You Could Look It Up

In 1941 James Thurber wrote an amusing short story called "You Could Look It Up," in which a three-foot tall adult was a pinch-hitter in a baseball game, just so he could be "walked" (because the pitcher couldn't fathom the strike zone in someone so diminuitive).  This ploy was actually used in 1951 by the St. Louis Browns, with Eddie Gaedel, at 3 feet, 7 inches, going to bat (once in his major league career) against the Detroit Tigers.

There are many such curious historical tidbits lost to conventional histories.  Ripley's Believe It or Not has been a long-standing staple because of readers' appetites for the obscure, unusual, and peculiar.  Indiana has its own version of Ripley's in Indiana's Believe It or Not, by Fred D. Cavinder (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990).  Interestingly, the book was republished under the title Amazing Tales From Indiana (1990), prompting me to suspect that Ripley's may have threatened a lawsuit (or perhaps filed one) for trademark infringement.  Whatever the title, the book is a gem of Hoosier historical minutiae.  Its success brought forth a sequel, More Amazing Tales from Indiana (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003), in which Cavinder delighted readers with more surprising historical facts that people probably didn't learn when studying Indiana history in the third or fourth grades.

Cavinder, who was an Indianapolis Star reporter for over three decades and editor of the Star Magazine for 16 years, handles the stories deftly with an entertaining and engaging prose.  Each story is short and sweet (most are less than a page in length), and the scope and variety will easily hold your attention.

Let's test your knowledge of obscure Hoosier history:

• Which Indiana county has the highest elevation?

I once lived there, so I know the answer, as will many of my readers.  But, in case you haven't had time to search the Internet for the answer, Cavinder tells us:  Randolph County, from or near which originate many Hoosier streams and rivers.

• (Almost) President John W. Davis

Dr. John W. Davis, of Carlisle, Sullivan County, Indiana, was a compromise candidate at the 1852 Democratic national convention.  He lost to Franklin Pierce by a single vote.  Pierce, as the Democratic candidate, won the election and became the country's 14th president.  It could just as easily have been Davis, which would have given Indiana a second holder of that prestigious office (Benjamin Harrison was the Hoosier state's sole American president; William Henry Harrison, his grandfather, was from Virginia).

• Where (and when) could you find magnetic water in Indiana?

If you had lived during the 1870s, you might have visited Jim Bailey's homestead near Plymouth, Indiana.  His water well produced an estimated 500 gallons a minute, and metallic objects became magnetized when placed into the water.  A compass needle would be affected if held within two feet of a bucket of Bailey's "attractive water."

• Whose grave was in the center of a Hoosier highway?

Nancy Barnett, who settled with husband William in Johnson County, Indiana, around 1821, lived on three acres of land near Sugar Creek.  When she passed, she was buried, pursuant to her last wishes, overlooking the creek.  As the decades passed, highway construction forced removal of the cemetery's graves--except for Nancy's.  Descendants of Nancy Barnett fought governmental projects for many years, and Cavinder included a photograph in the 1990 edition of his book showing Nancy's grave, complete with an official state historical marker, sitting in the middle of County Road 400 South (what was once Hill's Camp Road).  The road separates into two tracks to accommodate the interment.

Cavinder delights readers with dozens of similar historical tales.  If you are interested in Hoosier history and enjoy the offbeat and peculiar, then look for Cavinder's books (the ones mentioned above, plus many, many others about Indiana) at your public or school library.

The End of a Landmark (1881-1989)

On the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville, Indiana, which was the site of Samuel Moore's general store (1824-1869), was built the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) building (1869-1881).  Destroyed by fire in 1881, it was rapidly replaced by the second I.O.O.F. Building, which housed a variety of businesses and organizations over nearly a century, including the I.O.O.F. Morgan Lodge #211 (1869-1960s), Pleas Mills Dry Goods (1890s-1930s), Kroger Grocery (1940s), and Tompkins Jewelry (1950s).  The building's upper storeys were demolished in 1964, then Citizens Bank built its current structure and parking lots (in 1965-1966), but a portion of the first floor was salvaged and continued to host businesses until 1989, when the last of the second I.O.O.F. Building fell to demolition.

Thanks to Jack Broyer, we have photographs of I.O.O.F. Building #2's last day.  (All photos are dated April, 1989).

Warren Insurance was the final occupant of the remnant of the second I.O.O.F. Building.  The remaining structure was demolished in April, 1989.

A front end loader/backhoe brings down the last vestiges of I.O.O.F. Building #2.  Notice the businesses (in April 1989) across North Indiana Street in downtown Mooresville

Citizens Bank was (and still is) located immediately north of the demolished structure (on North Indiana Street in downtown Mooresville)

Note the dedication stone commemorating Samuel Moore's general store, which was the first wood-frame business in Mooresville and was situated at this location (1824-1859).  The stone remains at the site, which today is Hadley mini-park.

A surprisingly tall pile of rubble left by the demolished one-story remnant of the second I.O.O.F. Building



Looking south toward East Main Street in downtown Mooresville.  The building visible across the street was constructed in the 1890s by George W. Bass and was home to Citizens Bank from 1931 to 1966.

The MPL Indiana Room has some digitized materials (click the article below to enlarge) that summarize some of the history of the site.

To learn more about the history of Mooresville's I.O.O.F. chapter (Morgan Lodge #211, organized July 7, 1859), read pages 92-93 of  A Brief History of Mooresville, Indiana, 1824-1974, by Clara Sellars Richardson.

1949 Soup Box Derby Competition in Downtown Mooresville, Indiana (UPDATED)

The Library recently received a donation of an undated photograph of a Soup Box Derby competition, which was held in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  (SOUP box?  Isn't it called "Soap Box Derby"?  Not this one--I'll explain presently.)  When and where did this event occur?  There are several suggestive clues in the photo.  Can you see them?

Undated Photograph Purported to be Downtown Mooresville, Indiana



A comparison to a more current photograph (see below) of downtown Mooresville enables us to positively identify the buildings in the picture above to be the south side of East Main Street, in downtown Mooresville.  So location is definitely nailed down; but what about time period?

The spectators' clothing and hairstyles are suggestive of the 1940s, although a small town such as Mooresville would have seen similar styles well into the late 1950s and early 1960s.  The businesses occupying various downtown buildings, all of which still stand today, are a solid method of establishing date ranges.  Knowing, for example, that, during the 1940s, Voelz & Son Market was located in the Jake Mann-constructed building shown in the photo is extremely helpful.  Mooresville Homes & Auto Supply was nearby Voelz during the late 1940s and into the 1950s.  So we may narrow our date range between, say, 1947 and 1952.

Fortunately, the MPL Indiana Room Collection has approximately 2,500 vertical files detailing local, county, and state history.  These files were assembled over the Library's 100 year history (and earlier, from information saved by thoughtful residents who later donated them to the Library).  The librarian most responsible for compiling and safeguarding these rare, irreplaceable historical materials was Wanda Potts, MPL Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), who was Assistant Director during the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Helping Wanda amass this historical gold mine were MPL Director Bonita Marley (1961-1984), her assistant, Myrtle Keller (1960s-1970s), and current MPL volunteer Beth Hensley.

Among our vertical files is one captioned "Soap Box Derby (Mooresville)," which includes a packet of undated photographs that include a smaller print of the photo above.  Happily, the packet is marked "1949 Soap Box Derby" (yes, the file tab and photo packet both say "soap box derby," but that's a mistake, as we will see shortly), and newspaper clippings from 1949-1950 reprinted some of these pictures contained in the packet.

Thanks to the resourcefulness of Wanda Potts and her colleagues, we may definitively date the donation photo above to the 1949 Soup Box Derby race.  We know from the newspaper clippings (Mooresville Times, July 7, 1949) that Bud Beasley, who drove the Gibbs Regal Store car, won the Class A Division.  (Gibbs Regal was a local grocery store at the time.)  The Class B Division title was captured by Larry Laudig.  Ray House, who was the timer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was the official starter for the Derby.  Beasley edged Laudig for the grand championship title.

Compare the 1949 photo above with a more recent picture (May 8, 2008) of the same section of downtown Mooresville (below).

A Portion of the South Side of East Main Street,

Downtown Mooresville, Indiana (May 8, 2008)

Soup or Soap?  Another Mystery


The Mooresville Times over the years used both "soap" and "soup" in articles about the races.  It was referred to as the "Soup Box Derby" in the July 7, 1949 edition.  The local newspaper referred to both the 1949 and 1950 races as "soup box derby" events (Mooresville Times, July 27, 1950).   Local reporters mentioned the "1953 Soup Box Derby" in a newspaper article (Mooresville Times, Aug. 6, 1953).

The 1934, 1935, and 1965 races, however, were identified as "Soap Box Derby" contests.  (Mooresville Times,  Aug. 6, 1934; Aug. 22, 1935; July 22, 1965).  So what's the difference?

Thanks to alert reader Larry Laudig, who won the 1949 Class B Division Title and was runnerup that year for the grand championship title, we know who "put the soup" in the derby racers.  As Mr. Laudig mentioned in our comments section, in 1949 Mooresville was running a local race that was not affiliated with the National Soap Box Derby competition.  The name was presumably trademarked, and so Mooresville officials changed their local event to the Soup Box Derby.  It is a catchy title, if you think about "souped up" (i.e., fast-running) cars.  "Souped up" was certainly a commonly used expression in the vernacular of the time period.

Based upon the newspaper accounts from 1950 and 1953, the races held during those years must also have been unaffiliated with the National Soap Box Derby, and so explains the name differential.

Careful reading of the newspaper clippings cited above also reveals why the 1934-1935 and 1965 races were called "Soap Box Derby."  The 8/6/1934 Times story stated that "Raymond Kerns, living about 3-1/2 miles southwest of Mooresville in the Bethseda neighborhood, won the Indianapolis All American Soap Box Derby."  The 7/22/1965 Times column said that Mark Marksbary, then a Mooresville High School sophomore, won the 28th annual Bloomington Soap Box Derby and competed in the national races.  One may presume that these events, held in Indianapolis and Bloomington, were affiliated with the national Soap Box Derby organization and therefore were permitted to use the "official" soap box derby name.

Many thanks to Mr. Laudig for alerting us to this important distinction!  We appreciate receiving first-hand knowledge of historical events, which we can then trace through the secondary source historical materials available at Mooresville Public Library (in the Indiana Room Collection) to assure that correct details are provided.

Samuel, Meet Samuel

Recently, our Library's Youth Services Department conducted our annual chick hatching experiment, about which you may have read in our hatching chicks blog.  A record number of chicks hatched this year, and each hatchling received its own special name.  One chick was called Samuel, after Samuel Moore, the founder of Mooresville, Indiana.  (You may read more about founder Samuel in past postings on this blog.  Use the search line in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.)

Recently, Suzanne Walker, M.L.S., MPL Youth Services Librarian and Head of the YS Department, posted an update about Samuel (the chick).  In one of the photos, Samuel (again, the chick) held himself with great dignity and self-assurance.  Along with the white feathers under his chin and on his chest, the picture reminded me of Samuel Moore's photograph in our Indiana Room Collection, in terms of posture and dignified manner.  Compare for yourself.

Samuel (the founder) had a sense of humor, despite the seriousness of his expression in the photograph, so I think he would have been amused at the similarities with Samuel (the chick).