The Mail-Journal, Volume 14, Number 1, Milford, Kosciusko County, 26 January 1977 — Page 1

Eli Lilly, friend, benefactor, dies

The greater Syracuse community was saddened early this week with word of the passing away of Eli Lilly of Indianapolis and Lake Wawasee. He died quietly at 2:30 p.m., Monday, January 24, at the University Hospital at Indianapolis, of natural causes. He was 91 years of age. He was honorary chairman of the board of the giant pharmaceutical firm of Eli Lilly & Co. at the time of his death and an active member of the Lilly Endowment, Inc., a family foun da bon. Mr. Lilly attended the company’s 100th anniversary

Phones: 658 4111 & 457-3666

VOLUME 14

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RAIL PILE-UP — This view shows the 28 rail cars loaded with stoker coal that piled up early Saturday morning on the Chessie System IBIO) line just east of the Huntington street crossing. As

Worst accident — Syracuse rail service restored

Rail service was restored on the main line of the B & 0 railroad (a part of the Chessie System) through Syracuse Saturday evening, following one of the worst railroad accidents this community has ever seen. Actual time of the accident was 4:25 am Saturday, according to a railroad spokesman on the scene in the early morning hours In all, 28 cars were derailed of the 87-car train. 71 cars were loaded with fine - coal (sometimes called “slack" coal) and 16 of them empty The cars made up what the spokesman called an extra coal train originating in Garrett, Indiana. The 50-ton cars of Kentucky coal were bound for the Calumet area for one of the major steelproducing companies. No One Hurt The first two cars spilled about a city block west of the crossing of Huntington Street (road 13), the remainder of the 28 derailed cars were off the tracks east of the crossing. The company spokesman said there were no personal injuries and very little property damage other than that which is on company (railroad) property. No cause was given for the accident, but the railroad representative said the Chessie System has been “lucky" in its small number of accidents on its fines. However, on December 3. 1976. there was a derailment at Milford Junction. He said the tracks through this are* are good tracks and that the road bed is good. It may be impossible to determine the exact cause of the accident, we were told. In all, about 600 feet of track (Continued on page 2)

celebration dinner. May 10, 1976, after observing his own 91st birthday the previous April 1. Few local people realize the size of the company of which he spent a lifetime serving. It has grown to a $1 billion a year corporation with 23,000 employees and plants in 140 countries. Mr. Lilly was born in Indianapolis, April 1, 1885, the son of Josiah K. Lally, Sr., and Lilly (Ridgely) Lilly. He was the grandson of Colonel Eli Lilly, founder of the pharmaceutical firm. He began work for the company at ten years of age in 1895,

Ttic Mail Journal

ConsoZidation o/THE MILFORD MAIL ZEst. 18881 and THE SY RACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL lEst. 1907)

Tr?? 1 * Jfc&V I'' -war • < k REMOVING CARS — The big “cate" of Hulscher Emergency Service of Bluffton made child's play of removing the huge gondola rail ears in the Saturday morning wreckage at Syracuse.

BZA officers re-elected

At the Syracuse Board of Zoning Appeals meeting last Thursday night officers John Brewer, president; John Glon, vice-president; and Charles ’ Kroh, secretary; were re-elected to serve during 1977. Only a majority of the members were in for the meeting. They were Brewer. Meyer Maidenburg. Charles Miller, William Pipp and Dee Stiver. The BZA has struggled the past year to have enough members present for a quorum to conduct business. A motion requires

grinding pokeroot herb for ten cents an hour. He graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, where he was president of his junior class, and three years later received a pharmaceutical chemistry degree from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. He had received 13 honorary degrees in his lifetime. Well Known Here Mr. Lilly was well known in the lakes area, having been a popular figure around Lake Wawasee for many years. He was well known here as a friend, community supporter, historian

the light of day appeared workmen from the Bluffton firm of Hulscher Emergency Service were at work clearing the line of wreckage. Estimated damage: 31 million-plus.

affirmation from the majority of the members on the board, not just a majority of members present. Unusual Case During the evening's business an unusual case was presented to the board for a variance approval. Parker Lawrence asked for a variance to construct a four car garage upon Lot 4 in Jarrett’s second addition. He had not submitted a building permit application to Al Bauer, the building commissioner. (Continued on page 2)

and philanthropist. He was instrumental in founding the Lilly Endowment in 1937, which has given more than S3OO million to charitable causes. He came to the family summer home on the north shore of Lake Wawasee at the age of two in 1887 and never missed coming to the lakes area each summer until 1976 He is remembered as a kind and generous man by his many lake area friends. Lilly was an author, historian, patron of the arts and archeologist. His hobbies included sailing and repair and restoration of furniture.

and philanthropist.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26, 1977

Snowmobile accident injures two near lake * Two Syracuse men sustained minor injuries Saturday at 7:09 p.m., when the snowmobile they were riding near Lake Wawasee struck a snow bank and threw them off. Larry Fraver, 35, Cherokee Lot 95, Syracuse, ° suffered lacerations to the back and pain in the lower chest. His partner. Jim Thompson. 24, r 1 Syracuse, sustained a broken wrist. Both men were treated and released from the Goshen Hospital.

His guideline was, “No matter how well anything is done, there is always room for improvement.’’ He was known for his many philanthropies in the lakes area, among which he donated the statues now located in the main entrance-way at Wawasee High School, of Abraham Lincoln and Chief Wawasee. He provided financial help that made the Syracuse dam possible, helped get the Lakes Study Fund off the ground and gave strong financial support to Wawasee Prep, which was located next to his home on Lake Wawasee. (Continued on page 2)

To determine merchants' meter likes Three members of the Parking and Traffic Committee of the Syracuse town board will canvas uptown merchants on their feelings whether they do or do not prefer parking meters. Ray Yoder, John Walker and Stanley Insley, who were present, will survey the uptown merchants for their preferences and any .desired alternatives. Town board president James Tranter also, called for public feedback on the matter, which can be made to either board or ’’..juividuals' on those bodies. Three merchants have contacted police chief Ron Robinson and recommended the fine be made five dollars for merchants and employees who park in front of the stores Robinson commented, on the whole, that there are not enough tickets given out, that upping the fines would not balance the amount taken in by the meters. Enforcing a nonmeter situation would be a burden to the police department, Robinson added. “Personally," commented Yoder, “I like parking meters. It’s an easy revenue. I thought it was the greatest thing that happened when they came in.” Previous violations were from car pool people whp parked their (Continued on page 2)

! I a | JnHBSI 11 PW * B® O' FLY FLAG UPSIDE DOWN — The Syracuse Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1342 began flying its flag upside down this week — the U.S. Navy distress signal — as a protest to President Jimmy Carter’s amnesty program for draft evaders. According to commander Bill Wiggs, r 3 Syracuse, he and senior vice commander Kenny Moser attended a second district VFW meeting at Valparaiso Sunday and found the entire 21-post district supporting the protest movement. Wiggs said the flags will be flown upside down until further notice. He also said the local post with 202 members, has been judged second in the district.

Turn on water John Martin, head of the Milford water department, is asking ail city residents on city water to let a stream of water flow from one faucet. A stream of water the size of a pencil should be kept running until spring comes or further notice is received from Martin. He spent last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday thawing frozen pipes in town homes, which is costly. Even when the weather warms up to the 2O’s and 3O’s, there is still danger of water pipes freezing. When it warms up, the frost is driven deeper into the ground. State Bonk of Syracuse assets stand at $ 24 million Assets of the State Bank of Syracuse stand at 324,342,000 at the end of business December 31, 1976, according to a year-end Report or Condition, which appears elsewhere in detail in this issue. The same report shows total deposits at $22,341,000, and net loans stand at $16,462,000. The report is signed by directors James E. Caskey, William H. Cable, Kenneth W. Harkless, Charles M. Harris. Harry B. Alfrey and Paul H. Levemier.

Turn on water

4 i ■ ■ '.'lKpc w AN INVETERATE BOATMAN — The Indianapolis Star ran the above photo of Eli Lilly and called him an inveterate boatman since the age of 10 when his grandfather, Col. Eli Lilly, gave him a dinghy and a life preserver and turned him loose on Lake Wawasee.

What others say about Eli Lilly

Following the Monday death of Eli Lilly at Indianapolis a lot of things — all of them good — were heard around the Syracuse community about the man who had meant so much to the community. He had also meant a lot to Indianapolis and the state of Indiana, and his praises were being sung throughout Indiana. At the time of his death he was honorary chairman of the board of one of the giant corporations of the world, one that had touched the lives of countless people through new discoveries in the pharmaceutical field. His contributions through the Lilly Endowment, Inc., were countless and provided support for colleges and universities, the arts, and many other fields. He had wide-ranging interests — an author in his own right, an artist, benefactor, archeologist, and on and on. Shunned Publicity In all of this Mr. Lilly shunned publicity. In fact, when we searched for a photograph of him to accompany his obituary we could not find one. His photo did not appear in his locally-popular book “Early Wawasee Days.” And when he supplied needed funds for a broad range of projects, he didn’t want photos taken, didn’t* want it commonly known that he was behind the project financially. This was true locally. “No one will ever know what he meant to this community,” said Jack Vanderford at the Syracuse license branch which he manages on Tuesday of this week. Vanderford has been secretary of the Wawasee Property Owners Association for the past 25 years and knew Mr. Lilly well during this period. “No one ever called him ‘Eli’ except (the late) Roscoe Howard,” Vanderford said. “He was a real gentleman, and always wore a coat and tie.” Vanderford said he paid for a number of funerals for down and out friends who had helped him over the years. “He (Lilly) could see a problem in our community long before it developed,” said Vanderford, citing the need for the Syracuse dam. Lilly’s original gift was $50,000 and subsequent gifts brought that figure somewhere near $75,000, but there was no picture taking, no publicity. His grandfather, Colonel Eli Lilly, who built the original Lilly home on Lake Wawasee, when the lake was unpopulated before the turn of the century, took the name “Wawasee" (then the name of Dewart Lake) and gave it to his favorite lake. In his honor, the recently deceased put into the new Wawasee High School a bust of the Indian chief, along with busts of William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Vanderford said he had the bust of Chief Wawasee researched by a professional (Continued on page 2)

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NUMBER 1

JACK VANDERFORD “no one called him “Eli" * KEN HARKLESS ’great loss to community* WILFRED E. HODLER ’perfect gentleman, fair* COL. JOSEPH A. GRAY ‘did things privately, quietly*