Phyllis Kobyljanec, "Two Teachers Joined to Start.," South Central Topics, Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Courier-Tribune, December 7, 1970, p. 1. NOTE: The information noted below was abstracted by Randi Richardson from a photocopy of the original article that was accompanied by a photograph of the owners. In 1946, Betty Rowen and Jean Hopewell opened the Betty Jean Shop at 116 East Sixth Street in Bloomington where they sold candy, greeting cards and gifts. After five years, the store was moved to100 West Sixth Street, and in 1958 the size of the store doubled after the ladies acquired the Stardust and Chamber of Commerce office.

Tim Hodenfield, "New County Library Open Two Months Now," South Central Topics, Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Courier-Tribune, December 7, 1970, p. 1. NOTE: The information noted below was abstracted by Randi Richardson from a photocopy of the original article. During its second month of operation, the new public library at Kirkwood and Lincoln experienced increased patronage. It is expected that the influx of people will level off some as they become more familiar with the library.

Rose McIlveen, "Smithville Saloon Gets Rude Treatment," Bloomington (IN) Herald Telephone, October 27, 2000, Smithville Vertical File, Monroe County Public Library, Bloomington, Indiana. NOTE: The information noted below was abstractd by Randi Richardson from a photocopy of the original article. In the summer of 1898, James May established a saloon in Smithville. Two months later, on Monday, August 29, the building and its contents were intentionally destroyed at 1:30 AM by a group numbering ten or 12. There was speculation that the destruction was prompted by the general feeling that a saloon was not wanted in Smithville.

David Horne, "Town to Restore Doctor's Office, Bloomington Herald (IN) Telephone, October 27, 2000, Smithville Vertical File, Monroe County Public Library, Bloomington, Indiana. NOTE: The information noted below was abstracted by Randi Richardson from a photocopy of the original article. NOTE: This article was accompanied by two pictures of the cottage. Dr. George Mitchell was a well-known general practitioner in Smithville for many years before his death in 1969. His office was a white, clapboard cottage beside Strain Ridge Road. In 1999, John Deckard, the building's then owner, offered the cottage to the Smithville Area Association as a gift. Members of the community donated the equipment and labor to move the cottage to its new location at Smithville Park where it has been restored and is open to the public by appointment or on special occasions.

Bill Pittman, "Old Smithville School Recycled into New Use," Indianapolis News, December 19, 1980, Smithville Vertical File, Monroe County Public Library, Bloomington, Indiana. NOTE: The information noted below was abstracted by Randi Richardson from a photocopy of the original article. In 1972, with the graduation of the last senior class, Smithville High School closed for good. A few years later, in 1976, the Smithville Elementary School closed as well with many students reassigned to the new Lakeview School. For two the next two years, the building sat empty while the MCCSC searched for a buyer. When the Department of Housing and Urban Development received a substantial grant, they purchased the building and made needed repairs. When the grant money ran out, the building was deeded to the county commissioners. Options available to the county commissioners were few: either locate a community organization to maintain and operate the building or raze it. Not long afterward, the Smithville Community Activities Council leased the buildings for a dollar a year. The grounds on which the school sat, about 20 acres, was leased separately to the Little League for a number of years at an undisclosed amount. With the purchase of the school and gymnasium, the site has been retained as a community center.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Star Courier, April 24, 1953, p. 5B. NOTE: The item below was abbreviated from the original as noted by the ellipsis. The original article is accompanied by one photograph of the church. According to the 1940 Bloomington City Directory, Rev. Moses M. Porter and his wife, Georgia E., resided at 509 W. 8th Street. Porter's occupation was noted as pastor of the Second Baptist Church. I do not find his burial noted in Monroe County (IN) cemetery indices. SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF BLOOMINGTON TRACES HISTORY BACK TO HOME MEETING IN YEAR 1872 The Second Baptist Church is one of Bloomington's older community churches with the first meetings of the congregation dating back to 1872. Long before the first formal church building was erected, the members met in various homes. The first minister of the group is remembered as the Rev. Clay. The ministers who constituted the council that organized the Second Baptist Church on March 23, 1872, included: Phillip Siscoe, William Singleton, William Lyon, and John Ghan.Early ministers included: Rev. J. E. Rogers; Rev. Henry C. Reed; M. C. Elzy; Rev. M. M. Porter. The Rev. Porter came to Bloomington from Mitchell in 1907 and remained for 17 (sic) years until his death in November of last year. He was a native of Selma, Alabama. The first church building was a frame structure at the northeast corner of Eighth and Rogers streets. It served as the house of worship until 1943 when the present stone structure was erected at the southwest corner of Rogers and Eighth. This building was made possible by the untiring efforts of the Rev. Porter who also contributed some of his own funds to the construction of the $40,000 edifice. The congregation later repaid him and built a parsonage near the church at 509 West Eighth Street. Mrs. Porter, widow of the minister, still resides in the parsonage. Among the early and more recent names on the church register are: John Morris, William Duerson, Charles Booth, Macy O'Deal, Virgil Lomax, Lyman Brown, George Morton, Dwight Ghan, George Martin, Milton Johnson, Commodore Terrell, Dwight Ghan, Macey O'Deal, William Lewis, Peter Gray, Milton Morris, Mac McCoy, Warfield Alexander, Harrison Thomas, George Erwin, William Arnold, Anthony Johnson, Edward Thomas, Anderson Ghan, Jordan Freeman, Frank Jackson, Charles Dunham, Mrs. Jennie Johnson, Mrs. Anna Hafford, John Chandler, Marcus Herrin, Ida Burnet, Susie Tinsley, Mrs. Nora Ford, Albert Fearmin, Lizzie Lewis, Lora Thomas, Mary Knight, Henry Reed, Sallie Hufford, Julius Hawes, William Wayne, Nancy Clasby, Susie Chandler, Lulu Gordon, Peter Gray, Milton Morris, Levi Tinsley, Andrew Henson, Thomas Duerson, Thomas Rosie Alexander, Josephine Stone. Several months before the death of Rev. Porter, the ministering of the congregation was taken over by young Marvin Chandler, native of Bloomington and son of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Chandler of 1223 West Eleventh Street. Chandler attended Banneker School, Bloomington High School and Franklin College. He is now a student at Indiana University. He became an ordained minister in April 1952. The Rev. Chandler is married to the former Miss Portia Thomas of this city. They have two children, Suzanne and Jolene. They make their home at 919 West Eighth Street.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Star Courier, April 17, 1953, p. 5B. NOTE: The item below was abbreviated from the original as noted by the ellipsis. The original article is accompanied by one photograph of the church. GOSPORT NAZARENE CHURCH, FOUNDED IN 1951,CONTINUES STEADY GROWTH UNDER REV. SCISCOE The Gosport Nazarene Church, one of the new congregations in this area, was founded February 25, 1951, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ace Brown. District Superintendent Leo C. Davis helped organize the church with fourteen charter members. After the church was organized, there was a tent meeting held on the lot where the church now stands. The Rev. Roy Bettcher was the evangelist. The Rev. Clyde E. Sciscoe was appointed pastor of the church the day it was organized and has served since. After the organization of the church, the group continued to worship in the tent for some time after the tent revival. Then the services were continued in the homes of Mrs. Maude Brown, Mr. and Mrs. George Swafford and Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Raymond. Just one year and one week from the time of the organization meeting, the congregation moved into the new church for the first service. The church is built of glazed tile and stone. There is a balcony, beautiful art glass windows, hardwood floors, arch over the pulpit platform. It has four Sunday school rooms in addition to the main auditorium. The church has an automatic gas furnace system. The average attendance is about 48. Present membership of the congregation is 27. Future plans of the congregation include the building of a parsonage on the same lot where the church now stands.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Star Courier, April 10, 1953, p. 5B. NOTE: The item below was abbreviated from the original as noted by the ellipsis. The original article is accompanied by one photograph of the church and parsonage. SUNDAY SCHOOL, REMODEING SHOW GROWTH OF HARRODSBURG ASSEMBLY OF GOD, FOUNDED 1933 The Assembly of God Church was founded in Harrodsburg in December 1933. The first meetings were held in the church that was rented from the Presbyterian Church and later purchased by the Assembly of God. Some of the early members were James Roberts, Rodney Edwards, Homer Perry, Walter Swango, Dora O'Neal, Charles Haggard, Ethel Robertson, Hershel Fox, Laura Daub, Vernie Kelley and their families. Some of these are deceased, some have moved away, and others are still active in the church. When the church was organized, there were approximately thirty members. These worshipers met together for some time before the church was officially set in order. Today the active membership is about fifty. The Sunday school was developed after the church was set in order and has grown to a yearly average attendance of 130 per Sunday. In 1939 a parsonage was added to the church property. It was built beside the church, as shown in the accompanying picture, under the leadership of the Rev. F. E. McDonald. Materials came from a house purchased in Bedford, torn down and transported to Harrodsburg. The present minister, the Rev. Fred O. Rice, is a native of Mishawaka, and a son of a minister in the Assembly of God.He came to Harrodsburg in July 1951. The Rev. and Mrs. Rice have two sons, ages two and four.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Telephone, October 25, 1912, p. 4. EARL KOONTZ, BEATEN BY TOUGHS, HAS NARROW ESCAPE Earl Koontz, a former resident of this city, a grandson of Mrs. Isaac Eller, West 5th Street, and a nephew of Wylie Koontz the mail carrier, was the victim of an assault at Indianapolis which may result in his death. Koontz, who is only 19 years of age, owns a bicycle repair shop at 445 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, was closing his shop shortly before ten o'clock Friday evening. He was locking the door when two men grabbed him and assaulted him unmercifully. He was beaten about the head and face and a deep wound was inflicted in the abdomen. While he was bleeding and unconscious, the two men threw Koontz into the repair room of the shop and left him, probably thinking he was dead or dying. At five o'clock the next morning, young Koontz was able to drag himself into a nearby saloon and ask the barkeeper to give him aid. He was very weak from the loss of blood and was suffering a great deal of pain. The young man was taken to the city hospital and his condition found to be very serious. What motive prompted the assault is not known. Koontz claims he knows no dangerous enemies and reports nothing taken from his pockets. The Indianapolis police and detectives are working on the mystery. It is said the chances are against Koontz's recovery.

In searching for something else in the Monroe County (IN) abstract books compiled by Louden, I came across the land transaction associated with the purchase of the Smithville Red Men Hall. According to the abstract book, George and Mary Gaither and others sold to K of P & Red Men-Smithville, for $600, all of Lot 9 in Smithville. Source citation was Monroe County (IN) Deed Book 54, p. 221. Although I failed to note the date of the transaction, I think it was 1906.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 13, 1925, p. 1. COMMENT The announcement is made in The Telephone today that the Consolidated Stone company, which is one of the largest and oldest of the Oolitic stone belt, will develop a new quarry in Bloomington district, having purchased the Borland farm west of Clear Creek for a consideration of $46,000. The Consolidated sought the finest stone in the district for its new quarry and believes it has some 40 acres of the very best "buff"-of which the new Citizens Loan & Trust company building is an example-on the Borland land. There is a growing demand for this buff stone over the United States which the quarries hereabouts can hardly fill. This buff stone is found in no other section. The Consolidated expansion is the Bloomington belt is far more than just another quarry. It is a definite gesture which tells more explicitly than can be told in words that the big expansion in the stone district can be expected in the Bloomington belt. In the past two years all of the new quarries which have been developed have been in Monroe county. Now comes the Consolidated company with its big quarries and mills at Dark Hollow and Bedford and selects a Monroe county site for its new quarry. From this quarry the Consolidated expects to take stone which cannot be excelled-a buff which is beautiful for the eye and easily worked. From Stinseville on the north to Victor on the south new quarries of this fine buff stone have recently been opened. The "blue" stone does not have the same market value of the buff, and it is easy to see that the quarries of the future will be located where the core drills tell a story of buff stone. Stone operators generally agree on two points: First, the stone industry is just really getting under way and the big development is still to come and, second, the development of the industry will be largely in Monroe county. When a new sky scraper or public building is to go up now-a-days Oolitic stone is always considered as one of the possible materials and in more instances each year it is considered the one practical material for a modern building. In many cities over the country the name of "Bedford" stone is used rather than Oolitic, and more and more it is coming to pass that Bedford stone comes from Bloomington. If the name of "Bedford" takes the glory to another city Bloomington must be satisfied with the profits. All of which means that Bloomington must grow to keep up with its stone belt, as it must also grow to keep apace with the great educational institution located here. Every few weeks The Telephone relates the story of another new mill or quarry going up in or near the city. The fact of the matter is Bloomington cannot keep from growing. It just can't help it when year by year its industries an [sic] educational institutions grow and expand in mushroom fashion. Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 13, 1925, p. 1. BORLAND FARM A QUARRY SITE The Consolidated Company to Expand in the Bloomington District After Extensive Core-Drilling Two-Mile Switch From Clear Creek-Stone Will Be Taken Out in the Spring An important stone trade was closed yesterday afternoon and this deed will give the Bloomington district a new stone quarry and stone mill. The deal was the purchase of the James Borland farm, two miles northwest of Clear Creek, by the Consolidated Stone company, which is recognized as the largest stone outfit in the Bloomington and Bedford districts. The Consolidated company, it is said, paid $46,000 for the Borland farm of 217 acres, of which some 40 acres is stone land. Stripping operations will begin at once for the new quarry and it is expected that by March the regular work of quarrying can start. A two-mile switch from Clear Creek to the new quarry will be laid down and will be ready when the first stone is taken out. The Consolidated company expects to get out a very fine grade of stone from this new quarry. The land was core-drilled in 20 places before the purchase was made and the "cres" show the stone to be the whitest of buff-the stone which is in greatest demand over the country. This is the second quarry to be opened up in this immediate neighborhood. Harry Johnson recently opened a quarry on the Ferry farm which is just south of the Borland farm, and has already taken out some very fine buff stone. The Consolidated company opened the new quarry for the purpose of supplying the growing demand for stone. The Consolidated is now operating a large quarry mill in the Hunter Valley district, a quarry and a mill at Dark Hollow, near Bedford, and two of the largest cutting plants of the district at Bedford. The Consolidated company has been producing two million feet of stone a year, and this output will be increased. A.E. Dickinson, president of the Consolidated company, was in Bloomington yesterday and closed the details of the purchase of the Borland farm. Other officers of the Consolidated are: W. H. Wilson, first vice-president; D. H. Johnson, vice-president; and E. N. Welsh, secretary-treasurer. The purchase of the Borland farm by the Consolidated company is another indication of the tendency of the big companies to make their expansion in the Bloomington rather than in the Bedford end of the district. Stone men inform The Telephone that from now on the big development will all be in the Bloomington district. The Oolitic stone belt starts at Stinesville and ends at Bedford, and the great bulk of the undeveloped stone is in Monroe county. Through Monroe county the stone belt is from 6 to 8 miles wide and there is practically an unlimited amount of both the buff and blue stone. The stone resources of Monroe county have hardly been scratched as yet expert stone men assert to The Telephone. Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 12, 1925, p. 6. NEPHEW IS AUTO VICTIM Mr. and Mrs. Walter Robertson on east 7th street, were shocked to receive news Saturday from Indianapolis that Richard, the 12-year-old son of their nephew, Mr. & Mrs. Warren Bird had been killed by an auto. The little fellow died at St. Vincent's hospital during the afternoon about an hour after he was knocked from his bicycle by an automobile near Broadway, having suffered a fractured skull. The driver of the car was William Gill, 38 years old, who was slated on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after the boy's death. Witnesses told police that Gill was driving slowly and stopped within a few feet after he struck the boy. The boy was a pupil at public school No. 45, and a Boy Scout. Besides his parents, a sister, Jane Bird, survives. Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 12, 1925, p. 6. CIRCUIT COURT Claude Hawkins, the store keeper in Board View Park, who was accidently shot by a gun which fell from a truck he was driving, has so much improved that yesterday the Day ambulance took him from the hospital to his home.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 12, 1925, p. 6. CIRCUIT COURT The case now on trial in circuit court is to break the will of Mrs. Malissa Stephenson in which Mrs. Wm. Sears is to benefit by about $10,000. The other heirs seek to set aside the will alleging undue influence. Jesse B. Fields is attorney for the will and Judge Wilson represents the heirs-in-law on the other side.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 10, 1925, p. 1. SOON BE HOME "I am coming home by Wednesday" is the word Postmaster Graham sends from West Baden, where he is in the hospital. Dr. Dowden says it may be later-but any how Mr. Graham will soon be home.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 12, 1925, p. 1. TAKES TRIP TO FLORIDA AND IS NOW BACK AT OLD WORK This is the Tale of "Cap" Hays, of His Bus Line Here, His Quest For the Golden Opportunity, His Battles With the Mosquitos And the the [sic] Mirage He Saw and Followed Back to Bloomington. Bloomington people generally have noticed in the last few days that the city bus line which hauls passengers over a regular route inside the city limits was again in service after an absence from the streets of many weeks. This bus line is operated by the genial "Cap" Hays, who is one of the original bus men in this part of the state. The disappearance and the re-appearance of "Cap" Hays and the city bus line is an interesting story-with a moral attached. The city bus line suddenly dropped out of sight from Bloomington a few months ago. One day local people were riding the bus line, and the next day the bus line had disappeared from the streets. It became known that "Cap" had taken his bus business down to Florida to seek his fortune among the millionaires and would-be millionaires. Then a few days ago the same bus line was unexpectedly announced in operation again, running the same old route with "Cap" directing operations. To his friends Cap Hays relates the story of his quest for fortune in the south and his return north. The reason for Cap's return north is short and convincing: "I couldn't find a better town for the bus business," he asserts. Hays and his wife drove to Florida in a big passenger bus. Hays sought a location for a bus line and had no other thought but what he would find many waiting with golden opportunities. He thought it might be hard to make a choice from among so many so good. In his bus he visited Miami and various other boom towns, little and big, and he found things far different from Indiana, and not so good for the bus business. There was a great amount of auto traffic both in and out of Florida, but Cap couldn't find a place where a bus line would fit in. At Louderedale [sic] he was invited by the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce to start in business but Cap couldn't see a great amount of bus traffic in sight. About the only place the folks seemed to go was down to the beach in their bathing suits and then home again. At other places much the same situation appeared to exist. A great number of northerners in Fords were always on hand but they rode in their own cars and hoarded the nickels. They were not bus riding but busy looking for a place to live or seeking jobs or ice or drinking water-and fighting mosquitoes. About as many people appeared to be going out of the state as came in and it was no uncommon sight to see the homeward bound creeping north without any tires on their cars. While he sought a location Cap also fought the lusty native mosquito-which is the common fate in Florida of man, woman and child. At Miami the mosquitoes were not so bad, but at all the smaller places the mosquito battle raged constantly. While enroute across Florida Cap fought his greatest battles with the aggressive mosquito. In great numbers the pests invaded the big bus, and constantly flying at a level of 6 inches from the floor they sought to devour all human ankles encountered. A passenger in the bus avoided battle as much as possible by sitting with his feet under him. Cap piloting the car, had to keep his feet on the pedals. He finally met the situation by wrapping his ankles in Turkish towels. There are some things that even gold cannot replace, and one of these is the absence of mosquitoes. Cap sought his golden opportunity up and down Florida among the ever-present mosquitoes until there finally rode with him a mirage-one of those optical atmospheric illusions which lost souls encounter in the desert. The mirage of Cap's was always the same-off in the distance he could see the hard streets of Bloomington, Indiana, with people hurrying in all directors on all kinds of business and other people on each street corner waiting for a bus and not a single one of all these people in a bathing suit. It was a pleasant and inspiring mirage and caused many hard and hot hours to seem not over 120 minutes long. One evening while Cap was watching this mirage with one eye and the road with the other a high flying army of mosquitoes concentrated their efforts on his face and neck. It was too much. Cap yielded to the mirage and the next morning turned the nose of his bus north. He paused only for the necessities of life and traveled until the mirage of Bloomington turned into Bloomington itself-and the next morning the city bus line was again in operation in Bloomington. And the moral of this tale is: THERE MAY BE A BETTER TOWN THAN BLOOMINGTON BUT BLOOMINGTON IS SATISFACTORY. Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 10, 1925, p. 1. SNODDY WINS IN FLORIDA Ed Snoddy on south Walnut street, is a winner in Florida. He bought a lot for $2,375 in Hollywood about 2 years ago and now he has a $12,000 offer for it. Mr. Snoddy bought more for a location than an investment and came back north, and in the meantime the boom overtook the Everglade state and frequent offers have been made for the property-a little more every time. Soon Mr. Snoddy will go south and his idea is to make a trade soon after his arrival. Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 10, 1925, p. 1. FATHER M. H. BOGEMANN $7,000 LIFE INSURANCE Father M. H. Bogemann, the well known Catholic Priest, whose death occurred recently, had $7,000 life insurance, which went to different members of the family.

Bloomington (Monroe County, Indiana) Daily Telephone, October 10, 1925, p. 1. NO PLAN NOW FOR NEW SCHOOL Trustee Walter Duncan of Van Buren township, states to The Telephone that reports to the effect that Van Buren may build a consolidated school are very premature. Mr. Duncan says that the matter has been given little consideration as yet and that the cost of any consolidate [sic] school is the big problem. He places the cost of a building at the very least as between $50,000 and $60,000. This is a large expenditure and it would be considered necessary by the officials to have the firm support of the taxpayers generally before starting any such expenditure. "We all agree," remarked Trustee Duncan, "that a consolidation school is a good thing but Van Buren township is not committed to the project at this time." Constance T. Shotts, Ed.D., CG(SM) CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations by the Board and the board name is a trademark registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.