The Mail-Journal, Volume 7, Number 51, Milford, Kosciusko County, 20 January 1971 — Page 1

—Mb— g- • ■ , -• . . . . ~ . < ■ Winter ... J || l 'y^j^P^w3Ka | S SRFz.- -?<**' ' ' . ''-- ■?r \;■ • -’*-^k, : ?Sl >CL<^-e-• _-- > ‘■ ” -i .r Jr ,Z » ■ - ’ '\> ” ' < - igg^’"-- •'. - —»• - * - . - ** • '- „ " ' t*** k .^r—- r’.♦*■-•-• -*» ' 3mSU »: ?_. ..*^*yf^* yTOCT* . .. ~ _ *V* . * -■■•' •> - *

Phones: 658-4111 & 457-3666

VOLUME 7

Nothing New On Pickwick Fire

There s no news to report concerning the New Year s Day Pickwick Block fire that rocked the Syracuse business community. Fire chief Tom Strickler has confirmed his earlier statement that he and Willard Clark, arson investigator for the office of the state fire marshal, have pinned down theecause of the fire, and that Clatk.s written report has been subrnitted to Indianapolis Won't Say Clark told The Mail-Journal last week his responsibilities rest wijh the state fire marshals office, and that he would make no public statement concerning the cause of the fire which swept three Syracuse businesses out Chief Strickler said invsslflptions are continuing to track down certain small aspects of the fire, but that nothing they were looking into would alter the certain cause of the fire - From all indications, however, the fire began jn the large room below the Pickwick Inn which was used*for a New Year’s Eve party by the Wawasee Jaycees. received their first alarm just-after 5 a m January 1, and as late as 8 a m it appeared the fire could be contained in the basement room Fire swept through the basement and up into the Pickwick Inn Both rooms were completely defrayed, as was the room being vacated by Budget Investments. Inc . and the comer room occupied by W. R. Thomas, a variety store Damaged by smoke and water were the Pickwick Theater, and the rooms occupied by Doc's Shoe Repair and S. & N. Plumbing and Heating. In the aftermath, these rooms were quickly brought back into use On Friday night following the tragic fire the. Pickwick Theater was ba<. in business The boiler was repaired to bring heat to the two rooms "on the hill." Doc 's'Shoe Repair moved to Wawasee Village and S & N.

Lions Plan All Sports Banquet

Lions of the Milford, North Webster and Syracuse Lions clubs, in conjunction with the Wawasee high school athletic department, are making plans for the third annual all-sports banquet, set for Monday. May 24. At a meeting last night at the high school, representatives of the three clubs had discussion: on the important athletic event Attending were Wayne Bucher and Arch Baumgartner of the Milford club. Elson Wilson. Dr.

newspaper 5 eot *°a v Indiana State Indianapolis, Ind*. 46204

I f»*- MaU.S«Founial 1 > r

Consolidation of THE MILFORD MAIL (Est. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE - WAWASEE JOURNAL (Est. 1907)

Plumbing and Heating is now - occupying both rooms on the hill. It was learned that much merchandise in the basement of the W. R Thomas store was only water and smoke damaged. A semi-load was removed and taken to Chicago where it will be sold. Promise to Rebuild Meanwhile, there’s been a promise that the block will be rebuilt Representatives of the Pickwick Midwest Realty Co!, owners of the block, said they would rebuild the block to the satisfaction of leasees. It marks the fourth time the Pickwick Block has burned. Syracuse Journal records in the public library show the block burned m 1901. 1924. and on the much more well known date of Feb. 2. 1946. prior to Year’s Day fire. I The Pickwick fire has stirred memories of townspeople and of M-J readers who no longer reside in the Syracuse community This paper has received a number of letters, calls and just on-the-street comments concerning this fire and previous fires in the Pickwick Block.. Our editors have found many of the reports, reported as fact, were in fact not correct, and it has given editors one of their most challenging assignments to come up with the true story on dates and events Golden Rule Class Enjoys Dinner The Golden Rule class of the BetheT church of Milford met in the fellowship room for a pot luck dinner on Sunday There were 19 persons present. Hosts were Mr and Mrs Donn Kesler and Mr. and Mrs Neal Cory. HOME FROM TEXAS Mrs Frank Bates has returned to her Syracuse home following a two and one-half month stay in Texas

Arden Walgamuth and Fred Rieder of the North Webster club, and Milton Brice and James Frye of the Syracuse club. Athletes participating in the four major sports, cheerleaders, coaches and their wives will be special guests at the affair. An effort is being made to secure a prominent speaker in the field of athletics for the occasion Last year .famous ABC sportscaster Chris Schenkel spoke at the banquet.

No Discussion On Annexation Tuesday Night No annexation discussion would be held at the Tuesday night Syracuse town board of trustees meeting when an inquiry was made from Stanley Schrumpf at the meeting held last night in the town hall. Schrumpf also inquired as to a report of results on verification of signatures on petitions presented to the courts against annexation and town attorney Robert Reed added he had nothing to report at this time. All board members agreed Schrumpf would be informed prior to an annexation discussion meeting in the future Town board president Byron Connolly gave praise to local firemen and those assisting in the new Year's Day Pickwick block fire. He added that letters bf praise and appreciation, both from the board of trustees of the town and fire chief Tom Strickler, had gone out to the various departments for' their prompt assistance of the fire. ? Strickler added that nearly 100 firemen assisted in Syracuse that day and that no one was injured to the point of needing a doctor’s care. Clerk-treasurer Ronald Sharp said they had maintianed 33 to 40pounds of pressure constantly with three wells in use and the standpipe, at the time of kick-in for use. was only about one-half full The fire chi# noted the water supply during the fire was adequate at the time, however, m-spite-of not being able to completely contain the fire for lesser damage in the block, it is not certain what could have happened had the fire been a raging inferno demanding more water Chet McCuen inquired as to an insurance plan for town employees on a payroll deduction plan and was advised to prepare a copy of the plan and how it works in addition to benefits, etc., for members to study before the next town board meeting. Sharp added that any payroll deduction plan is not easy and he would like to see it in Wack and white, including policy protection. as he would be the one to do the deductions. Lose Tables Board member Willard Nusbaum inquired as to whether the tables destroyed in the fire in the Jaycee room were town tables and was advised the town had loaned 14 tables to the Jaycees and they were burned. (Continued on page 5. sec. 1»

I I * KL "J I w "" "— I- ■ ~-- ~ ■ Ikl • - ~<>-jEr - » —- ■ - ’ <■ -x - - V" - *- *e- - * y~ '' ■*■ *' • tW** ’'**'»■'■*.' ■ ■’*»' „. „ t j~_«. Xitatw** *“■ flw' _ 2 ..> ■' ' -~' r 'X-— ,> ■----^—- t --

JRI GENE HASSLER Annual Dinner Meeting of County SWCD Featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Kosciusko County Soil and Water > Conservation District will be Gene Hassler, project coordinator of the Lincoln Hills resource conservation and development project. The meeting will be held Tuesday evening, Feb. 2, at 6:30 at the Shrine building, county fairgrounds. ” Tickets are available at the Soil Conservation office. 518 S. Buffalo SL in Warsaw. Hassler started his career with the soil conservation service in May of 1951 with his first assignment being his home county of Owen. He served here until April of 1960 when he was transferred as work unit conservationist to Orange and Martin counties Considerable watershed experience was gained at this location during the following four years. In February of 1965 he was assigned as Project coordinator of the Lincoln Hills resource conservation and development project (Crawford. Harrison. Perry and Spencer counties, Indiana). He has performed in this capacity to the present time. Representatives from approximately 30 states have visited the Lincoln Hills to observe activities and accomplishments with many favorable comments. One state (Tennessee) has seen fit to send representatives to the Lincoln Hills on four different occasions Improved economic and social conditions are the goals b#ng worked toward through the Lincoln Hills RC&D Project. Strides are being made in this direction through proper use and development of both natural and human resources. The Lincoln Hills project application was the first in the nation to be approved by the Secretary of Agriculture in 1963. There are now over 60. It was approved for operations in October in 1964 with considerable progress in many fields. Actions, activities and progress will be explained with the use of color slides during Hassler s talk at the Kosciusko County SWCD annual meeting with emphasis on what

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1971

While the populations of Syracuse and Pierceton are reported to be downsihce the 1960 census was taken those of Milford and Warsaw seem to be up. Detailed reports from the 1970 census show Syracuse has (topped from 1,595 to 1,546 while Pierceton is down to 1,175. from IXL6. Milford has gained 97

Week End Runs By Firemen And First Aid Units Syracuse first aid members responded to a call at 5:45 p.m. Saturday for an ice skater, Mark Wade, thought to be of Marion, for injuries received while skating about 200 yards north of Vie old Johnson hotel site. First aid was adminstered and he was accompanied by first aid member William Pipp, in private ambulance, to Goshen hospital for treatment to a leg fracture. Units responded to a call at 8:50 p.m. Saturday at the Percival McDonald home on r 4 several miles south of Syracuse for a kitchen fire. A short circuit in a toaster or radio was thought to have started the fire which destroyed the appliances plus a counter top and baseboard. Fire was out when members arrived. Damage was estimated at $75. Sunday Call Smoke from the kitchen stove while broiling steaks prompted a call at 6:05 p.m. Sunday to the Jerry Lambert residence on r 1 Syracuse. There was no fire, however, brownies which had been placed in the stove earlier, and apparently forgotten. were burned in the Booked At County Jail Over Week End Clifton Woolridge, 37, of Elkhart was booked Sunday by Syracuse police chief Orville Vanderßeyden and officer Lawrence Firestone for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Carl B. Lehman. 25. of r 1 North Webster was booked Saturday bySidney marshal Harry Pollock for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and assault and battery. Both were released after posting bonds or paying fines. can be done by working together and really trying. Interest in this project is seen locally as the SWCD’s in the six counties through which the Tippecanoe River flows have unanimously voted to make application for an RC&D These include. Kosciusko. Marshall. White. Fulton, Pulaski and Starke counties

Syracuse Population Down Since 1960, Milford Up

K, d '— ■ ;»•«. >-- ’ *)* ' * ■*■ * *

persons, from 1,167 to 1,264 with Warsaw making the biggest jump from 7,234 to 7.506. A compiled list of population figures for cities and towns with populations between 1,000 and 10,000 in the area follows: 1970 1960 Akron • 1,019 958 Albion 1.498 1,325

7TH GRADE TOURNEY AT NORTH WEBSTER SATURDAY, JANUARY 23 The seventh grade basketball tourney for Lakeland will be held this Saturday, Jan. 23. at the North Webster school'. North Webster and Syracuse will clash in the opener scheduled for 9 a.m. followed by .Milford and Central Noble at 10:15. The consolation game has been scheduled for 1 p.m. and the winning teams from the morning session will battle at 2:15. Syracuse Church Os God To Hold Revival Services The Syracuse Church of God has planned revival services from January 31 thrdugh February 14 with evening services set for 7:30 o’clock. Rev. Walter Burcham, pastor of the church, will serve as evangelist and Mrs. Burcham will have the object lessons for the children each evening. Carroll Koble will be song leader. The Jubileers, a well known musical group, will be present for the opening mghu Chamber of Commerce To Meet Thursday The regular scheduled breakfast meeting of the SyracuseWawasee Chamber of Commaxe will be held at Maxwelton this Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 o’clock. Committee reports will be heard on winter water safety, pollution, brochure, discussion on the future improvement of the Syracuse area and nomination and election of officers for this year. ENTERTAIN SUNDAY Mr. and Mrs. John Hare and family of Milford entertained Sunday for Mr. and Mrs. Denny Corl and family of Milford and Mr. and Mrs Doug Moore and Scottie of Warsaw.

Angola 5,117 4,746 Argos 1,393 1,339 Auburn 7,337 ' 6.350 Bluffton 8,297 6.238 Bourbon 1.606 1.522 Bremen 3,487 3.062 Churubusco 1,528 1,284 Columbia City 4,911 4,803 Decatur 8,445 8,327 Garrett , 4,715 4,364

Leonard Eppert Sentenced To Two Years For Gun Incident At jjolf Club

A form&r Syracuse man. 43year old Leonard Eppert, was sentenced last Thursday by Kosciusko superior court judge Allan'A. Rasor to the Indiana state prison for two years in connection with the gun incident at Wawasee Golf club on November 9 last. The sentence followed a precommitment investigation by the court probation department after Eppert appeared before judge Rasor last week at which time he pleaded guilty to a

KCH Is Pleased With Hearing A t Indianapolis

Members of the Kosciusko Community Hospital, Inc., who appeared before Dr. Ira Haymaker, hearing officer for the Indiana State Board of Health, at Indianapolis on Tuesday, were optimistic that the November 18th opinion of the board’s advisory council recommending federal HillBurton funds go to KCH for the purpose of building a new hospital facility in Kosciusko county would be upheld. Appearing before Dr. Haymaker besides representatives of KCH were represen tatives of the Murphy Medical Center in Warsaw who opposed the recognition of KCH for HillBurton funds. Murphy First Appearing for the Murphy Medical Center were Mrs. Hazel Murphy, sole proprietor of the Medical Center, Dr. Robert Berryman, administrator of the facility and Phil Urian, a public relations representative. The KCH group presented 25 witnesses before Dr. Haymaker, outlining health facilities in Kosciusko and the history of the KCH body in its struggle to bring a new hospital to Kosciusko county There was no ruling to come from Dr Maymaker on Tuesday, nor was one expected. He is expected to submit his findings to the State Board of Health. Following the November 18th meeting before the advisory council, in, which KCH was recognized as the only health

15c

number 51

Kendallville 6,838 6,765 Ligonier 3,034 2,595 Milford 1.264 1,167 Nappanee 4,159 3,895 North Manchester 5,791 4,377 Pierceton 1,175 1,186 Plymouth 7,661 7,558 South Whitley 1.362 1,325 Syracuse 1,546 . 1,595 Warsaw J 7,506 7.234

charge of carrying a pistol without a permit. At this time he also pleaded not guilty to the charge of drawing a dangerous weapoii. Eppert was taken into custody by law\officers following the Novembeb 9 incident at which time he held golf club pro-owner Don Byrd at gunpoint. Eppert was hospitalized for a bullet wound in his right chest cavity after being shot by deputy sheriff Roger Fellows in the episode at the golf course.

facilities group in Kosciusko county and KCH was given approval for federal funds for the purpose of erecting a new hospital, Mrs. Murphy asked for a hearing before any final decision was made. The hearing was granted and was held on Tuesday. Attending the meeting for KCH were Lawrence Castaldi and Joe Boggs, president and secretary of KCH, Dr. Marie Solymos, Dr. and Mrs. William Parke. Dr. and Mrs. Arthur MBs€r. Dr. Wyman Wilson, Dr. Thomas VanOsdol, Dr. Roland Snider, Chester Gampette. Jr., Robert Hoffman, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maish, Robert Bishop, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Lemon, Harold Silveus, Ray Eckert, Don Frantz, Rev. Donald D. Abbey. Charles Kerr, Bruce Wright, George Lenke, Mr. and Mrs. John Snell, John Fleck, > William Barraugh, Gordon Medlock, Jo C. Paxton, and John Evans. Charles McKibbin Receives Cut Lip Charles McKibbin, 26, Milford, received a cut lower lip when his car skidded and. bumped int» a guard rail at temporary SR 15, two miles north of Warsaw at 2:15 a.m. Saturday. McKibbin told the investigating officer, deputy sheriff Loren Melton, that an oncoming car skidded on slick pavement and he , applied the brakes s on his car to avoid a collision. There was no damage estimated to the car.