Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 August 1950 — Page 21

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g ATRESIA ET

AEA ORLLAOORTE TS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 1950

® Amusamenis i, 26, 27 , ~ Potomac Patter ........ 28

THE

~ Lonely Old Coleman House Learns Its

‘Remnant of City's

Past fo Be Sold

By EMMA RIVERS MILNER old Coleman mansion, silent and empty

hee at 1006 N. Meridian St.

today awaits its fate. For .tomorrow the keys

to that once-grand residence, long a landmark of gracious living in Indianapolis, will pass divine a new owner. Aristocrat of dwellings, it now stands alone, fallen on evil days. Business houses, parking lots and the roar of 1950 motor traffic mark its setting. But time was when the stone mansion stood proudly on its well-tended green lawn enclosed by iron fence, its narrow windows, lace-hung, looking out upon other fashionable residences, Since the death of its mistress, Mrs, Sallie E. Coleman, in 1947 the house has been permitted to fall into disrepair

ding—its—final—disp Mrs

Coleman died. just nine months.

after her husband, William H. Coleman. » = » IN THIS HOUSE, the Colemans lived together more than 50 years, entertained the great, the near-great and the humble, and planned their countless charities. They were known for their generosity. Mr. Coleman is said to have given for the welfare of Indianapolis approximately $1

Outstanding among these contributions are the William H. Coleman Hospital for Women, a part of the Indiana University Medical Center, and the Suemma Coleman Home. The home, a haven for unfortunate girls and a memorial to Mrs. Coleman’s daughter, is supported by the Community Fund and partial payment from patients. Tomorrow, the estate administrators will open sealed bids and Coleman house will go for the highest offer. Will the new owner raze the building, erect an automobile salesroom or some other place of business

on the site? That is the ques-—

tion.

» ”» ” A LAST VISIT to the old place a few days ago was an

experience to arouse sentiment, Henry Lewis, who worked as butler, coachman-chauffeur and dependable friend of the Colemans more thau 40 years, was glad to be guide. A private sale

of the furnishings, with the ex-~ .

ception of those removed by the heirs,’ was held last Sunday. It's a good house, too good to be pulled down” Henry. But as you climb the winding walnut stairway, you note that wall paper and paint are peeling and that dirt is collecting in the rooms Henry had kept spotlessly clean. He and his wife occupy the apartment over the old house in which Mrs. ape willed they should live all their lives. Henry remembers the Coleman house in all its glory of hospitality and friendliness the long table, spread with a heavy lace cloth and laid with the famous gold plate, which seated 22 persons in comfort. ~ » ” FAVORITE DISHES included quail, squab and breast of guinea with eggnog as the win-

ter-time drink and some light

wine in summer, he recalled.

Gift of Medical Science—

Jerry's’ Never-Never Birthday Is Here

Leukemia. Victim To Have Party

By DONNA MIKELS

DAY is Jerry Dunaway's 4

birthday. It's the day he ‘“‘couldn’t live to see” , . . the birthday that came to the incurably ill leu-

kemia victim as a gift of medi-

cal science. The eighth candle that will burn on his towering white birtkday cake at a party this afternoon will be there because science’s new “wonder” drugs

firned back the clock to give

Jerry one more “Happy Birth-

“day.”

And a happy birthday gL what. it will be.

Percale hair slicked down and with ribbon-bedecked packages in hand, will troop into *Jerry’'s home at 835 Eastern Ave, Later this evening there’ 11 be an. open house for all Jerry's ~ well-wishers; alike, coo * » »

woo FHES- AFTERNOON the kids

will stack their presents on the dining room table, around the

__big bakery-decorated cake and

three homemade cakes baked by Jerry's mother to “make enough to go around.” y There'll be games—pin the tail on the donkey, potato races, marshmallow-eating contests. “Then there'll be fice cream and cake — as much as the young stomaches can hold. Then will come presents. When Jerry has worked his way to the bottom of the mountain of gifts from his playmates, his parents, Mr. and " Mrs. Earl Dunaway, will wheel in their “big surprise.” It's a bright green, chrometrimmed ‘two-wheeled bike” with an electric horn, a headlight and directional lights that g0 on when you turn. It's the present Jerry told them he wanted “more than anything else In the world.”

» » ” JERRY'S FOLKS had always promised him a bicycle “when -you're big. enough,” But last December when doctors at St. Vincent's Hospital found Jerry was a victim of the fatal can-

cer of the blood it looked like that day would never come. In February, the swift killer

of children had almost com-

pleted its course when the family heard a new drug, ACTH, ‘was being used with some success in leukemia cases. The family tried—but failed—to obtain a supply of the drug, so new, so scarce and so expensive even research laboratories could not obtain a sufficient ly. Ai the parents turned - to Times.

Krier s crospeountry search in

young and ol

; The William H; Coleman residence. a

_ mourned

‘were the

Old-fashioned, home made ice cream and cake were the most popular dessert served. Henry turned the handle of the old wooden freezer, turned and turned, until the mixture stif-

-fened-and- the dasher ‘had to-be--

removed.

He chuckled when explaining about the lace and net window curtains which excited the curiosity of passersby: “Mrs. Coleman made them, She would go out for an ‘evening, return late and begin to sew about midnight. She loved to sew but always after 12 o'clock at night.” In the ballroom which stretches across the top floor of the house, Henry pointed out the little balcony on which the hired = musicians sat. “Those days when parents didn't allow their children to go to taverns. They danced in each other’s homes,” he said. “Here's where the punchbowl stood and in this room the folks rested their wraps.” ” » . FRIENDS describe Mrs. Coleman as the life of the household, the one who drew in groups for cards which she dearly loved to play and for other parties. She was gay and

Mrs. Ruby Duraway and Jerry Ses Invitations for the birthday

party Jerry "couldn't live to see." -eonnection—with--other—Seripps-—

Howard papers, The Times obtained: a small amount of the

drug ‘in New York: Then The.

Times flew Jerry there for emergency treatment. by the country's leading research doctors ‘and: sponsored subsequent treatment here with ACTH and other drugs. Jerry got out of the hospital last Thursday after the drugs for a third time produced a remiasion in the spread of abnormal “gangster” cells in. his bloodstream, giving him a new lease on life. “I'm well enough to have a

birthday, party,” he told his mother.~ And his mother agreed. rv » .

JERRY MADE OUT the list himself, helped lick the stamps

when ‘his mother mailed out

invitations. As today ‘grew nearer his excitement mounted and his mother “had to hold him down.” most out to the garage where his bike was hidden before his mother headed him off. His brother, Jimmy, did wander into the garage and find the ‘surprise. He ran back in to tell Jerry. But fortunately, 2-year-old Jimmy turns his “b's” into a cross between a “vy” and a

.“Y" and Jerry cowdn’t figure

out wieat Jimmy was to tell him, Jerry may not be able 0 ride his bicycle right away . . . he may never be able to ride it. But if he gets any joy out of seeing it, polabing its chrome, or knowing that

* his parents SHA. Wea Junie,

Once he was al-

"Oh lookie.”" . . . Jimmie Dunaway, 2, stumbles onto Jerry's 'big surprise.’ THERE'S ANOTHER prise in store for Jerry. Everytime Jerry has visited es he's lingered long, admiring’ the big flash cameras

sur-

‘ the photographers carry.

“I want to be a photographer

‘when I grow up,” he toid pho-

jographers. when they snapped yore.

BR pictus tn New his pile there'll be Ma ana re en he

~—one with a flash attachment

William H. Coleman.

sparkling, full of energy, early to rise as well as late retiring, they remember. She was born Sallie Ella Downing of Louisville, Ky., but grew up in Indianapolis. Bhe was a lovely young widow, Mrs. John H, Vajen Jr. with one little daughter, Suemma, when she married Mr. Coleman

in 1889, Not long afterward,

"Happy Birthday, Jerry" Bakery traces the joyful words in

they moved to the Meridjan St. house, an old structure even then, No children were born to the Colemans. But Mrs. Coleman many times laughingly said Mr. Coleman would have married her, if for no other reason, to become a second father to little Suemma.

Her daughter later became

+ + + Sally Steffanni of Boydon's scrolls and roses.

Photos by Bill Oates, Times Staff Photographer.

A present for Jerry . . . Dianne and Jimmy Simons, 601 S. Sherman Dr., get out the ribbons and paper to wrap Jerry's gift. high school youngsters slipped

to take pictures of his party. And if Jerry's solo flight with a flash camera's a success, he

. might even realize andther wish

~-a piéture published in The Times to make him a “real newspaper photographer.” Jerry isn't cured-—leukemia is still incurable. Doctors em-

But today, as his brown eyes flash out happiness and he thanks his playmates for ‘the happiest birthday ever, his parents will be sending out thanks to someone else.

.* Their thanks will go to the

whiteclad men and women of research laboratories and to a Higher Power . , , pray thanks for Stving Jerry one more birthday.

Sallie E. Coleman.

Mrs. W. A. Atkins but died before her son, Coleman Atkins was grown.

” » » MR. COLEMAN came of a Pennsylvania farm family in very modest circumstances, He told of walking 70 miles once as a boy in quest of a job. The lumber business brought the

quiet, dignified master of the

TV Revolution—

house the beginnings of his fortune,. but he greatly ‘increased his wealth by real estate operations. He died at the age of H8 after an illness of about 10 days. Mrs. Coleman's charities like her husband's were farreaching, She gave bells to a little church in France, helped establish a hospital in Petosky, Mich,, and sponsored life memsberships in the Mutual Service Association for needy business women, Bhe left the house to the association as a home for business women. But the organization was unable to finance the be-

William H. Coleman Hospital for Women, lasting memorial.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lewis, friends and retainers.

quest in accordance with the will’s provisions and it has ree verted to the heirs, Yale University owns a lbrary of first editions of Ine diana authors given by Mrs. Coleman as a memorial to her grandson, Coleman Atkins, who was killed in an automobile accident, Bhe made a similar gift to Butler honoring Hilion U. Brown, Nieces, nephews, various friends and institutions are beneficiaries under the Coleman wills, Thus an old house holds with in its walls echoes of a family's living and sharing In Indian. apolis.

Parents, Teachers Worry Over Effect

Of Video on Study Habits of Children

Pictures Altering

Home Routines CHAPTER ONE By CAMERON DAY ELEVISION has become a ; menace in our household, My 09-year-old son refuses to

‘leave - the set, at meal-time.

When he does, he bolts his food in order to get back to it. He stays glued to the set when he should be out-of-doors. Something just must be done about television!” That and similar reactions, have turned up repeatedly in re“cent surveys: on video's effect" upon children, The situation leading to such comments is bound to become more acute as television Seaally ¥ moves ioves ahead. ha sont Tt throughout the country. Applications are pending for 350 more. A conservative estimate puts the total sets in use at more than 5,000,000, whiie the manufacture and sale of video receivers continues at a high level,

: Television is here to stay and. t has brought along a revolu-

tion in the habits and customs “of American people. As the number of television homes keeps mounting, what

“will be the effect on s0 called

“television children”? It’s much too early to answer accurately. Among other variables, most TV families have had their sets a relatively short time. “Viewing habits,” #s the researchers call it, of both children and adults change as the novelty of TV wears off, However, it's not too. early to probe the matter, as many educators, TV network officials, and parents: are wisely doing. Their preliminary findings establish clearly that the child of school age is one of the industry’s most pressing problems, ‘

~ " ” FIRST SURVEYS on the subject have supplied valuable material, One study at the Burdick Junior High School, Stamford, Conn., showed that students were watching television almost as many hours as they were attending school. Another, at Abraham Clark High School, Roselle, N. J. carried the disquieting report that students who were avid viewers (either at home or elsewhere) often dropped. in their marks as much ag 15 percent, In this school, 300 out of 900 student-body were affected. Researchers in Ft. Worth, Tex. reported that, while many

in their grades because of TV, a larger number improved their marks, In the midst of all this, a teacher. in Bergenfield, .N. J. made hef own independent re. port on the situation. This, accompanied by her resignation, was that TV had made: it im-

possible to ‘rouse pupils unless g

This is the first of five articles by Cameron Day “describing the impact of television on American life. Surveys show it is changing the habits of children, altering the routine of thelr parents, affecting business in general. TV, the nation’s “infant industry,” is drawing the atten tion of experts in human behavior, researchers, educational lead~ ers and the video industry itself, Their findings are detailed in this

series.

Mr. Day was television editor of Tide magazine, feature editor of Television magazine. He has made a study of TV since 1945,

“Nevada, where television | hadn’ t penetrated at that moment,

” . ” THE WIDEST research on the subject so far is now being conducted in New York City, - where more -than 1,000,000 receivers are in use. A project of the United Parents Associations, this survey will poll more than 100,000 homes and: is dup- -

ade Regan do

New 3 In addition to probing the inroads of video on the child's study. time, the questionnaire

Soa A

covers the type of show children”

of various ages prefer, TV's effect on eating and sleeping habits, changes in recreation habits, Ct sae This elaborate study is far Jrom_ complete. But _a few interesting facts have been dis tilled from the first responses, It includes evidence that kids of five and six aren't much affected by TV in their study habits, as they have littie or no homework anyway. But these 5- and 8-year olders often lose interest in arts, crafts and outdoor play. Also, they may throw tantrums when asked to leave the set for meals, or insist upon eating where they. can see the picture, Just beyond this among the seven-year-olds, the inroads on study time apparently begin to show. There is, as well, same emotional difficulty. The eating problem, a fairly general one, was particularly noticeable among’ eight-year-olds. Getting to bed was another trouble spot . for this group.’ VIDEO'S effect upon study time was more pronounced among moppets of 10. Lower marks in school were also

Pr —

~ This yburigster' hour, so he's eating His

group, -

is mm SY HN A

noted. To upset the family circle further, this group had the unpleasant habit of choking down food in order to rush back to a cowboy saga. These preiiminary _ findings aren't conclusive, The United Parents Associations released them without interpretive com=ment, pending ‘tabulation of the huge survey's final TeSUILs, Gl the danger signs in the situation. Since New York has had television . yonger than most other cities the reactions in the

Big Town may forecast a-pate--=

tern of child behavior which parents in other communities can expect. 8

Nh SA Ts TAY RS A

YER WITH ALL the concern for ~ihe. kids. boweyer, no. one. des. nies TV has plenty to offer them. Both educators and parents are enthusiastic over the educational possibilities of TV. It is generally conceded the networks have done a pretty fair job In originating imagina~ tive, worthwhile kids’ shows, With all the hue and ers the networks now feel obliged to dgvote more “attention and

thought to kids' programs. Re- .

cently, the National Broadcasting Co. started the first network video : program designed to create interest in schools. This show, “Watch The World,” is apparently the direct result of all the dis-

cussion on video's effect on children. This is all to the good. But, of course, the whole problem is far from being settled.

(Copyright, 1850, United Foatury 8y Fndicaté, | Ine.)

TOMORROW: TV's Ftfoct on the Home. 4 I TR