In the Painter's Shoes (Paul Hadley Paintings), Part Four

As a member of the Mooresville Nature Club, Paul Hadley created original artwork for the group's printed program covers.  These small watercolors were called medallions and are some of the rarest of Hadley's work.  We have several on display at the library, thanks to our anonymous patron.  Click the images below to enlarge them.

Mooresville Nature Club "Medallions"

(for covers of the group's printed programs)

by Paul Hadley

Here is a brief history (written for the 60th anniversary, 1983) of the Mooresville Nature Club by Myrtle Keller, longtime member, as well as a librarian at Mooresville Public Library during the 1960s and 1970s.  The club was established in 1923 under the leadership of Alma Worrell Miles.  There were initially 26 founding members.

Myrtle Keller (at steering wheel) going to the Old Settlers Picnic (1919)

Bonita Marley and Myrtle Keller (right)

at the library's 51st anniversary celebration

May 7, 1967

We have a few items in the library's Indiana Room vertical files about this organization.

 Mooresville Nature Club celebrates its 25th anniversary

(October 1948)

(from the MPL Indiana Room vertical files)

 Mooresville Nature Club 50th Anniversary program cover (1973)

  Mooresville Nature Club 50th Anniversary program (1973)

Newspaper clipping about the Mooresville Nature Club

(Mooresville Times, May 5, 1977)

Our next installment will consider another Hadley watercolor and the probable location of its setting.

Solid Returns For Your Tax Investment (Then & Now)

The minutes of MPL Board of Trustees meetings provide a wealth of information about month-to-month issues facing the Library over the past century.  These meetings are open to the public, and, accordingly, the minutes are public records.  So we can snoop around a bit and discover some interesting details about the Library’s history.

Consider an entry from January 4, 1974.  Librarian and MPL Director Bonita Marley gave the Board a year-end report for 1973, and the Board voted on salary schedules for the Library staff.  These were:

• Bonita Marley:                   $525/month
• Wanda Potts:                      $395/month
• Myrtle Keller:                     $145/month
• Children’s Librarian:          $1.60/hour
• Pages:                                 85 cents to $1 per hour, depending upon experience
• Custodian:                          $100/month

Wanda, you may recall, was Assistant Director/Indiana Room Librarian.  Myrtle was Head of Circulation.  There was a separate youth services librarian, four teenaged pages, and a custodian.

What were salaries for 1975?

• Bonita Marley:                     $6,900/year
• Wanda Potts:                        $5,160/year
• Myrtle Keller:                        $1,980/year
• Mattie Lundy:                        $1,257.80/year
• Cindy Breedlove:                  $2.10/hour
• Cindy Johnson:                     $2/hour
• Bonnie Hamilton:                  $2/hour
• Debby Kouns:                       $2/hour
• Andrea Tucker:                     $2/hour

Mattie was the custodian.  Cindy Breedlove was the “assistant children’s director,” and Cindy J., Bonnie, Debby and Andrea were pages (Mooresville High School students).

Nobody could accuse library employees of getting rich.

You may know some of these folks, as several still live in Indiana, and many have family still living in Morgan County or vicinity.  Each was hard-working, dedicated to the Library and its patrons, and committed to providing quality public service.  When one considers how little they earned, even for the mid-1970s, their dedication leaps off the page (or screen, since this blog is on the Internet).

Salaries have risen since those days over 35 years ago, but they remain considerably beneath what similarly skilled workers command in the private sector (or in federal or even some state or local governmental positions).  That means Library staff are making sacrifices in earning potential, the impact of which is clearly felt at home among their families.  Consider the value and quality of library employees’ services to the public in the taxing district.  Citizens of Mooresville and Brown Township have long received an excellent return for their tax dollars allocated to MPL.  Remember, too, that the Library’s legions of volunteers receive no compensation for their many contributions.  That’s another, even greater value for tax dollars invested in the Library.

Minutiae in MPL Board Minutes Means a Historical Feast

We continue perusing the MPL Board of Trustees meeting minutes through the  mid-1970s to see what historical gems we might discover.

Mildred Forbes, MPL Board Secretary during the time in question, reported (July 1, 1974) that the Library’s summer story times were to be linked to the Old Settlers Picnic/Festival, and local historical bus tours were slated.  These tours were particularly popular and informative, given that Mooresville’s Historian, Wanda Potts, furnished a rich, lively narrative of local history and lore.  (Wanda was MPL Assistant Director and Indiana Room Librarian.)  Community artist and teacher Helen Cook provided watercolor painting classes, and craft classes began on July 5.  Summer reading ended in August, as it usually does still.

Take a look at the MPL online calendar, or click the various hyperlinks in this (and other) paragraphs, to see if you recognize any of the modern counterparts to these popular programs.  Since 2006 the Library has conducted downtown walking and bus driving tours of historic Mooresville sites.  Janet Buckley offers basket-weaving classes.  MPL Early Literacy Specialist Jaymi Edwards offers reading programs to preschoolers.  The Library has a booth annually at Old Settlers.  Summer reading remains huge at MPL, as it is at most public libraries.  (See last year's blog posting about the Library's summer reading launch party.)

It was at this same Board meeting (July 1, 1974) that the Library decided, as a public taxing unit, it was subject to the federal minimum wage laws, and, accordingly, the pay scales of the Library’s teenage pages were raised to $1.90/hour as a starting base.  Similarly, Myrtle Keller’s salary was increased to $150/month to comply with minimum wage requirements.  Myrtle worked four days per week as Head of Circulation.

In a previous blog posting, we examined the Library’s early conversations about facility expansion.  A careful reading of the Board minutes (January 6, 1975) disclosed that “discussion on [a] new addition to the Library was tabled until a later meeting" (emphasis added).  This is the earliest record in the Board minutes indicating that new construction was being considered.  Perhaps anticipating the need for fundraising and financial planning for a new addition (or even an entirely new building), the Library created its Board of Finance (January 20, 1975) pursuant to Indiana Acts of 1937.

By early 1975, newspaper storage had outgrown available space, and temporary solutions were introduced until more shelving could be secured.  A February 1978 photo from the Mooresville Times showed that shelf space scarcity was a continuing challenge to Library staff.  Additional shelving throughout the Library was ordered in September 1975, which eased shelf overcrowding for serials and monographs (i.e., magazines and books).  This afforded some breathing space (about three years’ worth) for Library collections.  To save money during 1975, the Library secured new books through gifts twice as often as it purchased them.  It was a donation campaign that garnered huge support from many town residents.

Library shelf space becomes a scarcity by February, 1978,

despite multiple augmentations of shelving

The Board minutes throughout the past century are filled with basic wear-and-tear expenditures—replacing furnaces and other fixtures, worn-out furniture, and structural components—which makes for less than riveting reading.  Still, such minutiae is significant to understanding the Library’s daily operations and conditions.

The 1980s are looming in the Library’s history, at least as far as this blog is concerned, but there are still many fascinating facts to be gleaned from the late 1970s Board minutes.  We’ll consider more of these next time.

You Are Welcome Here, Always

I met Mrs. Bonita Marley, MPL Director and Librarian, on a Saturday morning in June, 1978.  I was visiting my college girlfriend, a Mooresville native (who lives there still).  She wanted to show me the local library, where she had spent many pleasant childhood hours.

The Library was a fine Carnegie structure.  Such libraries were quite distinctive.  I was surprised that a town the size of Mooresville had such a sizable library.

We walked up the front stairs through the library entrance.  My girlfriend began giving me the grand tour, when an older lady approached us.  "Welcome back," she said to my girlfriend, whom she seemed to recognize.  "I see you've brought a friend," she added, turning to me.  "I'm Bonita Marley," she said.  "Welcome to our library.  May I help you find anything?"

I explained that I was from out-of-town and that my girlfriend was showing me around.  I was a  stranger to Mooresville, and I was pleasantly subsumed in the small town charm of the place.  "I'm glad you dropped by to see us," Mrs. Marley said, with such genuine warmth and kindness that I was immediately put at ease.  "I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have."

Merely reading my recounting of our conversation, 34 years after the fact, you probably won't appreciate just how pleasant, friendly, and inviting Mrs. Marley was that day.  She honestly cared that a total stranger was visiting her library, perhaps only once, which was true--I was never inside the MPL Carnegie Library again--and she wanted me to know that it was her pleasure to have me there.  You would have had to have heard her voice to know this, but it was no feigned "customer service" spiel.  She was accustomed to greeting everybody who entered the library this way.  Mrs. Marley was truly glad to see them there.

Bonita Marley, MPL Librarian & Director (1961-1984)

Mrs. Marley became MPL Director in 1961.  She began her 23-year tenure at the Library's helm by overseeing an extensive renovation of the facilities.  The front entrance, which had two stairways approaching from each side to the front doors, was changed to be a single staircase straight from the doors to the sidewalk (compare the photos below; click images to enlarge).  This was more welcoming--an architectural invitation to enter the library--which Mrs. Marley would surely have favored.  A new heating and air conditioning system was installed, and the basement kitchen was enlarged.  The Library was being modernized to create a public institution attractive to the growing youth population.

MPL Carnegie Library (1916)

(Note Entance Stairs to Sides)

MPL Carnegie Library (ca. 1963)

(Note Single Stairway Entrance)

This youthful appeal was particularly evident in the converting of the basement auditorium into the Pioneer Room, which was a full-time "young people's library" area.  MPL was one of the first Hoosier public libraries to designate a particular section devoted to young adults as their special library gathering place.

Youth services programs greatly expanded under Mrs. Marley's tutelage.  Year-round story times were scheduled for various children's age groups.  Many other youth and adult programs were established, which included such staples as summer reading, arts & crafts, and movies.  There were substantial increases in collection acquisitions, and a steady stream of new patrons was welcomed aboard during the 1960s.  By 1969, the Library's collections totalled 14,500 items.

Bonita Marley holds the India (short for Indiana) Likely Scrapbook,

one of the Library's local history treasures (undated photo)

Myrtle Keller, MPL Assistant Director, Bonita Marley, MPL Director,

and  Babs Sandefur, Page, showcase summer reading options (1970)

Mrs. Marley was cognizant that adults, too, needed to be enticed to come calling upon the Library.  She dramatically increased both fiction and nonfiction holdings in the adult collections.  She also felt that MPL should become the bastion of local history for Mooresville and the surrounding communities.  The Library had a long history of preserving local historical materials, but Mrs. Marley made this a priority.  So, in 1966, she hired the best possible person for the job.

MPL Director Bonita Marley and Assistant Director Wanda Potts (Feb. 1978 photo)

Wanda Potts became MPL Indiana Room Librarian (and an MPL Assistant Director) in 1966.  Both Wanda (born in 1921) and Bonita (born in 1906) were Mooresville natives and lifelong residents.  (Well, Mrs. Potts now lives in west Indianapolis, but that's a minor detail to this story.)  They knew as much local history as any two living persons, and they were directly responsible for the quality and breadth of the Library's Indiana Room collections that we enjoy today.  Had it not been for these two librarians, you would not now be reading this blog.  Their historical preservation efforts flow through my fingers as I'm typing.  As is true for all of the MPL librarians over the past 100 years, our century of public service is encapsulated in Bonita and Wanda.  They WERE the flesh-and-bone embodiment of the Library's goals and aspirations.  Our Library would not exist as we know it today without their tireless dedication to excellence and service.

Henry Conduitt House (1911).  Appearing in the picture, from left to right, are:

Florence (Shephard) Conduitt, age 33; Maude (Gray) Kenworthy, age 15;

Bonita (Conduitt) Marley, age 5; and Henry Conduitt, age 67.

Click here to read more about Wanda Potts.  Below are some biographical highlights about Bonita Marley.  Click the image below to enlarge.

As I sit in the MPL Indiana Room, wearing Wanda's mantle as MPL's local historian, I am amazed, daunted, and mystified that I, of all people, should have been entrusted with this great responsibility.  But I am thrilled by the challenges, and the prospect of serving the Library's patrons brings me to work knowing that another day of sheer fun awaits.  I am blessed to have a job that is more play than work.  Who would have thought, way back in the Summer of 1978, when I briefly toured the MPL Carnegie Library, that the future would one day reward me so well?

Of this much, I am certain.  My girlfriend who took me to the Library said she planned to become a librarian because of her joyous adventures at MPL exploring books galore, but, also, because of Mrs. Marley.  She (my girlfriend, then; my wife, now) has been an honored member of the profession for over a quarter century.  I would hope that, if Mrs. Marley's spirit were to walk through the front entrance of our Library today, she would be pleased to see that "young fellow" from 1978, a little greyer in the hair and much more stout, working at "her" Library.  I hope she would be pleased by the way in which I serve our patrons.  I'm sure that she would, once again, welcome me back where I belong.

2017 Mooresville Old Settlers Festival

This year's Old Settlers Festival will be held August 6-8, 2017 at Pioneer Park, which is located at 1101 Indianapolis Road in Mooresville, Indiana. Mooresville Public Library (MPL) will have a table in the non-profit organizations tent area.

As always, click the images to enlarge.

Old Settlers Festival

(Photo courtesy of Visit Morgan County Indiana)

The festival opens with the Old Settlers Parade through downtown Mooresville. The route begins at Mooresville High School and runs south along North Indiana Street, then turns east onto East Main Street to Samuel Moore Parkway.  MPL will have a float in the parade again this year (click here to see our previous floats).

2016 MPL Old Settlers Parade Float

Learn more about the history of the Old Settlers Picnic from our previous blog post and the following video.

History of Old Settlers Picnic (1870-Present),

by Mooresville Public Library

(MPL Treasure Trove Video #6)

Drop by our table, if you have a chance.

1919 Mooresville's "Ford Gals"

Heading to Old Settlers

Myrtle Keller (1895-1997), shown at the steering wheel in the 1919 photo above, served at various times as clerk, assistant librarian, and circulation director at Mooresville Public Library during the 1960s and 1970s, and she was on the library board of trustees during the 1980s. We've blogged about her many times before.

Watching the Old Settlers Parade (1970s)

(Allison's Amoco is in the background)

along South Indiana Street just north

of the High Street intersection

Mooresville High School Band performing in

the Old Settlers Parade (1970s)

Old Settlers rocking chair winners (for being

the oldest Mooresville residents) (1970)

A New Library Building (1987-1988)

MPL's collections had steadily grown from an initial 1,143 items (1916) to 8,400 items (1937) to 14,500 items (1969) to over 32,000 items (1988).  That last figure certainly justified construction of a new building (1987) within which to house so many materials for public use.

 

In September, 1986, the MPL Board of Trustees began to garner support to fund construction of a new library building.  Almost 500 local property owners signed a petition supporting a $700,000 bond issue.  Land at Monroe and Harrison Streets was rezoned from residential to commercial, and architect Robert Porter presented revised plans on September 30, 1986.

Martinsville Daily Reporter, Thursday, September 11, 1986, pp. 1, 11

 

On February 24, 1987, final blueprints for the new library building were reviewed by the MPL Board of Trustees.  Construction bids were opened in March, 1987, with contracts awarded in April, 1987.  Total cost was estimated at $1,000,000.

Indianapolis News, Tuesday, February 3, 1987, p. 7

Sadly, MPL director Sharon Beatrice resigned (effective August 1, 1987) at the MPL Board of Trustees' June 1, 1987 meeting.  Ms. Beatrice moved to Arizona to work as a librarian on a Native American Reservation.

 

 Martinsville Daily Reporter, Tuesday, June 2, 1987, p. 5

 

Indianapolis News

Monday, June 15, 1987

 

 

In late spring, 1987, the MPL Board of Trustees, along with several key community figures, broke ground at what would become the new Mooresville Public Library at 220 West Harrison Street.  Click each image to enlarge.

Groundbreaking at the New MPL Construction Site (Late Spring, 1987)

L to R:  Harry Vogel, Norman Connell, Ross Darnell, Carolyn Lindley,

Ron Yates, Miriam Mills, Nina Langley, and "little David Langley"

(as written on the back of the photograph)

Groundbreaking Crew 2 (Late Spring, 1987)

L to R:  [unnamed contractor? from Jungclaus-Campbell], Lavelle Prescott,

Myrtle Keller, Jack Forbes, Steve Edwards, and Bob Porter [architect]

(as written on the back of the photograph)

In May/June, 1987, bulldozing began on the new Library site.  In 2005, when an addition to the 1988 Library was built, the Jessup house (far left, black-and-white photo below) was razed, but doors and cabinets from the home were salvaged and incorporated into the shelving and entry of the MPL Indiana Room, which is appurtenant to the MPL Courtyard (added in 2009).

The 1988 Library seen from approximately the

same angle as the 1987 construction photo above

(Note the white house--the Jessup house--

to the far left in the black-and-white photo)

The new Library building was 12,000 square feet (or three times larger than the MPL Carnegie structure).  Project cost was approximately $800,000.  The land on West Harrison Street was the Library Board's top choice, according to Harry Vogel, a Library Board Trustee at the time.  The 1988 building provided accessibility for disabled patrons and a community meeting room for special programs. Along with the usual areas for children and adults, the 1988 Library also included the Indiana History Room, which was furnished with refinished antique furniture from MPL Carnegie.  Mooresville Savings Bank subsequently purchased and renovated the Carnegie building, which later became First Indiana Bank.

MPL's new home had a long-standing local history.  The land had once been the site of the interurban railway car barns (1902-1930).  Thereafter, Smitherman Hatcheries (1951-1970) occupied the locale, until Miller's Merry Manor, a retirement care facility, was constructed in the 1970s, adjacent to which was built the new Library (1987-1988).

Historic Marker of the Mooresville Interurban

(across from MPL and Miller's)

T.H.I.&E. Interurban Car Barns

West Harrison Street in Mooresville

(1917)

Smitherman Hatcheries (1968)

Located on West Harrison Street at the old Interurban site

(Photo from the Mooresville High School Wagon Trails 1968 Yearbook)

Exactly 72 years after the Carnegie Library was dedicated, the new Library building was dedicated on January 27, 1988.  The last MPL Carnegie patrons were served, and then the great move west was made (about three blocks).  Then, the new Library opened.  It had all happened quickly and smoothly.  There was minimal disruption in library services.  We'll share some photos of this transition in our next installment.

The Historical Journey Never Ends

Indiana Room at Mooresville Public Library

Just Before the Dedication of the New Addition

(January 26, 2006)

(Last updated:  January 9, 2025).

In March, 2010, during a meeting at Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library, one of my colleagues, Suzanne Walker, who was then the library's youth services director, was discussing a social media initiative with the library's executive director, Diane Huerkamp, and me.  The library had already launched its YouTube channel; we could add Facebook, Twitter, and something called "Blogger," whatever that was, which featured "blogs," whatever they were.  Suzanne envisioned expanding the library's "global footprint" through its use of social media.  We could disseminate our messages far and wide to many more people than merely those who entered through the library's doors.

Suzanne already used Blogger to recommend children's and teen books to read and, along with other staff, was about to create new blogs focusing upon the library's youth services programs.  Blogs could also be used for adult services content.  She suggested I write a blog about the history of Mooresville, Indiana.

Would people read a local history blog, I wondered?  With an Internet already overloaded with trivial, over-personalized content, could an audience be attracted discussing the past of a town with fewer than 15,000 residents?  I doubted it, but I was game to try.

So, on April 3, 2010, I "published" my first "post" to this "blog."  Re-reading it now, the tone reminds me of a standup comic whose tired old material is bombing but who doesn't want to surrender the stage in humiliating defeat.  Of course, I was just starting this journey, so I didn't know exactly where I was going or how I planned to get there.  Maybe I should cut my former self some slack.

Thirteen years later, I've reached the end of my library career.  I've written a few hundred blog posts here, as well as over a thousand elsewhere (on four other blogs, two of which are long gone from the web, but two of which are still around here and here).  As of January, 2025, I've reached over 400,000 views with this local history blog; I reached another million views on my other blogs, and over 2.77 million views on the library's YouTube channel.  Suzanne's social media initiative was a success beyond our wildest expectations.

As my retirement date approaches (May 6, 2023), I look back fondly upon the historical tales we've shared here.  Looking back is what historians do; since I've been portraying one at the library for the past 16 years, I wanted to stay in character until my last day, when I will close the library's Indiana Room (and, as manager-in-charge, the library) for what will be my final time.

This blog will remain online until such time as Google (or whoever will control the Blogger site) decides otherwise.  Links to PDFs will remain active until Mooresville Public Library updates to new website servers.  This blog has been a rewarding experience that, with any luck, was somewhat informative and, perhaps, mildly entertaining.  I'm grateful for the support I've received from the library board and the library's executive director (Diane Huerkamp, who retired at the end of December, 2024).  Not many employers would have tolerated my spending endless hours turning out this tripe.  They always had encouraging words for my efforts.  I appreciate that.

There's much local history to be found on these blog posts.  If you've enjoyed it, thank one of my predecessors, Wanda Potts (MPL Indiana Room librarian, 1966-2002, and assistant director from the 1970s to the 1990s) for creating and maintaining the historical collections from which I've drawn everything.  Also thank Bonita Marley (MPL executive director 1961-1984), who preserved all the local history filed before Wanda came aboard (and handed it over to Wanda to preserve thereafter).  Myrtle Keller (MPL staffer & assistant director during the 1960s and 1970s) also contributed to the library's historical collections, as did each of the library directors and staff before Mrs. Marley.  My immediate predecessor, Marylou Smith, also deserves kudos for her fine work preserving Mooresville's past.  None of the material I've presented here (or elsewhere) regarding local history would have been possible without their tremendous efforts to organize and safeguard it.  All I did was type and upload some images.

Finally, thank YOU for reading about Mooresville's past.  Local history collections are diminishing in public libraries these days, so having an interested audience has helped Mooresville Public Library continue its mission to protect the past for the future to explore.  I hope the library's Indiana Room resources will be around for many years to come.  History continues forward, so there will always be something new and fresh to discover.  The historical journey never ends.

Fifty Years, More or Less, in 1967

Mooresville Public Library's 50th anniversary of continuous operation could have been observed in 1966, since the town's Carnegie Library building was dedicated on January 27, 1916.  This benchmark could have been noted as early as May, 1962, because, 50 years earlier, the decision was made to fund and construct a taxpayer-supported public library.

It therefore seems strange that the Library's stewards chose May 7, 1967 as its quinquagenary (i.e., semicentennial) anniversary.  But there it is, in the Library's vertical files, and so we're stuck with the historical fact.

 MPL "More Than 50 Years" Celebratory Bookmark, issued May 7, 1967

(Click images to enlarge; use your web browser's zoom function to further magnify)

MPL "More Than 50 Years" Celebration Party

May 7, 1967

Why did Bonita Marley, MPL Librarian & Director, and the Library's Board of Trustees choose to celebrate the Library's "over 50" anniversary instead of just observing the event in January, 1966, when it would have been half a century since the Carnegie Library dedication?  No clear statements were recorded in the Board's minutes or other Library documents, so we are forced to make reasonable inferences.

Mrs. Marley and the Board were aware of the significance of May, 1912 in the Library's origin story--Bonita Conduitt had been a six-year-old child that year--and they further would have known about the steps taken between 1912 and 1915 to finance and construct the Library, as well as to maintain the temporary library collection downtown while funding and construction were ongoing.  Perhaps, then, they were including all of this history as part of their celebration in May, 1967.

There is, however, a better explanation.  Indiana celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary in 1966, and Mrs. Marley and the Board probably did not want to compete with the many state and local observances of Hoosier statehood by adding the Library's quinquagenary to the mix, when it would have gotten lost in the shuffle of state-wide historical celebrations.  Better to wait until 1967, when Mooresville's citizens could concentrate upon the Library's important historical milestone without distraction.

A flippant suggestion has been made that the Library Board and Staff simply "forgot" the 50th anniversary in 1966 (or 1962, depending upon your starting date) and held a late party to correct the oversight.  That won't wash.  Mrs. Marley vividly remembered the Carnegie Building's construction and opening--she was one of the Library's first cardholders, of which she was rightly proud--and local history was one of her hallmarks.  She had hired Mooresville historian Wanda Potts in 1966 specifically to safeguard the community's history, and both were keenly aware of the Library's longevity.  Neither Mrs. Marley nor Mrs. Potts would have overlooked such a significant accomplishment as 50 years of public service.

MPL Librarian/Director Bonita Marley (left) with former

MPL Librarian/Director Helen Hadley Ward (right) (1967)

Librarians Bonita Marley & Myrtle Keller at the MPL Circulation Desk (1967)

The "More Than 50 Years" party was quite a social event on May 7, 1967.  Many prominent local dignitaries attended the celebration, but, much more importantly for Mrs. Marley, "regular" folks (like you and me) were there to enjoy the cake and talk about the great times Mooresville's citizens enjoyed at MPL.  Perhaps "you" reading this were actually on the guest list that day long ago.  Sadly, I wasn't, because I was in El Salvador sitting across from an active volcano at that exact time (it's a long story).  The guest list is among the artifacts included in our Indiana Room vertical files.

We celebrate these anniversaries because not many institutions, public or private, survive half (or all of) a century.  So let's apply the "horseshoe tossing" rule as far as exact dates are concerned.  The important commemoration is the Library's uninterrupted service to Mooresville and Brown Township residents, whether 50 years ago, today, or, hopefully, in another century and longer.

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.