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Newsboy a Witness to Wave of Terror in Monroe County

Blog post by Rod Spaw Tales of the H-T: stories taken from or inspired by the archives of The Herald-Times at the Monroe County History Center. For more than 40 years, the limestone sculpture of a newsboy has graced a corner of the yard at the home of Chris Kohler and Sherry Rouse in Monroe

The PCB Display at the Public Library Didn’t Go As Planned…

Blog post by Rod Spaw Tales of the H-T: Stories taken from or inspired by the Herald-Times archive at the Monroe County History Center. A display intended to inform the public about an environmental hazard had unintended consequences for the Monroe County Public Library and its patrons in the summer of 1984. The issue was

Frontier Feud Played Out in “Post” Ads

by Rose McIlveen March 8 1988 Despite the august presence of the Indiana Seminary in Bloomington in the 1830s the town exhibited some of the rough characteristics of the frontier. One of the earliest cases on the court docket here was typical of the many slander and “affray” disputes. Seth Goodwin had been charged in 1818

Tales of the H-T: The One That Got Away

Stories taken from or inspired by the H-T Archives at the Monroe County History Center By Rod Spaw John Terhune can tell you a thing or two about The One that Got Away, but his is no fish story. It is a tale of the elusive moment, and what it takes to capture history, turning

Smithville Saloon Gets Rude Treatment

“Looking Back” by Rose McIlveen March 28, 1987 Monday, August 29, 1898, was not a run-of-the-mill kind of day in Smithville. That was when the locals awoke to discover that in the near future, at least, they would have father to go to to “wet their whistles.” Chirped the Bloomington Courier, “The people of Smithville have a

Neighborhood Stores Were Full of Charm

Looking Back by Herbert H. Skirvin 8/8/81 Three cheers for the old fashioned country stores, like those once existing in and around Bloomington! They were enshrined in Americana years ago, but a few real-life survivors can still be found in some of the nation’s out-of-the-way spots. Then, too, there are the replicas, fascinating the vintage

Barter Once Common Substitution for Money

Looking Back by Rose McIlveen April 1981 Monroe Countians who are used to making regular stops at the drive-in-windows of their banks probably didn’t realize that their ancestors had to swap goods and services to get their necessities. In 1833, Mrs. Cornelius Perring, wife of the principal of the Young Women’s Seminary, wrote to a

Local Man Lost on Titanic

Looking Back article by Rose McIlveen Apr 21 1984 One of the more ostentatious tombstones in Rose Hill Cemetery bears the name of J.B. Crafton. The impressive monument – made of two colors of granite with ornamental carving – is, in reality, only a memorial to the man. He isn’t buried beside there or anywhere

Some Hunting Experiences Hard To “Bear”

“Looking Back” article by Rose McIlveen 6/25/83 Bear hunting was a challenge engaged in by the earliest Monroe County settlers for practical rather than sporting reasons. Before the supply wagons carrying goods for sale began to find their way to the county, settlers were obliged to live on a combination of the corn they could

High School Closing Blow to Stinesville

“Looking Back” by Rose McIlveen Aug 10 1986 The heart of any community the size of Stinesville was traditionally found in its high school. It was the social center of the town, and residents rallied around the basketball team – called the Quarry Lads – through good seasons and bad. In 1963 the schools in

First Fairs Exhibit Different, Emphasis Same – Promoting Farm Life

By Rose H. McIlVeen 7/31/82 “An act for the encouragement of agriculture” was approved by the Indiana Legislature in February 1835. According to to The History of the Counties of Morgan, Monroe and Brown, Indiana, the following June a meeting was held in Bloomington for the purpose of organizing a local agricultural society. Participants in the public

Streets Were Named to Honor Local Veterans

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

Ellettsville Was Almost Logan

Looking Back by Ruth L. Huff May 19, 1984 In 1890 the residents of Ellettsville were in an uproar because the Monon railroad was trying to change the name of their village to Logan. The exact reason for the change was unclear. Perhaps the railroad preferred the shorter name in order to facilitate their record

Wet or Dry? Alcoholic Beverages Stirred a Controversy in Early 1900s

This is part of a continued series of Looking Back articles from the Herald Times written throughout the 1980s depicting earlier life in Monroe County By Rose McIlveen Oct 2, 1983 “We must soon again confront a controversy that will array friends against each other, cause dissension in the churches, and bitter strife among our

‘If You Thought ’78 Was Bad…’

By Rose McIlveen Jan 7, 1984 Say “blizzard” to a Monroe Countian who was around 66 years ago, and you probably hear – with embellishments – a first-hand account of the blizzard of 1918. It wasn’t exactly one of the better aspects of the “good ole days.” The facts – as reported in the Weekly