Spring Cleaning 1928

Spring cleaning is an annual task that has been with us for generations. Have you ever taken any pictures of your spring cleaning? We are fortunate to have a glimpse into the Terry family life in 1928, as seen in this photo.On the photo was written:

"1928. Spring cleaning. Clayton with the help from Lowell, Leslie & Mary Florence."

This image is from a family scrapbook loaned by Walter Terry; the pages were scanned by the library (August 2011). The scrapbook contains more than 600 photographs; 141 images were added to this database (series: 20110815). Most photographs are from Montgomery County, near Whitesville. A photocopy of the scrapbook is available in CDPL Local History, if you want to see it!

The children are outside of Home Place, on a rug. Clayton Terry (standing) holds a broom. Lowell Terry and Leslie Terry (kneeling) beat the rug with wire tools.Mary Florence Terry sits on the rug, seemingly amused by her brothers. 

Who was John Remley?

 

Are you interested in knowing about one of the county's first settlers -- who walked here from Ohio in 1825 to settle? If so, come to the 2nd floor of the Crawfordsville District Public Library to check out our new display. Find out all about John Remley and his numerous descendants. Take a look at the Remley family Bible, along with the walking stick Remley used on the way here...and much more. We protect your heritage and want to share it with you!

Do you remember this school?

Do you remember this school?
We have been gathering some older pictures of local schools for a display, and have chosen some nice scenes to share. Until recent years, Crawfordsville has been able to support many schools, and if you have been a resident of this town, you certainly remember the old ones...and the "new" ones. In the 1960s, many of the schools were rebuilt after the original building was demolished (such as Willson and Mills). Some schools had no predecessor, however, such as the one shown here. Do you remember it? It has been recently re-modeled -- but you may be able to recognize it even if you didn't attend this version! This school is Hose (Laura G. Hose Elementary school, still at 800 Fairview Avenue).

Getting ready for Arbor Day...1957!

Here is an image published in the Journal Review on April 17, 1957.

Do you recognize the location? If not, read on!

Committee members for the Flower Lovers' Club look on as Robert McClarren (librarian) turns over the last spadeful of earth around a Norway maple tree presented to the Crawfordsville Public Library by the club, in celebration of Arbor Day, April 19.

Reading left to right: Mrs. Julian Carter, Mrs. F.V. Howell, Mr. McClarren, librarian, Mrs. Leslie Widener, chairman of the committee, and Mrs. D. C. Graham, president of the club.

Where was this taken? Guess!

 

Can you figure out where this was taken (on April 6, 1911)?

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This photograph was taken at the corner of Main St. and Water St. at the laying of the marble cornerstone for the Ben-Hur Building. The ceremony was attended by a large group of delegates of the fraternal organization, gathered from across the country. The original Supreme Tribe of Ben-Hur building can be seen on the opposite corner near the middle of the photograph. This photograph of the event was discovered placed behind a framed artwork in Tennessee by Delores Fleming. This photograph was originally the property of Doris Carney, whose husband's grandfather, Wright B. Carney, can be seen holding the Tennessee sign in the right third of the photograph.

An ex-president in Crawfordsville?

Ex-president William Howard Taft (1909-1913) on April 5, 1918, with John C. Snyder, president of the chamber of commerce and, later, president of the Ben Hur Life Association, in front of Snyder's home at 201 Wallace Avenue.

Why did an ex-president come to Crawfordsville? If you want to know, you can find the answer in Hidden History of Montgomery County by Jodie Steelman Wilson, Emily Griffin, and Rebecca McDole (the author of the chapter "Campaigning in Crawfordsville," which has the answer to the question). This book is available for loan or for purchase at the library!

Image loaned to CDPL by John Kummings and Mary Kummings for digitization.

By the way, this house still exists and sits proudly on the corner of Pike and Wallace.

Montgomery County Library, 1827

This ledger, stored in the CDPL archives, gives us an inside view of the Montgomery County Library – in 1827! The fee for an annual membership at that time was was 75 cents, and members included Benjamin Ristine and Isaac C. Elston,  founder of Elston Bank, who bought the site of Lafayette, Indiana, for $240 in 1825 with his business partners. The detail page shows I. C. Elston was charged a fifty-cent fine in 1827 for “an injury to book.”   Another line of the ledger (not shown) for 1828 shows a subscriber by the name of John Beard, for whom the local school was named. Sanford Cox’s diary listed the local residents circa 1825, and several of these listed library subscribers had arrived in the county before 1825: the Cox, McCullough, and Catterlin families.