a portfolio of drawings. Given the “Don’t call us; we’ll call Col. 1, back page, this section