Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 221, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1916 — Medaryville Celebrates 100th Birthday of Citizen. [ARTICLE]

Medaryville Celebrates 100th Birthday of Citizen.

The town of Medaryviltc, in Pulaski county, is today the scene of a big celebration in honor of the 100th birthday of her venerable citizen William B. Nicholes. The town council has declared the day a holiday and the residences and business houses are decorated with flags and bunting in a manner to remind one of a fourth of July All of the local citizenship and many people from the surrounding communities will gather for a big basket dinner and public speaking. William B. Nicholes, or as he is more popularly known, is a little more than two months older than the 3tate of Indiana. He has been a Mason for seventy-three years and is probably the oldest Mason now living. He has also been a member of the Methodist church for eighty years and at one time served as postmaster at Medaryville for a period of thirteen years. Mr. Nicholes was bom in Higland county, Ohio, September 141 th, 1816, being the youngest of a family of nine children. He was the father of nine children, four of whom are still living. . He moved from Peru, Ind., with his family in 1850 to Rensselaer and in 1855 they moved to Francesville, where they resided one year, going to Medaryville in 1856. The records of the First M. E. church of Peru show that Mr. Nicoles was a trustee of the church in 1836, so it is known that he has been a member of the M. E. church for at least 80 years. The records of the Masonic lodge, show that he was made a Master Mason in Miami, No. 67, in 1843, which means that he has been a member of the Masonic order for at least 73 years. In 1867 Mr. Nicoles was appointed postmaster for Medaryville, in which capacity he served for at least thirteen years. He has been a republican since the inception of the party and cast a ballot for every presidential nominee of the party down to the present time. Prior to the founding of the republican party he was a whig, casting his first ballot for Wm: Henry Harrison in the campaign of 1836. Mr. Nicoles has always been an esteemed and highly respected citizen and has contributed much to the moral and physical advancement of the communities in which he has lived.