The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 18, Milford, Kosciusko County, 17 June 1987 — Page 4

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., June 17,1987

4

Editorial

A special Mermaid Festival Activities for North Webster’s.42nd annual Mermaid Festival will begin with the Lions-sponsored Mermaid Festival Ball on Friday night at 9 p.m. and continue through Saturday evening, June 27. This year’s festivities will take on a special meaning as the town celebrates its 150th anniversary. Sesquicentennial 1987 as the theme for both the “Queen of Lakes” contest and the festival’s parade. North Webster was surveyed and platted on May 2,1837, by R. R. Shoemaker and was named in honor of Daniel Webster by Shoemaker. The town was on the shores of what was then called Lake Boyds ton. Mail for a time was addressed to Boydston’s Mill, located on the south edge of the town. It wasn’t until 1861 that the town got its own post office. Shortly thereafter the name of the town was changed from Webster to North Webster because of another Webster in Indiana. The Mermaid Festival began in 1946 as a Lions Club project and as an event to open the area’s fishing season. It has grown from a one-day event to the festivities slated to begin on Friday. It has grown from a project where the Lions did all of the work to a project that enlists help from many clubs, organizations and individuals as well as all of the Lions club members. Qv Each year the festival draws a bevy of beauties who vie for the “Queen of Lakes” title; and strong, dashing gents who compete for the Tournament of Knights championship. And, if pretty girls or spor|s isn’t enough, there is something for everyone including the younger generation who have their own night — Wednesday, June 24 — with special prices on rides on the midway in the afternoon, a parade and the Cutie King and Queen contest. Other events include the Palace of Sports 5000 meter run, Youth League Tournaments, a Gospel Sing at the Church of God, a horseshoe contest, an ice cream social, a talent contest, a beard and vintage dress contest and ski shows. Each of these events, and those not named, Jias required hours of planning and work. We point with pride to the community of North Webster, the town’s 150th birthday and the 42nd annual Mermaid Festival and to each and every man, woman and child who has played a part in its becoming a reality. Color films Famous film personalities recently appeared before a congressional committee in Washington to protest the computer coloring of old black and white films. The entertainers wanted Congress to outlaw that technological process. The film people talked about art being destroyed, etc. (as if most films were art). They said we shouldn’t tamper with old-master paintings, and compared black and white films to such works of art. The trouble ivith this argument is that no one is destroying black and white films. If some prints are changed into color films, black and white prints will still remain available. Also, those who have bought these films have a right to improve them in any way they can. It’s a good idea to retain copies of famous black and white films, which might be a proper subject for regulation; but to argue that these films can’t be updated, that this is destroying an art-form, is unsound; one suspects money or related motives to be behind some of this agitation. Father's Day In 1910 Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, Wash., was the driving force in persuading America to celebrate Father’s Day. The third Sunday in June is now observed nationally. Each year on this day emphasis is placed on a closer family-child relationship. In today’s permissive society, children are often allowed to do “their own thing.” The encouragement of this and protest against parental authority is strong in the media and on TV. Overlooked is the traditional value of fatherly discipline in the home. Today’s problems in society (including drugs and crime (indicate more authority is desirable, often necessary. This is vitally important to the proper development of children — the sympathetic guidance “Dad.” In this connection, it’s good to remember Frank Chaley’swords: “Character is largely caught, and the father and the home should be the great sources of character infection.”. For all those fathers trying their best, the 21st is their Sunday this year. What others say — Nothing to do “But Mom, there’s nothing to-do.” Just about now, with school out for the summer, Mom and Dad are going to hear their offspring exclaim, “But Mom, there’s nothing to do.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. Actually, the opposite is probably closer to the facts of the matter. There’s so many things for our young people to do during the summer months that their frustration in what to do causes them te claim there’s nothing to do. The pressure is there, peer and otherwise, to decide what they’re going to do this summer. > J If you’ve been following our news columns, you know there’s more than enough to keep our youngsters occupied for the summer months. For the past month, story after story has announced sign-up dates for this and that program. There's soccer, swimming, 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, Little League, day camps, summer camps, band camps, basketball camps and just plain camping. There are daily vacation bible schools, summer school and a host of other schools in an unending list of something to do. Os course, for the older youths, there is the option of looking for a job and earning some spending money to enjoy now, or to salt away for their future. For the younger set, there’s always the option to let them enjoy the summer - —to let them learn how to relax and enjoy nature. To participate in “make-up” games, totally devoid of all adult rules and interference. Summertime is a time.to enjoy —a time to escape from the normal routine — not a time to move from one form of regimentation to another. Nothing to do? Boy, wouldn’t it be great to do nothing? • - HENDRICKS COUNTY GAZETTE

PljjEpp^p 1 JiiA - Ira v '■ t I <•:.»- . V I ' : . ; • J ’.' • . . ’ ’■' ■' . The 1986 "Queen of Lakes" Kristianna Fullhart, pictured, the Mermaid Festival committee and the North Webster Sesquicentennial pommittee are ready to welcome a!! to the 42nd annual Mermaid Festival and sesquicentennial celebration next wsek.

Court news

County Court The following persons have paid fines and costs in Kosciusko County Court, Judge James Jarrette presiding: Operating off-road vehicle on county road — Mike E. Grady, 28. Syracuse, $77.50. Speeding — Paying S6B were: Randy A. Maggart, 17, North Webster; John D. Wright, 16, Milford; Dawn Harding, 19, Leesburg. Paying $53 were: John R. Kunce, 22, Leesburg; Melissa R. Evans, 18, Milford; Lori A. Pifer, 16, Syracuse; Rebecca J. Ridenour, 29, Cromwell; Robbie R. Kissell, 24, Leesburg; Dawn Harting, Leesburg; Todd M. Liepold, 18. Syracuse. No operator’s license — Richard S. Rager, 15. Syracuse. $53. Disregarding stop sign — Anne M. Ballinger, 17, Syracuse, $53. No safety chains — Barry Cannon, 24, Milford, $203. False registration — Richard S. Rager, 15, Syracuse. $53. Unsafe start — Todd A. Wilson, , 17. Milford, $53. Improper headlight — Elizabeth Castro. 21. Milford. S4B. Elkhart Division The following fines plus court costs have levied and paid in Elkhart County Court, Goshen Division: Speeding leffery A. Harter. 32, Warsaw, $52.50; Angela M. Graff. 18. Syracuse, $57.50; Richard L. Timmons. 30, Syracuse, $52.50; Mary L. Korenstra, 54. Syracuse. $52.50; Daniel R. Snyder. 31. Syracuse. $52.50; Samuel K. Shaw. 26. Warsaw, $61.50; Mattie Grimm, 39, Milford, $50.50 Disregard stop sign — Troy P. Ropp, 18, Syracuse, $57.50 Expired operator’s license — Samuel K. Shaw, 26, Warsaw, sl.op (court charged only one ‘court cost for two violations) Improper driving — GaryCJ. Shaw, 46, North W’ebster, $52.50 No registration plattj.— flrian K: Roberts, 24, Syracuse. $32v50; David L. Roberts, 21, $52.50 . . / City Court The following fines have been levied and paid in the Goshen City Court: Illegal consumption of alcohol — Denny L. Koselke, 17, Syracuse, $l3B, 90 days in jail suspended on condition defendant abide by all court orders and not commit another alcohol-related offense for one year, attend Substance Abuse Classes, six months probation, pay user's fees Driving while intoxicated — Denny L. Koselke., 17, Syracuse, $230, 360 days in jail suspended on condition defendant abide by all court orders and not commit another alcohol-related or major traffic offense for one year, license suspended for. 90 days with credit given for time already suspended, attend and pay for Substance Abuse Classes, reside with His parent (mother ) while on probation and abide by set curfew hours, have no unexcused absences during school year, pay user's fees, one year probation Superior Court The following petitions have been filed in Kosciusko Superior Court, Judge Robert Burner presiding: Complaint State Bank of Syracuse versus Todd M. Sloan, r 3 box 568, Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendant

in the amount of $887.71 plus prejudgment interest and all costs of’ action. Complaint State Bank of Syracuse versus Paul F. and Sharon Juday, Goshen. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendants in the amount of $279.29 plus prejudgment interest and all costs of action. Legal Separation Shirley Garnell King, Silver Lake, and James A. King, Jr., address unknown, have petitioned fqr a legal separation. There are two minor children. ’ Complaint On Promissory Note Counting House Bank versus Sara Sue Zollinger, r 3 box 2188. Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking' judgment against the defendant in the amount of $3,147.55 plus pre-judgment interest, attorney’s fees and all costs of action. Complaint On Promissory Note Counting House Bank versus Paul D. Collier, r 1 box HOC, Milford. The plaintiff is’Seeking , judgment against the defendant in the amount of $683.18 plus prejudgment interest, attorney’s fees and all costs of action. Circuit Court The following petitions have been filed in Kosciusko Circuit Court. Judge Richard Sand presiding: Complaint John Joseph Whybrew versus Lyman Stuby. Wawasee South Shore Inc., South Shore Golf Course, R.D.1., Inc., doing business as Cocinero’s, Syracuse. The plaintiff is seeking judgment against the defendants in an amount to be determined by the court as sufficient to compensate for damages and injuries received in a fall on the dance floor at Cocinero's on June 9, 1985. after the plaintiff became intoxicated during a golf outing sponsored by the defendants. Small Claims The following judgments have been awarded in Small Claims Division, Kosciusko County Court, Judge James Jarrette presiding: Lake City Bank versus Robert E. Hensley; defendant ordered to pay $2,860.42 plus costs. Vickie Smart versus Otto Boggs and Wendy George; defendants ordered to pay $877 plus costs. Max Shull versus Charles Wadkins and Tony Schoettner; defendants ordered to pay $876.94 plus costs. Loren Pruitt, Jr. versus Terry S. Kuhn; defendant ordered to pay $422.50 plus costs. Paul B. and Lois J. Lipka versus Bob Valentine; defendant ordered to pay $3,000 plus costs. (Continued on page 5)

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 Syrocuselndiana 46567. Second class postage paid at 103 E. Main Street. Syrocuse. Indiana 46567 and at additional entry offices. Subscription: sl6 per year in Kosciusko County $22 outside county. POSTMASTERS Send change .of oddress forms to. The Mail-Journal, P. 0.. Box 188. Milford. Indiana 46542.

“CRUZIN AROUND 'CUSE" V ' ' ~ ’ '• • •' - •

ByCAROLYNANDERSON j (EDITOR’S NOTE: Carolyn Anderson and her husband Douglas own Wawasee Boat Company and have lived in the Syracuse area for 10 years. They reside in McCain Park on the southwest side of Lake Wawasee. They take considerable pride in their family heritage and in the local comm unity.) IN THE sesquicentennial year for Syracuse, I find myself looking back at several generations in my husband’s family who have called Syracuse “home”. The following is a brief account of these people and what brought both past and present members into these envions. Doug’s aunt, Mrs. Lucille Janet McCain Martin of Syracuse, provided me with many of the details that fill in the family story. ' Peter S. Nielsen and his wife, Oline (Lena) Johnson Nielsen, moved from Chicago to‘“Twin Crest Farm” in the summer of 1900. Peter had been born in extreme northern Norway in 1862. His family were fishermen and farmers. His son wrote of him in 1964 as having “a brilliant mind, a good speaker and writer who often served as a substitute minister. He was over six feet tall and was very strong.” Peter and his brother “ran away to America to join in the American gold rush and while here caught ‘the American fever’.” He met Oline Johnson in Minneapolis, Minn., and married her on October 2, 1881. Their first child, Joseph N. Nielsen, was born in St. Paul on December 31, 1883. Their second child, Sverre (Swae) I. Nielsen, was born in Lacrosse, Wise. November 4, 1889. Their third and last child, Eleanor Doris Nielsen, was born January 27,1894 in Chicago. While in the Chicago area Peter became a carpenter. Peter Neilsen’s son, Joe, noted in a letter that “On graduation night at Northwest Division High School (Chicago) I felt blood coming up in my throat.” Upon the doctor’s recommendation they moved out of the “vial air” in the Chicago area. “My father traded a house in Chicago for the farm in Indiana.” Thus it was health reasons that brought this family of five to the Syracuse area in 1900. The farm house which still stands, is thought to be one of the oldest ones in Kosciusko County. Currently it is the home of Donna and Steve Arnold. Swae Nielsen and his younger sister, Eleanor, attended the Africa School, District School Number 7 and then attended the Syracuse High School that was located across the street from the present day library. Swae graduated from high school there in 1910. His picture is on the pictorial flip board of graduates that is located in the foyer of the present Syracuse Middle School. WW % niff .# mm&ias. A picture of Swae Nielsen and two unidentified girls is included here taken in 1909. If anyone knows who the young women are we would greatly appreciate knowing their names. Eleanor Doris Nielsen is the link from the family of Peter and Lena Nielsen to the present. As stated above she and her brother attended school here. They reached the school up town by buggy or sleigh and left the horse at a nearbylivery. Eleanor, Ella for short, had a very close friend, Jessie Holloway, whom she regarded as a sister. Jessie married Charles Wade Zerbe on November 13, 1910. At about this same time the Nielsens returned to the Chicago area where Eleanor' finished her high school education. While in Oak Park, 111., she met Cecil Cyrus McCain who would later become her husband. The family continued to come to “The Lake” for summers during these years. Eleanor used to tell how Cecil (Mac) McCain courted her by coming down to Syracuse by train and walking the five miles to the farmhouse to visit her. They were married May 3, 1913. There were five children born to Mac and Eleanor McCain. They were: Kenneth DeWitt (1914), Phyllis Eleanor (1917), Lucille Janet (1918) Evelyn Gladys (1919) and Muriel Jean (1922). After Lena Nielsen died in 1919, Mac, Eleanor, and their young family moved to Syracuse to be closer to her father, Peter. They lived on Harrison Street. Mac earned a living by carpentry while here and was hired to help with the construction of the South Shore Hotel. Mac’s later career was with Western Electric at the Hawthorne Works in Chicago as a developmental engineer. He is listed in the 1949 edition of Who’s Who in the Midwest and in the 1950 edition of Who’s Who in Chicago and Illinois. He developed numerous patents for Western Electric. After Peter Nielsen died at “Twin Crest Farm” on June 2, 1928, his son Swae moved into the farmhouse. The depression that followed made it hard for Swae to maintain the property. His older brother Joe had become a patent attorney in Washington, D.C. by this time, and thus it was Joe who provided the funds for the upkeep of the farm during these lean years. Swae died sometime in the later 1930 s leaving the farmhouse vacant. With the home empty, vandalism became a problem. It was about this time that Lucille Janet McCain and Roger S. Martin were married in Glen Ellyn, 111. Housing was very short in the Chicago area during the Second World War and they offered to move to the fami-

ly farm in Indiana to maintain it. This solution provided housing for the Martins and made it possible that the land be preserved for future generations. It was at this same time that neighboring farms were being subdivided into 50 foot lake front lots and sold off. Lu and Rog Martin have made Syracuse their, permanent home from this time on. Rog worked for NIPSCO in Goshen for years, retiring about nine years ago to devote his full tiine to their personal interests. They had two children: Eleanor Diane and Kenneth Roger. Both Ken and Diane graduated from the Syracuse High School. Ken is a graduate of Notre Dame School of Law and is now an attorney in Goshen.-He and his wife, Cherie, and their two.children, Roger and Matthew, reside in their home in the woods along South Road that was a part of the original 67-acre farm. Diane was killed in a tragic automobile accident and is buried in the'Syracuse Cemetery next to Ken and Cherie’s infant daughter, Julia Lynne. Sometime after World War 11, Eleanor McCain and her brother, Joe Nielsen, decided that they should each own a section of the farm rather than share the responsibility for it. Joe chose to take the bulk of the farmland plus the farmhouse, -and Eleanor took 600 feet of lake frontage. The 600 feet of lake frontage was divided into six 100 foot lots and was platted as McCain Park. Mac and Eleanor visited Lu and Rog Mar- ♦ ir» of fVxo lnbn nmwinllir Kvinrtinrf rtronHnViilrlrpn VAaa Mv V * 4V *“ * ‘ ** * *L* *“ (j O* “* * “ **" *—* with them to enjoy the beauty of the woods and the lake. Mac and Eleanor gave a lot in the newly platted McCain Park to each of their four surviving children and maintained two for themselves. There were certain unwritten stipulations about the use of the land and the preservation of nature that were set up at that time and have been able to endure to the present. Eleanor and Mac loved nature. “The woods were a theater for wildlife and should be valued. The lake was a natural asset that should be protected and enjoyed,” Mac and Eleanor’s first daughter, Phyllis, had married Malcolm Morton Anderson of Glen Ellyn, 111., on October 12, 1935. Mai, as he was known by friends, loved the lake from the earliest visits with his wife. Mai learned about the earth moving capabilities of a bulldozer while he was stationed in the Pacific during the war. When he returned to the lake after the war he suggested that the family consider bulldozing the lake lots to provide good lake access. Lots 3, 4, and 6 were graded; the remaining three were left untouched. In 1951, Mai Anderson, Mac McCain, and Roger Martin built a one and a half car garage sized cottage on, Lot 6 of McCain Park. This cottage still stands and is the family room, but fondly referred to as “the cottage”, of our current home on Lake Wawasee. , , Mai and Phyllis Anderson had two sons, Malcolm Douglas and Gary Bruce. From early oh Doug and Gary remember coming to the lake with their grandparents and parents staying with Lu and Rog Martin in the farmhouse. After the cottage was built in 1951. Mai and Phyllis felt that their boys should spend their summers at the lake. Health was again among the concerns that put the impetus on the Andersons/o summer here. It was at that time that polio was prevalent in the Chicago area. The lake, however, was clean and the relaxing and refreshing. Phyllis and the boys would come to the lake just after school was out for the summer and stay until Labor Day. Mai would commute from his job as an insurance agent with Allstate in Glen Ellyn. 111. to spend every weekend here with his family. ■s* After Doug graduated from the Harvard Business School in 1967 he began teaching finance at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, 111. I was also teaching at NJU in the Departments of Home Economics and Elementary Education. W r e met in the spring of 1968, courted at the “Lake” in the summer and were married January 25, 1969. Our most precious wedding gift from Doug’s parents was a lot in MeCain Park! Malcolm Russell Anderson was born on March 17, 1972, in St. Charles, 111. and made his first visit to the lake at four months of age. I remember clearly his response at age two to the question, "What do you want to do for your birthday?” “Me go Yake!” After several years of weekly trips during the summer we made our home here permanently following our purchase of the Wawasee Boat Company, October 2, 1977. Granted there’s been a long history of family involvement here and a love of a specific lake where fond memories have been generated, but beyond that there are very good reasons for our desire to make Syracuse our home. I have lived in Chicago; Erie, Pa; Carmel. Ind.; suburban Boston, Ma; suburban Philadelphia, Pa; and extreme western suburban Chicago. Thus I feel qualified to comment on the strengths of Syracuse and the surrounding area from the point of view of comparison to other communities large and small in other parts of the country. j? First of all there is a balance in businesses here that span the areas of agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing. We are a microcosm of the country as a whole. There are poor people here, middle class Americans, and the wealthy. The year round population predominantly consists of conservative, stable, and responsible citizens. There is a strong professional group here who provide strong role models for our youth. The businesses here range from basic manufacturing to' the forefront of computer design and implementation. There are natural assets here that are simply not available in most communities in the nation. Lake Wawasee and Lake Syracuse are exceptional. Their location just north of the continental divide means that ALL of the water in these lakes is local spring water, rain, or snow melt water. We do not have agricultural runoff or dumping of manufacturing waste problems. In addition to this we have a 3486-acre Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area in our backyard. What did Indiana look like 100 years ago, and what animals inhabited this area? To learn about it is as easy as exploring the preserve. The schools here are among the best. At Nor(Continued on page 5)