The Mail-Journal, Volume 23, Number 54, Milford, Kosciusko County, 7 January 1987 — Page 4

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., January 7,1987

Editorial .' ' I *"** . - . **■•*>. ‘ . Leave it up to Joe If anyone around Syracuse wanted to get a project underway, especially a project that needed a financial boost, sooner or later he would come to the door of Joe Gray. Joe loved the challenge of moving things along, and he was sure-footed in accomplishing these ends. Ask the folks who saw a need for a new Daycare Center in Syracuse and . needed $75,000 to get the job done. They called on Joe Gray, and he came up with half the required amount by talking, talking, and pushing, pushing. Then he went to the county United Way, a group he had repeatedly helped as Northern Communities chairman, and asked for the other half. You know what: He got the money and the community got its much-needed Daycare Center. _ " This is only one thing. He was also active in the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce, was its president, its executive director, and helped his Rotary Club raise money for the St. Jude Hospital, to mention only one of its projects. He. was also Rotary correspondent for this aiid came up with a weekly story and photograph of the club’s Tuesday luncheon speaker. He would have been proud of this. On Monday night, the Rotary board of directors met and voted unanimously to name Joe Gray a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest Rotary International award, named after the organization’s founder. Later that evening, the directors learned of Gray’s passing. The award will be presented to Joe posthumously. He was past president of the SyracUse-Wawasee Area Development Company, and currently executive director of the Kosciusko County Mental Health Association. He’s been a real pusher on the Syracuse Sesquicentennial Committee and is given almost sole credit for the sesqui brochure that is now on store counters in the community. Joe Gray was a retired Colonel in the United States Marines, and he was proud of it. He labored on that rank a little and some of his friends kidded him about it. Joe replied, “I worked hard for that Eagle and I’m proud of it.” Who could blame him? He got his early military training at the Howe Military Academy at Howe, Indiana, and this led him to a life in the Marine Corps. During recent years he did considerable work for Howe and raised money for their publications. We could attest to the pride Joe Gray took in putting together a publication (“Let’s go for color in this one,” he often said), either for Howe Military Academy, the S-W Chamber of Commerce, or anything else he was interested in. Joe had a strong affiliation with his church, The All Saints’ Episcopal Church, on the south side of Lake Wawasee. His father, the late Campbell Gray, was the 2nd Bishop for the Northern Indiana Diocese of that faith, his brother Kempel is a priest and his nephew, Francis Campbell Gray, was recently ap- % pointed Bishop of the Northern Indiana Diocese. es Joe Gray had a bit of wanderlust in his bones. He and Joanie made overseas trips to the Caribbean and to remote islands in the Pacific to hunt shells on lonely shores that had been washed up hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. One thought of Joe Gray as a very physical man, riding his exercise bike at home and always participating in the fund-raising bike-a-thon. Everyone thought of him as the very epitome of health, andfeyrfealized he was 69 years of age- * / His sudden death,' therefore, in the office of Dr. Jack Clark, Monday afternoon, caught everyone by surprise. X, Z Several letters in Joe’s behalf appear in this issue. Rather than quote from them, we decided to run them in full. It rings a little hollow to simply say Joe Gray will be missed in the community, for this he surely will be. A lot of much-needed chores in the community and in the county will go undone as a result of his passing. And even if they don’t go undone, they won’t be done with the same elan and grace and good cheer that Colonel Joe Gray usually brought to the task. A lot of us will miss the personableness of this fellow. Time is our most valuable asset. Use it carefully. Few ever finish their work by thinking about it. Kindness has never yet done anyone serious harm. • •a*'. Hint to Public Speakers: Profanity does not improve oratory. Few£eople think others deserve their successes.

What others say — Ms. take in language Is nothing sacred to the revisionist wordsmiths? Chairmen have become chairpersons, or chairones or just chairs. Are Mother Nature and Father Time to be relegated to the scrapheap of untrendy words? A recently published four-page “Guide To Non-Sexist Language” from the Project on the Status and Education of Women provides a lengthy list of do’s and don’ts for the trendy non-sexist writer. “Breaking away from sexist language and traditional patterns can refresh your style” they say. Hoooo The project adapted its guide from a manual of Wisconsin-Extension Equal Opportunities Program Office and Department of Agricultural Journalism. Wisconsin taxpayers — the English language too — might have better been served had the group just tried to condense its name. According to the guide, waitress must become wait person, even though it seems more accurate to use waitress to describe a woman wait person and the masculine form — waiter —for a male wait person. Are we ready for a genderless society? Remember, these are the folks who brought you the hopelessly confusing term “Ms.,” which leaves most of us wondering if we will alienate a Mrs. by calling her Ms. — or will it be the other way around? —■_.■ . • Another book just on the market, which takes the guide several steps further, is Father Gander: The Equal Rhymes Amendment. Maybe you don’t think Mother Goose needs any improvement — we certainly don’t — but “Father Gander” (author Doug Larche) does. Gander is aghast that children would be forced to read about an apparently single parent who lives in a shoe and has so many children she doesn’t know what to do. So she beats them? Horrors. In Father Gander’s revision, the woman in the shoe becomes a couple (Dad must be a co-partner these days), the children eat nutritious whole? wheat bread and kisses replace whippings. Heck, they even discuss family planning. - There’s only one issue we don’t understand. If they didn’t want so many, why didn’t they plan? Maybe sprinkling classic nursery rhymes with references to the Equal Rights Amendment, acid rain, and working mothers represents progress, but we would just as soon Father Gander left the classics alone and wrote original nursery rhymes instead. We would just as soon the University of Wisconsin revisionist left the language alone too. All this revising is a big ms.take. - CRAWFORDSVILLE JOURNAL-REVIEW

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JOE GRAY ... ALWAYS WORKING

Letters to the editor

A man of uns< Dear Editor: It is with deep regret that we note the passing of our dear friend and past president of the Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club. For many years Colonel Joseph A. Gray, USMC (Retired), gave our community his, unselfish talents and love. Without Joe’s influence, scores of projects, many of bricks and mortar, many of lumber and nails, but still many more of thought and planning would not have become reality. What comes to mind at my first thought are the countless miles Joe has ridden each year in our annual Rotary Bike-A-Thon. A minimum of 25 miles around the lake each year for eight years. Each mile had pledges from community members for a project. Our Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” is what Joe lived each day. Through his efforts Joe spearheaded a drive to construct a day care facility in our community. He represented the Syracuse Community on the board of directors of the United Way of Kosciusko County for A great asset Dear Editor: His organizing and leadership skills of a military background made “Col. Joe” a great asset to the community. Over the years his unselfish accomplishments in the many services that he performed would be to many to list on this page. Recently, he devoted much of his free time raising money for the sesquicentennial celebration. Joe s death has created a void that will be hard to fill. He will be missed. Jack Elam Historical Chairman Syracuse Sesqui. Committee

Court news

Marriage Licenses The following couples have applied for marriage licenses in the office of Kosciusko County Clerk Jeanne Weirick: Christner-Smeltzer Charles D. Christner, 34, r 5 box 372, Syracuse, and Rose M. Smeltzer, 26, r 5 box 372, Syracuse •; Vest-Blankenship Charles Eugene Vest, 27, r 2 box 118, North Webster, and Marsha Ann Blankenship/18, r 1 box 887, Cromwell Prater-Kehoe Walker Ray Prater, 28, 200 E Boston, Syracuse, and Kathleen Melissa Kehoe, 24, 200 E. Boston. Syracuse County Court The following persons have been assessed fines and costs in Kosciusko County Court, Judge James Jarrette presiding: Disorderly conduct — John Albert Cannon, 22, North Webster, $136. Illegal consumption — Ballard E. Shell, 20, Milford, SB6; Jeffrey Alan Galloway, 16, Syracuse, SB6, 60 days KCJ suspended, one year probation; Terry Eugene Bailey, 20, Milford, SB6, six days KCJ suspended. Conversion — Cathy L. Hoover, 21, Syracuse, $103,20 days KCJ. Public intoxication — Ricky L. Maggert, Syracuse, SB6 Illegal possession — Jon Allen Whiteman, 17, Leesburg, SB6. Possession of marijuana — Scott Amsden, 19, Syracuse, $136, one year KCJ suspended, one year probation. Superior Court The following petitions have been filed in Kosciusko Superior Court, Judge Robert Burner presiding:

elfish talents many years. It ip through his representation that funding for the Lakeland Center, Turkey Creek Setoior Citizens, Lakeland Community Daycare Center and the Stout Cabin received United Way Help. Many hours were spent writing proposals, looking fur funds from, various foundation to match with local support. Our community will morn the passing of Colonel Gray, but many monuments will mark the time he spent with us. Semper Fidelis. Colonel Gray! We will all miss you. Sincerely, Robert F. Westfall President, The SyracuseWawasee Rotary Club, Inc. Joe was a professional Dear Editor: Few were better equipped to serve on a.board of any organization than Joe Gray. A United Way board member for the past 12 years, as in all his endeavors, Joe was a professional. * Joe believed that one of the best ways to grow as a professional and as a person, was the whirlwind routines of life. He did just that. Joe, however, was never too busy to offer his services in whatever area they were needed, but I suspect he loved working on each fall campaign He once told me. “People in the Syracuse area reach to secure their wallets when they see me coming". And then he chuckled, as only Joe could do. As a United Way board member, Joe helped to coordinate the northern communities fund drive each year. A weekly visit to the United Way office just to keep in touch, to offer his help (Continued on page 5)

Complaint On Promissory Note Lake City Bank versus James A. Rohrbaugh and Roxanne K. Rohrbaugh, r 1 box 283 M, Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendants for the sum of $2,945.51 plus interest, attorney’s fees and all costs of action. Complaint On Promissory Note Lake City Bank versus Terri Kay Miller and Robert Carl Miller, 213 Pickwick Place, Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendants for the sum of $4,791.97 plus interest, attorney's fees and all costs of action. Marriage Dissolutions The following, couples have Tiled for marriage dissolutions in Kosciusko Superior and Circuit Courts: Troyer — Kathy M. Troyer, r 1 box 288A, Syracuse, and Michael E- Troyer, r 1 box 288A, Syracuse. The couple was married Dec. 17, 1983, and separated Dec. 15, 1986. There two minor children. THE MAIL-JOURNAL (U.S.P.S. 3258-4000) Published by the Mail-Journal every Wednesday and entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Syracuse, Indiana 46567. Second class postage paid at 103 E. Main Street, Syracuse, Indiana 46567 and at addition-?' entry offices. Subscription: sl6 per year in Kosciusko County; $22 outside county. POSTMASTERS: Send change of ad dress forms to The Mail-Journal P. 0.. Box 188, Milford, Indiana 46542.

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LAST TUESDAY afternoon was. swearirig-in time for new county and township officials in the Justice Building in Warsaw. Robert Burner, Kosciusko County Superior Court judge, did the honors for a wide assortment of new and re-elected officials. In the above photo the Honorable Judge Burner is giving the charge of office to Cleora Cauffman, Wayne Township assessor, and to Charlene Turkey Creek Township assessor. Mrs. Knispel began her second four-year term as assessor at that time. She filled the unexpired term of the late Harry VanHemert in mid-1981, then was elected unopposed in the fall of 1982 and again in the fall of 1986. Another new township assessor is Sue Ann Mit-

WAKE UP! It’s 1987! Such a long holiday has one’s head spinning with events coming and going. So, let us ask you: how many times have you already written “1986” when you should have written 1987? Admit it; you’re not alone. © But 1987 is more than just a change of the calendar fly leaf for the town of Syracuse. It’s the town's Sesquicentennial Year! This week should mark the beginning of a year-kfrig celebration to mark 150 years of existence. For one thing, you'll note the sesquicentennial logo on the front of this paper each week during the year. Some may not make this distinction, inasmuch as the Milford sesqui logo appeared in the same place during the' year 1986. This was Milford's Sesquicentennial Year, and they did a good job of celebrating their 150 years. The logo for both communities was the handiwork of Joann (Mrs. Robin) Boyer, a resident of Steele Drive in the Hill View Addition, just off the County Line Road and northeast of Syracuse proper. - ' y Joann is an accomplished artist working in the art and make-up department of The Papers Incorporated at its Milford plant. She entered the public competition in each community when requests for logos went out. The Milford Sesquicentennial Committee picked Joan's over a host of entries, and gave her a SIOO savings bond for her efforts. Being so impressed 'with the public response Milford ihad, that the Syracuse Sesquicentennial Committee followed suit and asked for entries in their similar logo contest. And Joann won that, too, and in doing so won a SSOO savings bond. While SESQUICENTENNIAL the two logos are striking- _ ' ly similar, they are still MSE different. We invite your iHAo attention to this, and are i oian*a re-printing the logo here - for your attention. —o—- — THAN that: The Mail-Journal wants to get into the act in a big way to make the Syracuse Sesquicentennial Year a memorable one. In doing - so, we are going to print an old, somewhat historic picture of scenes in the Syracuse community each week. ' ■"» ■ We have already sent out word, and are doing it again herewith, for readers to come forth with old photos, and to offer any identification they can. The town’s residents have all sorts of old photos in dresser drawers. We're asking them to come forth with what they can. We’re also mindful that many duplicates are bound to come our way, and that we'll have to make some selective judgments from time to time.— Townsman Jack Elam has shown an inordinate interest in the town’s history, and has already been busy at the word processor in his Pickwick Road home researching and cranking out pieces that will appear in this paper from time to time, and will no doubt show up in a special tabloid edition scheduled to appear during Sesquicentennial Week, the first week in July. SOMETHING ELSE new in the community you'll be hearing a lot about in the months ahead is the formation of an organization loosely called Friends of the Library. There is such a state organization called Friends of the Indiana Libraries, and they’ve set up guidelines by which local libraries could form support groups to help them solve their ongoing problems — to give local libraries financial support, for one, and to help libraries broaden their image in their respective communities. Rosalyn Jones, Syracuse librarian since 1966. and Bonnie Bjelia, children's librarian, will welcome such a local group of "friends.'' Mrs. Jones said this week that the library on East Main Street needs more space for one thing, and if it is to regain in its uptown location some major rejjpnking will have to go into the process of findjng this needed space. She called space a "priority problem.” , Mrs. Jones said she hoped to see the Friends of the Library group formed by February of this

chell, serving neighboring Tippecanoe Township. This is the first year that township has been so honored, having' gained the minimum population of 5,000 souls. Sue Ann will be working with her husband Dick, who is now in his third term as Tippecanoe Township trustee. The job will be old hat for SueAnp, inasmuch as she has done the assessing there for the past 10 years, including her first hitch with former trustee John Kussmal. Mrs. Mitchell said Tippecahoe Township each year assesses 7,300 boating items (boats, motors and trailers), more than any other township in the state of Indiana, nearly as many as Marion County, (Indianapolis), with its 10,000 boats. She said Kosciusko County assesses about 20,200 boats each year, more than any other county in the state. r All township assessors are paid $17,000.

year and to be in operation by spring. The Syracuse Public Library is one of four Carnegie libraries in Kosciusko County, the other three being in Pierceton, Warsaw and Milford. The cornerstone was laid in August 1920 and the building was officially completed March 15, 1921, the library’s records show. Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born “patron saint of America's public library system” would be mighty pleased if he could see the use his libraries have today, 150 years after his birth. The self-educated Carnegie came to the American shores as a penniless waif, but with a desire to learn through books. He is best remembered as “making his bundle” in steel, in what was to eventually become US Steel, more recently known hs'USXy' Carnegie gave away $56 million to build 2,509 public libraries in the English-speaking world, including 1,679 in the United States. There are 164 Carnegie libraries built in Indiana, the most of any state. Mrs. Jones states her records show that $4,000 was raised by public subscription for the Syracuse Public Library, and that Carnegie came up with SIO,OOO in matching funds. Oddly enough, it’s reported that some communities resisted the idea of having a Carnegie library in their midst. For one thing, Carnegie had a'robber baron image, as did many front line entrepreneurs of that day, including such notables as old John D» Rockefeller. Carnegie insisted on a functional look-alike building, and yet many of the structures do not follow the design lines of those seen in northern Indiana. Another thing, old bearded Andy Carnegie insisted a large photo of himself be posted prominently in the library and that the library be named the Carnegie Library, cast in stone. Little enough price to pay for having such a magnificent brick building situated prominently in one's town in the early 19205. « Carnegie’s support of the public library system has been described as the greatest single contribution to American culture, since the establishment of the public school svstenJk —o— - JIM PLUMMER. Jr., has been promoted to " printing division manager of Image Group, Jnc., by his dad, Jim, Sr., according to a recent release. Jim will oversee all phases of printing production. He’s a WHS graduate, where he completed the graphic arts vocational program. His wife Angie was recently named manager of Image's advertising specialty group, with offices in uptown Syracuse. ' —o— RON AND Joan Sharp, 406 North Huntington St., plan to leave Sunday for Biloxi, Miss., where they will frequent old haunts. This is their fourth year in the old Gulf of Mexico city where a lot of young folks of this community did their basic training in WW 11, at nearby Kesler Field. Sharp qualifies as something of a local town historian, and has plans of working some four hours per day at the typewriter updating volume four of his history of Syracuse. His work will have the advantage of the steady hand of Joan, an I.U. journalism graduate. A LARGE group of local revelers spent New Year’s Eve at the popular Merrillville Holiday Inn’s Starlight Room where they heard the popular Oak Ridge Boys. You’ll never guess who their designated driver was. "■7 ■ . i WAWASEE HIGH School officials are tickled pin» at the outcome of the school’s band and their showing gt the Gator Bowl game between Clemson University of South Carolina and Stanford University of Palo Alto, California. According to principal Ned Speicher, the band won two firsts: one for marching in the Gator Bowl parade, and the other for its field show. The band was competing with 25 other bands. A minor sour note occurred when two students were caught pilfering some tobacco. They are being reprimanded by the school. They were given a (Continued on page 5)