The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 25, Milford, Kosciusko County, 5 August 1987 — Page 12
12
THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., August 5,1987
North Webster News
BY MARY LEE WILLMAN r . . Readers living in the Nor Ji Webster area are encouraged to call their news items to Mary Lee "Willman at 834-4544 for publication in this column.
Kuhn family settles in Barbee area
Ed Kuhn, son of John Kuhn and grandson of Isaiah Kuhn, was born in a 100-year-old frame house that stood directly south of present day Barbee Conservation Club building. The frame house was destroyed by fire and replaced by a cement block structure which is still standing. Ed and his wife, Lillian, were married in 1930 and lived most of their married lives in the rebuilt home and operated a bait shop. The Kuhn family roots go deep in the Barbee acre. Ed can recall moving into the cement block house when he was about 12 years old. Isaiah Kuhn purchased land at Barbee Lake from a man named Barber. It was part of a land grant originally obtained by Barber in the early 1800 s. Ed attended school, along with 29 other youngsters, at the old one-room Dunham School located south of Barbee. He recalled, “We had a teacher named Alfred Wolf who lived on the east side of present day SR 13. He walked back and forth to school every day, no matter what the weather, and carried his lunch in a metal dinner bucket. The school had eight grades and after you completed the eighth grade you were considered graduated. ” Ed can recall when there were only about two dozen cottages on the Barbee Lakes and very few people. “It was a nice, peaceful place to live.” Very old cottages and houses sat back away from the lake shore. In the early days there was swamp and marsh land between solid ground and open water. There were many sand and gravel hills around the lakes that were later pushed down over the marsh to make solid ground out to the open water. After that, people started building right on the water’s edge. Most of the early places were just shells and uninhabitable when the weather turned cold. Population Grows After World War 11, people started coming to Barbee in large numbers to spend the summer and live permanently. There was a large hill across from the present day Barbee Conservation Club building. People used to put up tents and stay all summer. Ed continued, “People were always
a I f August At Miller's Merry Manor | & I 1 Health Care Plans I Our Annual Zoo Trip this year will be on August 27th. IKwZftbnj I I ■ Health Care Planning Sessions are We be taking as many of our residents as we I I conducted every Wednesday and possibly can. In order to do this we need as many volun- I Thursday at 1:00 p.m. This is a time tears who are able to come. So if you are willing to help W I for combined departments to meet out, just call or stop in to let us know. Ask for Partheno 1 iB. I and discuss residents needs, or Colleen in Activities. Thank you s. J?! 1 weaknesses, and changes. Families es | and residents are invited to attend I these sessions. The Skilled Care MJ I mljljjPlv I residents are reviewed every 30 days, / I ACTIVITY I and the Intermediate residents are DEPARTMENT I reviewed every 90 days. We en- REPORT I courage family participation in this /fiffZ LJJL-M HtrVKI I process to help assure quality \*\ Vi/; w * or* hippy to announce Jha arrival of our new Activitio* Dir«- I resident care. z IbT'VkX I }/// ,or ‘ Par,h,na Shepherd. Although Partheno is new in the Activity \ I'Trz I y Dept.. she has worked for Miller's Merry Manor since lost October as a rT-r Nurse s Aide on 3rd shift. To many of the residents, Partheno is known - '■ QjV* M °* °* her name has been a little Tongue-twister, and dis [>_ /Ou. ' r JIJUJ licult for many to remember. I I ( •’orfhena has been married for 28 yrs. and has 7 children. 5 girls I and 2 boys. She wos born in Warsaw, but has lived in North Manchester for the last 24 yrs. welcome Partheno aboard. I'm sure you'll be seeing her " y 4 Overttieyer —- around as we plan on keeping her busy I Flovd wn< horn n-, ->n tm, u . A » Y°u can see by our schedule, we hove a busy month ahead of of wo? n7 A h ? ,V * °° r ,ir *’ • XCi,in « ,ri ” w ‘ ar ‘ p |annin ’ »»" A “9 6,h ~ h «n we ,p *” d * h * d ° y °' ' h * Foir Th,r * “ ° *P* ciol S « nior CitUen's " Doy. with The old sovino "hard work h T ° °* r R««W«nt»l ‘•''• rol 9° in ß ’hroughout the day. On Aug. 14th, we will be has held trul for Flmrd H. ... n * y . Lafho Mosher B °* nß ,o ,h * Courthouse Square in Warsaw with sack lunches There although he is here at Miller's Me' 'uT' ° C u* Robert Keller will • n,,r,o ' n,n * n *- including dancing and gymnastics, from noon H-wen U-. u_n, nomentol aroducfs here’m Wo *°' RirtMay Residents! • talking about this annual trip for several weeks We are sure if will be tTTo wl? db d . Ono ** *** y ~ r Toconclud *~ r bu ’* bu ' •»“«"»-o" move to Springfield Ohio Floyd there “W«™MHB 8-6-88 °* ° ur °”* ndin 9 ' h « wogon Wheel „k_ii . / V ° "We ~ Playhouse on Aug. 30th. I'm sure you II agree we ll have,plenty of oc «S«WTm I! m livitie. to keep u. all hoppy P Yo ac •nd of tho war, ho returned to Indiana and fiiSSigg a e Z again opened his own business It was located MHNMMM Mil A A ee A wtsereJomoc now has a factory. So you can see AMMSMMNI I.IMt A .AA S Floyd has always been a hard worker SAUOOIKII (IM4 a- - participates in many of the activities MMCMtTMUMO 8-U-17 M programs and outings. He was on escort for BUM «sOO««UUI 8-11-M another resident, Sylvia Shafer, when she en- UAOWSIOMII 8-18-82 IKjfl* w w tered a queen contest last month. He went with MPfFV *’ a group to North Webster to go for a ride on the IMOM Birthday wishes to Ethel "*■ J , illLe Dixie Boat. He loves cords and ploys Euchre McCoy who is 101 yrs. old this faithfully everyday. *- i year She was born 8-7-1886. r .O. BOX 377 As you've noticed, even of 76 years young • WARSAW, IN 46580 Bruce Mehlhop, M.A. Floyd enjoys many different activities and his (219) 267-8196 Administrator personality is always delightful. — . . 4 Provider* Os 24 Hour Profewional Nursing Care
finding arrow heads on the hill behind the clubhouse. They also found birdstones and a few ax heads. I know of a business deal that took place about 70 years ago. One man paid another SSO for a birdstone. What do you support it would bring today? I can remember my grandfather telling about the Indians. He told me that the year he moved to Barbee Lake, the government moved some of the Indians. He could remember a large group of them walking right past the house. He never did know for sure what tribe they were from or where they went.” Through the generations, members of the Kuhn family have earned their living by hunting, fishing, trapping, selling bait, renting boats and cottages. Ed laughed, “My father used to get three cents a pound for fish. He earned enough to build a house for his wife and eight children. I did better. I got 10 cents a pound. Sometimes I’d fish all day for $1 or less or maybe nothing. “We used to depend on rabbits for fresh meat and also for income. Back then, you could hunt rabbit 12 months out of the year. I used to sell them to the meat market at Goshen by the barrel full. For a couple of years during the depression, we used to catch and sell turtles. We could get about 10 cents a pound and they averaged 10-12 pounds each. We just took snappers and got about 100 a week. We also used to gather and sell ginseng and goldenseal to earn money. Goldenseal is good for a sore mouth and it is used in all kinds of medicine. I dried ginseng on racks for a month or so and got about sls a pound. Probably nobody would guess * how much hard work is involved in getting bait,” said Ed. “We raised our own worms. I used to leave before daylight to seine for minnows in creeks and ditches toward the south Twe seemed to be more minnows there. I would try to get home by noon and Lillian would have everything sold in short order. I would start off again after dinner and she would sell everything I could bring home. By the next
morning, we would be out of minnows again. It used to be a fair living. Nowadays, you can’t make much because you have to buy everything from someone else.” Ed stated, “It worked a real hardship in folks around here when the state came in with all the conservation rules. It took food right out of their kids' mouths and money right out of their pockets. There was a lot of well justified resentment. The conservation laws were pretty strictly enforced. More than once a game warden was led a merry chase by an angry citizen who didn’t appreciate the government taking away his source of livelihood.” Rattlesnakes Continuing on, Ed said, “Some of us fellas used to go rattlesnake hunting over around Herron Lake. They are still thick over them. I killed 14 in one day. They would burn off the swamp in the spring and that was when you could get plenty. They wintered in crawdad holes and you could see them sticking their heads out. Sometimes they would be a good three feet underground. I fella I knew claimed he killed over 1,000 one spring. I don’t doubt it. Rattlesnakes and garter snakes would get in the same hole. The rattlesnakes around here are show, not much more than two or three feet long. They can still give you plenty of trouble if you aren’t careful. In the early days, there were a few timber rattles around that would get to be five or six feet long. They’ve been gone for years. “People used to come from everywhere to get water from the flowing well beside road 13 at the Flowing Well Park. They struck water when they were putting in the road. It was a real gusher and put out thousands of gallons of pure cold water. I’ve seen trucks loaded with five-gallon jugs parked there filling up. The well used to flow out of a large pipe, but not any more. It has been nearly ruined by vandalism.” Stories Were True This reporter asked about the often repeated story that movie stars Carol Lombard and Clark Gable spent their honeymoon in a
log cabin on Big Barbee Lake. “It sure is true,” replied Ed. “I used to play with her. She was very pretty even as a little girl only seven or eight years old. Her real name was Carol Peters. Her father, Art Peters, was from Fort Wayne and he owned the log cabin. It is still there down behind the Barbee Hotel on the lakefront. It’s been remodeled and covered with siding. ” Asked about the many-stories of gangsters hiding out around Barbee during prohibition, Ed said, “Oh yes. Every time there was a gang war in Chicago, Al Capone would move into the Barbee Hotel for awhile. I saw him many times. I never talked to him personally but I did talk to some of his body guards once in awhile. I was about 15 or 16 years old at that time. “One day I was at the Jot Em Down store and a very nervous fella was pacing up and dowh as though he was waiting for someone. He came up to me and said he would pay me to take him to Webster. I told him I didn’t have a car but my cousin, Charlie Kuhn, did. In those days, you were glad to earn a $1 any way you could. The man asked Charlie to take him to Weimer’s Park on Lake Webster. At that time, Weimer’s Park was in a rather isolated area with few people around. Before they reached Weimer’s Park, the man insisted Charlie let him out of the car and go back home exactly the same way they had come. Charlie thought it was all rather strange but he did as the man asked. The next day, we saw the man’s picture in the newspaper. It was the notorious gangster Baby Face Nelson. I heard that Dillinger was around the area every now and again but I never saw him.” Ed went on, “The original Barbee Hotel was built by a man named Davidson from Muncie. That muse have been at least 100 years ago or more. The original building burned and was rebuilt. I got my first ride in a Stanley Steamer automobile from a guest at the hotel. Wealthy folks would spend their vacations there. Some of them would move into hotel for the entire summer. My dad used to send me there to buy him a bucket of beer. I think the Jot Em Down store has been around about as long as the hotel. “There was also a place called Anderson’s Club house where the Landing is now and people used to stay there. They came with horse and wagons or the livery came from Warsaw and brought them out.” Ed noted that “bootlegging did go on around the Barbees during prohibition but most of it wasn't made locally It was transported in from other places.”
Lakeland Quilt Club to take part in show
Rita Slankard opened the recent meeting of Lakeland Quilt Club held at the home of Miriam Mason. Roll was called by Jessie Wainscott. Birthday wishes were extended to Roberta Sowers and Mrs. Slankard. Secret pal gifts were distributed. Plans were finalized for the craft bazaar at Barbee Conservation Club on August 8. The lace baby quilt, club' project, will be on display. Proceeds will be donated to a local charity. Ruth Dunker distributed cathedral window quilt squares to members in preparation for an upcoming
It Happened in —
King Arthur's Town
NORTH WEBSTER Community Day Care is sponsoring a large rummage and bake sale. It will be held August 7 and 8 from 9 a m.-5 p.m. at the Lions building, one block west of the stoplight. Donations are welcome and itemized donations are tax deductable. The day care is a non-profit organization and dependent on community support. MR. AND Mrs. LaMont Matthews observed their 50th wedding anniversary August 8 with an open house held from 1-4 p.m. at their North Webster home. —o—
ITEMS ARE still needed for the North Webster Sesquicentennial time capsule. Call Mrs. Calvin Pr kard if yon have something io contribute. CLIFF AND Doris Jamison have just returned to their Barbee Lake home following a two-week vacation trip. They visited with Mr. and Mrs. Robert (Judy) Roose and daughters, Jama and Jennifer, Colorado Springs, Colo. The Roose family is formerly from North Webster. The day Cliff and Doris started home, Jennifer left for a twoweek visit with her aunt, Barbara Jo Jamison, Merced, Calif., formerly of North Webster. DAVE AND Carol Marty will be presenting a message in song entitled “He Touched Them” on August 23 at Epworth Forest. Rev. Herb Buwalda, pastor of College Ave. UMC. Muncie, will be the featured speaker on August 30. Both programs will be in the Epworth Forest Amphitheater starting at 9 a.m. —o— BARBEE DAYS activities are scheduled for August 8. Don’t miss the flotilla, flea, market, crafts bazaar, good food, and fishing contest. Check at Barbee businesses for exact times and the location of each event. AN OPEN house for North Webster Community Day Care is planned for 7 p.m., August 14, in the educational wing at North Webster U-qited Methodist Church. The wiip be presenting/ skits and musical numbers/The public is welcome. — o— AN END-of-summer cookout for junior high youth from North Webster Church of God will be held August 22 at the home of Greg and Sue Hickman. Ken and Elona Adney will host the senior high end-of-summer cookout, also on August 22. —o— THE CAT doesn’t much care for such hot humid weather. He has found a comfortable napping
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club project. > It was announced' that the Lakeland club Will be participating in the Scottsdale Mall Quilt Show being held October 1-4. The Miss Liberty quilt, made by/Carol Gutyan, will be displayed. The Miss Liberty quilt was also displayed at the Topeka Quilt Show held July 27-August 1. Quilt show reports were given by Wilma Plotner, fan quilt shown at the Battle Creek, Mich., balloon show; Ann Beamer, Fort Wayne quilt show, held at the YMCA; Mrs. Slankard, Columbia City quilt show, held July 16 and
spot in front of the air conditioner. Os course, he is careful to position himself so the fan in the air conditioner blows cat hair all over the house. He also doesn’t like electrical storms and hides under the bed until the thunder and lightening stops. This reporter must admit that during the storm we had on August 29, she almost joined him. HAPPY AUGUST birthday to: Phyllis Sheline and Bown Oudomsak, 2; David Searer, 3; Phil Blake, Jodi Freel, and Brian Rose, 4; Kham Phat, Catherine
It happened in North Webster, . .
10 YEARS AGO, AUG. 3,1977 Efficient Homemakers Home Extension Club members met recently in the home of Myra Turner, Enchanted Hills. Refreshments were served by the hostess and Lois Royer. Enrollment dates and office hours have been released for the North Webster elementary school by principal Richard R. Long. The office will be open for the 1977-78 school term on August 15. It will open each week day from 8 a m. until 12 noon and from 1 to 4 p.m until the start of the school. The office will not be open on week ends or Labor Day. Mildred Brady, r 1 Warsaw, was hostess for the July 27 meeting of Tippecanoe Township Hobby Club. Mabel Gee demonstrated how to make decorative hanging fish from colored straw. There were approximately 12 members present for the July 25 meeting of the North Webster Pythian Sisters. A short business session was held with Jeanette Bockman in charge. Rev. and Mrs. Bill Evans, North Webster Church of God, will be leaving North Webster at the end of August. Rev. Evans will undergo special training to learn cement construction work Following his training Rev. and Mrs. Evans will enter the mission field in Mexico and Central America. 20 YEARS AGO. AUG. 2, 1967 Gray Riley and wife Peg, former residents of this area, are spending four weeks visiting relatives here. They are seeing her sisters;, Mrs. Leonard Vanator of r 1 Leesburg and Mrs. Bessie Mock, of Warsaw, besides nieces and nephews. The Rileys once owned the Barbee hotel before selling it to John Ball. At one time they operated the Grill and Skillet in North Webster.
17; Marianne Watson, quilt display at Union Station, Indianapolis. Upcoming quilt shows were discussed. They are the Red Bud Quilt Guild show at Anderson on October 9 and 10 and Quilts ’B7’ show on October 5-7 at Marion College, Indianapolis. Mrs. Plotner displayed a child’s teddy bear quilt with the name “Sandra” spelled in baby blocks. Mrs. Mason showed a brown, miniature heart quilt and a blue, rose and natural attic window pattern quilt. Elinore Bates
Bause, and Russell Eugene Johnson, 5; Becky Boyer, Norma Sliger, Frank Wall, Heather Waldrop, and Amy Barton, 6; Sandy Harris, Audrey Stuart, Marian Signorelli, Dorothy Snoke, and Sandy Shanahan, 7; Cathy Miller, Paula Miller, and Joe Ray, 8; Shelly Harris, Dorothy Gregory, and Herb Searer, 10; Ida Hart, Donald Searer, and Thanh Tran, 12; Rachel Jones and Betty Fry, 13; Elsie Stiener, 14; Steve Unruh, IS; David Coy and Warren Mock, 16; Jill Baker and Jeff Strombeck, 17; Janie Wright, 18; Michael Ferverda and Darrin Atwood, 19; Clar Brodrick, Deloris
Their home is in California where they manage a motel. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Bowser and children are taking a vaca—tion this week by camping. They will see Expo ’67 on their trip. Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lantz had as guests last week end. her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wisner of Polo, 111. Lori Lantz accompanied her grandparents home for a visit. Kathy Bockman of Grand Rapids. Mich., was the guest of her cousin. Sue Roose, last week. During the month of July. Virgil Roose of Ontario. Calif., was a guest of his son. Robert Roose, and family. Little Jeff Bransford of Indianapolis has been with his grandparents, the Paul Bransfords, over last week end. His parents, the Jim Bransfords, were house hunting in Buchanan, Mich., where Jim will be teaching this fall. Mrs. Winona Turpin and baby daughter Michell of New York are guests of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Neth, at their lake home. Also, guests are a brother-in-law and sister of Mrs. Neth, Mr. and Mrs. B. J. Mundy, of Evansville. 30 YEARS AGO, AUG. 8.1957 Mr. and Mrs. Chester Lawrence of Mansfield Ohio
RECEIVES SPECIAL ACADEMIC ACHIEV EMENT — Michele M. Leffler, daughter of Carmen Leffler and the late Leßoy C. Leffler, r 3, Syracuse, has graduated from Pittsburgh Computer School of Technology and earned certification in computer business science. She maintained a perfect 4.0 average and was awarded a plaque for special academic achievement. She is shown receiving her plaque from a Pittsburgh CST official. While at Computer Tech, Leffler was also a member of the Com-, puter Club. She is a 1986 graduate of Wawasee High School. TRINITY LUTHERAN (Missouri Synod) 4th & Martin In Ligonier Invites You To Worship Sunday Church 9 A.M. Bible Classes 10:30 A.M.
s*‘*quicentennial 18371987
showed a stamped quilt top in the Baltimore Bride pattern. The quilt will be finished as a club project. Mrs. Wainscott displayed two quilted pillows and a bunny tote bag. Kathleen Naegley showed a rooster tote bag, quilted pillows, and a quilted album cover. A carry-in supper and ice cream party with husbands as invited guests is scheduled for August 24 at the home of Mrs. Slankard. The August 10 meeting will be held at the home of Mrs. Mason.
Weyier, Velma Niles, Kim Zurcher, and May Grodrian, 20; Paul Baugher, Eric Conkling, Amber Zirkle, and Naomi Stout, 21; Bus Likens, 23; Gary Joe Tom, 24; Mary Hall, 25; Bill Crane and Jeannie McNabb, 26; Dixie Likens, Jacob Baker, Jane Shepherd, and Jennifer Fouts, 27; Ron Boyer, Janet Richcreek, and Misty Minnick, 28; Wanda Mickley, Jeremy Young, and Sue Davis, 29; Troy Reiff, Don Buhrt, and David Johnson, 30; and Gladys Culver, 31. ■■ J // TILL NEXT week . .
spent last week visiting her mother, Mrs. Bertha Likens. Mrs. Mabel Kistler and children of Bippus spent last week at the home of Mrs. Rachel Morehead while Rev. Kistler attended conference at Oakwood Park on Wawasee Lake. Mrs. Bertha Likens returned home last Sunday evening after saying several weeks at the home of her sister, Mrs. Kircher, of Defiance. Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Halsey and family of Albion spent Sunday afternoon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ormel Kline. The Church of God will not have their regular Sunday services on 11 August due to the camp meeting at Yellow Creek Lake. Mrs. Bertha Likens. Mrs. Chester Lawrence. Mrs. Josiah Kline. Mrs. Orva Miller and daughter. Mrs. Joe Barrett and sons, and Mrs Richard Kistler and children enjoyed a picnic dinner Thursday at the home of Mrs. Rachel Morehead. Mrs. David Krall and children of Columbia City called in the afternoon. Homer Shoop and Les Dodson, of North Webster, competed in the first rounds of the 37th annual St. Joe Valley tennis tournament last week end and both advanced to the quarter-finals in the menJs division.