The Mail-Journal, Volume 8, Number 29, Milford, Kosciusko County, 18 August 1971 — Page 1

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VOLUME 8

DRUG ALERT CAMPAIGN — If a Lakeland Kiwanis club member steps up to you from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Ind wants you to buy (and wear) a drug alert badge, be generous to him. Kiwanis club members will try to seil 5,000 drug alert badges in Milford. North Webster, Syracuse and Barbee Lake. Shown here with only part of the 5.000 badges are, from left. Keith Smallwood, club chairman for operation drug alert: Tim Moser, vice chairman of the Concerned Citisens Drug Education com* mittee; George Davis, secretary of the Lakeland Kiwanis club; and Chris Koher, club president. All money taken in from the badge sale goes to the Concerned Citiiens Drug Education committee. so states Kiwanian Smallwood.

MoveToßestore Pickwick Block

Steps were taken last night to restore the burned-out Pickwick pßlock in downtown Syracuse and ynake jt a viable part of the uptown Syracuse business community. A group of interested residents and business people met at the board room of the State Bank of Syracuse in a meeting chaired by Robert L. Jones, president of the bank, to discuss alternative plans of restoring the block which was „ burned out on January 1, 1971. s At that time five businesses were burned out and three of

Youth Explosion Set For Friday, Saturday And Sunday

The Tn-State Y’oulh Explosion will begin this Friday, Aug. 20. at 7:15 p.m. at Wawasee high school. Don Todd will be heading the Youth Explosion activities. Besides conducting city-wide and area wide Youth Explosions, Don has presented music concerts and sing-a-longs in numerous public school assemblies across the United States. He is also a composer and recording artist with two record albums, containing many of his pwp songs. He also plays the 12-string guitar. Appearing with Don will be the Abraham Brothers from Youngstown, Ohio — Don, 18; Gary. 16; Ed Finnie, 16; and

Johnson Hotel Sale Ends Another Era Os Lake Wawasee History

By BILL SPLRGEOH What was left of the old Johnson Hotel was sold under the auctioneer’s gavel last Saturday, ending yet another era in the history of Lake Wawasee. It was not a particularly sentimental occasion, for the things that once meant Johnson's to so many were already gone. The dining hall had already fallen to give way to one of the new Bay Point condominium

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

them have not returned to the community. Burned out were the Pickwick Lounge, Budget Investments. the W R. Thomas Store. Doc’s Shoe Repair Service and S. & N. Plumbing and Heating. Budget Investments was in the process of closing its office in Syracuse, but # the Pickwick Lounge and the W. R. Thomas Store were not restored and returned to the business community. However, Doe s Shoe Repair Service and S. & N. Plumbing

Mark Maynard, 16. These boys have many TV, radio and* personal appearances to their credit as they hare traveled extensively throughout the United States. They just recently appeared on a program with Pat Boone. An itinary for the exciting week end is as follows: Friday evening at 7:15 the Explosion will begin with Richard Fehnel from Milford at the organ. The evening session will begin at 7:30 with sing-a-longs. special music and a message by Todd that will answer a lot of important questions the youth of today have about love, war, peace, drugs, pollution, churches and God.

lake shore at the bottom of the bank. Only the hotel remains, and the skeleton of the building brought $475 at Saturday's auction. A condition of the sale of the turreted two-story frame structure was that it must be removed to make way/for yet another condominium The auction—as %Gctions always do—brought together the bargain hunters, the professional

have relocated in the area. To Seek SBA Loan Mr. Jones told the group he has worked on two plans to bring the Pickwick Block back: the first was to interest a private investor in rebuilding the block, and the other was to seek a Small Business Administration loan. He said the bank has been unsuccessful in interesting * private investor in the Mock. He said it would require a 82,500 per month return on investment for a (Continued On Page 9)

All day activities will be held at Oakwood Park on Lake Wawasee an Saturday, Aug. 21, beginning with breakfast to be served at 8:30. Following breakfast the young people will gather into discussion groups where they can find some interesting answers to a some of today’s hang ups. Lunch will be served at 12 followed by sing-a-langs and the afternoon will be open for tennis, swimming. soft-ball, basketball and other organized activities. Each person will be responsible for the cost of his breakfast and lunch. The Saturday evening session will begin at 7:15 featuring the “Mod Teens", a singing group

apartment buildings, and so had the old sleeping porch along the antiquers, and the merely curious. There were a few items worthy of mention—the hotel safe, locked and containing who knows what secrets of the hotel’s history. The bingo set—presumably the focal point of Saturday night entertainment. much as the Keno games were on the porches of the old Spink Wawasee. And a baby

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1971

New Building Is Going Up In Village A new 40 x 100 cement block building is going up in Wawasee Village south of Syracuse, adjacent on the south to Augsburger’s store. Ashley Hawk, Lake Wawasee contractor, is building the building which will hous«iHawk’s Recreation, a . snowmobile, motorcycle and bicycle sales and service center. Hawk said the front of the building will be of copper brick and glass. They hope to open the new business in late October, he said. School Opens September 1 The first day of school for students in the Lakeland Community School Corporation will be Wednesday, Sept. 1. Students will attend a full day of school, having preregistered. Monday. Aug. 30, and Tuesday, Aug. 31, will be teacher orientation days. Students will not attend classes on these days. Lions Plan , Community Supper Milford Lions are making preliminary plans for a community supper to be held Saturday, Sept. 18, in conjunction with the town’s Fall Festival. Committee members are Leon Newman, T. A. Miller and Burris Sharp. Plans were revealed at the club’s Monday night meeting. Lion Bud Seely spoke briefly about his trip to the International Lions convention at Las Vegas in July, calling it another “exciting experience in Lionism ” He also reminded Lions of a District 25-G open golf tournament to be held Wednesday, Sept. 15, at Maxwelton golf course, and invited any local Lions to attend. Lion Seely was recently named public relations officer for District 25-G.

from Butler and the “Inspirations” from Milford. At 7:30 the Abraham Brothers and Don Todd will lead the evening activities. The final session will be held at 7:15 on Sunday evening featuring the “Life Singers” from Edon, Ohio, followed by a program that promises to be more exciting and different than anything you have seen yet! Everyone is invited to attend. Don’t Let It Happen Without You! For breakfast and lunch reservations for Saturday, contact Youth Explosion, 300 Front, Syracuse.

grand piano, which will probably reappear on some dealer’s floor after refurbishment. The rest of the items were sort of pedestrian. Chairs, tables, bedroom furniture from about 20 hotel rooms, and the linens used by the establishment during its last decade of operation. All brought fair prices from the bargain-conscious. f The sale was conducted on the lawn, and the hotel building-

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SEAPLANE DOWN — This night time photo of the wrecked seaplane was taken in the back yard of the Mrs. Melburn Rapp, 512 South Front street, Syracuse, moments after it ran into a willow tree

Sustains Only Minor Injuries In Bizarre Seaplane Accident

Goshen optometrist and Syracuse Lake resident Dr. Charles W? Hursh, 54, escaped serious injury Sunday evening when the\ seaplane he was operating erashed on the west shore of the lake ending up in the backyard of Mrs. Melburn Rapp on South Front street. Hursh, who has been taking lessons to obtain a liecense to operatp the plane, was attempting a landing when the craft, operating at less horsepower than Hursh was ac-

Release Commissioners, Council of $ 2 Million Bond Obligation

Kosciusko county taxpayers will be glad to learn none of their tax dollars will be used to construct the proposed new Kosciusko county community hospital. Lawrence Castaldi, president of Kosciusko Community Hospital. Inc., announced this morning that his group is releasing the Kosciusko county board of commissioners and county council of the obligation granted to KCH for a $2 million general obligation bond issue which funds were to be used in the construction of a new hospital. The $2 million bond issue was approved at a joint session of the commissioners and council on . May 26,1969, which was presided over by Ralph P. Oyler of Syracuse. Castaldi further commented: “It has been general knowledge by those closely connected with our endeavor to build a new hospital for the county, including the commissioners and council, that the general obligation bond issue which was approved is no

erected soon after Charles Johnson acquired the site in 1914 from the Jarrett family, who had owned the property for years before—was empty except for the curious who roamed its halls and rooms in vain search of an overlooked item. Johnson’s was the last of several famous hotels to operate on Lake Wawasee as independent organizations (The lake’s one

customed to, apparently stalled at about 400 feet in the air causing a brief spin before hitting the lake waters with a hard impact causing the vessel to again go into the air. The seaplane clipped a Martin house at the Charles Rock, Jr., residence narrowly missing an outside lamp post before hitting a portion of a weeping willow tree in the backyard of the Rapp residence. The accident happened about 7:45 p.m. Hursh had been operating the

longer a part of the financing plans for KCH.” Hospital Authority He went on: “The 1971 state legislature enacted new legislation authorizing the establishment of a Hospital Authority in communities where needed. The Hospital Authority is granted the power under this legislation to authorize revenue bonds to be sold for the purpose of construction of hospital facilities. Kosciusko county was among the first counties in the state to establish a Hospital Authority under the terms of this new legislation. “Revenue bonds which would be sold by the Hospital Authority would not become a burden upon the taxpayer as would the general obligation bonds approved by the commissioners and council. Repayment of the revenue bonds would come from income of the hospital.” Castaldi's statement pointed out that the announcement at this time releasing the county of its commitment came as a result of statements made to the effect

remaining hotel. Oak wood Park, is operated by a church organization.) Johnson’s saw its last hotel guests in 1967. Its history goes back to the midteens, when there was not only a hotel there, but also a fullfledged, Riverview-or-Coney-Island-type amusement park nearby. Other hotels whose demise has been recorded in recent years are

and crashed to the ground at 7:45 Sunday night. Dr. Charles W. Hursh, pilot of the plane, sustained only minor injuries.

craft during the day and had been accompanied earlier by the plane’s owner, William Duckwall. The two-seat Taylorcraft single-engine seaplane was damaged extensively including the right wing, propeller and pontoons. Dr. Hursh was assisted from the craft by neighbor, William Kerfin of South Front street, who witnessed the accident, and was given first aid by the Syracuse first aid unit prior to admittance to Goshen hospital later in the

“that the new hospital construction proposed by KCH would become a financial burden upon the taxpayers.” $6.5 Hospital It was further pointed out by Castaldi that the new hospital proposed by KCH would be constructed at a cost of $6.5 million as opposed to the $8.5 million price tag recently advertised by another source. KCH has received a federal Hill-Burton grant for $300,000. A fund-raising campaign will soon be under way with a minimum goal of $1.5 million. KCH has requested the Hospital Authority for revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $5 million which would provide the community with a new modern hospital facility built on a 25-acre tract of ground donated by the doctors of the community with ample room for expansion in future years. Murphy Medical Center representatives have also appeared before the Hospital Authority to ask financial support for the purchase and renovation

the Sduth Shore Inn, the main building of which burned in 1964; Sargent’s Hotel, closed and its main buildings razed by demolition crews in the late 19505; The Tavern, whose site just west of the Yacht Club is now occupied by fine homes (the hotel building there was razed in 1956, following a bad fire the previous spring;; and the Spink-Wawasee, closed in 1947 and sold the

NUMBER 29

evening for possible back injuries, a bump to the bead and a bruise to the left eye. He was released from the hospital Monday and Mrs. Hurslu said he was back at his place of business on Tuesday. She added he had received a severe jolt to the back as the. plane hit the water which apparently stunned him for a brief period or he would not have attempted to take off in the air again. The mishap was* investigated by the Indiana state police.

of its present hospital facility. A decision by the Hospital Authority is expected in the near future, which should clarify the direction health facilities will follow in Kosciusko county for many years to come. Brother Returns To Scotland Home James McConnell of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, rhas returned to his home there following a visit with his sister, Mrs. Agnes (Causer) Stiffler in Syracuse and other relatives. Among relatives visited in the month long stay were Mrs. Stiffler’s children, Mrs. Eugene Fidler and family at Winchester; Mrs. Howard Penrose and family, Nappanee; Mrs. J. F. Bleeke and family of Decatur; Charles Causer and family at Parkridge, Ill.; and Mrs. Stiffler’s grandson, Steven Fidler, a professor at Granville,^lll. Mr. McConnell also was shown points of interest in Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana, prior to his departure on August 15.

following year to the organization which operated Our Lady of the Lake Seminary, predecessor to Wawasee Prep, which now holds the same site and expanded buildings. There were other hotels, too: The Crow’s Nest Inn, still standing under other usage, and the Ditton’s Landing and Jones Hotel structures, now private residences.