The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 21, Milford, Kosciusko County, 6 June 1984 — Page 1

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VOLUME 21

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1200.(KM) FIRE — Shown above is the interior of the Maxwelton Restaurant and Lounge which was destroyed by fire Saturday. Firemen have estimated damage to the building, located on the County Line Road at the Maxwelton Golf Course northeast of Syracuse, at

*200,000 fire at Maxwelton Lounge

The board of directors of Maxwelton Golf Club, Inc., Syracuse, met last night (Tuesday) to reach a determination on the future of the Maxwelton Restaurant and Lounge which suffered expensive fire damage late Saturday evening. Damage was estimated, by the Syracuse Fire Department at $200,000. however, the board of directors and Keith Perry, restaurant owner, have not received the actual amount of damage from insurance adjusters. Robert Carlson stated this morning (Wednesday) that the board has decided to redo the interior and make additional improvements to the building. The structure itself is sound and was not damaged. Improvements will include new and larger windows and a new entrance A time period has not been set Carlson remarked the board will need to meet with the contractors before a time frame can beset.

One by air, one by land —

As it was in Normandy — June 1944

I' jflßr a . f l IK - .St H|H D-DAY RECALLED — Ed Huber, r 2 Syracuse, was one of the paratroopers who landed in Normandy on June 6,1944 as a part of the D-day invasion. He is pictured with some of the reminders he has kept in over the 40 years since that invasion took place. (Photo by Tom Charles)

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Consolidation o/THE'MILFORD MAIL lEst. 1888) and THE SYRACUSE-WAWASEE JOURNAL (Est. 1907) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6,1984

, Syracuse Firemen Called Syracuse Fire Department was called at 11 p.m. by Dan Neer, Maxwelton Golf Club employee. Neer, who was working on the greens, observed a door on fire. When firemen arrived they found flames around the south door of the restaurant and lounge. Extinguishing the fire, firemen began checking the property and found there had been a considerable fire with intense heat before their arrival. Larry Weaver, first assistant fire chief and officer in charge that evening. commented the fire had burned itself out due to lack of oxygen. He added that at the time the fire was hot enough to go through the structure, the oxygen was gone. Several hot spots were found and extinguished The department used 50 gallons of water on the fire. Nearly all the windows were cracked, due to but none had broken. Investigating the cause, fire officials believe hot ashes in a trash container, located in the dining room, caus-

$200,000. Board members decided last evening to remodel the structure and to reopen the business as soon as possible. (Photo by Arch Baumgartner)

ed the blaze. Perry, a professional restauranteur, leased the building from Maxwelton Golf Club, Inc., and is the owner of the contents and restaurant business. He stated himself, a cook and a waitress were the last persons to leave the building at approximately 10:15 p.m. An inventory of the items was taken Monday by Perry,' who has contacted his insurance adjuster. Maxwelton Restaurant and Lounge was remodeled in March and April. All items in the dining room were new and Perry had just purchased and hung 30 live plants. All were destroyed. Damage In Dining Area The fire damage was contained to the dining area, however, other types of damage was found throughout the main level. The Body Shop, a fitness center, located in the basement, suffered only smoke damage. Perry commented the seals on the freezer and refrigerator, located in the kitchen, had melted. Additional proof of the intense heat could be seen as the telephone, cash register and

By TOM CHARLES Staff Writer Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. Forty years ago today, June 6, those stretches of white sand oh the Normandy coast were the site of the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was on those beaches that the Allies gained a foothold in Europe, signaling the beginning of the end for Hitler’s army. That foothold was established at a tremendous cost. Nearly 6,000 Allied soldiers and between 4,000 and 9,000 German soldiers lost their lives in the first 24 hours. The Allies had to advance under tremendous fire from German fortifications on the hills above the landing beaches. In some cases, the only way to move forward was to run over the

some furniture had melted. A large ceiling fan located in the dining room looked as if it had wilted. Remodeling Perry’s plans are to remodel again and have the business reopened as soon as he can. In the meantime, Carlson, golf pro and board member, stated the building has been boarded up and secured. Members of the board of directors are: Nelson Auer, president; Merl Smith; Dr. Bob Stone; Bob Reed; Carlson; Gary Smith; Ken Sanford; George Walbridge; and Bob Sedgwick. To meet June 12 Syracuse Retail Merchants Association members are reminded that the June 12 meeting will be at 8 a.m., in the State Bank of Syracuse. Topics of discussion will be the outcome of Buccaneer Days, looking ahead to the Flotilla weekend; what works for the merchants and what would work to make the town more appealing.

bodies of fallen comrades. But the beaches were not the only front on which the Allies attacked. Thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind German lines on the night of June 5-6, helping to prepare the way for the seaborne troops who were scheduled to land on June 6. Ferried across the English Channel in a total of 822 C-47 transport planes, these troops were the first to begin what General Dwight D. Eisenhower called “a great crusade.” Ed Huber, r 2 Syracuse, was part of the first wave of paratroopers. As a member of the 507th Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, be had trained in Ireland and England for several months prior to D-day with the knowledge that he would take part in an invasion. “We all knew that we were practicing for an invasion, but none of us knew when it was go-

Two school board seats open —

Little to seek re-election; Payne ponders his decision

Billy G. Little, Milford accountant and insurance agent and president of the Lakeland School Board of Trustees, this week announced his intentions to seek re-election to the school board. ■ Little, who will complete 154 on the school board when ./-his current term expires June 30, ! 1985, said he had doubts about re-election and had expressed these concerns openly until recently. He said the board has programs afoot that he .wants to see completed, as one of the compelling reasons for his decision to seek re-election. Little was appointed to the board March 9, 1970, to fill out the three and one-half years of the unexpired term Os Kenneth Haney of the Hastings community. He was then elected to the board in November 1972, taking office July 1, 1973. He was re-elected in November .1976, resuming the office July 1, 1977; and re-elected again in November 1980, to resume the office July 1,1981. Little represents District 3 of the Lakeland School Corporation, which includes Van Buren

Theft ring broken, Syracuse and Claypool men arrested

David Arthur Stoll, 38, r 5 Syracuse, remains in the Kosciusko County Jail on charges of burglary and theft. He is being held on $25,000 bond. Stoll was arrested Sunday, May 27, along with Jess Edgar Combs. 19, r 1 * Claypool, who was released on his own recognizance. The pair’s arrest was made in connection with a daytime home burglary ring in southern Kosciusko County and several surrounding counties. These burglaries resulted in the theft of f more than $50,000 worth of items, occurring since the first of the year.

ing to take place,” Huber said. Preparations for the Normandy invasion were extensive. Huber’s outfit practiced night jumping and studied aerial maps of their intended landing zone for months prior to the battle. But on D-day, as in all military campaigns, soldiers run into situations for which they had not prepared. “The night before we were ready to jump, (General) Eisenhower came down to give us a talk,” Huber said. “He told us that this jump would be not different from our training jumps except for the fact that we had live ammunition. He told us that we had those guys outnumbered 10 to one. “Well, we hadn’t got halfway across the English Channel when we discovered that our drop zone was surrounded by Germans and we had to be dropped well inside France,” he added. “We must

Fa J * —4l ■ < I BILLY G. LITTLE Township and the east half of Jefferson Township. Same With Phil Payne The seat on the school board held by Philip R. Payne of North Webster also falls vacant next year. Payne is completing his third four-year term on the school board. He was first elected to the board in November 1972 and took

Kosciusko County Sheriff C. Alan Rovenstine commented on arrest warrant for another suspect has been issued. He added the investigation on the thefts included police departments from Elkhart, Fulton, LaGrange and Steuben Counties. There were five burglaries in Kosciusko County, all in rural areas. These burglaries were south of Warsaw, two in Burket and two in Mentone. County Police Lt. Rich Mikel and County Patrolman Tom Brindle, along with several other officers from the county sheriff’s department, traced several!

5 have dropped 20 or 30 miles from our original zone.” Huber landed in a marsh south of Ste. Mere Eglise near the small town of Chef-du-Pont. He spent his first night in France hiding behind a bog nrthe marsh and trying to locate some of his fellow soldiers. “By the morning I had rounded up about 10 men by using my cricket noisemaker,” he said. “If you beard someone coming, you clicked. If the person clicked back, you knew you were safe. If they didn’t click, you got ready to shoot.” It wasn’t until the next morning that Huber and his men met up with GeneraFGavin, his division commander. Under his leadership, this small band of men captured Chef-du-Pont. During the battle for control of Chef-du-Pont, Huber’s outfit captured several German machine (Continued on page 2)

PHILIP R. PAYNE office July 1, 1973. He was re-elected in November 1976 and resumed the office July 1, 1977; re-elected again in November 1980 and again resumed office July 1, 1981. Payne said he knew for sure a year ago that he would not be a candidate for re-election, and told the other board members. Superintendent Don Arnold and

suspects of five robberies of county homes. All of these thefts occurred in the daytime and had the same method of operation. The sheriff remarked the thieves would knock on the door, if there was no-answer, they’d break-in, take some items and drive away. Recovered in the arrest were a camera, checkbook, stereo system and clock. Still not recovered are other stereos, televisions, video cassette recorders, cameras and jewelry. The case started coming to a close following a call from Roger A. Geimer, r 2 Nappanee, who (Continued on page 2)

H rM rV*! , M -I i a, fl I WORLD WAR II MEMORIES — Ed Amsden, 211 N. Schafer St., Milford, looks over some of the photographs and other reminders has has from World War 11. As a member of the 705th Tank Destroyers, Amsden landed in Normandy nearly a month after D-day. (Photo by Tom Charles)

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his many friends in the North Webster community and elsewhere that he would not seek re-election. But since that time he has had a change of mind. He said earlier this week that like Bill Little, he felt the school board has many ongoing things he would like to see throqgh. Not the least of these is the so-called prime-time measure that would reduce classroom size as mandated by the recent General Assembly. Payne noted this could cause considerable restructuring of the Lakeland school system. Payne said he would make his final decision by the end of June, and certainly have a ready answer at the next school board meeting Tuesday, July 10. Payne represents District 1 of the school corporation, which is made up of Tippecanoe Township. He is a well-known North Webster heating, plumbing and air conditioning contractor. Register Aug. 8-Sept. 7 Candidates for the several school board posts cannot register their candidacy for election or re-election until August 8 of this year, and have until 12 noon on September 7th to file. This time span was recently confirmed by Kosciusko County Clerk Jean Messmore. Fathers may register for demonstration Fathers may register for a free beekeeping demonstration on Fathers’ Day, June 17. at Goshen College’s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center near Wolf Lake. There is a small registration fee for others. Films on bee culture will show how to establish and care for bee colonies, and a Merry Lea staff member will demonstrate equipment used in bee culturing and honey extraction. The program, part of the “Sunday Afternoon at Merry Lea” series, will begin at 2 p.m. Trails will be open for informal hiking before and after the program. Merry Lea is located 1 mile north of CRs 350 S. and 500 W., off SR 109 in Noble County.