Looking Back article by Rose H. McIlveen July 14, 1984 Two of Bloomington’s streets were named for military veterans, who served in different wars. Grimes Lane is named for Major Silas Grimes, the youngest of 13 children whose parents settled in Clear Creek Township in 1816. He was born on the family’s 160-acre farm and
Turkey Story Turns Out To Be a Real “Tail” of Woe by Herbert Skirvin Jan 8, 1983 Every time I sit down to a holiday feast, I think of Harry A. Axtell, Monroe County’s turkey king of long ago. I also recall a narrow escape I had from a vicious gobbler, bent on committing mayhem. As
By Grace Donahue The Murder Trial for Mrs. Gladys Holder began on September 21, 1925. Holder was pleading not guilty, claiming that the gun went off in an “accidental matter.” The case against her seemed tough- she shot Daniel Arwine “Reckless” Honeycutt Jr., and Honeycutt died. The court went through a particularly dramatic trial, as
Blog post by Grace Donahue On May 20, 1925, local auto mechanic and wrestler, Daniel Arwine “Reckless” Honeycutt Jr. was murdered. And the cause? A simple dispute over a car. Honeycutt Jr. had gone to the home of William Holder, whom he had recently sold a car to. Only Holder had not been keeping up
Blog by Rod Spaw In Drawer 3, Unit N of Hallway Storage on the third floor of the Monroe County History Center is a scarred and scuffed piece of bamboo measuring 9 ¼ inches long by 1 ¼ inches in diameter. If not for the paper label glued to it, the hollow tube might be
Blog post by Rod Spaw Viewing events through a political or ideological lens did not start with the internet, Fox News or MSNBC. It was not uncommon, in fact, for newspapers throughout much of U.S. history to rely on political patronage for their success. Even when the advertising model of business took over in the
Blog by Rod Spaw Author Theodore Dreiser had not seen Bloomington in 25 years when he arrived on Aug. 26, 1915. It was his 44th birthday, and the writer of “Sister Carrie” and other novels was on a two-week tour of his native Indiana by automobile. His means of conveyance was a brand new, 60-horsepower Pathfinder
Blog post by Randi Richardson Nancy Streets wasn’t just an ordinary somebody. Her father was a dentist in South Bend and she attended South Bend schools along with her two older brothers. Following her graduation, she enrolled as a freshman at IU-Bloomington and joined a sorority. In 1958, as a beautiful sophomore majoring in Speech
Blog post by Randi Richardson On a moonlit night, under a star-studded sky, a melancholy, young man sat on the spooning wall situated on the south side of campus along Third Street. It was late summer before the students returned to campus for the fall semester of 1927. All was quiet as he pondered his
Blog post by Randi Richardson Mention the name Boxman around Bloomington today and most people will conjure up an image and, perhaps, a memory of Player’s Pub on South Walnut, a dilapidated property the owner would like to raze against the wishes of the Bloomington Historical Preservation Commission. Many people from Monroe County have either
