The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 22, Milford, Kosciusko County, 28 May 1986 — Page 37

Editorial

A time to celebrate

Milford is having a birthday —a 150th birthday to be exact. It's time to celebrate. A celebration, however, doesn't just happen. It takes planning. It takes cooperation. It takes time. It takes hard work. It takes lots of people and lots of money. The planning is done. The cooperation has been there. Without it nothing could have happened. All who have served on the various committes through the past several months can tell you it takes time and work. There arq lots of people working behind the scenes to make this festival a success. And, over s2o,ooohas been raised to finance the celebration. This special section is dedicated to those people who founded this community and to those who have given of their time, efforts and money to see that Milford's 150th birthday party is a grand success. I'll not attempt to name anyone in this editorial for fear that someone might be missed. You know who you are and this is directed to you. The staff of The Mail-Journal has been working hard on this publication. No such publication is ever complete. We will attempt in May 28 and June 4 and 11 issues of The M-J to publish more about the history of the town. The sesquicentennial memories column will continue until we run out of photos or until the end of 1986, whichever comes first. Special thanks go to my staff and the production crew of The Mail-Journal and to all who have answered our questions, dug into their club or organization's history and helped in any way to make this issue the success it is. Without your help and cooperation this printed record would ha ve been impossible.

Milford Methodists go back to 1840 s

Milford United Methodist Church, located on the corner of Catherine and West streets in Milford, is in its third building on the same site. On July 11, 1866, the land was given on which to build a church by Edward S. Higbee and his wife, Clarissa, to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Milford. This gift was with the provision that the place shall always be kept open and free for all orthodox Christian denominations when not used by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was further stated that the premises should never be sold and proceeds used for any other purpose than the erection of another place of worship subject to the same provisions. In 1880 the first parsonage was built on land conveyed in the 1866 deed. This was south of the present church building facing west. This building was used until the present parsonage was built in 1924. The second church was dedicated on the site on July 22, 1900. This large brick building, built on the foundation of the first church, had a bell tower over the corner entrance. On May 8,1920, the church was discovered to be ablaze at about 3:30 p.m. on a Saturday. The church could not be saved, but the parsonage was not damaged. The present church was begun in October, 1921, and dedicated on September 24, 1922. A subscription effort that day, with previous collections, completely covered the cost of the new building, $23,307. The present pastor of the church is Robert Ellison and Don Brown is lay leader. Rev. Paul Fulp, who preceded Rev. Ellison as pastor, wrote in a 1980 article,

“With a proud heritage reaching back to the 1840 s, back to the earliest days of Milford and the township and continuing as a strong and active force today, this is the Milford United Methodist Church.”

„ .

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH — The United Methodist Church has a long time heritage in Milford. It was dedicated September 24, 1922, on the site of the church which burned on May 8, 1920. The first Methodist Church had been built here in 1866.

Happy Birthday Milford On Your 150th Year WkMvV We Join You In Striving For jWBlt; Excellence KOSCIUSKO COMMUNITY YMCA " ' 1401 E. SMITH STREET - WARSAW Kxfei.KNCE

He also wrote, “We believe that church in the community ought to be cooperative rather than competitive. Therefore the United Methodist Church has been a force behind the churches joining hands in common causes.”

Wed., May 28,1986 — THE M AIL-Jf »URNAL

Milford mayor proud to be part of growing community

Four months ago eight Milford residents undertook what would become an arduous task of promoting themselves as viable candidates to become Milford’s first mayor. Three months later Elsie Free was named mayor, while three of the remaining seven aspirants filled the honorary city council seats. “I feel it is a great honor to have reached this status, ’’ Free said at the April 26 banquet at the community building, as others reminded her of promises to “meet more of the elderly and young people/and learn about their needs.”/ Vera Scheli, Jean Treesh, and Arch Baumgartner may also reacquaint themselves with campaign promises. It will be interesting to see if Baumgartner’s promise to “implement a broad program of community improvement,” will be undertaken, despite his winning the council seat as opposed to the seat (mayor’s) he was speaking of when he made the “goodnatured” promise. “As a member of the council I’m going to push ahead to institute all the reforms I referred to in my campaign, to make Milford a shining example of what a small community can be,” Baumgartner stated cynically, causing one to wonder if another campaign was forthcoming. Free also hinted at expansion, stating “Milford has grown mightily over the years and has the potential to grow bigger.” Treesh and Schell took the cautious route, boasting of the town’s people and environment. “All my children were raised here and I think it’s the best place

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in the w >rld to live,” Treesh said, while S< hell simply stated, “I’ve lived in Milford for 96 years and it’s ‘my own’.” No on ? is likely to deny Schell that assessment after hearing her state her intentions to win the race at several sesquicentennial commit ee meetings, and while she ma; not have finished at the top. he depiction of Milford’s first bat; lady and several other antics v ill be remembered for a long tim 3. While the remaining candidates (Margi Brooks, Andy Brown, Jan Brown, and Richard Miller) ’ weren’t selected to represent the own in political factions, their eff irts represented the town in the same way all the candidates lid — pulling together to make th? sesquicentennial a success.

OMtiiners softball game onSchirday

There is no age limit to fun, they say An olitimers softball game may be a perfect example of that adage. The game, just one of many aspects to the Milford Sesquicentennial celebration, is schedule 1 for June 7. Game time is about 5 p.m., according to Darrell Orn. The c( ntest will be played at theMilfird Junior High School basebal field and will also feature f 'ee substitution. Ribbons will be g ven out to those who participate. For farther information, contact Omit 658-4217.