Monday, April 12, 2010

Old Waverly Road Covered Bridge ... Then ... and Now









Photos 1-5: Then... Old Red Covered Bridge Across East Fork of White Lick Creek on the Waverly Road.

First Photo: Around 1910 photographer J. P. Calvert captured a horse and buggy making its way across the old red covered bridge spanning the East Fork of White Lick Creek, heading northwest into Mooresville. The Mooresville cemetery appears in the background on the right.

Second Photo: In 1911 the M. L. Photo Company photographed the old red covered bridge looking east toward Day's Hill, which was named after Richard and Hannah Day, who homesteaded the land upon which the house in the background is situated. The bridge was located on the Waverly Road, which is now State Road 144.

Third Photo: J. P. Calvert captured the flooding resulting from heavy rains that fell on March 25, 1913. The Waverly Road is nearly impassable, and the water almost reaches the bottom of the old red covered bridge.

Fourth & Fifth Photos: “Old Red Bridge” across the East Fork of White Lick Creek (circa 1910-1920). The bridge was a popular "diving platform" for swimmers looking for relief from the summer heat.

Sixth & Seventh Photos: Now... Bridge Across East Fork of White Lick Creek on East High Street, Near State Road 67 and State Road 144 Intersection (October 2007)

East High Street Bridge spans the East Fork of White Lick Creek, entering Mooresville. The modern High Street bridge is northwest of the intersection of State Road 67 and State Road 144 on East High Street. The view in Photo #7 is toward the Mooresville cemetery, which is obscured by trees (slightly to the right of center in this picture). The creek meanders much as it did a century ago.

Looking east across the bridge in Photo #6, one sees a Wendy's restaurant close to where Day's Hill (and homestead) once stood. The hill was bulldozed, and the dirt was removed to fill the lowland adjacent to the East Fork of White Lick Creek, where the M & I Bank and Casey's General Store now stand, on the southwesterly side of State Road 144.




PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS:

A RECOMMENDED "READ!"
  • Stuttgen, Joanne Raetz, & Tomak, Curtis, Morgan County pp. 50-51 (Postcard History Series) (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007)(ISBN 0-7385-5120-1). All black and white photographs appearing on this page were used in this book and are reprinted by permission.
  • J. P. Calvert, Red Covered Bridge over East Fork of White Lick Creek, looking toward Day's Hill, outside Mooresville, 1911 (photo furnished courtesy of the Academy of Hoosier Heritage, Mooresville, IN).
  • J. P. Calvert, Red Covered Bridge over East Fork of White Lick Creek, looking toward Mooresville, circa 1910 (photo furnished courtesy of Dianna Atkins).
  • J. P. Calvert, Red Covered Bridge over East Fork of White Lick Creek, looking southwest, during 1913 flood (photo furnished courtesy of Joe Seiter).
  • "Now" color photographs of modern bridge across East Fork of White Lick Creek on High Street, Mooresville, taken by William R. Buckley, October, 2007.
Copyright © 2008 by the Mooresville Public Library. All Rights Reserved. Photographs reprinted by permission.


Saturday, April 10, 2010

2010 Student Calendar Art Project Videos (MPL Virtual Art Gallery) (Remaining Installments)

Here are the remaining installments of the MPL 2010 Student Calendar Art Project/MPL Virtual Art Gallery. These videos showcase the original artwork of Ms. Holly Uselman's art students from North Madison Elementary School in Camby, Indiana; Mrs. Nora Carroll's 3rd grade students from Newby Elementary School, Mooresville, Indiana; and Rachel Ferguson, grade three, home school division.







We hope you enjoy these and the other two videos that comprise the 2010 Student Calendar Art Project/MPL Virtual Art Gallery.

Friday, April 9, 2010

2010 Student Calendar Art Project Videos (MPL Virtual Art Gallery) (2nd Installment)

Here is the second installment of the MPL 2010 Student Calendar Art Project/MPL Virtual Art Gallery. This video showcases the original artwork of Mr. Scott Freeman's fourth grade students from Waverly Elementary School in Waverly, Indiana.



2010 Student Calendar Art Project Videos (MPL Virtual Art Gallery) (1st Installment)

In November, 2009, Mooresville Public Library invited third- and fourth-grade students from the Mooresville, Indiana area (enrolled in Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation elementary schools, local private schools, or home-schoolers) to create original artwork to be used in a series of 2011 calendars. The theme was local history (i.e., the towns of Mooresville, Waverly, and Camby, Indiana, and the surrounding Northeastern Morgan County area).

Students from three elementary schools (Newby, Waverly, and North Madison), as well as one home-schooler, responded, and their artwork has been compiled into five calendars and five "local history" videos that we have entitled the MPL Virtual Art Gallery.

Here is the first of the five videos, this one showcasing Newby Elementary School's third graders' wonderful artwork (from Mrs. Nora Carroll's class). We hope you enjoy it.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston--Famous Hoosier Composer, Mooresville Pastor





Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston
Pastor, Mooresville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(1934-1937)

Born:  September 12, 1871, Orange (Fayette County), Indiana
Died:  November 14, 1959, Jacksonville, Florida; Buried in Glencove Cemetery, Knightstown, Indiana

Mooresville Moments #8
(Click above to play video)
 
(See this digitized handout for a summary of this blog post.)
 
Rev. Dr. Frank C. Huston was the son of Thomas M. & Mary E. (Harris) Huston. His sister, Eva, was born in 1871. Frank attended Fayette County schools and graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. In 1899 he became an evangelistic singer for Charles Reign Scoville, a famous evangelist. From Florida to Nova Scotia Frank sang in 180 evangelistic campaigns over 19 years. In 1894 he married Bertha Martin. In 1915, he was ordained a minister in the Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis.

Frank was internationally known as a composer of hymns, gospel, ballads, popular songs, patriotic tunes, and dance songs (foxtrots, one-steps, and waltzes). His first “successful” hymn, We Shall Gather ‘Round the Throne, was published in 1898. In the early years of the 20th century, Frank founded his own music publishing company in Indianapolis and New York. He published hundreds of songs, many of which were his own compositions. His most famous hymn, It Pays to Serve Jesus (1909), is still performed today. He also wrote nostalgic songs about Indiana, including My Indiana Home (1917) and We’re From Indiana (1928). He collected his gospel works in Selected Sac­red Songs (Jack­son­ville, Fla.: Frank C. Hus­ton, 1937).

On Jan. 14, 1934, Frank Huston became pastor of Mooresville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a post he held through 1937. His salary was $11.75/week. “The ‘normal’ salary was $10/week, but because Bro. Huston lived in Knightstown and drove to Mooresville for choir practice on Thursday nights and again on Sundays for services, he was allowed an extra $1.75 per week.” [FN-1] In 1935 he wrote Mooresville, a nostalgic song praising its hometown values. [The lyrics of the song are appended]. Although no published version appears to exist, his sister copied his original handwritten musical score and donated it to the Library, a facsimile of which has faded with time. The Mooresville Times twice published Frank’s lyrics (June 11, 1936 & June 24, 1937), each time slightly altering the words from the original.

Mooresville
Music & Lyrics By
Rev. Dr. Frank C. Huston
Pastor, Mooresville Christian Church (1934-1937)
Nationally-renowned composer

(First Verse)
You may sing of your cities of great renown;
There are some that are wondrously fair,
But I’ll sing a song of my own little town,
With which there are none to compare.
My town may not boast of her millionaires,
Its buildings may not be so tall,
But if you are thoughtful you’re sure to agree,
Its folks make a town, after all.

(Refrain)
Mooresville, Mooresville,
You are the theme of my song,
Mooresville, Mooresville,
You’re the place where I belong.
Oh, there are others much larger I know,
But, none so dear as old Mooresville, and so
I’ll sing your praises wherever I go,
You’re my home town.

(Second Verse)
It’s a beautiful city, is my home town,
With its welcoming streets everywhere,
The charm of her homes, is a proverb well known,
For culture and beauty are there.
Where each takes a pride in his own home town,
There’s little but good may befall,
But still I insist when you’re judging a town,
Its folks make a town, after all.

(Repeat Refrain)

Copyright © 1935 by Frank C. Huston. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission.



[FN-1] First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Mooresville, Indiana. Mooresville, Ind. : First Christian Church, 1988; p. 13. MPL Call No. I 277.977 FIR.

___________________________

We also have a digitized handout about Dr. Huston, as well as a slideshow and an entry on our "Famous Mooresvillians" blog post.  Learn more about the First Christian Church from this historical "flashcard," as well as the church's published history, available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.