Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 90, Number 14, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 29 September 1966 — Page 2

U^STETTEReToI THE EDITOR |

Dear Mr. Nichols, Since you addressed your editorial to me last week, I feel I ought to introduce myself. My name is Ralph BelL I have lived, and enjoyed living in the friendly town of Wakarusa for tlie last eight and a half years. I was raised in Royal Oak, Michigan, a rather large suburb of Detroit. I am an engineer by profession, and I gladly commute 30 mOes a day so that my Children can enjoy the advantages of a small school. Arriving in Wakarusa with a growing family of school age chlidren, I was surprised and pleased to find an active P.T.A., affording a lot of natural contacts between parents and teacher. These contacts have smoothed out misunderstandings, and helped our children countless times in

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these years. You see education is a family affair, as well an school. We have found that if we can’t help our children ir. some subject, a conference with the teacher will usually lead tc some other way to boost the bas fled youngster back to hitting or all eight cylinders. The contrast between the Wak arusa High School, and my own high school is great. I remembet just one boy I knew who was in the band, but in Wakarusa our children know all the band members. I had another friend v/hc was on the second string basketball team, but here our high schoolers know all the first and second teams. There was no senior trip for me, but Wakarusa still has one— well supervised—a worthwhile experience for every

I Jg 1; £V; v £ .-gsllafo, _ . _ Bfillilp MIMBI s™ vice-president Pk 5 I Wtammsi- ■Mg H||HH and trust offices . Ppjk. HifflSl RICHAJRD C. SPAULDING B .. r *'* •' SB BwaHiEMiß vice president Brn ißlCTwliM; BwflltlsfislSi BRANTLY P. CHAPPELL B Ml* ra|Hm| VICE PRESIDENT ■ ■ W H K uPiSiIM-Cj AND TRUST OFFICER 1 V j ■ ■■ 1 I II aIII!Si MMW, JAMES E. SMITH I I J I II B IWBBIBMI TRUST OFFICER ■ BRANTLY P CHAPPELL f GORDON G. MACKENZIE B the estate planning specialists in B B ■ i B First National’s trust department, I .. v , I which has brought peace of mind B to many, many families just like Ball ABIBBCI H (81818 BBSI 31 I yours County I Brantly, in addition to his more B T *' i ’ than 11 years of trust department and former special the TRUST DEPARTMENT F.8.1. He is also experienced in _ ... . _ _ I I

senior. I could also mention Senior plays, annuals, school papers and more all good character developing activities. In these a small school shines. School Reorganization sounded so good when it was first presented. Getting more education for the dollar spent—who would oppose that? But where is it working out? Noble County consolidated schools doubled the tax rate. Madison Township went from $3-78 in 1962 to $6.80 in 1966. The tragic part of the Wakarusa situation is the fact that Olive, Harrison, and half of Locke Townships are really big enough by the state law to have their own school corporation. But never in promotion of school reorganization was this brought out. Even educators recognize the advantages of schools close to the people. The Grills Report is in the Wakarusa and Nappanee Public Libraries for all to read, but let me quote from it. Dr. William F. Russell, President of the Teacher’s College of Columbia University says, “Americans in the interest of liberty have tried to keep the control and financing of education as close to home as possible. This practice should be continued” . . . “Schools should try to accomplish what the people want.” Professor Harold C. Hand, Department of Education at Illinois University says, “The parent who feels closely, responsibly, and possessively identified with the program of the public school is most likely to support it.” , . . “No teacher is likely to be happy in his work unless the relations between the school and community are good.” There has been a lot of thought put into the Grills Report. Check it out of your library and read it. Now I- realize ycu have problems in Nappanee. You have a high school your community should be proud of —a workable design which could be expanded as needed. But now, only 8 years

after it was built, some people want to- degrade it to a junior high. Is this what the residents of Nappanee really want? They surely know that the East Side School is very good, modern, but overcrowded. Overcrowded not because of some stubborn diehards in Olive, Locke, and Harrison townships, but overcrowded because the school officials have had stars in their eyes for a big new school rather than meeting the needs of the students. Is it possible for them to spend money wisely? Os course Central School is crowded and run down. Being so close to Central you must be aware that the school board put in an elaborate educational aids center —paneling, carpeting, new lights, and excellent class room materials available for every teacher in the corporation. It’s all paid for with Federal Funds, the same ones used for most of the improvements at Wakarusa. But all of these improvements were put into the Auditorium of Central, in the section both the Ball State and Cole Reports said should be replaced as soon as possible. Federal Funds do have to be used in certain restricted projects, and teaching aids will help a lot, but why not improve a location not condemned by two impartial surveys? In the midst of the gloom of unwise decisions, there has burst forth one glimmer of hope. The Board of Zoning Appeals ruled against the folly of the school officials, primarily I believe, because they looked ahead. Not just to 1968, nor to 1972, but out to 1975, nine years from now. By that time, Nappanee will have expanded to take in the proposed new high -school site. By that time, Indiana 19 should be a four lane highway. Get the picture now. Just when workers are hurrying double file to work in the morning, all of the Nappanee High School students will be

finding their own way out to the new high school, for no school busses need be provided for town kids. Then in the afternoon when the shifts let Qut in Elkhart, and traffic streams south two abreast, with 10 wide and 12 wide mobile homes intermingled, school will just be letting out. In their jalopies, on hundreds of Hondas. on bicycles, and some on foot, the Nappanee students will race and jostle on that potential mile and a half death strip. Talk about the soaring accident rate, what will this be? We must avoid further delays. We need school buildings and facilities, need them desperately. But we also must conserve every tax dollar for plans that will really work. I believe the best plan is stated clearly in the Grills Report, to keep two high scholos, and add grade schools now. If there were only some way to luring this forcefully to the attention of those in authority! Sincerely, Ralph E. Bell

Dear Editor, Lately we hear editors, whose literary talents have been questioned, cry, “Freedom of Press”. Their loud and anguished tears are printed in special open letters edged in black. I think Academy Awards might be in order. They want freedom to print “maybe or probably” stories instead of factual reporting. These writers talents would be better suited in the field of fairy tales or fiction. “Maybe the Sahara Desert will be flooded, perhaps Mickey Mouse will run for president, or, I think maybe some people will prevent me from having my desires, are typical of the type of journalistic plums these fellows want the public to swallow. Is the public, then, to have freedom? Freedom to preserve their

ideals without some journalist (?) interpreting his motives or taking words from context and adding new meaning to his sentences? Are newspapers free to destroy, discredit, misquote, and question the motives of character of individuals or groups who do not agree with the newspaper views? These days the trend seems to be, to those who hang on to their power, “It doesn’t matter how you play the game, it’s whether or not you win.” Name Withheld

Editor of Advance-News Dear Sir: We wish to have our subscription renewed and are inclosing a letter of which you may use all or part as you wish. Mr. and Mrs. Walter D. Miller with their daughter, Wanda, flew from O’Hare field 6:20 P.M.. July 20 for non-stop flight to Frankfurt, Germany, then on by plane to Munich and train to Regensburg, to visit their former exchange student, Mechtilde Greschl, who now is Mrs. Joseph Gruber. They found Mechtilde the same happy loving and lovable lady appearing very little older than she was sixteen years ago when a senior at Nappanee High. Flight to Frankfurt took eight hours at an elevation of 4,000 ft. Mechtilde’s family consists of a fine husband, who handles English about as well as Mechtilde does; is a lover of history; an admirer of beauty, art, music; and his wife. They have three fine children. He is a postal employee in quite a responsible position. Post office is a branch of the government including also telephone and telegraph. As I understand it, he works on cost of repair, service, etc. He says, “I just go to my office and read the news.” Mr. Gruber took his vacation while we were there. We took a four day trip into Switzerland, stopping first and third nights with Mechtilde’s married sister near the Swiss border. Her husband is employed by the prince of the area to look after the harvesting of timber and protecting wild life. Shooting deer is part of his duties. Grubers had prearranged lodging for us at a hotel for the second night. After we got home, the two older chil dren were sent to visit auntie. Thus, the rest of us could get into their VW (bug) to travel around and we did travel. Regensburg is a large old city on the Danube. The first noticeable impression was the tall steeples on cathedrals. Next was crooked streets that are very narrow and very crooked. We now understand why the tiny European cars are so popular there. They, are small enough to get through the streets.

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Above photo shows anew Monosaic "Seamless Floor" installed by Rays' Carpets Inc. of Nappa nee. This new floor consists of vinyl liquid & chips poured according to your color scheme. Ideal for kitchens, family rooms, baths, utility rooms, basements, outside patios, (matter of fact) any room. No waxing, dent proof, non-siip, long wearing makes this a very low maintenance floor, ideal for the homo, office or store buildings. See Rays today for an estimate for this Monosaic floor or carpet, tile, linoleum or ceramics.

Choose the store from which you buy carpet, with the same care you use when buying the carpet itself.

On some streets they just about fit between curbings with eighteen to twenty-four inches of sidewalk on each side. Old buildings are two or three stories high, but new buildings, especially apartment houses are quite tall even ten or twelve stories high. They now have many fine apartment houses and many being built. We climbed steeples. One had 345 steps up. We saw wonderful interior decorating, especially in cathedrals. Ceilings are covered with large religious pictures. Beautiful stone pillars support the roof. Sculptory of Christ, Mary, angels, cherubs, and others are all around. It seems to me that sandblasting the exterior of those old walls would make their appearance more nearly comparable with the grand interior. Where there is a small open space along the street ,a vendor will set up a stand to sell fruit, flowers or vegetables. Noticeably, the old is mixed with the new. We saw a lady driving two milch cows hitched to a wagon; men cutting grain with scythes and v/omen binding it with a hand full of straw; men pushing wheel harrows on construction work, etc. We also saw cranes, caterpillars, other tractors, bulldozers, selfpropelled combines and the like. We had a ride on a ski lift, and a boat ride on the Danube. The saddest thing we saw was the iron curtain. It is a cleared strip probably fifteen feet wide right across country field and forest with two barbed wire fences probably eight or ten feet part, a watch tower every quarter of a mile and signs 50 yards away warning people to come no closer. On the twentieth day of our vacation, we left the Grubers at 8 A.M., going by train to Munich, by plane to Frankfurt to transfer to a big jet plane and leave Germany 1:30 P.M. We arrived at O’Hare at 4 after 8% hrs. of flight. Gan you figure that one out? Mechtilde asks that we bring greetings to her many friends. She loves to get letters and company. Her address is: Mrs. Joseph Gruber, 106 Brandlberger St., 84 Regensburg, Germany. An interesting thing is that there are ten aptrtments at 106 Brandlberger St. (strasse or street). Days and hours were too short. We shall never forget this vacation. Sincerely, The Walter D. Millers 312 E. Broadway South Bend, Ind.

Organize Fifth And Sixth Grade Choir Again The Nappanee Elementary Schools will have another fifth and sixth grade choir again this year. Their first meeting was last Thursday, September 22 at Which time the following officers were elected: President, Joanna Guckenberger; Vice-President, Becky Delcamp; Secretary, Martha Helmuth; Treasurer, Karen Culp; Reporter, Julie Biever, and Librarians, Marla Dixon. The choir plans to perform at various functions throughout the year Le. P-T-A. The director of the choir is Mrs. Jesse Berger, the elementary music teacher.

Mawitrrr of Mfehfans Floor Covering Aaan.

FISH FRY Before The Football Game September 30 at 5 PM AMERICAN LEGION HOME CARRY-OUTS sl-25 American Legion Auxiliary

NAPPANEE ADVANCE-NEWS PHONE 773-3127 Entarad at tha Post Offlca at Nappanaa, Indiana as Sacond Class Mattar Undar tha Act of March 3. 187*. PUBLISHED THURSDAYS $3.00 PER YEAR in Indiana $3.50 PER YEAR Outsida Indiana Publisher Donald E. Nichols, Jr. NOTICE Pictures for publication are welcomed, but no picture will be returned by mail unless e self-addressed stamped envelope is sent with it. No charge far publishing pictures, news stories or announcements. BEATTY HOSPITAL PARTY The Nappanee volunteer group, Anna Counts, Beulah Temple, guest, Isabelle Deardorff and chairman Mildred Parks put on a party for Ward 3-North at Beatty Memorial Hospital Monday evening for 67 patients. They served ham sandwiches, tomatoes, bugles, cantaloupe, pies, coffee with plenty of cream and oUgar. Cash was donated by the Nappanee Legion Auxiliary, Mrs. Shinholt of Westport, Indiana Beulah Temple, Betty Cleveland, Mary Strang, Trilba Speicher, Mrs. Oren Cleveland of Etna Green and Mildred Parks. Other donations were Legion Post 1 carton of cigarettes, Mrs. Delbert Stutzman, tomatoes, G & N Super market, chewing tobacco, and cigarettes, Opal Longfield coffee cream, Mrs. Eli Miller 15 cantaloupes, soaps and drinking cups, 1 anonymous donor gave bugles, butter and candy bars. The ladies of Bishop Mose Yoder’s district baked 14 pies (Old order Amish).

Games were played for the usual type prizes. The evening was enjoyed by listening to the Combo band play and sing. Several of the patients sang solos, and one gave a dance. The next party will be October 24, and it will be the Halloween party. Support is needed to carry on as usual. DEN 8 Den 8 of Pack 33 met at the home of Mrs. Glen Reed on Monday, September 26. Election of officers were as follows: John Leavitt, dennef, Steve Miller, reporter, John Hopewell, clean up, and Gary Longfield as scribe. Refreshments were served at the end of the meeting. Eating the seed of the common sweet pea will often cause a bodydeforming disease called lathryism.

STORE HOURS 7:30 - 5:30 Daily Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Closed Thurs. Afternoons & Sundays Ph 773-4536