Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 58, Number 192, Decatur, Adams County, 15 August 1960 — Page 1

Vol. LVIII. No. 192.

I * ziO 0$ B I <ik h i I j jun fl j DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CANDIDATES are pictured above with the 4-H Aberdeen-Angus steer which they purchased at the recent 4-H fair in Monroe. The animal, raised by John Rumple of Jefferson township, was purchased for $294.10. Herman Moellering, left, and Delmas Bollenbacher right candidates for surveyor and county commissioner, third district, respectively, bid on the steer Also pictured, from left to right, are Moellering, William Linn, candidate for treasurer; Rosemary Spangler, candidate for county recorder; Edward F. Jaberg, candidate for county auditor- and Bollenbacher <Photo by Dave Cole)

Monmouth Students Detail Root Township History

' (Editor's Note: Last spring the senior speech students of Mrs. Hugh J. Andrews at Monmouth, presented a detailed history of Root township to the Adams county historical society. The history ► was the result of a continuously growing amount of original research on the part of the seniors, under the guidance of Mrs. Andrews. At the first, the project of only a few of the students, before it was completed, all had taken part. The history, as presented, has been written down in detail by each student, edited and retyped by Mrs. Andrews, and is here presented to the public. A few of the 44 pages of the history will be presented each day.) INTRODUCTION When Mrs. Andrews first proposed the idea of researching the history of Root Township and Monmouth in particular, little did the members of her speech class realize what a tremendous but enjoyable experience it would be. I think I speak for everyone in the class when I say our project has been very profitable. Relating local sites and experiences to the big “picture'* of American history has been refreshing. It has whetted our desires to do more reading. Then too, pride of school and community have been greatly stimulated. For the first time many of ns have taken time to check historic markers, read inscriptions on long-forgotten tombstones (some in our own school yard), visit with older people who were thrilled to tell of their knowledge local history, write letters of inquiry to former residents, and even conduct an expedition to several locations along the St. Mary's River in search of forgotten lore. We thank the Adams County Historical Society for presenting the idea to us and then giving us the opportunity to report our results. Since we have only “scratched the surface,’’ we hope that the succeeding classes at Monmouth High will grow in “Root Township consciousness” until every possible historic feat about this area has been found. We are aware that the members of the Society have previously discussed many of the phases of Indiana history: however,' we are taking the liberty of repeating enough facts so that for our own satisfaction we can fit Monmouth community into the big picture of the past. Indian Signs Here and there along Indiana watercourses are found articles of Indian fabrication which reveal that the first inhabitants of our state were living here centuries before the white man appeared. They had left behind them, as evidence of their presence here, hundreds and thousands of strange earthworks, built by incredible toil. Ross Lockridge in his History of Indiana states, “most counties have one or two prehistoric sites. None are far from some.” Several of us have visited the Mounds State Perk negr Anderson, Indiana, which is an excellent example. Then in the middle of the 17th century, the northern part of the

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT - ——. — — --: -' ' 1 —- ." • —ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY' ' ,■' . ~ ' 1 ■

i state was invaded by a new group of warlike hunting Indians. The I newcomers, with an inferior culture, found that the streams, lakes, and swamps of northern Indiana supplied game and fish in abundance, the river systems provided highways for their canoes, and the patches of prairie could be gardened by the squaws. These were the red men found by the first white explorers in the late 17th century. They belonged to the Algonquin language family and came to be known as the Miami and Potawatomi tribes. Waterways Important It is interesting to us that the waterways which these Indians found in this area—namely, the Maumee, St. Joseph, St. Mary’s and the Wabash rivers should determine the migrations of the races which battled so fiercely for dominion over the interior of America for more than 200 years. History began in Indiana about 1679 when explorer LaSalle and his party of Frenchmen, the first known white men to enter the Joe Murtaugh, 54, Dies Sunday Joseph Edward Murtaugh, 54, of 434 Mercer avenue, an electrician with the Decatur General Electric plant for the past 20 years, died Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at the Adams county memorial hospital where he had been ill for the past two months. Death was attributed to carcinoma, with which he had suffered for the past two years. Mr. Murtaugh was born September 14. 1905 at Grafton, W. Va., the son of William and Mary J. Finnegan Murtaugh. He moved to Decatur many years ago, and was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic church, the Holy Name Society, the Knights of Columbus, Loyal Order of Moose, and Red Men. Survivors include two sons, James M. Murtaugh, of Columbia, S. C.. Timothy J. Murtaugh, on the U.S.S. Orion with the U. S Navy; three daughters. Miss Sheila Murtaugh, of Dayton, O.; Miss Maureen Murtaugh, of Fort Wayne; and Mrs. Donald V. (Karen) Junk, of Fort Wayne; two sisters, Mrs. Richard Deininger, and Mrs. Walter Gilliom, both of Fort Wayne; and one grandchild. Friends may call at the Zwick funeral home after 7 p.m. this evening.. The Holy Name society will recite the Rosary at 7:30 p.m. TuesFuneral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Marys Catholic Church, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Simeon Schmitt officiating. Burial will be in St. Joseph Catholic cemetery. Says Khrushchev Fears Election Os Kennedy United Press International Joseph F. Curran, president of the National Maritime Union, who recently returned from Russia, said he believed Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev feared the election of Kennedy.

state, crossed the northwest cor- . ner and wrote of their experiences. By 1720 the French had fanned out until they had control of the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Indiana lay astride the watershed, part in the province of Canada and part in Louisiana. Three French rosts The French established three posts in Indiana to guard the Maumee - Wabash route connecting' Lake Erie with the Ohio River. They were principally posts where traders could live, keep their supplies, barter with the Indians, and pack their furs for shipment either to Montreal or New Orleans. Since the French government obtained revenue from the fur trade, it usually kept troops at these posts. One of the most flourishing centers of trade established in 1720 was near the confluence of the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph rivers, at the present site of Fort Wayne. It came to be known as the Fort of the Miamis. Because of the activities at this post, our own Root Township area must have been a pathway used extensively both red men and whites in the prosecution of the fur trade. Forts were also established near the present cities of Lafayette and Vincennes. Soon, keen-eyed British traders began invading this realm which the French had made possible. Gradually a great division of English and French sentiment developed among the Indians which resulted in the French and Indian war and a conclusive victory for the English. The outcome was that Indiana was to be settled by Englishmen or their American cousin. Many of the French inhabitants moved to the west side of the Mississippi. In 1765 the first British official to visit the Indiana posts found about ninety French families at Vincennes, fourteen at Lafayette; and Fort Miamis had even fewer. We must never forget that it was France through her explorers and traders who made possible a Northwest and a greater America than was bounded by the Atlantic coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Advertising Index Advertiser Page A&P Tea Co., Inc. 3 Burk Elevator Qo. 5 Butler Garage, Inc. „„ 5 Bower Jewelry 3 Budget Loans 6 Burke Ins. Service 4 Cowens Ins. Agency 2 Fred W. Corah Insurance 5 Decatur Drive-In Theater. 3 DAT Standard Service — 6 Fairway 2—. 3 Gene’s Mobil Service „„ 6 Holthouse Drug Co 2 Holthouse Furniture Store 5 Pauline Haugk Real Estate .... 5 Ned C. Johnson, Auctioneer .... 5 Kent Realty & Auction Co. .... 5 Myers Cleaners 2 Quality Chevrolet-Buick, Inc. ..5 Norval Rich. M.D. 5 Roth Radio & T.V. Services Leland Smith Ins. Agency, Inc. 5 Smith Drug 00. . 3,3, 4 Teepie Truck Lines .... 5 Tony’s Tap 4

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, August 15, 1960.

Decatur Canning Company Will Start Processing Tomatoes Next Week

Hartke Favors IkeNikifa UN Meeting WASHINGTON (UPI) — Sen. Vance Hartke, D-Ind., who opposed Nikita Khrushchev’s American trip, says it might be a good idea for President Eisenhower to meet the Soviet premier next month at the United Nations. Khrushchev said last week it would be a “great honor” for him to lead the Soviet delegation to the U.S. disarmament talks in September. President Eisenhower indicated at his news conference last Wednesday he, too, might attend the U.N. talks and meet Khrushchev if he felt such a move would be useful in promoting world peace. Hartke said Sunday, it might be to America’s advantage to try for such a meeting. Emphasizing that this is a “fast changing world,” he said an attempt could be made to conduct "peaceful negotiations” with the Russian leader. He said he thought it was wrong for this government to invite Khrushchev to make a personal visit here last fall. That trip, he said, made Khrushchev an equal of the United States. But if the President decides to meet Khrushchev at the United Nations, he s«dd. “I won’t be critical of whatever decision he makes.” Hartke said he thought it was very important to keep disarmament negotiations going because the alternative was destruction. He said the forthcoming U.N. disarmament talks were good because they meant that at least negotiations were still going on. He described Khrushchev as a “clever international politician.’.’ Speaking of foreign policy in general, Hartke called for a realistic approach to the whole field. America, he t said, can not buy friends;’ it must win them. In particular, he said, there must be a new approach to the Far East. He said the United States must recognize that there has been a change there—“ Tokyo demonstrated that.” However, he said, he felt the United States should support Nationalist China. He said he was opposed to recognizing Communist China or admitting the Peiping regime to the United Nations. He felt the West must prepare for the fact that the Chinese Communists will have the atomic bomb in “a matter of time,’’ and that the United States must have a sufficient overall’ deterrent to prevent them from using it.

Wind, Rain, Lightning Sweep County Sunday High winds, lightning, thunder, and about a tenth of inch of rain struck Adams county about 5 p.m. Sunday, and shortened picnics and outings. The wind flattened some corn fields, but damage appeared to be rather light. Louis Landrum, Decatur weather observer, reported .1 inch of rain, and the river at .93 feet. A trace of rain was reported at the Peter Spangler farm in Kirkland township, and about .05 inches in Preble township. McDonald, Hackman Take Navy Physicals Jim McDonald, son of Harold and Hazel McDonald and a 1959 graduate of Decatur high school, and Alvin E. Hackman, son of Mrs. Anselm Hackman left this morning for Indianapolis where they are to take their physical examination for the United States Navy. If the two pass their physicals, they wfll leave for the Great Lakes and 10 weeks of basic training.

Mrs. Mabel Schmitt, president of the Decatur Canning Co., canners of tomatoes, has announced that operations will get underway sometime during the week of August 22, which is next week. All the machinery at the plant has been overhauled and some 1 new equipment has been installed, including new scalding equipment. The boiler is being re-tubed this week and will be ready for work starting next week. Some of the tomatoes that were brought in this week were shipped out to another cannery. Prospects Good Mrs. SChmitt said that prospects for this year’s crop are very good. She stated that 80 per cent of the tomatoes they use are of the seed variety and are looking fine this year. Usually something comes up that ruins or slows down some lof the crop, out the weather has been fine this year and she believes that production per acre will be at an all time high. With the good pack that is expected, a labor force of about 180 will be hired next week. Good. experienced tomato peelers are the main type of worker needed. Started in 1947 Usually when the canning factory opens, hundreds of workers appear. They are put to work peeling the tomatoes, although the factory operates at half-force until all the machinery is adjusted, which usually takes two or three days. A problem develops around Labor Day, however, when most of the workers tfre and quit. This is just the tint® when the season is at its peak, and most of the tomatoes are on the dock for processing. The company started operations in 1947 with 10,000 cases of tomatoes processed. They company prepares only gallon-size cans of tomatoes for institutional sales throughout the country. At a Chamber of Commerce meeting last year, Mrs. Schmitt explained that while it seems to many people that the cannery operates only a few weeks a year, the management is busy the year around. Last year’s cans must be shipped; next year’s acreage must be contracted for by contacting all the individual farmers. Also migrant labor in Arkansas must be reached and the plant and living quarters for the tomato pickers must be maintained, plus the crops must be dusted and the seeds and plants must be secured. The uncontrollable element of the weather is a constant factor, determining the size of the canning operation even more effectively than the area seeded. W. E. Schmitt Vice-President Mrs. Schmitt’s son, W. E Schmitt is vice president of the corporation and co-owner of the plant. Schmitt had managed the canning plant in Arcanum, 0., until it was closed in 1959. Larry Eliott, of Columbus Junction, lowa, is the Decatur plant manager. Elliott is a veteran of four years in the Navy and was trained in the canning industry at the Heekin Can company, Cincinnati, O. This is his fourth year with the company. Echo I Satellite Visable In Decatur WASHINGTON (UPD — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued the following timetable for midwestern cities over which the Echo I communications satellite will pass today and Tuesday. The list, with the satellite’s elevation and approximate central daylight times it may be seen: • Chicago — Aug. 15: Low southeast at 9:02 p.m. Aug 16: High North at 1:09 a.m., high north at 3:14 a.m. Detroit — Aug. 15: Overhead at 11:04 p.m. Aug. 16: Medium north 1:10 a.m., overhead at 3:16 a.m. Kansas City — Aug. 16: Medium north at 1:07 a.m., medium north northeast 3:13 am. - ~ ——— Cleveland — Aug. 15: Medium southeast at 9:03. p.m., overhead at 11:04 p.m. Aug. 16: Medium north at 1:10 a.m., overhead at 3:16 a.m.

Late Bulletins WASHINGTON (UPI) -The State Department today asked Congress for an extra SIOO million in foreign aid funds for the violence-torn Congo, and if it becomes necessary, other new African nations. WASHINGTON (UPI) — The U.S. charged today that the reason Russia has refused to allow U.S. dipionfats to interview U-2 pilot Francis G. Powers is because the Reds have “something to conceal involving preparation of his trial. Portland Family Recovers From Gas BLACK RIVER, Ont. (UPI)—An were reported in satisfactory conIndiana woman and her daughter dition in St. Joseph’s Hospital here today after lying unconscious for nearly a week with carbon monoxide poisoning. Mrs. Esther Gigandet, 46. Portland. Ind., and her daughter, Margaret Ann. 22. Portland, Ind., were found Wednesday in an isolated cabin near Lake Matinenda. 30 miles north of the northern shore of Lake Huron. Mrs. Gigandet’s husband, Dartwin, 52, was dead. The victims ware discovered . when Mike St. Pierre of Blind Riv- ; er visited the cabin to check on ; a boat he had loaned the family. St. Pierre notified police who ar- ; ranged an airlift to the hospital . here. Authorities blamed the tragedy : on a gas-operated refrigerator the ; Gigandets brougnt from Indiana. Meters, Three Cars Damaged In Wreck Three cars were involved in an accident at Monroe and Second streets. Sunday at 6 p.m. Encarnacion Riojas. 38. route 1, Monroe, was southbound on Second when he struck a car that was eastbound on Monroe and driven by Joseph Lewis Guzzi, 36. CJarkstyirg, W. Va. After hinting the Guzzi vehicle, Rioja’s car continued to the left, hit a car that was parked and then jumped the curb and knocked down two parking meters. The parked car was owned by Fred A. Smith, Van Wert, O. City police estimated $350 damage to the Riojas car, $125 to the Guzzi car, $75 to the Smith car and $l5O to the parking meters.

State Candidates Important Utterback Tells Farmers

Hoosier farmers who want to earn more money and still remain farmers had better pay attention to the officials they elect this year in Indiana, as well as in the Federal government. Sen. Earl Itterback, of Kokomo, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, told a- crowd at Marion Friday, “A national farm problem cannot be solved by a state administration. I wish that it could. But it should be obvious that the administration of an agricultural state such as Indiana has the responsibility to act to the extent it can to assist farmers. “Yet Indiana, one of the nation’s principal agricultural areas, has a Commissioner of Agriculture whose main occupation appears to be crowning beauty queens and posing for pictures with 4-H calves. “Four years of running for governor has not left him much time for anything but ceremonial activity in rural areas. But the people of Indiana, who have paid this man for the past 18 years, are entitled to have their money used for more than to finance a political campaign. “We need in Indiana a Commissioner of Agriculture who knows farm problems from first hand experience. We need a Commis-

Two Berne Men Al Thursday Meet Two Berne men will represent Adams county at a dinner meeting of the Indiana Association for Mental Health which will be held Thursday, August 18 at the Washington Hotel in Indianapolis. Brice Bauserman, Berne banker, and Ed Stucky, Berne posfc» master, will represent the association for Mental Health at the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the urgent: needs of patients in state mental hospitals and schools for the mentally retarded, and ways and means to bring these needs to the attention of the public, state legislators, candidates for the state legislature and other public officials. Mrs. Sherman Stucxy, president of the Adams county Mental Health association, stated that any other person interested in the < meeting should contact Bauser- 1 man about making the'trip. Mrs. ; Stucky also revealed that she is ] planning varoius workshops on mental health for various county i

Community Fund Names Gaunt Drive Chairman

Kenneth P. Gaunt, GE personnel specialist and a native of Decatur, was named today as community fund drive chairman for the annual drive October 10-16 by the Rev. J. O. Penrod, chairman of the community fund. At the same time, Gaunt named M. J. Pryor and James Basham as a special committee to back him up as drive chairman. Pryor originally organized the community fund drive on its present basis, and Basham was last year’s drive chairman. The 1959 drive wpnt over the top. Active On Fund Gaunt has served in the comfunity fund for some time. Rev. Penrod pointed out, and was one of the 11 co-chairmen for the past two years. He is also a director on the community fund board. A 1939 graduate of Decatur high school; Gaunt is married, and lives with his wife and three children at 327 Limberlost Trail in Stratton Place. He has been employed by the Decatur General Electric plant for 18 years. Among his other duties, he is editor of the GE News.

K ■t • / H Willie HL fl fl «* Sen. Earl Utterback Governor do, in one of his princisioner who has a primary concern with the needs of Indiana farmers and who will speak for them. We need a Commissioner of Agriculture who will battle vigorously for the interests of Hoosier farmers in the legislature, in public, and before Congressional committees. “What should a Lieutenant

Detailed plans for the workshops will be announced when the plans are completed. Assessor's Office Gets New Set Os Shelves New shelves were built in the assessor's room today by county court house janitor Melvon Kohler when assessor Walter Koos discovered that the weight of the assessment books was so great thSV several shelves were unusable. The weight pressed the shelves together, and the books could not be removed from the middle shelves. The new wooden shelves will match the old ones. Mrs. Kneuss Hired In Sheriff's Office ’ Mrs. Warren Kneuss, of Berne, the former Rose Merriman of Root township, has been hired as temporary secretary in the sheriff’s office, replacing Mrs. Mildred Foley, who returned today to her job as county and city attendance officer. Mrs. Foley was replacing Mrs. Russell Schooler, who has a leave of absence to recover from recent surgery.

Board To Meet Gaunt stated that the board will meet September 7 to go over the proposed 1960-61 budget. Last year’s budget was $20,429, and it appears that this year’s budget might be slightly higher. Co-chairmen for the 11 different divisions will be named in the near future, Gaunt. promised. The large blackboard scoreboard, which records, day by day, the progress of the drive, will again be located on the court house lawn, he added. The sign was used very effectively last year when the drive went over the top, thanks to the cooperation of the county commissioners who allowed the community fund to locate the sign there. The one-week drive, starting on the second Monday in October, and lasting through Sunday, will be the second seven-day drive in the local fund’s history. Berne annually runs a one-day drive, going over the top in that short period. Several advanced plans, especially to contact persons never contacted in the past, are being planned, Gaunt concluded.

pal functions as Comrpissioner of Agriculture? “First, he should fight for the economic rights of farmers, for them sharing fairly in the income of our economy. “Second, he should battle to remove from farmers the unfair share of the property tax burden they now bear. “Third, he shoyld work intensively to make sure that Hoosiers in the city know and understand that the welfare of the farmer directly effects the economic well being of those who earn their livings in our cities and towns. , ’‘Fqurth, he should understand and support the role of our great Purdue University and help strengthen and broaden the services the school performs for Indiana agriculture. “And fifth, he should lead a strong effort to increase the sale df our states farm products. "It is time to put an end to the practice followed by the present Commissioner of Agriculture of using the office for a four-year, publicly-financed campaign for Governor. It is time to qf the office of Commisslbner of 1 Agriculture one that soends its time working in behalf of farmers ■ instead of in behalf of a personal campaign for public office.”

Six Cents